All living things possess a color of their own. And universally, the more vivid that color is, the more dangerous the creature.
Mushrooms, toads, snakesโthey are the archetypes. The more brilliant their hue, the more potent the venom they harbor. This conspicuous, flamboyant display is a "warning." A declaration that to consume them is to embrace death. These creatures, lacking sharp talons to rend flesh or powerful jaws to crush bone, ensure their survival by teaching predators to fear their presence.
This trait is mirrored among humansโspecifically, within the ranks of the Ghoul Investigators.
They are always seen in those white coats. Compared to the toxic vibrancy of nature, the color is dull, yet those coats serve as the same grim warning. Though we ghouls mock them as "Doves," they are a definitive threat. Kill one, and they descend in a swarm to exterminate every last one of us. The coat that symbolizes an investigator carries a silent ultimatum: "Touch us, and you die." Should an investigator fall, a relentless machine grinds into motion to hunt the killer down; the resulting retaliation is a lethal blow, as agonizing as ingesting a poisoned meal.
I learned this through experience. Back when I was intoxicated by my own strength, I ran wild, oblivious to the world. It wasn't until I was on the verge of death, cornered by a subjugation squad formed specifically to "erase" me, that I finally recognized the true danger of the Ghoul Investigators. Since barely escaping with my life, I no longer prey on those with "strong colors."
But this rule does not apply only to investigators.
Observing human society, one finds similar categories. A human with a "bright, deep color" radiates a powerful presence, standing out even in a crowd of a hundred. Conversely, those with "dark, faint colors" drift through the world like ghosts; if they were to vanish tomorrow, few would notice and fewer would care. When one seeks to live a quiet, undisturbed life, there is no better livestock than these. Just as one avoids the brilliant mushroom in favor of the plain one, I have spent my days hunting humans whose colors were pale and thin.
And yet... how did it come to this?
๐๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ค๐ฉ!!!
"๐๐ข๐ฉ...!!!"
A scream tried to escape my throat, but it was stifled. A hideous blade had burrowed deep into my neck, severing the windpipe and blocking the passage of air.
"๐๐ถ... ๐ข๐ข๐จ๐ฉ!!"
With a desperate surge of strength, I swung my arm, knocking away the edge that was a hair's breadth from decapitating me. The blade flew back. An opening appeared. I wouldn't miss this chance. I swung my other arm at the bastard with everything I had.
๐๐ธ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ...!
But the only response was the pathetic, hollow sound of air being sliced. Only then did I realize that my extended arm was significantly shorter than it should have been.
๐๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฅ!
An object hit the ground a short distance away. It was a familiar shape. The absurdity of it hit meโthe limb that was supposed to be attached to my shoulder was suddenly lying over there. Had that blade I thought I'd parried actually moved to sever my other arm instead?
๐๐ธ๐ช๐ฑโ!!!
"๐๐ช-๐๐ช๐ช๐ฆ๐ฌ!!!"
I never knew the sound of a brief wind could be so terrifying. Reflexively, I raised my one remaining arm into a defensive posture.
๐๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ฉ!!
The razor-sharp edge passed through. My reaction shouldn't have been slowโI was sure of itโand yet, I couldn't stop the line of death from being etched across my face. By the time my arm was up to block, the blade had already moved on. The blood spraying in a straight line across my eyes was the only proof I needed.
"๐๐ถ-๐ถ๐ข๐ข๐ข๐ข๐ข๐ข๐จ๐ฉ!!!!"
With my vision stolen, my terror doubled. I forgot all semblance of pride and began to roll pathetically across the ground. Screaming, I scrambled away, pushing off the dirt with my remaining limbs.
This can't be happening. This shouldn't be possible. This was supposed to be a hunt like any other. So why? Why am I feeling such primal dread toward this prey?
'What the hell am I even fighting?!'
He was clearly just a mundane student on his way home from school. Someone quiet, taciturn, utterly devoid of individuality... a "faint-colored" boy. I began the hunt the moment he stepped into that deserted alley.
And now, this. Without even comprehending what was being done to me, I was reduced to a miserable wretch crawling through the dirt.
๐๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฅ!
I hit something. A wall? Where am I? Which way do I run to live?
๐๐ต๐ฆ๐ฑ. ๐๐ต๐ฆ๐ฑ.
In a world dyed in darkness, those light footsteps echoed with a dry, rhythmic cruelty. Unable to tell which way to turn, I pressed my back against the wall and shrieked.
"๐-๐๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฆ!! ๐๐ต๐ข๐บ ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐บ!!"
๐๐ต๐ฆ๐ฑ. ๐๐ต๐ฆ๐ฑ. ๐๐ต๐ฆ๐ฑ.
The sound didn't stop. Like a machine executing a fixed program, he simply walked straight toward me.
"๐๐ณ๐ข๐ข๐ข๐ข๐ข๐จ๐ฉ!!"
With a monstrous roar, I lunged toward the sound. I had lost my sight, but a ghoul's senses far surpass those of a human. I could pinpoint his location using my remaining four senses. He wouldn't have expected this. This was my final gambit. No matter what, he was still just a human. If I could land just one hit, I would win! I thrust my fingers out, sharpened like spears.
๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ค๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ!!
I was pierced. Not the terrifying figure I sought to strike, but me. A cold blade had driven itself precisely through my heart.
"๐๐จ๐ฉ... ๐ข๐ฉ...."
That single thrust was only the beginning. In the next heartbeatโmy shoulders, my legs, my very neckโmy body was dismantled in an instant, like a plastic model being stripped of its parts, scattering across the floor.
As my severed head rolled along the ground, vision miraculously flickered back into one of my eyes. It seemed that part of the wound was shallow enough to heal quickly, though it was a meaningless mercy now that my head was no longer attached to my body. Even so, with that lone eye, I captured the image of the one who had slaughtered me.
It was that boy, after all.
An expressionless face. A mouth set in a silent, stoic line. In one hand, he gripped a sword-type Quinqueโthe instrument of my butcheryโand with the other, he was calmly adjusting his crooked glasses.
What was even more farcical was that, despite my body being hacked into a gory mess that sprayed blood in every direction, not a single drop of red stained the boy's white school uniform.
'๐๐ฐ... ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ...'
In my final moment, I couldn't help but be consumed by a shivering realization.
This boy wasn't "faint-colored."
He was colorless.
A lethal poisonโcompletely colorless, odorless, and tasteless. From the very moment I brushed against it, my life had already ended.
What in the world was he? This monster wearing the skin of a human?
As death claimed me, I knew it was a question I would never have the chance to answer.