অধ্যায় একশ চল্লিশ: পরিকল্পনা চূড়ান্ত!

“Damn it, we’re still a step too late!”

Hsu Tian-shi slammed his fist against the wall, the sheer force shattering the fragile structure directly. What on earth was going on? How could someone kill without making a sound? Time was ticking away; just how many more people did he need to kill to be satisfied?

“I’m sorry, Lord... It’s all my fault,” Faito said with deep self-blame, as if every single error stemmed entirely from her incompetence.

Hsu Tian-shi forcefully suppressed his surging anger, giving a bitter smile. “No, this isn’t on you. You aren’t omnipotent; it’s just that I relied too much on myself.” Faito bore no blame, nor was her premonition wrong. The only mistake was his own excessive reliance on that premonition. He should have known long ago that even with a warning, the culprit’s level of stealth was far beyond what his group could pierce.

Patchouli knitted her brows, gazing intently at the corpse of the deceased girl.

“Lord, the murderer this time is not a vampire. Look, the girl’s expression still retains the tension she felt before death; it shows she had no idea she had died until the very end, at most just worrying about running into a serial killer while walking alone at night. If the culprit were a vampire, the expression on the victim’s face would be one of hallucinatory ecstasy, or else her flesh would be torn and mangled like the previous victim. Vampires are only interested in fresh blood and carnage; internal organs are completely useless in their eyes. This corpse’s condition is the exact opposite. Her vital essence remains intact, yet her internal organs lost all vitality before she even died. It seems the other party's sole target is these organs.” The witch carefully sensed the residual magic on the body and spoke with solemn caution.

“Do you think the culprit could be the same person who ambushed Patchouli yesterday?” Hsu Tian-shi thought for a moment and suddenly asked.

“It’s possible, but I can't be certain. The one who ambushed me used a curse-like method to extract the internal organs, perhaps supplemented by certain physical means to achieve the goal, though that might just be because I am a mage. This girl’s body has no wounds, yet her organs are outside her body; that might be the full effect of such a curse. Lord, we still have far too little information. That’s all we can deduce for now.” Patchouli sighed and straightened her posture.

“Saya, did the murderer leave any clues at the scene?”

Unsurprisingly, Saya shook her head.

“Brother Hsu, we can’t go on like this. The information is asymmetric, and we are at a complete disadvantage. If this continues, even more people will become victims... Brother Hsu, let me be the bait!” Chu Yuan looked at the girl's corpse with unbearable pity, pleading as she spoke. She was terrified—terrified that her former self from the peaceful era might also meet such a gruesome end. If that happened, she would never be able to see Brother Hsu again...

Chu Yuan was not the only one feeling this fear; Hsu Tian-shi was even more terrified than her. He understood the old adage about the difficulty of guarding against a thief a thousand days; eliminating the thief directly was the safest method by far. In the peaceful era, he had too many attachments. The moment someone he knew died, the restrictions of the Chrono-Fantasy would instantly trigger, and the destruction of the world would be sealed. Escaping unscathed after the fallout with his family last time did not mean he would be so lucky forever.

Truthfully, the young man had no desire to let any of them take risks. He would rather act as the bait himself than let these young women, who cared only for his well-being, come to harm. It was just that the two murderers seemed completely disinclined to target men... Damn this gender discrimination!

Just as Hsu Tian-shi was about to refuse once more, a single word popped out from Saya.

Hsu Tian-shi’s eyes lit up. Right! The other girls were made of flesh and blood; no matter how strong they were, they were still human. Saya was different—she was a race from another world! According to the conclusion provided in the plot of *Song of Saya*, Saya’s true form was practically a deity from the Cthulhu Mythos.

“Are you sure you can handle this?” Hsu Tian-shi still felt uneasy and asked for confirmation once more.

Saya nodded. What did internal organs matter? Extract them all you liked. As long as a single fragment of her remained, she was immortal. Well, the lump of meat in the house wasn’t safe; the piece in Ryuzaki was probably the safest... No, what if the Lord threw it away? Truly, the piece planted inside the Lord himself must be the safest.

Hey, hey, just how many layers of insurance policies have you left behind, young lady?

Hsu Tian-shi let out a sigh of relief. Saya was different from the other girls; she valued her own life far more. Since she herself deemed it fine, there shouldn't be any real problem. Ke Yi was the one who had told him all this; he wondered how Ke Yi was doing right now...

“Saya, I leave the hard work to you tomorrow, but please be sure to watch out for your safety. Patchouli, set up a magic array—preferably a mobile one. We need to follow closely behind Saya without letting the other party discover us. Can you do that?” Seeing Patchouli nod, the young man continued, “Loya, the moment the target appears, restrict their movements immediately. As for the rest, attack directly! Alright, does anyone have anything to add?” Hsu Tian-shi clapped his hands.

The assembled girls all shook their heads in unison.

The young man said with satisfaction, “Then it’s settled. Faito, don’t let your guard down; the culprit might still target someone else.”

***

Was staying vigilant of any use?

Amidst the hazy, dim fog, a young girl walked alone.

She was only eighteen, a senior in high school preparing for her college entrance exams. In the prime of her youth, the flowers of her adolescence had just begun to bloom. Although her academic workload was usually heavy and evening self-study lasted past ten o'clock, as long as he was by her side, mountains of test papers and practice problems never felt tedious. Yet, though she had walked this night road for quite some time, it had never felt as unsettling as it did tonight.

“In weather like this, that so-called serial killer won't show up, right... Honestly, why did I have to act so tough? How nice it would have been to let him walk me home. And this wretched schoolbag, heavy as lead... lighten the academic burden, when will they ever lighten the burden?” the girl muttered discontentedly, her footsteps involuntarily quickening.

“Almost there, almost there, I’m about home... Tomorrow I’m making him walk with me no matter what. Hmph, it’s all your fault; if you two hadn’t kept spreading gossip about us, why would I have acted tough and walked back alone? Puppy love, puppy love... I never see the teachers bothering anyone else, yet they clamp down so strictly on me...” The girl’s tone grew increasingly aggrieved, though a sense of relief settled in her heart.

She could already see the warm light of her home on the ground floor.

“Mom, I’m back! Hurry up and come out to meet me!” the girl shouted, practically breaking into a jog as she entered the stairwell.

“I heard you, I heard you, this child...” From inside the apartment came the faintly audible, slightly disgruntled voice of her mother.

She stuck out her tongue and smiled with satisfaction.

And at that very instant, the girl’s expression froze forever.

“Mother of Disassembly.”

“I’m sorry, I'm sorry...”

In the air, a plaintive voice echoed faintly, endlessly apologizing.

The apartment door stood slightly ajar, a sliver of amber light driving away a tiny patch of darkness.

The girl could never go back.

The middle-aged woman muttered trivial words under her breath as she opened the door, preparing to welcome her daughter home. Despite her murmurs of complaint, a surge of joy filled her heart. Her daughter must have spent another exhausting day at school, right? She had already brewed chicken soup at home; she wondered if it would be enough to keep up with the girl's nutritional needs. Ah, studying nowadays was harder than going to war, yet all she could do was watch from the sidelines. Her heart ached, certainly, but for her child's future, it was all worth it, wasn't it? She wasn't an unreasonable parent; as long as it didn't interfere with her studies, puppy love wasn't such a big deal anyway. When she and her child's father started dating, they were even younger than this...

Yet the scene before her shattered her heart entirely.

With a heavy thud, the girl collapsed limply to the floor, a satisfied smile still lingering on her face. Only the gray, lifeless internal organs proved that this child would never wear any other expression again...

“My child!” The woman threw herself over her daughter’s body, her tears bursting like a broken dam.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry...”

In the air, only that helpless voice of apology echoed faintly.

***

“Crack!”

“You useless bitch, how did you only gather this pitiful amount of magic power? What on earth do I keep you around for?!” A furious young man struck the girl across the face, roaring madly. The youth’s appearance was entirely ordinary—at most fifteen or sixteen years old—yet he wore a set of extravagant, expensive clothing. However, no matter how luxurious the garments were, once worn by him, they were reduced to the cheap look of street-market rags.

A bright red handprint was branded onto the right side of the girl’s face, visibly swelling up.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry... But, but I don’t want to kill people... Master, I beg you, please provide me with magic power! I—I don’t want to kill anymore!” The girl sobbed, unable even to keep her words coherent. She wept and begged, fragile as a delicate vase that would shatter at the slightest touch.

“Get lost! Get the hell out of my sight!” The youth kicked the girl viciously, brutally trampling over her.

“Even if I have magic power, I wouldn’t waste it on trash like you! Raising a dog would at least teach it to bite people for me; raising a piece of trash like you is pure waste! What the hell use are you besides crying and whining? I’m telling you, go out and gather magic power right now! Crawl out of here!” A cruel smile crept onto the youth’s lips, and he relished this sensation immensely.

This was what it felt like to be a protagonist—holding the power of life and death, taking whatever he desired!

The girl silently endured the youth's abuse, curling up motionless on the ground.

Her spirit was already shattered.

“I don't want to kill... I don't want to, I don't want to...”

The youth panted; his frail constitution made even beating someone feel exhausting. Yet hearing the girl’s unconscious murmurs, he casually grabbed a desk lamp from nearby and smashed it down fiercely.

“Am I the master or are you the master? I’m telling you, you’re just a dog I raised, and you’ll do whatever I tell you to do! You’re not going out to kill and gather magic power? Then I’ll use a Command Seal to order you!” The youth grabbed a computer monitor from the desk, intending to smash it down just like the lamp. But he forgot one thing: he was merely a frail boy; how could he possibly lift that heavy, bulky CRT monitor with ease?

The monitor missed the girl entirely and crashed down onto the youth’s own foot instead.

“Ah! Damn it! It’s all because of you! Because of you... In the name of your master, I order you right now, go out and kill to gather magic power! Crawl out like a dog!” Screaming in agony, the youth shifted all the blame for the self-inflicted injury onto the innocent girl.

A blinding black light erupted from the youth’s right hand, and out of the tattoo-like markings glowing within the dark light, one stroke vanished. The marking was peculiar, originally composed of three strokes, but now only a single stroke remained. Its original appearance was no longer recognizable, and this final remaining stroke vaguely resembled a curved dagger.

The girl prostrated herself on the floor, crawling out of the room just like a dog. Though tears still streamed from her eyes, they had lost all luster, turning hollow and empty enough to send a chill through anyone who saw them.

There is only one Command Seal left... Is my liberation near? But my wish, my wish...