[Chapter 233: Kayako]
The hair was impossibly long, coil after coil falling onto the tiled floor, quickly covering most of the bathroom.
"K-k-k... k-k-k..."
That throat-rattling sound, chilling enough to make Christopher Nolan's soul tremble, suddenly echoed from the ceiling behind Daniel.
Daniel jerked his head up.
A large patch of blackish-red liquid seeped from the corner of the ceiling. The next second, a pale head slowly emerged from the shadows. A thick cascade of black hair spilled down like a waterfall, covering most of the face. Only a single, pitch-black eye, wild with madness and malice, was visible.
"Ah--!"
Christopher Nolan, standing frozen at the door, let out a shrill scream before collapsing to the floor and scrambling backward desperately.
Daniel snorted coldly. "Just as I thought. It's this thing."
Earlier, when Christopher Nolan had mentioned the "croak-croak" noise and the cat's meow, Daniel had suspected it was The Grudge. Seeing it now confirmed his suspicions.
The movie was a remake of the Japanese horror classic Ju-on, revolving around the curse known as "The Grudge." When someone dies consumed by a powerful rage, a curse is born at the place of death. Anyone who enters the house where that hatred took root becomes cursed by Kayako's wrath. This curse was highly contagious and attacked indiscriminately.
In life, Kayako was brutally murdered after her husband uncovered her diary. After death, her anger transformed into an eternal curse. Her signature movements included a joint-cracking crawl and the horrifying "death rattle" sound from her throat. Her son, Toshio, often appeared as a pale little boy accompanied by eerie cat meows.
In the movie, once cursed, no matter where you fled, you would eventually die beneath the overwhelming tide of black hair.
"Wa--oo!"
A piercing cat-like cry echoed from the end of the hallway. Daniel's head turned.
There, in the shadows, squatting with skin so pale it almost looked blue, was the little boy. He tilted his head and stared with his mouth wide open.
Daniel quickly withdrew his gaze and focused on the woman in white who was slowly "squeezing" out of the ceiling -- bit by agonizing bit.
"Chris, go stay downstairs," Daniel ordered without looking back. "Don't come up unless I call you."
Nolan felt as though he'd been granted a miracle and bolted toward the stairs.
"K-k... k-k-k..."
Kayako's body began to fall from the ceiling. Her limbs were twisted at grotesquely unnatural angles. As her body writhed on the floor, the grinding of bones echoed, setting teeth on edge.
She fixed her glare on Daniel. The hatred in her single eye felt almost tangible.
Suddenly, her body dropped midair. Like a heavy lump of rotting meat, she slammed onto the second-floor hallway with a "splat." Her posture was utterly subhuman -- elbows forward, knees back -- and her black hair spread like a creeping tide, quickly swallowing several feet of the surrounding floor.
"K-k... k-k-k..."
That muffled, viscous sound echoed deeply down the hallway, sending chills over anyone nearby.
From the shadows, Toshio suddenly let out a cat meow. His figure flickered and vanished into thin air.
Daniel's eyes shifted slightly as he adjusted his footing.
Swish!
Suddenly, a pair of pale little hands shot out from the floor beneath Daniel's feet, reaching for his ankles.
Before they even touched him, Daniel felt an icy chill crawl up his spine.
"The little one really does prefer sneak attacks," he snorted coldly. He made no move to dodge or escape. Instead, he let the boy's hands grasp him.
Boom!
The instant contact sent a bolt of lightning coursing through Daniel's body, striking the little boy. Toshio let out a shrill cat meow and was violently expelled. His body slammed into the opposite wall like a ragged sack before slowly sinking into the shadows, leaving a trail of dark, damp footprints behind.
At the same moment, Kayako moved, crawling at an unnatural speed, her limbs scraping harshly against the floor. As she neared Daniel, the black hair covering the floor surged suddenly. It twisted and coiled like living ropes, snaking toward him from every direction.
In an instant, Daniel was wrapped in a black cocoon of endless hair.
From downstairs, Nolan's voice cracked with nervousness: "Mr. Cross? What's happening up there? Are you okay?"
"Shut up and stay put," Daniel's voice came from inside the cocoon, calm and steady.
"Burn!"
A beam of orange-red light pierced through the black cocoon. Flames scorched the thick mass of hair, emitting a nauseating burnt smell as it rapidly recoiled.
Daniel stepped out, his body glowing fiercely with orange-red light.
"You think a binding like this can trap me?"
With a wave of his hand, the Sovereign Yearblade appeared in his grasp. And a single backhand swing sent the Blade slicing through the tidal strands of hair like a scythe cutting waves.
Kayako's visible eye snapped sharply toward Daniel's pale face -- wild with madness. She released a piercing scream, and the surroundings began to warp violently.
The modern hallway dissolved, replaced by a narrow, dark, musty attic. Yellowed newspapers plastered the walls, while black slime dripped from the ceiling.
Kayako vanished with the shifting scene. Her figure was nowhere to be seen.
This was her "Domain" -- the prison of her death. Within this domain, she could appear anywhere at will, striking across space. Once trapped inside, there was almost no chance of escape for ordinary people. They could only wait for death to claim them.
"Just an illusion?" Daniel sneered. "You're nowhere near strong enough to play these games with me."
"Lend me the power of the land!"
He stomped his foot heavily, and waves of majestic power surged from his soles into the ground.
The distorted illusion shattered bit by bit like broken glass, revealing the familiar hallway of Nolan's villa once more.
Kayako reappeared before Daniel, visibly shaken by the backlash of the energy. Her body trembled violently, and the "k-k-k" sound from her throat became frantic and pained.
Then she vanished again.
The next second, Daniel felt a chill crawl down his spine.
Kayako's head suddenly grew out from his shoulder. That face, cracked by deathly energy, pressed close to his ear, her icy breath brushing his neck.
Daniel felt his throat tighten, as if invisible hands were choking him, trying to drag him into darkness.
Ghost Choke.
"Not done yet?" Daniel's gaze sharpened. He reached back with his right hand and gripped Kayako's crown.
Though she had no physical form, he held her firmly in his grasp.
"Come out!"
His fingers clenched hard. He literally dragged Kayako out, slamming her heavily onto the floor before him. The impact sent ripples across the floor.
"Wa--oo!"
Toshio appeared again, standing on the ceiling with his mouth wide open.
Countless clumps of black hair gushed from his mouth, pressing down on Daniel like a dark waterfall.
*****
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