Terrified, Nakamura Takashi turned to run, but the Cursed Spirit had already raised the heavy steel rebar high and swung it down with crushing force.
Shadowed by the descending metal, Nakamura's blood froze.
The sound of shattering bones echoed. It wasn't just the impact zone; the monstrous force traveled through his body, fracturing his entire skeletal structure. The creaking and cracking sounded agonizing.
Nakamura let out a wretched wail as he smashed into the green belt. To make matters worse, a thick tree branch pierced his chest, punching a hole through his lung. Luckily, it missed his heart, or he would have died on the spot.
Shattered bones and a punctured lung caused Nakamura such pain that his face twisted. The relentless agony assaulted his brain.
A normal person would have passed out from the shock long ago, but Nakamura's long-term abuse of psychiatric drugs had raised his threshold for mental shock dangerously high.
The pain only made his mind sharper. If his psychosis triggered now, the stimulation would double the suffering.
Seeing the immobilized Nakamura, the Cursed Spirit sneered. It raised the rebar again, aiming it like a javelin at him.
Dark purple Cursed Energy coated the metal, making it glow. The spirit intended to end him with this strike—the true culprit who had caused it endless pain, taken its children's lives, and turned it into this monster!
Blinded by the light, Nakamura forced his eyes open only to see the rebar about to be thrown.
"I'm going to die! I'm going to die!"
The threat of death engulfed him. His eyes nearly popped out of his skull.
"I'm really going to die."
He could only watch as the purple light drew closer, his heart pounding in his throat.
The violent wind from the projectile nearly slapped his face, pushing him toward a mental breakdown.
But just as he was about to be turned into meat paste, a cold, indifferent voice sounded in his ear.
"Say, isn't letting him die like this..."
"...a bit too easy?"
The expected final blow never came. Nakamura opened his eyes.
The steel rebar hovered in mid-air, less than five centimeters from his nose, defying gravity.
Nakamura, soaked in cold sweat as if pulled from a river, wet his khaki pants. Then his eyes rolled back, and he fainted dead away.
It was shock from blood loss.
The one who stopped the idol-costumed Cursed Spirit was Kenmei Isayama.
His reason for saving Nakamura from the spirit's attack was simple, just as he said:
"Letting Nakamura die like this is letting him off too easy."
It wasn't time to clap and say "good riddance" over his corpse just yet.
Originally, Kenmei had been watching from above with great interest. A Cursed Spirit seeking revenge wasn't something you saw every day.
When the spirit smashed Nakamura's back and sent him flying into the tree branch, Kenmei almost thought he was watching a comedy. Seeing his enemy scream in agony made him feel incredibly satisfied.
But it was still too light. This Cursed Spirit was too kind. Letting him go before inflicting the ultimate torture?
So Kenmei intervened, using telekinesis to intercept the rebar.
Thud.
He drove the heavy rebar into the ground. Without telekinesis, its weight sank it deeper into the soil.
Kenmei noted this detail, looking at the spirit's slender arms. How could she wield such a heavy object as if it were part of her own body?
"ROAR!!!"
An angry shriek pulled Kenmei from his thoughts.
The Cursed Spirit was enraged. It was one strike away from killing him. Why did a human interfere?!
But Kenmei didn't blink at the threat. He spoke calmly.
"Don't kill it. I still have a use for it."
Humanoid Cursed Spirits were rare. So far, Kenmei had only encountered his sister and this one.
It shared many similarities with his sister. Kenmei could test his evolution experiments on this one first.
With that, he turned to check on Nakamura, completely exposing his back to the spirit.
Furious, the spirit prepared to tear this arrogant human apart, but its entire body suddenly froze.
A strong, steel hand gently rested on its head, caressing its skull. Behind it stood a massive blue figure, mysterious runes on its armor flashing with iridescent light.
Simultaneously, in the shadow cast by the blue giant, several beasts seemed to lurk, baring their fangs and staring at the spirit with crimson eyes.
It was a silent threat, and the most effective intimidation.
---
"Where is this?"
When Nakamura opened his eyes again, he found himself stripped naked and strapped to a wide metal chair.
The blinding surgical light and the large screen in front of him seemed abnormal.
Although the unknown environment and the chains welding him in place were terrifying, seeing that the hole in his chest was gone and everything was intact made him sigh in relief.
"Damn it, let me go, or I'll sue you!"
Hearing the door open, Nakamura shouted aggressively.
"Cut the crap! You think mere VR can fool me? I saw through your tricks long ago."
He thought everything that had happened was a virtual simulation.
Kenmei, preparing a syringe, laughed when he heard this.
Having spirit was good; it meant they could play for a while.
"What is this? What are you injecting me with?!"
When Nakamura felt the injections, he finally panicked.
This was already the fifth shot.
"Don't worry about it. It's good stuff."
Kenmei injected the sixth syringe into Nakamura's arm and waited for it to take effect.
Kenmei gently poked Nakamura's muscle with a finger. To Nakamura's horror, the finger sank into his flesh like it was soft cake, leaving a small hole.
Blood spurted out instantly.
His once-firm muscles had become incredibly soft, allowing the finger to press all the way to the bone without resistance.
This gruesome sight made Nakamura's eyes widen. The pain was intense, causing cold sweat to pour down his face.
"This firmness is just right. The kids have bad teeth when they're born, after all."
Kenmei didn't answer. Instead, he opened a small box under the cart right in front of Nakamura, revealing dozens of newborn, starving Tyranid horrors.
Sharp mandibles, frantically twisting antennae, and centipede-like legs... Nakamura's scalp tingled, and he nearly fainted.
"Relax, their appetites are small. They'll eat three-quarters of you at most."
Kenmei's words suffocated Nakamura. Was this something a human would say?
"Plus, with all the life-sustaining drugs I pumped into you, you definitely won't die."
"Forgot to introduce myself. I'm a victim's family member."
Kenmei pulled down his mask so Nakamura could recognize him.
"You're... Ahhh!"
Before Nakamura could finish, he screamed in agony as Kenmei dumped the hungry Tyranid larvae onto him.
Of course, Kenmei didn't forget to rip off his eyelids like band-aids, ensuring he couldn't close his eyes and was forced to watch himself being eaten on the big screen.
This was just the first stage. Kenmei wouldn't let him die that easily.
Physical torture was only step one. Next came the soul.
Sometimes, death is a luxury. No joke.