Taisuke Sawanaga clutched his neck as the black aura and tentacles writhing around him burst into flames. He gasped for breath, his eyes wide with shock.
"That should do it." Kotoko Iwanaga's cane struck the ground hard, flaring with purple fire. Her hair whipped in the wind, stirred by the surge of demonic energy.
Just as she felt triumphant...
"Look out!"
Miko shouted from behind her.
Kotoko spun around instinctively, only to face Taisuke's crazed, cold expression!
"What? I exorcised the evil spirit already!"
She tried to step back, but her prosthetic leg had reached its limit after the earlier charge. With a sharp snap, the fastening bolt broke and clattered to the ground.
Kotoko hopped back on one leg but lost her balance, crashing hard onto her rear end.
"It hurts! It hurts so much!"
Ignoring the searing pain, Taisuke lurched forward, swaying unsteadily.
"Its you again, always ruining my plans! Hmph, hahaha... not bad though. Crippled, but quite a beauty."
He bent down and reached for her.
Some people aren't bad because they're possessed, they're so evil that evil spirits are drawn to them!
Kotoko had focused solely on the demon and overlooked this critical fact, putting herself in mortal danger!
She watched his shadow loom closer, terror flashing across her face. She was scared truly scared.
"Hehe, don't be afraid... I'll be gentle..."
Kotoko opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out.
At that moment, a voice,alluring yet eerie rang out from behind Taisuke:
"Do you think I'm beautiful? Hmm?"
Taisuke froze, cold sweat streaming down his back like ice water on a scorching day. He finally realized the "cripple" on the ground wasn't afraid of him!
Instead...
He spun around to find the woman he'd been harassing staring at him with seductive eyes. Slowly, she removed her mask.
Beneath it was a grotesquely wide mouth, split from ear to ear, revealing teeth and the dark interior of her throat.
The woman repeated her question in a high, coaxing voice now tinged with impatience: "Hey. Do you think I'm beautiful? Answer me!"
"Slit... Slit-Mouthed Woman!" Taisuke's eyes bulged as he recognized the notorious recent killer. He turned to run.
But with a sickening splat, blood sprayed across the alley wall.
The Slit-Mouthed Woman pulled out a massive pair of scissors and sliced off his head in one clean stroke.
"Oh, sorry I got a bit carried away. Sir? You didn't answer my question yet. Do you think... I'm beautiful?!"
Her voice was calm, even pleasant, yet it sent shivers down the spine.
Is this what Kotoko was talking about? It's terrifying!
"Slit-Mouthed Woman!" Kotoko grabbed her cane and leaned against the wall to stand. Her prosthetic lay nearby, but there was no time to retrieve it now.
Flames engulfed her cane as she stared intently at the creature.
The woman looked back at her, silent for a long moment.
"This type of supernatural being can't be killed, they follow rules people have imposed on them!"
"But why isn't she asking me anything? Does she only kill once a day? No, there have been multiple victims before! Wait, my skill must have activated!"
Kotoko's mind raced as she realized what was happening. She carefully moved to retrieve her prosthetic leg.
"Great, my guess was right! Everything's going smoothly!" She reattached the limb and stood fully upright.
When she turned back, she saw Miko shuffling her feet, trying to sneak away!
"Idiot! Don't move!"
Rain poured down harder now, washing over the corpse and spreading blood across the alley floor. The moment Miko shifted, her feet splashed in the puddles.
The Slit-Mouthed Woman slowly turned her head...
"Not good!" Kotoko narrowed her eyes and thrust her flaming staff at the back of the creature's head.
"Run!" she shouted.
Miko dropped her umbrella and fled, slipping on the wet ground but scrambling back to her feet and continuing to run.
The staff plunged into the Slit-Mouthed Woman's skull, bursting into flames that consumed half her head.
"Did it work?"
Kotoko pulled back her staff and took a defensive stance. In just ten seconds, the creature's head regenerated completely.
"Do you think I'm beautiful?"
The Slit-Mouthed Woman's lips moved, her gaze locking onto Kotoko.
Cold sweat trickled down Kotoko's forehead.
It's over!
She turned and ran but how could she outrun a supernatural being with a prosthetic leg?
The sound of massive blades cutting through the air echoed behind her.
Am I going to die?!
Kotoko squeezed her eyes shut.
Then a deafening metallic crash rang through the alley.
Ding-clang!
Sparks flew as Kotoko snapped her eyes open. A mysterious man in a black trench coat stood before her.
His coat billowed as if in wind, though none was blowing, sending strange wisps of mist through the rain-soaked night. His face was hidden in shadow, save for a confident smirk.
Before Kotoko could speak, the man and the Slit-Mouthed Woman clashed more than a dozen times in the blink of an eye.
Sparks showered from the black metal in his hands and the creature's giant scissors.
"What is that?" Kotoko stared in disbelief then realized what the weapon was...
"How can that be... a crowbar?!"
As she gaped, the man's cold voice cut through the air: "Hmph~ Too scared to move?"
Kotoko puffed out her cheeks, grabbed her cane without a word, and ran off into the distance.
"You actually ran away?!"
The man stared after her in shock.
What's wrong with her? I came to save her!
Now she's gone, what am I supposed to do?!
His momentary hesitation cost him, the giant scissors came crashing down toward his waist.
Damn it.
He pushed off with his legs and leaped back four or five meters. When he looked up again, his handsome face was visible in the streetlight.
It was Minoru Kageno.
"Shaka is so unreliable,why did he make me deal with this? Where's the chance to show off?"
Even so, Shadow wore an excited grin.
"You'll make a worthy opponent!"
The human and supernatural being fought for four or five minutes, then suddenly, the Slit-Mouthed Woman blushed and looked away shyly.
"Hey... do you think I'm pretty?"
As if bound by invisible rules, Shadow's movements slowed. The Slit-Mouthed Woman's scissors sped up several times over.
Shadow attacked with both hands, his tone mocking as ever: "Hmph, clumsy moves. Is that all you've got?"
"Come on, let me teach you how to handle weapons properly."
The Slit-Mouthed Woman was indeed a good sparring partner. Her strength and speed surpassed ordinary humans, but that was about it. Ultimately, she was still just a woman – and aside from the giant scissors, she had no other deadly weapons.
After half an hour of fighting, Shadow was growing tired. His opponent had unlimited stamina, but he didn't, he'd be worn down eventually.
Just as he was running out of options, Kotoko's voice called out from nearby: "Kiss her! That's how you seal the Slit-Mouthed Woman with a kiss!"
She sent Miko to safety and returned quickly, having clearly done some research in the meantime.
"Huh?" Shadow's mind went blank...
Looking closely, he realized the Slit-Mouthed Woman was actually quite beautiful. Without the split mouth, she'd be stunning.
But she's a monster!
I am Minoru Kageno!
How could I give my first kiss to something like this?!
"Hmph, foolish! I'll defeat her with sheer strength!"
Shadow moved faster, jamming his crowbar against the scissors' blades. With another swift motion, his second crowbar came crashing down.
Snap! The woman's hand bones broke, and the scissors clattered to the ground.
In an instant, Shadow grabbed her wrist and pinned her against the wall.
Perfect I'll take her captive and use her as a sparring partner once I've rested! Shadow thought smugly.
"Utterly stupid!"
Kotoko cursed under her breath, jogged a few steps forward, and kicked the self-satisfied Shadow in the back.
He stumbled forward and his lips brushed against the Slit-Mouthed Woman's.
Her eyes widened, her face flushed bright red, and she let out a soft moan before dissolving into black mist and vanishing.
What...
Shadow stared blankly at the wall, his pupils trembling. He couldn't bring himself to turn around.
His first kiss...
Kotoko had no intention of teasing him, she happily picked up the discarded scissors and exclaimed: "Yes! Perfect, just perfect!"
She pulled out her phone and called Shaka: "Good thing you updated the info in time otherwise we'd never have managed this."
"Helpers? You mean him?"
"Ah, you sent him. No wonder he showed up so conveniently."
"How is he now? Hmm... not great. Probably questioning his life choices. Maybe his personality will shift a bit, but it's not a big deal..."
Shaka was speechless.
Shadow slowly turned around, his eyes glowing red as he fixed his gaze on her...
Hunt time.
Kotoko's lips twitched awkwardly as she asked Shaka nervously over the phone:
"Hey... the guy you sent looks a bit off. He looks like he wants to kill me. What should I do?"
Shadow's cloak transformed into writhing tendrils of darkness that spread across the ground...
"Oh, hehe, thank you so much for your help! By the way, what's your name? I'll send you some gifts later to show my gratitude..."
Forced back by his terrifying aura, Kotoko followed Shaka's general instructions to defuse the situation.
"I am Shadow, dwelling in shadows, hunting those who dwell in shadows." He flicked his cloak and leaped onto the alley wall.
[Thank goodness! Getting angry now would ruin everything! Stay calm!]
Countless thoughts raced through Shadow's mind before he spoke calmly:
"Be careful on your way back next time. Until we meet again!"
With a final flick of his cloak, he vanished into the darkness.
Watching him disappear into the night, Kotoko let out a long breath: "I thought I was done for!"
"But..."
"I never expected to get such a cursed item..."
As she focused on the scissors, text appeared before her eyes:
[Slit-Mouthed Woman's Blade](Contractible)
- Rule-based item – cannot be destroyed
- Locks onto targets and pursues them relentlessly until death
- Cost: "Am I beautiful?" You must give eighteen unique compliments to the Slit-Mouthed Woman within one minute, or she will tear your mouth apart
"What's happening? How did she turn into a prop?"
Kotoko's heart skipped a beat as the two meter-long scissors vanished into thin air leaving behind a small scissors tattoo on the back of her hand.
"This world is getting stranger by the day."