Chapter 234 – Shadow
In the vast but chaotic fleshy space, disgusting flesh chunks and fragmented corpses, seemingly of large crawling creatures, were scattered everywhere. The already dark walls were as if stained with a layer of bright purple, with dark flesh being corroded by pale purple venom, creating numerous large cavities.
In the very center of the room, the flesh walls that were originally pressing towards the center slowly wriggled back to their original positions. Beneath those layers of chaotic folds, a man with disheveled dark green hair, seemingly in a sorry state all over, was revealed.
The yellow in Masashi Sakuraba’s left pupil gradually faded, and the ferocity and desire in his eyes diminished bit by bit, returning to their usual deep purple. He shook his head, seemingly helpless, and reached for the jacket he had taken off earlier from a chair whose shape was no longer recognizable, draping it over his bare upper body where scales were continuously shedding.
He then casually picked up a can of coffee that had rolled from somewhere during the fight, pulled the tab, and gulped a mouthful. Turning his head, he glanced sideways at the wriggling black object mixed with human skin not far away and asked expressionlessly,
“Is the rampaging suppressed?”
The black object continued to wriggle, and masses of tentacles, like ants searching for a nest, swarmed into the holes of the thin human skin. The shriveled and shapeless human skin rapidly inflated like a re-inflated balloon, eventually growing into a slender young boy wearing a school uniform with a gentle demeanor.
The gentle demeanor and fair skin of the boy, along with his scholarly aura, made him seem like a person from another world, appearing particularly out of place in the scene filled with flesh and mucus. However, his slender fingers did not hesitate to plunge into a lump of rotten flesh on the ground. Accompanied by splashing mucus and disgusting rummaging sounds, the boy finally retrieved a pair of silver-rimmed round glasses. He diligently wiped the green mucus off the glasses with a handkerchief from his pocket and then put them on his high nose bridge.
As if completing a ritual, the boy then turned his gaze to Masashi Sakuraba beside him, pushed his glasses up his nose again, and his elegant tone carried a hint of guilt.
“Sorry, Sakuraba…”
“Alright, alright, it’s not the first time. I’m used to it. At least your tendency to apologize after rampaging is much better than that girl Kirie.”
Waving his hand dismissively, Masashi Sakuraba didn’t bother with the chair on the ground that had been assimilated by the flesh. He plopped down onto its remains, playing with the coffee can in his hands.
As an executive of the [Dark] Organization, Kurokawa Iori was not a particularly normal person. Although the skin he usually used was that of an incredibly gentle and scholarly young boy, it couldn’t hide the fact that he was inherently a violent and irritable monster.
When calm, Kurokawa Iori was terrifying, with his swift and precise thinking, comprehensive planning, and a mindset that always prioritized the organization’s interests. As one of the few intelligence-oriented executives in the organization, he also undertook more coordination and planning tasks.
Of course, all of this was contingent on him not rampaging.
In a sense, the only person who had truly seen Kurokawa Iori in his rampaging state was likely Masashi Sakuraba, because anyone else who had witnessed it had probably already become a part of him.
“Moreover, this matter started with me. I didn’t expect you to care to this extent, to the point where even wearing a skin couldn’t suppress yourself.”
Masashi Sakuraba scratched his hair and looked at the now calm boy with some curiosity. After all, all this time, even though the boy’s true form, mixed with all sorts of evil thoughts and negative emotions, was inherently volatile and irritable, as long as the skin was present to suppress it, his emotions could be very well controlled.
Even if he rampaged due to stimulation, it would be due to something related to his true form’s preferences or sensitive points. It was the first time he had displayed such a strong emotional fluctuation because of someone else who was completely unrelated.
“Alright, alright, I understand your feelings for her. But you have to tell me why you think that way. Otherwise, even boss Kuromon will have opinions if she clashes with [Shadow].”
Looking at his friend’s guilt-ridden expression, Masashi Sakuraba was at a loss. Not many people could join the [Dark] Organization and successfully achieve the position of an executive, so Masashi Sakuraba didn’t want to interfere too much with Kurokawa Iori’s almost pathological emotional fluctuations.
He was just worried that his friend’s mental state might affect the entire organization’s plans, potentially drawing the ire of the master who truly controlled the organization.
“Because she is the only one who can completely understand me!”
Hearing Masashi Sakuraba’s question, a sharp glint flashed in Kurokawa Iori’s eyes. He reached into his pocket, took out a mobile phone, turned on the screen, and placed it on the table, the only survivor in the room.
Watching the other’s actions, Masashi Sakuraba curiously looked at the phone screen. The boy’s phone screen was very clean and tidy, with several study apps and casual games evenly distributed on the screen, fitting his current student identity perfectly.
However, what surprised Masashi Sakuraba was the figure on the screen background, which, despite being mosaicked into a blur, could still be identified as Kurokawa Iori’s true form, and in front of it, a short-haired girl with a pure, heartfelt smile.
“…”
Even Masashi Sakuraba himself hadn’t expected to be this silent so many times today.
Masashi Sakuraba was very familiar with the blurred figure on the screen. The most terrifying aspect of this chaotic figure, which even cameras couldn’t capture, was its potential for growth.
In the beginning, Masashi Sakuraba could still try to look directly at its true form by relying on his own resistance to curses and evil thoughts. But now, as Kurokawa Iori continuously grew, he could only observe its body using his peripheral vision.
As for getting close, even if he used the demon snake power within his body, he probably couldn’t last for too long before collapsing.
And the scene before him was likely beyond Masashi Sakuraba’s cognitive grasp. Not to mention the girl’s visible heartfelt smile and excitement in the picture, even if it was a disguised smile, being by Kurokawa Iori’s true form for so long without a mental breakdown was already an astonishing feat.
“This.”
His stiff eyebrows twitched involuntarily. Masashi Sakuraba, after calming his emotions, finally accepted reality and uttered a single word. Everyone’s abilities had infinite possibilities; perhaps the girl’s ability also had aspects that strengthened mental resistance?
But regardless, having such a person appear might be a good thing for the always lonely Kurokawa Iori?
With this thought in mind, Masashi Sakuraba raised his head, intending to convey another piece of information, when he suddenly perceived a faint ability fluctuation flash beneath their feet.
Purple snake-like patterns instantly spread across his forehead, and Masashi Sakuraba gathered energy in his hands, preparing to unleash several venomous fangs.
But in the next moment, the faint shadow behind them, which had become dense at some unknown time, suddenly solidified. Their movements were completely frozen at that instant.
Then, several black figures emerged from the shadow on the ground and attacked their vital points without mercy!
