Although among the three of them, Haley really wanted to file a complaint—after all, only she knew what kind of trauma she'd just suffered after seeing those terrifying slugs—she eventually swallowed her frustration.
John and Will had both been magnanimous, saying they didn't mind the misunderstanding, and so her urge to complain naturally faded away. She still hesitated for a while, thinking of protesting again, until she noticed the strange, entranced look on her boyfriend's face as he stared at Tomie.
At that moment, Haley instantly realized something was wrong. She didn't bother mentioning compensation anymore—she just hurriedly dragged her boyfriend away in panic, leaving without looking back.
Watching the three leave, Tomie smiled faintly. She pressed her foot down onto the head trying to hide beneath her and said softly, amusement flickering in her tone.
"You really are a troublesome one, aren't you?"
Tomie's voice carried a teasing lilt, but there was no warmth behind it—only a pure, icy chill. The head beneath her heel glared up at her venomously, resentment and hatred burning in its eyes.
That severed head was another Tomie—a rebellious fragment of herself.
This damned creature, the head thought bitterly, she's only lucky, that's all. If we hadn't been dragged into this bizarre world, she would've been dismembered long ago.
Tomie was a monster—yet also a curse. Her exquisite, intoxicating beauty was both her pride and her damnation. It made her a goddess in the eyes of countless men, stirring their possessiveness to the extreme.
And when that possessiveness reached its breaking point, these men would inevitably go mad—murdering Tomie in a frenzy, mutilating her body, all in a desperate attempt to monopolize her beauty forever.
But it was in those moments—when her admirers became her executioners—that Tomie's curse truly bloomed. From the moment her blood was spilled, new Tomies would arise—each one beautiful, seductive, and deadly.
Normally, that was how Tomie's cycle of reincarnation and possession continued.
But ever since she'd been summoned into this strange world, that pattern had been disrupted. A powerful force here suppressed her innate allure, limiting her influence over others.
And because of that, no one had yet dismembered her.
To the countless Tomie fragments scattered through the world—each one longing to seduce and dominate humanity—this meant they were trapped. None of them could become the main body again.
Tomie looked down at the restless doppelgänger beneath her with an amused smile. Though she was irritated, she didn't kill this fragment.
After all, for Tomie, keeping her own clone alive to toy with was far more entertaining than destroying it outright. Watching herself suffer—that was the ultimate indulgence.
Having dealt with her troublesome duplicate, Tomie dusted off her dress and returned to Edward's side.
He had been waiting for quite some time. If she delayed any longer, Edward might actually start to worry—and Tomie didn't want her "boss" to fret over her.
"So, everything's been settled?" Edward asked, looking relieved. Then his gaze shifted to the Tomie head she'd brought back.
The head was staring at him pitifully, eyes full of a kind of desperate charm that made one instinctively want to comfort it.
"Yes, it's all taken care of," Tomie said cheerfully, a sly smile curling her lips. "Though to finish things quickly, I may have… bent the rules a little and used my charm~ Oh, and Boss, do you want her? Don't let her current form fool you—she may look like a slug right now, but…"
Tomie trailed off as her eyes glinted playfully. She noticed her squirming, uncooperative clone trying to resist again.
Still smiling sweetly, she raised one slender finger and gave a teasing little curl.
The slug-like body of her doppelgänger shimmered—and in the next instant, transformed into a full, complete human tongue, lithe and writhing with uncanny flexibility.
"If you have any particular… needs, Boss," Tomie said, her tone dripping with mock politeness, "please, feel free to use her as you wish~"
Her doppelgänger even winked seductively at Edward—but unfortunately, her efforts were wasted.
Edward merely waved his hand dismissively. "No need. Just help me manage the amusement park properly. As for the movie—Tomie, the filming schedule might be delayed a bit. I'm planning to revise the script."
With his status and wealth, if he had ever wanted to indulge in worldly pleasures, he could have done so long ago.
But for him, such distractions were meaningless. What truly occupied his thoughts were his films.
Tomie pouted slightly, then shrugged. "I don't really care about that, Boss. But… could I play with my little toy for a while?"
Her eyes sparkled mischievously. Clearly, she wasn't very interested in the movie itself.
And of course, why would she be? For Tomie, those so-called movie plots were nothing more than fragments of her daily life, the same old tragedies she'd lived a thousand times over.
To her, films were merely seasoning—ways to relive her past amusements.
"Your toy?" Edward mused, raising a brow. He didn't immediately assume she meant anything lewd or sinister; Tomie wasn't exactly normal, but she rarely used the word "toy" lightly.
He paused, thinking for a moment. In his possession was the Movie World Travel Voucher, an item he had won a second time but never used.
If he were to use it to visit Tomie's world, she would regain her original, unrestrained form—and even if she went on a massacre there, he wouldn't particularly care.
However… that would be a waste. The Voucher was rare and valuable—something that could only be obtained through a lucky draw. Using it just to enter Tomie's grotesque world, while tempting in its morbid way, would be about as dull as taking a sightseeing tour through the Grudge universe.
So, Edward quickly dismissed the idea.
Instead, his mind drifted to a different problem—Team Rocket.
Mimiko had proven to be exceptionally capable. Not only had she located those two fools who'd threatened him earlier, but she had even traced their superior—the one pulling the strings behind the scenes.
As expected, that man was Giovanni.
Edward wasn't surprised. He understood perfectly well what Giovanni wanted—information about Mewtwo.
It wasn't unreasonable, really. Ever since Edward's first encounter with Mewtwo, subtle traces of its psychic presence had lingered in his daily life. To someone like Giovanni, a cunning underworld mastermind, those clues would've been enough to arouse suspicion.
Still, Edward had never bothered to erase those traces. Even if he could go back and do it all again, he wouldn't have tried to hide them.
There was no need.
Team Rocket was dangerous—but Devon Corporation was far more terrifying.
After all, while Team Rocket controlled Kanto and Johto's criminal underworld, Devon was one of the top three corporate powers in the entire Pokémon League—second to none in several fields.
"Team Rocket, huh…" Edward muttered, scratching his head. Originally, he hadn't planned to deal with Giovanni at all. Without Mewtwo, the organization had lost much of its edge and had long since been suppressed by the League.
But now that Giovanni had come looking for him—well, that changed things.
He couldn't just ignore it anymore.
As he pondered, an idea began to take shape.
While Tomie could handle things directly, her range of movement was limited—she could only appear within the haunted house or near Edward himself. She lacked true autonomy.
However, Mimiko was different.
"Giovanni, Giovanni…" Edward murmured with a faint smirk. "I guess it's time you spent some quality years behind bars."
It was a perfect opportunity. He was still busy filming the final episode of Sherlock Holmes Season 3—and while he focused on production, he could let Mimiko Mizunuma and Tomie handle Giovanni's situation.
Since Mimiko was a summoned spirit bound to him, she could move freely in the world. If she captured Archer and handed him over to Tomie, well...
Tomie could play with him a little, extract every last secret, and then turn him over to the League.
After that, a simple betrayal from within would destroy Team Rocket entirely.
It was elegant, efficient—and clean.
Edward briefed both women on their tasks, and soon after, they departed on their missions, leaving him to continue filming Holmes III.
The finale revolved around London's most infamous murderer—Jack the Ripper.
In Edward's adaptation, Jack's reign of terror drew the attention of Holmes, setting off an intricate investigation that eventually unveiled the shadowy involvement of Malamar. The next season, naturally, would feature the ultimate confrontation between Holmes and that mysterious villain.
…
While Edward filmed, Mimiko Mizunuma had already begun her operation.
Despite her ghostly nature, she possessed powerful illusionary abilities—a skill that made it easy to manipulate perception. Under her control, Archer found himself boarding a plane bound for Hoenn.
"I just don't get it…" Archer muttered, scratching his head as he stepped off the flight. "Why would the boss send me to investigate some amusement park? Don't tell me Mewtwo's hiding here of all places…"
The massive park before him was packed with people, lines stretching endlessly.
If Giovanni hadn't specifically ordered him not to attract League attention, Archer would've simply broken in by force.
Unbeknownst to him, the phone in his pocket was quietly typing messages by itself, sending regular updates to Giovanni—claiming he was still investigating and would return in a few days.
To Giovanni, that was perfectly normal. Executives frequently disappeared for days on missions. Nothing suspicious there.
After waiting in line for what felt like forever, Archer finally entered the amusement park and made his way straight to the haunted house—reportedly the park's most famous attraction.
He'd done his homework. The line here was notorious for being long, so he'd even bought a fast-pass ticket to speed things up.
Still, as he stood among the crowd, a strange unease crept over him.
Too many people. Too much noise. His instincts screamed that something wasn't right.
But the thought of Giovanni's cold voice echoing in his mind "Don't mess this up, Archer" kept him in line.
Finally, he stepped into the haunted house.
He hadn't even begun to explore when he entered a dimly lit room—and froze.
A breathtakingly beautiful woman sat waiting inside.
Even for someone like Archer, who'd seen his share of women as a Rocket executive, the sight stunned him. She wasn't just beautiful—she was otherworldly. In that instant, his mind went blank, and his heart was seized by a singular thought:
I want her.
Tomie smiled gently. The amusement in her eyes deepened.
So predictable. So deliciously human.
"Welcome," she purred, stepping closer.
And just like that, Archer was lost.
Under her charm, he confessed everything—every Team Rocket secret he knew, every base, every contact, even Giovanni's current hidden headquarters and its escape routes.
All of it spilled from his mouth like a prayer.
When the interrogation ended, Archer's obsession had reached its peak.
He couldn't take it anymore. Trembling, he drew the knife from his belt—his eyes wild with lust and madness.
He wanted to kill her.
He wanted to own her.
Tomie only laughed softly, sweetly, cruelly. She dodged his frenzied stabs again and again, watching him break down until he collapsed to his knees, sobbing uncontrollably.
Then she knelt beside him, whispering into his ear.
Whatever she said made his eyes glaze over—and when he rose, his madness was gone.
Calmly, he picked up his phone, gathered his evidence, and walked straight to the nearest Officer Jenny station.
"I surrender," he said simply.
And just like that—Team Rocket fell.
With Archer's full confession and cooperation, the League infiltrated Giovanni's secret base.
Led by Lance and the Elite Four, the operation was swift and decisive. Giovanni was caught completely off guard.
Within hours, the Team Rocket Boss was in handcuffs—and the arrest dominated the news headlines across the entire Pokémon world.
Edward, meanwhile, sat on a plane, sipping tea as he read the morning paper. Giovanni's furious mugshot stared back at him.
He smiled faintly. "Well, that's one less problem to worry about."
"Boss, we've got a situation," Zoroark said suddenly, hurrying over with a tablet in hand. "Something's happening online—our company's trending fast, and not in a good way."
"Oh?" Edward asked curiously, setting his cup down. He took the tablet.
Normally, electronics weren't allowed during takeoff or landing, but the flight was already cruising steadily, so there was no issue.
He glanced at the screen—and frowned.
[Struggling Actor Sells Himself to Save His Mother?]
[A Son Begging for Ghost Film Production Studio's Mercy—Will They Give Him a Chance?]
The articles were spreading fast.
Edward opened one and saw a set of photos: a middle-aged man kneeling in front of the Ghost Films headquarters, holding a sign across his chest that read—
"Please, Ghost Films, give me a chance. I'll work for you for life—just save my mother."
The story was already exploding online. The PR department had noticed the surge in activity and immediately escalated it to Zoroark's attention.
"Who is he?" Edward asked, skimming the file attached below.
It contained a brief bio: a no-name, D-list actor. A background extra who'd played countless forgettable roles—one of the countless dreamers chasing fame in the entertainment world.
"I see…" Edward muttered, scratching his head.
Now that the story had gone viral, he would have to tread carefully.
(End of Chapter)