Chapter 5

Seeing how badly my left foot hurt, it appeared that something was wrong with my bones, yet I couldn’t sigh, let alone cry. The man was only a few steps ahead of me, but the distinct pressure I had felt earlier was beginning to overwhelm me.

Furthermore, the man strides away first as soon as the distance is reduced, so I had to accelerate despite the fact that my left foot hurts like crazy.

“Whoosh…….”

Every time I climbed the stairs, my left leg tingled so much that I broke out in a cold sweat. Because it was an art centre, the floor was very high, thus there were plenty of steps.

People are shallow, and the scenario has made me resentful of my sister.

Why did you ask me to pick you up? Why did you say you were attending an Esper fan meeting? I should not have assisted you with ticketing! I should’ve sold it secondhand!

It was then that I was limping after the man, expressing my displeasure towards my sister. On the fourth floor, the man pointed with his chin and asked me.

“Is it there?”

The man did not look at me, but as I was the only one in the fire escape, he was clearly speaking to me.

As I scrambled up to the fourth floor, breathing heavily, the man looked towards the table at the wrecked food corner.

“Yes…….”

I replied and nodded like an obedient child.

When the man who had just heard my response began to walk towards the food section, I remembered the suit-clad victim I had seen in the toilet.

Oh. He needs to go to the toilet first… So I quickly pulled his sleeve without realising it.

No, I was going to pull it exactly—

Swish.

The man appeared to have eyes on the back of his head; as soon as I extended my hand, he moved his body slightly and fled before I could reach him. He took a look back.

He was not frowning.

He had an expressionless face, and I had no idea what he was thinking, but I had the impression that his gaze was filled with displeasure.

My shoulders shook with pressure from the movement, and I explained automatically.

“Oh, no…… I apologise! I didn’t intend to touch it…. That…… Previously, a rat monster assaulted a man in the bathroom. While there won’t be a monster in the restroom, the man who was attacked may still be present…

“Oh, yeah. I see. I’ll check and be back, so just stay here.”

He sounded like he was going to die from frustration.

……I wondered if all of the espers were like this, but I didn’t bother telling him.

“Yes!”

The man strolled into the toilet without pretending to hear my response.

I waited outside silently. Because I assumed he would be out of the toilet in no time. Anyway, the creature I encountered over there was killed on the second floor.

However, five minutes after entering the toilet, the man did not leave.I know there are no monsters in there anymore, but I was afraid to come close because of what occurred before, so I began to lose myself in negative thoughts as my imagination played out in my head again.

What if there was another creature inside…? The man appeared strong, but I wonder if he was surprised by my statement that there would be no monsters.

The concept of that was frightening.

It was time for me to grit my teeth and face my dread, slowly approaching the bathroom.

Thud—!

“……Heeee!”

Suddenly, a weird sound emerged from the toilet. It sounded as if something heavy had been tossed on the floor.

I became afraid and fell backward. As a result, I strained my left foot again. I stood up, struggling to bear the awful pain.

“What…… What is it?”

Then, to make matters worse, the bathroom lights were switched off.

I couldn’t yell any longer and froze. I’m not sure what happened, but it appeared that things were going horribly.

“1…… Should I call 911? That’s correct! I’ll report it on my phone first…!”

However, I did not have a mobile in my jeans pocket. I must have lost it on the emergency stairs while being chased by the monster.

I couldn’t hurry down the emergency stairs again to retrieve my cell phone, but I was nervous waiting for the Esper, who was in distress.

“Oh my God…..Oh! I shouldn’t have come here because of Noona.”

I took another cautious step towards the toilet, cursing my sister.

My plan went like this.

First, analyse the situation at the toilet entrance without going in as much as possible, and then devise a plan to assist Esper.

To be honest, I was terrified to do anything more than that.

Of course, I have some courage, but it does not imply I am no longer terrified of death.

I hoped he could handle it on his own, regardless of what happened or how minor it was.

But when I got to the toilet, it was no big issue.

Previously, I could only hear one loud crashing sound, but now I hear little noises coming from inside on a continuous basis.

Thud, thud, thud.

The sound of something hitting the floor appeared to stop, yet it continued.

“I think they’re fighting…….”

There was no yelling or shouting, but I could tell something was moving about within.

Unless the Esper guy has a bizarre habit of rolling around in the bathroom, something other than the giant rat was in there before. This could explain the sound…

‘Should I help? I need to help him, right?

I didn’t want to go in, but it troubled me that the person who saved me would be attacked in the toilet because of what I said.I felt even more guilty because everything was going just as I had anticipated.

I glanced around for now. I was wondering if I had anything to hang onto. I didn’t want to enter the place bare-handed with my legs like this.

However, as I mentioned before, all of the surrounding stores were out of lights, and the only viable option was a chair. Inevitably, I moved the chair like a walking assistant towards the restroom.

That’s when I arrived at the location where I’d just been stopped.

Thud!

There was another loud noise just in front of me.

“……Ahhh!”

I was shocked and mistakenly screamed, yet there was no sound after that huge noise.

“Whoa…….”

I’m not sure why, but I’m fascinated with the thought that I shouldn’t miss this opportunity.

I gritted my teeth tightly, mustered bravery, and carefully entered the bathroom. I moved as gently as possible to avoid colliding with the chair I was pulling.

When I eventually entered the men’s bathroom and saw a familiar individual laying face down, I unintentionally screamed.

“…Esper-nim!”

I was limping, but I raced as quickly as I could to help him.

I didn’t notice anything at first, but as I came closer, I realised something was amiss with the Esper’s lower body. I turned my head and looked before recognising the source of that peculiar feeling.

A lengthy tentacle extending from the interior of a completely shattered toilet cubicle was wrapped around his waist.

It was so thick and disgusting that it was indistinguishable from the tail of the monster rat that had tracked me down to murder me earlier.

“Wow, Crazy…….”

No! I’ve went to the toilet twice, and this time I’m going to die! The fear that had previously controlled me returned, and chills erupted along my spine.

If I turn my back and move away, I will be able to live.

But what about Esper, who saved me?

An Esper fan meeting is taking place directly below, so the outcome could have been different if he had requested for help and done a search before entering the bathroom.

I was worried about fainting at any minute, but… I figured I should bring the Esper with me somehow.

I extended the chair as far as I could and tapped the tentacles that wrapped around the Esper’s lower body. Fortunately, I discovered that it did not move very much.

Even so, I paused for a long time before slowly moving inward.

“Ugh……!”

Then, when I looked into the restroom, I quickly closed my mouth.

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