“Jiang Jian!”
The ringing in his ears was the first signal that Yuki Asahi had regained consciousness.
He still seemed to be suffering from the aftermath of a sudden explosion.
Struggling to open his eyes, all he saw was smoke and dust slowly settling from the sky, as if he were trapped in a fog.
He sat up with a jolt, gravel falling from his torn clothes, and screamed with all his strength.
No one responded.
As his vision gradually cleared, he noticed something familiar and instinctively grabbed it with his right hand.
It was a blood-stained Lace Choker.
“How… how could this be… this can’t be real, right?”
His bloodied hand clenched the Lace Choker tightly, the burning pain between his bones reaching his heart.
His chest felt heavy, his lungs unable to draw in a single breath, and after a long moment, he let out a short, sobbing gasp.
His memory flashed back to a time long ago, to a childhood not yet wrapped in pain.
Once, he had bought a balloon with his pocket money, only to accidentally let it slip from his hand and float into the sky, watching helplessly as it drifted farther away.
Helplessness and sadness filled his entire being, as if the most important thing in his life was leaving him.
Now, this feeling of “loss” was a thousand times stronger than watching a balloon fly away.
Why… why does it always end up like this?
Is my life an unfinished tragedy?
Roar—
The roar of the Devourer G echoed from within the smoke and dust.
With a deafening crash, its massive figure slowly rose from the haze.
The Lace Choker was clenched tightly in his fist, blood seeping between his fingers.
Drowning in sorrow, Yuki Asahi ignored the Devourer G.
The Devourer G’s mangled body was rapidly regenerating before his eyes, its jaws opening grotesquely as acid dripped uncontrollably.
In just a little while, it would attack.
Blood tears traced down Yuki Asahi’s cheeks. His hunched body slowly stood up, and the extinguished Golden Eyes were now blank, filled with almost unconscious despair.
So, have you given up struggling?
If the Devourer G could think in words, it would have said this.
Its torn left arm now fully regenerated, the Devourer G approached Yuki Asahi, grabbing his throat and lifting the powerless boy into the air.
Its jaws continued to open, sharp fangs dripping acid.
The Devourer G was about to complete its evolution.
After that, all of Tokyo Metropolis—and even all of Japan—would be powerless to stop it.
“Yuki!”
Suddenly, Jiang Jian Yue’s hoarse scream echoed in Yuki Asahi’s mind.
The lifeless him seemed to be revived in an instant, and his near-collapsed body forcefully reignited the Golden Eyes.
His right hand plunged straight into the creature’s jaws, and with the Devourer G’s heart-wrenching scream, he tore off its entire lower jaw.
His left hand gripped the arm choking his neck, and the newly regenerated limb was crushed with ease.
Crack, crack, crack—
“It’s all because of you! Everyone died because of you!”
Falling to the ground, Yuki Asahi’s eyes widened, the white of his left eye blood-red and terrifying.
The Heart Worm surged violently.
The rain of debris in the dust seemed to freeze in place, and the Lace Choker falling from his hand paused in midair.
An invisible force spread out from within Yuki Asahi, sweeping across the entire area at blinding speed.
Then, it extended beyond the hotel building, through Ikebukuro, Fengdao District, and finally faded at the edge of Tokyo Metropolis.
The Central Emergency Response Unit Self-Defense Officers who stormed this floor were the first—and hardest—hit by the wave of power.
Uncontrollable sorrow crashed into their minds, tears streaming down their faces.
Type 20 Rifles clattered to the ground, and almost everyone collapsed to their knees, wailing in despair.
The Apache hovering on the rooftop lost control and tilted toward a nearby building, but quickly steadied itself.
The pilot in the main cockpit seat gritted his teeth, activated hover mode, and released the controls, letting the system take over the helicopter.
On the street below, Central Emergency Response Unit Self-Defense Officers and police officers blocking the road were also overwhelmed by sorrow.
The Devourer G’s roar turned into a whimper, and even though it seemed to have no reason for sadness, the intense emotional shock robbed it of all strength.
“You—self-terminate.”
The Emotion Storm that had swept through all of Tokyo Metropolis suddenly contracted, as if everyone’s emotions were sucked away in an instant.
One moment they were crying uncontrollably, the next, they were confused about why they had been crying at all.
All those emotions converged into a single heavy blow, striking the Devourer G’s mind.
It slammed its own head with its fist in despair.
With a single punch, its skull caved in, and its massive body toppled.
The rapidly regenerating flesh on its body ceased with death.
Yuki Asahi’s heart stopped as well, and his powerless body collapsed onto the ruins.
The last thing he saw was the bloodstained Lace Choker lying on the rubble and the Self-Defense Officers rushing into the hall.
***
Beep—beep—beep—
The sound of medical equipment rang in his ears as Yuki Asahi slowly opened his eyes, staring at an unfamiliar white ceiling.
His arm trembled and then moved again.
He removed the Oxygen Mask from his face, and the machines began to sound an alarm.
The scent of disinfectant stabbed his nose, bringing him a little clarity.
The alarm startled those outside the door, and two police officers in suits entered the room.
“You’re awake. Do you want to rest a bit more?”
One of the older police officers turned off the alarm and looked at him.
Yuki Asahi shook his head and pulled the needle from his right hand.
He knew his body no longer needed these things.
“If you have questions, just ask.”
Yuki Asahi’s face was expressionless, even gloomier than before.
“Uh… Yuki-kun, please rest. We’re not in a hurry.”
The police officer seemed flustered by Yuki Asahi’s directness.
“Don’t you have anything to ask? Like… how many days you’ve been asleep?”
The younger police officer asked with a smile.
Yuki Asahi said nothing, raising his hand to point at the Television on the wall, which was in standby mode and displayed the current time and date.
It was already the morning of the third day.
“Ah… ahaha, looks like Yuki-kun is recovering well.”
The young police officer scratched his head awkwardly.
Knock, knock, knock—
There was a knock at the door.
The younger police officer went to open it, while Yuki Asahi looked at the sunlight outside the window, showing no interest in his surroundings.
The view outside seemed familiar, but he couldn’t remember where he’d seen it before.
This sense of déjà vu made his eyes sting for some reason.
Huh?
Why… why do I feel like crying?
At some point, the two police officers had quietly left the room, leaving only the sound of the machines in the eerily silent Hospital Room.
He wiped away the tears from his eyes and sighed, then looked at the Chair beside the bed—a beautiful but cold face was staring at him intently.
Huh?
Was he hallucinating?
His trembling hand reached out and touched the girl’s cheek.
There was warmth, there was substance.
Smack—
Jiang Jian Yue slapped his hand away.
“You slept for a long time.”
She muttered.
It wasn’t a hallucination.