Nyx could no longer feel her fingertips. Her knees scraped against the cold concrete, but she couldn't feel the rough surface.
Yet despite her condition, only one person filled her thoughts—
Her sister.
She had failed to protect her.
She had promised to keep her safe.
But she couldn't keep that promise.
And now, with the corrupted ghoul closing in, it seemed like the end was near.
Her breath rasped, and her eyesight clouded even more, the world around her swirling into a red haze.
She lost consciousness.
The monstrosity sneered as he examined the enormous incision in his chest, feeling its ragged edges.
"..Damn bitch almost got me." He cursed
His breathing was heavy, but he still grinned, his jagged teeth glinting under the dim lights of the construction site.
"Her flesh will be worthy to eat, maybe I can finally rank up," he muttered, rolling his shoulders, feeling the weight of his injuries.
His grotesque limbs flexed as he turned toward Nyx's limp form, still bleeding out on the cracked pavement.
He took long, heavy strides toward her, enjoying the situation.
With one clawed hand, he lifted her by the neck, her bloody body hanging like a broken doll. Her head lolled to the side, her face lifeless and asleep.
His filthy breath burned on her skin as he leaned in, his jaws gaping and saliva streaming from his jagged fangs.
One bite.
Only one, and this would be over.
He will get stronger than before.
Then—
He paused.
His whole body stiffened.
His hideous nostrils flared.
An odd yet distinct aroma drifted past his nose.
It was faint yet rich, like blood, but vastly different from any he had encountered before.
His pupils shrank as he inhaled deeply, the scent curling into his lungs.
His grip on Nyx slackened, and without a second thought, he let her go.
A sharp hunger surged through him, his instincts screaming at him to move.
His head snapped to the side, his body following before his mind had even processed it.
He ran, loping toward the source of the scent, his monstrous limbs carrying him into the depths of the old, abandoned building.
The deeper he went, the stronger it became. His mouth watered, his stomach twisted with hunger.
There!
The moment he laid eyes on it, his throat released an involuntary growl of hunger.
The floor was smeared with dark, glistening pools of blood.
Bits of flesh, torn, raw, and rich, were scattered among the mess. His instincts overrode every thought.
He lunged forward, clawing at the chunks of meat, shoving them into his mouth without hesitation.
The taste, it was overwhelming, electrifying.
The essence of it filled him with raw pleasure, his muscles shivering from the sheer ecstasy of consuming something so potent.
He didn't care what it was.
He didn't care who it came from.
He devoured it.
His claws scraped the floor as he scooped up more, his breathing ragged, his body trembling from the intensity of the taste. More. More.
But in his gluttony, he didn't hear it.
The deep groan of metal.
The rusted beams above, shifting.
The tension in the structure, waiting to snap.
CREEEAAAAAK—
Then—
A deafening crash.
The entire world caved in on him.
Tons of rusted steel, concrete, and scaffolding came crashing down from above, slamming into his body with sickening force.
A roar tore from his throat as his ribs snapped like brittle twigs, his limbs twisted and crushed under the weight of the falling debris. His back caved against the pressure, his monstrous form barely visible beneath the wreckage.
"......."
After the mayhem was over, the ghoul found himself still alive.
In fact, any other ghoul in his position would have died from the sheer impact, but he was different. Not only was he on the cusp of rising through the ranks, but he had also become a corrupted entity, which makes him incredibly difficult to kill, and as a result, he was still alive.
But he was merely alive, not unharmed.
Because of his earlier fight with the ghoul girl, his corrupted body was already a mess and now-
Pain seared through him, worse than anything he had ever experienced. His lungs wheezed, and his eyesight pulsed with red as his second crimson core flared with life, hidden deep within his crushed torso.
His skull had barely survived the collapse, unscathed. He strained, his fingers twitching feebly under the weight of steel and stone.
'Move. Move!' he roared in his mind.
But his body wouldn't obey.
He was trapped.
His breath rasped in his throat. The sheer weight pressing down on him made it impossible to expand his lungs fully.
Then he heard it.
*Tap. Tap. Tap.*
Footsteps.
His eyes, which were wild and bloodshot, snapped toward the sound.
A figure stood just a few meters away.
It was a skinny boy.
Raven-haired, draped in ragged clothing. His frame was frail, thin, almost pitiful to look at.
Yet there was… something about him that felt wrong.
"Still alive?" The boy muttered.
His voice was low, almost inaudible. Yet it broke the silence's bubble.
The abomination's bloodshot eyes widened.
'W-What?'
The boy stepped closer, stopping just three meters away.
"Whoa. You are as resilient as roaches inside the garbage."
The abomination snarled, his lips peeling back, jagged teeth bared despite his pain.
His mind tried to process the situation.
Who the hell was this kid?
He didn't look like much, like any other street rat, really.
Thin, frail, practically on death's door.
But something was wrong about him.
Why didn't this kid seem afraid of him?
His thoughts were about to form into words, maybe a threat, maybe a growl—when the boy spoke again.
"That meat was smeared in my blood, after all."
The ghoul froze.
"Don't beings like you love it? I don't know what's special about it, but I'm pretty sure it should be more delicious for you folks."
"Even if you look different and much ugly and hideous than others of your kind, it should be same for you."
"...."
This bastard!!!!
How dare he-
But-
Now that he thinks about it.
Didn't he already had those girls as his meal?
Sure, he was now a corrupted entity, but he had never been this irrational before.
Why did he come here like a starving dog in the first place?
Then it dawned on him.
He looked at the boy.
A chill rippled down his broken spine.
'No, it couldn't be!' he refuse to believe it.
His body jerked slightly, the remains of his limbs twitching involuntarily. Blood?
That meat….. He had devoured it like an addict chasing a high, driven purely by hunger.
But now—now that he knew—
His stomach churned, twisting with something unfamiliar.
Revulsion? Dread?
He didn't know.
His breath turned ragged, panic creeping into his ruined frame.
The boy tilted his head.
"From last week, I didn't sense any man-eaters lurking around the streets... but it seems like there was more to it."
His thoughts whirled in confusion, his instincts dulled under the crushing weight and the boy's stare.
Then the boy pointed to the dark spots beneath his eyes.
"Because of it, I wasn't able to sleep."
The abomination's eyes flickered toward the boy's face, truly looking at him now.
The hollow stare
The exhaustion that ran deeper than flesh.
Then the boy exhaled, voice quiet but final.
"But it seems I'll be able to sleep after all."
A slow, crawling horror gripped the abomination's fractured mind.
"But before that, how about I propose a deal? One that will be good for both of us. And if you're lucky, I'll walk out of here… and maybe you'll get enough time to recover."
The ghoul sneered despite the pain.
"A deal?" he rasped. "You think I can't kill you right where you stand, brat?"
His remaining limbs twitched, trying to move, to prove that even in this ruined state, he was still a predator. He still had power.
Then he saw-
The boy moved.
With a flick of his wrist, several black polythene bags tumbled from his coat, landing near the ghoul.
The abomination barely had time to react before the bags burst open, their contents splattering onto the ground, thick, pungent liquid spreading in uneven trails.
The ghoul's nostrils flared.
The sharp, acrid scent burned his nose, coiling around him like a noose.
"I don't want to take any risk so… anyway, your kind can still burn, can't they?"
Saying so, the boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter.
A small, insignificant thing.
Yet at this moment, for the ghoul, it was death itself.
The boy's voice remained eerily calm as he lit up the lighter.
A tiny flicker of flame danced near his thumb
He tilted his head, eyes dull yet strangely expectant.
"You are free to choose."
"......"
Silence.
The ghoul's bloodshot eyes darted between the spreading kerosene and the burning lighter held lazily in the boy's grasp.
The moment the flame touched the ground, it would be over.
And the boy?
He wasn't even looking at him. His gaze remained fixated on the flickering flame, as if it was just another passing thought.
A slow, horrible realization slithered into the ghoul's fractured mind.
This crazy kid… he would do it.
The ghoul collapsed, chest rose and fell rapidly, lungs struggling against the crushing weight.
The boy finally flicked his gaze toward him, the hint of amusement barely reaching his exhausted eyes.
"So, do you accept it?"
The ghoul gritted his teeth, but when he finally spoke, his voice was hoarse, unwilling.
"...What if you don't keep your end of the deal?"
The boy sighed, as if tired of the question.
"It's not like you have another choice, do you?" He twirled the lighter between his fingers. "You should accept hastily. Otherwise, there's no deal at all."
A slow, seething silence stretched between them.
Then, finally—
The ghoul agreed.
What more could he do but bide his time and await recovery?
But he will undoubtedly return and repay this disgrace a hundred times over, but for the time being, he must respond.
What followed was a question-and-answer session.
The boy asked while the ghoul responded.
He had no other options.
When it was ended, the boy did something that surprised the ghoul.
He fulfilled his end of the deal. Without saying anything, he flung the lighter to the side on the damp ground.
Then, without giving the monster a final glance, he turned and went away.
Leaving the ghoul behind, confined, wounded, but still alive.