From the shoulders to the upper arm and down to the stomach her blazer was clearly sewn as narrowly as possible
But at the same time she was not too skinny Her chest and hips provided a stark contrast to her slender waist Her hips were positioned high enough to be immediately noticeable She wore gray socks over her lovely legs which were full-bodied and filled with life To match her face her figure was as perfect as a model’s
Um
Mutsuki tried to speak up
He only wanted to say good morning Ibekusa He would only be copying what Sakae had done so easily
He could not say a word before she sat next to him in her own window-side seat
His cheeks filled with intense heat and his mouth refused to move
Okay everyone get in your seats
Meanwhile their homeroom teacher arrived
Yet again he had been unable to speak to her
He barely listened to the information being presented to him and instead took furtive glances toward her seat
She was resting her head in her hand and starting expressionlessly out the window
Outside he could see the magnificent stone hexagonal pillar and the clear blue sky of early summer behind it The clear sunlight had completely swept away the colors of daybreak leaving a blue so pure it seemed to suck one in The girl in front of it seemed so transparent she would vanish into that sky
Her name was Ibekusa Machina
In a way she was a class celebrity Her beauty was naturally a factor but it also had to do with arriving at 8 30 sharp every morning yet never once being late as if she had a clock installed in her body Also she barely spoke with anyone Mutsuki looked her way again and again He was enraptured by her beautiful profile but he gave a disappointed sigh at the fact that he could not grow beyond simply looking
And thus Mutsuki’s day began
He worked hard for his family he had stupid fun with his friends and he failed to speak to his crush
This was but one page from the many harmonious days of his life
And he remained entirely unaware that the discord decorating human history was fast approaching
Even afterschool Mutsuki’s normal life continued as usual
Ibekusa Machina would always arrive just before morning homeroom and leave as soon as the final homeroom was over Mutsuki wanted to say goodbye or see you tomorrow but gathered his things with a gloomy sigh when he could not Sakae’s home was near his but they did not usually walk home together Mutsuki had no afterschool activities but Sakae was always busy with his class representative work
Fuujiitaa Bye-bye
Bye-bye Kurikara
He left the academy as Kurikara Saya and his other classmates said goodbye
He had nothing in particular to do so he headed straight home
The town was not quite a city but still had a fair number of people so the station located on the way home was always filled with officer workers and students heading home
More cars were honking their horns than usual but that had nothing to do with Mutsuki on the sidewalk He ignored the din as he walked straight through the station area
Suddenly his cell phone began vibrating in his pocket
He pulled it out to find an unknown number on the LCD panel The numbers for his friends family parents’ offices and little sister’s kindergarten were all saved so he wondered who this could be as he answered Gather heaven earth and hell said a voice and you will have everything
What
The world was created from discordYou’re about to be in trouble
Run away
The nasal alto voice belonged to a grown woman but he did not recognize it
The boy frowned because he had no idea what the woman meant
Who is this This cellphone belongs to Fujita Mutsuki
Make sure you survive until Ange gets there
Survive He stopped because that dangerous word brought the opposite outcome to mind
He happened to stop in front of the large wall fountain that made a nice landmark for the roundabout in front of the train station
That is hell You mustn’t stop there
Eh Eh
The spring has already been wound Get away from the roundabout
Before the woman finished speaking the screams filling the station area told him something was wrong
The woman was still saying something but Mutsuki dropped his phone on the edge of the fountain
That was hardly surprising given what had happened
A bright rouge Porsche was noticeably parked in the middle of all the cars filling the station roundabout
It was stopped right in the middle of the road which explained why the cars had been honking so much But those horns soon became screams
Everyone watched in shock as sounds of scraping metal came from the Porsche and it ceased to be a car
AhAh
After the hood opened metal claws burst out and stabbed into the ground to lift the tires from the ground Next the convertible chassis bent like an accordion and rose up in a menacing pose
Then the emblem on the bumper lifted its head to look in the boy’s direction
Its glossy streamlined red body showed off its dark engine Just as a rhinoceros beetle looked like a jewel from the top but revealed its grotesque underbelly when flipped over a sense of indescribable revulsion filled the roundabout with panic (Whatis this What is this What is this )
Everyone began to flee the station area but Mutsuki was frozen in place The air felt as thick as molasses and his legs refused to move
As the car monster stood up like a human being he noticed its headlights turning his way
The Porsche seemed to forget it had tires so it dragged its body along by its claws to approach
the dumbfounded boy The weight of the car produced an awful scraping noise on the concrete
The scraping almost sounded like the whinnying of a horse and the boy fell onto his butt
Even after his hips gave out the Porsche continued toward him
sten Listen Fujita Mutsuki
It stopped just as it crushed the dropped phone with its claw
As the dumbfounded boy watched something strange happened to the destroyed phone The bisected parts clung to the claw and became a phone once more
Mutsuki calm down and listen You can’t stay there
The phone still functioned
It all felt so surreal that Mutsuki started feeling faint
Beginning scan Fujita Mutsukipositive Serpent’s Eye holder confirmed
A mechanically synthesized voice spoke through the Porsche’s speakers and he clearly heard his own name
Listen Mutsuki The Springloaded isn’t the problem The demon will defeat it
The voice coming from the cellphone was drowned out by the bubbling sound coming from the wall fountain behind him
The demon is the one you need to escape from
Ha ha
He also heard a low and oddly alluring laugh
Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha I found you I finally found you Fujita Mutsuki
The standing Porsche seemed to lean backwards
Just a few seconds before the fountain had been filled with clear water but now its contents sprayed out like a geyser assaulting Mutsuki and the Porsche
And this was not water It was a sticky reddish-black liquid
Dried blood may have been the closest comparison It was exactly as warm as human skin and
reeked of blood Mutsuki shuddered in disgust as it poured down over his back
Khgh
The Porsche did more than tremble The human skin fluid soaked into the exposed engine Even in its monstrous form the precision machinery was weak to foreign substances As each drop entered the engine the car’s movements dulled and it finally did nothing more than shake like a toy with a dying battery In that instant a giant curved blade pierced through the center of the exposed chassis
The red blade gently curved like a crescent moon The giant scythe’s blade was over a meter long and the handle was over two meters long It stabbed so deeply into the Porsche monster that Mutsuki almost felt sorry for it Only after moving his gaze down the weapon did he notice that someone stood on the damaged headlights at the front of the car