Why Didn't You Close the Door

How could I let you walk away alone? How could I let you face such a tragic fate by yourself?

Lynch understood that her corruption was, in the end, caused by the stack of photos he had given her. The responsibility was undeniably his.

Then let's face it together, partner. If we don't succeed, we die together.

With this thought in mind, Lynch squeezed into Officer Natalie's soul world, witnessing her will being tortured repeatedly by the painful truth, step by step toward collapse, until her soul's defenses were completely shattered.

This time, let me protect you.

With no disdain for the truth, only pity, Lynch tried to wrap his consciousness around the officer's soul to block the filth that was twisting her. However, the wrapping and protection were meaningless. The filth passed directly through Lynch's consciousness, not only continuing to torment Officer Natalie's soul but also filling Lynch's own consciousness with despair.

As I expected, I cannot help her fight it, but I must do something!

Right, external forces cannot interfere with the soul; she must do it herself.

Lynch encouraged her repeatedly within the officer's soul, trying to inspire her will to rise again and fight back.

However, it was ineffective. The closed soul seemed to deny his existence; his voice could not reach the despairing soul at all.

Can I not even interfere to that extent? Am I just going to watch her be tortured into a monster?

If this is what fate has ordained, then I can only...

I can only say screw you, I will never give up.

It is one thing for the filth to deny me and ignore me, but you, who owe me five favors, also dare to pretend you don't know me? I will make you recognize me right now.

And so, Lynch switched targets directly, using the amplification of his divine authority to forcibly tear open the officer's soul world and manifest himself within it.

My divine authority can't handle the distortion, but it can't handle you? Regardless of whether you deny me or not, I insist on standing before you.

Gritting his teeth with bloodshot eyes, Lynch raised his cane sword and charged toward the strange, twisted entities formed by the filth. In the final moments before the collision, he finally heard a faint cry from behind him.

“Lynch.”

The soul world froze for an instant.

The next moment, the entire world shattered completely. Endless twisted things turned into foul smelling blood rain and minced meat, instantly sweeping over them both. In the moment before being swallowed by the bloody filth, Lynch felt a jolt of spirit and suddenly awoke from his trance.

Bang. He realized he was holding Officer Natalie's body, falling straight to the floor. The millions of repetitions of the nightmare in the long years of the dream had lasted only a brief instant in reality.

Please succeed. Please, let nothing be wrong.

Lynch prayed frantically in his heart, ignoring the pain, and immediately checked the body in his arms.

What he saw was a reality that filled him with despair: the officer's body seemed to be melting.

Large amounts of bloody filth mixed with minced meat emerged from her skin, emitting a nauseating, fishy odor. In the blink of an eye, it covered her entire body, and it would not stop.

No!

Was it a failure in the end?

Lynch did not know why he cared so much about a person he had only known for twenty days, and he did not want to know.

He only knew that the person in his arms had her eyes tightly closed and her face pale, turning into a large pool of pus and minced meat.

Bits and pieces of the past flooded into his mind, bitterness and pain gnawing at his heart. Lynch, with red eyes, ignored the dirty and disgusting blood on her face and pressed his forehead against hers once more.

Red mist surged from his body again, trying to penetrate the body in his arms, but no matter how he tried, Lynch's consciousness was repelled and could no longer enter.

I refuse to accept this. Right, cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Don't you dare run. Come back to me.

Lynch let out a stifled cry. Having long forgotten that he did not actually know how to perform CPR, he pressed his lips against Natalie's bloodless ones.

The pungent stench, the sour and disgusting taste of blood, and the tickling sensation of her breath hitting his face all made Lynch incredibly agitated, but he could not afford to consider that now. He had to...

Hmm? Does something seem wrong?

Lynch, already pressed against her, suddenly realized something. His eyes widened, but before he could react, the tightly closed eyes in front of him suddenly opened.

Eyes met.

Blink, blink, blink.

That's right, she had been covered in granulations before. How could I see the skin and lips on her face? It must be because the granulations had already fallen off. The bloody filth and minced meat that looked like they were melting were just signs that the granulations were shedding. And she was clearly still breathing, which meant she was completely fine.

I reacted so quickly. I really am a genius.

Seeing the eyes opposite him go from confused to clear, Lynch's blank brain finally realized the cruelty of reality.

Help me, I don't want to be beaten to death by the person I just saved.

He jerked his head back to create distance, but just as he tried to exert force, he felt his mouth being tightly sucked...

He did not know how much time passed before Lynch finally succeeded in freeing his mouth. The two figures slowly separated.

Natalie lay limply on the ground, gently biting her lip, her gaze like water, staring unblinkingly at Lynch's flushed face.

I must be suffering from oxygen deprivation; otherwise, why is my face so hot? Lynch thought to himself. He averted his gaze, spat out the blood in his mouth, and blurted out, “You can't run away now. Remember, you owe me seven favors.”

...

The water-like gaze was immediately filled with daggers, and her white teeth were tightly clenched. Officer Natalie's weak body moved, mostly her legs, and the tip of her foot kicked Lynch's calf very gently.

It was a familiar feeling. Through this most professional of methods, Lynch finally confirmed that this woman must have regained her sanity. It was just that the force of that kick was so small; it seemed the earlier contamination had caused her significant damage, leaving her in a weakened state.

“Don't move around. Let me take a look.”

Gently wiping the blood from her face, Lynch leaned in close, observing carefully as he stroked her skin. Sure enough, the granulations that had appeared out of nowhere were falling off, turning into pools of bloody water and revealing her original skin.

Fortunately, the skin remained largely intact, smooth and soft to the touch. The scene he had imagined of a body full of blood holes did not occur, though her skin was pale and bloodless, and cold to the touch—clearly symptoms of excessive blood loss.

Should I unbutton her clothes to check other places? Hiss, I am not a pervert. Huh, why did the temperature suddenly rise? And there is blood color too, and it is getting redder. No, what am I doing?

Finally realizing the problem, Lynch discovered that Officer Natalie's face was flushed red and she was glaring at him through gritted teeth. He could only force a laugh as he withdrew his sinful hand, saying awkwardly, “Don't misunderstand, it was just a simple medical examination, you... hey.”

Before he could finish, a hand grabbed Lynch's collar and pulled him over.

His body was embraced. Although her limbs were weak, Lynch could still clearly feel that the officer was using all her remaining strength to hold him. At this moment, relief, lingering fear, joy, and terror were intertwined, letting him experience for the first time what it meant to have mixed feelings.

Survival after a catastrophe. The feeling of being alive was so wonderful, and the feeling of being able to live on with her was even more indescribable. Lynch felt a pang of bitterness in his chest and likewise hugged Officer Natalie back, holding her tightly, fearing that this joy might just be an unreal dream.

Eyes met, their hot breath clearly perceptible.

The distance between their two faces grew smaller and smaller until they were finally pressed tightly together.

Bang.

The door of 304 was suddenly kicked open, and noisy sounds came from outside.

“Natalie, what just happened? Are you okay... Uh, why didn't you close the door...”