Thank a lot for the 100 power stones! Here's the bonus chapter
At 300 Power Stones, I'll drop another bonus chapter.
×××
The monster's frequencies hit my senses the moment I materialize in front of it.
They're dense and heavy frequencies. But why do I feel something's off? Before, when it was chasing Rize, that hunger was divided between her and Yuki-chan.
Now it's completely focused on me.
Could be because I'd sent Yuki-chan to find Doctor Kanou. But I know that's not it.
—Roooooar!
The monster rears up on its hind legs and lets out a loud roar that makes the nearby rocks vibrate. Birds flee from the cliffs and the air trembles before its presence.
"Yuki... chan?"
I hear Rize's voice reaching me from behind. It's a confused and cautious voice at the same time, though also mixed with hope.
"I'm not Yuki-chan."
I glance at her briefly before refocusing on the monster.
"My name is Arata. But explanations will have to wait."
"Arata...?"
"I said wait. And get away from here so you don't get caught up in this."
That's all I say before my kagunes emerge from my back.
The first is a black tentacle writhing in the air. Electric sparks run along the six tentacles, and threatening sharp blades. The second kagune is a solid mass extending from my right arm to form a blade as wide as a claymore. This kagune detaches from my body and I grab it by the hilt.
And from my left fingers sprout five blades.
Chimera. I've heard they've given me this name.
I think it fits pretty well with what I am. But if I had to name myself, I'd choose Aberration.
—Roooooaaaar!
The monster lunges at me at absurd speed. At the same time, its tentacles extend and whip the air like lashes while all its bleeding eyes the size of my head fix on me in a disturbing way.
Three tentacles aim straight for my head.
—Clang!
I block the first with my claymore. My tentacle strikes the second and deflects it to the side. The third passes so close to my cheek I feel the air grazing me.
I don't even wait for time to pass before counterattacking.
The tentacle shoots toward its eyes.
Heh. This idiot.
Eyes are always a good target, and this monster has plenty.
—Tink!
Or so I thought.
The metallic sound resonates when my kagune bounces off its body. It feels like hitting a steel wall with bare fists. Damn it! Its reaction is also absurd, since it managed to cover its eyes.
The mark I left, though it's actually a superficial scratch considering its enormous size, disappears in seconds as its flesh regenerates.
However, this lets me know more or less the dimension of its power.
Absurd defense, instant regeneration, tremendous strength and incredible reaction speed.
Why can I never fight against something that's easy to kill?
—Slash!
A tentacle hits my side before I can react and my body goes flying. I go through one rock, then another, and finally stop buried in a crater of my own creation.
"Yuki—! I mean..."
"I'm fine."
I glance briefly at where Rize is, and wonder if it was a good idea to save her.
I mean, hide your hungry look, girl.
Look at her. She's even salivating seeing me.
I get up while shaking debris off my clothes. I look down and see my side destroyed, with my ribs poking out between torn flesh.
Ah. Hello bone, long time no see.
The wound starts closing, and in less than a second, it closes completely.
Meanwhile, the monster doesn't notice my silly thoughts and launches again. As it approaches, its tentacles create a storm of blades that destroys everything in between it and me. As a consequence, rocks explode, the ground breaks open and the noise of devastation is heard from hundreds of meters away.
I dodge left, and at the same time, a tentacle destroys the place where my head was a second ago.
My claymore cuts one of its minor appendages. The limb falls to the ground writhing. Unfortunately it regenerates before I can feel a bit satisfied.
My blades dig into one of its eyes. The monster roars in pain. Unfortunately, three new eyes open in the nearby area to compensate.
'Ugh. It's getting more disgusting.'
If I explode its eyes, they'll become smaller while multiplying. At that point, when its body fills with eyes, I'll definitely puke.
My tentacle tangles with its in a brute force fight. In a way, I win the strength competition, unfortunately, I only have six tentacles while it has dozens.
—Crash!
My body goes through what appears to be an old watchtower and debris falls on me as I stand up again. Dark red blood drips from the multiple wounds that have opened on my body.
'Phew... It's got impenetrable defense and regeneration that doesn't have to envy a vampire. What else can it do? Ah, yeah, shoot laser beams from its eyes.'
Hm?
I see the monster's dozens of eyes glow.
'That was a joke. That was a fucking joke!'
—Fwooooos!
Unlike what I expected, what comes out of its eyes isn't concentrated energy forming a laser beam.
"Ugh!"
It's worse.
I stagger in place while grabbing my head.
A powerful mental frequency that even affects my brain.
I see a giant shadow covering my entire figure. The next moment, all I see is a fist heading toward my head.
—Boooom!
My body is sent flying from my original position. Wind whips my face, and I feel my back hit the ground every time I bounce. I keep going like this for a few hundred meters, before burying myself in an abandoned structure.
However, I don't come out of there.
'This isn't working.'
I think about something I should've noticed before.
The monster's eyes.
I don't mean how they look at me, of course. I mean the eyes themselves.
Dozens of eyeballs distributed across its deformed body, moving independently, perceiving things beyond what normal sight allows.
They're familiar.
The mental frequency they emit is similar to what I emit.
And also...
'Flesh dreams of biting itself, and every eye aches for a sibling.'
The eyes I can create on others' bodies using that ability. Except that on the monster there are no devouring mouths, the eyes are the same.
This monster has something similar to what I have.
Is that why it sensed Yuki-chan and pursued it, because it sensed me through the frequency? Is that why it looks at me with such hunger? Can it sense we're similar somehow? That we share something in common?
Does it want to devour me?
Absorb what I have inside?
—Roooooaaar!
The monster finds me quickly.
The house-sized thing lunges at me again, with its tentacles ready to tear me apart.
I stand up in a single leap, just an instant before its claws tear through the ground where I lay. The concrete pulverizes under its strength.
My claymore materializes in my hands again. I don't plan to die here. There's no way I'll let this absurd thing defeat me.
"Come on!"