Chapter 39: A Life for a Life
"Run! All of you, run now!" Haruto's voice, stripped of its usual lazy drawl, cracked like a whip through the tense air.
This time, his urgency finally broke through their shock. The group scrambled, feet pounding against the floorboards as they sprinted in the direction Haruto had pointed, pouring every ounce of strength into their flight. If Haruto was this serious, it could only mean the situation had spiraled into something truly dire.
"To the beach!" he yelled, taking the lead. "The beach is the escape point!"
The others followed in a desperate, ragged line. They had only managed a few steps when a deafening explosion erupted behind them.
Boom—!
Everyone instinctively flinched, glancing over their shoulders. The heavy wooden door to the water room, along with its entire frame, had been obliterated from within by sheer, brute force. The furniture they had piled against it was launched like cannonballs, splintering as they pierced through the hallway's side wall. In an instant, a thick, cloying stench of rot and brine flooded the corridor, carried on a wave of dense, chilling fog.
The next second, the breach vomited forth a tide of monsters.
Countless eerie, bloated mermaids swarmed out. They writhed, crawled, and staggered forward—a grotesque menagerie of decaying flesh and twisted limbs that instantly choked the hallway, flooding every inch of space with their horrific forms.
One figure stood out amongst the horde. Its venomous gaze was locked on Haruto and the others. Unlike the shambling abominations dragging flayed human skins, this one possessed a true fish tail, its grayish-green scales shimmering wetly in the dim light, making it look exceptionally terrifying.
"Roar—!"
It let out a guttural shriek that tore through the air.
In response, countless swollen, milky fish eyes swiveled in unison, fixing on the fleeing humans. The entire horrifying spectacle unfolded in the blink of an eye.
Without needing another command from Haruto, the group had already turned and redoubled their efforts, sprinting for their lives. But the mermaids were faster.
They were only halfway down the hall when the wet, slapping sounds of several pursuing creatures closed in right behind them.
"There are too many! You good-for-nothing, think of something, quick!" Kaguya's voice was sharp with strain. The Jeweled Branch of Hourai in her hand was a blur of motion, leaving shimmering afterimages as it struck down a dozen of the lead mermaids. She was already pushing her manipulation of Eternity and the Instantaneous to its limit, but it wasn't enough.
For every twenty or thirty she managed to halt, an endless wave of their brethren surged forward to take their place.
Just as the terrifying tide of monsters was about to swallow them whole, Haruto abruptly skidded to a stop. He spun around, two thick stacks of talisman cards appearing in his hands as if from nowhere. Without a moment's hesitation, he hurled them forward—the entire emergency stock Youmu had prepared for him.
Swish, swish, swish!
Swish, swish, swish, swish…!
The air exploded with the sound of a thousand blades slicing through it. The paper talismans transformed into a storm of cold light, forming an invisible barrier of spectral sword strikes that momentarily held back the massive army of mermaids.
"Run!" Haruto urged them again.
He saw Yotsuya Miko panting heavily, her steps faltering from exhaustion. Without a word, he swept her up into his arms, princess-style, and resumed his sprint toward the exit.
Taking advantage of the precious seconds the talismans had bought them, the group finally burst through the Mermaid Pension's main doors. Outside, a fog so thick it seemed to swallow the world greeted them. They had no choice but to plunge into it, running blindly in the direction of the sea they remembered.
But the reprieve was fleeting.
The scalp-numbing pitter-patter of wet feet, the grating friction of scales on wood, and the heavy, dragging thuds of damp bodies began to close in once more. No one dared to stop. No one dared to look back. They poured every last reserve of strength into their legs, running for their very lives.
Two hundred meters… one hundred meters…
Splash…
The gentle sound of waves lapping against sand reached their ears. At the same time, a cool, salty sea breeze washed over their faces.
A wave of relief washed over the group.
Having finally reached the shore, they slowed to a halt, gasping for breath. Behind them, there was no sign of the mermaids. The sounds of pursuit had vanished completely.
The newcomer, his chest heaving, repeatedly thanked Haruto, thumping his own chest and declaring his real name. He promised that once they were out of this hell, he would find a way to repay "Brother Bai Liu" and the others for their care.
"Brother Bai Liu… you can put me down now," Yotsuya Miko murmured weakly from his arms.
Haruto silently set her on her feet. The moment she was steady, she saw the grim, unreadable expression on his face and her newfound relief instantly curdled into renewed anxiety.
"Brother Bai Liu… isn't this the exit?"
Her question hung in the air, and even the newcomer's face tightened with fear once more.
"It is the exit," Haruto confirmed with a slight nod.
Yotsuya Miko let out a shaky sigh of relief, but her confusion only deepened. Just as she was about to ask why he still looked so troubled, Haruto had already turned to face the impenetrable wall of mist they had just escaped.
"I'll be right back."
Before his voice had even faded, his figure dissolved into the fog.
"Brother Bai Liu!" Yotsuya Miko cried out, her voice sharp with panic, but there was no response. She spun around and grabbed Kaguya's arm, her grip desperate. "Sister Kaguya, what is he doing? Why is he going back? Should we go help him?"
"To see if he can be saved," Kaguya said, her own voice low and heavy.
'Save him?'
The words left Yotsuya Miko and the newcomer utterly stunned.
"Didn't you notice?" Kaguya sighed, her gaze distant. "There's one person missing from our group."
At her prompting, it finally dawned on them. Yotsuya Miko's eyes darted around, her mind racing. And then she knew. King Chen was gone. He had vanished at some point during their frantic escape.
With his powerful physique, there was no way he would have been trailing at the back. Even if the mermaids had caught up, he wouldn't have been the first to fall.
Then she thought back to the silence. The abrupt end to the pursuit right after they fled the pension.
A terrible possibility bloomed in Yotsuya Miko's mind, and her eyes instantly reddened with unshed tears.
"Uncle Chen… he… he…"
Haruto moved with silent speed, racing back toward the pension. He pushed his senses to their absolute limit; the slightest hint of danger, and he would turn and flee without a second thought.
The reason he came back was simple: Haruto hated owing people favors.
More than that, he believed that if someone was willing to show you kindness, you had a duty to repay that kindness in kind.
The dark, looming outline of the Mermaid Pension slowly materialized through the fog.
Haruto's caution intensified, but a flicker of hope ignited in his chest. The fact that the mermaids hadn't poured out in pursuit proved that King Chen was still holding on. It proved he was still alive.
Sure enough.
As he neared the pension's entrance, Haruto saw a figure. A broad, unmoving silhouette was pressed firmly against the splintered door panel.
It was King Chen.
And yet, it wasn't.
The thing braced against the door was a scarecrow, its face a blank canvas of stitched burlap, utterly devoid of expression. It was as if its mind had been wiped clean, its entire existence reduced to a single, unyielding mission: to stand before this door.
'A cursed item from the instance?' Haruto thought.
He took another step forward. The primal danger sense of a Boundary Youkai screamed at him, a piercing alarm in his mind, but he didn't stop. He simply drew a single talisman card from the Gap—one covered in grotesque, staring eyeballs—and silently approached the scarecrow's back.
"Boundary of Man and Youkai—"
A nascent tendril of his power enveloped the scarecrow. The straw woven into its form began to slowly retract into its body, the human form of King Chen starting to re-emerge. But in the next moment, the door he was bracing, which had been silent, suddenly thundered with a deafening bang. The wood twisted and warped under an immense, unseen pressure.
Haruto's expression changed drastically. He was about to abandon the attempt and run when the scarecrow's eyes snapped open. The straw that had just begun to recede instantly burst forth again, growing wildly at a speed visible to the naked eye, reinforcing its body.
At the same time, the pension door fell silent once more.
The scarecrow's eyes were chaotic, but as it turned its head and saw Haruto, a flicker of clarity returned. A hint of surprise crossed its stiff features.
"I'm sorry," Haruto said, his voice tight, his teeth gritted. "I can't save you."
The scarecrow managed to contort its burlap face into something resembling a stiff, wry smile. It understood. It knew why Haruto had returned.
"This was my choice," King Chen's voice rasped, muffled and dry from the scarecrow's form. "You don't need to feel sad for me. And you don't owe me anything. To be able to trade my life for everyone's survival… this deal… it's worth it."
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