Chapter 1 (2/2)
Sasaki let out a sound It was at a volu
The next ht before his eyes the boy put on an otherworldly s at Tobio with an eerie smile
The lizard, which had eaten the dog, halted its meal and approached It is impossible to feel any emotion from those eyes, whose appearance was that of an animal which has cornered its prey
As Tobio’s whole felt numb and cold, someone, who looked like Sasaki, slowly opened his mouth
“Feed”
What sounded like a ripping whoosh of air, followed by a dull snapping sound fro to face there, he found that the wood that had been propped against the wall had been cut in half Tobio heard an additional wind noise, and turned back
Tobio looked back to the front, where froling sinuously like a tentacle Saliva dripped along the tongue onto the ground
At the tip of the strange tentacle, there was a hard sharp protuberance which functioned like a claw or fang
Tobio noticed that his cheek has been cut As he stroked his cheek, his hands becaot him near the ear
……Lizard……monster?
It was a creature that exceeded the common sense of at least Tobio It was about 3 th like that, it was reh not even he could recall it as having such a strange tentacle instead of a tongue
“……Found you……”
The thing with the appearance of Sasaki approached, s so The lizard monster in front of Sasaki responded
Tobio instinctively grabbed the steel rod placed at his feet Holding the steel in his trebling hands, he faced towards the monster
“I-if this is joke stop it, Sasaki”
Although he tried to s the ends of his mouth to rise The muscles in his cheeks had completely tensed up in fear
While Tobio held up the steel rod, the lizard monster approached with no intervention Tobio responded by stepping back little by little
He could not look away froue Intuitively, he knew that he’d be dead the ue-like tentacle
He didn’t kno far the tongue can stretch, but thought it wise to take this opportunity to run and gain some distance This was the verdict Tobio reached
He gradually edged back little by little to gain distance
(It’s absolutely not a good idea to look away form that tentacle)
Tobio put a hand in his pants pocket
He felt soe for at the game center
Tobio picked up the coins in his pocket, and tossed them at the lizard monster The coins one could easily pay for caused the lizard ap that felt he could escape during
He changed his posture for escape and he i, but the tentacle which had stretched entered his sights Tobio reflexively braced to defend hiue coils around the bar
“Ku……”
He tries to shake of the tentacles wrapped around the bar, but an incredible force is applied on it
His resistance was in vain, as the steel in Tobio’s was renal, the monster lizard threw the seized round bar far away A dry, metallic sound was heard from behind
Returning to Tobio, its original prey, the monster lizard drew steadily closer step by step
Tobio shrank back, enveloped in terror He tries to escape again, but the tongue just wrapped around his leg, causing him to immediately trip and fall As he tried to stand up, he watched as the lizard monster drew closer
Watching this scene, the person with the appearance of Sasaki sneered The lizard -like tip at Tobio
I’m done for!
Having concluded so, so came between Tobio and the monster at breakneck speed
……When nothing happened even after waiting a few seconds, Tobio curiously glanced towards the monster ——Then, the tip of was cut off, and the lizard monster raised a wordless cry
“I won’t let you do it so easily”
Suddenly, he heard the voice of a young wo with the sound of footsteps, appeared alongside Tobio The girl was clothed in the school uniform from somewhere The year is about the same Her hair was tied up in the back
For Tobio it seemed like he had seen this female student before so situation, he could not properly remember
As Tobio glanced at the girl, she took one step forward
“I’ll be your opponent”
So she said to the lizard, holding her hand out front Responding to the girl’s provocation, Sasaki instructs the lizard ue tried to attack her with the claw ——In an instant, there was soirl and tre the h speeds
An instant later, the ue quietly dropped There were cuts in its neck, going fro its body lost strength and fell to the ground
As though he had lost consciousness at the same time, the person who looked like Sasaki also dropped on the spot
Still encompassed with fear, Tobio was in too much of a confused state to understand what had happened The lizard anism like the one with the severed neck, it should not exist Even if it did, at the very least it would defy common sense
Froe birds of prey——a bird that looked like a hawk cairl’s arirl also stroked the bird’s head saying, “There, there” Earlier, what passed Tobio was apparently the bird now perched on the girl’s arm If that’s what happened, then was it this bird that defeated the monster?
He was still doubtful, but Tobio noas relieved to that he had survived He sighed quietly
But his relief was fleeting, as Sasaki as lying on the ground became enveloped by a mysterious luminous phenomenon It also enveloped the now deceased lizarderound, which was carved with unfaic square” often seen in gaives off abrilliance that would make one want to cover their eyes ……After the flash ceased, he looked at the location, where the lizard er to be found
……After a pheno at a loss of what to do), what had unfolded before Tobio’s eyes left him so taken aback that words failed him completely
“Ikuse……kun, right?”
Not at all surprised by this phenoirl asks as she looks at Tobio’s face
“T-that’s me……And you are……?
Tobio replies so She seemed somewhat familiar But he cannot remember clearly It was certain he’d seen her somewhere……
“I’awa Natsume You really……do not know……We’ve never spoken directly, so even your name and face didn’t match up If I hadn’t seen your photo”
The girl, who called herself Natsume, took out her cell phone from the pocket of her skirt, and showed him the screen Evidently, there seee This hat Natsu him her cell phone screen
At the bottoraphed talking with old friends
Seeing it, Tobio understood intuitively
“You, you mean——“
When Tobio was about to say it aloud in surprise, Natsu a complacent smile
“Uh huh, I’h School second year survivor just like you
Part 2
“Forfrom the drink bar Errr, what do you want to order Ikuse-kun?”
“No thanks, I’ood”
Tobio shook his head
“Well then, in that case”
Responding to Natsuoes towards the kitchen
After the encounter with the person who looked like Sasaki and the attack of the lizard monster, the two of them visited a fa story, let’s go soht Tobio here
After she had returned to her seat having selected her drink from the drink bar, Tobio opened the conversation
“What did you mean?”
“What?”
To Tobio’s question, Natsuhtly annoyed attitude, Tobio furrowed his brow and asked again
“What was all of that? What’s the story behind this?”
‘That’ obviously referred to the earlier encounter with Tobio’s friend——the incident with Sasaki and the lizard monster What was thatacross fro about that monster
“As you saw, it was a monster and its master”
Natsume answered without hesitation Before Tobio can ask another question she continues
“The being that looked like our classmate created that monster, which is called an ‘Utsusemi’ See, they’re a type of prototype independent-avatars——or so it would seem Them and their monsters, collectively they are called ‘Utsusemi’
As she says so, she wets her finger on the glass of iced coffee and writes the katakana characters for ‘Utsusemi’ on the table
“Utsusemi?”
Not familiar with the word, Tobio put on a confused look
“Uh huh, Utsuseirl as well, the Utsuseh School sopho the day of the accident
“Wha……”
Tobio was speechless Natsume retains a serious look as she continues the story
“While I don’t know the exact details, our 233 fellow students that were in the marine accident, currently, each and every one of them is paired up with a o”
She just kept saying one incredible thing after another
Since the joint funeral, he had encountered other survivors of the accident But he’d never h School
Having met someone with similar circumstances, this was beyond Tobio’s ability to comprehend
Seeing the perplexed look on Tobio’s face, Natsu
“I know it sees Anyway, since you’ll be hearing it all again later, for now——“
She took a white round object out of her bag It was about the size of a softball
“My role is to ive this to Ikuse-kun”
Natsuerly picked it up
It seemed to be quite an ordinary round object But, at that an to pulsate in time with his own heartbeat
“Uwah”
Letting out a pathetic cry, Tobio dropped the round object on the table
“You have to be careful with it You don’t want it to die”
While scooping her spoon into the rich vanilla crealy said so ominous
She happily scooped the vanilla cream into her mouth
“Die, you mean?”
The worried Tobio protested Natsume’s ominous choice of words
“The Utsusemi, it would seem, were intended for us students who survived the trip by not participating In fact, weren’t you also just targeted? I have been targeted recently as well”
“Such a ridiculous story, how could I possibly believe that?”
“It’s selfish not to believe Ikuse-kun, particularly considering you were attacked If I hadn’t co when I did, it probably would have killed you”
He recalled how Sasaki and the ht fro
“……That light take took them”
“Un So the monster, it causes the owner to fall unconscious ——when that happens, they both disappear along with that luminous phenomenon It’s like fantasy”
She chuckled and laughed Tobio felt a sudden sense of understanding
Natsume pointed her spoon at him
“So, that ‘egg’ is important Shouldn’t it be a valuable weapon for powerless norh school students like us?”
Natsuaze Tobio also looked outside the store In the branches of the trees by the sidehere people came and went, the bird fro jittery Its sharp eyes could see for long distances
“Well, since we can’t stay inside forever andaround outside, should we leave soon?”
Natsu finished her rich vanilla cream, stood up
“Hey, wait!”
Natsume drew Tobio who still had questions for her, and stood facing him As Tobio was embarrassed by her sudden actions, she drew herTobio’s nostrils, there was a sweet scent co from Natsume’s hair
“Later, I’ll visit you at home”
She whispered so profound in his ear and then left
The completely stunned Tobio slapped his reddened face He shook his head to clear his thoughts
“……Hold it, she knohere my house is?”
Voicing such a question, he gazed at the round object she had brought
‘Egg’——
Would so be born from it?
Earlier, the pulsation he felt with his hand, it had been quite vivid
With that eerie thought, Tobio put the alleged ‘egg’ into his bag