Thank a lot for the 550 power stones! Here's the bonus chapter
At 700 Power Stones, I'll drop another bonus chapter.
×××
"Run."
My voice resonates through Yuki-chan- Ahem! I mean, through the floating eye I've kept near Rize for the past two years.
From my position, kilometers away, I can see everything Yuki-chan sees. And what I'm seeing right now makes me want to throw up the pizza I'm eating.
That monster isn't a normal ghoul.
It's a ghoul that's been parasitized. However, at the same time it seems like something much worse.
Through the eye, I watch as the deformed creature tears through the wall like paper. Its tentacles writhe in the air, and each of those tentacles ends in blades that gleam under Sunlit Garden's light sources.
And all its eyes, maybe dozens of bleeding eyeballs scattered across its body, are fixed in one direction.
Rize.
Hm? No, not exactly at Rize.
They're fixed on Yuki-chan.
'Shit. It can sense my eye.'
That's bad.
"Rize! Run left! Now!"
—Crash!
A tentacle demolishes the floor where Rize was standing less than a second ago. The concrete explodes into fragments that shoot in all directions.
Several children who didn't react in time are hit by the debris. One of them, a boy who can't be more than ten years old, takes a fragment to the head.
He falls to the ground and doesn't move.
Screams fill the room.
—Roooooar!
The monster roars again and its tentacles sweep the area in a wide arc.
'It's not aiming at the children!'
I realize something crucial while watching the attack pattern.
The monster isn't interested in hunting or eating. It's clearing the path? It wants to reach Yuki-chan. And Rize is in the middle.
Should I have the All-Seeing Eye detach from Rize? That way, I can lure the monster away from her and save her.
But...
This is a good opportunity. Take advantage of this chance for Rize to escape from Sunlit Garden.
"Jump!"
Rize obeys upon hearing my words.
Her body rises just as three tentacles converge on the point where she was. The impact creates a crater in the concrete floor.
She lands on the rubble and rolls to the side, dodging another attack by centimeters.
Through Yuki-chan I can see her expression.
On her cold face there's no trace of fear or panic.
'This girl...'
Even in a situation like this, Rize is analyzing her enemy while her purple eyes move quickly as she observes attack patterns looking for weaknesses.
She's terrifying.
If she grows and matures, I wonder how terrifying she can become.
—Slash!
From her back, four crimson tentacles emerge with a wet sound. It's her rinkaku kagune deploying like a demon's wings.
"Don't engage it! It's too strong for you!"
I shout through Yuki-chan.
But Rize doesn't listen, or rather, deliberately ignores me.
"Tch. Stubborn brat."
One of her tentacles launches forward and clashes with the monster's armored kagune.
—Clank!
The metallic sound resonates between the four walls and sparks shine in all the monster's eyes.
Rize's tentacle bounces back as if it had hit a steel wall.
"I told you!"
The monster counterattacks immediately.
Five of its own tentacles launch at Rize simultaneously, each of those attacks coming from a different angle. From above, below, left, right, and her front. From what one can see, there's no escape.
"Behind you! The pillar!"
Rize throws herself backward.
Her back hits one of the room's support pillars. The monster's tentacles impact the concrete, destroying it, but she's no longer there.
Using the pillar as cover, Rize slides to the side and runs toward the destroyed exit.
Good. She's escaping.
Meanwhile...
"Well, thanks for the meal."
I get up from the table where I'm having breakfast and head outside while a toothy smile reflects in Anteiku's glass window.
—Roooooar!
The monster's massive body moves at vertiginous speed. It's surprising that something this size can achieve this velocity.
The ground trembles each time the monster's foot descends.
Children who haven't fled yet are crushed under its feet or cut by its tentacles. It considers them simple nuisances in its path. In a mental image, it's like watching a person stepping on ants while walking.
It's the indifference of a superior being that doesn't care about the weak.
"Faster! It's catching up to you!"
Rize runs through the destroyed hallway.
Sunlit Garden's white walls are now painted red. Bodies of guards and scientists lie scattered on the floor, some still writhing.
The monster must've passed through here before reaching the training room.
'How many has it killed?'
I make quick calculations from what I see, and conclude maybe hundreds.
And all to get to where Yuki-chan was.
Why? What does my eye have that attracts that thing so much?
I don't have time to think about that.
My body dissolves into red mist that moves in a blur above the buildings.
Meanwhile, I don't forget to send my guidance.
"Turn right!"
—Crash!
A tentacle demolishes the left wall just as Rize turns, at the same time debris hits her shoulder, but she doesn't stop even though blood runs down her arm.
In less than a second, her wound rapidly closes.
Through Yuki-chan, I analyze the environment from side to side.
I see corridors in different directions, doors leading to test rooms, stairs going down and windows showing experiment rooms.
Where can she escape?
Then...
As Rize approaches a dead end, at the end of the right hallway I see a reinforced metal door. It seems to be some kind of emergency exit or bunker.
"Turn right! The door at the end! If you reach it—!"
"I already saw it!"
It's the first time Rize has responded to me since all this started.
With a cold voice, she gives off a dangerous vibe.
'This girl is scary.'
Rize accelerates making her legs move faster while being propelled by her kagune pushing her from behind.
Twenty meters.
Fifteen.
Ten.
—Slash!
A tentacle passes grazing her head. Some strands of purple hair float in the air.
Five meters.
—Roar!
The monster roars with frustration knowing its prey is escaping. As a result, all its tentacles tense simultaneously.
'It's going to attack with everything!'
"Rize! Hit the deck!"
She throws herself forward in a slide.
—Fwoooosh!
Dozens of kagune projectiles shoot from the monster's body, filling the hallway with what looks like a rain of blades.
Because of this powerful and uncontrolled attack, the ceiling collapses, the walls are demolished and the floor cracks.
It's a powerful attack capable of producing large-scale destruction.
Fortunately, Rize trusts my words, managing to pass underneath everything as her body slides across the bloodied floor. Passing just beneath the storm of death.
—Clank!
The next second, she hits the metal door with her shoulder.
But the door dents but doesn't give.
"Tch! Annoying."
Her kagune digs into the door's edges and pulls with all her strength.
—Screeeech!
As the metal shrieks under the force of the continuous pull, the door deforms.
—Roar!
The monster recovers from the attack and charges toward her making the ground tremble.
Ten meters.
—Crack!
The door partially gives, and an opening forms.
Five meters.
Rize squeezes her body through the opening.
—Crash!
The monster impacts the door, the metal dents deeply, but surprisingly still manages to hold.
—Bam! Bam! Bam!
The blows resonate while everything around starts emitting creaks, giving the sensation that the ceiling will collapse.
Through Yuki-chan, now on the other side of the door with Rize, I see how the metal deforms more with each impact.
It won't hold much longer.
"You need to keep moving. That door won't stop it."
Rize is panting. It's the first time I've seen her show signs of exhaustion.
Blood drips from her wounded neck and several minor cuts on her body. Though she's managed to dodge death, some blades still managed to reach her.
She slowly retracts her kagune into her back.
"I know."
Her crimson irises and black sclera shine.
Rising with difficulty, she looks around.
She and Yuki-chan are in what appears to be some kind of tunnel since the walls are natural rock that was excavated long ago. There are also rusted rails on the ground.
An old train tunnel?
"Looks like an escape route. Follow the tunnel."
Rize starts walking with a limp.
Even though she's supposed to have absurd regeneration, this time she's not able to regenerate completely.
The guards haven't given the test subjects food for a week. This doesn't just happen this time, but every time a death training is about to start.
Unfortunately, I couldn't do much about it in these cases. Remote mental manipulation has its limits, and even if I abused it, they might start to suspect. If discovered, it would've unnecessarily complicated Rize's life.
But that decision to stay on the sidelines, one way or another, is what's now putting Rize's life in mortal danger.
—Crash!
A sound of metal tearing comes from behind. At the same time, the monster is breaking through the door.
Rize picks up her pace.
I keep Yuki-chan floating behind her while watching the rear guard.
The tunnel is illuminated, with light sources embedded in the stone walls, along with some emergency light posts every few meters.
—Roaaaaar!
The monster's roar resonates through the tunnel.
It's inside.