"D… …D… …"
In Japan's Unexplored Area—this dangerous, sunless jungle that no one knew how many Gastrea lurked within—Takatsukasa Eika was fleeing for her life.
She ignored the muscles gone sour and aching from lactic acid overload. She ignored the wail of overheating machinery inside her. She ignored the organs in her body that felt close to burning.
Otagawa Yuya, injured to the point of impaired mobility, was on her back—yet Toyama Hiroki was nowhere to be seen.
They left me…
The fear in their hearts seemed to sprout a will of its own, whispering in their ears, forcing them to abandon everything and escape.
That dark-red-skinned giant was simply too strong. No matter how they attacked, they couldn't leave so much as a scratch on that monster.
If the terror of Gastrea lay in their despair-inducing regeneration and infectiousness, then the terror of that giant lay in its despair-inducing defense—and the gaze brimming with a lust that made your skin crawl.
From the black knight and the ace soldiers, to the sewer rats and the piper, and finally the giant inside the house… the pressure that crushed their minds had been piling up piece by piece.
Sanity didn't drop below zero in an instant.
Eika couldn't even remember the details of the fight anymore—like her brain's self-preservation refused to revisit that stretch of time. She only remembered that at the very end, Toyama Hiroki stayed behind alone to buy them time to escape.
"Take 'Coyote' and run. Abandon the mission. Staying alive comes first."
Eika couldn't remember what Toyama Hiroki's expression had looked like. Or maybe she'd been too terrified to look. Even his words—she could only recall fragments.
"By what that girl said, this is just a game. Then all the weird things we've run into might be 'stages' in her eyes, and we're the 'players' trying to clear them… Right now she's probably watching us struggle to the death from somewhere nearby. What a sick sense of humor."
"So before we catch her and end this absurd game, who knows how many more stages and monsters will show up to block us. They might get stronger and stronger… You get it now? Quitting this game while we still can is the smart choice—so we don't end up with an ugly outcome like Utsunomiya."
"Me? Of course I'm staying. That monster won't let us leave so easily. 'Coyote' is already injured, and you aren't a combat-type—you're a function-type mechanical soldier. Understand? Only if I stay can I buy enough time."
In fact, if you stopped and thought, it was obvious: from start to finish, the giant's only target had been Takatsukasa Eika. It had zero interest in Toyama Hiroki and Otagawa Yuya as men. The only reason it attacked them at all was because they kept standing in front of Eika.
So if the two of them had been willing to sacrifice Eika, the giant would've let them go—might even have "let them clear the stage." But Eika would, without question, have been subjected to something inhuman. Anyone could tell what that giant's stare meant.
Otagawa Yuya kept his mouth shut because he was injured—and because he didn't dare speak. If he spoke up recklessly, the one who got abandoned might end up being him.
And why Toyama Hiroki never suggested it—why he chose to stay behind instead… perhaps only he knew.
Carrying the injured Otagawa Yuya, Eika left the building where the giant was and headed for the squad's temporary camp. The organization members they'd left behind would fire signals from the camp to guide them, so there was no need to worry about getting lost.
They had already decided to abort the mission. With intel on these monsters and the flute that could control rats in hand, it wasn't as if they'd come away empty-handed. Maybe it would be enough to offset the punishment for mission failure.
The sewer route they'd used on the way in had already been blown apart. Most of the Gastrea in the forest would be drawn toward the explosion and firelight over there, so during their escape, Eika and Otagawa Yuya didn't run into many strong Gastrea—none even as high as Stage III.
And like that, following the signals, they safely reached the temporary camp where the organization members had been stationed.
In the fight against the ace soldiers, nearly two-thirds of the squad members—those who weren't super soldiers—had died. So they should have seen the remaining third still alive here.
Instead, what met their eyes was a camp soaked red with blood, ravaged to the ground, and severed limbs scattered everywhere.
As if a gale had swept through—flinging them high, then smashing them back down.
As if a savage beast had torn through—rending them apart with claws and teeth.
Very quickly, Eika's eyes locked onto the only figure still standing not far away.
"What the hell happened here? Did Gastrea pass through? Are there any other survivors besides you?"
Her doubts poured out in a rapid-fire stream at the teammate standing with his back to her.
"…"
That teammate offered no response. He slowly turned around.
In that instant, Eika's heart stopped.
What she saw was a face chewed down into a bloody mess.
He opened his mouth—and in the next moment, countless rats poured out.
It was impossible to understand how his body could have held so many rats.
With shrill cries, the rats began devouring their own kind—tearing, biting, crushing, slaughtering…
In the end, the pile of rat corpses formed into a massive, bloated lump of flesh that reeked with overpowering rot.
On that enormous meat mass, Eika saw familiar faces…
The faces of the Goshoukai members who were already dead.
Their faces were stitched onto the flesh like they were still alive, as if trying to claw their way out from inside it. Mouths gaping wide, they screamed in piercing agony, expressions twisted and feral.
And at the very top of that flesh mass…
Was the head of Utsunomiya Taiji—someone who should have been dead.
"Aaah… I… I'm a noble 'New Human'… how can I die in a place like this… I want to live… I can still fight! Why did you abandon me?! Why did the one who had to die have to be me—aaahhh!"
There was nothing beneath his head—no neck at all. Only five intestines extended out from the enormous flesh mass, each thrust into one of his eyes, his ears, and the hole in his forehead.
"Utsunomiya… why is it you?"
Eika had assumed the camp was attacked by Gastrea that happened to pass through. The organization members stationed here were all capable enough, but if enough Gastrea showed up, a wipeout was possible.
But she never could have imagined the attacker would be Utsunomiya Taiji.
Had that explosion really not killed him—and the monsters inside—completely?
"Aaah… that's right, I can still fight. I'm still useful… As long as my neck is still here, I can keep fighting… I can fight without end! Then I'll never lose! I'll never have to worry about being left behind, being discarded!"
"Not enough, not enough, not enough… nowhere near enough! Hand over all your necks and heads! Trade your lowly lives for the survival of this great 'New Human'! Become part of the perfect flesh of this 'New Human'—aaahhh!!"
It was obvious: Utsunomiya Taiji had completely lost his reason and become a monster that existed only to kill.
He let out a hoarse, frenzied roar—and at the same time, the grotesque faces on the flesh mass roared too. The will of madness in those voices slammed into the minds of the living like a battering ram.
Then a huge gash split open across the flesh mass, and another face crawled out from within…
Eika recognized this one as well.
"Children! Children! Children! Tender, juicy children… no—don't need them anymore! As long as I destroy the city and wipe out humanity, I can still take revenge on those arrogant adults! Yes! As long as I'm with these little reapers! I can build a kingdom that belongs only to rats—then become the one and only ruler of this land! Kukuku… hahahaha!"
The Pied Piper of Hamelin… no—now it could only be called a deranged madman, a terrifying monster.
Eika had burned a lot of stamina getting here. Otagawa Yuya was hampered by his injuries. And the monster in front of them was huge and bloated—yet not slow at all. The two of them had no choice but to fight it.
As the clashes continued, they discovered in mounting horror that it wasn't just fast—its strength was monstrous. Its defense wasn't as "cheat-level" as the giant's, but it had terrifying regeneration… because what made up that flesh mass was, in the first place, just a pile of corpses.
And with all those faces on its body, it had no blind spots at all. Whether they tried to run or to ambush it, the success rate was painfully low.
They couldn't see any hope of victory—or survival.
Maybe Toyama Hiroki had influenced him. Otagawa Yuya began to consider sacrificing himself—staying behind to buy Eika time to escape.
After all, with his injuries, even if he ran alone he wouldn't get far. Eika alone had the better chance.
So the best choice was for Eika to run—leave him here—and bring the flute that could control rats back…
"The flute that can control rats…?"
Otagawa Yuya stared at the disgusting flesh mass made of rat corpses, and an idea suddenly surfaced.
He'd only just said earlier—with utter disgust—that there was no way in hell he'd ever play that flute, even if it was washed over and over. But faced with what might be their only chance to live, he finally made that difficult choice.
He raised the flute and blew.
And it worked.
That flute could control even rat corpses…
Or perhaps those rats weren't fully dead at all—perhaps they were "alive" in the form of this deformed monster, which was why the flute could seize control of it.
Thankfully, the key to controlling rats wasn't the melody. It was the flute itself. Otherwise, even if Otagawa Yuya could make a sound, it would've meant nothing.
The bizarre flute notes echoed. No matter how unwilling they were, the faces on the monster couldn't make the body attack Otagawa Yuya or Eika. All they could do was watch as Eika swung her blades and chopped every last one of those faces off.
Not only that—Eika and the others hauled out the flamethrower from the camp and burned the monster's flesh to nothing but ash. At that point, even Stage IV-level regeneration wouldn't be able to come back.
Especially that piper—this disgusting thing had already revived twice. If it came back a third time, it would honestly make you sick to your stomach.
Only after they'd done all that did the two of them finally let out the breath they'd been holding. The taut string in their hearts had been stretched to its limit for far too long.
"Thanks…" Eika said suddenly. "If it weren't for you, we'd be dead."
Otagawa Yuya was silent for a moment. "...No need. I did it for myself too. If I hadn't, whether you died or not, I can't say—but I definitely would've."
One second it was a heartfelt thank-you, and the next he abruptly changed direction.
"But honestly? Your flute playing is god-awful. It wasn't even as good as that psycho's."
"Be grateful I managed to make it sound at all."
Otagawa Yuya complained irritably, then glanced down at the flute in his hand.
Should he practice a little?
This thing… might come in handy again someday.
He realized he didn't feel quite as disgusted by it anymore.
"You know…" Eika stared blankly at the sky and murmured, "'Dread Scorpion'… is he… still alive?"
Otagawa Yuya froze for a moment, then said, "Don't even think about going back to save him. That's just suicide."
"I know…" Eika frowned slightly. "Do I look like someone that irrational?"
"You'd better not be. If you want to die, go by yourself—just don't drag me with you."
...
In the end, the squad and four super soldiers Goshoukai dispatched to capture Nursery Rhyme and Scorpio not only failed to catch anyone—only Takatsukasa Eika and Otagawa Yuya made it back alive.
Two super soldiers dead. The squad wiped out.
Nursery Rhyme didn't withdraw her gaze until those two had left the forest and entered the Tokyo Area.
"So boring. They quit playing so fast, and they didn't follow the rules at all…" Nursery Rhyme pouted. "Mr. Knight, were my hints really that hard to understand?"
She was enjoying black tea and small cakes. Her Mr. Knight stood respectfully at her side, refilling her cup whenever it ran low—at this point he looked more like a butler than a knight.
Nursery Rhyme set her teacup down. The moment she opened her hand, many little motes of light appeared in her palm.
"Poor things. Your companions abandoned you. I told them—souls are important—but they wouldn't listen… In that case, you can stay in Paradise."
The corners of Nursery Rhyme's mouth lifted slightly, an innocent smile blooming on her face.
"Of course, before that, you'll have to be cleaned…" Her voice stayed bright and sweet. "Because impure souls aren't allowed into Paradise. Only children who bathe properly get to be good kids, right?"
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T/N: oopsies i uhhh seem to have messed up chapter counts and stuff but it should be fine now! fixed the double chapter 810 with 811 content and allat!