Edward fell into deep thought.
Although he knew that there were plenty of jokesters online, he truly hadn't expected things to be this abstract and ridiculous.
To know that Kayako, under Edward's direction, had become an extremely terrifying figure—one who now held the uncontested throne as the scariest female ghost in horror films—and yet…
"Boss… are these people really this outrageous?"
Kawamata Naoko looked at the comments, her eyelids twitching. Even though she was now an evil spirit, Kawamata Naoko still felt that these people were simply too much—scenes like these were truly rare.
"Miss Kawamata, as you know, humans can always develop strange preferences. And besides, to them, you're nothing more than a fictional character in a movie."
Edward pinched the bridge of his nose. The richer one's material life became, the more thoughts brewed in their hearts; insatiable desires always worked that way.
If people were all starving, most of them would care only about filling their stomachs, not indulging in these bizarre whims. Even in ancient times, those with unusual fetishes were mostly wealthy people—because they were the ones who had enough to eat and thus had the luxury to let their minds wander. The poor struggled just to survive; they definitely didn't have the leisure to think of such "operations."
Kawamata Naoko sighed, and as her gaze drifted, she noticed Edward reaching to close the comment section. Curious, she stretched her neck to peek at the screen.
[Kawamata Naoko: 9.8/10]
[Victim of Teammates from Hell: Too tragic. Peak "beautiful, miserable, strong" character. Beautiful enough to make me stand up with a single smile, and strong too—so strong even Kayako didn't dare face her own sister head-on! But she got sabotaged by teammates and died miserably. Exactly the kind of tragedy I love!]
[What Can I Say? Obedient: The only person in the trilogy who could confront Kayako head-on. This alone is worth full marks.]
[SlurpSlurp: Ah, big sis's long legs, prprpr. Even after death she's still so pretty. She's too suitable for prprpr. I really want to pin Naoko onto her coffin and then—]
"B-Boss… what does 'prpr' mean?"
Kawamata Naoko looked gently at Edward as she asked. Edward's mouth twitched, and after hesitating, he answered:
"It means showing affection for a fictional character… like, uh, licking an ice cream cone."
He coughed lightly as he explained.
Beside him, Kawamata Naoko 's pupils widened dramatically—and Edward, seeing her instantly revert to her evil spirit form out of sheer rage, silently lit a candle in his heart for the unfortunate commenter. Though personally, he didn't think the guy had done anything especially wrong.
After all, none of them knew Kawamata Naoko really existed. Just like in his previous life, when people prpr'd anime characters or drew explicit fan art—they didn't think that one day the characters would show up at their doorstep seeking revenge.
If that were possible, then back in the day Edward himself would've been visited by Gojo Satoru because of all the "Gojo gets bisected" memes he used to joke about.
Watching the furious Naoko, Edward scratched his head.
"Don't go overboard," he said helplessly. He knew evil spirits needed a way to vent their rage, and admittedly, what that commenter posted was pretty outrageous. Besides, stopping her would be difficult.
Kawamata Naoko quickly locked onto her target: the user named SlurpSlurp. Not only had this guy made malicious comments about her appearance and character, but even his profile was filled with troll edits and memes of her. This enraged Naoko immensely, and using her unseen powers of darkness, she tracked down SlurpSlurp's home address.
…
Night fell.
The city lights flickered in the dark.
SlurpSlurp returned home exhausted after a long day of work. He pushed open the door, stepped into his familiar yet messy living room without caring about the trash scattered everywhere, and collapsed onto the sofa. He just wanted to relax—and maybe "enjoy" Naoko as his "side dish" again.
As he lay on the sofa, reaching for the remote and preparing to unwind before entertaining himself, the temperature in the room suddenly plummeted. A chilling cold shot up his spine, making him shiver uncontrollably.
"I didn't install an air conditioner…"
SlurpSlurp muttered in confusion. He had never bought one—the electricity bill was too expensive. Yet the sudden cold made him uneasy.
When he turned his head, he noticed something terrifying.
His bedroom door, which should've been closed, was now open just a crack.
And a figure stood inside the room… staring at him.
"Who's there?"
SlurpSlurp shouted with forced bravery. The only response was dead silence.
But the dread tightening around his heart grew stronger and stronger.
After all, he lived alone.
At that moment, the bedroom door slowly closed on its own with a heavy thud, trapping him inside with whatever was in the darkness.
Kawamata Naoko 's figure emerged from the shadows. Her face was pale as paper, her eyes filled with hatred and malice. Her messy hair trailed along the floor, her chest wound still spurting blood as she glared venomously at SlurpSlurp.
When he finally recognized her, SlurpSlurp's face turned as white as a sheet. His legs began trembling uncontrollably.
"W-Who are you?"
he stammered.
Naoko ignored him and crawled toward him—every movement twisted and unnatural. With each inch she closed, SlurpSlurp's terror intensified.
Then it hit him.
He knew this ghost.
Wasn't this the female spirit he had fantasized about online?
She was… real?
SlurpSlurp's mind blanked. Yes, he had posted many malicious comments online—half because of his weird fetishes, and half because the venting felt good, like releasing stress.
But—
No one ever said Kawamata Naoko actually existed!!
He tried to run, but his limbs were weak. He grabbed a chair, struggled to stand, and immediately collapsed again. He crawled backward desperately, but Naoko continued closing in, her hateful stare so intense it made him wet his pants.
When she reached him, she extended a cold finger and touched his cheek.
The pain was instant and overwhelming—like thousands of needles stabbing his skin.
SlurpSlurp finally broke.
He screamed hysterically, then collapsed onto the floor. His consciousness faded as his body ceased responding.
Naoko's lips curved into a wild, ecstatic smile—filled with the pleasure of revenge.
SlurpSlurp looked at her horrifying face and convulsed before passing out cold.
…
SlurpSlurp's situation drew no attention.
After all, he had previously posted even more outrageous nonsense, like:
[I discussed life with Naoko all night yesterday and fainted!]
and
[Miss Kawamata came to my house! Too scary! I got drained dry!]
So regardless of how much he swore his experience was real, no one believed him.
Meanwhile, Kawamata Naoko 's anger subsided greatly.
As for Edward, he didn't pay any attention to the incident at all—because he was currently busy preparing the promotional campaign for his new movie, Harry Potter.
…
The Promotion Begins
Once editing of the movie was completed, the film was handed off to Zoroark for the review process. Edward began advance promotion with the tagline:
[Suitable for all ages, contains absolutely no horror elements]
Predictably, judging from the comments and barrage reactions, very few people believed him.
Edward was helpless.
This was the price of reputation.
He had unknowingly acquired the label of "renowned horror director." Edward personally disliked the title, but he couldn't help it—most of the movies he had made were indeed horror films, with only a handful of exceptions. Stereotypes had already taken root in the audience's minds.
So now, with Harry Potter, he hoped to expand his market and improve his public image.
[Comedy of the century: Director Edward claims his movie has zero horror elements]
Edward's mouth twitched reading this.
Harry Potter was a children's fantasy story; naturally there were no horror scenes. Even the "Avada Kedavra" killing curse didn't reduce people to gore—it simply made them appear peacefully asleep.
If anything were to be considered "scary," perhaps the scene where Dumbledore retrieves one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, with the eerie corpses in the lake—though that was barely frightening. Resident Evil was scarier than that.
Even the Dementors, often considered terrifying, weren't that bad—only children might be really scared by them.
…
Meanwhile, at the Film Review Office…
Corey glanced at his two returning coworkers and sighed.
Damn it. Last time, when they worked together, one of them took leave—and he'd hoped to avoid running into Edward's film while that coworker was away. But now that the coworker was back… it was their turn to review Edward's new movie.
"I heard this time it's not a horror film," Corey began casually—they were all friends now, so chatting was natural.
"Yeah, supposedly it's a fantasy magic film. But magic…"
The female coworker's expression became subtly complicated.
"We'll know once we watch it," the older man said cheerfully.
The woman nodded, and Corey shrugged—no point discussing it before seeing it.
A group of staff members headed to the screening room, while their coworkers outside looked at them with sympathetic eyes.
But Corey actually felt a bit excited. Edward had produced non-horror films before—such as the highly acclaimed The Truman Show, which had already secured Best Film of the Year. Edward was definitely an awards sweep candidate.
And since Edward claimed there were no horror elements… Corey believed it.
Once the movie began, Corey was instantly absorbed into the story. Watching the strange, wonderful magic, his eyes sparkled with longing.
So, this was magic?
Sure, some effects could also be done by Pokémon, but magic done by humans was entirely different in concept.
Even when cooking outdoors—while a Fire-type Pokémon could ignite a campfire easily—it wasn't the same as doing it with one's own spell.
As Corey followed Harry Potter's adventures, he was completely drawn in.
The entire screening room was silent—much to the disappointment of onlookers hoping for screams.
Harry Potter wasn't a long film. Soon it ended, and after the credits rolled, the three reviewers were already excitedly discussing it. The female coworker even tried to imitate a spell incantation on the spot—but unsurprisingly, nothing happened.
Still, the enchanting magical world, the foreshadowing, the character dynamics, the shifting impressions—all made the trio extremely enthusiastic. Everyone loved discussing good movies… unlike terrible ones.
(Except Sharknado, of course.)
Movies like Sharknado were so nonsensical that they became fun in their own chaotic way.
"This is it—I've decided! When it releases, I'm going to watch it again!"
Corey declared, brimming with excitement. This magical world was simply too fascinating!
"Me too!"
the woman said, just as thrilled.
The older man, however, was pondering something.
"Tell me… why is Snape always targeting Harry Potter?"
he asked sincerely.
He had noticed something in Snape's gaze—something with the flavor of an older man carrying a secret deep within.
He was certain:
Snape definitely had a story.
(End of Chapter)