"ARATAAA!"
It's Touka, who sees Arata die before her. Her transformed eyes let tears of blood escape while her breathing catches and her vision becomes blurry.
At that moment, her kagune materializes behind her. And somehow, on her wings that look like fire, there are lightning bolts running through them.
—Bzzzzt!
"Arggg!"
She launches forward, and in the blink of an eye arrives above Yamamoto.
She screams with fury.
"Give Arata back to me!"
She crystallizes dozens of projectiles that surround themselves with electricity, which is known as pseudo-electrokinesis.
She fires toward the Special Class Investigator.
—Shink! Shink! Shink!
Smoke rises from the position below, but when the wind clears the area, it reveals Yamamoto's intact silhouette, who only retreated a couple of steps.
!!!
Touka realizes the strength difference between her and Arata is abysmal.
While Arata pushed him to the limit, she only manages to push him back.
How did Arata manage to become so strong?
However, seeing Arata's body, she fills with murderous intent.
A girl who already lost her father, who already lost her mother, who already lost her brother.
And now has lost the only one who came for her and was willing to die to save her.
It doesn't matter if she can defeat her enemy or not. She's willing to use her life for revenge.
While such irrational thoughts cause chaos in her mind, Yamamoto turns toward her and lets out a laugh.
Yamamoto opens his mouth and words full of coldness come out.
"It's your turn to die, demon."
"No. It's your turn."
Hearing that phrase, both Touka and Yamamoto freeze.
They turn their faces and see Arata's head on the ground smiling at Yamamoto.
"What—?"
Yamamoto doesn't manage to express his confusion, because he hears something heading toward him from behind.
—Fwooon!
It appears beside Yamamoto.
Arata's headless body.
The headless ghoul carries in his hand a black claymore with cracks and pulsating flesh inside.
With arms full of veins, to the point where his clothes explode from the force of his muscles, he swings the claymore.
—Slash!
The massive sword impacts directly against the armor's torso.
—Clank! Crack! Crack! Crack!
Enormous cracks expand throughout the Arata armor at the same time Yamamoto is sent flying violently.
—Fwoooosh! Crash!
He crashes into the rubble of Touka's destroyed house. Opening his eyes enormously from the blow, he coughs blood inside the lower mask of his armor.
"Gh... damn monster..."
He tries to stand but his trembling legs don't allow it.
The armor is gravely damaged. Still, he looks up and sees Arata slowly walking toward his own head.
Crouching down, he extends his arm and grabs his missing part, before putting the head on his neck.
His veins, bones, flesh and skin fuse. The next instant, his head is completely attached to his neck again. The heart that had been torn out had dissolved into blood in Yamamoto's hand during Touka's attack and had returned to his chest.
Touka remains in the sky, with trembling eyes while looking at Arata. He raises his head to look at her.
"Wait a bit longer."
Touka descends and then her wings disappear. Her previous attacks were due to her altered mental state seeing the person she cares about die before her, mixed with the rage of knowing her father had become her enemy's armor. Therefore, when those emotions are shaken by the surprise of seeing Arata completely alive, all the strength in her body vanishes, making her sit down.
Meanwhile, Arata slowly walks toward Yamamoto with the claymore dragging along the ground.
—Scrape... scrape...
His crimson eyes shine without mercy.
Beginning with a horrifying sound that raises goosebumps, something horrible happens.
The bodies of the dead investigators that are scattered around the area begin to change.
Mouths full of sharp teeth sprout from their flesh, and bleeding eyes open everywhere.
The eyes constantly cry blood while the mouths produce unrecognizable sounds, making Yamamoto's head feel like it's going to explode.
The mouths chew the flesh of the corpses themselves.
—Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!
Yamamoto looks at this scene horrified.
"W-What the hell...?"
Suddenly, the mouths detach from the bodies, separating from the dead flesh, and start crawling toward Yamamoto. They look like grotesque worms with enormous mouths full of teeth that don't stop chewing.
There are dozens of them and, in a matter of seconds, they become hundreds.
"No! Get away!"
Yamamoto tries to move, but he's too injured, and his Arata armor has left him without strength from having used it for too long.
The mouths reach him and start climbing up his armor.
—Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!
They bite it, swallow it and slowly destroy it.
"Aaaaahhhhh!"
Yamamoto screams while the mouths start slipping through the cracks in the armor.
—Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!
"Noooo! Stop! Y-you're their owner, aren't you?! Please, make them stop!"
His screams are dreadful and full of agony while he shouts at Arata to stop the vermin devouring his flesh and drinking his blood.
Arata observes without emotion in his crimson eyes how Yamamoto is slowly devoured.
The mouths consume everything. From the armor to the bones. Until nothing remains.
Touka observes from behind with wide eyes.
She's horrified by what she sees.
Still... is this satisfaction? The armor made from her father is being destroyed. Will her father finally be able to rest? She hopes so.
When the sounds of battle cease and Yamamoto's screams fade, the only thing left in that ruined place is nothing but silence.
The mouths and eyes disappear after consuming everything.
Arata cancels his kagune making his claymore dematerialize.
He turns around and walks toward where Touka is, at the same time his crimson eyes slowly return to their normal blue.
Touka watches him approach.
She doesn't know what to say or how to process what just happened.
Arata stops less than a meter away.
Looking at her silently for a moment, he extends his hand.
"Can you stand?"
There's no longer coldness in his voice, on the contrary, he sounds relieved and kind.
Touka hesitates a second or two, but in the end decides to accept the hand.
He helps her stand, but she almost falls, though he holds her.
"Idiot..."
She shows a sad expression.
"Why...? Why did you come?"
Arata smiles slightly.
"I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner."
Touka hits him repeatedly on the chest.
"Idiot... idiot..."
Tears start falling from her eyes.
It's not the time to talk. He lets her release her fear, her anger and her frustration through her tears.
In that destroyed place there are only the two of them.
No.
There are three of them.
After a few minutes, Touka calms down a bit though her hand and body still tremble as she clings tighter to Arata.
After she stopped crying, Arata turns his head to one side and fixes his eyes on the alley connecting two destroyed houses.
He says out loud.
"You've been watching for too long."
Arata's voice is carried by the wind. At the same time, a silhouette comes out of the alley, climbs onto a destroyed piece of rubble and looks toward him.
The silhouette belongs to a white-haired man combed back. He has his eyes closed, with a calm smile on his face. He's tall and has a robust body wearing a waiter's uniform.
Touka, seeing him, tenses and stands beside Arata.
The man raises his hand carrying something and asks with a calm voice.
"Is this eye yours?"
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