Ghoul.
The term originates from Arabic mythology, used to refer to flesh-eating monsters.
Myths and legends usually fade with time, but for some reason the term "ghoul" has endured into modern society.
Its meaning has deepened beyond a mere corpse-devouring fiend.
Among people, it refers to monsters that hide in human form and cannot survive without consuming humans.
In contemporary times, they are called Ghouls (喰種).
**
The first thing I saw was darkness.
Then the noise. The scuttling of a rat in the sewer echoed dully against the concrete walls.
Then the stench. No fresh air reached this place—only the thick smell of mold.
Dark, ominous, and foul-smelling.
A place an ordinary person would avoid.
But conversely, there were those who, not being ordinary, had to draw close to such places.
Thud.Thud.
A figure walked deeper into the sewer.
His coat was stained dark, hood pulled low—at a glance, he looked almost like a homeless man.
But no ordinary vagrant would venture this deep.
From beneath the hood, his narrow eyes scanned the surroundings warily.
Thud.
The man suddenly stopped.
…He felt someone behind him.
...!!
Swoosh!
As he spun around violently, his coat billowed.
Within the flaring coat, something reddish flashed for a moment, like a spark in his widened eyes.
But before he could fire—figuratively speaking—at it, he recognized who stood behind him and froze.
"Kuzen, it's you."
It was an acquaintance of the man.
Oddly out of place in such a setting, he wore a stiff suit and a smart fedora pulled low.
The fedoraed man had approached without a sound, but the narrow-eyed man took it in stride as if he were used to him.
"Is this the child?"
The narrow-eyed man's gaze shifted to the bundle in the fedoraed man's arms.
Wrapped in soft cloth, it breathed hope like a fresh sprout in this desolate place.
"May I ask a favor of you?"
"Certainly. I'll do my best to raise her."
"I'm sorry to burden you with this."
"Don't be. Compared to the debt I owe you, this is nothing…"
As they spoke, the narrow-eyed man reached out both arms to take the bundle handed to him from the fedoraed man.
Then—
Thud!
"…!!!"
Suddenly, blood spurted forth.
Something pierced through the narrow-eyed man's chest, and the fedoraed man slapped aside whatever was lunging at the bundle with a quick flick.
"H-How...?"
Staring at his gaping wound, the narrow-eyed man turned to follow the fedoraed man's gaze over his shoulder.
This was supposed to be a place where only the two of them existed.
No one was supposed to know and no one was supposed to come.
Yet from the far end of the tunnel, more than one presence was felt approaching.
They came in mechanical, cunning, and blasphemous numbers.
"We finally found you, Kuzen."
Chew.Chew.
From the center of the black shadow cast over the tunnel, a man chewing gum strolled forward.
He wore a fedora identical to the one Kuzen did, but the red glare beneath his hat did not belong to an ally.
"Kuzen!! Run!!"
Despite his chest wound, the narrow-eyed man summoned his will and stepped in front to block the advancing shadows.
"Noroi! No!"
"Go! You can't fight now! Think of the one in your arms!"
Kuzen was about to step forward but froze at the narrow-eyed man's words.
In Kuzen's arms, he held—
The soft, even breaths of sleep came from the bundle he cradled, oblivious to the malice bearing down upon them.
His friend's words were true.
He couldn't fight like this.
"…I'm sorry."
"Don't be sad. Our fates weren't meant for a peaceful life."
With one last smile at his friend, the man named Noroi charged into the approaching shadows.
Kuwaaaaaang!!!
Amid the thunderous blast and murderous intent, Kuzen broke into a run and escaped that place.
He had trusted his friend, but their contact had been exposed to the enemy.
Then what remained…
"…Was only that child."
Kuzen burst out of the darkness of the sewer and propelled himself toward the city skyline.
Like an owl gliding across the night sky.