I barely got away. But I couldn’t be sure I’d shaken him off completely.
The cold rain was draining my strength in real time, and my breath surged in my chest, feeling as if it would tear my lungs apart.
At this rate, I’d collapse from exhaustion before Father ever caught me, so I searched for a place to hide and catch my breath.
As I slipped out of a narrow alley, I saw a riverbank and a broad bridge spanning the water.
Judging it to be a decent spot to escape the rain and recover, I ran toward it.
“Hah... hah... hah...”
Hiding in the space between the pillars supporting the bridge, I struggled to steady my breathing.
Only once my breath calmed did I realize Eto was crying.
Had my own gasping been so loud that I hadn’t noticed? Or had I simply been too desperate to spare her any attention? Likely both.
“I’m sorry... Father scared you, didn’t he...”
As I soothed Eto, I looked into her tear-filled eyes.
Seeing my own reflection in them made me sigh.
“No... I’m the one who scared you.”
After falling through trees, crashing onto concrete, and rolling through the mud, I was a complete wreck. It was only natural that Eto would be frightened by my current state; I looked nothing like my usual self.
Shiver...
Perhaps because I’d been running through the rain for so long, a deep chill began to seep into my bones. I rubbed my arms to generate some heat, but the cold persisted.
My head throbbed with a dull ache, and my entire body felt heavy, as if I were carrying an invisible weight.
“Damn it, not now of all times...!”
My condition had already been poor, and between the soaking rain and the sheer physical exertion, it seemed I had caught a cold.
I had to move before Father caught up. But just as I forced myself to stand—
Squelch.
It wasn’t my footstep. It was the sound of someone else stepping into the mud.
With one disaster following another, today was undoubtedly the worst day of my life.
Leaning against the pillar, I turned my head. Sure enough, Father was there.
“You’re injured. You're bleeding too much for the rain to wash it all away.”
Ah. Right. I forgot about that.
The tree branch lodged in my back. The wound had split open, and blood was now streaming out; there was no point in leaving the branch in anymore.
I had hoped the rain would erase all traces of blood, but apparently, that wasn't the case. Or perhaps Father’s tracking abilities were simply that formidable.
Noticing my state, Father extended a hand.
“Come here. Let’s go to the hospital.”
“...I’ll go if you promise to take Eto with us.”
“...”
Father silently raised the arm holding his Quinque.
A clear refusal.
His intention was obvious: kill Eto here, then take me to the hospital.
My answer was simple.
“Uu...?”
I set the anxious Eto down and pushed myself upright.
I turned to face him and clenched my fist.
A clear fighting stance. My answer was essentially: go to hell.
Father let out a sigh, seemingly exhausted by my stubbornness.
“Why? Why go this far to protect a Ghoul? Is that baby really so precious to you?”
“Well... at first, she was just a nuisance dumped on me by an old acquaintance. But after spending the last month together, I think I’ve become a total daughter-fool.”
As Father strode toward me, I gritted my teeth and walked toward him.
“Move.”
“No.”
“I’ll say it again. Move.”
“I’ll say it as many times as it takes. No.”
The moment the distance between us closed, I kicked off the ground and lunged, swinging my fist.
Grab.
He caught me far too easily.
With a sharp twist of his body, I was dragged along, unable to resist.
Thud!!
“Ghk!!”
The world flipped, and I was slammed violently into the ground.
A mixture of blood and bile surged into my mouth. I spat it to the side, rolled, and forced myself back up.
Father ignored me entirely, hoisting the butcher-knife Quinque onto his shoulder. He took a throwing stance, like a man hurling a spear. His target was Eto!
“Stop!!”
I lunged forward, tackling him around the waist.
The impact threw him slightly off balance, causing the Quinque to veer off course and embed itself in the ground just past its target.
KRAAANG!!
The weapon struck about thirty centimeters to the left of Eto. She seemed unharmed.
Before I could feel any relief, Father’s elbow slammed into my back.
Thwack!!
“Cough!!”
My breath vanished. The strength left my arms, and my grip on Father’s waist slipped.
As I dropped to my knees, Father grabbed my collar and hauled me up. Then, a fist as fierce as fire flew toward my face.
Pow!!!
It was a fight between an adult and a child.
Even though I was no longer a small child, the gap between a middle-aged man and a youth was far too wide. It was a complete slaughter.
Pow!!!
The blow sent me rolling toward Eto.
My arm gave out as I tried to push myself up, and I nearly collapsed, but I forced myself to hold on. If I fell, I might crush Eto.
“Kh... cough...!”
As I coughed, torn flesh and blood spilled from my lips, dripping onto Eto.
Normally, she would have eaten this with gusto, but now she only wailed at the top of her lungs. Even a baby this young could tell that something terrifying was happening.
“Why... in the world...”
For once, Father’s voice was trembling.
I looked up to see him grinding his teeth, his fist shaking with rage.
“Why do you keep protecting a Ghoul!? Have you forgotten what they did to our family!? You of all people! You, who witnessed the events of that day with your own eyes! I thought that even if you couldn't join me in my revenge, you would at least understand my hatred! But why... why this?!”
“...”
...Ah. So he's bringing up those memories.
I wiped the blood from my mouth and stood up.
“That incident?”
I faced him.
Despite the blood loss, the beating, and the fever, the only reason I could stand straight was the adrenaline surging through me, fueled by pure anger.
Yes, I was furious.
The anger I had suppressed for so long, the emotions I had kept sealed away with a forced calm, were now leaking through the cracks.
“You mean the incident where Mother was killed by a Ghoul?”
Yes. To you, that was the sole reason for your hatred.
You lost the wife you loved, the woman you swore was the only one for you in this world. That was why you hated them so much.
“Yes! I can never forgive those bastards! How dare they steal our family’s happiness!? Ghouls are beings that warp the world!! They must be exterminated!!!”
Father screamed in fury.
I felt it too. I lost my family. I lost the mother I loved.
But my anger wasn't directed at the Ghouls.
It was directed at the man standing right in front of me.
“You’re the last person who should be saying that, Father...!!!”
“...What?”
Father looked blank, unable to comprehend my rage.
“I saw it! I saw it clearly with my own eyes! I still remember it! That day! The Ghoul who attacked Mother and me while we were coming home from shopping! The way that monster choked the life out of her and tried to take mine too!! It’s exactly as you remember!!”
“But...!!” My voice cracked with an uncontrollable surge of grief.
There was something Father didn’t know.
Something only I, who had been there at the scene of Mother's death, remembered.
A sight that only I could understand!
“That Ghoul... was crying.”
“Crying...?”
“Yes! Why do you think he was crying!? Because that Ghoul had lost his own family to a Ghoul Investigator—to ‘some man’!! In that sorrow! In that hatred! That Ghoul was trying to take revenge in the same way he had suffered!! On you, Father!!”
“...!?!!”
“I hated him! But at the same time, I felt pity for him! Because that Ghoul, even as he killed Mother and came for me, kept crying and apologizing over and over! That was the only way he knew how! For a Ghoul whose family had been murdered and who had nothing left but despair, revenge was the only reason he was still breathing!!”
Cough!! Cough!!
My body screamed in protest as I shouted, the exertion tearing at my wounds.
I steadied my breathing and continued.
“...The Ghoul who saved me from that place was named Kuzen.”
“Kuzen...?”
“Yes. And... he is Eto’s father.”
I learned later that the Ghoul who attacked us had been a target of the organization Kuzen once belonged to.
Kuzen had come to eliminate that Ghoul and found us in the aftermath of the attack.
“Mister Kuzen... even knowing that revealing himself would put him in danger, he still took me to the hospital when I was barely alive. He is my benefactor.”
I lifted my head and glared at Father.
Stunned by the truth, he staggered, his legs barely supporting him.
“And now!! You’re trying to do the exact same thing that Ghoul did!!”
“...!!”
“If you kill Eto here, Mister Kuzen will never forgive you!! But!! If Mister Kuzen kills you for revenge!! Then I won’t be able to forgive him!!”
It was so tiresome.
An endless, exhausting cycle of hatred.
“That’s why I want to break it!! This disgusting chain!! Stop this rotten hatred from continuing!! Let’s end it with our generation!!”
My vision began to blur from the blood loss, but I only raised my voice. I had more to say. I couldn't collapse yet.
Father’s face went pale, cold sweat beading on his skin.
His eyes were clouded with confusion as he muttered, “That can’t be... Ghouls are beings that warp the world...”
“It’s not just Ghouls!!!”
My knees buckled. The blood flowing from my wounds grew darker.
I ignored every warning my body sent, every signal that I was reaching my limit.
“The thing that warps the world!!! It’s not just Ghouls!!!”
Please! Just admit it, Father!
Humans are not the masters of all creation. If humans are unhappy, then humans themselves bear the responsibility!
“Ghouls aren't the only ones who make people miserable!! The person making you the most miserable right now is you, Father!!!”
“...!!!!”
Thud.
Father’s knees gave out. Mine did too.
What a pathetic fight between father and son. A battle that only left both our minds and bodies shattered. Even children wouldn't fight this miserably.
“Father...”
I tried to squeeze out the words, but my voice was gone—whether from a ruined throat or a failing body, I didn't know.
“If you hear this and still... if you still reject Ghouls to the end... if you're willing to do this even knowing it will end with you being eaten... then go ahead.”
Everything was a blur. I couldn't even tell if he was listening.
“So please...! Even if the only thing left is to be eaten...!! Just let me believe in them... let me reach out to them...!!”
This is the last childish request of my life.
Please hear me, Father................
Thud.
***
My mind went white.
Immediately after hearing my son’s words, I could no longer think.
No, I was refusing to think.
I tried to convince myself it was nothing more than a child’s nonsense, something unworthy of my attention.
“Ueeehh~! Ueeehhh~!”
The sound of a baby crying reached my ears.
I saw the child of a Ghoul—the creature I loathed—crawling through the mud toward my son.
“...”
I gripped my Quinque.
I was a Ghoul Investigator. My duty remained unchanged.
Feeling the butcher-knife Quinque grow inexplicably heavier than usual, I approached the infant.
“Ueeehh~! Ueeehhh~!!”
As I drew closer, the baby wailed louder, yet it refused to leave my son’s side.
Instead, it wrapped its small arms around my unconscious son’s face.
It looked as if... the baby was throwing its own body forward to protect my son.
“...”
I raised the Quinque above my head. To end it in a single strike, I tightened my grip...
-It’s not just Ghouls!
I tightened my grip...
-The thing that warps the world! It’s not just Ghouls!
I...
“Damn it...”
Clang.
The Quinque slipped from my hand and rolled across the ground.
A sob broke from my throat. Like the rain that continued to pour, tears spilled from my eyes without end as I wept.
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