Thank a lot for the 300 power stones! Here's the bonus chapter
At 500 Power Stones, I'll drop another bonus chapter.
×××
—Shrrrieeeek!
It's been a while since I've experienced this.
Thousands of screams tormenting my mind at the same time.
I look up and see the sky tearing apart. And from the sky rain the dead and blood. From the walls emerge bleeding eyes and from the ground form mouths full of teeth. Beyond, the blue sea is dyed red, the color of blood, before putrid fish start swimming in it.
The fishy smell hits me all at once and makes me feel sick.
'Hah... Calm down, it's just a hallucination.'
I close my eyes, but I can't concentrate through the thousands of incomprehensible screams.
It's the consequence of my soul being weakened and unable to bear my current evolution.
"I saw you drink its blood."
With large purple eyes narrowed, Rize says those words while pointing with her chin toward the monster's dried corpse. There's curiosity in her gaze, but through her frequency, I notice the hunger making her aura tremble with temptation.
"How does it taste?"
I don't really feel like talking, still, I sigh and try to ignore what I see, what I hear, and what I smell.
"This is shit."
"Huh? What?"
"I mean, it tastes like shit."
In fact, it's acceptable to my tastes. Though I absorbed most of it through my body. However, it's probably blood that could corrupt whoever drinks it.
"Hm. Doesn't look like you disliked it that much."
Rize takes a step toward the corpse, and her kagune partially materializes behind her while her irises turn red and her sclera black.
"Don't."
"Why not? I'm hungry. I haven't eaten in weeks, and that thing looks like it has enough meat to—"
"It's contaminated."
Rize stops. Her red eyes observe me attentively.
"Contaminated? What do you mean by that? It's ghoul meat, isn't it?"
"Doctor Kanou experimented on him for years. There are chemicals, drugs, and substances in his flesh. If you eat it, you could end up just like him."
It's partially true.
But fifty percent of the real reason is the blood they injected into Arata that transformed him into a monster. Therefore, even though all the blood has been extracted, and now it's a soulless, bloodless shell, it's still corrupt and twisted.
The other fifty percent of the reason is that this corpse belongs to my friend's father, and although I'm hesitant whether to tell Touka or not, somehow I don't want Rize to devour it. Thinking about that scene makes me uncomfortable.
Rize shows a complicated expression, but finally gives up and drops her kagune.
"You're so cruel, Yuki-chan. Leaving me without food... Haha, what a waste."
"I'm not Yuki-chan..."
"Until I see Yuki-chan, I'll keep calling you that."
She emits a dangerous aura.
Not wanting things to get complicated, I sigh and extend my hand toward the sky. A moment later, while seeing hallucinations of blood rain dripping, a small object descends floating.
Yuki-chan.
The eye stops in front of me, rotating slowly. From the moment I arrived, I used this All-Seeing Eye to look at the sea, the coast, and the nearby cliffs. However, unfortunately I found no trace of Doctor Kanou.
That bastard's alive somewhere.
A real slippery cockroach.
Rize observes this scene without hiding her fascination.
"So you really can give it orders without even opening your mouth."
She approaches the floating eye and gives it little taps with her finger.
"Is Yuki-chan your pet?"
"Who knows?"
"Hm."
Narrowing her eyes, not seeming satisfied with my answer, Rize opens her hand and grabs Yuki-chan. I make the eye squirm a bit. She brings it close to her face and smiles.
"It's mine now."
"..."
I'm left speechless at this shameless girl.
The All-Seeing Eye is something I assign to people who matter to me. But thinking about it carefully...
"Do what you want."
Giving one to Rize, even though she doesn't know me well, isn't bad. I know her quite well after two years of watching her through that same eye.
While she's not someone important to me like Saya and the others, she's someone I want to keep close.
Because the more beings with good potential there are in my group, in the apocalypse we'll have better chances of surviving.
The aura surrounding Rize is tinged with yellow, symbolizing happiness. She holds Yuki-chan while petting it like a cat. At the same time, she lifts her head and gives me an expectant look.
"And now what?"
"We're leaving here."
I look toward the tunnel leading back to Sunlit Garden.
"The V organization people could arrive any moment. And if Doctor Kanou's still alive, he's probably already reported what happened here."
Rize nods.
"Makes sense. Where to?"
"Far. Follow me."
—Shiiieerrrk!
My facial expression trembles at the sounds of screams and wails, which seem to be the sound produced by metal being scratched by millions of knives.
Under those torments, I start walking south, bordering the cliffs. Rize follows me without protest, though I can feel her gaze fixed on my back.
While we walk, I focus part of my attention on the monster's corpse we left behind.
—Flesh dreams of biting itself, and every eye aches for a sibling.
Through my brain frequency, I make small mouths open on the surface of the dry body.
—Chomp! Chomp!
Like hungry larvae, the mouths full of teeth begin devouring the remains from the outside.
I feel a knot in my stomach as I do it.
This is Kirishima Arata. Touka's father, the man who sacrificed himself for his family and was turned into a monster by unscrupulous scientists.
And now I'm devouring him to prevent Kanou from using him again.
Is this the right thing? Certainly for me it is, though it's a bit difficult.
With this one, that makes two.
A long time ago, I'd killed Saya's father, but he'd already been parasitized. And now I've killed a man whose name is similar to mine, but who had also transformed into a monster that could well have come from a nightmare.
While thinking such depressing things, nothing remains of the corpse.
"You okay?"
Rize's voice pulls me from my thoughts. She walks beside me now while tilting her head with a curious expression.
"Yeah. Why?"
"Your face looked weird for a moment."
"Your imagination."