[Ch. 14] An Invisible Feral Cat

Instead of pondering why he chose not to kill Ryu, Panzram knew he had to first escape the prison. He could always think about it later, but for now, he had to leave. He was tired of being in a prison. Even if he had to kill and run for his life on the outside, he'd much prefer that kind of life to one of being controlled.

Panzram prepared to fight more guards but was surprised to see that none came towards him as he rushed out of the building. He was confused, but he didn't dare stop to find out why. He went up to the guards protecting the gate and halted in his steps.

Their eyes went past him as if they couldn't see him. Even the dogs by their side didn't even turn their nose up at him. Panzram raised an eyebrow as he passed them casually and walked through the gate without being stopped.

He walked down the road toward the town in confusion. No one tried to stop him, and no one even noticed him. When he was far away, he allowed himself to stop walking and stood nearby a running river. Seeing his reflection in the river, he was even more confused.

What was going on?

A small child ran around while playing with a fan. Panzram was sure the child would hit him, but at the last minute, the child jumped around him as if he thought Panzram was a statue. The child couldn't see Panzram, and yet he somehow knew to avoid him. Panzram squatted down at the water and felt something slip out of his pocket.

He looked down to see a charm with elaborate writing on it.

...Or what looked like writing.

Panzram didn't know how to read so he could only guess as to what it was. A shrill scream came from behind him. Panzram turned to see the child who had ran around him earlier, now staring at him with a pale face and wide eyes.

"A ghost! A ghost! Mama!" The child ran off crying for his mother.

Panzram knew instantly that his invisibility must have been tied to this small charm. He picked it back up and sniffed it. He scowled from the recognizable smell.

It smelled sweet and intoxicating... Exactly like the flamboyant man.

Panzram looked at it carefully. Did this man really slide this charm into his pocket while he was being choked to death? Did he really care more about helping him than he did about his own life? Surely there was something wrong with that man.

And Panzram needed to figure out what it was.

He heard someone walking over and slid the charm back into his pocket. He decided to see if it would turn him invisible once more. He hated using a byproduct of Tamashii energy, but for now he would use it.

He was proud, but not stupid.

A woman led by the child who had run away earlier, dragged her by her hand and spoke. "Mother! There was a ghost by the river!"

She looked around, "I don't see any ghost. Are you sure you didn't lie to me?"

"Honest! I saw a ghost!"

She rolled her eyes. She couldn't see Panzram right in front of her. Yet, her body seemed to recognize he was there without her even noticing. She pulled away, "I'm going back now. Stop causing trouble."

The child frowned, "But I'm telling the truth! I saw a ghost! He appeared out of nowhere!"

She ignored him and left. The child rushed after her while still trying to get her to believe him. Panzram watched the two and realized that this charm really had kept him invisible. But even though he was invisible, there seemed to be some level of awareness those people felt.

Truly, this charm was a terrifying creation. It was considered extremely difficult to make such a thing function when the one who created it wasn't awake and wasn't using their Tamashii energy.

Having an object work with someone else who lacked Tamashii energy was almost unbelievable. Only a few people in the entire world could probably be capable of it.

Panzram decided he needed to find its creator and have a nice long talk.

...

Ryu's eyes blinked open to see Tama crouched over him. He opened his mouth, and a raspy indiscernible sound came out. His windpipes were most likely crushed. On his throat, clear handprints were shown in bruises.

Tama frowned, upset at the beauty's damaged skin. It was a travesty against mankind.

Ryu opened his mouth to speak again, but Tama stopped him. "Don't speak. Your throat is badly damaged. You're lucky you didn't die, but I'm afraid your voice may be permanently altered." Tama clicked his tongue in anger, "That Grim Reaper really went too far this time. If I get my hands on him…"

Ryu already knew the extent of his wounds, but they didn't worry him at all. In fact, his body was currently healing as they spoke. Ryu felt as if his throat was splitting apart and then pulling itself back together, healing itself as if it had never been injured. Ryu had gotten so used to this kind of unbearable pain that he didn't even blink his eyes at it anymore.

Ryu stood up and brushed himself off. He spoke, no longer in a raspy tone, "You don't need to worry. I'm fine now."

Tama's eyes widened, "But your-your throat! It was practically crushed and turned purple!" Tama went to pull at his robes to properly look at his throat for the bruises but was surprised to see there was none. He turned to Ryu in confusion, "I swear you had bruises…"

Ryu shook his head, "I don't have any. Although I was knocked unconscious, my throat isn't damaged."

"Ah, I see." Tama nodded as if he understood something, "You must have used your chaos energy to trick Panzram... I should have known."

Ryu gave him a forced smile and said nothing. He didn't care enough to correct Tama, so he just let it be.

Ryu walked away and waved, "Well, since it's like this, I will be leaving. I don't intend to return either. This job is far too boring anyway."

"Huh?" Tama blinked in confusion as Ryu just hurriedly walked out of the building. When he realized his beauty was leaving him, he rushed out to stop him. However, he was already too late.

Ryu had disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.