A few seconds later, Rihito brought his trembling body under control.
He unclenched his fists, leaving several pale finger marks on his palms, then regained his composure.
"Rihito-chan, you seem pretty close to that boy." Mahito folded his arms and looked at Rihito in puzzlement.
"He's nobody important," Rihito explained.
"Oh..." Understanding dawned on Mahito. "Rihito-chan, can I kill him, then?"
Rihito's heart clenched, but his expression remained indifferent.
He had no doubt that Mahito would actually kill Junpei.
A cursed spirit born from human resentment loved doing things like this. If Rihito showed even the slightest concern, Junpei would never make it out alive tonight.
"Sure. If you want to kill him, Mr. Mahito, go ahead." With that, Rihito walked on without looking back, as though Junpei's life truly meant nothing to him.
Watching Rihito's retreating back, Mahito looked thoroughly frustrated.
"Damn it, I guessed wrong. Looks like you haven't disappointed me after all, Rihito."
Rihito heard him but kept walking.
Mahito's next words, however, sent his heart plummeting.
"Back in the movie theater, you said, 'Don't look.' Did I mishear you, Rihito?"
Mahito kept scratching his head, his expression utterly innocent.
But Rihito knew Mahito had noticed him from the very beginning. He simply hadn't said anything.
He had been watching, waiting to see what his toy would do.
As though sensing something, Rihito abruptly turned around.
Where Mahito had stood, there was now only a pool of dim yellow light cast by a streetlamp. No one was there.
Rihito's heart seized at the sight. He turned toward the direction Junpei had left in and ran for all he was worth.
"Junpei, don't die!"
Meanwhile, dim yellow light from the streetlamps fell over an otherwise deserted lane.
A cold gust blew into Junpei's face. He pulled his clothes tighter around himself, but his heart felt warm.
Junpei, oh, Junpei. You can make friends too. Isn't that great?
Remembering how Rihito had scared those people off in the clubroom that afternoon, and how he had just told him to close his eyes against that horrifying scene, Junpei could clearly feel Rihito's kindness toward him.
Even if that kindness came with some ulterior motive, it was enough for him.
Tap, tap, tap.
Strange footsteps sounded up ahead. Junpei stopped and cautiously looked forward.
"What an adorable boy. No wonder Rihito cares so much." As the words fell, Mahito's stitch-covered face emerged from the shadows ahead.
"You..." At the sight of that face, the deaths of those three people in the movie theater flashed before Junpei's eyes again.
Thud!
Overwhelmed by terror, Junpei's legs gave out, and he fell straight onto his backside.
"How boring. You don't even compare to Rihito." Mahito glanced at Junpei on the ground and instantly lost interest.
If not for Rihito, he wouldn't even have given this boy a second look.
"Stop!" Rihito's shout came from the far end of the street. Azure cursed energy surged around his hands, his cursed technique, Zero Coffin, poised to unleash from his palms.
Watching the approaching figure, Mahito smiled again. "Rihito-chan, you finally came."
He grabbed Junpei and hauled him straight off the ground.
Rihito's heart sank to rock bottom.
"Rihito-chan, can I kill him?" Looking at Rihito's dark expression, Mahito repeated his question, but the circumstances had changed completely.
Earlier, it had been a casual question. Whatever Rihito answered, nothing would have happened. Now it was different.
If Rihito repeated his earlier answer, Junpei would meet the same fate as those three people in the movie theater.
"Ri... Rihito..." Suspended in the air by Mahito's grip on his collar, Junpei's face flushed red. His lips trembled for a long time before he managed to force out those few syllables.
"Mahito, let's make a deal," Rihito said without looking at Junpei.
"A deal?" Mahito tilted his head, seemingly interested.
"Let him go, and I'll become your favorite toy." Rihito's words were short and forceful. For an instant, the street fell silent.
Before Mahito could speak, Junpei began struggling violently in his grasp. "Rihito... run! Get out of here!"
Becoming this monster's favorite toy-the words alone made it clear that Rihito would not meet a good end.
His only friend was making such a sacrifice for him. Junpei could never accept that.
Yet Mahito's expression didn't change in the slightest.
The smile remained on his stitch-covered face, as though he were plotting something.
"Rihito, you seem to have misunderstood something."
Hearing the implication in Mahito's words, Rihito's expression changed, and he lunged toward him.
"What I love most is watching you struggle in agony, watching your soul twist!" Mahito's voice rose involuntarily toward the end, his grin stretching almost to his ears.
He watched Rihito draw closer, his expression nearly crazed.
"Too late, Rihito! It's all your fault! Too late!!-Idle Transfiguration!"
The soul-warping power burst from Mahito's hand and seeped into Junpei's body without resistance.
Before Rihito's horrified, furious eyes, Junpei's body began swelling.
First, his fingers twisted and lengthened. Then his spine let out a rapid series of sharp cracks, like beans popping in a pan.
His mouth opened wide as if to scream, but the sound caught in his throat and became a wet, gurgling noise.
As though indulging his twisted tastes, Mahito deliberately slowed Junpei's transformation.
Just as he wanted, Rihito witnessed every last second of it.
"Get angry! Go mad! Rihito-chan, I love the way you look right now!" Mahito laughed and flicked his right hand. The transfigured human Junpei had become charged at Rihito like a mad thing.
Crack, crack, crack!
Rihito's expression turned utterly cold, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists.
"Junpei, I'll put you out of your misery now."
Without hesitation, cursed energy surged around Rihito's fists, and he threw a punch at the charging transfigured human.
Junpei was already dead. What stood before him was nothing more than a warped shell.
Bang!
His fist struck the transfigured human's chest without resistance, but strangely, despite its fierce charge, the transfigured human
did not hurt Rihito at all.
Rihito stared into those eyes, the eyes that had once belonged to Junpei.
The next second, two trails of tears spilled from them.
His enormous mouth kept opening and closing, as though he wanted to say something to Rihito. In the end, all Rihito heard was a string of strange, meaningless sounds.
Frost spread steadily, and warmth rapidly drained from Junpei's body. Soon, he showed no signs of life.
In silence, Rihito supported his body and gently laid him down. When he rose again, the killing intent in his eyes was almost tangible, impossible to restrain any longer.
Before you continue