[Bull Town]
In front of Promush’s twisted, crawling corpse stood two figures, one tall and one short.
An expressionless white mask covered their faces. From the curly woolen hair protruded elderly, gnarled sheep horns. The shorter one’s horns were huge and coiled, weighing heavily on his shoulders, while the taller one’s pointed straight upward, threaded like a screw.
The two pairs of massive sheep horns bore the scars of battle—cracks and chips like medals, with several breaks mended by golden adhesive.
“Main body confirmed dead.”
“‘Seed’ still alive.”
“It’s a fortunate misfortune… but the real trouble lies ahead. How do we explain this to the Tribunal?”
“It involves the Boothslot Family case, and he was killed on the spot. We can only cut ties with him, compensate the Tribunal’s investigators for battle damages. Recovering the seed isn’t the worst outcome.”
Screw Horn leaned on his cane, swiveling his gaze to stay alert around them. Coiled Horn retrieved an intricately carved octagonal crystal vial from his suit pocket. It held a small amount of vivid red paste, the color of rouge. He uncapped it and placed it on the ground.
A breath that was both light and mist wafted from the vial’s mouth, carrying an intensely rich meaty aroma. Even a slight whiff stirred the appetite, making saliva drip from the corners of the mouth and the stomach churn with fierce hunger.
Drawn by the scent, insects dormant underground burrowed upward. Crawlers in the cracks of the slate tiles abandoned their hiding spots, converging from all directions in a dense swarm like a tide!
But as the insect tide entered within ten meters, a mysterious force tugged them into circular motion, orbiting in place.
Springtails, mites, earwigs, water fleas, centipedes… all sorts of tiny bugs crawled in orderly, rapid patterns, producing a scalp-numbing rustling!
At that moment, Promush’s soft, collapsed corpse flesh writhed. Strands of eerie threadworms burst out from it!
They had snake-like triangular heads and dragged extremely thin tails. As if possessing some privilege, the flood of insects parted for them, allowing them to crawl straight to the crystal vial and file inside one after another.
Countless gray threads surged madly into the crimson pigment, swirling and mixing, finally twisting into a dense worm cluster the size of a longan fruit, still wriggling disgustingly.
Coiled Horn picked up the crystal vial and examined it, saying,
“This saves us a lot of trouble. Now we just need to pollinate the Scripps Family’s ‘Flower House.’ That girl has already lost her family’s trust anyway—no one will speak up no matter how we mess with her.”
–
[Saint Dormer Community – Dormitory]
Knock knock knock…
A knocking sounded from outside.
Flora had just started to rise when Ashley reached out to stop her.
The blue-haired loli tiptoed to the door like a thief, peering through the peephole. She saw Amber dressed in a beige knit top.
She says I’m not here…
She mouthed back.
Flora got the message and called out loudly, “Ashley’s at the library. Please leave.”
“I’m not here to pester you. Lend me the ‘Touch of Will.'” Amber said in a tone that brooked no refusal.
“That’s fine… but what do you need it for?” Ashley asked curiously.
“Open the door!”
Amber suddenly grew irritable and kicked the door!
“C-Coming…”
Ashley jumped in fright, hurried over to open the door, and handed over the coiled whip.
Amber snatched it and turned to leave without sparing her a glance.
Back at her home on Ramhorn Street, Amber clomped upstairs, locked herself in the bathroom, and faced the half-length mirror above the sink. Her slender fingers twisted, undoing button after button.
The knit top slid over her graceful hips and pooled at her feet, followed by the fine cotton camisole, which she yanked off irritably and tossed aside.
Staring at her petite body in the mirror, Amber furrowed her dark brows, disgust surging in her eyes as she muttered,
“Look at you now. Just thinking of her makes you restless, soaking wet like you’re in heat. Amber, do you even have any self-respect left?”
With that, Amber shook out the whip, adjusted the angle, and fiercely lashed it toward her back!
Crack!
The crisp snap echoed in the cramped bathroom.
She shuddered violently at first, then her tender, pale little body tensed and trembled, enduring the lingering agony.
From behind, her snowy white back was divided by glaring red welts. Gem-like blood beads trickled down her flawless skin, gleaming with cruel cold light.
“I don’t like Ashley!” Amber glared furiously at her reflection and shouted.
The void in her abdomen seemed to shrink a little.
Crack!
On the second lash, she gritted her teeth, her face twisted in sorrow—whether from unbearable pain or irreconcilable old affections, she choked out,
“I don’t like Ashley…”
On the third lash, Amber panted heavily, her legs quivering like a newborn fawn’s. Unable to stand, she knelt on the cold tiles to endure it.
Kneeling made it hard to swing, so she folded the whip into a short one, gripped it, and fiercely whipped her thighs!
It hurts… so much…
Amber grunted, curling up as her back arched upward, her vertebrae starkly visible. The welts crisscrossing her snowy skin oozed blood beads that dripped messily onto the floor.
She took a deep breath and swung again!
Crack!
“Aaah…”
Amber flung the whip aside, hugging her legs and rolling on the ground. Her chest heaved dramatically, her voice trembling with sobs and gasps.
Gradually, her mind blanked. She seemed to forget something important, but unexpectedly felt relieved.
The burdens her heart couldn’t bear vanished like smoke. The chapters of the past tore into snowflakes, scattering from her fingertips on the wind blowing toward yesterday. The cobwebbed attic of her mind was swept clean, and a giant spider named Ashley leaped from the window, fleeing for its life.
When her fingers touched the spot of the void again, it was smooth and unbroken.
Outside the door, Ashley, who had arrived a step too late, pounded desperately, shouting in panic,
“Don’t use it! Please! Amber! Stop!”
Amber listened carefully, her mind foggy and sluggish. She didn’t understand why this person was so agitated… Oh, she must be here to take it back. It must be important to her, or she wouldn’t be crying for its return.
“Coming right away, don’t rush.”
She called out first, hastily threw on her clothes while fumbling with the buttons, then opened the door and handed back the ‘Touch of Will.’
But the blue-haired loli didn’t take it. Instead, she burst forward with tear-filled eyes.
Amber frowned in annoyance and tried to push her away, but couldn’t budge her.
This person… why is she hugging my legs… crying snot everywhere… it’s gross… Is she my friend…? I really want to shake her off…
Ashley looked up through her blurry tears and caught the glint of disgust deep in Amber’s eyes. Her heart wrenched painfully, feeling a stranger’s chill. In panic, she asked,
“Don’t you recognize me? I’m Ashley!”
“I remember you. You’ve lied to me so many times, never telling the truth. What act are you putting on now? Trying to trick me again? Stay away from me. I hate being deceived the most.” Amber averted her gaze.
Ashley’s little head buzzed, her breathing labored, her heart shattered like it had been carved by a dagger. She grabbed Amber’s sleeve, trying to salvage something, suddenly feeling ridiculous. Why did she only try to hold on after losing what she hadn’t cherished before? Why did losing it make her heart ache like she might die the next second? Why, why, why…
Ashley knew she’d done many wrong things and never cared, but this terrified and regretted her like nothing else.
Amber merely turned her head with an irritated look. With a tsk, Ashley recoiled like a light-fearing specter, raising her small hands to shield herself desperately as she pleaded,
“Don’t look at me like that… please don’t…”
Amber said nothing, walked into the bedroom, and locked the door behind her.
Amber’s father, Doctor Duke, stood at the base of the stairs on the first floor, watching the blue-haired loli upstairs with schadenfreude. Pinching his voice, he called out, “Time to see yourself out—!”
“Amber… don’t ignore me… Amber…”
Ashley panted and trembled, forcing out the words with difficulty, but she already felt the transparent glass barrier between them.
She regretted it immensely. Back then, it had been a spur-of-the-moment clever idea—to say they were splitting up but not deliberately avoid Amber. That way, before becoming a true powerhouse, Amber had no grounds to lecture her. If she did, Ashley could use it as a shield: Aren’t we broken up? Once she had enough strength to become a real powerhouse, she could fulfill Miss Amber’s wishes.
She hadn’t expected Amber to take it seriously. But thinking back, the silly loli always took her bluffs at face value.
And the ‘Hunger Key’ had pushed Amber to the brink. The torment of the void far exceeded Ashley’s imagination. Just resisting the urges had exhausted her completely, leaving no room for normal life.
Those pigs with holes had gone mad tearing at their own kind, yet Amber had endured this far—her willpower was already extraordinarily strong.
