I crunch through the Quinque's core with my teeth. The texture is similar to the kakuhou I ate before, but since I've already eaten them before, I can tell this time is simultaneously different.
—Crunch!
'The taste is basically the same as a normal kakuhou. But this is electricity?'
I can feel an electrical concentration running through the tissue that tickles my tongue.
It seems they use electricity to activate the kagune extracted from the ghoul.
It makes sense when I think about it. A biological weapon needs some kind of energy source.
I swallow the entire Quinque piece by piece until nothing remains.
—Gulp! Gulp!
I immediately feel how heat ignites in my stomach. It spreads from there and concentrates on my left wrist that had been broken during the fight.
—Crack!
My bones move and settle into their correct place. In a matter of seconds my wrist is completely healed.
Once it finishes its repair work, the heat spreads from my stomach and travels toward my back. That's where my own kakuhou is forming.
The RC cell sac grows in size.
And then a strange new sensation settles in my mind. As if I could pull some kind of mental trigger to activate something inside me.
"Oh?"
I'm curious about that sensation.
I can assume it's because my kakuhou has grown to maturity. And now I can bring out my own kagune.
But I've realized something important when I ate the Quinque.
It wasn't as pure as a true kakuhou ripped directly from a ghoul. Plus it's weaker since it seems diluted.
It has too much electrical concentration mixed in.
But it seems that electricity made my own kakuhou able to activate through the stimulation of all that accumulated electrical energy.
"Alright, time to try it out."
I focus on that mental trigger I feel. And I pull it.
—Splash! Squish!
A wet sound occurs. In my lower back, just above my rear, my flesh opens painfully and something pushes out.
I look sideways trying to see what emerged and see tentacles moving behind me. They're dark red, so dark they actually almost look black. I focus on controlling a specific one and move it forward.
I extend my hand and touch it with curiosity.
It's covered by what appear to be small hard scales that give it a rough texture but are surprisingly flexible at the same time. It feels like touching the skin of a living, pulsating reptile.
I can also see small electrical sparks that flicker from time to time around the entire surface.
—Bzzt! Bzzt!
"Interesting..."
When I activated this transformation I automatically entered my Ghoul Mode without having to fill my mind with dark and negative emotions like before.
Above all, what really makes me happy is that my strength when transforming grows much more than before.
I always had the feeling that my Ghoul Mode was incomplete in some way. However, now it feels much more complete. With a kakuhou that has finally matured, and a real kagune that I can manifest, the name "Ghoul Mode" finally makes sense.
I look down at my body.
My thin and emaciated body has also filled out more with flesh and muscles.
Also, the cold night breeze that caresses my exposed body is much more noticeable now than before.
'No, in fact this is what a normal human must feel.'
Excitement grows and my heart beats rapidly.
'My sense of touch has completely recovered. My heart beats normally and blood now flows quickly through my veins.'
With a big smile on my face, I look toward Mr. Investigator's decapitated corpse.
"Thank you for your contribution, Mr. Investigator. It was extremely useful."
I rip the heart from his chest with my hands. It's warm and wet.
I eat it quickly.
But nothing special happens after swallowing it.
Well, it's no surprise. Despite calling himself Assistant Special Investigator, he's really only physically faster than a human.
What gave him significant capability to fight against ghouls were the Quinques.
Without those special weapons, he's just a human body that's been trained more intensely than others.
Still, I'm satisfied with everything I accomplished tonight by consuming what this man had in his briefcase.
I briefly activate my Ghoul Vision to examine myself.
The world turns black and white. I look toward my own lower back.
I see my kakuhou from where the dark tentacles emerge.
But besides that...
"What?"
Right above my kakuhou that has grown to maturity, a small new RC cell sac has appeared.
That is, another new kakuhou has been born.
"Huh? Will I have two different kagunes then?"
I'm surprised by this discovery, but another side of me is excited. Because that means I'll be stronger than this.
"Mm. For it to grow to maturity I'll need to eat many more kakuhou. Even more Quinques if I find them."
I remember what Mr. Investigator told me.
He said there are many crazy and wild ghouls in the 24th Ward. Besides, I want to find and eat a vampire to see what happens to my body when I consume one.
So I can visit that dangerous place to search for and hunt both types of monsters.
"Hmmm..."
I suddenly hear some strange murmurs.
They're not coming from nearby. Those murmurs are in my mind. They sound like distorted voices whispering incomprehensible things.
I frown with discomfort.
I can't understand a single word of what the murmurs say. But as they become more unbearable to hear, I grab my head with both hands.
Then I see something terrifying.
The walls of the buildings around me and the paved streets transform into grotesque masses of flesh that move and pulse.
"What the hell is happening?"
I feel like I'll go crazy if this continues.
The voices get louder and at the same time, chaotic.
"Stop!"
I deactivate my Ghoul Mode desperately. I close my eyes tightly trying to block out the visions.
After a few minutes the murmurs begin to gradually disappear.
My head hurts as if someone were driving nails into my skull.
When I open my eyes, I see with relief that the walls and streets have returned to their normal state.
I shake my head and clear the traces of that disturbing experience.
Not knowing why that happened or what caused it, I wipe my bloodied mouth with my hand. I put my mask back on and leave the place.
I need to get away from this scene, so I run back to Touka's house jumping across rooftops. About thirty minutes have passed since I left.
Surely Touka is worried. Or maybe she's furious because I disappeared without telling her anything.
When I arrive I find Touka waiting for me at the front door. She has her arms crossed and a very irritated narrowed look.
"Where the hell did you go?"
She asks in a cold voice.
"I went to take the parasitic ghoul's body much farther from your house. I didn't want the smell to stay nearby and attract attention."
She sighs as her irritated expression becomes flat.
"I appreciate that. But at least you should notify me before disappearing like that. I was a little worried."
She pauses before continuing.
"Leaving that aside..."
Touka approaches me and looks up at me with surprised eyes.
"Have you grown? You're definitely taller than an hour ago. Plus your body has more flesh and muscle. And your skin is no longer as pale and sickly as before. You look almost normal now."
"That happens sometimes when I eat monsters."
She shakes her head.
"Honestly I don't like at all that you eat other monsters. But I suppose at least I'm happy that you now look much more human. Which is fundamental if you want any chance of a quiet life in a world where most are humans."
I nod, agreeing with that reasoning.
But it's ironic. The more human I become on the outside, the more the monster awakens inside.
And honestly? I don't care much now.
Then Touka does something unexpected.
She stands on tiptoes to get closer to my height. She brings her face close to mine while narrowing her blue eyes.
"What are you doing?"
I ask, confused by her strange behavior.
Without answering me, she lowers her face to my exposed neck and smells it.
—Sniff! Sniff!
"Can I bite you?"
Now that I've recovered my sense of touch, I can feel her warm breath on my neck as she says those words to me. Since she's close, I can smell the scent of shampoo and soap escaping from her still damp hair.
I shrug and move away from her.
"No. Definitely not. You don't want me to eat other monsters. But you want to eat your own friend? What kind of logic is that?"
She takes a few steps back while pursing her lips with annoyance. A red tint appears on her cheeks.
"I don't want to eat you, idiot. But having you so close to me with that delicious smell emanating from your body is dangerous for my self-control."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say."
Then she yawns, showing her teeth.
"You're interrupting my sleep. So you better return to wherever you live now too."
"Ah, right. It's already late. Good night, Touka."
I nod as I turn around to leave.
"Arata."
When she calls my name, I stop my steps and turn to look at her.
"Thanks for visiting me today."
Her lips curve slightly upward.
"Although I preferred staying home instead of going out hunting, I guess it was quite fun in the end."
I smile too.
"I'll come again from time to time then. We can hunt together more often."
"Huh... Really? Haah... What can be done with you? Fine, but let me know in advance next time."
"I will."
Then I leave, jumping over her house's wall.
×××
20 advanced chapters on Pa-treon.
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