Meow!
A cat called In a narrow alley…
A single ugly and deformed finger stood upright, then started crawling in the ground.
An ordinary person who saw this would probably wet themselves.
After moving through several alleys, Akuto finally spotted the bustling street.
'No matter which world I'm in, as long as I find people, I can figure things out, right?'
With that, Akuto crawled forward.
Suddenly he felt a gaze; turning, he saw a girl with long straight black hair in a JK uniform staring blankly in his direction.
'Oh? Did she see me… or not?'
Forget it, just a nameless side character.
Akuto crawled away.
"Miko, I really can't hold it anymore! You don't want a pretty girl to leak in the street, do you?" An orange-haired girl with a busty body said.
"Just wait for me here, please please!"
'Wait….' Hearing that familiar name, the former human, now a deformed finger stopped.
Not far off from his location, two girls stood together.
One was a tall busty orange-haired JK clinging to the black-haired girl—Miko—swinging her arm.
The swaying made her considerable assets bounce as well.
Miko's eyes glazed over, her heart about to leap from her mouth; she looked fine, but she'd been dead inside for a while.
Barely alive, mostly dead.
'No way… no way…fingers don't just run around… I must be losing it…'
Crap! Did Hana's words reach it? Crap crap—why did it stop?!
Miko's body tensed, pupils shaking violently.
'It's looking (technically)… you've got to be kidding…!'
"If you don't answer, I'll take that as a yes!"
Hana chirped, then skipped into a nearby public toilet.
Miko stood like a statue, trembling madly.
From her perspective, black smoke filled the alley, and countless cursed spirits roamed around the place.
And in front of her, a five- or six-metre-tall monster stared her down.
Its head split into five serpent-like necks, grinning with a warped, excited cackle, "You can see me, can't you… you definitely can… hee-hee-hee…"
"You saw me…!"
Tentacles slithered up Miko's body, gripping her skin.
Her gaze robotically shifted—and there was that crawling finger, still locking eyes with her.
'I'm doomed.' She thought.
Tears shimmered; her golden irises quaked like an earthquake.
Not far away, Akuto found the name oddly familiar.
Seeing the cursed spirit beside Miko, he finally remembered.
He knew exactly where he was!
Mieruko-chan!
He recalled this was a heroine-centric series: Yotsuya Miko suddenly gains the ability to see evil spirits for no reason.
In this world, seeing is not a blessing.
The rule: once a spirit knows you can see it, it will attack.
So most people and spirits coexist—no danger if you're oblivious.
If Miko is discovered, she dies a horrible death and possibly has no chance of reincarnation.
She has no way to fight back; her chances of survival often rely on luck or a stronger cursed spirit appearing.
Inside a domain space, Akuto's blank look turned into a wild grin.
Isn't she… the perfect chosen tool?
With that thought, he stopped and spoke in a low, magnetic voice:
"Oi, brat."
"Stop pretending—I know you can see." He said.
'It… talked…' A tear rolled down; Miko feigned dust in her eye, rubbing it.
'If any spirit realizes I can see, I'm dead…'
Don't look again, turn away…
She spun abruptly, as if checking whether Hana had left the restroom—and her pupils shrank.
Behind her, a horrific monster had appeared unnoticed.
Its head opened like a carnivorous flower, the brain inside pulsing, eyes fixed on her.
"Mmph…?!" She yelped instinctively, then clamped her mouth shut as if throttled.
But it was already too late!
"I knew you could see me!"
"You can see me! Hee-hee, you can see me!" The cursed creature stretched its black-clawed hands toward her.
'Run… run, Miko!!' Her body and mind screamed at her, her pupils shook violently, however it was hopeless.
"My body… won't move… am I dying…?"
The dark claws neared; she stood frozen, tears streaming down her face.
"Kid, come here—I can help you."
The voice she'd feared now sounded heavenly, restoring her control.
"Don't come near me!" She shrieked, spun, and bolted away from the dark alley.
But, two steps later she froze.
Another cursed spirit now blocked the exit.
A colossal, morbidly obese cursed spirit three storeys tall, its belly sealing the passage.
Its ugly appearance was beheld through her very eyes.
She halted her movement, tried to retreat, but the first cursed spirit was already grinning closer toward her direction.
"You can see me… hee-hee-hee… You can see…ME!!"
Tears burst out of her eyes as,
She quivered as both monsters closed in.
At the last second, she spotted the finger still on the ground.
Compared with the fat cursed spirit and the five-headed abomination, that finger looked almost cute in comparison despite its disfigured appearance..
Even if it could crawl and talk, it was still better.
Miko stumbled toward Akuto; behind her, two horrors inched forward.
She collapsed, scrabbling backward on hands and feet.
But her back met a solid wall.
"I'm… doomed…" Miko muttered in a voice that lost all hope.
Akuto glanced at her, gave an enigmatic smile (in his mind), and tempted her.
"Stop crying, kid—pick me up and swallow me, and I'll kill these monsters for you."
"Come, pitiful brat."
"Don't you hate them? Still, you're really weak."
Miko froze.
She snatched the finger, gripping it like a dagger at the cursed spirits.
Akuto blinked, then scowled at Miko.
"Brat, what are you waiting for?! I said eat me!"
She ignored him, eyes shut, pointing him at the spirits.
He didn't give up and made the situation more tense for her.
"They're getting closer…"
"Kid, so weak—what are you afraid of? Come, I can give you power; don't you want it?"
"Swallow me." (T/N:😏)
The cursed spirits drew nearer.
She could smell their rancid stench.
Her mind blanked, body shaking like an engine.
Akuto stared at her, then at the spirits, and sighed.
"I can't let this perfect vessel die."
Miko shouldn't be exposed yet; this scene wasn't in the original… which means… This happened because of my existence…causing a butterfly effect.
In the domain space, his face darkened as he glared at the spirits.
"Oi, you ugly bastards—this woman is my prey. Scram."
–