Chapter 16 – Lurking Web, Broken Mask

"Back to school?"

Sagami Minami's voice cracked with rage, her body trembling as her spider-like limbs twitched restlessly.

"How can I go back? Everyone's just waiting to watch me fall apart."

She knew the truth. Her so-called friends had abandoned her the moment the bullying scandal exploded. The ones she used to intimidate would be sharpening their knives now—ready to pay her back the moment she stepped into the classroom.

(The fake friends ditched me. The people I bullied want revenge. That classroom… it's a pit of snakes.)

Still, her parents didn't get it. They thought it was shameful for their daughter to stay home. They pushed her harder. "Get back to school." "Fix your reputation." "Don't embarrass us."

And then she snapped.

The stress, the shame, the rage—it opened a door. Something ancient and parasitic crept into her heart. The moment it did, her mind fractured.

She lashed out.

The house filled with the stench of webbed corpses.

Her parents never stood a chance.

Now, in the dimly lit interior of her home, Sagami's body twisted unnaturally. Her torso remained mostly human, but from the waist down, she was now a horrifying spider-like creature.

Dark veins pulsed beneath pale skin. Her eyes, once sharp with arrogance, now glowed with venomous insanity.

"Kirisu Madoka…"

"It's all her fault for interfering."

Her voice was barely a whisper—but thick with malice.

"And that bastard Ethan Kane... That smug jerk actually slapped me in front of everyone!"

Her grip tightened around a silk-stranded form—Kirisu Madoka, bound and suspended from the ceiling.

Sagami hissed softly as she looked at the unconscious teacher. The proud, elegant educator now looked so small, helpless in her web.

"You people ruined me."

---

A few minutes later...

Kirisu Madoka stirred awake.

"Agh..."

Her body ached, and her wrists burned from the tension in the silk. She blinked rapidly, trying to orient herself. The room was dark, cold, and thick with an unnatural energy.

"Sagami...?" she rasped. "What... what happened?"

From behind the webbed shadows, Sagami Minami's face emerged—part human, part monster.

"You're awake," Sagami said coldly. "Good."

Madoka struggled against the bindings but quickly realized she was caught tight.

"Sagami, listen to me... this isn't you. You can still stop this. Let me help you."

"Help?" Sagami sneered. "You call what you did to me help?"

"You suspended me. You humiliated me. You turned the class against me!"

Kirisu's eyes remained calm. Her voice was soft but firm. "You were bullying another student. You refused to take responsibility. What I did was to protect the class."

"And look where it got me!" Sagami screamed.

She raised her hand, coated in a black, chitinous carapace, and drove it into the wall next to Kirisu's head.

"I lost everything. My friends. My reputation. My family!"

Madoka's eyes briefly flicked to the corner—she saw the horrifying sight of two adult corpses wrapped in webbing.

Sagami noticed the direction of her gaze.

"Yeah. That's them."

"They tried to force me back to school. I told them no. They wouldn't listen."

"You… killed your parents?"

Sagami didn't respond. She just stared.

Then her expression twisted into a sick grin.

"But I'm not done yet."

She reached into Kirisu Madoka's pocket, retrieved her phone, and began tapping.

"Let's see how your precious 'clean image' holds up when people think you're seducing one of your students."

Madoka's eyes widened.

"No..."

Sagami took a few photos of the helpless teacher—ripped blouse, dazed expression, bound hands.

Then she opened the message app and selected Ethan Kane's contact.

She typed:

"Ethan-kun~ I'm waiting for you at the Paradise Hotel. Room 609. Come quick~"

She attached the images.

And sent it.

Madoka's voice shook. "What are you doing...?"

Sagami stepped back and smiled wickedly.

"Turning your little world upside down."

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To be continued…

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What happens when Ethan walks into the trap? Will he see through the lie in time—or fall into the web?

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