Kasumigaoka Utaha sent messages as she turned into another street.
Sen Getsusa replied from time to time.
[Little Darling: Senior, be careful on the road.]
[Little Darling: It's too late.]
Tap.
Kasumigaoka Utaha chuckled inwardly. She was indeed very concerned about what had happened before. After all, the other person had saved her from those disgusting insects.
The burning yet icy chains, the ground trembling like water—
Supernatural Abilities are truly interesting.
Sen Getsusa is even more interesting.
Watching her touch and hold me so carefully, as if she wanted to reach out but was also terrified... even though she herself is more beautiful.
Tsk.
So cute.
Without the slightest guilt for her reckless flirting, Kasumigaoka Utaha was intensely curious about Sen Getsusa. Moreover, her editor had praised her greatly today.
It's all thanks to Sen Getsusa.
How should I thank you?
The silver streetlights in the winding alley flickered. Without Kasumigaoka Utaha noticing, the ashes not far away were blown away by the wind.
A long, feminine handbag was left in a corner.
The girl stopped in her tracks.
Whose... bag is this?
As if something was attracting her, the girl, who rarely meddled in others' business, stopped and looked down at the black leather bag.
Intuition roared a warning in her brain.
Leave—
Leave this place.
Don't meddle!
But... another self seemed to be screaming, tearing at her hair, as endless, repetitive words drilled into her eyes!
Pick it up! Pick it up! Pick it up! Pick it up! Pick it up! Pick it up! Pick it up! Pick it up! Pick it up! Pick it up! Pick it up! Pick it up! Pick it up!
Open it! Open it! Open it! Open it! Open it! Open it! Open it! Open it! Open it! Open it! Open it! Open it! Open it! Open it! Open it!
Kasumigaoka Utaha blinked. The smart girl seemed to have sensed something.
This feeling... is a bit like that day.
The mystery... the Ability... Finally, the girl bent down.
She picked up the leather bag.
It was scalding to the touch, and the heat surged from her palm directly into her body.
In an instant, Kasumigaoka Utaha felt a surge of excitement and passion throughout her entire body.
Call me, it is calling me.
Zip—
Opening the bag's zipper, besides a few loose bills, there was only something in the inner pocket.
A mask.
A white base with a red pattern.
Several Hearts were painted on the mask in a chaotic, inverted manner.
All the heat radiated from the mask. This lifeless object seemed to be howling in desperation, pleading for someone to put it on and open that fated door.
The mask... Kasumigaoka Utaha's eyes went dull as she pinched the chin of the mask and slowly, slowly moved it toward her face.
She put it on.
There was no difference in her field of vision.
Except, there seemed to be a door... its color distinct from the rest of the World, with bright blue patterns carved across the entire door panel.
Flowing slowly.
In a vision invisible to the naked eye, black and red light particles swarmed toward the girl's forehead, scrambling to drill inside.
In the early summer night, Kasumigaoka Utaha shivered.
The mask fit weightlessly against her face. Her two small ears were exposed, and her black hair fluttered, catching the sound of approaching footsteps.
They were the footsteps of a man.
Heavy breathing, hard soles, and a malicious gaze.
Kasumigaoka Utaha realized she had accidentally fallen into a trap she shouldn't have stepped into.
And the hunter hadn't expected that the prey, which should have been a reindeer, had unknowingly changed into a fox.
"Minagawa Akane."
The newcomer's greasy voice sounded as if an oily liquid was sliding down his throat, the tiny bubbles of his tone lingering in Kasumigaoka Utaha's ear.
The girl shuddered.
"Minagawa... Akane."
The calling grew closer. As the footsteps stopped, a hand wearing a black leather glove touched the girl's left shoulder.
The man's voice was certain and mocking: "Have you decided?"
How should I answer?
Teacher Minagawa, so this is your mask?
Kasumigaoka Utaha kept her back turned, not daring to look around.
His gaze scanned her back with a malice akin to standing above a deep pit, looking down at the helpless prey that had fallen into the trap.
"Your identity has been exposed."
"the authorities and all secret Ritualist societies."
"They all know your identity now."
The man patted Kasumigaoka Utaha's shoulder generously before letting go and pacing behind her.
"You have no choice." The man sighed, his voice lowering with hypocritical kindness. "Hannya didn't have enough power or wisdom."
"So he died."
"Do you want to die with him?"
—No, I want to go home and revise my novel again.
—I'm about to become a real novelist; I don't want to die at the hands of a weirdo like you who wears gloves in summer.
—Also, Teacher Minagawa, what on earth did you do?
—Does leather gear particularly trigger your fetish?
Sigh.
The face under the mask gave a subtle curl of the lip, and the woman let out an imperceptible hum.
It was taken as an agreement.
"Very good." A touch of a smile entered the man's pleasant tone. "You've been modified by the mist; you're more suited to containing Chaos than an average 'Contactee'."
"Come to my side. I'll put in a good word for you."
"Since Hannya is already dead, the Host won't be too hard on you."
"What do you say?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha knew she couldn't avoid speaking any longer.
She tried clearing her throat twice and mumbled vaguely, "What you said—"
"'You'?"
The other man's tongue flicked as he caught Kasumigaoka Utaha's small slip-up, his voice sounding somewhat dissatisfied.
"The first time we met, you called me Koma Sha."
"The second time, it became Mr. Homa."
"Before the ritual, it was 'Dear Lord Sha'."
"And now, it's 'You'?"
"Akane, you really are a heartless woman."
Kasumigaoka Utaha felt a wave of nausea.
What kind of role was she playing... However, Koma Sha's words gave Kasumigaoka Utaha an idea.
If Teacher Minagawa Akane was the perpetrator of the last mist incident, then the deceased 'Hannya' mentioned by Koma Sha was her superior—
And this Koma Sha was Teacher Minagawa's 'intimate' friend with whom she had fought side-by-side... in a different kind of friendship?
Were they actually part of the same organization?
"Akane?"
The man's gentle, greasy voice appeared by Kasumigaoka Utaha's ear again.
Cough.
The girl kept her back to him: "I agree."
She desperately recalled Minagawa Akane's tone and verbal habits, hoping the man wouldn't notice.
As it turned out, a single night of passion wasn't enough for this leather enthusiast to firmly remember every detail of Minagawa Akane. Or rather, for a man to remember a woman from a one-night stand by voice alone, the woman would have to be quite a screamer in certain special circumstances.
"You dyed your hair. Good, you have defensive awareness."
Her loose black hair was blown by the wind amidst the man's praise, and the woman nodded imperceptibly.
She actually got praised for it.
Kasumigaoka Utaha muttered disdainfully in her Heart.
Sen Getsusa wouldn't be so careless (would she?)
Sigh, what should I do... I'm not very good at acting.
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