Chapter 3 : Do you think I'm pretty?

Dewa took a cigarette out of his pocket and then lit it with trembling hands, carrying a large puff of smoke before exhaling.

"I didn't smoke before, but the pressure and nervousness of the last few months could only be calmed by cigarettes and alcohol."

"But let's get back to business.

The original legend included a young girl who lived a hundred years ago and was the wife, or concubine, of a samurai.

She was described as being of great beauty, the most beautiful in her village, every day she would ask the village children if she was pretty and the children answered "yes".

One day she thought she could cheat on her husband.

The samurai, feeling extremely jealous and feeling deceived and dishonored, attacked her and slit her mouth up to both ears, saying,

"Who will find you beautiful now ? »."

According to popular legend, she asks potential victims if they think she is attractive. If they respond with "no", she will kill them with her weapon. If they say "yes", she will reveal that the corners of her mouth are slit from ear to ear, and she will then repeat her question. If the individual responds with "no", she will kill them with her weapon, and if they say "yes", she will cut the corners of their mouth in such a way that resembles her own disfigurement."

"I was extremely lucky in a way because I never answered his question, I preferred to ignore it because I thought it was a figment of my imagination or I thought I was going crazy, finally I decided to go to a temple to be exorcised even though I didn't have much hope, a glimmer of hope still existed, but the abbot who received me turned out to be a swindler who was trying to swindle me out of money, but desperate I gave him 1000000¥ (9480 USD)."

"But while the swindler was doing his simulated exorcism perhaps he irritated the monster, but she jumped from my shoulder on which they had settled, and attacked the swindler cutting his jaw in an instant, killing him instantly."

"The accomplices of the terrified swindler called the police who came quickly but after a brief investigation I was cleared of the case, but I was even more terrified by the monster that haunted me, finally I didn't leave my house until today."

"Because I was going to kill myself before I met you."

He then put out his cigarette and bowed down again before Eiji before handing her a business card.

"Thank you for your help, but please help me get rid of this thing that's haunting me."

Eiji then stood up and said calmly.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't think I can help you."

Surprised, Dewa didn't know what to say for a while, so he stood up as well and took Eiji's hand.

"But you managed to scare it away, didn't you?"

"Yes, but it was a fluke, on that note, I'll say goodbye, I hope you can get rid of the spirit that haunts you."

Then Eiji freed himself from Dewa's grip and walked out of the cafe.

Dewa put a 10,000¥ bill on the table and then rushed out of the cafe running at full speed towards Eiji.

"Wait exorcist Sama, please help me."

"I refuse!"

"For pity's sake!"

"I refuse!"

But while Dewa was harassing him Eijis suddenly stopped, he felt a pain in his arms again, that's when he noticed that the streets were empty, there was no one on the sidewalks, this was extremely abnormal in an international metropolis like Tokyo.

The light from the street lamps started to flicker, the air suddenly became colder and a sinister atmosphere had set in in the streets, Dewa also noticed changes, a shiver ran through his body as he hurried to hide behind Eiji.

From the ground a dark smoke slowly emerged, then a woman with long hair and slashed cheeks emerged from the dark smoke.

She twisted her neck as the sound of her joints echoed through the empty streets.

She looked at Eiji and Dewa and then asked in a cold, soft voice.

"Do you think I'm beautiful?"

"Do you think I'm pretty?"

On hearing this sentence, Dewa's blood froze, he raised his gaze over Eiji's shoulder and when he saw the ghost Kuchisake-onna, he almost fainted.

When Eiji was very calm, he had no solution to solve this situation but fear was one of the feelings he could no longer feel, in this universe only one place could scare him and he had already purged in that place for an infinitely long time.

"Old woman please stop harassing young men like me and this gentleman, we have several centuries of age difference, it would be inappropriate for you to hit on me, go to a cemetery to find a companion and stop harassing us otherwise I would report you to the police! And to answer your question, you are absolutely the ugliest woman I have ever seen!"

Hearing this, an unspeakable fear struck Dewa, his heart stopped beating, the next second he fainted.

The ghost, as if angered by Eiji's insults, screamed in a high-pitched voice, it teeth became sharper, it pupils became bloody, the ground under Eiji's feet and the sidewalk gradually turned blood-red.

Eiji picked up Dewa, who had fainted, put him on his shoulders and ran away at full speed.

But then he noticed that he could no longer move forward because the space was like dilated, each time he took a step in one direction, he reappeared in the same place.

Meanwhile the ghost's limbs lengthened, it nails became extremely sharp, then it slowly floated towards Eiji.

Eiji who could not flee trow Dewa on the ground, who then woke up, but when he saw the ghost Kuchisake-onna in such a terrifying form, he fainted again under the shock.

Eiji suddenly had the urge to strangle this shameless man he had just met today, but he didn't have that possibility because his eyes were fixed on the monster that gradually approached him.

"Why don't you attack me like you did last time? Let me guess, you're afraid of my chains!"

Eiji raised both his arms in the direction of Kuchisake-onna who immediately moved backwards with incredible speed, it stared with his scarlet eyes at Eiji' arms in awe, while inflating it slit cheeks.

"Thou then fearest my chains? Come here if you are a brave ghost! Didn't you want to kill us a few seconds ago? Come and kill me!"

But before Eiji's eyes, the ghost's cheeks swelled even more than before as it madly sucked air through the wounds on it cheeks, having accumulated enough air, the ghost spat out a viscous substance that like a revolver bullet pierced the void and struck Eiji.

Time in Eiji's eyes seemed to slow down, he saw a ball of greenish viscous liquid coming towards him at a speed beyond reasonable, he knew that if this substance hit him, he would die.

At that moment he was afraid, he was absolutely not afraid dead, he was not afraid of pain either.

But he absolutely did not want to go back to that infernal place that would make a luxury hotel look like hell.

That's when time stopped, the familiar black chains came out of her arms, then two voices echoed in his mind.

"What is your wish?"

These words shook Eiji's soul and spirit, as if under the grip of a supernatural curse, all the most primitive human desires invaded him at that moment as if to prevent him from answering wisely, thousands of voices whispered in his ears many wishes, pushing him to temptations that could devour the soul of the saintest of humans.

But was he still human?

"Annihilated for me everything that can prevent me from living! Even if the world must be destroyed for that! Chains lend me your strength! I want to live!!!"

He screams madly, releasing in his voice all the hatred, anger, frustration, sadness and fear that he has accumulated over countless years.

The two voices laughed uncontrollably and then said : "So be it!"