Chapter 170: Kurokawa Iori’s Gift
Kazumi watched with regret as Kurokawa Iori retracted his tentacles and walked into a fleshy wall in the distance. A hint of disappointment flickered in her heart.
After all, an entity this substantial was a rare find. Its coolness and presence were far superior to Little Black’s, and it was a pity not to be able to study it further.
“Perhaps… keep it as a collectible?”
Suppressing the fleeting mad thought, the young girl’s rarely fluctuating mood gradually calmed as Kurokawa Iori disappeared. Her cold expression returned to her face, and she began to recall the information Kurokawa Iori had given her before leaving.
Although the new toy in front of her felt quite good, Kazumi knew how to prioritize. Personal interests were merely a reward after completing the main event.
“He agreed to our demands, and the terms offered to that blonde punk – so the conditions are different for everyone based on their needs?”
A smile with an unknown meaning spread across Kazumi’s face as she recalled the promise of power described in the letter filled with depravity.
This really fit the style of an evil villain organization. They exploit human weaknesses to drag people down, then use drugs that stimulate abilities to grant them immense power. These unfortunate individuals, caught in their grasp, are forced to become their weapons.
And when they truly become powerful enough to break free from the organization, what right would their blood-stained hands and numb hearts have to return to the world filled with light?
However, it seemed that everything was not as simple as it appeared. Although there were seven people in this space, the method of consolidating their abilities, selecting a leader, and then reporting to their superiors suddenly seemed too upright.
Furthermore, the thirty minutes given for the task seemed a bit too long. It felt like time specifically reserved by Master [Shell] for certain matters.
“You rookies have a fixed quota for resources.” “Lastly, don’t die.”
The dry, hoarse voice seemed to still echo in the girl’s ears. With just a single directional thought, Kazumi instantly grasped the true meaning hidden beneath the other party’s peculiar tone. Her previously pleasant smile inevitably carried a touch of cruelty. She turned her head and looked at the few people who had just climbed up from the ground not far away.
“Interesting.”
…
In a room constructed from disgusting fleshy substance, a monster with only a mouth stood stiffly in front of a semicircular device filled with pale yellow liquid, staring blankly.
Looking at his reflection in the glass protector, Kurokawa Iori extended an arm and pushed the tentacles emerging from the dark membrane into it, trying his best to maintain his current form, which at least looked human.
But it was to no avail. It was as if the membrane of his human form was so full that it couldn’t accommodate even a single thing. As soon as he pushed some tentacles in, accompanied by a tearing sound, more tentacles and severed limbs were squeezed out from another side.
“…”
Looking at his incredibly ugly self projected in the pale yellow liquid, Kurokawa Iori realized that he hadn’t cared so much about his appearance for a very long time.
He reached out and closed the open wardrobe beside him, letting out a faint sigh. These clothes from many years ago, he probably couldn’t wear them now.
Resignedly, he put away the dated wardrobe surrounded by fleshy walls. Kurokawa Iori turned around, slowly raised his right hand, and reached into the terrifying mouth filled with sharp teeth, giving it a strong pull.
The grotesque monster’s skin rippled unnaturally. As the strange, eerie skin inverted, the horrifying monster disappeared. In front of the mirror stood a young boy in a school uniform with a gentle demeanor and kind eyes.
“This… should still be me, right?”
He patted his cheeks with his hand, carefully observing the handsome young boy in the mirror. Kurokawa Iori, having possessed countless different appearances, had never placed much importance on his outward look.
However, in front of the girl who had spoken to him so enthusiastically, Kurokawa Iori’s heart had also warmed up after a long time. Rarely, he did not want to present that deceitful and lies-filled appearance to her.
Even though the girl seemed to have an incredibly high tolerance for that terrifying appearance that made him himself tremble with fear, Kurokawa Iori still did not want to reveal that ugly side to her.
At this moment, the persona he had painstakingly cultivated since childhood for the ritualistic sense of his name seemed to be of some use again. In a sense, it was still him.
Perhaps.
Adjusting his uniform tie, the gentle and amiable boy in the mirror flashed a warm smile. His golden-rimmed glasses added a touch of rational brilliance to his handsome face, and his worries completely vanished with this satisfactory and outstanding appearance.
“Twenty minutes… it should be ending soon.”
After tidying up everything on his person, Kurokawa Iori had the time to check his watch. Calculating the time, he couldn’t help but mutter to himself.
Just as Kazumi thought, Kurokawa Iori gave these rookies so much time and hints not just to understand their abilities, but the assessment had already begun the moment they chose to enter this factory.
The resources given to new recruits have a fixed quota. The meaning behind this sentence is that the fewer people there are, the more resources can be obtained from the organization.
Although this assessment often leads to a reduction in the number of people joining the organization each year, this simple and brutal selection method is indeed quite effective, weeding out a large portion of unsuitable candidates.
“Yamada Reito, Yuriko Mikiko, and that kid Takada Takeshi with the good eyes…”
Muttering the names of a few people, Kurokawa Iori, with his rich experience, began to plan the subsequent personnel assignments.
The blonde punk Yamada Reito had a sinister personality, and combined with his abilities and street fighting skills, he would likely survive. As for the other girl, Yuriko Mikiko, Kurokawa Iori had already sensed the faint poison mist emanating from her skin when they were in the space before. Abilities like poison would basically have no countermeasures against these newly awakened fledgling powers.
And Takada Takeshi, the skinny elementary school student who had been hiding in the corner, possessed a familiar fierce gaze. Combined with the faint black aura emanating from his body, it made Kurokawa Iori think of another monster within the organization.
As for Kazumi Shimizu?
Kurokawa Iori had completely overlooked her. Although the girl’s strange behavior had led him to pay a little more attention to her, it did not mean that Kurokawa Iori would abandon his principles as an executive of the organization due to personal preference.
At most, he would give her a small reminder?
However, Kurokawa Iori firmly believed that this girl, who could calmly face his darkness, would not fail in such a simple test.
Otherwise, what right would such a person have to become his subordinate?
“Bang, bang, bang—”
Heavy knocking came from outside the wooden door enveloped in flesh. Looking at the firmly closed door, Kurokawa Iori felt an inexplicable irritation.
He recalled the girl’s enthusiastic eyes, and even felt a trace of fear at opening this door. If things were indeed as he thought…
“Come in.”
A bland, rational voice came from the boy’s mouth, but Kurokawa Iori’s expression at this moment was terrifyingly fierce. If the girl had indeed failed this test.
Then, he would kill them all.
He would consider it solace for his rare emotional fluctuation this time.
The wooden door, assimilated by flesh and blood, slowly opened. The skinny figure that walked in completely relieved the tension in Kurokawa Iori’s heart. However, the questions in his heart then slowly arose.
After all, in his opinion, the temporary leader chosen based on abilities would only be selected from the blonde punk Yamada Reito and the street vendor Yuriko Mikiko. Takada Takeshi and Kazumi Shimizu, due to their age and experience, were unlikely to become leaders among them.
“Is it because her ability is indeed too powerful, or did something unexpected happen on the other side?”
At this moment, the girl naturally couldn’t hear Kurokawa Iori’s doubts. She pushed the door open and entered the small room filled with flesh and blood, looking into the room with hopeful eyes, only to see a somewhat familiar college student.
A flicker of disappointment flashed in her eyes, but Kazumi did not show it. After all, Master [Shell] had proven his ability to change his appearance long ago. She respectfully walked to the young man’s side, and as her wrist ability appeared, a coffin radiating a deathly aura materialized from another dimension in the room.
“Kazumi Shimizu, ability is [Black Coffin], capable of controlling the aura of death.”
Her cool voice echoed in the room. Looking at the giant coffin entwined with a dense aura before him, Kurokawa Iori nodded with satisfaction. If she could reach this level upon awakening, he was very optimistic about this girl’s future development.
“…”
But to Kurokawa Iori’s surprise, after introducing herself, the girl stopped speaking, as if she had said everything.
He looked at the cold-faced girl before him with some confusion. Even Kurokawa Iori couldn’t help but ask.
“Where are the others?”
Kurokawa Iori’s question broke the strange silence in the room. Kazumi had initially thought this was some new test. She was silently recovering her state, waiting for potential danger, only to be met with this question.
She looked up at the gentle and warm young man before her, wiped the bloodstains from her face, and as if recalling something happy, a smile appeared on her originally cold face.
“They’re dead.”
(Ps: Pushing hard in November, three chapters of 6k words stuffed today, brothers, let’s get those monthly votes rolling!!)
