I kneel next to the parasite ghoul's corpse. Umm. Quite smelly, mister. Haven't you been bathing properly? Very bad.
"Let's see... first I need to extract his special organ."
The kakuhou that's enclosed in his back.
I stab my fingers into his flesh and enjoying the rubbery and slippery sensation, I search through his muscles and bones before touching something pulsating.
—Sriiiiiph!
Upon tearing the kakuhou from his body I bring it to my mouth and bite it.
The kakuhou is disgusting like the toad woman's. But honestly I don't care at all.
When I swallow the entire kakuhou, I feel how heat in my stomach is born like a small flame. It begins to grow in all directions inside me even though I haven't drunk a bottle of gasoline.
—Craaack! Crunch!
That intense heat made my muscle fibers tense and grow slightly under my skin. My bones also creak and adjust. At the same time, I realize my own kakuhou increased in size and can now contain more RC cells.
When I look down I can see the floor from a bit more height. I've grown approximately two or three centimeters in a matter of seconds.
'Little by little as I feed on these supernatural beings my body no longer looks like that of a completely malnourished child.'
I think while observing my hands that now have a bit more flesh on them.
'If I keep hunting and consuming monsters regularly, my appearance would no longer be different from that of a healthy human child.'
It's comforting to know that.
"It's a shame the parasites lose all their energy when they die, so now only the heart remains."
That's why I can't eat the head. There's no type of vital energy coming from the withered head. I would have liked to know if consuming a worm that has parasitized someone manages to make me evolve even more.
Thinking that way, I stab my hands into his chest full of holes and tear out the parasite ghoul's heart. The heart has a hole that was caused by Touka's crystallized projectile.
"Mm?!"
Upon biting it I feel it's much more delicious than even the human heart I ate before, which was already quite delicious back then.
Um. It's addictive and delicious.
Therefore I devour it enthusiastically. I bite, chew and swallow. Over and over until I soon consume it completely.
In fact, the reason I eat the heart is simply to satisfy my hunger and not feel hungry when looking at my friends.
Nothing had happened the time I ate the human's heart, and I thought this time wouldn't be different. But as soon as I swallow the last piece I realize I'm wrong.
I feel something changing in my mind. Before my mind was always rotten. If I put it as an example, then it would be as if there was a thick, heavy fog surrounding my mind preventing me from thinking clearly.
But now it seems my mind was visited by a strong wind that carries away that fog.
As a consequence, the memories that had been erased until now begin to become clear again and I can see images of my previous life.
I see I had a good family in that life. A caring mother who cooked for me. A hardworking father who took me to play at the park on weekends. I regularly attended a school and had some friends whose faces I can now remember.
Ah, they're the otakus who got me into the otaku world.
In fact, it was a quite normal and common life since nothing extraordinary and noteworthy happened to me.
I see myself in those memories, but at the same time it's not me. Or maybe it is me, but it feels much more like I'm a distant spectator watching through someone else's eyes.
"..."
It should cause me sadness to remember my previous life with my family. But I don't feel anything about it.
'Maybe that human part of me really died when I died in that stupid accident.'
I stop giving it unnecessary thought since it's not important anyway. That life ended and this is my life now.
What really matters and interests me is that I realize the reason why I gained this new mental clarity so suddenly.
It's because of the parasite.
From the beginning when those two worms tried to enter my brain, I had felt their frequencies wanting to speak to me mentally. I could read the frequencies of these parasites when they almost consumed my brain.
By consuming them back then, I had obtained the ability to read the emotional frequencies of people around me. And as days go by, I understand better and better those emotions others feel.
This could be interesting to use if I ever wanted to manipulate someone.
Ahem! Getting back to the main point, I felt that same frequency from the parasites in this parasite ghoul's heart. It seems the parasite that was controlling his head had been trying to influence his heart as well. Maybe it was trying to fuse with the ghoul so his entire body would be exponentially stronger.
That's why Touka said before during the fight that his physical body was stronger than a normal ghoul.
"Ah. Better get this thing out of here before the smell becomes unbearable."
I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand while hearing the sound of running water from above.
Touka is still bathing so I take advantage of that moment to load the mutilated corpse on my shoulders. I don't want Touka's house to stink after all. She's already kind enough to allow me to commit what would technically be cannibalism on her property.
Well, she probably sees me as a monster different from a normal ghoul. So she thinks me eating a ghoul isn't cannibalism in the strict sense. Which isn't far from reality by the way.
I exit the warehouse and jump the wall. I run quickly through the dark empty alleys jumping from shadow to shadow. After arriving at a cleared area far from Touka's house, I throw the destroyed corpse into a large garbage container.
—Thuuuh!
The body falls heavily among garbage bags.
After doing that, I stop and slowly turn around spinning on my heels.
"Why don't you come out already?"
I smile and say those words aloud toward the shadows.
"You've been following me for quite a while. Are you damn stalkers or what?"
"Well, well..."
A surprised voice is heard.
After that sound, an older man slowly emerges from the shadows. I see he's wearing a white suit which is very noticeable in the darkness. In his right hand he holds a large rectangular briefcase.
The smile he has on his wrinkled face is kind. Like that of a kindly grandfather.
"I'm genuinely impressed."
Says the man dressed in white while walking toward me with calm steps.
"Such a young child just detected an experienced CCG investigator. That's not common at all. You have exceptional instincts for your age."
Well, I had clearly seen through my Ghoul Vision this man while bringing this parasite ghoul's corpse.
I had deliberately put on the hood and face mask before passing near where he was patrolling. I did it so this man would follow me exactly to this cleared area far from witnesses.
I then say in a surprised and slightly scared voice.
"Are you a CCG investigator? M-my parents always told me you're the natural enemy of ghouls. That I should run if I ever see one."
My parents my ass. I don't have one in the first place.
But it's not bad to pretend a little, right?
I feel the man's emotional frequencies changing. He's satisfied producing fear. He likes seeing terror in ghouls.
The man's smile widens showing yellowed teeth.
"You know something, child ghoul?"
Saying those words, he begins to place his briefcase on the ground.
"Normally I don't go out patrolling so late at night. But when I was informed about suspicious activities in this area, I decided to come personally to investigate it despite the hour."
Eh, and what do I care about that?
The briefcase opens completely and something comes out from inside that shines with a color red like blood.
"What incredible luck I have, right?"
He pulls out what appears to be a long tentacle that writhes.
"Since I found a child ghoul right after finishing my previous hunt. Although at first I came for a young woman who seemed suspicious to investigate her more thoroughly..."
He pauses while pointing the tentacle at me.
"But it doesn't matter. Since a ghoul is a ghoul anyway. And all of them without exception must suffer first, and then die painfully."
×××
20 advanced chapters on Pa-treon.
pa-treon.com/OlwinMoriarty