"Awooo~"
Under the moonlight, howling voices like wolves echoed through the city.
But how could there even be wolves in the city?
At best, they could be some wolf relatives, that is, dogs barking wildly. Probably the dogs from Ukiyoe Ichiban Street had formed a pack, preparing to go to the dogs on Sanban Street to abduct Kohana. By the way, Kohana was a cat.
Of course, all of this had little to do with what was about to happen.
At this moment, Kasumigaoka Utaha was walking down the street. Occasionally, she would see one or two passersby, but since it was already late and this street was not in a busy part of the city, there were very few people. Still, the streetlights everywhere emitted bright white light, making the girl feel less scared.
"Click, click."
The sound of leather shoes was particularly clear in the silence of the night.
And the girl's thoughts gradually relaxed, drifting toward the upcoming plot of Love Metronome.
But at that moment, behind Kasumigaoka Utaha, hurried, heavy breathing suddenly sounded:
"Huff~ puff~"
The sound was very fast, like a dog panting with its tongue out.
However, when Kasumigaoka Utaha turned her head to look behind her, she saw nothing; the long street was lit with a series of street lamps, it wasn't dark, but it seemed eerily quiet.
Seeing this, Kasumigaoka Utaha frowned. She didn't often wear headphones, so her hearing was usually good. She had definitely heard the breathing just now, and it was very close, but… there was nothing?
Feeling uneasy, Kasumigaoka Utaha gripped her bag tightly and quickened her pace.
"Just pass this street and turn the corner, and I'll be at the apartment. I have to hurry!"
Feeling like something was following her, Kasumigaoka Utaha thought and unconsciously began to run. Just as she was about to reach the intersection, her vision suddenly darkened.
The streetlight had malfunctioned; the sudden blackout made Kasumigaoka Utaha stumble for a moment, but only for a moment. Just as she was about to quickly head toward her apartment, the extinguished lamp flickered several times, then suddenly turned on again.
This time, however, the light was no longer the usual pure white, but dim and yellowish. Standing under such a lamp, Kasumigaoka Utaha felt an inexplicable panic.
"What's wrong with this lamp?"
Looking at the strange light, Kasumigaoka Utaha was confused, but only briefly glanced before preparing to move on.
However, when her gaze fell on the space in front of her, she discovered that a dog had somehow appeared there.
By its fur color, it should have been an Akita, but… this Akita was a bit too large, wasn't it?
An ordinary Akita could grow at most to a person's calf height, but this one in front of her, by rough estimation, was almost as tall as Kasumigaoka Utaha's thigh!
Realizing something was wrong, Kasumigaoka Utaha subtly stepped back. But after only a few steps, she felt as if her foot had touched something furry.
She turned her head and saw an Akita appear behind her!
Moreover, the Akita's body was moving, as if it were eating something, and from its mouth came a series of sounds: "crunch, crunch~."
"Gulp."
Swallowing hard, Kasumigaoka Utaha looked forward again, only to find that the Akita was still standing in front of her, facing away, and also twitching as it moved its body. But if that dog behind her was moving… then what was this one in front?!
The girl was now surrounded by two Akitas the size of half a person. Under the dim yellow light, fear surged in Kasumigaoka Utaha's heart.
She wasn't stupid; she clearly saw that the current situation was extremely wrong.
Rigidly moving her body, Kasumigaoka Utaha tried to bypass the two strange dogs, but as soon as she turned her head to the right, there sat another Akita of the same appearance.
This time, the Akita wasn't turned away from the girl, but directly facing her!
However, the dog held its head down, and in front of it was a large bone it was enthusiastically gnawing, constantly making strange "crunch~ crunch" sounds.
Confronted with this obviously abnormal Akita, Kasumigaoka Utaha crouched, her wine-red eyes stripped of all shine.
The girl mechanically raised her hand and began to stroke the Akita.
And the Akita did not move away or resist, allowing her to pet it.
After an unknown amount of time, the Akita finished gnawing the bone.
At the moment it raised its head, a terrifying, icy face entered Kasumigaoka Utaha's field of vision.
On the huge dog's head, there wasn't a dog's elongated snout and furry face, but a human face that was eerily disproportionate and grotesque compared to its body!
The human face was strangely twisted, mouth wide open full of blood, the skin on the left cheek torn and hanging from the chin, and a pair of completely black eyes shone with an unusual gleam under the dim yellow streetlight!
"Ah!!!"
At the moment she saw the terrifying face, Kasumigaoka Utaha, whose mind was clouded, screamed in horror, instantly regaining consciousness, and hurriedly stood up and stepped back, wanting to escape from this horrible monster!
But the sudden movement made her legs weaken, and she fell straight back.
"Hehe~ hehe~"
Looking at Kasumigaoka Utaha, the Dog with a Human Face let out a strange laugh. Although it had the face of a middle-aged man, the laugh sounded like that of a little girl.
This scene, however you looked at it, was bizarre.
Yet the Dog with a Human Face obviously didn't perceive it that way. The other two Dogs with Human Faces stood up, wagging their blood-red tails, and slowly moved toward the monster in front of Kasumigaoka Utaha.
Immediately after, the three Dogs with Human Faces began to merge before her eyes. Their flesh and blood were like a viscous fluid, melting together on contact.
Under the girl's horrified gaze, the three monsters quickly fused into one.
The merged Dog with a Human Face was now enormous, human-sized, and its rotting human face was as large as a washbasin.
"Hehe~"
Its completely black eyes, without any sclera, stared at Kasumigaoka Utaha. The Dog with a Human Face let out that creepy laugh again, pushed aside the large thigh bone, its decayed face twisted into a grin, and slowly moved toward Kasumigaoka Utaha.
Seeing this, the fear in Kasumigaoka Utaha's heart reached its peak, and her lips trembled as she stammered:
"No, don't come closer!"
Seeing Kasumigaoka Utaha in this state, the Dog with a Human Face became even happier, as if her fear would make the meat taste better later.
But just as the Dog with a Human Face was about to see if the girl in front of it would pee from fear, Kasumigaoka Utaha suddenly found an unknown source of courage. She leaned against a wall, suddenly stood up, and swung a plastic bag of instant noodles at the Dog with a Human Face.
Seeing this, the mocking expression on the Dog with a Human Face disappeared. It opened its large mouth and bit the plastic bag, along with the instant noodles, putting them into its mouth.
"Roaaar!!"
The Dog with a Human Face let out a series of deep growls like a real dog, suddenly opened its mouth, and swallowed the instant noodles. Its previous playful mood was somewhat disrupted by Kasumigaoka Utaha's action.
Having lost its desire to play, the Dog with a Human Face immediately turned its head toward Kasumigaoka Utaha, preparing to enjoy its dinner.
But as soon as it turned its head, it discovered that Kasumigaoka Utaha, who had just been standing there, had disappeared!
Looking around, the Dog with a Human Face quickly locked its gaze on Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was fleeing into the distance.
Getting the chance to escape, Kasumigaoka Utaha, of course, couldn't waste it. At that moment, the only thing she regretted was not wearing sneakers when she went out, but shoes that were inconvenient for running.
At the same time, Kasumigaoka Utaha regretted not having exercised properly earlier; if she had, she would surely be able to run faster now!
Driven by the instinct to survive, Kasumigaoka Utaha no longer cared about things like femininity or elegance. She just wanted to survive!
She did not want to die at the hands of such a disgusting monster!
Just as Kasumigaoka Utaha was completely focused on "survival," she suddenly collided with something. Everything happened in an instant; she didn't even have time to react before her body fell backward.
As she fell, Kasumigaoka Utaha's heart crumbled into ashes:
"It's over. It can't be one of those clichés where I crash into the monster, can it?!"
But just as Kasumigaoka Utaha feverishly thought about how to buy herself another chance to escape, a pair of hands caught her.
Before Kasumigaoka Utaha could react, a gentle young man's voice echoed beside her ear:
"Are you okay?"
Hearing the voice, Kasumigaoka Utaha suspiciously looked at its owner and realized she had collided with a young man. The young man wore simple summer clothes, and his purple, jade-like eyes, which seemed to contain stars, were watching her.
Growing up, Kasumigaoka Utaha had been very sensitive to men's gazes, but faced with the young man's look, she could sense that there were no strange thoughts in him, only pure… admiration and… curiosity?
"Hm? Is this kid stupid?"
Looking at Kasumigaoka Utaha in his arms, Nakano Yu superficially smiled, but inside he was confused.
As a transmigrator, Nakano Yu naturally recognized Kasumigaoka Utaha. Just by her distinctive clothing and slightly fuller figure, Nakano Yu could recognize her at first glance.
After all, among all the anime he had watched and the girls he had fallen for, Kasumigaoka Utaha accounted for a large part.
Who could resist the seductive Kasumi-chan who loved thigh-high socks?
Of course, it would be even better if her sharp tongue was excluded.
Nakano Yu didn't mind. What if she has a sharp tongue? One shouldn't judge people so superficially. Sometimes a sharp tongue or stubbornness, when faced with absolute power, turns into pleas and helpless sobs.
Well, Nakano Yu didn't know about others, but Miura Yumiko was exactly like that.
"Ah, right! We have to go quickly! There's a monster behind us!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha, who had been absentmindedly staring into the young man's eyes, suddenly realized that now was not the time for that. She knew the monstrous dog with a human face was still chasing them!
She had to quickly take this young man and get to the nearby busy area where there were many people! Kasumigaoka Utaha did not believe that so many people would be scared of a single dog!
"Monster?"
Hearing this, Nakano Yu raised an eyebrow.
Suddenly, the streetlight not far ahead of them began to flicker continuously. Soon it suddenly went out, but after a moment, it turned on again, no longer with white light, but with that unpleasant dim yellow.
Together with the dim yellow light appeared the creepy Dog with a Human Face.
At that moment, the Dog with a Human Face raised its paw, smiling, and waved at Nakano Yu and Kasumigaoka Utaha.
Its expression seemed to beckon Nakano Yu and Kasumigaoka Utaha to approach quickly.
"Roaaar~"
A beastly roar sounded, making Kasumigaoka Utaha flinch in fear.
However, Nakano Yu remained calm. Under Kasumigaoka Utaha's astonished gaze, the young man grabbed the void in the air, and a golden sword appeared in front of Nakano Yu.
"Stay here, don't move. I'll be right back."
After instructing Kasumigaoka Utaha, Nakano Yu immediately drew his sword and rushed toward the Dog with a Human Face in the distance.
Seeing that an ant dared to oppose him directly, the Dog with a Human Face felt provoked and immediately, with wild laughter, leapt toward the young man.
Kasumigaoka Utaha stood in the evening breeze, watching the young man's back, her mind completely blank.
"What's happening now? Is she saved?"