Chapter 39: Spirit of Revenge - Tom
Upon hearing that sound approaching closer and realizing the imminent danger, Soji felt a wave of unease and a dreadful sensation creeping into her heart.
"No... it can't be..."
Swallowing hard, Soji, who was flying close to the ground at high speed, trembled as she turned her head, praying fervently, "Please don't let it be that hellcat! Please don't let it be that hellcat! Please don't let it be that hellcat!"
However, according to Murphy's Law, the more you fear something, the more likely it is to happen. Reality always tends to develop in the direction you fear the most.
As Soji turned her head, her expression instantly changed from anxiety to sheer horror. At that moment, she witnessed a scene that would forever haunt her. The cat had caught up, riding on a broken broomstick, surpassing the speed of her Noble Phantasm. It was faster than anything she had ever encountered.
"So fast, too fast... Why is it so fast?!"
Seeing Tom rapidly closing in from behind, Soji's eyes widened in disbelief. She was using her Noble Phantasm to escape, relying on her Assassin-class agility and the rocket thrusters on her back. With her already Rider-class speed enhanced by the Noble Phantasm, her swift movements should have been impossible to match. How could that cat catch up to her while she was using her ultimate technique? It felt like a ghost story!
Soji, terrified, was on the verge of tears as she watched Tom rapidly approaching from behind. Her face showed visible panic and desperation. At that moment, she was filled with... despair.
"Don't come any closer!!!"
After uttering those words of despair, Soji attempted to accelerate once again, but it was futile. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't go any faster. She was already at the peak of her speed while using her Noble Phantasm. What more could she do to accelerate? Should she step on the throttle of her rocket thrusters and push it into the fuel tank? If that were possible, she would have screamed, "Why are you chasing me?!"
On the other hand, Tom behind Soji had a completely different demeanor. Its expression grew more arrogant as the distance between them rapidly closed. It stared at Soji with a wicked smile, its tongue hanging out and wagging in the air. Unlike Soji's helpless despair, Tom could actually push the throttle into the fuel tank!
Tom hasn't reached its speed limit yet. Its maximum speed depends on how fast the person in front of it is. With a little more effort, it could easily surpass the person ahead.
The chase between the person and the cat continued through various narrow alleys, their speeds almost impossible to be captured by the naked eye. It was akin to a low-flying airplane race.
A bystander stood at the street corner, smoking a cigarette, when a black blur zoomed past, breaking the tip of his cigarette. Startled, he took a few steps back and exclaimed, "What was that whooshing by?!"
The race between the two continued, and they were now getting closer, with a gap of only about 3 meters remaining. Moreover, Soji's speed was gradually decreasing as her Noble Phantasm's effects wore off. It was evident that Soji was about to be overtaken by Tom.
"Hiss~" Tom looked at Soji's head, licked its lips, and pulled out a razor from behind. Although Tom's fur had grown back by now, it didn't diminish its desire for revenge after being previously shaved. As it was closing in, Tom extended its right hand, holding the razor, resembling a charging knight.
Feeling her speed diminishing, Soji turned her head once again to look behind her. To her horror, she saw Tom waving the razor. Soji's hair stood on end in fear. In her eyes, Tom brandishing the razor appeared no different from a demon... No, even facing a demon, she would have some confidence in winning. But how could she fight against this peculiar cat?
"Wow! Yikes!!!" Witnessing this scene, Soji frantically clawed forward as if swimming through the air, hoping to gain even a slight increase in speed, just enough to delay being caught by this terrifying cat.
Unfortunately, this effort was in vain. At that moment, Tom's eyes brightened, seemingly spotting an excellent opportunity to attack. Simultaneously, due to Tom's sudden brightness, Soji's eyes were momentarily dazzled as well.
Without any hesitation, Tom stepped hard on the accelerator, pushing it to the maximum. It instantly surpassed Soji, and in that very instant, it swung the razor in its hand!
"Swish!" Accompanied by the sound of breaking through the air, the razor swiftly slashed through the air, severing the stiffened hair on top of Soji's head!
Feeling a chill on top of her head, Soji quickly used her right hand to touch her scalp. Fortunately, she wasn't hit on the head, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She had thought for a moment that her head was going to be sliced off.
At that moment, a strand of her hair floated down from the air as if it naturally fell, moving in relation to Soji. It landed gently in her hand. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be a big deal, but the crucial point was that Soji's speed was so fast that it was almost invisible to the naked eye. Yet, this strand of hair appeared in front of her and floated down into her hand while maintaining relative motion with her.
"This is... my hair?!" After confirming the color, Soji compared the length and realized that the strand of hair was almost the same length as her own hair on her head.
In other words, Tom's razor had almost grazed her scalp.
The thought sent a shiver down Soji's spine. If she hadn't frantically clawed through the air and tilted her head slightly, her skull might have been exposed by Tom's attack!
Coincidentally, Tom had already reached Soji's front. She quickly decelerated and then made a sharp turn in the opposite direction to accelerate away. Tom turned back and saw that her hair was intact, completely different from the Mediterranean style he had intended to shave. His mood, which had just improved, suddenly worsened. He prepared to turn around and continue pursuing her.
However, in that instant when he turned his head, a clothesline from someone's house impaled directly into his mouth and pierced all the way through to his tail.
"Gurgle~~~ !!!"