Mob Yandere

[Part 3/5]

As I was about to scream, a sweet voice whispered in my ear.

"What!?"

The sudden appearance of the intruder dispelled the hypnotic spell that had been cast on me. Countless arms, tentacles, appeared from behind and blew away the heads I held. They tore them apart, crushed them.

And then... as if protecting me, they clung to me.

'Hehehe, you feel much better now, right?'

"Y-You...!? Why?"

As the green hair extended from behind, almost sticking to my cheek, my mind was in turmoil. No, it wasn't strange for her to be here. The problem was that she had saved me when I was about to fall into the trap.

'Oh? There's nothing strange about it, is there? I am a being that resides within your heart. Therefore, I am your mother. Therefore, it's only natural for a parent to protect their child, right? ...Uh, QED?'

I couldn't help but interject at her incomprehensible proof, spouted from the voice that didn't match her appearance or her appearance matched her voice. Stop it, don't tilt your head in confusion, as if I'm the one who's wrong!!

'Papa!! I've come to save youuuu!!'

A childlike voice resounded from somewhere far away, accompanied by a roaring noise. If I strained my eyes, I could see a giant spider rushing through the horde of zombies on the other side of the horizon. ...She's shouting something with a really stupid voice.

'Oh my, you're such a hard worker. Keep going, keep going, little lady! Grandma is cheering for you~!'

'Shut up, you d*mn old hag!! Give me my New Year's money!! Waaaaaah!!'

As the suspicious woman claiming to be my mother cheerfully cheered on, the idiotic giant spider continued to rampage, as if pouring gasoline onto the fire. Wait, what are you going to use the New Year's money for anyway?

"I remember now. I was in 'Mayoiga'..."

As my consciousness waned, all the memories up until that moment flooded back into my mind. Like floating and sinking at the same time, a sensation I had experienced many times before overwhelmed me. In other words, it was the time to wake up.

"...I don't need to thank you, do I? I mean, you must be worried that your host will kick the bucket or something, you parasite."

'That's not a problem at all! It's a parent's duty to give their child unconditional love!'

"But I don't remember being born from your crotch!"

I retorted to the self-proclaimed person who disparaged people's families, as usual. And as if she had planned it, the ground beneath me collapsed, and I fell into the abyss. I fell asleep. And then, I woke up. The world flipped...

'...Goodbye.'

Just before I woke up, the last thing I saw was the face of 'that person' wearing the Hannya mask murmuring something to herself.

...

...

...

'Hehehe. Goodbye, my cute boy. ...By the way, didn't you want to speak with him? ...I see, you have it tough too, huh? Shall I comfort you instead? Pat, pat~... No? That's a shame.'

'(;・`д・´) Whoa!! I won't forgive you!! Eat my Excalibur!! Σ(lliдﾟﾉ)ﾉKyan!? It's dangerous, hey!?'

"......"

...The first thing I witnessed as I woke up was the sight of the stupid spider struggling, waving its nails like a fish flailing on land, trying to confront the crying old man.

This guy was being lightly attacked by the old man's long-nailed hands, and she responded by waving a nail in defense. It was a completely futile comedy.

There were many things I wanted to point out, like how I'm going to be in trouble if she dies, or how that was just a stick called "Cypress stick or Excalibur," or how there's no such thing as a family heirloom in her case, or why the hell she's holding that nail in the first place. But for now, I'll set all those aside. I thought that if I criticized, I would lose.

And then, in silence, I observed my surroundings, moving only my eyes. And with the recollection of my recent memories, I grasped the current situation. I see, this is...

(I should be back in my body now. But... there's less than a hundred seconds left?)

A hopeless situation. Countless enemies. Double time limits. It's just a sh*tty game. Life is a shitty game, after all. However... unfortunately, this game doesn't allow retries or saves. It's the best.

...Fortunately or unfortunately, I had a way to save time. No, I instinctively sensed it. ...It's probably the work of that d*mn fallen goddess. She doesn't want the host to die now, I guess? Given the extent of the Leucochloridium contamination, it wouldn't be surprising if she had corrupted me.

(Well, whatever. If I can use it, then I'll use it.)

With that in mind, amidst the surrounding noise, I calmly regulated my breathing. I brought out what was squirming inside me. My heart's pounding intensified. My body temperature rose. I became thirsty. I became hungry. The girl's scream ringing in my ears further accelerated these sensations. I controlled those impulses. I suppressed them...

Right after that, our gazes met. The lion noticed first. Then weasel turned around. They widened their eyes, distorted their faces in anger, opened their mouths, and tried to shout.

"You're too late, you moron...!!"

With a roar-like yell, I released a burst of flames...

Since receiving the fallen goddess's blood into my retina, my body had been steadily approaching a monstrous state, despite various methods to slow down the transformation. At this point, I no longer believed that I could maintain a human physical structure once my skin was peeled off.

It was a moot point now; the real problem was if I exposed this transformation too much. In other words, if I overused my youkai powers, my body and mind would irreversibly transform. Yes, to the point where I couldn't even pretend to be human anymore.

The so-called time limit that I and the old man talk about is about this. Though I have managed to extend the limit to some extent using external remedies and such, it couldn't possibly be good for my body. It was evident that my human lifespan was being chipped away.

Even so, the power of youkai transformation was essential for surviving in this perilous world and serving as a "servant" in this super black company. At least, it was crucial for escaping immediate death. And in the current situation, I had to find a way to extend the remaining limited time. I wanted at least twice the amount left.

...Thus, the answer I arrived at was to simply youkai-fy a part of my body to deceive others.

"However, actually doing it...!?"

Gathering youkai energy into my arms, legs, mouth, and a part of my internal organs to emit flames, I tried to mimic the process. Was it gathering properly? It was more like trial and error. I had no choice but to trust my own senses. Maybe it worked. The change in my head and body was minimal compared to my limbs. The color of the skin peeking through the tattered clothes was undoubtedly human.

If I let my guard down, I might transform into a youkai completely. Clearly, I was on a precarious tightrope.

"...Anyway, you're heavy!!"

As I stood up, I smashed the charred corpse of the idiotic play-acting old man into the ground with my first blow. He didn't even realize until just before being burned to death, too busy being drawn by the stupid spider's attention. If I looked around, the corpses of the nearly hundred youkai, who were roasted by the flames, were spread out on the ground.

"Now, then... it's your turn!!"

'╰（‵□′）╯ Run away while you can!'

The next target I aimed for was the giant monkey, who was about to use its eye technique on me. A moment later, a wind hole opened in its belly, having caught the nearby youkai, it was scooped up, and then turned into a powerful fastball. The sound of air exploding resonated with a look of astonishment as "Satoru" collapsed. It was its just reward for showing me an unpleasant dream. Of course, that was only fair.

(Threats one and two, have been successfully eliminated. The rest...!!)

I exhaled the steam-like heat from within my boiling body, relieving some of the pressure, and looked around. Tamaki, is she alright? As for the hibachi... they seemed to have used up a significant number of their dependents. The small and young youkai were all trying to escape with their own power.

'Roarrr!!'

'Grrrrr!!'

"You're in my way!!"

The hibachi must have noticed my gaze. The remaining dependents approached from all directions to divert my attention. They were disposable pawns. I mowed them down instantly with a single strike of my claw. Even with a partial youkai transformation to reduce the burden, I had no room for complacency. I just had to crush the culprit as quickly as possible...!!

"Well, they are getting in my way, huh!?"

Sensing the killing intent, I turned around. At the same time, I struck a palm infused with youkai energy, and a fierce metallic sound resounded. The strike was deflected by weasel's sickle-claws, and sparks flew.

"Whoa...!? D*mn it!!!!"

In an instant, I staggered backward from the impact, then took a deep breath. Opening my mouth wide, I spewed out a torrent of flames—a flamethrower. Yuka, the Kamaitachi immediately tried to retreat, but it was too late. A moment later, everything in front of me was engulfed in flames. The scorching heat licked at the surroundings, and it was a full-on face of intimidation by fire.

'(○｀ 3′○) Phew, that was close!'

"Hey, don't raise a flag!?"

The white spider (the one with the wriggling nail on her back like a sword) that had climbed up to my neck unnoticed couldn't resist speaking the obligatory lines, which left me no choice but to retort. While doing so, I readied myself. As expected, it came right at me.

'Yes, yes, the same trick won't work on me!!'

Jumping out of the flames, Yuka revealed their shadow. They were approaching. The reason the impertinent creature survived the close-range flames was simple and clear. There was no need to twist one's head in thought.

Just before the direct hit, this guy had grown their tail, which was now enormous, and slammed several nearby youkai into it like a giant club. That's all it took. In other words, it was a fleshy wall.

The number of youkai sacrificed was around ten, and they turned to char in an instant. That seemed enough for them, as they skillfully avoided my attacks as if they were dancing around, with their agility not matching their low defense

'If that's the case...!!'

"What!? Double payback!!"

'(・`ω・´) They got me! Now I'll get them back!!'

Once again, Yuka advances with its sickle-like claws. They swiftly attacks with a slashing strike, which is intercepted by the armored skin of my one arm. In response, I raises my other claws for a counterattack, aiming to tear through the opponent. For a calamity youkai like Kamaitachi, whose defense is likely considerably inferior, this attack is unbearable—a deadly blow. If it connects, it's a sure kill... But only if it connects.

'Whoops! That was close!!'

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