Hellscape Illustration; The Two Girls in Someone's Sights

But...

But there's no such "what if"!

Yotsuya Miko's eyes flickered, but she pretended to remain calm and looked towards the street ahead.

The seemingly peaceful, tranquil, and bustling street, in Yotsuya Miko's eyes, revealed another face hidden beneath its tranquility:

A "Leg Fiend" with nine arms and nine legs, no head or body, and entirely composed of limbs pieced together.

Countless dark red, sticky tentacles, densely packed together, intertwined and bound together, forming a "Yarn Ball".

A "Greasy Old Man" with a human form, empty facial features, various scars all over his body, and surrounded by black mist.

It seems to be a hybrid of a fly and a human, possessing the lower body of a fly and the head of a human, and is always busy scurrying around and flying everywhere, hence the name "Fly-Man".

A gigantic head resembling a hot air balloon, with countless human-sized heads growing below it, each head bearing an expression of extreme pain. The identical heads create a bizarre and terrifying sight.

(Yotsuya Miko:... That's why I want to release my emotions!)

This scene is like a Hellscape Illustration that would reset your Sanity to zero at a glance.

Yet, this kind of Hellscape Illustration was an extremely ordinary part of Yotsuya Miko's daily life.

Since that day, she has been like an outsider who has entered another world. In order not to be discovered, she has to carefully hide herself every day, afraid that she will be exposed if she is not careful.

After all, once discovered, neither the ghost world (being hunted by ghosts) nor human society (being dissected and studied) will have a place to stand.

Thinking of this, Yotsuya Miko sighed Youyou, and a sentence she had stumbled upon online involuntarily came to mind:

My life has been like walking on thin ice. Will I ever be able to reach the other side?

"Miko? Miko?!"

Just as Yotsuya Miko was feeling sentimental, a pair of hands suddenly appeared in front of Yotsuya Miko, waving and pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Hmm? Oh! Hana, is something the matter?"

Yotsuya Miko from her reverie, Yotsuya Miko looked at Yuri River Hua waving in front of her as if waking from a dream, and tilted her head to ask.

"Miko, did you not sleep well last night? You look drowsy, like you haven't slept well."

Yuri River Hua noticed that Yotsuya Miko's dark circles had worsened and asked her with some concern.

"Ah, yeah, after going to the haunted house last week, I've been having nightmares all week and haven't been sleeping well."

Not wanting Yuri River Hua to worry, Yotsuya Miko continued along with what she was saying.

Yuri River Hua:...

If you knew you'd have nightmares, you shouldn't have gone to the haunted house!

I really don't understand why someone who's so afraid of ghosts is so enthusiastic about haunted house adventures.

However, they were still best friends after all. Even as Yuri River Hua was speechless, she didn't forget to Yotsuya Miko.

"Why don't we go back and rest for a bit? Anyway, we can play anytime..."

Before Yuri River Hua could finish speaking, Yotsuya Miko interrupted her directly:

"No need. Since we're already all ready to go out, let's go back after we've had our fun."

"Don't worry, I'm not actually that sleepy, it's fine."

"Ah... okay."

Yuri River Hua originally wanted to say a few more words of advice, but when she saw Yotsuya Miko's determined expression, she couldn't help but be taken aback, and then nodded, and had no choice but to agree to the arrangement.

After this little incident, the two continued walking towards the amusement Paradise.

On the way, in order to help Yotsuya Miko cheer up and clear her mind, Yuri River Hua walked while holding Yotsuya Miko's arm and chattering about all sorts of strange and interesting things.

Before they knew it, the two had gradually approached the amusement Paradise.

However, the two, who were heading towards the amusement Paradise, did not notice what happened when they passed a small shop.

A pair of bloodshot, crimson eyes, filled with madness and longing, were staring longingly at the backs of Yuri River Hua and Yotsuya Miko.

"Hiss... ha... hiss... ha..."

"This taste, this taste, this taste is absolutely wonderful!!!"

"Aaaaaah!!!"

"Delicious, absolutely divine... I never expected to stumble upon such a 'rare treasure' just by strolling around! Looks like my luck is as good as ever today!"

"It's decided, lunch and dinner today will be for the two of you..."

"Hahaha..."

The figure screamed wildly, and behind him, due to extreme excitement, several tentacle-like things unconsciously emerged and waved excitedly in the air.

Inhuman!

If Miko saw this figure, she would definitely be terrified on the spot.

She probably never imagined that, besides Evil Spirits, there could be other non-human beings in this world.

However, Miko was unaware of this at the moment and continued chatting with Yuri River Hua as they walked towards the amusement Paradise.

Because the amusement Paradise that Yotsuya Miko and Yuri River Hua are going to is an amusement Paradise that operates 24 hours a day.

Therefore, in order to prevent disturbing residents, the amusement Paradise was located on the outskirts of the city during its construction.

Yotsuya Miko's home is near the police station, close to the city center.

Therefore, the journey from Yotsuya Miko's house to the amusement Paradise can be described as quite long.

Therefore, in order to speed up the journey, Yuri River Hua suggested that they take a detour and start from the side road.

This way, you can get to the amusement Paradise as quickly as possible.

Yotsuya Miko thought about the proposal for a moment, then nodded in agreement without offering any opinion.

Since the ultimate destination is the amusement Paradise anyway, there's practically no difference between the main road and the side road.

As for the fact that the path is remote and there might be some danger...

Yotsuya Miko felt that there couldn't be anything more dangerous in this world than those Evil Spirits, could there?

Even if they did encounter some bad guys, Yotsuya Miko felt that with the pepper spray, lime powder, and baton she had prepared, escaping with Hana shouldn't be a problem.

(For those unaware: Who on earth would carry something like this around when they go out shopping?!)

Yotsuya Miko: Hmm... better safe than sorry, just for peace of mind, after all, I'm a girl too!

So, when the two arrived at a small alley, they went straight into it.

As locals, the two women naturally knew how to get to the vicinity of the amusement Paradise as quickly as possible.

This alley is the most crucial point, as it can shorten their total journey by half.

Therefore, the two women, who wanted to get to the amusement Paradise as quickly as possible, naturally wouldn't pass up such an opportunity.

And just after the two women entered the alley.

There was someone following the two women the whole time.

Upon witnessing this scene, a surge of overwhelming joy welled up within me:

"This is... wonderful!!!"

"We were originally planning to wait for a better opportunity to make our move, but who would have thought that the two of them would actually come to a place like this on their own?"

"This is truly a godsend!"

He kept talking, but his actions didn't stop at all.

The moment the two women entered the alley, this "person" walked into the alley without the slightest hesitation.

Next... it's harvest time!

However, perhaps because he was too excited about the two "exquisite delicacies" he was about to obtain, this "person" did not notice.

Not far from him, a young man wearing glasses, dressed in light gray casual clothes, and carrying a bundle of vegetables saw this scene.

The young man with glasses frowned as he watched this "person" follow the two women into the alley.

"Is this... on the way?"

"No, that's unlikely. The man only started acting after the two girls entered. This was clearly a premeditated act of stalking."

"Is he a stalker following a pervert? Or a petty thug planning to rob him?"

After thinking for a moment, the bespectacled young man made up his mind to get involved in this meddlesome matter:

"Never mind, now that we've seen it, we can't just ignore it."

"These two girls are about the same age as Xiao Mai, they should still be students, so they definitely won't have an advantage when facing that man..."

"Fine, since that's the case, let's go lend a hand!"

As he spoke, the young man carried the groceries and walked into the alley.

As I was about to enter the alley, I felt it wouldn't be safe to go empty-handed, so I picked up a brick-sized stone from the ground.

Meanwhile, Yotsuya Miko and Yuri River Hua, who were walking ahead, were still unaware of the impending crisis and continued to walk enthusiastically toward their destination.

Just as the two reached a corner and turned into it...

Call...

A gust of evil wind swept in.

A sudden hand chop, carrying a sharp, malevolent wind, struck with unparalleled precision and angle.

Before the two could react, the blow struck Yuri River Hua's neck.

Under the attacker's exquisite control of force, Yuri River Hua was not harmed at all, and did not even have time to react before being knocked unconscious by the hand chop.

The whole thing happened with lightning speed. By the time Yotsuya Miko reacted, her best friend had already closed her eyes and collapsed to the ground.

Upon seeing this, Yotsuya Miko, without even thinking, immediately threw the lime powder she had been clutching tightly in her hand since entering the alley behind her.

Whoosh...

The white quicklime powder instantly turned into countless dust particles the moment it left Yotsuya Miko's hand, like a cloud of mist, carried by the wind and scattered behind Yotsuya Miko.

The attacker behind her clearly had no idea what was going on.

Yotsuya Miko actually possessed such a powerful weapon, and she used it without hesitation.

Before you know it, your face is covered in a cloud of quicklime.

Quicklime.

It belongs to the category of strong alkalis and has strong irritant and corrosive properties.

It has a strong irritant effect on the respiratory tract; inhalation of quicklime dust can cause chemical pneumonia.

It is also highly irritating to the eyes and skin, and can cause burns.

If taken orally, it can irritate and burn the digestive tract.

All of these are the effects that quicklime powder can produce, therefore...

The attacker, whose face was covered in quicklime, naturally experienced the unique irritation and corrosiveness of quicklime through his eyes and skin.

"Ah!!!"

"It hurts so much! My eyes! My face!!!"

"How dare you treat me like this with just a piece of food?!"

"You scum, I'll devour you piece by piece!!!"

I've been infected!

Hearing the cries of pain and roars behind her, Yotsuya Miko's tense nerves immediately relaxed.

Although I don't know who the person behind me is, or what he meant by those words.

However, getting quicklime in your eyes is no joke. The pain is secondary; if it's not treated promptly, it can lead to blindness.

Therefore, the threat from the man behind her was completely irrelevant to Yotsuya Miko.

After all, from the moment he was infected, he was already unable to resist.

However, to avoid the creature behind him resorting to desperate measures, and to avoid the coverage area of the quicklime powder.

Without turning her head, Yotsuya Miko unhesitatingly picked up the unconscious Yuri River Hua from the ground and ran towards the end of the alley.

Only when I reached the next bend did I have the leisure to look back.

As expected, Yotsuya Miko saw the face of the person who attacked her.

The man who was about to attack them was wearing a white suit, a red tie around his neck, slicked-back hair, and an expensive-looking watch.

At first glance, he gives off the impression of a successful person.

Judging from his appearance alone, no one would ever imagine that such a filthy heart was hidden beneath his glamorous exterior.

Yotsuya Miko felt no pity for the man who was writhing on the ground in pain because of quicklime in his eyes and threatening to make her pay.

Although I don't know why this man attacked me and Hana, it all boils down to two things: money and beauty.

Aside from these two, Yotsuya Miko didn't feel that she had anything else that this "person" could covet.

And if the two of them were really captured by him...

The outcome was predictable without even thinking about it.

To be honest, if Yotsuya Miko hadn't never killed anyone and was too afraid to kill, she would have wanted to keep this man alive forever.

Although he wouldn't dare to kill, given the man's behavior, sending him to prison for a few years wouldn't be a problem.

With that thought in mind, Yotsuya Miko took out her phone almost without hesitation and dialed the police, ready to let the law punish the criminal.