Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Shall We Go Together?
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Shall we go together?
There must've been plenty of easy prey around.
I had no intention of stepping up to help, but I wasn't about to let the one that came looking for me just walk away.
So I reached out.
Toward the staggering thing shuffling over.
A light flick of my hand.
"Bang!"
And right after that.
Boom boom boom boom boom!
Everything staggering around inside the building exploded at once.
The building fell silent for a moment.
It had every reason to.
The boldest ones rampaging through had all burst like water balloons.
But that silence didn't last.
"They're really getting busy, huh~."
The anomalies that had been watching cautiously started moving again.
Most of the ones trapped here were low-tier. Otherwise, they couldn't have been contained.
And low-tier anomalies had one thing in common: diminished intelligence and self-control.
To top it off, this building was packed with terrified people.
How could they resist?
Shhhk—.
Anyway.
Seems like this is as far as it goes here.
No point sticking around—no cake or tea's coming.
Well. I'd been here quite a while.
Especially that last cake. Perfectly satisfying.
Time to head out.
I gathered my things.
Not much—just my phone and the bear doll.
"……."
The bear doll? Eh, whatever.
Still, I'd had it for a few days. Felt wrong leaving it behind. That's all.
Squeeze—.
I pocketed my phone, hugged the bear doll, and stepped outside.
It was dead quiet out there.
Hardly any anomalies had made it up to the second floor to begin with.
Most people had been on the first. And they'd probably all been wiped out by now.
Only the truly devout cult followers remained at this hour.
Normally, anomalies would've headed out once the easy prey ran dry, but these couldn't.
Because I'd blocked their escape.
Why? Simple.
I'd shed too much when I left that other world.
A hunger no cake could fill. An emptiness.
Emotions like that could only be sated one way.
Cannibalizing my own kind.
Hmm hmm hum~.
Whistling softly, I headed down to the first floor.
Bodies—or what was left of people—littered the way.
Nothing stirred in me at the sight.
I was too worn down to feel anything anymore.
That's when I reached the basement.
"Hic, heuk, guh... guh... guh... guh..."
A groan of agony echoed.
I walked slowly toward it. Something writhed on the floor.
Gleaming even in the dark.
The Bald Man.
His lower half was gone entirely. Left arm torn off.
Nose looked bitten. One eye sewn shut with thread.
"S-save... me..."
He spotted me late.
His one good eye widened as he reached out.
Like someone fallen into the depths of hell who'd just found a lifeline.
Eyes full of expectation that I'd do something.
"C-cake..."
Expecting cake?
Heh heh.
I couldn't help but laugh.
It was even funnier thinking of what the Bald Man had done to the mother who'd come grasping at straws to save her possessed daughter.
He'd raped the mother desperate to save her anomaly-possessed daughter.
Locked that daughter in the basement and toyed with her like a plaything.
Sweet-talked followers out of their fortunes, then enslaved them.
Raped families under the guise of holy rites.
Abused them.
Whipped them.
Sated his lusts.
And this man had never felt a shred of guilt.
"Please..."
Now begging for salvation.
Too amusing.
Stimulating feelings I'd forgotten during my long stay in that other world poked at my brain, flooding it with dopamine.
Watching humans...
Was this much fun. I'd forgotten.
No, back then, I'd only felt disgust at scum like him.
Probably because I'd become something twisted.
Not quite human anymore. So it wasn't that strange.
"Wait."
I left the cult leader be for now.
Extended one hand.
Simple reason I'd come down to the basement.
To wipe out every anomaly in the building at once.
I clenched my raised pale, slender hand. Gave the order.
"Eat."
Kwachik!
With those words, every anomaly's presence in the building vanished.
A satisfying fullness hit me for the first time in ages.
Like my empty stomach filling up.
Tiny compared to what I'd left behind in that world, but satisfying for now.
"Ah."
That's when I realized the ability of the one I'd burst earlier.
It had only amounted to sewing people for fun, but I could use it better.
"Don't wanna die?"
I spun around and asked the Bald Man.
He perked up, nodding frantically.
He was still alive in that state because I'd pinned his soul in place.
"Good. Wait."
Saved me one hassle.
All that was left was the 'sewing.'
"Kaaaaaaaagh!"
"Aaaaaaaaaaagh!"
"No no no no no no no no!"
"Kill me kill me please just kill me please kill me aaaaaaagh! Kill me! Kill me! Aagh! Aagh! Aaaaaagh!"
The Bald Man was as good at screaming as he was at body gags.
Got me in the mood to perfectly unleash my new power.
"Ta-da!"
No audience, but I spread my arms wide and pointed to one side.
A stuffed doll sat there.
"Hmm."
An ugly one.
Didn't wanna touch it. So I went close and squished it hard.
-Aaaaaaaaaaagh!
-Kill me kill me kill me please just kill me!
A voice echoed.
Not recorded—real screams.
"Boring."
But once it was a stuffed doll, the fun died fast.
So I kicked it aside.
All things considered, he'd gotten his wish. Should be satisfied.
Didn't he beg to live?
He'd keep 'living' until that cotton-stuffed body unraveled.
"Shall we?"
Really done here now.
No idea where to, but anywhere my feet take me.
But then.
Thud—!
Something stirred in the shadow by the entrance.
Focusing there, I saw people pouring in.
All in black gear. Guns in hand.
They pushed straight in, scanning around. Some headed down to the basement.
"Hm."
I watched a bit, then decided to stay put.
Too much hassle otherwise.
Sat on the floor hugging my bear tight. Soon, footsteps approached.
"Something's in the basement sector!"
Someone shouted.
Didn't turn, but plenty of guns were trained on me now.
They held position like waiting for someone. Soon, another arrived.
Medium bob. Skin white as mine. Cold eyes.
A woman.
She stepped forward, stared right at me, then crooked a finger.
Her team advanced slowly in sync with her steps.
"Hey, kid."
She spoke.
So I looked up.
"Can you understand me?"
"Yeah."
Just answered.
If I'd planned to ignore, I'd have hidden the second they entered.
"...Do you know what happened here?"
"Yeah."
The woman hesitated.
Seemed tricky to ask. But she did anyway.
"What happened?"
"The monsters in the basement got loose. Everyone died."
Clean explanation.
She furrowed her brow slightly, nodded, and approached cautiously.
"You hurt anywhere?"
"No."
"Then... wanna come with us?"
"Why?"
"We'll check for injuries, give you a place to stay."
Probably lock me up somewhere. Or study me somehow.
Could be entertaining to watch.
But also a hassle.
I pondered. Decided.
"I'll think about it."
Then slipped into the woman's shadow.
Instant uproar.
To the others, I'd vanished. Natural reaction.
The woman looked shocked too, but scanned around, sighed, and continued the investigation.
They found the cult leader doll along the way.
-Aaaaaaaaaaagh!
She eyed the screaming doll warily and boxed it up.
Guess it looked ugly to her too.
Anyway.
They combed the building thoroughly. Left some guards and exited.
The woman boarded a car. It drove off slowly.
I crouched in her shadow, watching.
After a while.
They arrived at a stark white building.
Labeled Hope Welfare Foundation.
A fascinating place.
Overflowing with anomalies, locked away tight.