Pale.
A dignified magical girl, actually tripped up by a husky.
If those old friends found out about this... Pale would have no face to show anyone.
"Stinky dog! Ugh... stop!"
Pale gritted her teeth, the black hem of her dress constantly swaying with her frantic steps. Unable to care about her body's discomfort, Pale closely followed behind the husky.
But that husky seemed intelligent, constantly turning left and right through the streets, nimbly dodging Pale's every attempt to catch it.
The husky suddenly darted up a pile of discarded cardboard boxes, using the momentum to leap, easily jumping over a low fence. Pale tried to imitate, but her newborn limbs' coordination hadn't fully recovered, and the overly sensitive skin transmitted intense friction stimulation when exerting force, causing her movements to stall. Her hem "rip" tore on a nail on the fence, exposing more tender thigh skin. In the end, Pale could only take a detour to chase.
When Pale was about to catch up, the husky suddenly made a sharp turn, drilling into a courtyard beside the road where bedsheets were hanging. The damp white sheets hung down like curtains, blocking vision. The instant Pale rushed in, the cold wet cloth "slap" stuck to her face. Pale frantically tore away the sheets, only to discover that stinky dog was actually waiting for her while wagging its tail.
"Damned stinky dog!"
"Hah... hah..." Pale panted slightly. Having lived so many years, she really didn't want to stoop to a stinky dog's level, but she really couldn't hold back anymore.
"Don't force me to use Time Overdraft~"
This time, the husky seemed to understand Pale's agitated emotions. With the corruption seed in its mouth, it charged toward the well-preserved villa building across from them.
Pale didn't hesitate and immediately followed inside.
However, the moment she stepped into the courtyard.
An indescribable, nauseating stench of decay suddenly wrapped around her, roughly drilling into Pale's nostrils.
Pale wouldn't mistake it.
This was the smell of rotting corpses.
Pale suddenly stopped in her tracks, her stomach churning violently. Fortunately her belly was completely empty, or she really would vomit.
Pale's golden eyes vigilantly scanned this terrifyingly silent villa.
Most of the plants in the courtyard had already withered and blackened, presenting an unnatural aura of death.
That husky seemed completely unaffected. It excitedly wagged its tail, charging straight to the villa's half-open oak door, "bang" pushing the door open with its head, then drilling inside without hesitation.
"Is this... some animal meat rotting in the house?"
But... why hadn't the surrounding neighbors discovered it?
Pale took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her body's various adverse reactions, carefully pushing open that heavy door.
Creaaak...
The teeth-grating sound of the door hinge turning was particularly piercing in the deathly silent environment.
The scene in the living room made even the well-traveled Pale instantly feel a chill shoot straight up her spine.
The light was dim.
Simple furniture carefully arranged revealed an unsettling sense of order. The gray carpet was soaked with large patches of long-dried, blackened, unidentifiable stains, outlining some abstract pattern.
The living room's arrangement was outrageously simple, without any trace of life.
Judging from the house's exterior, this family should have once been quite wealthy.
But in the Great Depression era after the war, they probably sold off all their valuable possessions.
And in the center of the living room, the most hair-raising scene was starkly displayed before Pale's eyes.
A middle-aged couple in pajamas were positioned back-to-back on the sofa, their postures stiff and twisted, like two dolls forcibly arranged.
Their bodies were tightly sewn together in an extremely close manner with some kind of dark red eerie "thread."
The stitches were dense and numerous, covering their arms, waists and abdomens, even necks, binding and fixing them together like conjoined twins. The original skin was almost invisible.
Those dark red threads were deeply embedded in the swollen, pale flesh. Some places had even slightly burst open from the body's decay and swelling, exposing the dark yellow fat and discolored tissue beneath.
Their heads hung limply to either side, facial expressions frozen in ultimate terror and agony, mouths wide open, eyeballs protruding, as if screaming silently. The skin had already begun unnaturally swelling and decaying, emitting a foul stench. Some fat white maggots slowly wriggled in the crevices of eye sockets and mouths.
Clearly, they had been dead for quite some time.
That husky seemed completely unfazed by this scene. It happily wagged its tail, trotting over to the sewn-together corpses, curiously sniffing with its wet nose, then letting out a few low "whimper" sounds.
Then... this husky slowly lay down on the floor, gradually losing its vitality.
Only then did Pale notice... the husky's belly was also densely covered with the same crude, dark red stitching.
This husky... wasn't a living thing at all.
"Ember-senpai~"
A familiar voice called out.
Behind the sofa, a small black head peeked out.
"You're... that little girl!"
Pale recognized the only surviving girl she had rescued from the Doll Witch's domain.
"Senpai is too mean, you don't even recognize me anymore."
As she spoke, she walked out from behind the sofa.
"Polaris, such a good boy," Miyana gently stroked the husky's head. "You actually brought back my most important thing. I love you the most."
As if responding to the girl's expectations, the husky trembled twice and actually raised its head again, beginning to lick the girl's palm.
Pale felt a chill crawl up her spine, far more suffocating than the earlier putrid smell. Her golden eyes locked onto that figure emerging from behind the sofa... Miyana.
This girl she had rescued from the Doll Witch's domain now wore an innocent smile on her face, her fingers gently stroking that "resurrected" husky.
"Miyana..." Pale's voice was hoarse. "All this... you did this?"
Miyana tilted her head, black hair sliding from her shoulder. Her eyes were large and bright, yet empty in a way that was chilling.
"What is Senpai saying?" she spoke softly, as if discussing the weather. "We're living together so happily!"
The girl's white nightgown was stained with blackish-red putrid blood, but she seemed completely unaware.
The corruption seed in the husky called Polaris's mouth had somehow already fallen into Miyana's hands.
"Do you know what that thing is?" Pale anxiously reached out, trying to snatch back the corruption seed from Miyana's hands. "It will erode your mind!"
However, the girl simply sidestepped lightly, nimbly dodging Pale's outstretched hand.
"Senpai still hasn't recognized me..."
A trace of disappointment crossed the girl's face.
"Mm... I suppose so."
"Senpai has saved so many people, a weak magical girl like me probably can't catch Senpai's eye."
Magical girl...
Miyana is... a magical girl?
Could it be she wants to seize the corruption seed to purify her own filth?
"Look, Senpai."
A brown teddy bear appeared out of nowhere in Miyana's arms. The bear's body had been sewn and re-sewn, its fur washed until faded.
One could see the owner's care and love for it.
"Senpai said, looking at it means you won't feel lonely."
"Senpai said it would always stay with me."
"Senpai was right, Senpai was right Senpai was right Senpai was right Senpai was right..."
"Becoming a doll really can stay with me forever."
"Forever forever forever forever forever..."
Hehehehe!
The corruption seed gradually merged into Miyana's body.
"Senpai... mmm or should I say Pale-nee~"
"It's very difficult to even maintain your transformation, right~"
"You should stay too... and keep me company~"