The unidentified monster gazed at the torn-apart corpse before its very eyes and formed a satisfied smile.
"Heheh, disposal complete."
Black liquid trembling with a shiver.
The monster licked the blood flowing from it and shaped a twisted smile.
Crouching in Sion's body, the monster picked flesh into its mouth and chewed with a crunch.
That monster, as if pleased, leisurely rose from its spot and looked around.
"…Sniff sniff."
It smelled, but could sense no notable scent.
Apparently.
"Did it escape? In that short time?"
It seemed the main body had slipped away in that brief window.
After pondering for a moment, Sion rose and headed toward the broadcasting room where the scent had been vivid just moments ago.
* * *
The school athletic field where the 12th period was in full swing.
And Sohun, Yeonwoo, and the Watcher, who had descended there, could confirm the horrific scene from even closer.
"…Wh-what is this?"
The Watcher spoke, unable to contain his shock.
Watching that reaction bordering on admiration, Yeonwoo scrunched up his face.
"Tch, move aside."
"Is it not intoxicating? How so many humans could…."
"Watcher, shut your mouth."
Saying so, Sohun silenced the Watcher.
And he confirmed that a strange presence was felt nearby.
'…Something has appeared.'
Since when had it been there?
A presence could be felt, as if something were looking down at the athletic field from the school building.
And it wasn't only Sohun who felt it.
"Chief…."
"Something is over there."
Yeonwoo and the Watcher also immediately went on guard and looked toward the school.
And in the window of the school's broadcasting room, the form of a black woman was revealed.
A woman who seemed to be melting away.
"I think we need to go up there first, but—"
—Bang!!!!
Without even finishing his words, Sohun immediately shot the human behind him.
Startled, Yeonwoo and the Watcher turned around to find humans with changed expressions staring intently at the three.
Even desks, chairs, and pieces of chalk floating in mid-air all turned their gazes toward where the three stood.
In other words.
"…It seems the song has changed."
It meant the song had changed.
It meant new orders had been handed down to the corpses and humans.
The remaining 12th period was now down to about 12 minutes.
The three instinctively realized they had to wipe them all out within that time.
"Yeonwoo, go. Watcher, cover Yeonwoo."
Saying so, Sohun ruthlessly fired bullets at everyone, snuffing out their lives.
At this, Yeonwoo nodded, drew his sword, and charged straight in.
'…Don't think. This isn't human.'
Not human.
Thinking that the opponent was not human truly granted humans great strength.
Because with just that thought alone—
—Slash!!!
"……."
—you could cut down your opponent without a second thought.
He felt his earlier self, who had been shocked until just moments ago, was foolish.
Yeonwoo quickly composed himself and began cutting everything down.
Just like when he had faced his father that day.
They too would want to find peace in the end.
And death was the only prescription he could offer them.
Death was a blessing.
Because it was a declaration that he would inflict no more pain.
Revival was a curse.
Because it meant he would not end the suffering.
He closed his eyes and thought of one junior afflicted by the curse.
'…Right now, what are you feeling?'
Repeating endless death and resurrection, what in the world were they feeling?
How must it feel to be unable to die?
It would be a feeling Yeonwoo, who wished for a swift death, could not understand.
He couldn't understand Sion, who struggled to survive until the very end.
* * *
The monster slowly entered the broadcasting room.
And slowly looked around.
It couldn't feel anything.
What was visible was—
—Squelch…
—only black, viscous liquid.
Smiling faintly at this, the monster dipped its finger into the liquid and brought it to its tongue.
"Cola-flavored? I don't know what that tastes like, but I suppose it's like this… salty, bitter, and filthy."
The taste description was truly strange, but the monster's expression looked joyful in contrast.
As if it had discovered something very amusing.
"If I move… that should work."
Saying so, the monster changed the tips of its fingers into black liquid.
"Heheh."
Smiling brightly at those fingers, the monster dropped a single droplet into its mouth and murmured softly.
"…Cola-flavored."
Cola-flavored.
A very disgusting cola taste traveled across her tongue to her brain.
And at the same time, when she closed and opened her eyes,
"Have I arrived?"
She had arrived in a room with a completely new structure.
And the class name there was,
"…First year, Class 3."
[12th period, at, hletic field PE class cancelled, 12th period, classroom, PE class switched, hide and seek.]
The chalkboard writing was difficult to make out.
"…So the field PE class changed to a classroom PE class?"
Saying so with a bright smile, the monster kicked the classroom door with her foot and dashed outside.
* * *
—Shhhhhhhk!!!!!
—Thud! Crunch!!
—Screeeeeeech
—Clang!!!
Blood surged up, pooled on the ground and splashed when stepped on, blades clashed against hard desks and grappled in contests of strength.
All sorts of sounds rose from the scene.
And within it, Yeonwoo caught his rough breath.
"Hah… hah…."
The mop-up operation was somewhat over.
And soon he slowly raised his body.
Yeonwoo was tired.
To the point that nothing more came into view.
The last thing that entered his eyes was a woman slowly turning into a chair.
Yeonwoo approached such a woman.
"…Save… me."
"Die."
"…."
"You can't live anyway."
"…Ah, aah…."
There were various ways to end pain.
Eliminate the cause, or eliminate the person.
And in this situation, the easiest method was the latter.
Naturally, he took the stance for a beheading.
Slowly, gripping tightly, he laid his blade across the woman's neck.
'With this, the last one.'
Actually, it wasn't the last.
Because the main body still remained.
But at least, Yeonwoo wanted to believe so.
Please, please let this be the last.
—Slice!!
A cleanly severed neck.
She probably hadn't felt any pain.
Yeonwoo's face was dyed with blood.
"This… isn't human… human, not human…."
Muttering so, Yeonwoo stabbed a couple more times with the knife.
And the Watcher approached such a Yeonwoo.
"You, come to your senses."
"…!!"
"…We must go."
Yeonwoo started and pressed his blade to the Watcher's nape, but the Watcher pushed the sword aside with just one finger, wearing a nonchalant expression.
"A futile act."
"…."
"Yeonwoo, that was excellent."
Sohun offered praise.
But Yeonwoo's heart was nothing but ill at ease.
'Disgusting…….'
He simply felt himself to be a hypocrite.
* * *
Inside dark fog.
To be exact, it wasn't dark.
Simply, nothing could be seen.
The monster that had stabbed me had also disappeared before I knew it.
Blood gushed out in surges from the pierced hole in my stomach.
Consciousness gradually grew hazy and my head rang.
I blankly looked at my chilled hands.
"The pain… won't, stop."
Even though it hurts this much, I don't die.
Life… is a curse.
It's completely riddled with curses.
I want to adapt, but I cannot.
I simply cannot adapt to the surroundings.
For a moment, people who had begged not to die came to mind.
Had those people also tried to avoid death for the same reason as me?
"Because they didn't want to suffer… were they afraid of dying?"
Seeing such people, I had wanted to ask a question.
"…But, but you know… you all…."
If it hurts once, isn't that the end?
At the final cliff edge of life, if it hurts once, death comes.
You don't have to be in pain anymore.
I comfort myself, saying it won't hurt anymore now.
I want to avoid death.
Because I don't want to suffer.
Death offers me no comfort whatsoever.
It merely throws me back into cold reality.
Is there meaning in such a life?
"I hate it… it hurts… please, I'm asking you to end it… please, someone end me… Mom… I miss you…."
I want to die.
I don't want to live.
I didn't want to hurt.
"I hate it… I hate it… I said I hate it!!!"
Each time he vented his resentment, blood refluxed from his mouth.
He didn't even have the strength to get up.
Simply trapped within this mental space, tasting only pain.
"My body… give it back, please… I don't want to hurt."
If I hide and live quietly, wouldn't the pain disappear too?
Just as such a thought brushed through his mind,
'You have to live.'
"…!!!"
'You have to live, son, for my share too.'
"…Mo, m?"
Even so, Mom doesn't answer.
It seemed to be an illusion created by fragments of memory.
Tears flowed from sorrow.
It was nothing but torment.
"I… hate it."
I didn't want to hurt.
I didn't want to suffer anymore.
It was simply agony.
Even living like this held no meaning, nothing remained.
The being called me was simply being worn away.
"Adapt… I want to adapt at least… I hate pain, if I adapt… then, it hurts less, right?"
If only I could adapt to pain.
I couldn't adapt.
I simply reacted identically to every stimulus.
Even now, the pain doesn't fade.
Rather, the more I paid attention to it, the more tormented I became.
And he didn't know at that moment that something was being accomplished, fueled by his very anguish.
* * *
The dark broadcasting room.
The Chameleon tending to his wounds there.
And from behind that Chameleon,
"We have to continue, the hunting game."
A warped voice rang out.