Chapter 5
+15 Bonus
After so many days, my body finally saw the light of day again, no longer trapped in that stifling, suffocating steamer.
Curled up inside the cramped space, my corpse clung to itself, as if holding tighter could somehow lessen the pain. My flesh had
long since turned pale from the heat, and though my face still bore traces of agony, my eyes had been hollowed out, devoured
entirely by the writhing maggots that burrowed in and out of my nostrils and ears, disturbed by the sudden exposure.
Tristan’s face twisted in horror as he staggered back a step, his hand instinctively clutching the silver cross necklace around his
neck.
His fingers trembled as they reached for something–anything–to steady himself, but instead, they landed on something soft, something sticky. A mass of crushed, wriggling maggots.
With a strangled gasp, he jerked his hand away, shaking it violently, his voice unsteady. “Crystal, do you really think you can fool
me with just some random corpse? I’m not that easy to deceive! Show yourself! Now!”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. Even now, he was still clinging to his delusions.
I had already “shown myself“-long ago. My soul had been hovering around him all this time. And now, my body was right
before his eyes.
So why was it that he still refused to believe?
“Crystal! Get the hell out here! If I catch you, I swear I’ll make you wish you were never born!”
Who was really hunting whom?
Jessica came at the sound of his shouting. But the moment she saw what lay before her, she let out a strangled cry and collapsed
to the floor. “Tristan… what–what is this?”
Tristan seemed to hear her. His breathing was ragged, his voice unhinged, his words indistinguishable from self–reassurance.
“That wretch, Crystal, not only ran away, but she had the audacity to leave this fake corpse behind to fool me. When I find her, I’ll
make sure she suffers!”
I wanted to split his skull open just to see what was inside.
