You say this is a love game?

"And why? That uncle wanted to hide me in the suitcase?"

Mizutani Makoto was silent.

Only the voice of the zashiki was still whispering:

"He locked me in a very small suitcase. It was so dark inside. I desperately screamed for help. He finally heard me and opened the suitcase..."

"But why? I clearly didn't do anything bad, but he suffocated me and made me pass out. When I woke up again, my body felt so heavy. The surroundings were still so small, but it was even darker. I still screamed for help, but no one could hear me anymore..."

He lowered his head with a complicated expression and saw the increasingly thick black mist on Zashiki's body. The girl who originally symbolized the goddess of fortune now had blood oozing from her feet, which mixed with the rain and drifted farther and farther away.

"I can hear it."

Mizutani Makoto said.

Zashiki raised his face, his originally clear pupils were stained with blood, and the whites of his eyes were completely black. His face, as delicate as a porcelain doll, was filled with intense pain and sorrow.

"It's so dark in there."

"I know."

"I can't breathe. It's so uncomfortable."

"I know."

"Brother, I'm so scared. It seems like I'm the only one left in the world. No one can answer me."

"I know."

"I know it all."

Zashiki burst into tears. She rushed forward, digging her sharp nails into the flesh of his back. She hugged him tightly and let out a cry full of despair and sorrow.

She cried and asked tremblingly:

"I'm so lonely and scared. It's so dark there. I don't want to stay there..."

"Big brother, can you find me?"

The Sin-Scar Smelling Salts, with its misty black and red mist, outlines a faint bloodstain in the user's sight.

It winds away into the distance, no one knows how far it is, and no one knows where it ends.

But he knew that the end of this road was a beast.

Mizutani Makoto clenched his fists.

"I will definitely find you."

Chapter 047 The End of Atonement

Crash, crash...

The sky outside the house was covered with rain, and from time to time there was the sound of the awning being wet. Hosokawa Toshiya sat quietly at home, with all the doors and windows sealed to prevent any moisture from escaping into the house.

This is an old house located in a rural area of ​​Tottori Prefecture, and it is also the old house left by Toshiya Hosokawa's parents after their death. He drove here a month ago, dealt with the "accident" in a panic, and then huddled in this small corner in fear.

On a rainy night, he opened a can of beer, and every time he thought of what he had done before, he couldn't help but shudder.

When did his life become like this?

In his twenties, Toshiya Hosokawa worked as an inconspicuous clerk in a company.

Looking back now, that was actually the most leisurely and happy time in his life.

Now, his life and future are almost destroyed by debt.

It all started with a tiny steel ball.

He lost his job, spent all his savings, and received debt collection text messages on his mobile phone every month. The accumulated debts have reached a level that would make ordinary people feel despair at the first sight.

Under the pressure of life, he could only rely on his only remaining broken car to charge passengers and become an illegal taxi driver who bullied tourists.

And that night last month, that nightmarish night.

He was driving at night, answering a debt collection call on the other end of the phone, when suddenly he heard a loud "bang" in the silence.

He bumped into someone.

It was a girl who looked very young, perhaps seven or eight years old.

When he saw the girl lying on the zebra crossing, his mind went blank.

I knew I could hear the urging voice in my ears, but I didn't know what was going on, but the debt collector was still clamoring for me to pay back the debt, and what would happen if I didn't.

Debt debt debt debt…

Just like saving myself, this thought suddenly occupied my mind.

If you hit someone, you will have to pay compensation, and your debt will increase.

By the time he reacted, he had already stuffed the girl into the suitcase and thrown it into the trunk of the car.

He sat in the driver's seat, stepped on the accelerator, and left the scene as if he was escaping.

He didn't dare stop.

It was a remote intersection, and it happened to be late at night. Hosokawa Toshi felt that no one would notice him. The only hidden danger was the camera. With the camera there, he couldn't escape...

But how could he worry so much?

He didn't think much about how long he had been driving, but when the car stopped, it was already late at night. He realized that perhaps it was an instinctive escape that had led him to hide near his hometown.

It’s not bad to be near my hometown…

This place is mostly rural and mountainous. His mind was in a mess, but he knew that he should "properly deal with" the girl in the car.

At this point, there is actually no choice.

He killed someone, so he would have to pay more money and be sentenced. He might even be on the news and end up in a dark prison...

No, that wasn't his end.

It needs to be handled more covertly.

In Japan, many people go missing and commit suicide every year. The police don't necessarily care about these things, as long as they hide the people...

He drove the car to the back mountain and dug a narrow hole in a barren grassland.

Just as he was about to throw the suitcase in, it moved.

A faint cry for help came from the box.

And slight, weak, struggling sounds.

She's not dead yet.

Got to let her out.

The moment he opened the suitcase, the girl's frightened eyes caught Hosokawa Toshiya's sight. He subconsciously wanted to pull her out, but his movement froze in mid-air.

Those eyes filled with fear reflected another pair of eyes filled with fear, struggle, and cruelty.

That night, only Toshiya Hosokawa walked down the mountain.

He smothered the girl and knocked her unconscious, stuffed her into a suitcase, and buried her underground.

What is the reason?

Now it's hard to tell the difference.

Perhaps it was fear, fear of taking on more debt, fear that she would run away and her deeds would be exposed, and his life would be ruined.

Or maybe it was jealousy. When he thought about her bright future and that he should rescue her, a strong emotion surged into his brain, making him, who was already desperate, even more resentful, angry, and manic.

So, he did just that.

He buried this girl with a bright future, along with his anxiety and fear, underground.

Since then, Hosokawa Toshi has been feeling uneasy.

He was always afraid. What if a camera captured him? What if someone called the police and they found him? One day he would wake up in a dream and find police cars surrounding his house. His actions would be exposed to the public and he would be despised by everyone...

But a month has passed quietly.

Nothing happened.

I didn't see anyone coming to the door, nor did I hear any movement.

Hosokawa Toshiya was thinking that perhaps the matter was over.

...Everything will be fine.

Toshiya Hosokawa picked up the beer and took a big gulp, wiping the foam from the corner of his mouth.

I don’t know when, the rain outside the window stopped, the sky was bright, and it was ten o’clock.

His life is not over yet.

A hint of determination flashed in Toshiya Hosokawa's eyes.

When the storm is over, as long as he can find someone to borrow money, he can go to the steel ball shop and play a few rounds. He will definitely be able to make back all the money he lost before!

Just as Toshiya Hosokawa was racking his brains to think of where to borrow money.

Knock, knock, knock——

Outside the house, the rhythmic knocking on the door awakened Toshiya Hosokawa from his fantasy.

"Open the door, here is your delivery."

……

……

He said he would solve this mess.

Last night, Mizutani Makoto had no intention of hesitating and pulled Zashiki's wrist up, not caring whether she would hurt him.

From the moment he used the Sin Mark Smelling Salts, he was filled with anger. No matter whether it was the middle of the night or a rainy day, the most instinctive thought and impulse that emerged in his mind was to resolve this matter once and for all.

"If you don't have a conscience, you can dig it out and feed it to the dogs."

It was also the first time he felt worried—not because of the beast, of course, but because of the "expiration date" of the Sin-Stained Smelling Salts.

He didn't know where the trail would end, but he knew that in twenty-four hours, the effect of the Sin Smell Salts would completely dissipate, and he would lose the driver's location information.

This is unacceptable.

He didn't know where his destination was, so there was no need to consider taking the tram or the high-speed train. It was even more impossible to take a taxi on a rainy day and ask the driver to accompany him around. It was a pure waste of time.

He directly took out his blue-plate bicycle from his backpack, put on his raincoat, loaded it onto the zashiki, and rushed forward!

The wind mixed with rain rushed back by my ears.

How long has it been?

No one cares.

The light around him changed from dim to bright, the rain gradually weakened, a ray of morning sun appeared on the horizon, and then began to move towards the center of Tianmu. He rode without stopping, across more than 200 kilometers of land, until the Sin Scar Smelling Salts finally reached the end.

My lungs are about to explode.

Or perhaps the explosion was too bland. Mizutani Makoto sometimes couldn't feel the existence of his body, and he didn't know whether his body functions were still functioning.

There were even times when he suspected he was going to die of exhaustion.

After all, a lot of his energy had been sucked away by the zashiki, and he still dared to work so hard. Wouldn't death from overwork be a sure thing?

However, Zashiki would hug him from behind.

A faint warm current would be transmitted from the weightless vengeful spirit on his back, and he would cheer up again and pedal his bicycle to fly into the distance.

Anyway!

He hung an immortal totem on himself!

If you want to die, just die. Then revive with full health and continue to fight this idiot.

It was in this state where both his body and mind were on the verge of collapse that Mizutani Makoto appeared at the doorstep of Hosokawa Toshiya's house.

He didn't know Toshiya Hosokawa's name.

But it doesn’t matter, the road that seems to be made of blood is pointing straight to this house.

"Is anyone home?"