...?
What the hell was that?! A long, brownish-red object with a beige note attached?! Looking closer, it seemed like it had a violet fingernail.
Wait a minute! That was a finger!
Furrowing my brows, I hesitantly reached out for it.
No sooner had I touched it than I suddenly felt a hot tug at the back of my neck.
Fuck!
I wasn't alone anymore!
I abruptly held my breath. Stopped every single movement.
Around me, I could feel threatening presences hovering.
I would have preferred to avoid it, but I risked a glance up toward the ceiling.
And what I saw made me swallow hard.
Cursed spirits!
Massive numbers of cursed spirits!
They hissed. No, they panted and growled in a frenzy.
Whatever had driven me to it, I grabbed the so-called finger at the last second and pressed it tightly against my décolletage.
Trapped in fear, I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for nothing but further hellish pain... until death.
But...
I didn't feel anything. Nothing but my already burning leg.
Satoru?!
With all the courage I could muster, I cautiously looked around – straight into the grotesque faces of the monsters. But no sign of Satoru. Let alone anyone else.
The cursed spirits around me maintained a... reasonable distance?!
"W... T... F...," I stammered, astonished but suspicious, "why aren't they attacking?! What's going on here?!"
Sharp-witted but bathing in fear, I observed this abnormal scene. It seemed like a test of courage for them to approach me. One or two distorted figures dared to inch closer, only to then retreat with a growl.
I had no plausible explanation for this, but without a doubt, I suspected it had to do with the finger. Still, I had to put that aside for now! I needed to seize the moment while they apparently feared me and finally finish what I had to!
Without thinking, I tried to get up, only to be immediately greeted by pain from my injured leg. Grimacing in pain, I clutched my thigh to keep the discomfort from crawling further up. On a scale of 1 to 10, I was easily at a 12!
Still! I had to get out of here!
Painfully and with effort, I gathered myself and propped myself up on the stable ground. I quickly grabbed the scythe from the floor and realized I needed to keep an eye on that strange finger, so I tucked it into my skirt pocket.
I made my way toward the escalator. With the excruciating pain, I barely cared if the cursed spirits attacked me or not! I felt like screaming! Crying!
Then it hit me out of nowhere.
Cherry.
Why didn't I call out?!
Because stubborn me was too close to my goal, trying to do it alone, and it was already too late for that! Grimacing with pain, I limped toward the now-shut escalator, my leg fiercely rebelling with every step. Gradually, a dizzying sensation overtook me.
Damn! I must have lost too much blood by now.
I also noticed that I was starting to feel hotter. Hotter in a way that didn't come from my leg, but more from my chest and head.
Feverish would have been the best description for it.
Hopefully, that cursed spirit hadn't poisoned me! Or worse, infected me!
Dazed, I turned my attention to the cursed spirits hovering around me, still seemingly avoiding me.
But the number of them had doubled by now. At least, that's what I thought in my increasingly foggy perception.
Step by step, I dragged myself down the escalator – stopping for a brief rest in the lower third. With waning strength, I leaned against the railing, closed my eyes, and took shallower breaths than before.
Come on, Mayu! You're almost there...
I gathered my last bit of strength, looked back up toward the exit door, which wasn't too far away, and sluggishly continued my way toward safety.