Mob Yandere

[Part 2/4]

Fists clenched tight,

arms thrust forward,

knife-hand strikes gleaming with cursed energy,

they came for me.

'(≧す≦) Papa, Jet streaming is attached!'

"Stop ittt!!!"

I deliberately went forward and punched one person to take the lead.

Taking advantage of the second person, I elbow, defeats the second person, then plays a hand sword to remove the shoulder of the last person and thrusts him.

Juuyaku Ichishen approached from the front and back, from the right and left, and from the top.

I literally use my strength to push it down with the remnants of the youkai transformation.

There was no end to them.

How many Juuyaku Ichishen had I already taken down?

The number of Juuyaku clan heads in my sight exceeded fifty.

And even those who fell returned—patched up with spiritual elixirs or revived through unknown techniques.

Even the one whose shoulder I had dislocated moments ago had borrowed strength from his kin, snapped his bones back into place, and rejoined the fight as if pain was a foreign concept.

They felt nothing.

"You only have yourself to blame, you know."

"Indeed. If you don't finish them properly, it's only natural they'll come back."

"Your technique is flawed. Bare hands will only get you so far."

"That dagger—(tantō)—is it just for show?"

They surged forward in unison, voices layering over one another like a relentless chant.

Their words came as they closed in, not a moment's hesitation between attack and inquiry—

A perfectly synchronized onslaught.

"You're all so annoying! You think you're so confident fighting unarmed... Whoa!!?"

'Σ(＞Д＜) It's a trap!?'

As I spat back a retort, my left arm was caught by chains just after delivering a backfist to the face.

I turned my gaze.

One of the Juuyaku Ichishen was ensnaring me with a weighted chain.

If that weren't enough, 4 more wielded the same weapon.

They were lurking in the background.

"Yes. So, I think it's time to move to the next phase. Please look forward to it."

Juuyaku Ichishen and the others answered in calm, polite voices, like it was nothing special.

I surveyed my surroundings.

Everyone starts grabbing their weapons all at once—katanas, spears, bows, naginatas, kunai, shuriken, bo staffs, even things like the seven-section staff, spiked clubs, and chain sickles. There are blowguns, iron fists, and clawed gloves too... way too many types to name.

Every single weapon, no matter how simple or fancy, was clearly a cursed tool, made to bring misfortune and death.

"...Sorry. I lied. Can we do this barehanded instead?"

"A careless mouth brings misfortune."

"Damn youuuuu!!"

'(＾ω＾) Don't use strong words!'

I yanked hard, snapping the chains that held me. Then, without thinking, I swung them around and smashed Juuyaku Ichishen in the face just as he came at me from a blind spot with a hidden weapon.

That was the signal.

All the other Juuyaku Ichishen rushed me at once. Their attacks were even fiercer than before—no mercy at all.

And me? I had no choice but to fight back just as hard.

"Oh? You call that holding back?"

"You sure sound confident!!"

"Or maybe you're just full of yourself!!?"

"──Argh!! You guys never shut up...!!"

After thoroughly slaughtering the members of this house, it's not the same as simply killing one or 2 more, and even if they were just copies of Juuyaku Ichishen, made from some crazy jutsu... it didn't matter.

Rather, that's precisely why I didn't want to kill.

...If what that guy said is true, then these foolishly numerous Juuyaku Ichishen are creatures stuffed with processed souls in cultivated bodies, and the victims are the ones who provided the material.

Could they be saved? I didn't know. But I wasn't the kind of person who could kill them without feeling anything.

Moreover, it felt as though they were shields of the soul, making even the master seem like a coward...

"You're soft! That's why we can trip you up!!"

"What...? Ah!?"

'Σ(＞Д＜) YAAHH!?"

I dodged the leg sweep and crushed Ichishen's jaw with a punch. I landed on my feet—but then they slipped out from under me.

"Blood...!?"

In the middle of the brutal fight, I slipped. My foot slid on the blood spilling out from Juuyaku Ichishen and his copies.

It must've been something they did to themselves during their... "cultivation." Probably altered their own blood somehow.

The fresh blood on the floor wasn't drying at all. It was smooth—way too smooth. Almost like oil. No matter how much of it there was, it just made the ground slick as hell.

"Ugh, seriously—this isn't the time to be thinking about that...!! Crap!!?"

'(>ω

You could call it a stampede.

It looked like a swarm of ants rushing to spilled sugar.

A huge pack of Juuyaku Ichishen came crashing in, piling on top of me.

They were trying to crush me flat.

I was about to get squashed...!?

"Ugh, !!? Urrggh...!!? Don't mess with me!!!?"

"""Whoooa, oh!!?"""

And then, I got blasted into the air.

I hadn't just fed the horagai (conch shell used to store spells) with napalm.

Nope. What blew up just now was the leftover stuff I loaded earlier.

Probably the last of the onsen mizu (sacred hot spring water sealed with pressure) I gathered back on Anma Mountain.

It shot me up once, and after that, it was pretty much out... but who cares?

At least I escaped from that sweaty old-man "push-crush manju" attack.

'(＾∀＾) I FEEL LIKE I'M FLYING!'

"I know! And listen...!!"

I yelled back at the dumb kumo-shikigami (spider spirit familiar),

Then, right when I stopped flying up and started falling,

I stabbed my sakura-tantō into the wall.

It scraped down hard with a loud GARRRGH,

And finally stopped me.

It held me to the wall like a climbing pick.

Down below, all the Juuyaku Ichishen were staring up at me.

"So, you think you've escaped danger?"

"How naive. Way too naive."

"In that spot, it's impossible to dodge tōbutsu (flying weapons), right?"

Then all at once, the Juuyaku Ichishen drew their blowguns and bows.

They aimed those arrows, likely painted with a plethora of substances, one after another into the air, directed at me.

They flew up, fast and sharp—

But then my shimenawa (sacred rope) whip lashed out

And smacked them all aside.

"Huh!?"

"Is that a Tengu's long rope?"

"To handle a monster's curse tool to that extent, truly impressive!"

"I don't feel happy being praised...!!"

'(＾ω＾) Praise me more, my master!'

That was the long rope (shimenawa), praising itself for smacking away those arrows.

I guess my ki (spiritual energy) must taste pretty good,

Because this rope was fighting hard to keep me alive.

Sometimes it even moved on its own to protect me.

I guess you could call this a symbiotic relationship.

But I doubt it's out of kindness or anything.

At least it's not one of that dumb spider's (kumo-shikigami) underlings.

...Right?

(Anyway, the problem is... I'm still stuck!!)

The danger of being captured is gone for now, but it's just a temporary delay.

If reinforcements arrive, or if they get specialized weapons, it's all over.

"Napalm is... ha, it's out, isn't it?"

I'd used up all the napalm I fed the horagai (spell storage conch shell).

The onsen mizu (sacred hot spring water) was gone too.

The horn was completely empty.

At least, there's nothing here to turn the tide.

Youkai transformation?

Spare me.

Even once a day is too much of a burden, you know...?

"...!!?"

'(>ω

Right when I was freaking out over being stuck,

The air started shaking.

A disturbing rumble echoed in the distance.

"What, is...?"

'(´･ω･) Is this the feeling before a doujin?'

"What is that?"

I had a bad feeling about this weird phenomenon.

And that dumb spider's random jokes weren't helping.

I looked down at the Juuyaku Ichishen puppets.

Maybe they did something?

But no,

They had the same serious, worried faces.

Even they didn't know what was coming.

"You've arrived."

"Hmm. Faster than anticipated."

"Disappointing. Time's up."

The heads of the family, speaking to each other as if they were already satisfied with the outcome.

Their air of self-assurance is almost unsettling.

I furrow my brow.

Right after that, something smashed through the ceiling.

"Whoa!?"

'(≧ヘ≦) Ew! Bugs! I hate bugs!!'

Amidst the rain of falling ceiling debris, I unsheathed my Tantō and descended to the ground.

But honestly, That's not why I landed. That's not what made me move.

"Earthworm-paisen...!?"

'(. >д

"You don't even wear clothes to melt, dumb spider!!"

It was raining. Not water. But worms. A freaking downpour of giant earthworms.

Even while snapping at my dumb kumo-shikigami (spider spirit familiar), I was left speechless.

Idiot, this can't be...!!

"No way, that evil goddess...!?!!!?"

The next second, vines shot up.

The plants in the botanical garden extended, weaving a vine canopy.

The earthworms received the rainy season.

One by one, the earthworms slipped out through the gaps.

They clung to the canopy, infesting it.

"...This is only buying us time."

"That hunger... It's insane. Worse than the legends."

"They're digging into the cracks in the stone... collapsing the whole place..."

Perhaps through a joint spell, they wove the vine canopy.

Even understanding how bad things were, they stayed creepily calm. And then—