CubexCursedxCurious:Volume3 Chapter4

Chapter 4 - The Transcender Who Was Everywhere / "Human"

Part 1

Passing through back alleyways, the trio of Haruaki, Kirika and Kuroe were taken to a coastal area lined with warehouses. Perhaps this zone was originally abandoned, because it was completely devoid of people. Blown continuously by the sea breeze, several warehouses looked like haunted houses as they stood eerily in the darkness of the night.

Following Alice's orders, the trio entered one of the warehouses. Since it was late at night, the view was completely dark. But very soon, faint light appeared. The nearby light source was behind Haruaki—A battery-powered lantern in Alice's hand.

The dim light revealed the emptiness in the warehouse. Apart from a large freight container positioned by the wall, the remainder was a vast space with nothing but the chilly, blowing wind. Near the entrance, there was a spot with lingering signs that someone had lit firewood in the warehouse in a lapse of common sense, surrounded by piles of random articles including blankets. Alice had apparently been using this place as shelter.

"Anyway, could you please enter the freight container over there? Although it's a little cramped, you'll find it cozy once you get used to it."

Alice ordered Kirika to pull open the door with its heavy hinges and unload Kuroe inside. Her arms and legs static like a doll's, Kuroe spoke up again:

"Wow~ This suite is simply marvelous. The hard feeling of icy-cold steel against my back is simply the greatest."

Blankly, she commented with sarcasm.

Then Alice took out two sets of handcuffs from her luggage and tossed them lightly to Kirika.

"Go inside and put these on your ankles and wrists."

"..."

"Ara ara, would you like a cup of hot juice too?"

Haruaki felt the cold blade against his throat again. Kirika had no choice but to abandon the frown on her face.

"Wait, I get it... Look here, I put them on already."

"Excellent. Now you too—Oh... my? I only brought three pairs of cuffs? Never mind. In any case, please cuff your hands."

"Damn you to hell..."

Haruaki was completely reluctant to obey her, but he did not want to die either. Left without a choice, he could only handcuff his wrists. Excellent—Satisfied, Alice pushed Haruaki from behind and shoved him into the freight container as well. The area within the container was only about the size of a school washroom and definitely not spacious, but it was not so cramped as to be impossible to move about inside. Other than the open door, a draft could be felt seeping through a gap. At least there was no danger of suffocation.

"I need to make some preparations, so please relax and get some rest for now, everyone."

Once the container door was shut, a rustling sound was heard outside. What was she preparing?

"Class Rep..."

"How troubling. Things have become absolutely ridiculous."

"Ow. Haru, don't step on my arm."

"Woah, sorry... W-What should we do?"

"Nothing can be done. The «Black River of Pity» can't open handcuffs, so we can only bide our time—That woman called us hostages so she shouldn't be doing anything to us immediately."

"I hope so..."

"Of course, we cannot let slip any chance for escape. That woman intends to make a deal with Fear and Konoha, right? In that case, I believe the instant of the exchange will be the best opportunity to take action."

"Ohoh, I see this kind of development in movies a lot."

"In the movie I saw last time, the hostage who made a false move in a similar situation got shot in the head."

"Kuroe, please don't say something so unlucky..."

While they conversed, the container's door was opened again. Blinded by the sudden brightness of the lantern, Haruaki could not keep his eyes open.

"Preparations are ready. First, allow me to give you all a present. Please accept this."

Bottles were rolled over. Five unopened bottles of mineral water. Be careful not to get dehydrated—Alice said while smiling cordially.

"Also, I'll leave this lantern here as a matter of courtesy. After all, I can burn firewood for illumination. Anyway, let's leave it at that. How about we cut to the main point? Please look this way."

"...A video camera?"

Haruaki looked up and saw Alice with a small device before her face. She was waving her hand especially happily:

"I bought this at Akihabara. As expected of a product made in Japan, it's packed full of features, it's really wonderful!"

"Hmph, looks like it can shoot a happy home video. You plan on giving it to your companions as a souvenir?"

"No, this will serve as a video letter. Those girls must be in quite a panic by now, right? Hence, I intend to send them this to disclose a bit of news. I believe an elaborate product would transmit my feelings better—Oh by the way, Kuroe-sama, I couldn't catch your face!"

"I can't move at all. Haru, please turn my neck for me."

While helping Kuroe turn her head, Haruaki glared at Alice with everything he had.

"Okay, perfect. The recording begins... Okay, Fear-sama, this is the current situation. Let me title this scene, 'Three Helpless Little Deer.' What needs to be done should be quite clear to you, right? If you wish for the safe return of these three, please accept our invitation to the Bivorio Family. I will offer utmost hospitality."

"Fear! You should know what to do!"

Haruaki could not help but yell. Yes, Fear should know what she needs to do. She will not accept these terms. She cannot choose this option. For the sake of lifting her curse, she had already decided to stay here. For the sake of lifting her curse, becoming human. Hence she absolutely was not going to go to those people—

"No no no, Fear-sama does not understand."

"What...?"

"Does salvation ever come without suffering? Indeed, because Fear-sama's salvation is needed, I have expressly prepared suffering. The homicides in the city. The need to ponder their meaning carefully to reach the truth—That kind of suffering. But with Kuroe-sama under suspicions, that became no longer possible. Hence I have no choice but to tell you all now, because this will be just as dramatic as overcoming suffering, this goes just as well. Indeed, overcoming suffering to finally uncover the truth for the first time—Only such a dramatic development could effectively transmit the true message, that is what we believe, which is why we don't talk about it lightly."

"I don't get what you mean...! What the heck are you trying to say!?"

Haruaki questioned gruffly, but Alice simply chuckled, shaking her shoulders.

"Of course I am talking about us—The Bivorio Family."

Alice slowly extended an arm, pouring forth her emotions and began explaining as if Fear were present right here. Or perhaps, this performance was targeted towards Kuroe who was immobilized.

"Indeed, I did not lie. The reason why I tried to persuade you, merely wanting to be together with you, merely wanting to have tea with you, merely wanting to chat with you, merely—a simple wish... Would you allow us to become your family?"

Haruaki gasped. There was nothing suspicious in her words. Judging purely from the content, the description did resemble the Yachi home. Similarly, Haruaki hoped to become their family. But why—Why did Alice's words produce such an intense chilling effect?

"Indeed, we hope to become your family. To become family members for you who are wonderful, you who are not human, you who are superior to mankind! There is no dilemma, nothing to hesitate about. Family offers salvation. Family offers love. Family offers recognition. Family offers affirmation. So naturally, in order to allow family to become part of our family—We insist on a single and simple principle. Listen carefully, okay?"

Alice took a deep breath. One could not feel any haughtiness from her.

But proudly, she puffed out her chest.

And declared:

"We members of the Bivorio Family—offer complete affirmation of the existences known as Wathes."

"Wha...!"

"Complete affirmation of Wathes...? What does... that mean...!?"

Halfway through, Kirika widened her eyes in surprise as if she realized something. Staring back in amusement, Alice continued:

"Indeed, complete affirmation. Naturally, this also includes the curses on the Wathes."

Haruaki was almost about to suffocate. This was absolutely too incomprehensible and his head was dizzy. What did she say? This woman just... said what...?

"We affirm curses. We affirm the curses that gave birth to transcenders like you. Curses do not require you to force yourself to bear them. Moreover, they are not something that must be removed. Transcenders should look their part as transcenders, as existences possessing superhuman powers. It is completely fine to live as you please using the power of curses. You have that right and obligation—Naturally, this applies equally to Wathes that are in the process of transforming into transcenders."

"N-No... That's wrong! That is absolutely wrong!"

Haruaki recalled the suffering brought by curses to Fear, Konoha, Sovereignty as well as Kuroe in the past—Wishing they could stop harming humans, they suffered great anguish and desperately held back.

"You think it's wrong? Now that would be the true misconception. You're unable to accept your own curse because holding it back is very painful, Fear-sama? But it's fine, there's no need to hold back, because that is what you are."

"You're insane..."

Kirika bit her lower lip and said. Haruaki agreed.

"No, the humans who forced unnecessary torment on you all are wrong. The humans who try to imprison you transcenders with human logic are wrong. The Family does not do that. If curses compel you to kill people, then go ahead and kill joyfully! If curses cause owners to go insane, then let them joyfully become the madmen who embraces and rub cheeks with you! And if curses kill the owners—Then let them joyfully offer their lives as sacrifice!"

"...Not happy at all. At least for me, treated in that manner doesn't make me happy at all."

Kuroe murmured expressionlessly. But Alice either missed it or refused to hear it.

Still smiling, she declared proudly—

"For a member of the Family, dying for a transcender is an honor. Absolute sacrifice and thoughtfulness—only those who have awakened feelings of such familial love are qualified to become members of the Family. Although numbers are few, we do have supporters. Those who were saved by the Wathes and decided to devote everything henceforth to the transcenders known as the Wathes... Indeed, I asked them for help this time."

"...Help?"

The ominous feeling in Haruaki's heart increased.

Don't listen—His instincts whispered to him. This was further insanity exhibited by madmen. Were he to listen, there would be no going back. This was the depressing truth that made him realize the decisive difference between his side and Alice's—

But Alice did not stop talking.

In a very very happy tone of voice, like a child who was showing off her prowess in a game, she continued:

"Yes. In order to dramatically express 'our affirmation of curses,' I asked several members of the Family to offer themselves in sacrifice. Everyone died joyfully!"

Part 2

'—Died joyfully!'

All thought interrupted.

Then came understanding.

Instantly, Fear kicked the table flying out of the living room by pure strength alone. The dining table crashed thunderously into the garden, but that did not matter at this time.

"Screw this, screw this, screw this...! What the heck? What is going on!?"

"—Please quiet down a bit. I can't hear the sound."

Konoha was intently watching the playing DVD. However, her fingers were busy adjusting the glasses over her sharp gaze.

Fear clenched her fists. Wanting very much to escape from the woman who was bringing up unpleasant things, she turned her gaze outside the house. The dining table lay overturned in the garden. The sky was already getting light—Then several more hours passed. Earlier, Fear and Konoha had returned home to find their important companions disappeared after Alice had vanished during the pursuit like last time. As for their discovery of the DVD in the mailbox, that took place merely half an hour earlier.

Although Fear was facing the garden, she could still hear the sound. She knew she must listen no matter what.

'Could this be—what they share in common—?'

It was Haruaki's voice. A voice that now elicited nostalgic feelings.

'Indeed, precisely this. All the people who died are members of the Family—This is the answer. Asking them to visit the beauty parlor was meant to serve as preferential treatment and a hint. What I call preferential treatment is this—Since death was coming anyway, they would offer their hair to Kuroe-sama as nourishment. As for the hint—it was to let you know their faces.'

All their reasoning was reversed—Fear instantly understood.

Rather than people who visited the beauty parlor were killed...

Simply those fated to die had visited the beauty parlor.

'...Didn't you switch targets to Ficchi? There's no particular need to service me, right?'

Fear glanced at the screen. Just like what she saw earlier, Kuroe remained motionless. Her freedom of mobility was probably taken away somehow, right?

Fear was reminded that she still had not apologized to her.

'Indeed, our primary target has changed to Fear-sama, but I still like you, Kuroe-sama, and would offer the Family's love as much as possible—Hence, not only did I visited personally to have you cut my hair, but also told other members of the Family to visit your shop as soon as they arrived to this town. Since I did not prescribe a sequence for the deaths, I allowed them to do as much as they could while they were still alive. Everyone agreed readily to it.'

Kuroe snorted through her nose as her response.

'After all, preferential treatment is simply what it is. Please don't mind it too much. By the way, speaking of which, there was another hint I prepared to help you realize what the members of the Family shared—But it looks like no one caught it. To draw a connection to my nun's habit, I ordered everyone to wear a cross ornament when entering the beauty parlor... Was that too difficult to spot?'

'! ...I see now, so that's the weird feeling I had when checking the security footage... That was it huh...'

Kirika groaned in displeasure. Oh no... Fear really wanted to tell her "Thank you for your help"... But before she had a chance to express her gratitude, this situation had arose immediately.

'The silver cross. Hair decorations. Key holders on their bags... Speaking of which, I have some recollection of them wearing those. Tsk, how could I fail to notice...?'

'I prepared many similar hints, but until yesterday, you had not even figured out that all of the deceased were customers of the beauty parlor. Does this country have strict standards of privacy protection? The news almost never reported on their appearance. Thus as a further hint, I snipped off some hair from a dead Family member who had had a haircut already and delivered it to Kuroe-sama. Part of the reason was also the fact that I wanted another haircut myself.'

'All thanks to you, I was involved in a great misunderstanding.'

Kuroe's statement caused Fear a pain in her chest. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

'...So what if we realize the deceased are members of the Family? What's the meaning in doing this?'

'Like I said earlier. I hoped you could realize for yourselves—The Family affirms curses. We are a wonderful organization who are willing to die for curses. In order to satisfy the curse of this «Cannibal Cooker» here, I asked them to die. And in order to convey our message to Fear-sama, I had them made into cube shapes. My original hope was for you all to solve the riddle using the clues I provided, so that you could realize the meaning behind our actions, to find out in a dramatic manner what sort of organization we are. I believed that only through this sense of drama, only by overcoming suffering before salvation to reach the truth, could you all truly experience how wonderful we are.'

After Alice finished, Kirika's bitter voice sliced through the air:

'I can't understand a thing you're saying, but let me ask you, that curse... Is there a connection to the fact that parts of the victims' bodies were removed?"

'Yes, the curse of this «Cannibal Cooker» is quite simple. It simply compels one to kill and eat people.'

'Eat...!'

Haruaki was rendered speechless.

'I only used it for the first time after coming here... But it's not very tasty actually, oh? Perhaps limited by how the news is reported, none of these details came out very well, which is partially responsible for the failure. This country feels like it was cultivated in a sterile environment, how troubling.'

Fear bit her lower lip hard. The damage to the corpses was completely unrelated to Kuroe's consumption of hair. Everything came about only because this woman and the Bivorio Family were too abnormal—

Now that Fear understood, the answer was simple. To have been manipulated so easily, she really was incompetent, how frustrating, too embarrassing—Fear felt her anger rising.

'...Okay, Fear-sama, you now understand the Family's position and the current situation, yes? Once you make a decision, please come to the location indicated in the enclosed map. I won't ask you to come alone. Similarly, I hope the glasses-wearing girl can also become family. You two may come together—Plus Kuroe-sama, I really would not mind if all three of you joined us at the same time.'

"I refuse. Indeed, I refuse. What am I thinking right now? Nothing but to make you regret the ridiculous acts you have perpetrated... This is truly all that I am feeling right now."

Konoha was murmuring in a terrifying voice, her hand still adjusting her glasses without pause.

Then the video letter ended and the screen turned dark.

Fear took a deep breath. Although she was completely at odds with Cow Tits here, only at the current moment did she feel that their minds were in complete agreement.

"When do we leave?"

"Any time."

The Japanese sword answered immediately. Had she been the one to ask first, Fear would have instantly replied the same.

Konoha stood up, her face resembling the expression Fear had seen in the night forest before—A cruel and merciless aura.

Ah... I get it. I can understand what she's feeling.

Fear felt the same way—and was desperately suppressing this anger.

She really wanted to get there earlier. To reach that guy's side as quickly as possible.

But before the that, something apparently had to be done first.

Something needs to be settled first.

"Hey, Cow Tits..."

Just as Fear spoke up—

There was a great noise from the entryway. It only sounded for an instant.

Fear and Konoha looked at each other for an instant before springing into action, rushing out of the living room.

A few mere steps were enough to reveal the reason for the noise. Completely unexpected—Whether considered as good news or bad.

Kirika was lying collapsed at the entrance, all covered in blood.

Part 3

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Part 4

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Part 5

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Part 6

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Part 7

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Part 8

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Part 9

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