Chapter 40: A Deadly Interest in Sakolomé

More than ten months of uninterrupted violence had worn Grafay down, but an unexpected event stunned the Chūingamu Grand Masters: a sudden regeneration. They watched, incredulous, as Grafay lay on the ground, seeming to take a simple nap. Soon, a strange smoke began to dance around him, captivating Grand Master Faitā's attention.

"Everyone, fall back!" Faitā ordered, sensing imminent danger.

As they retreated, the smoke completely engulfed Grafay.

"What exactly is the cause of all this?" inquired a Chūingamu master, a hint of worry in his voice.

Grafay had become a source of apprehension, even distrust. Then, the smoke dissipated, revealing a transformed Grafay, possessing the body of a teenager.

"How...?" Grand Master Faitā murmured, astonished. "In all my Chūingamu memories, I've never seen anything like this. What's happening with Grafay?"

Grafay opened his eyes, sat up, and scanned his surroundings with a surprisingly nonchalant gaze.

"Grafay, are you okay?" Grand Master Faitā asked, his tone hesitant.

Grafay turned his head towards him, a smirk on his face. "Whoa, am I not dead yet?"

He examined his body, visibly surprised. His clothes hung loosely around him, too big. He had regressed in age and bore no trace of injury.

"What happened?" Grafay questioned, lost.

Grand Master Faitā replied, "What happened is precisely what we're trying to figure out!"

Grafay stared at him, suspicious. "What did you guys do to me, you bunch of sorcerers? Wait a second..."

He clenched his right fist, feeling a strange power. "Where did all this strength come from?" Grafay wondered, awestruck. It was as if he had been reborn.

A Chūingamu master exclaimed, "Grafay, what have you done?"

"What are you talking about, you crazy fool? I don't know anything!" Grafay retorted, clenching both fists. "But one thing's for sure, I feel incredibly good. I feel like I could beat all of you!"

Grand Master Faitā chuckled. "After a nap, you already conclude something like that?"

Grafay got into a fighting stance. "Enough talk! Let's fight!"

He attacked the Chūingamu masters, but they easily dodged his clumsy blow. In response, they unleashed a barrage of violent attacks that sent Grafay crashing to the ground. Yet, to everyone's surprise, Grafay stood up without a scratch.

"Haha... could it be a coincidence?" Grafay taunted. "Your attacks, although powerful and violent, have no effect on me. Have you gone soft, or what?"

Stung, the Chūingamu masters charged again, raining thousands of blows upon Grafay. Immobile, Grafay endured all the attacks, from the first to the last, without flinching.

The Chūingamu masters stepped back, hoping to observe the damage inflicted, but their surprise was immense: Grafay was still intact, without a single scratch.

"Hahahaha! It seems that your attacks are now too weak for me!" Grafay rejoiced. "My research after so many years has finally paid off, it seems!"

Grand Master Faitā, suddenly intrigued, asked, "What are you talking about, Grafay?"

"I spent part of my miserable life searching for a way to surpass the Megasameta!" Grafay explained, with a glint of madness in his eyes. "You, poor fool, told me it was impossible! And yet, look at me now! It's not a dream, it's very real. I now have immunity to attacks that even touch my mind!"

The Chūingamu masters and Grand Master Faitā were dumbfounded.

"You're talking nonsense!" a Chūingamu master protested. "It is impossible to surpass the Megasameta. Even after thousands of years, such a state does not exist!"

Grafay burst out laughing. "You're the one talking nonsense! You can see that I am living proof that it is possible to surpass the Megasameta. But don't worry, it's not your fault. This isn't the first time you've made a miscalculation, you did the same with the Tsuki, that people who eradicate other peoples through interbreeding. We can't be hospitable to everyone, that's a fact. But the idiot Faitā that you are didn't see it that way, did you?"

"Watch your words, you little brat!" a Chūingamu master exclaimed. "I remind you that you are speaking to Grand Master Faitā!"

Grafay scoffed. "Pfff, don't bore me with that kind of nonsense. I am currently the most powerful of all the Chūingamu, and he knows it very well, if he has an ounce of wisdom left!"

"You little shit, you're going to swallow your words!"

One of the Chūingamu masters lunged at Grafay to attack him, but Grafay disappeared and reappeared above him.

"How...?" the master stammered, bewildered.

"I told you!" Grafay exclaimed. "Now, take this!"

Grafay struck the Chūingamu master in the back with a devastating punch. The master collapsed to the ground, screaming in pain. The other masters and Grand Master Faitā were taken aback.

Grafay landed on his victim and beat him mercilessly. His strikes were of unimaginable violence, distorting space and reaching a level beyond the mind, a level against which the Chūingamu masters and Grand Master Faitā were powerless.

Grafay left the Chūingamu master lying on the ground, dead.

"It seems you are too weak to withstand my attacks!" Grafay declared, with a cruel smile.

Then, he rushed at the other Chūingamu masters and Grand Master Faitā. He had surpassed the Megasameta, reaching a level unknown to all the Chūingamu. Grafay had become the sole possessor of this power and was defeating any Chūingamu with disconcerting ease.

After massacring the Chūingamu masters and Grand Master Faitā, he sowed death and desolation in the Chūingamu region, killing as many Tsuki as Chūingamu, leaving behind a landscape of chaos and desolation.

---

Back to reality.

Sakolomé had been languishing for over a month in the desert prison of Monor City. His hopes were dwindling, despite his last conversation with the policeman Édouard.

He was taking his recreation time with Yuki Chimatsuri, his new friend he met in prison. They were discussing their youthful delusions.

"Hey, Sakolomé, have you ever had a girlfriend?" Yuki asked, curious.

"No, not really. But there's a girl I really liked... she disappeared!" Sakolomé replied, looking sad.

"Disappeared?" Yuki was surprised. "What was her name? And how did she disappear?"

Sakolomé sighed. "Meh... it's a long story. Her name was Melinda. And you, Yuki, have you ever had a girlfriend?"

"No, not really. Actually, I'm not interested, for now!"

Sakolomé was surprised by this answer. Yuki must have more important goals in mind.

Grafay joined them, a mocking smile on his face. "Hey, virgins! What are you talking about?"

Sakolomé shrugged. "Oh, nothing really relevant."

"We were talking about girlfriends!" Yuki blurted out innocently.

Grafay watched them for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Hahahaha! You two are really virgins!"

"Yeah, right..." Sakolomé retorted. "And you, Grafay... Damn, what a question! If you're calling us virgins, that means you've already had a girlfriend!"

"No, never!" Grafay asserted. "I've never been interested in a girl or a woman. I've never wanted to put one on a pedestal because I don't think they deserve it!"

Yuki and Sakolomé were stunned.

"Why are you saying things like that?" Yuki asked, incredulous.

"I've lived long enough, but I've never found a good girl," Grafay explained. "The reality is, even if a girl does something good, she hurts others."

Sakolomé frowned. Grafay noticed his expression.

"Why are you making that face, my little Sakolomé?" Grafay asked, a provocative smile on his face.

"You're calling us virgins when you've never had a girlfriend! You just shot yourself in the foot!" Sakolomé pointed out.

Grafay started laughing again. "Haha, my little Sakolomé! Not having a girlfriend or having one doesn't stop you from being a virgin or not. I've had sexual affairs with lots of girls, but I've never loved a single one!"

Sakolomé made a face of disgust. "Ew! Actually, you're an asshole!"

"And yes, my little one, a pure and hard one!" Grafay replied, with a hint of pride. "However, I've never tasted a Killer Man girl. You don't happen to have a sister, by any chance, so I can complete my list?"

"Huh...? Spare us that, Grafay, please!" Sakolomé pleaded.

"Hahahaha!"

Grafay might have the body of a teenager, but he was very old, which didn't stop him from having fun with Yuki and Sakolomé.

"Hey, Sakolomé, I've heard that the Satsujin Otoko are very good at fighting. I'd like to check that out!" Grafay said, with a strange look.

Sakolomé was surprised. "Huh?!"

"No, I refuse!" Yuki interjected. "Between friends, we shouldn't fight. We should stick together against those who want to bust our balls!"

"You, Yuki, I didn't ask you anything!" Grafay retorted, annoyed.

"I agree with Yuki," Sakolomé said. "If you just want us to test each other, without really hurting each other, I'm up for a fight!"

"No, Sakolomé, I want a real fight to the death!" Grafay insisted, with a sinister smile.

"That's what's disturbing about you, Grafay," Yuki said. "A fight to the death, you're going too far!"

"If he's strong, he just has to survive, that's all!" Grafay replied, indifferent.

"I refuse!" Sakolomé stated flatly.

Grafay smiled. "As if I needed your permission, Sakolomé!!!"

Suddenly, Grafay kicked Sakolomé violently in the stomach. Sakolomé was thrown against a wall.

Yuki intervened, standing in front of Grafay. "Grafay, you're really crazy! What's wrong with you?!"

Sakolomé, however, felt something strange, a pain he had never known before.

"Hhyaaaaa!!!" Sakolomé screamed, writhing in pain.

Saliva drooled from his mouth. The pain was unbearable.

"Well, Sakolomé?" Grafay taunted. "Could this legend about the Killer Men be false?!"

Grafay tried to attack Sakolomé again, but Yuki held him back.

"Grafay, seriously, stop it!" Yuki pleaded.

"Let me go, Yuki! I have my new prey, and it's Sakolomé. I want to face him in a fight to the death, that's all!"

Alerted by the noise, the prison guards rushed to the scene and subdued Grafay and Yuki. They handcuffed and chained them, then took Sakolomé to the prison infirmary.

"We have to hurry! The kid's in danger of dying!" they exclaimed, horrified by the scene. Sakolomé was writhing in pain, drooling like a wild beast.

Yuki was sent back to his cell, while Grafay, chained, was led to the hole, a dark, cold, and cramped place, where he would be locked up for a week.

What revelations await Sakolomé and his unfortunate companions? The future looks bleak and uncertain.