Volume 4 - CH 4.1

Story IV

There was a corpse, a very untidy corpse.

Their head, legs, head lying

All over the room.

There once was a girl in this room.

The boy went out.

He had forgotten the fact that the fox was a beast.

The girl died helplessly like Little Red Riding Hood.

He couldn’t shield her.

Sometimes the misfortunes that befall people can be completely outrageous.

It doesn’t matter if they’re young or old, rich or poor.

Whether human or monsters.

A truly heartbreaking story.

So if you wish it, the Lord shall give you grace.

Hallelujah, hallelujah.

May you be showered with joy.

I found myself sitting alone on the couch.

Looking at my watch, I saw that it was seven o’clock. But it was already bright outside, the sun shining brightly in the pale blue sky. I walked over to the window and closed the slightly-open curtains. The room turned dim. Darkness fell on the rusty-red carpet.

No human body parts lay on the floor.

The body was gone, and only a few pieces of flesh remained.

Yusuke was nowhere to be seen. In fact, Mayuzumi too was gone.

Hazy memories of last night returned. Like a flashback, I saw myself picking up a torn arm. Holding the left arm to my chest, I picked up the right, then tucked them under my chin as I gathered the feet.

What in the world was I doing yesterday?

I looked down and saw that my shirt was stained with blood around the chest. It wasn’t a dream. In that case, my memory of what happened afterwards was also correct. Enduring the vertigo, I rose to my feet and started walking out of the room.

What did I do with the dismembered body parts?

I headed for the kitchen, grabbed the handle of the refrigerator, and pulled it open.

Blood and bodily fluids spilled from inside.

Blackened blood and excrement from torn intestines pooled at my feet. Soft internal organs lay crushed under a torso clothed in a black dress with a rose motif. Arms and legs lined the door shelves instead of plastic bottles. Hands in laced gloves looked like distorted flowers. A human body was divided into several parts and kept like mere pieces of meat.

Mayuzumi’s body was stored in the refrigerator.

I did this, apparently.

Yusuke’s decision to leave without saying anything was correct. I should thank his animalistic instincts. Had he called out to me carelessly, who knows what I would’ve done to him?

After all, I stuffed a human’s corpse inside a refrigerator.

I wondered if I’d gone crazy, but got no answer. I could have gone insane a long time ago. I was well-aware of my current mental state.

Maybe I subconsciously thought it would prevent decay. While there was air conditioning in the apartment, it was currently summer. Microbes would immediately devour a dead body.

Holding my breath, I closed the door, locking up the corpse with the cold air. The thick smell of iron and decay faded away. Suddenly, my vision tumbled. My legs gave way and I fell to my knees with a loud thud. My bones ached. I didn’t intend to sit down.

But I couldn’t get up.

“Haha… Hahaha…”

A soft laugh spilled from my mouth, while tears rolled down my cheeks onto the floor. But my heart was empty. Tears containing no emotions flowed endlessly.

…Papa?

The child in my belly called to me. I looked down and saw my wound ripped wide open. There was a thick smell of blood in the air. Even if I stuffed the body in the fridge, I would never escape this smell.

The sweet aroma in the room went away with the smell of iron.

Then it dawned on me.

I wanted to put this apartment back to the way it was.

Back when it was filled with the smell of chocolate.

“…This is stupid,” I spat.

What would that even do?

But the tears didn’t stop falling. Feeling a sudden chill, I hugged my knees. Pain jolted through my cramped belly, and the child, squeezed inside, cried out in agony. I forced to change my position nevertheless. Blood soaked my shirt, but I ignored it and rolled onto my back.

The vibration of the refrigerator behind me was annoying.

Where did the card go? I just realized that it had slipped through my hand. I had to look for it, but I couldn’t move my body properly. Yet I couldn’t just sit there.

I had to go and help Shirayuki.

Yes. I had to save her before she ended up like this. I had to protect her, at least. I had to get to her. I had to get to Shirayuki before she was torn limb from limb.

“…Ugh.”

I hurled, spewing vomit all over the floor as I coughed vehemently. Tears streamed down my face. In my mind something exploded over and over again. Emotions surged through me. But I didn’t know what kind of emotions exactly.

Was it sorrow, anger, or grief?

Where should I direct the heat that was rising within me?

I pondered over matters once more, trying to bear the waves of emotions crashing through me. It felt like if I racked my brains, I could keep my composure.

There was a corpse tucked away in the fridge.

The shredded remains of a human being, like a doll broken by a child after playing with it.

I clung to the possibility that it wasn’t Mayuzumi.

Its jaws had been ripped apart, the tongue pulled out. Both eyeballs had been gouged out and placed in a box of chocolate truffles. Even the scalp had been peeled off, hair and all. All of those were in a plastic bag, cooling in the fridge.

The face was unrecognizable.

If it wasn’t Mayuzumi, then who was it?

Someone in Mayuzumi’s clothes was dead in her apartment. I couldn’t understand what it meant. There was no one to take her place. No corpse to be used as a substitute. The thread was too thin to cling to.

Above all, the fox would not mistake Mayuzumi Azaka for someone else.

That ruthlessly slaughtered body could only be hers.

Run away, and then what?

Mayuzumi Azaka was dead.

My thoughts ceased.

I resigned myself to the mechanical vibrations of the refrigerator. But after a while I stood up. It felt like my body was moving on its own. My senses were so dull that my body didn’t feel real. I could hear my footsteps. I only just realized that I was barefoot. I probably took off my socks after stepping on the innards or something.

I returned to the living room and looked around blankly.

“Card… card… card,” I mumbled as I searched the floor with my hands.

My hand touched something hard, and I picked it up. A severed finger. Its nail was coated with black nail polish. I tucked it silently into my pocket, intending to put in the fridge with the other cuts of meat later. I was aware that this was unusual behavior, and I couldn’t bring myself to deny it.

Was this how Aya felt when she buried her friend?

It was as if a part of me had died.

“Where’s the card?”

I checked the table. Then I saw it.

An abandoned chessboard. A black queen, cut in half, lay on top of its glistening, majestic surface. There was a piece of paper beside it, as though offered by someone mourning.

It bore words written in red crayon.

There was a corpse, a very untidy corpse.

Their head, legs, head, lying

All over the room.

There once was a girl in this room.

The boy went out.

He had forgotten the fact that the fox was a beast.

The girl died helplessly like Little Red Riding Hood.

He couldn’t shield her.

Sometimes the misfortunes that befall people can be completely outrageous.

It doesn’t matter if they’re young or old, rich or poor.

Whether human or monsters.

A truly heartbreaking story.

So if you wish it, the Lord shall give you grace.

Hallelujah, hallelujah.

May you be showered with joy.

It was obvious who wrote this.

I also knew who killed her.

Who Killed Cook Robin?

That question need not be asked.

“…Asato.”

Then I understood.

This was the same as last time.

I let go of Aya‘s hand and walked out of the room, and she died as a result. It was the same now. This whole thing happened because I went out without thinking. I said I would be her shield, but failed to be one.

I knew that her body was that of a young girl.

And I left her alone, without hesitation.

“It’s your attitude that’s allowed all of this to happen.”

My vision was strangely warped. Mocking words loomed in front of me.

Hallelujah hallelujah.

May you be showered with joy.

Bam!

With a crashing sound, the table flew through the air.

Chess pieces flew in all directions. Sweet chocolate scattered on the floor. My skin throbbed, and my stomach was pounding. My legs trembled, my whole body convulsed. Then suddenly, there was stillness.

An abrupt silence filled my ears. Slowly I lifted my head. Blood poured out of my lips and trickled down my cheeks. My clenched teeth were chattering. Reaching into my pocket, I lit a cigarette, took a long drag, and breathed out, all the while shaking from the pain.

I knew where to direct my emotions now. The needle had surpassed the maximum setting.

No more grieving, no more crying, no more cowering.

There would be no more whining, or wishing for death’s sweet embrace.

Finally, my vision cleared. I walked away with a cigarette in my mouth and picked up the card that had fallen in the corner. It was in such an obvious place. I looked around the bloody room, wondering why I didn’t find it before. I glanced at the curtains that were covered with palm prints.

Welcome back. I clicked my tongue.

I took out the finger from my pocket and placed it on the floor.

I doubt I would return to this apartment ever again.

I had no reason to be here anymore. I had nothing more to do.

She was not here. All that was left was the corpse in the fridge.

I found it terribly heart-wrenching. My chest felt like it was going to burst from the intense pain. But I shook it off. Too many had been killed. They had died for the fox’s amusement.

Then there was only one thing left for me to do now.

The child—Uka—laughed in approval.

I walked away with rage burning inside me.

To land the punch that I failed to hit that day.

I decided to kill the fox.