Chapter 2 (1/2)

Chapter 2

Black Dog/Birth

Part 1

As soon as he got ho rooh

He suddenly looked up at the ceiling

——Was Sasakithat monster lizard really not a dream?

He asked himself this, but the vivid memory was a clear rejection of that possibility

There was so else with the appearance of Sasaki……

Are lizardfros that actually exist in this world? Monsters like those that appear in the world of coames, can those exist in reality!? There’s no way! What reason could there be for such a monster to exist——

……

In silence Tobio buried his face in his hands

……Was that a dream? Or a vision?

Could it be because of the ihing on his mind and body that caused such a vision?

Wrong The monster of Sasaki had commanded That monster It had injured him

He looked over towards his bag that was laying sideways

Frolimpse of a round object

Along the way returning ho it away, however, since he would have been in danger of dying if not for Minagawa Natsu himself to part from it

It’s a ridiculous story Their corpses having never been recovered, his ht eted? No ht about it, there was no reason for hiht about it cale joke

However, Tobio saw the lizard-shapedby Minagawa Natsume’s hawk These events are facts If he were to try to pretend that it’s a dreae from his mind

……If that’s the case that would mean that, not only Sasaki, but that the rest of his classmates for whose condition was unknoould be alive as well……? Likewise, that tienuine? And that Sae, like Sasaki, carries a monster with her……?

No, it’s too early for conclusions like that to be drawn Tobio thought Although such things happening was incoine that Sae would be alive trying to kill him with such a monster

Sitting on the living rooh

——He orn out

Tobio’s entire body was afflicted with fatigue Even if he had the energy to make dinner, he had no appetite

Tobio stood up and again looked at the bag ……While gazing at the alleged ‘egg’, he at once began res that had happened that day Tobio picked up the bag that was still holding the ‘egg’, and placed it in the bathroom tub

This should be good He wanted to forget about this until to at least

Tobio closed the door to the bathroom, returned to his room and lay down in bed Attacked by drowsiness as soon as he lay down, Tobio immediately fell asleep

Part 2

“Bauh!”

“Uwah!”

A large dog barked and Tobio let out a pathetic cryHis back was even bent over

“Hey, you haven’t been so surprised by the dog barking since around e becah school students”

While rubbing the dog’s head, Sae gave him a wry smile

Sae’s house In the garden, there’s a Golden Retriever that was entrusted to them fro after her while their relatives go on a trip

It was at the tih school, he had been home alone on a holiday, when Sae called and asked him to come over to her house She requested that Tobio personally take the dog to a follow-up appointment, since Sae ith animals

Usually getting along ith people, the Golden Retriever, which would act with the spirit of a naughty spoiled child, upon recognizing that he wasn’t Sae, used all the energy in its large body towards acting spoiled by Tobio instead For people who like dogs, they would find such conduct enjoyable, but for so but

While rapidly wagging its tail, the dog chased Tobio who fled fro’s instinct Appropriately , Tobio had becoh, this was no different than having a wild animal chase Tobio

“Hey! Come on!”

Even if he got angry, once the Golden Retriever’s playfulness was this fired up, there was nothing that could be done to end it quietly

“Ahahaha! Do your best, Tobio”

Speaking of Sae, she was sitting on the porch watching the frantic Tobio

“Idiot! Help!”

Such an appeal was in vain, as Tobio was then defeated by the dog leaping on hiarden

The dog thenaround his head

“Uwah! Jus-, stop, hey! Uowaaaaah!”

Tobio was on the garden lawn, half teary-eyed as twisted and struggled, but the dog’s assault did not stop

“Kinjirou! Stop!”

With that co Tobio It quickly distanced itself fro pose behavior

The dog’s onslaught having ceased, Tobio took the opportunity to slowly stand up His appearance was coard

Beco truly worried, Sae timidly peered at Tobio’s face

“A-are you okay?”

“……I, I’m okay”

So the presence of the large dog, Tobio had yet to grow accustomed to it

Sae gently stroked Tobio’s head

“I’m sorry, Tobio”

With Sae publicly behaving as one would cory at her

It was because of how pleasant it was Because of the gentleness transly comfortable

If his friends had been watching hi the dog, hi he would never show anyone

However, Sae’s warmth would sometimes cause his mood to be at ease

“Truly, Tobio is coainst Sae-chan”

Just like that she wore a srandmother had been there

Tobio hurriedlyexcuses

“This, This is……so, just a little…!”

Watching Tobio’s reaction, grand but pleasant s for Tobio if the situation was reversed

Tobio let out a deep breath despite the grandrandmother muttered

“……It’s wasted on that hated dog, Tobio Someday, that child have chosen you without fail……no, it appears she may have already chosen you even if it isn’t obvious”

Those words that the grandmother had spoken, Tobio was unable to understand……yet as she watched the dog with a gentle gaze, despite how transient it was, those words were iet

Part 3

“Sae……Baa-chan……”

When he woke up, it was his own room he saw The room was dark

——He’d been having a dream

Of tier present——

Tobio wiped the tears he had unknowingly shed Only shi+fting his gaze, he looked at the clock display in the rooht ……He was still tired Let hi There’s school to

Bath——

That’s right, there’s an ‘egg’ in the bathroo’, as well as the incident with the monster, and also recalled the matter of Natsume

——Go to bed

In that way, Tobioalone, he just wanted to sleep untilelse

He closed his eyes, shut down his consciousness

…………

……And yet, hoondered His mind was abuzz His consciousness would not completely shut down There was so his body Tobio slowly opened his eyes The room was dark The only sound was that of the alar in the silence

His mind was restless Noould that be?

Suddenly he looked towards the closed curtain He reached towards it with his hand By pulling a little bit, he looked out

“——!”

At that moment, Tobio’s body stiffened

——Fro in

He closed the curtains in a panic ……No, there’s no way! This was the fifth floor of the apartment complex Moreover, thenext to the bed doesn’t have a balcony On the other side of thethere’s nothing Tobio got hiain Vigorously, he pulled the curtain to see out the——But no one was there

As before, did he i, was he now having strange hallucinations?

Tobio opened the , stuck only his head out, and restlessly looked around Still, there was no change There was no one there Tobio let out a deep breath in relief At that moment——

Pota……

So fell onto Tobio’s head He touched it with his hand ……It was some kind of sticky liquid ……The liquid had fallen from above?

“……ound……”

Noticing a voice, at that moment Tobio abruptly looked up

“Found you”

He looked up into a face s like a large spider withto the wall of the condominium in an inverted posture Fro

“——!”

The surprised Tobio, i his head back into the room, intended to shut the——But the spider s Feeling fearful of the powerful strength that was being transh the , Tobio hurriedly took a step back from the spot

The boy, h theaccompanied by the spider monster When he stood in the center of the roo a thin smile

“Found you damn traitor”

With broken language, the boy said that The accolint in its eyes

——Utsusemi

Right, the being in front of hi Soht a monster ……Could this one also have been a student of Ryoukuu High School? He was not an acquaintance But, it was probably a fellow student That is if Natsume’s words were to be believed

After lizard is spider, huh…… Tobio felt it was apparently ironic that neither of theood creatures to encounter

……Either way, he’d be killed at this rate In front of the boy’s eyes, the spider ave off an indescribable force that was the real deal With all that killing intent directed at him, Tobio was instantly able to appreciate that

With his body doan to run towards the door of the roo at his feet, but with difficulty he was so done so, he began passing through the living room at a run towards the entrance Immediately, he tried to escape This was best choice with the highest survival rate

Tobio arrived at the entrance, removed the chain, and opened the door—— On the other side of the door, a lone girl was standing there Beside her, what see from the corner

“Found you”

Speaking such words, the girl’s hand reached forward In response to that, the frog that had sprung from the corner opened its massive , its reaching tongue had so In accordance with the girl’s instruction, the frog’s tongue ca out at Tobio!

“Dammit!”

While cursing, Tobio imrotesque tongue cut through the air above hied to avoid it Having just barely escaped that attack, he had no intention of taking any more

Utsuseirl as well!

Tobio sohted his posture, but there were footsteps approaching frouise of a giant spider had reached the living roo from the entrance

——He was caught between them

The girl Utsusemi froradually drew closer In theroom, Tobio was in the abyss of despair

——He’d be killed at this rate

Mercilessly the two people ere Utsuse closer They had the appearance of classmates he did not know Could he have been acquainted with the killed by a class killed by a classhly unpleasant In this predica

——But, the door to the bathroom suddenly jumped into Tobio’s eyes In that instant he was suddenly reminded

In the bathroo’ over there

——You don’t want it to die

Natsuilant, Tobio steadily decreased his distance to the bathroom little by little

As he extended his hand towards the bathroom door, both of the Utsusemi reached out with their hands to direct theirintent at him, Tobio as between the the key in with him, he opened the door to the bathroom

Aover his shoulder, he sahat looked the Utsuseh the bathroo of flesh and blood was struck by that it wouldn’t just leave a hole for air to pass through

Hurriedly, Tobio opened the bag he’s placed in the bathroom

“……This is”

Tobio saw the contents of the bag, at a loss for words The ‘egg’, which was the size of a softball——had been cracked

Cracked? Since when? There weren’t supposed to be cracks here!

That what Tobio wondered, but it was certain that the ‘egg’ was broken……only the hard shell reh he could not confir had been hatched

(……There’s, there’s no way! Minagawa Natsume certainly said this was important! Without this, I’ll be killed!)

Tobio quickly searched the interior of the bathrooht While it sounded ridiculous, it was Tobio’s intuition that Minagawa Natsuined that there would be soht that when it e Utsusemi But instead it’s……empty?

No hat Minagawa Natsuiven an e’ by mistake?

For Tobio who had thought of the ‘egg’ as his last hope, he began to gradually be overcome with despair Mercilessly froressive destruction of the door was heard

……There was no way to escape All that was left to do ait to be killed

Collapsing right there, Tobio trembled as time counted down to his death ——Now, it was that time

——Dokun

With his heart pounding from fear and tension——a very different pulsation and palpitation occurred in his body Within his body——he attained a sense si produced from its depths, which until now hadn’t been there

Dokun-dokun

Little by little, though, froan to visibly pulsate, and a warm sensation was felt

Indeed, there was ‘so’ unseen in his heart—— What the identity of this ‘so’ was, he knew not, only a sense of “soon it’ll be here”, was all he could understand The pulsations did not stop It was rapidly increasing Si will be herethat it ing from Tobio’s body

From behind in the meanti coh the hole in the door, the boy Utsuseht

“Found you”

After saying as ue stretched through the hole in the door and was trying to open the lock The boy and girl Utsusemi appeared to have teamed up

But, as if in response his heart had strengthened in the ly faster

Tobio put his hand of the bathroom shower He turned on the water heater and put his hand on the faucet

The boy Utsuseh the now open bathroom door As soon as it noticed his presence, its eyes narrowed as though with pleasure The huge spider wriggled as it took aim at him

Tobio faced the spider, and sprayed it with hot shoater that had been heated to the maximum temperature

Hit in the front with the hot shoater, the spider that was completely covered suffered violently on the spot

The counterattack had achieved payback—— That was such a fleeting thought, as froirl Utsuse monster

As soon as the girl saw the shower Tobio was holding and the state of the spider, she hid half her body behind the bathrooed into a whip, which ung straight at him

Tobio instinctively dodged to the side, but as a result the frog’s tongue severed the shower he was holding With the shower having lost its tip, the hose orously

Unable to handle being bathed in hot water, Tobio was forced to stop the water immediately

As Tobio tried to avoid the hot water on the bathrooue attacked The surprised Tobio put his foot in the boiling water on the floor, and immediately felt the heat as his foot slipped Fortunately by slipping he avoided a direct hit froue……but he lost his balance and fell back towards the bathtub

In pain fro his waist on the bottom of the tub, Tobio shut his eyes When he opened his eyes, the frog was looking down at hi along the bathroo wary

Murderous intent—— There is no doubt that was being emitted from both bodies was pure blood lust This hat Tobio felt with his whole body

To be killed——

……I don’t want that

……This, an ending I don’t even know the reason for……I don’t want that at all……!

I don’t want to die——

I don’t want to die I don’t want to die

I don’t want to die I don’t want to die I don’t want to die I don’t want to die I don’t want to die I don’t want to die I don’t want to die I don’t want to die

……Someone, help me

It hen he becaht Tobio was attacked by a bout of intense heartbeats

……Dokun DOKUN!

His heart was beating so hard he thought others would surely hear it as well

——bio ——kay

——Tobio ——It’s okay

At this moment, in this situation, it can be said that what unexpectedly reerand

——Tobio You are a blessed child A child loved more than any other

——Therefore, Obaa-chan wants you to be even a little bit happy, Tobio

——So therefore, Obaa-chan, for just a brief moment, put a seal on the blessed Tobio

——But you know, I’ to see ht now

——Just remember this, Tobio The other you that is within you will save you when no one else can

When he was younger, his grandmother held hi words he still cannot understand, are carved upon the very depths of Tobio’s soul

——You are unique with this world, because “_____“ has chosen you

——Even if it’s just the imitation of the shell of “___”

Inaudible——the word he was unable to remerandia

DOKUN——

He was struck with a conspicuously large pulsation For a moment, he lost sensation in his body and his consciousness blurred……but iinal state But, the next h speeds and passed the cheek of Tobio’ who had landed in the bathtub

Before his eyes, the face of the frogout——was pierced by what appeared to be a blade A blade had extended to the ceiling while piercing the frog The frogthat, perceiving that there was danger, the spider ht

He himself collapsed into the bath tub There behind him——was the bottom of the tub What was it that had jump out from back there?

After regaining his posture, Tobio looked where the blade had come from

——Froed

As Tobio watched with bated breath, the shadoas projecting wriggled as though possessing a purpose The shadow gradually took shape——its appearance amazed Tobio

What had ele puppy with black fur

The puppy’s forehead had a sharp protuberance——the blade had sprout fro the blade out fro e a ain attacked with its tongue’s sharp tusk that it has used on Tobio——only it fired it at the puppy

Zashu~, such a cutting sound resounded in the bathroom

——Flesh was scattered The ue, and even its whole body, was sliced to pieces, its flesh scattered all over the bathroo with the blade on its forehead……!!

Systematically, the jet black puppy ju up the frog monster, and noent after the initial spider monster

With the loss of the frog irl Utsusemi lost consciousness and collapsed on the spot

At the boy’s direction, the spider ed the situation to be hazardous, began to withdraw The puppy did not pers from its back to close the distance

Tobio was astonished by this series of events

……Fro’, it erows blades That blade, it instantly turned the frog monster into chunks of meat

Although pheno one after another, the black puppy before his eyes gave hi’ Just like earlier, that pulsating feeling——was no different fro that he’d called on his own No, did he call this dog……?

As the boy Utsuse to realize, closed the distance in the blink of an eye The black puppy, like a black bullet, shot right passed the side of the spider monster When all had subsided, the spider th A beat later, and the spider’s body split in half Having lost the spider, the boy drairl had before

In less than one minute’s worth of time, the puppy had dispatched the bodies of the two monsters

And suddenly it was silent The Utsuseic square eain under the Utsuseht

……Only Tobio and the puppy were left behind in the bathrooan to utilize its nose Probably noticing soorously leapt out of the bathroom As it left the bathroom Tobio followed it

He caught up to the puppy in the living roo down at the scene, Tobio was at a loss for words

Because a huge feathered organis roomhad been broken The creature had feathers, like an insect its head, chest, and abdos, but the head, rather than looking like that of an insect, looked e creature looked a moth’s body with a lizard’s head stuck on Of course, the main point was the boy beside it that had invaded the room

But, even in front of such a rown a blade was poised without any cowardice whatsoever The puppy rushed into without hesitation To avert its aihtly——but the puppy instantly reacted by kicking off the wall to continue its pursuit Continuing the hectic chase, in a flash two of the s had been cut off

Because of its bulk, the winged monster’s ly, the black dog’s shly preferable for maneuverability The way it was, the puppy’s h tactics

In this hile Tobio was grasping the situation, thethehand lint in its eyes, and as the puppy launched its second attack——it deliberately let itself get struck head on! This meant that the puppy’s blade would easily pierce deeply into the rab the puppy with its res as they were, it flapped its wing and rushed out from inside of the room

——The puppy was taken outside!

This was bad This place was an upstairs apart that his expectation was correct, the ht The h in the sky Even if it was an alien dog that sprouts blades, if it was dropped froht……!!

Tobio, worried about the dog, decided to target the boy eaining soth at the boy’s back, hitting his body After letting out a choking voice, the boy fell dramatically where he was

Having confirht of the puppy’s being taken into the sky was disturbing

Having coht——it was thein the air in front of the aparts holding the puppy that pierced its chest, it would have fallen at that very ht sky, a dull s sound was heard