How much time had passed? Without a single window, I had no way of knowing if it was day or night. My crushing drowsiness might have been my body's circadian rhythm remembering its sleep schedule, or perhaps it was just the lingering trauma from the unhealed wound on the back of my head. Regardless, I suspected it was night.
"๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฆ..."
The insect-masked ghoul they called 'Section Chief' was asleep, hanging upside down from the ceiling. His feet were wedged deep into the concrete, his arms dangling loosely as gravity dictated. Saliva escaped his maw, traveling down his cheek, forehead, and hair before dripping onto the floor.
๐๐ณ๐ช๐ฑ. ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ฑ. The puddle of drool grew steadily beneath him.
If this creature slept at regular intervals, it had to be night. It was after 9:00 AM when Minami kidnapped me; roughly twelve hours must have passed.
The perpetrator herself was nowhere to be seen. After her long-winded speech about dismantling my body into a work of art, she had suddenly shouted, "The inspiration won't stop~!" and bolted from the room. She hadn't returned since.
"๐๐ฆ๐ฌ-๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฌ-๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฌ! ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฆ~โฆ."
The Section Chief's snoring was even more bizarre than his waking laughter. I barely managed to suppress a grimace. As grating as the sound was, it meant he was deep in sleep, and there were no other eyes monitoring me.
This was my golden opportunity to move.
๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐จโฆ!
Being as quiet as possible, I tested the chains and inspected the shackles binding my wrists. They were a dull, dark gray, shaped like three pairs of police handcuffs welded together. Upon closer inspection, I realized what that dark coating was.
Blood.
The shackles had been painted so many times with the blood of countless victims that the original metal was buried. The design was cruel: U-shaped iron clamps that slid into one another. The overlapping sections were notched with teeth, making them impossible to remove once locked.
The only way out of these was to lose both hands entirely. The weight of the chains felt even heavier now, knowing the sheer number of unjust deaths they represented.
'Now, what to do?'
Removing these shackles without a keyhole was impossible. Therefore, I turned my attention to the stake driven into the wall. Despite the darkness, my fingers felt numerous cracks in the masonry. The building was clearly ancient.
I stretched my arms and began feeling the concrete around the iron spikes. Tiny fragments of stone crumbled under my touch.
I had no idea how many humans had been sacrificed in this room before me. But they wouldn't have just waited for death. They would have struggled. They would have fought to live. The ghouls likely left the victims' restraints unmonitored because they knew escape was futileโor perhaps they simply enjoyed the sight of the struggle.
But it wasn't entirely futile.
It wasn't just death that had accumulated in this room. The desperate, terrified final efforts of the victims who died here had left a legacy. And that legacy was a sliver of hope for me.
๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌโฆ.
The iron stake connected to my right shackle moved. It was a minuscule shift, but it was there. This wouldn't have been possible with my strength alone. Because previous victims had yanked and thrashed at these chains, the anchor had finally begun to loosen.
I offered a silent prayer for those who came before me and wrapped the chain around my hand. Once the metal was secure against my palm, I yanked the stake vertically with everything I had.
๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐จโฆ!
It moved slightly but didn't come out. I glanced up at the Section Chief.
"๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฆ!! ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ, ๐ด๐ฎ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ..."
He was smacking his lips in his sleep, dreaming of a meal. He showed no signs of waking. Seeing my chance, I yanked the chain repeatedly.
At first, it seemed useless, but the pile of concrete dust on the floor grew with every pull. The stake began to wobble noticeably, protruding further from the wall than before. I was certain that a few more good tugs would do it.
๐๐ต๐ฆ๐ฑ. ๐๐ต๐ฆ๐ฑ.
"...๐๐ค๐ฉ!"
I clicked my tongue. Of all times, I heard footsteps approaching from outside the door. And it wasn't just one personโat least three.
"Man, the staff dinner last night was great, Team Leader."
"That girl's flesh we had at the second-round karaoke place was exactly my type. Think we can get that again?"
"Don't you worry, Senior Manager. I'll source some and have it ready for the next outing."
"Haha! I look forward to it. Will you be joining us, General Manager?"
"Hmm. I gorged myself last time, so I'll pass. But about that karaoke place we stopped at..."
The conversation sounded like something ordinary salarymen would discussโexcept for the casual mentions of human meat. Was she serious about this being run like a company? I thought it was just some twisted roleplay.
I let the chains go and sat still. The door swung open, and three men walked in.
There was a short, scrawny man; a tall man with a face like a horse; and a portly old man with a magnificent mustache that reminded me of a certain fried chicken mascot.
"This is the new 'material' that came in."
The scrawny man pointed at me as soon as he entered, speaking as if he were introducing a piece of office equipment. The portly old man stroked his mustache and let out a soft hum.
"Hmm. The body looks sturdy, and you can tell he's trained, but I'm still not quite satisfied. Isn't he a bit too... plain?"
"General Manager, isn't the real reward in turning such a plain existence into something that will haunt the public's mind forever?"
The horse-faced man said, rubbing his hands together in a sycophantic gesture.
'You bastards, what do you care if I'm plain?' The words were at the tip of my tongue, but I bit them back. I was the captive here. As long as they held the power of life and death, provoking them was suicide.
'So these are the "superiors" Minami mentioned...'
I had expected as much when she talked about turning people into art, but seeing them in person confirmed it: they were insane. I could feel their eyes on meโthe same predatory gaze that made the old scar on my arm throb. I didn't know why it happened, but my subconscious was recognizing the difference in their stares and sending me a warning.
But their bloodlust was... thin.
They were looking at me, and they intended to harm me, but eating wasn't the goal. This wasn't about survival.
It was a game. A senseless thrill-kill disguised as a noble mission. Three pairs of eyes were staring at me, debating how to dismantle and reassemble me to achieve a 'greater beauty.' In a way, they were far worse than any ordinary ghoul.
"Well, we can take our time thinking about it. By the way, is the Section Chief asleep? I thought he and Minami were coming here together."
The old man, evidently the General Manager, looked up at the ceiling. As if on cue, Minami's voice rang out.
"๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐บ~ The star everyone's been waiting for, Minami, has arrived~โ"
Minami practically slid through the open door. In one hand, she held a thick stack of papers; in the other, a tray. On the tray were four mugs. The fragrant aroma of steaming coffee filled the room.
She hummed as she spun between the three ghouls, handing out the coffee she had apparently brewed herself. Then, with a loud ๐๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฅ, she set the tray on a table and slapped the papers down.
"Come on, come on~! Drink up while you listen~. This Minami has finished a truly breathtaking proposal~."
"What? You finished it in less than a day?"
"The second I saw our Koma-kun, it was like a bolt of lightning hit my heart! I had so much inspiration I couldn't sit still~. Oh, Senior Manager, would you like a bone-meal sugar cube with that?"
The oppressive atmosphere created by the three men was replaced by an even more chaotic energy with Minami's arrival. What is she? The designated 'mood maker' of the office? Not that the mood was anything good.
"You're far too impatient. Just wait. This time, I'm going to craft a proper plan, not a rush job like last time. We'll have a meeting then. First, let's get the basics on the subject. Hey, what's your name?"
The scrawny man, the Team Leader, walked over while sipping his coffee and kicked me lightly with the tip of his shoe. Between the kidnapping and this blatant disrespect, my anger was mounting.
But I couldn't fight them all.
Based on their titles, they were: Clerk, Team Leader, Senior Manager, General Manager, and Section Chief. In a typical hierarchy, the Section Chief would be the highest, but the creature on the ceiling was still asleep and incapable of speech. How could something that only said '๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฆ' be a Section Chief? What were the criteria for their promotions?
Regardless, the Section Chief was out of the question. I looked at the General Managerโthe old man.
"Look, I'm sorry to bother you, but can't you just let me go home? Like you said, I'm a very plain guy. Turning someone like me into 'art' would be an insult to the medium, don't you think?"
"Mmm, I tend to agree on that point, but one of our mottos is 'Recycle even trash into art.' Besides, we can't just let someone go who knows about us."
"I'm sure you hear this a lot, but I won't say a word. I'm not just saying that. If you need me toโ๐๐จ๐ฉ!!"
A scream tore from my throat. Scalding heat flooded over my crown and dripped down to my chin. It was so hot it felt like my scalp was being peeled away. The liquid reached my lips. I licked it; it was bitter. Coffee.
"Don't you know your place, you piece of trash? You're here as 'material.' Raw materials don't have the right to speak."
It was the Team Leader. He had poured his freshly brewed, boiling coffee over my head. His eyes told me everything: How dare a thing like you ignore my words?
"Team Leader~ you shouldn't damage our precious material, you know?"
"Hmph. Mind your business. As long as the skeleton is intact, it's fine. What's the matter? Are you defending him because he's human?"
"That's not it~ and besides, I told you to treat me like a ghoul~."
Minami's dazed voice blended with the Team Leader's.
Material... I had thought the lowest rung for a human was slavery, but apparently, there was a basement beneath that.
I lowered my head and spoke again.
"...At least let me make one phone call."
๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ด๐ฉ!!
The empty mug was slammed against my head, shattering. The Team Leader again.
"I told you to stop flapping your gums!"
"I'm begging you. I have to contact my daughter right now..."
"Why, you littleโ!"
๐๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฅ!!!
My head snapped to the side. He must have held back, but for a human, it was enough to send my consciousness spiraling away. Even as the world turned dark, I ground my teeth.
I had to get word to Eto. She would have realized what happened by now. The most dangerous thing wasn't resisting these freaks. It was leaving that child alone.
'If I stay here... there's no telling how that child will run wild, you idiots...!!'
I wanted to say it, but my mouth only moved soundlessly. Then, my consciousness cut out completely.