Mob Yandere

[Part 1/4]

It was a great wave that engulfed the underground.

It was a writhing hell.

In an instant, it threatened to flood the fortress complex, carved into the mountain like an anthill.

"Wh-What...!?"

"Run! The barrier's closing!!"

"Wait! There are still some left...!?"

"Who cares!?"

The Fūheki—a sealing barrier invoked through the Sōyōshiki (Grass Spirit Formula)—slammed shut with a resounding thud.

"Oi, release the barrier! Open it!!"

"You idiot! Don't screw around!! Hurry up and kai it! Now! Qui—"

The desperate curses and pleading hexes (呪; incantations) echoed from beyond the vine-woven barrier.

But in the blink of an eye, they were drowned out by the writhing roar of countless things in motion.

The laborers and members of the Research Division, trapped on the other side of the corridor, froze—

then, as if in denial, they stopped covering their ears and looked at one another.

At some point...

the repulsive sounds had ceased.

...Did they survive? Were they safe?

''''■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■!!!!''''

The next instant brought detonation.

An eruption.

And then... the great deluge swallowed everything whole.

Before they could even comprehend what had happened, their flesh was torn apart,

their bodies reduced to pale bone, stripped clean of their human form.

The earthworm-like monsters—driven only by gluttonous instinct—

spread deeper into the mountain's interior.

They devoured everything.

Human, shiki, and youkai alike.

No distinction.

No mercy.

All were consumed equally, fairly, impartially.

Even the guardian Kusadōjin (草人形; grass dolls animated by onmyōji craft) that stood in their way, the inferno from the flamethrowers, the exorcists' magic, and the poison filling the passageway, none of it could stop them.

The deluge swallowed even the mountains of corpses.

Devouring the dead comrades, climbing over them, and greedily devouring everything before them.

It was a scene straight out of mythology, a reenactment of an ancient nightmare.

"Why!? Why is that...!!?"

It was a scene that could only be described as a vision of hell.

Through the chaos, a young member of the Research Division ran for his life, clutching a flamethrower in trembling hands, screaming in utter despair.

He knew about its existence.

He knew it had been sealed away with a painstaking Sealing Curse.

He knew that even during research, sampling, or feeding, a single misstep could result in being devoured.

But... that was supposed to be the extent of it.

The danger was supposed to be contained—minimized by strict protocols and layers of reinforced Sealing.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

'''◼️◼️◼️◼️!!!!'''

"Damn it! Burn, you bastards!!"

At the crossroads, an approach from the right path.

He directs flames towards the countless writhing black earthworms.

Spraying tirelessly, relentlessly, incinerating them.

Burning them to ashes.

Dozens of large earthworms are reduced to lumps of charred carbon.

"Burn! Burn, burn, burn!! Damn it! Damn it!! Why... why is this happening!?"

Because it didn't make sense—

Hadn't it been under the Sealing Curse (封印呪) for years?

It hadn't even broken through the first layer of the Sealing Curse, had it?

Even during the daily inspections, there hadn't been a single flaw, not the slightest fray in the spellwork!

And yet...

Even if it had broken free by force, shouldn't there have been some kind of warning? Some sign!?

'No, no, no. That wasn't even a proper Sealing Curse, was it?'

'For a being of such divine status, a few years is like a nap, right?'

'You two... You know exactly what you're saying, don't you? You couldn't be more shameless if you tried?'

"Wh...!!? Wh-who is it!?"

Startled by the 3 different female voices, the man from the Research Division turns around without thinking.

There's no one there.

He turns.

He looks back.

He scans the surroundings.

There's no one.

No shadows, no footprints, no traces, nothing, nothing....

"...Was it... just a hallucination...?"

Doubting his own senses, he ultimately draws such a conclusion.

And he had no time to dwell on such matters.

"They're... still coming!?"

He readies himself for an approach from the passage behind him.

Lowering himself while preparing to unleash the flamethrower.

He plans to take down the enemy with one shot and make his escape.

He lands on something soft behind him.

"Huh?"

Caught off guard by the unexpected turn of events, he uttered a second foolish exclamation.

However, unlike before, his thoughts froze right there.

Even through the plague doctor's mask, the overwhelming sweetness was apparent.

His body was held captive by the numerous hands reaching out from the fleshy, inviting seat, but he no longer cared about anything.

As if guided, he raises his head.

He looks up.

He is looked down upon.

Deep, emerald-green eyes peer into his very soul.

He is stripped bare, his essence devoured.

'Oh my, what a cute boy! Were you scared, dear? It's alright now, you know. You can forget about those frightening things.'

"Ah, uh..."

Following the divine prophecy, the man had discarded his only weapon.

A gentle, kind smile melts his resolve.

His reason weakens.

His consciousness recedes.

His mind shrinks.

Saliva drips from his mouth, his muscles relax, and a torrent erupts from his lower abdomen.

His pitiful, pathetic state was beyond reproach, and even that didn't matter anymore.

'Well then, let's cuddle up with Mommy, shall we?'

Before the words could be fully spoken, the man clung to her like a child.

He embraced her soft, pale, delicate body.

He grasped her damp hair in his hand and buried his face in her ample bosom.

Hedding his façade, like a starving infant, he devoured her body.

"'Good boy, aren't you? Were you hungry?'"

Without a shred of disgust, he accepted everything.

Her words, a siren's call, were like a drug.

She embraced him generously, stroked his head, and he clung to her relentlessly.

A being of insignificant stature.

'Such a sweet child. Such a pitiful child... Oh, how weak you are.'

She felt deep sympathy for the creature before her, for its vulnerability.

Compared to her prized "son," his weakness only intensified her compassion.

And she thought:

She would make him strong.

She would shower him with her boundless maternal love.

That was her purpose, her destiny, her power.

And that is precisely why...

'Let's see... If I remember correctly, at times like this... Ah, yes! With gratitude for all life... ITADAKIMAAASU~♪'

With a cheerful hum, she borrowed the appropriate words from her beloved "son's" knowledge.

As a kotodama (言霊; word-soul), the phrase etched the pitiful creature's fate into the fabric of the world, sealing it.

And then—

Squish, crunch, munch...

Slurp, squelch, grind...

She embraced the child, feeding it her milk, then crushing its skull and lapping up the brains.

Even so, until the very end, the child was filled with the utmost bliss....

'Gulp gulp. Lick. ...Phew, full full! Well then, my little ones, shall we go?'

The meaty goddess, in a good mood, resumed her march towards their reunion.

With a wet, heavy sound, a red-black mass was expelled from her body, letting out a beast-like roar as it slithered off into the distance.

The goddess showed no sign of concern. Whether she had noticed it or not... remained a mystery.

But such things didn't matter in the slightest.

A mother's love is always equal for all her children.

And yet... it is often the most troublesome child who becomes the dearest.

In other words...

'My precious little "boy"♪ Mama will come to you right away, you know♪'

Her voice, dripping with sweetness—syrupy, pure, and filled with unconditional love—

reverberated through the corridors as a Hex (呪; a spell woven with cursed intent).

* * *

I punched.

I kicked.

I swept them aside.

I cleaved through flesh and bone.

I struck.

I hammered down.

I sent bodies flying.

I knocked them back without mercy.

I thrust forward.

I tore limbs apart.

I snapped bones clean through.

I ripped them to shreds.

I swung wide.

I crushed their defenses.

I scraped through their wards.

I shattered their barriers.

I twisted their joints.

I dropped them where they stood.

I dislocated arms from sockets.

I dragged them down into the dirt.

And yet—

"No matter how many I take down... there's no end to them!!"

'(｡･з･)ﾉｼ Persistent guys are such a turn-off!'

"Tell me about it!!"

A roar answered back—an affirmation.

I drove my foot into the gut of a Juuyaku Ichishen, sending him crashing backwards. His body slammed into the others behind him, a tangle of limbs and curses.

But even before the heap of bodies hit the ground, three more broke through—

Juuyaku Ichishen, moving as one.

They leapt over their fallen comrades with silent precision.