Volume Three: Academy in Total Rampage, Chapter 243: Margaret (Part Two)

I touched something sharp.

It was a large piece of sharded glass.

It's as sharp as a dagger.

Just as the man's face pressed against her chest—

Click!

He grabbed something and then stabbed it.

"Gurgle...?"

The man's assault stopped.

At the same time, warm liquid sprayed out; it smelled of rust.

The man slid off her, convulsing and making indistinct gurgling sounds.

A large piece of broken glass was deeply embedded in his neck, where his carotid artery would be.

"Why... Waaah..."

His convulsing body slammed against the wall with a thud, shattering glass and gushing blood from his neck like a small fountain.

"Margaret..."

The man's cloudy eyes remained fixed on Margaret as he slid down the wall, leaving a glaring trail of blood. His throat gurgled, one hand scratching his neck, the other trembling as it pointed at Margaret before falling limply to the ground. His hunched body lay there, exhaling more than inhaling.

Those murky, crazed eyes remained fixed on Margaret.

"..."

Margaret stood up, trembling.

Before I knew it, another piece of broken glass appeared in my hand, even sharper than the previous one.

She didn't say a word, only kept breathing heavily, as if she were possessed, and staggered toward the dying man.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

The girl's eyes gradually filled with madness.

They have weapons.

Before her stood the man called her father, who had once beaten, abused, and ravaged her, now powerless to resist.

"It's all... because of you!"

Then, the atrocities began.

The shards of glass slashed down, still aimed at the neck.

Following the previous stabs, he slashed, stabbed, poked, and cut, each strike drawing a large gush of blood.

"It's all your fault... it's all your fault... it's all your fault!!!"

Margaret nearly went mad. At first, she only aimed for the neck, but then it turned into a chaotic hacking spree, continuing even as her hands were cut deep into the glass, exposing the bone. The ground was covered in blood, and the man was long dead, his body covered in wounds of all sizes, his internal organs exposed.

"Haa... haa... haaaah..."

With a clatter, shards of blood-stained glass fell to the ground. Margaret staggered to her feet, backing away, looking at her father's corpse.

"Haa... Hoo..."

Then he looked at his own hands.

There were more than one very deep wound on his hand, revealing the finger bones, and the blood on it was a mixture of his own and his father's.

"... Killed... ha... haha..."

He killed someone himself.

He killed his own father.

Using shards of glass, he inexplicably Earth Spike the carotid artery, continuing his actions even after the man was completely dead, venting his frustration over and over again.

"I killed someone... I... I killed someone... Hahaha... Hahahaha..."

Looking at the horrific scene in the dormitory, she let out a twisted laugh, her bloodied hands scratching her hair, her eyes vacant.

Murder.

I, who have always been weak, actually killed my own father.

Her body was already defiled.

Another incompetent good-for-nothing, a submissive and weakling.

The first time I rebelled against something in my life, the result was that I became a murderer.

Both their bodies and minds are corrupted.

Murderers must pay with their lives.

Does one who kills their own kind, who is also a direct blood relative, still have the right to be considered a human being?

"I'm so sorry, Sister Sakura Dance... but... I couldn't help it, I couldn't help it... It's your fault... for not coming to save me..."

She was incoherent, her reason and will almost completely collapsed, and only instinct compelled her to stagger out of the dormitory and head towards the upper floors.

Her father's mangled corpse was still watching her from inside the room.

"I'm sorry... my sister too... Monet too... Maybe someone like me, a piece of trash among humans, shouldn't have been born into this world... Ha, hahaha... So, so, so--"

Several kilometers away, Xiao Wu, who was dozing on the sofa, suddenly sprang up as if she were on a spring.

"What's wrong Sister Sakura Dance?" Monet, who was standing nearby, was startled.

"Hey Monet... Margaret went to her old dorm to get something, right?"

"Ah, um!"

"..."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing much, it's just... I suddenly feel uneasy."

"Feeling uneasy?"

"That's right... never mind, I'll go out and take a look. You stay here and watch the house!"

What happened next was something Xiao Wu didn't want to watch anymore, and she didn't dare to watch anymore.

Everything was so vivid; even if she didn't want to see it, the incredibly cruel scenes still haunted her mind.

The fiery sunset, myself running wildly, a figure on the rooftop, a girl with her back to the setting sun, and the lip-reading she conveys—

"I'm sorry... Sister... I... really am... a filthy person... a piece of trash among the weak who can never find happiness... Haha... I've... completely..."

She gave a sorrowful smile in Xiao Wu's direction.

Then, he jumped off the roof.

It was just a tiny difference, only a few centimeters, and the girl's long hair even brushed against her fingertips.

Ultimately, it was too late.

When they landed, the ground was already covered with a carpet of blood.

Flowers of blood and brains bloomed before her.

Flowers were in full bloom. The real Xiao Wu and the Xiao Wu from the memories overlapped at this moment, standing blankly in front of the building, looking at the girl's dismembered body. The part above the jaw was smashed into flesh, the spine was broken in two, the ribs were pierced through the chest, the limbs were bent in a strange direction, and blood was flowing out.

Xiao Wu watched all of this.

Past stains don't disappear; they only accumulate and grow larger over time.

The enemy I dare not face most comes from the past.

Then, the twisted corpse began to move.

Like a marionette, his movements were extremely stiff. His shattered knees forced him to prop himself up, his hands twitched, and his remaining throat and tongue emitted intermittent sounds.

"Why... why didn't you... come... to save me!"

"No, that's not right... I want to too... but..."

With a crack, the corpse stepped forward, and Xiao Wu a step back.

The usually assertive woman was now trembling uncontrollably.

"We agreed on something... Liar... Liar... It's all your fault..."

"No... I, I..."

The corpse pressed closer, and despite her slow pace, Xiao Wu staggered backward.

--No, I'm here, what's there to be afraid of!

It's just a memory; the idea of a corpse moving and demanding revenge is impossible! It's all fake!

Xiao Wu suddenly realized what was happening, steeled her resolve, and gritted her teeth, striking at Margaret's corpse.

Pfft!

The indestructible iron fist easily pierced through the corpse's chest, and a large mass of flesh and blood exploded out. However, the corpse did not stop, but remained in the position of having its chest pierced, tightly gripping Xiao Wu's arm!

"Sister... Sister! You think... this is all... an illusion?"

The corpse uttered words that sounded like both a rebuke and a mockery, its nails digging deep into Xiao Wu's arm, tearing her incredibly supple muscles as easily as paper.

"This is the past you least want to face... your regret... your guilt... your sins! To others it may seem like an illusion, but to you, sister... it is absolute reality!"

"No, no... Get away from me!!!"

Xiao Wu struggled to shake her arms, but couldn't break free! She stumbled back several steps, her heels hitting something soft, wet, and still warm from body heat—

"Saki... Mai!"

Covered in blood, Lucy suddenly grabbed her from behind and bit her! Xiao Wu, her mind a complete mess, struggled desperately, her glazed eyes searching for a way to escape, only to find herself trapped.

The surrounding scenery had changed again, with ruins everywhere, a sea of the Blood Sea and mountains of corpses, and all sorts of human bodies scattered on the ground. Just as Xiao Wu realized all this, new corpses began to move, swaying as they walked towards her.

"Urahara Sakura Dance...!"

"Urahara Mai Ryu -ryu's daughter--"

"... The mother's debts, the daughter's debts!"

"Die... die... die!"

Seeing this, even though Xiao Wu was already in a state of confusion, she understood where she was.

His own mother was a notorious serial killer who One Man Slaughtered Ten Cities.

This is my mother's masterpiece from back then.

"Die... die... die... bearing sin... die..."

The cries of the dead mingled, eventually becoming a chorus of death itself. Countless corpses surged forward, engulfing her; the pungent stench of blood and decay surrounded her. Countless teeth and claws tore at her body. Her consciousness grew increasingly blurred, her initial struggles ceased, leaving only one movement—

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

Her mouth opened and closed unconsciously. Facing countless dead, all she could do was apologize again and again, but of course, no one would pay any attention to her...

Consciousness had faded to its limit.

My whole body is falling into the abyss of darkness.

Killed by their own past.

That's roughly how it happened.

Is it over yet?

A voice asked her.

I looked up and saw long black hair and a white cheongsam—was it Haoyue?

Nonsense, I'm afraid I really can't...

"You better pull yourself together, you delinquent!"

Slap! A sharp pain shot through my face, like I'd been slapped.

... it hurts?

"It's supposed to hurt, that means you're still alive."

So what? Are you just here to laugh at us?

"Do I even need to look? From the moment I realized your overly kind nature, I knew this would be your fate. I hate kindness because kind people always carry too much on their shoulders, especially someone as indiscriminately kind as you. It's no wonder you get crushed in the long run."

... Kindness? Quite the opposite. If incompetence is a sin, then powerless kindness is worse than evil.

"Worse than evil? What do you mean by that?"

A new voice appeared, with long pink hair and red fingernails—was it Ye?

You all say I'm strong, but am I? I can't do anything. I live helplessly, like a drifting catkin in the wind, rejecting others' kindness, unable to protect the people who are important to me. I'm a complete failure. Tell me, what have I accomplished?

"You saved me."

--!?

The pink-haired girl immediately gave the answer.

It was so taken for granted that Xiao Wu caught off guard.

You, you're saying--

"Isn't that right? If you hadn't brought me the Serpent's Egg, I would have been finished."

But that was--

"And them too."

A new person has appeared; it's Xiao.

Behind her are children from World's Little Corner.

"They lived a miserable life before they met you, and you did so much for them, didn't you?"

"You brought joy back to them."

"Help them resolve their problems."

But I haven't fundamentally changed the situation at all! The weak remain weak!

"That's enough!"

This time, it was the children who spoke.

"It's okay if people outside dislike you and you can't make friends!"

"Sister, didn't you give us a place to stay?"

"To occupy a small corner in this vast world, a place where we can breathe..."

"I've made friends here!"

"The food was delicious! The bed was very comfortable!"

"At least I know that if there's only one person left in the world who cares about us, it's you, Sister Sakura Dance!"

"Although she always speaks coldly, rarely smiles, and even flicks my forehead..."

"But you've given the most! We all know that!"

You are the best person in the world!

"So please... don't say things like you're useless or a failure..."

"Because of us--"

The children stopped talking and took a deep breath.

"--I like you the most!!!"

--!!!!

Snap, Haoyue's hand landed on her shoulder.

"So stop bringing up people who are already dead. You have so many people around you who love you, don't you?"

Ye's hand moved to the other side.

"The new will eventually replace the old, and where they are is your new home... This doesn't mean you should forget the dead, but at least, please acknowledge your own kindness and gentleness..."

But I--

"Besides, isn't there someone waiting for you?"

"If we waste any more time here, we'll be repeating the same mistake."

"The living are more important than the dead—that's common sense."

"It's not good to keep people waiting."

You...

Xiao Wu, reaching out her hands to her companions—

Just then, their figures vanished, and the sea of the Blood Sea and mountains of corpses pressed down once more.

The pungent stench of blood remained, as did the agonizing screams that claimed lives.

But it's not so unbearable anymore.

The mountain of corpses grew lighter, its color faded, and the darkness of the sky receded.

It felt as if all the filth in my heart was drifting away from me.

"... Yes, that's right."

With a clatter, Xiao Wu her limbs, smoothed her hair, and checked her body.

Sometime later, the wounds from the corpses' scratches and bites had all healed.

"There are still people waiting for me to rescue... family members are waiting for me..."

She looked up at the sky, where the darkness was rapidly collapsing, the thick black mass disintegrating into countless tiny runes resembling maggots.

"--How... how could this be!? Why is it still possible--huh?"

As this world collapsed, faint sounds drifted in, seemingly from a very, very far place, yet also seemingly very close at hand.

"--Zero Ling Ye? You're done dealing with it inside? That's strange! Such a massive amount should definitely have killed her! Why--Why is it different from what you said--Wait, what are you doing--"

The sound grew clearer and clearer, and it seemed to be something quite significant.

What exactly happened?

Only I can confirm it.

Then, the pitch-black shell shattered.

A completely transformed Xiao Wu returns from the abyss of death.

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4000 words