mygo, but Cthulhu

"No, what's wrong?"

Mana turned around and looked at him, and Zhou Ci was silent for a moment and just shook his head, his eyes full of darkness.

"Nothing, since she didn't mention it...at least she hasn't thought about it yet."

Chapter 69 Mocha's Discovery

"orchid……"

Seeing Lan coming over, Mocha raised her hand to greet her, but Mizukari just shook her head silently and walked straight past her.

Mocha sighed silently, and after thinking about it, she followed Lan carefully. Although there was no place to hide in the corridor, fortunately, Lan seemed to be frowning and thinking about something, and did not notice her.

Lan, what are you insisting on doing alone?

Mocha pursed her lips and silently looked at Lan's back. Then she found that Lan had found the grade of the first year of high school and waved to it.

"Takamatsu-san, is Chihaya-san here? I have something I want to ask her."

Are they the two freshmen from last time? Why is Lan looking for them again?

Moka unexpectedly opened her eyes slightly, and a moment later, Gao Songdeng, with a heavy expression, also walked out of the classroom. She shook her head tiredly at Lan, her voice filled with pain.

"I'm sorry, Senior... Xiao Ai didn't come to school today."

“This…happened

What?

"I don't know either. Xiao Ai's condition suddenly became very bad yesterday, and she didn't want to tell us the reason."

Deng shook her head in frustration, and Toyokawa Shoko, who happened to be passing by, also heard her words and stopped in surprise.

"Tomoe...what happened to Aine?"

Gao Songdeng weakly explained to them what she saw yesterday, but because Mizukami was also present, she skipped part of it. Xiangzi, who knew the inside story, also frowned.

"Really? Something like this happened to Aine. Do you know her address? If she doesn't come to school tomorrow, we'll have to go look for her."

"I know. Xiao Ai told me before, and I've always remembered it."

After hearing Xiangzi's words, Deng's mood improved a little. She nodded vigorously. At the same time, Meizhulan also noticed that there seemed to be some tacit understanding between them. After thinking about it, she spoke tentatively.

"Toyokawa-san, Takamatsu-san, and Aine-san, did something special happen to them? Is this related to Eri and the others' deaths?"

"...It's okay, Senior."

Deng was silent and shook her head, but her acting was even worse than Aine's. Ran knew at a glance that she was hiding something. She frowned slightly and wanted to continue asking, but Xiangzi stood in front of Deng and shook his head at her calmly.

"You misunderstood, Senior. We were just discussing our friends' affairs. We have nothing to do with those cases."

"As you can see, Aine didn't come to school today, so if you have any questions, I'm afraid you'll have to wait until next time."

"I see. Could you please give me Aine's contact information?"

Mizukawa still refused to give up. She stared into Toyokawa Shoko's eyes, and the latter looked back at her without flinching, shaking his head apologetically and firmly.

"I'm sorry, Senpai, but we can't contact Aine right now, and giving her contact information without her consent is a bit awkward, isn't it?"

“…Yeah, you’re right.”

Mizukawa was at her wit's end. She could only nod in silence, while Toyokawa Shoko said goodbye softly and walked to the other side with the lamp in hand.

Lan silently watched their backs, thinking hard about what to do next, but in the end he couldn't find a solution. When he turned around, he met Mocha's complicated gaze and was stunned for a moment.

"Mocha...you've been following me this whole time?"

"Well, after all, Lan didn't even want to say hello to Mocha, and Mocha was really sad."

Mocha's tone sounded like a joke, but her expression was serious. She slowly walked in front of Lan and stared into her eyes.

"Ran, you've discovered something dangerous, right? Since you've come to see Aine-san again, it means you've started to have doubts about Eri and the others' deaths. You wouldn't do that if you didn't notice something."

"Lan is afraid that we'll follow you into this dangerous area, so you're unwilling to tell us anything, right? So you're determined not to tell us even if I say something harsh, right?"

"Mocha, I..."

Mizukari didn't expect that she could actually deduce the truth directly. She didn't know how to react for a moment. Mocha couldn't help but shook his head when he saw her panicked expression.

"But what I said just now was just my guess. Seeing your reaction, Lan, I finally confirmed that you really think so."

"That's too selfish, isn't it, Lan? The five of us have always been together, yet you want to face the danger of someone dying alone? What are you thinking?"

"...Because I care about you guys, and I don't want anything to happen to you."

Mizukari gritted her teeth, met Moka's gaze and responded firmly.

"Since you've discovered all this, I'll tell you, Moka. I insisted on investigating this not only because of Eri and the others' deaths, but also because I discovered that my father is far from being as simple as he seems."

"It's possible that he's already been in that secret world, and I heard him talking about drugs with a woman. He didn't want to tell me more, but of course I can't just give up."

"I have to find the truth, but this is my business. Unlike all my previous activities, this is a matter of life and death."

"Of course I know you will help me, but have you ever thought about yourselves before doing so? You both have parents. What would they do if they knew you were going to risk your lives? If something happened to you, how would I survive?"

"orchid……"

Moka hesitated and wanted to say something, but Meizhulan raised her hand to cover her mouth, and then spoke softly in an almost pleading tone,

"Mocha, promise me you won't get involved, and you won't get anyone else involved, okay?"

"..."

Mocha met those familiar eyes, which no longer contained the "same as usual" confidence and calmness, but rather clear fear and pleading.

Lan is afraid that I will refuse.

Mocha realized this and couldn't help but smile bitterly. After a moment, she held Lan's hand and slowly took it away.

"I'm sorry, Lan, I can't promise you."

Chapter 70 Transformation

Aine sat silently on a park bench, looking ahead expressionlessly. She ignored the long string of questions on her phone screen because seeing them would only make her feel painful.

Why...why...was it me? There are so many people in this world, why am I the one who is so unfortunate?

If only Chihaya Aine had been a lonely, self-pitying, and uncared-for person in the past, then at least she could have disappeared without a burden. Now, how could she continue to face Tomorin and the others? How would she move on?

"Hehehe...how pathetic..."

The tears had already dried up, and Aiyin couldn't help but laugh miserably. She lowered her head deeply, feeling herself sinking deeper and deeper.

What should I do...

"Um, are you okay?"

The next moment, she suddenly heard a caring voice. She looked up and saw four girls in flower girl uniforms. Judging from the time, they should have just finished school.

"I'm fine, thank you for your concern."

Aine shook her head weakly, but her red and swollen eyes and pale face were clearly unconvincing. The four girls exchanged glances, and finally a brown-haired girl leaned over to look at her seriously.

"What happened? If you think we can help, why not tell us?"

"...I had a fight with my teammates about something, and I didn't want to do it, but I didn't know what to do."

After a moment of silence, Aine sighed and spoke softly, and the girl blinked in surprise.

"Really? Then why do you think they quarreled?"

"Because...something that can't be helped,"

"It's something we can't do anything about... I understand. Our former team members have also encountered such things."

The girl nodded in realization, then sighed as she remembered something.

"This world can be cruel sometimes, and our strength is limited, so it's inevitable that we'll encounter difficulties like this... But simply being sad won't solve the problem."

After she finished speaking, she extended her hand to Aine earnestly and introduced herself.

"I am Natsuki Umino, from Chispa

Guitar and lead vocals, since we are both band girls, I have an obligation to help... Today is my birthday, do you want to come to my house and relax?"

"...if you don't mind,"

Aine wanted to refuse, but then she thought that there was really no point in her continuing to sit here, so she nodded silently.

"I'm Chihaya Aine, a student of Haneigaoka."

"Hyome, I've heard of it. It seems like a nice place."

Natsuki Umino smiled, nodded, and kindly took her hand. She guided Aine to join the conversation of the four of them, and Aine's mood relaxed a little.

After arriving at Umino's house, her father also welcomed Aine. Looking at the room with colorful decorations everywhere, Aine couldn't help but feel emotional.

"It's really lively. Look at those highlighted numbers. Umino-san, you're turning eighteen today, right?"

"Yes, today I am eighteen."

Xia Xi smiled and nodded, and at the same time, she held Aine's hand affectionately.

"Honestly, I don't know why I felt so happy the first time I saw you, Aine. I just felt something today and went to the park, and I didn't expect to run into you."

"Ah, sorry, that sounds a bit strange, doesn't it? But I think this is also fate. After all, there's an idiom that goes 'It's a pity we met too late'. I think that's the case with you and me, Aine."

"Really? Thank you very much then."

Aine didn't quite understand why she was so kind to her, and could only smile in confusion. Feeling a little uncomfortable, she saw others moving the table and hurried forward to help.

"I'll come too,"

However, when she put down the table, her finger was accidentally scratched by a decorative shell. Natsuki Umino saw it and rushed over subconsciously, grabbing her hand and speaking anxiously.

"Aine! Are you okay? Does it hurt?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine,"

Aine was frightened by her intense reaction. She shook her head in panic and quickly pulled her hand back. At the same time, the others also realized that Xia Xi was abnormal and looked at her in confusion.

"Xia Xi, what's wrong with you? This should just be a minor wound, there's no need to react so violently, right?"

“I…I’m just worried about Aine.”

Hearing their words, Natsuki Umino was stunned for a moment, but she quickly smiled and waved her hand.

"Um, I'm going to the bathroom first, sorry."

Aine shook her head and quickly left the room without waiting for Natsuki to say anything. The team members beside her sighed helplessly when they saw this.

"Xia Xi, you scared me. Even if you like cute girls, you can't be so impulsive."

"Well, this is indeed my fault. I don't know what happened. When I saw she was injured, I instinctively rushed over."

Xia Xi sighed, and the team members stroked her hair comfortingly.

"Okay, after all, you've been having weird dreams these past few days, so it's understandable that you're not feeling well. How was last night? Did you dream about the deep sea again?"

"Yes, I still had the dream, and I seemed to hear a voice talking to me."

Xia Xi nodded silently, and at the same time, her eyes could not help but focus on the blood drop belonging to Aine on the sharp shell.

"Hey, what did that voice say?"

"it says……"

Xia Xi was in a trance for a moment. She felt her vision suddenly become a little blurry, and all the sounds around her became weaker, only the bright red drop of blood became louder and louder.

"He said...cthulhufhtagn..."

The next moment, Natsuki Umino picked up the toy with a dull expression and licked the blood bead. As a fishy and sweet taste that made her tremble bloomed on the tip of her tongue, she felt as if she was thrown into the deep sea, and everything around her quickly disappeared.

In the bathroom, Aiyin was completely unaware of what was happening on the other side. She silently looked at herself in the mirror with a gloomy expression and couldn't help but sigh.

"I still can't muster up the energy..."

"Boom, boom,"

There was a sudden knock on the door. Aine blinked and opened the door, only to see Oohori Minoru with a gentle expression in front of her.

"Da Hu-san, do you need to use the bathroom? I'll be right out."

"No, I came here specifically to apologize to you on behalf of Xia Xi,"

Da Hu Li Shi chased after Aine when she left. She was also completely unaware of the situation on the other side and smiled helplessly, sincerely apologizing softly.

"Um, I'm sorry. Xia Xi was a little impulsive today. She's not usually like this, but I don't know why, she's been having weird dreams lately, so she's not in a good mood."