Chapter 15

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Give me the stones.

Enjoy reading.

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I lazily rolled over onto my back, looking up at the night sky. Esdes, meanwhile, was snoozing under my cloak, after a very rough day's work. Yes, ice magic has its own zest... The same blood freezing during the first "round"... And then various ice rods... In general, it was quite fun.

By the way, another plus point of Ghoul's nature came to light. Namely, a very fast recovery of stamina. It takes just a couple of minutes, and it's as if I just started... Well, enough of indulging in lewd thoughts. I'd better think about how to get out of here. Although... in fact, in canon, GG and Esdes somehow got out? Then, for me, the problem would be uber-simple.

I think Esdes said something about the Imperial coast....

- "Mmm," I heard a girl moan. - I have to admit, it's even more enjoyable than pulling people's fingernails out.....

For some reason I had images of a huge big guy in a hockey mask pulling my toenails out of my legs. Ahem... That feels weird.....

- Nothing hurts? - I enquired, looking up at the full moon.

- Nope..." Esdes replied, wrapping herself around my right arm. - By the way, can you tell me how you can hold 3 teigu at once?

- 3? I was surprised.

- The eye, those blades from my back and the fire... - Esdes whispered in my ear, pressing her chest against my back. Even though I couldn't see her face, I bet she was blushing.

- To begin with, the blades and the eye are not teigu. They're the kagune and kakugan I was born with. And I'm not a human, I'm a Ghoul. In fact, the guy on the roof where you discovered me was also a Ghoul. Except that because of our powers, we can't eat regular food, and we have a slightly different mindset and outlook than humans. We must eat human meat, coffee, or alcohol. Any other edible, will taste horribly disgusting, and weaken the body if ingested. As for my past... well, I'll tell you about it. My mother died in childbirth, at the time, she was poisoned with some kind of poison, which probably played a part.... My father tried to raise me to be kind and merciful, but in the second week of my life I managed to kill and eat a messenger who came to our house. Then my father realised what had happened to me, and began to feed me with the meat of those who were dying in our village. He even became a gravedigger, who did all the work for us. He had to bring the body alone to the cemetery, dig the grave, and bury the deceased. However, he would carry the bodies to our basement, after which he would feed them to me. Further, he allowed me to go outside when I was 5 years old. All my life before that, he taught me to be kind and not to kill people in any way. However... everyone eventually found out about my peculiarities after a month. I started getting beaten up by boys, and girls hid when I approached. And ordinary people started treating my father worse and worse. And when I was nine, I snapped. That night, my father sent me to the nearest lake to fetch water... and when I came back... the house was on fire. There was a crowd with torches... One of the kids who was beating me up spotted me and shouted to the crowd, "Here comes the monster from hell!". And then he came at me with a rock. Seconds later his body was torn apart by my kagune, which progressed, and I instantly learnt how to summon four tentacles already, changing their shape as I wanted. Then I said something like "you want a monster? Then you got it."... And I started a massacre in which I killed about two dozen people. There were about a hundred in the village at the time. And... then... I settled in the house of the very kid I killed first, and subsequently his entire family. The only thing that didn't burn down in my house was the artefact mask. It changed the colour of my hair to black when I put it on.

I looked around, noticing Esdes' interested gaze as I did so. Catching the jacket with my eyes, I pulled it to me, pulling out the mask itself.

- And then... for seven years, every month, every night, I would go out hunting with that mask on. I'd kill a man, then drag his body to my basement, where I'd feed on it for the rest of the month. When I was 16, I suddenly felt a fire in my chest. It was calling me. Calling me to the headman's building, where the teigu of the village was located, allowing me to control the power of fire. By then, my kagune had developed to an incredible level, becoming a near perfect weapon, and I had become a literal monster. I even had a couple of mercenaries from the village come to me... Which were also sent to the basement. The headman was torn apart, and the teigu was taken by me. It accepted me, and I began to... unfreeze. After killing the headman, and gaining the power of fire I began to realise the importance of human life, and left the village. Coming to another, I met a former army general who had retired. He took me in like a son, taught me sword skills... then another one of my peculiarities became apparent, I memorised the technique of a strike perfectly, literally after a couple of executions, which made me an excellent swordsman within a year. And my second father, even after he learnt the truth about me, continued to care. And he died six months ago. I left the village, and wandered the country, killing monsters for the bounty of various villages. And then... decided to visit the Capital - I finished.

- And what happened next? - Esdes asked, twirling my mask in her hands.

- Well... I met a member of the Night Raid. She and I had a drink, chatted, and then we parted ways. And then, I had to spend the night with one of the noblewomen... Except that the next night, she was attacked by the Night Raid. It turned out that the noblewoman and her family were luring and torturing travellers. And then my drinking partner suggested I join them. That's how I ended up in the Night Raid.

- I see. Then I'll tell my story. Shouldn't a lover have any secrets from each other? - Esdes said.

- Yes... - I nodded sluggishly... Still, how inexperienced Esdes is romantically....

- I was born on the border of the Northlands. Spent most of my childhood with my clan, learning from the clan leader, my father, everything I needed to survive. Yes...I was an excellent fighter at a very young age. Every time I brought prey to my clan, my father would start gutting it without killing it. One day I returned from a hunt, and found the tribe's camp destroyed, where everyone was dead or dying. Father was still alive, but badly hurt, and made me promise him to be strong. Later, I joined the Imperial Army, where the Minister gave me the Demon God Manifestation: the Demon Extract. Next, I fought alongside Najenda against the opponents of the empire until she betrayed it. Some time after that, I was tasked to go to the north to subdue the northern tribes. My troops won faster than anyone expected. And then, I was ordered to return to the Capital because of the Night Raid and a strange beast called: "Tokyo Kuroken".

- Both fates are cruel in their own way," I said.

- Yes... We were made for each other! - Esdes exclaimed enthusiastically.

- Listen... Esdes... - I started, remembering the recruitment of my group. - would you agree to leave the Imperial Army? Not join the Night Raid, just leave the army?

- Why? - I heard you say.

- I'm going to leave the Night Raid, because after the war is over, they'll try to waste us anyway. And I don't like that future. But I have no business being in the Imperial Army either. But to create a third party... A couple of my friends from the Night Raid, I already have for the future composition... From the Imperial Army... no one but you. So? - I turned towards Esdes.

For her, this option should be perfect. After all, she is always looking for strong opponents, and my proposal, means a war with both the revolutionaries and the Empire. By the way, she looks very sexy in my cloak on her naked body....

- I agree. - Esdes nodded. - If that guy is really going to tell the Minister about our relationship with you, then I have the same enmity with the Empire as with the revolutionary... But at least we will always be together! - smiled, hugging me.

Phew... what about it...

- It's just..." I heard Esdes' surprised voice.

And when I opened my eyes, the girl and I were once again drowned in the light of the teleportation seal....

***

- Kill them!!! - was the first thing I heard.

When I opened my eyes, I found a very tight circle of soldiers surrounding me and Esdes. Shit... and she's still wearing the same cloak.....

The soldiers' spears darted towards us, but they were met by a wall of ice around us. A second later, I created a wave of Hellfire behind the wall, which instantly incinerated the soldiers.

- I think we're in the wrong place at the wrong time. - I grinned cheerfully, releasing the kagune.

The ice shattered, and instantly lightning struck us. I covered myself with my kagune, which, thank the Darkness, doesn't conduct electricity, and deflected the attack.

- Budo..." Esdes grinned.

- Traitor Esdes, the Prime Minister has given orders to deliver to him dead or alive. You will answer for your treachery! - thundered the armoured Schwarzenegger. Ahh, I remember... General Budo wielding electricity....

After a glimpse of my surroundings, I came to the conclusion that we were still on the same mountaintop from where we had been teleported to the island.

Next to Budo, a blonde woman was also standing next to me, looking at me with interest. Hmmm... must have some strong teigu too, since she was sent to eliminate us....

- How did you get so low? Falling in love with a monster? And I was wondering how the Tokyo kuroken was hiding from Esdes herself for so long? - Budo continued.

- Thanks for the praise! - I smirked, releasing all 8 tentacles, pointing them towards the remaining two. - I'm hungry, so I'll feed on you. But before I do, may I know this lady's name? - I fixed my gaze on the blonde.

- Nilla Fernandez. - said the girl with a smile.

- Kaneki Ken. - I nodded.

- He's all yours. I'll deal with Esdes. - Budo said, and the next moment he was rushing towards us.

I rushed towards the opponents, firing a battering ram at them, nodding at Esdes and pointing at Budo.

Launching my fire lance at the girl, I followed up with a lunge with my blades... as suddenly the air swirled around Nilla, creating a semblance of armour, and my lance... just blew away. The blades came close to the armour... and they were swept aside by the air currents from that very armour.

Damn... Controlling the air... That's bad. I send another lance, which I use a quarter of my reserve. She's not going to blow it away.

The blonde grinned... and then an air slash flew towards my spear, which fought with the fire for a couple of seconds, then dispelled it and hit me. Having closed myself with a kagune, I cushioned the blow, but I still rolled on the ground.

- Not bad..." I heard the blonde say. Damn... this is going to be a tough fight.

***

A rock cracked behind me. My spine doesn't seem to be damaged... With a quick glance at Esdes, I make sure that she's not doing too well either. Budo she's tightening up, but... not too fast.

- Very interesting... - Nilla said without stopping smiling. - It's a pity you're with Esdes... I would have hooked up with you... Although, everything is not eternal, so maybe after that bitch dies, you'll fall out of love with her, and we can be together? - she raised an eyebrow, sending another destructive stream of air at me.

I close the kagune before I can get out of the crater. And flying out of the opposite cliff wall. Damn, really strong. However, I have an idea... If I call off 7 of my tentacles, and make one of them super thin, then run it under my clothes, and get under the ground... I think RC cells will be enough to get to this blonde. And once her foot is pierced, run the tentacle down her leg, then finish her off.

- О? Have you decided to give up? Oh my God, that's wonderful!!! - The blonde exclaimed as she saw me removing the kagune.

- You know... You shouldn't have called Esdes a bitch. - I said with a grin.

And at that moment, the kagune came out of Nilla's left foot.

- AAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! - screamed the girl in pain.

Meanwhile, the blade went further down her leg, piercing everything in its path. Vagina, uterus, intestines, stomach, liver, heart. The screams instantly subsided, confirming the woman's death.

Seconds later, the blade scattered and I fell to my knees exhausted. RC cages are coming to an end... This wench has broken too many of my tentacles with her blows.

I need to eat her... and then I can help Esdes. As I struggled to open my eyes, I saw that Budo and Esdes were already in hand-to-hand combat... where Budo was winning. Though on the other hand, physical strength and perhaps martial arts did the trick. Esdes isn't very good at either... And her rapier is on the ground.

No, while I'm regaining my strength, Esdes could lose. So I'll have to work harder...

I grinned at my thoughts, forming a fire bomb with my last strength.

- Away!!!!!! - I yelled, releasing a blob of fire at my opponents.

Heh, Esdes reacted fast enough, which can't be said for Budo, who took a direct hit. And I used all my strength in the bomb, so that the man was literally incinerated. My strength began to leave me, and I couldn't stay on all fours, falling to the ground.

Damn... my reserve is at zero, and my RC cells are very close to the bottom. I won't last that long, I need to eat flesh right away.

- Kaneki..." I heard Esdes' voice.

- Over there..." I said, pointing my finger in the direction of the shelter. The guys would know exactly what to feed me. - There...

And after that phrase, I fell into darkness.

***

I opened my eyes wide. Above me was a scarlet sky, with pure black clouds. I looked up and saw a chair with a black-haired guy in a waiter's suit sitting on it.

Getting up, I walked over to him, looking around at the pure blackness below me. As I got closer, I realised the guy was sobbing. The white blindfold over his eyes was soaking wet, and his hands were bound behind him, apparently with handcuffs.

- Who are you? - I asked, in no hurry to free the prisoner.

- Part of you. - I heard my own voice behind me.

Turning around, I saw a black-haired guy, wearing a black cloak, and a similar coat, with a grey collar, and epaulettes. The pupil was bright scarlet, and the grey handle of a katana was visible on his belt.

- I don't remember myself as such. - I chuckled.

- Well... I'm the dead part of you, you might say. The part that died, but couldn't return to the original. - said the scarlet-eyed man.

- You're... a copy? - I wondered.

- And yes... and no. - "Part of me" shook her head. - If you had asked me that, a few weeks before I died, the answer would have been yes... but now... I'm a completely different person.

- And who's that? - I nodded at the sobbing guy.

- That's another part of you. The one you displaced. Simply put, the original Kaneki Ken. - explained my interlocutor.

- I don't think I understand what's going on anymore. - I shook my head and closed my eyes.

- You don't need to. The only important thing is that you managed to awaken part of your power, so when you wake up, I advise you to familiarise yourself with the new power. - said the black-haired man cheerfully. - I look forward to our next meeting. - I waved my hand.

- And what is your name? Waldemar? - I grinned, feeling myself being dragged out of here.

- Nope..." the black haired man smirked. - The next time we meet, call me Yuichiro Hakua.

And the very next moment, I woke up.