Asahi did not know that he had been assigned the title of the last Zodiac Gastrea on the list, and even if he did, he wouldn't care. The goal he was currently focused on was ensuring these girls had something to fill their stomachs.
Slurp! Slurp! Gulp! Gulp!
Inside the tent, the sounds of slurping and chewing echoed non-stop. A dozen or so Cursed Children sat before the table, hungrily devouring the fragrant, still-hot food fresh out of the frying pan. Large pieces of meat were neatly torn and stuffed into their mouths, sauce saturated with seasoning spilling from the corners of their lips. Seeing these children come back to life and regain such spirit, Asahi unconsciously smiled.
As for their table manners, he didn't pay much attention. Surviving for such a long time under these terrible circumstances, as long as their bellies were full, any way was acceptable; there was fundamentally no need to focus on formality.
Even Nene, the brown-haired group leader, who seemed the most outwardly polite of the bunch, didn't hesitate to grab and tear the meat like a primitive person.
"It seems these children have been far removed from civilization for a very long time."
He sighed, quietly flipping the meat, and adding some vegetables and fruits.
Only a very small amount of energy was needed to "print" a large quantity of raw food. He wasn't afraid of the girls eating all his food; he was only afraid there weren't enough people to eat.
Meanwhile, Nene, unlike the other children who were immersed in the carefree pleasure of delicious food, glanced discreetly at Asahi's back. Her eyes were filled with questions, suspicion, and also shame.
Just moments ago, she had adamantly refused to approach him. Yet, in the end, she was defeated by the allure of food, leading her sisters in here, exactly according to his "plan."
But the deeper truth was that these girls never viewed him as a normal human, but as a Quasi-Human (quái nhân), merely to distinguish him from the Gastrea.
Albeit a Quasi-Human who knew how to cook.
Humans, in the eyes of the Cursed Children living on the fringes of Tokyo, were devils. It was humans who had discarded the Cursed Children here, forcing them into a life worse than death. Not only that, they constantly scorned and trampled upon them, sometimes sending people to capture some of them, turning them into weapons to fight until death.
If not devils, then what were they?
A lucky few were sheltered, a few were forced to become street urchins and earn a living within the Tokyo Area, but the majority of Cursed Children were like Nene's group, surviving out here and shunning humans.
If Asahi had used his true human form, this meal might not have been so smooth.
A long while later, the Cursed Children rubbed their full bellies in satisfaction. For the first time in their lives, they had eaten such a delicious meal.
But as the leader, Nene did not allow herself such indulgence. She shook her head, causing her ponytail to sway, and abruptly stood up.
"Quasi-Human... why are you feeding us? What is your goal?!"
Nene challenged him. Kyoko nervously pulled at her arm from the side, but Nene remained firm. She did not want the events of the past to repeat themselves.
The fact that Asahi was not human only lessened her wariness. It did not mean she had no wariness.
"It seems you still have a lot of spirit."
Facing the challenge directed at him, Asahi smiled, walked up to Nene, and offered her a napkin.
"Why don't you wipe your mouth first, okay?"
The girl snatched the napkin from his hand and wiped. Seeing this, he nodded, then said:
"Yes, I do have a goal."
"It is for you to summon as many of your people here as possible."
Asahi did not call the girls by the name the world had assigned them—Cursed Children.
"W-Wait a minute! What does that mean?!"
"Just as I said. Invite as many people as possible."
Asahi stopped smiling, speaking in a serious tone.
Witnessing the Quasi-Human before her was not joking, Nene couldn't help but feel terrified. Was he planning to gather all the Cursed Children and eat them whole?
He didn't pay attention to the thoughts swirling in the girl's head, raising a finger to add:
"If you complete the task, I will continue to supply food."
"Agreed!"
...
The process of recruiting the Cursed Children went smoother than Asahi had anticipated. Or perhaps he had simply underestimated the severity of hunger in this place.
Nene's group was even considered to be living relatively well compared to the general standard here.
Through his inquiries, Asahi learned that the Cursed Children would not remain this way forever. They did not only gain superior strength compared to ordinary people thanks to the Gastrea virus, but the erosion process of the virus was also simultaneously underway.
An ordinary person infected with the Gastrea virus would immediately transform into a Gastrea, or within a short period. For the Cursed Children, this process was greatly prolonged, allowing these girls to maintain their human form. But when the Gastrea virus eroded past a certain threshold, they would truly become living bombs.
Perhaps this was also the reason why the cursed children were exiled.
After a long day, darkness had fallen. But for the first time in this area, light still existed.
Because of the sheer number of people, the large tent alone wouldn't be enough space for them to eat. So, a spacious empty area had been cleared in front of the tent, with many tables and chairs set up, ensuring no one was short of a seat.
This was all thanks to the printer.
Asahi sat atop a building, silently looking down. If not for the surrounding desolate and ruined landscape, the scene reflected in his eyes would truly resemble a collective meal of elementary school children.
Recruiting all the Cursed Children seemed to be no major issue. Especially given his current image, and furthermore, the oldest Cursed Child was only ten years old.
But the Cursed Children were one matter; he didn't know how the Tokyo Area government would react.
"It seems there's still a long road ahead..."
Asahi murmured.
Another girl, the blue-haired Cursed Child named Kyoko, who had fished him out of the river, told him a few things. Previously, the leader of this group was not Nene but another Cursed Child; that girl was very strong. Because of this, she was selected and brought to Tokyo with promises of better living conditions, or even the provision of valuable internal circulation items like anti-Gastrea corrosion medicine.
Initially, food and medicine were indeed delivered, making everyone overjoyed. But after just one month, nothing more was delivered, leading everyone to think that the girl had abandoned them. This forced Nene to step up as the leader.
Some time later, they found the Cursed Child girl. But she was no longer alive.
She had died, fighting when the Gastrea virus had exceeded the transformation threshold, and had been finished off. It turned out that no one had supplied her anything; everything was the result of that girl cutting out portions of her own aid and sending it to her friends, including the anti-Gastrea corrosion medicine.
One must realize that the more she fought, the higher the virus concentration became, and she had also lost a lot of the medicine that slowed the process. Death was inevitable in this case.
Asahi could entirely imagine what followed: regret, self-reproach, and wariness. That's why even when he displayed goodwill, the girl still challenged him.
While deep in thought, he suddenly felt footsteps behind him. Without needing to turn around, he knew who it was.
"Quasi-Human... what exactly is your goal? You don't eat us, you don't make us fight, and you even feed us..."
"My goal?"
Asahi mused.
"Perhaps it is..."
"... to destroy this world."
He said.