T/N: I might separate the chapters into two pages from time to time. It’s in an inconspicuous place below the share, like button so if you don’t see the Previous, Next, Content buttons, it means that I have separated it. The buttons are only available at the last page

“Hopefullynothingwillarise…”

Itwasanearnestwish. Myspirits wereboosted when I wasenvelopedin the hot, humid airof midsummer. Imustn’t let my feelings getthe better of me, as Ihad learnedfrom Takenaka before: theweaker yourfeelings became, the more likely those things would approach you.

In fact, I shouldbeprepared to take on anything andeverything… Despite thinking like that, therewas a limit to what I could do.

With only one electric light every few dozen meters, I went around the corner that I had done many times before, feeling forlorn.

Totheright of myvision, I spotted a whiteguardrail reinforced with steelplates. Before arrivingat that convenience store, I remembered thatthere had been a motorcycle accident…

AsIrecalled, the manager informed methat the person who fell off thebike had died.

Apparently, accidentsinvolving people falling off their bikes were a constant occurrence at that location. I didn’t even wantto ponder why, but a couple of those accidents were bound to happen yearafter year.

Consequently, abrandnew steel plate was installed eachtime. This was evidence that accidents wereso frequent that the guardrail could not be fixed in a timelymanner.

AlthoughIpassed the curve in a split second, a chillseized me, so I made a turn at thespot. Somehow, I hada feeling I was going to catch sight of somethingstrange.

[Hyuugais…]

Kinoshita’s words resurfaced in mymind.

Goodgrief… He certainly hadgoodintuition.AsI rode my bike, I found myself smiling bitterly, even if it wascreepy.

HyuugaAoi―

Thatname rang a familiar bell.

That name hadn’t come up in a longtime. It had been a long time since someone had uttered that name tome. Itwas a name I didn’t want tohear.

Sealedsomewherein my memory, I banished it to the corner of mybrain. Thename that I had erased from mymind―

Whatever it was that prompted me to do so was unknown tome, but it had been dredged out from the depths of mymemory and thrust in frontof me.

Itwas right after I began perceiving strange things. All this time, I had forgotten aboutit.magic

No, Ihadbeen feigning oblivion. I had made myself into convincing myself that I had forgotten.

Whynow? Ishould have discarded that photograph.

Ishould refrain from dwelling on this matter. Itwas alreadyover.

Thatpersonand I had an unstable relationship to begin with. Besides, I didn’t really care about them.

Right―

Whatwas the sensein thinking about someone you didn’t really care about anymore? I forcefully settled my faltering feelings and focused my attention ondriving.

Thankstothe lack of pedestrian traffic and cars, my bike was moving along the night road at a brisk pace. Inless than five minutes, I would be at the convenience shop as I was moving ratherswiftly.

Isquinted my eyes and lookedtoward the tunnel’s exit about halfway through.

Whatwasthat?

Somethingwas aroundthe exit of the tunnel. Beyond the dark orange fluorescent light of the tunnel, theroad was faintly illuminated by the moonlight.

There,something, somethingwas…

An objectI couldn’t quite make out was there.

Atthis rate, I might run itover, so I slowed my bike down gradually. While sticking my neck outin front of me, Ilooked closely atit.

“What―!?”

Ifigureditout.

Abouta meter or so before exiting thetunnel, I realized what it was and stoppedmy bike near the exit.

A cat―

Lyingon the road was acat.

However, itwas no ordinarycat.

It was ared lump lying carelessly. An ominousred body fluid glistening under themoonlight…

Withitslimbs cast aside, the cat’s abdomen was concaveand ripped open like a pomegranate, exposing itslong, pink intestines, which werestained with red-black blood and protruded and weredispersed all over the place. Fecesand pieces of flesh drenched in it leaked from the anus, and a gut-like massprotruded from the gaping mouth.

It was asight so devastating that made mewant toscowl.

Howawful… It was run over…

Thecrystalline lens, resembling a marble, stared into the voidand remained stationary. The small, reddishbody with white in some places suggested that ithad originally been a white cat.

Judgingfrom the fresh colorof the splattered guts, this cat was probably run overonly recently—perhapsa few hours ago, or possibly even minutesago.

This was not thefirst time I had observed a cat being strucklike this. Evenif it wasn’t thefirst time, it wasstill shocking and not a pretty sight tobehold.

Who on earth couldhave brought thisupon…

“Nah-oh.”