Japanese Terrorist: What? I'll fight Hellstar!

School teaching building, duty room.

The light was a pale, energy-saving white, illuminating the few empty teacups on the table that hadn't been cleared away.

It was completely dark outside the window, with only a sliver of light from the streetlights filtering in from the far side of the playground.

The young male teacher hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Well, it might not be appropriate for an adult like me to say this, but I actually believe that the Slit-Mouthed Woman exists."

Across from him, the middle-aged teacher, Ando looked up, his face showing disapproval.

"Mr. Sekiguchi, why are you suddenly saying this? It'll be troublesome if the students hear it."

"I'm not just saying this casually."

Sekiguchi took out his notebook and spread it out on the coffee table between the two of them.

"During this period of time, I privately compiled all the information that students mentioned in casual conversations about the strange woman at the school gate."

Mr. Ando frowned, but still took it.

The date, class, and brief description were written on it in somewhat messy handwriting.

"You see, although the things they are holding are sometimes different, the core elements overlap a lot."

As he watched, Ando's expression slowly changed, from initial indifference to seriousness.

Ms. Sekiguchi's gaze drifted as she drifted into memories.

"Actually, I met her when I was in elementary school."

"What?"

Ando-sensei was taken aback.

"At the time, she was just an ordinary woman whose face had been slashed by her boyfriend, but rumors were already brewing. The older students excitedly told us that it was a man-eating monster, and we threw stones at it together to drive it away."

Sekiguchi murmured.

Ando-sensei frowned.

This isn't exorcism, it's bullying, isn't it?

They define people with physical defects as monsters and throw stones at them for amusement.

With a bitter expression, Guankou continued.

"At that moment, we all lost our rationality, completely forgetting that she was actually a human being, as if we were swept up by some kind of collective emotion. And that woman, at that time, also gradually lost her humanity..."

Sekiguchi took a deep breath and looked at Ando-sensei.

"Senior, you know, these kinds of urban legends are everywhere, and adults usually just laugh it off. But for children, they don't think it's nonsense. They'll actually believe it and fill in the gaps with their own imagination, turning a human into the monster everyone talks about."

When these rumors of mysterious powers spread from one school to another, eventually becoming the truth passed down among children across the country, monsters like the Slit-Mouthed Woman became reality.

"Hey, even if you say that, but..."

"Who is it?"

Before he could finish speaking, Mr. Sekiguchi's expression changed, and he looked toward the room behind Mr. Ando, ​​shouting angrily.

A figure appeared outside the window of the room. Teacher Ando quickly turned around and saw the figure flash by.

The two exchanged a glance and rushed out of the lounge without hesitation.

The motion-activated lights in the corridor turned on in response, and in the stark white light, a shadow seemed to flash by at the corner leading to the faculty office.

"stop!"

Sekiguchi shouted and chased after him, with Ando close behind.

After turning the corner, the two were surprised to find that the door to the instructor's room was ajar.

The two pushed open the door and entered the room, which was empty. However, one of the doors of the row of metal filing cabinets against the wall was open, and a stack of student files was scattered on the floor.

Ms. Ando asked in surprise, "This is... a student file? Why is she looking through this?!"

Guan Kou picked up a few sheets and looked at them; suddenly, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Ando-senpai, I remember now."

A chilling inspiration cleared several obstacles in Guan Kou's mind.

"One of the weaknesses of the Slit-Mouthed Woman is her hair wax. Why? The usual explanation is that her doctor used inferior hair wax during her plastic surgery... But what if... what if she was pregnant at the time? Pregnant women are particularly sensitive to certain smells. The rumors about the Slit-Mouthed Woman suddenly disappeared for a while. Could it be that she went to give birth? There have been such rumors and speculations."

Teacher Ando gasped, "You...you mean..."

"Is it possible that the Slit-Mouthed Woman is looking for someone, for her child?"

Teacher Sekiguchi held up a student file.

Just then, a figure darted out from the shadows of the storage locker in the corner at an astonishing speed!

Instead of attacking Sekiguchi and Ando, ​​she rushed straight to the door of the instructor's room!

"what!"

Teacher Ando was so frightened that he took a step back.

"etc!"

Guan Kou reacted quickly and tried to stop her.

But the Slit-Mouthed Woman was too fast; she slipped through the gap between the two and disappeared into the dimly lit corridor.

"Chase!"

Guan Kou gritted his teeth and immediately gave chase.

"Sekiguchi-sensei!"

Mr. Ando was still in shock, enveloped by a terrifying atmosphere, and followed after them in a daze.

The two men, flashlights in hand, hurried through the corridor, but the Slit-Mouthed Woman seemed to have vanished into the darkness, leaving no trace.

Suddenly, a muffled thud came from behind the door of a small room next door, which was used as a storage room, as if something had hit a cabinet.

Sekiguchi's heart tightened. He gestured for Ando to be quiet, then moved slowly and quietly to the door of the preparation room. He took a deep breath, pushed it open abruptly, and shouted.

"Who is it—!"

Before he could finish speaking, several screams rang out from inside.

Five small faces looked over in fear in the dim light; they were three girls and two boys, all of whom appeared to be upperclassmen.

They hid under the table and in the corner, and only breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that the person who came in with a flashlight was Ms. Sekiguchi.

"Teacher..." A girl with a ponytail patted her chest, looking visibly shaken, "You scared us to death!"

Teacher Sekiguchi quickly scanned the room, and only after confirming that there was no Slit-Mouthed Woman did he breathe a slight sigh of relief and turn on the light.

But his brows immediately furrowed.

"Why are you guys still at school so late? Don't you know it's dangerous around here lately?"

One of the boys, who seemed a little braver, stubbornly retorted, "Our teacher is a coward and can't protect us at all. We're here to eliminate the Slit-Mouthed Woman..."

"...The Slit-Mouthed Woman...Teacher..."

Before he could finish speaking, the boy's excited expression froze instantly, as if something invisible had grabbed his throat.

His eyes widened suddenly, staring intently at Sekiguchi and Ando's back. Tears welled up without warning, streaming down his face, which was contorted with fear.

"In...in the back..."

His voice had changed tone; it was light and trembling.

Almost simultaneously—

call--

A cold wind suddenly rushed into the room from the dimly lit corridor.

The old, dim light bulb overhead suddenly crackled and flickered violently, stretching everyone's shadows onto the walls and ground, making them look menacing.

In an instant, the other four children's faces showed expressions of horror. They froze on the spot, their screams stuck in their throats, as if their souls had been ripped out at the same time.

Sekiguchi and Ando remained frozen in place.

A tangible chill clung to my back, creeping up my spine. My arms felt frozen, too heavy to lift, and cold sweat instantly soaked through my clothes.