Just as Gin thought Sherry's head was about to explode, a dark-skinned man roared, his arms bulging with muscles, and he uprooted a willow tree as thick as two men could embrace.
Then, he swung the willow tree, blocking the bullets Gin had fired.
Gin, not believing it, fired a few more shots, emptying his clip.
Whoosh!
The massive willow tree, with a whistling sound, was swung by the dark-skinned man with incredible force.
Bang!
A crashing sound echoed.
Gin's subsequent sniper bullets were also precisely blocked by the swinging tree trunk, sending wood chips flying.
Before he could reload, Gin saw the dark-skinned man, wielding the massive willow tree like a human beast, charging towards the porsche 356a.
Each step made the ground tremble slightly, like a battering ram about to crash into a city gate.
The sneer on Gin's face instantly froze. 'Is this guy even human?!' he thought.
An antique car like the porsche 356a wasn't easily replaced.
"Drive! Go!" Gin practically roared, quickly retracting his sniper rifle and closing the car window.
Vodka, also terrified by the horrifying scene, fumbled and stomped on the accelerator. The porsche 356a let out a roar, its tires screeching and smoking as it sped away in a panic.
After driving a long distance and confirming they had lost their pursuer, Vodka, still shaken, asked, "A-Aniki! Sherry... are we not going to bother with her?"
Gin leaned back in his seat, eyes closed, his face terrifyingly grim. He slowly uttered, "I was mistaken. That wasn't Sherry. Even if Sherry were startled, she wouldn't show such an idiotic expression."
Vodka: "Huh?"
...Time rewinds to a little earlier.
Dusk was just settling on the coast of Izu.
Sonoko, filled with anticipation, followed Michiwaki Tadahiko to the edge of the quiet grove behind the beachfront hotel.
She clutched her camera tightly, still thinking about the legend that ghosts could be captured on film, feeling both afraid and a little excited.
"Sonoko-san, this is the place."
Michiwaki Tadahiko stopped, looked around, confirmed no one else was present, and the gentle smile on his face gradually faded, becoming menacing.
"Let me see the camera."
"Huh? N-now?"
Sonoko was a bit puzzled but instinctively handed over the camera. "There's nothing captured in it yet..."
Michiwaki Tadahiko roughly snatched the camera and quickly flipped through the photos.
When he saw a picture that had inadvertently captured him standing in the distance with the previous crime scene in the background, his eyes instantly turned vicious.
"Indeed, you've captured evidence of me appearing at the crime scene earlier!"
He suddenly looked up, his formerly handsome face now twisted with murderous intent.
"And! I hate women with your kind of brown hair the most! Die!"
Before he finished speaking, a cold glint flashed in Michiwaki Tadahiko's hand as he pulled out a sharp dagger.
"Ah--!" Sonoko screamed in terror, turning to flee.
Michiwaki Tadahiko grabbed her arm, pulling Sonoko back.
"Trying to run? Too late!" he said cruelly, swinging the knife with his other hand to stab her.
In extreme fear, Sonoko struggled desperately. In the chaos, her hairband was yanked off by Michiwaki Tadahiko.
Her brown hair fell loose, then drooped down.
"Why... why are all the people who approach me like this..." Despairing tears welled up in Sonoko's eyes.
She didn't understand. She just wanted to be in love, so why was she encountering something so terrifying?
Just as the tip of the knife was about to stab Sonoko, a dark figure flashed out from the nearby bushes like lightning.
"Stop!" Kyogoku Makoto shouted.
He made no fancy moves, directly meeting Michiwaki Tadahiko's dagger with his strong forearm.
Pfft!
This was the sound of a dagger cutting through skin.
Kyogoku Makoto's right forearm instantly gushed with a large amount of blood.
But he seemed to feel no pain, expressionlessly grabbing Michiwaki Tadahiko's knife-wielding wrist with his other hand, while simultaneously delivering a fierce kick with his right leg.
"Bang!" Michiwaki Tadahiko was sent flying like a broken kite, crashing heavily against a tree, the dagger flying from his hand.
He clutched his chest, curled up in pain, unable to get up for a long time.
Sonoko, still shaken, looked at Kyogoku Makoto, who was shielding her and whose arm was still bleeding, her mind a blank.
"Sonoko! Are you alright!"
"Sonoko!" In the distance, Ran, Toyama Kazuha, and others all ran out of the woods.
It turned out that, eager to gossip about Sonoko's date, and at Toyama Kazuha's urging, everyone had quietly followed, but kept a greater distance to avoid being discovered.
"Ran! Kazuha! Everyone..." Seeing her friends run over, Sonoko's feelings of grievance and lingering fear instantly erupted, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
Ran stood in front of Sonoko and sternly said to Michiwaki Tadahiko, who was struggling to get up.
"Michiwaki-san! Put down your weapon and surrender! I've already called the police! They'll be here any minute!"
Michiwaki Tadahiko clutched his throbbing chest, looking at the sudden appearance of so many people, especially the dark-skinned man who had kicked him flying with one blow, his eyes filled with fear.
A direct confrontation was clearly out of the question now; he had to escape!
His gaze swept over the crowd, deciding to take a hostage first, so that even if the police arrived, they would be hesitant to act.
Ran, who had threatened him to surrender, became his target.
"You come here!" Michiwaki Tadahiko grabbed the dagger and lunged at Ran, reaching out to grab her neck.
"Ran, be careful!" Sonoko exclaimed.
However, Michiwaki Tadahiko's plan was destined to fail.
Ran's eyes narrowed, her lower body swiveled, and a clean, sharp karate side kick directly struck Michiwaki Tadahiko's abdomen.
"Ugh ah--!" Michiwaki Tadahiko screamed, again sent flying, landing even further away than before.
He scrambled to his feet, dizzy and disoriented, looking at Ran with a mix of shock and anger.
He had run into a tough opponent.
Michiwaki Tadahiko's gaze swept over the others.
Among so many young girls, there had to be one who was a soft target, right?
He didn't believe it, and his gaze turned to Toyama Kazuha, who appeared relatively quiet.
"Damn it!" he growled, and charged at Kazuha again.
Toyama Kazuha snorted, "Dream on!" Her steps were light and precise, she grabbed Michiwaki Tadahiko's outstretched arm and executed a beautiful Aikido shoulder throw.
Bang! Michiwaki Tadahiko was slammed hard onto the ground, feeling like all his bones were about to shatter.
"Pfft..." Yuzuha couldn't help but laugh, "Is this guy here just to get beaten up?"
Michiwaki Tadahiko, bruised and swollen, dizzy and disoriented, got up again, feeling like his worldview was collapsing.
But he still wouldn't give up. He set his sights on Alice, who seemed the most timid among them.
"You're the one!"