Chapter 22.6 [Active Paraphiliac] Smiling
[Active Paraphiliac] Smiling:
Suddenly, I felt a bit thirsty.
I wonder if there’s a vending machine nearby.
I should try the coffee that Juncheng always drinks. Juncheng said this brand of coffee has a lot of sugar, so it shouldn’t be too bitter.
I walked to the rooftop, cut through the lock on the door with a single slash, and pushed open the door leading to the sky.
The moon, hidden by clouds, appeared. Moonlight shone through the clouds into my eyes, faintly luminous.
The moon tonight is very close to full, which makes me feel uncomfortable.
I don’t like the full moon.
And I don’t like anything complete. I always feel compelled to create a gap.
Quickly resolve things here, then return to Black Street. There is no moon in Black Street.
“You still chased me… *Chyah*.”
“Have you run enough?”
This serial killer is strange. After seeing me, he actually turned and ran away.
It’s not that there haven’t been guys like this before, but their goal was to lure me into a trap, or to stall and look for an opportunity. Those who have fallen into being serial killers will never give up killing until death, even when facing death, they are still thinking about how to counterattack.
But this time, the serial killer didn’t set any traps, nor did he seem to have any intention of counterattacking. He only ran away.
“Ahaha, if possible, I really don’t want to be your enemy… Shall we talk first?”
He turned around by the railing, his expression a mixture of crying and laughing, and said to me with his hands open.
He’s not carrying any weapons; is he trying to show he has no hostility?
This move.
“White-haired Witch, do you know? Among us serial killers, you are also called ‘lilillr’… it means a killer who specifically hunts serial killers.”
“So what?”
Is this person stalling for time? Perhaps other serial killers are lurking around, so I should be a little wary.
“I’m the same as you. I’m the same as you.”
He suddenly said this, making me have to look at him properly.
This is the first time I’ve encountered a serial killer who said something like this. There are many who doubt, but no one has ever said something so absurd as ‘You are like me.’
“In what way are we the same?”
No matter how I look at it, we have no common ground. First of all, he is male, and I am female; our genders are different.
Perhaps because I responded to him, he approached me with a happy expression and continued.
“White-haired girl, although I don’t know your name, there must be a reason why you became this kind of person. Just like me.”
“All of my family were killed by serial killers. I was hiding in a closet, so I was lucky to survive. However, I witnessed the entire process of my family being murdered.”
I sheathed my sword and listened quietly to his story.
“That serial killer kept laughing as he killed my loved ones, even my younger sister… It was too cruel! I saw an incredibly brutal scene and vomited on the spot. My vomit filled the entire closet. It was so disgusting! I can’t understand. What’s so enjoyable about killing? Killing is a painful, ugly, and filthy act.”
“And yet he laughed, repeating the act of killing with glee. How can there be such an evil person in this world? It’s unforgivable!”
person.
“At that moment, the idea of killing all serial killers was born in me! I want revenge! I want to find the serial killer who killed my family and tear him to pieces!”
“When I realized it, I was already living a life of constantly searching for serial killers and doing my best to kill them.”
“But I am only human, and humans are too fragile. Compared to those serial killers, my strength is insignificant.”
“After failing to hunt a serial killer once, I thought I was going to die, but I was saved by a ghoul. I originally disdained to live on in such a way, but for the sake of revenge, I would do anything, even become the serial killer I hated the most!”
Didn’t you even notice?
“But I’m outnumbered. My strength alone is too small… Just then, I heard rumors about you. If it were you, you would definitely be able to kill all the serial killers!”
“So, can I become your companion?”
He bowed his head and extended his hand with sincerity.
I just looked up and asked him.
“Then why are you smiling?”
“What?”
“When you were talking about those things just now.”
He looked up at me as if he didn’t understand, and I pointed at his face again and said.
“You were smiling the whole time.”
He froze on the spot.
“You say… I’m smiling?”
I drew my military dagger, but instead of attacking him, I placed it on the hand he extended towards me.
Reflected in the moonlight, he saw his smiling face mirrored on the blade.
A murderer’s signature smile, filled with madness, excitement, and satisfied pleasure.
Then, he clutched his cheek in pain and said with a trembling voice.
“Ah… why did it turn out like this… I never thought I would end up becoming like those ugly guys.”
He suddenly tightened his grip on the dagger, his right hand gripping the hilt and his left hand gripping the blade. He bit his lip and looked up at me with determination.
I also lifted my skirt and drew out my dagger.
What he is asking for now, perhaps, is only death.
Let me grant him that.
Activating Oniification, I walked towards him step by step and, upon entering range, leaped forward and slashed downwards.
Just as I was about to strike him, he suddenly threw away the dagger in his hand, spread his arms, and leaped backward. He completely gave up resisting, assuming a very ‘comfortable’ posture.
SF Light Novel
“The most brilliant moment in life is killing, or…”
I paused and reflexively caught the blood-stained dagger in the air, then simultaneously swung both knives in my hands in a slashing motion.
Seven slashes horizontally, six slashes vertically, delivered at the fastest speed with the smallest interval.
“Being killed!”
Cracks began to appear on his skin. The cutting was already complete, but his body had not yet realized it had been ‘divided’.
“What a pity… I’ll wait for you over there first…”
He turned his head to the right, perhaps trying to look at me.
But his eyeballs, cut in half, had already lost their sight.
Blood began to seep from the straight cut lines; the adhesion between the flesh could no longer support his shattered body.
His body exploded instantly, and blood and chunks of flesh scattered. What was once a person fell to the ground.
Under the moonlight, red stained my hands.
By the railing, blood spread a腥味 (xīngwèi – fishy smell, i.e., unpleasant smell).
Every time after killing, I feel like I’m falling.
It’s as if I’ve sunk to the bottom of the deep sea and can no longer breathe, and the blood in my veins is cooling.
It’s a bit… I’m afraid it won’t warm up again.
I couldn’t help but hug myself.
Ah, I stained my clothes.
These clothes were bought with Juncheng… What a shame. They should be washable, right?
Have I become a little different?
Once upon a time, I couldn’t bring myself to kill, couldn’t deliver a fatal blow.
For me, crippling them was enough.
But recently, taking someone’s life has become increasingly easy.
The power that Xun gave me has been completely mastered and absorbed.
I can even perform exaggerated dismemberments like just now.
Indeed. Killing is addictive.
Just like this person.
Killing became his hobby, more addictive than drugs. He didn’t even realize he was already terminally ill.
He was enthusiastic about breaking those exquisite vessels called ‘serial killers’, watching the red liquid they contained flow out, cool to the ambient temperature, and immerse himself in the pleasure of revenge. In the end, he realized that the red liquid flowing in his own body had long since cooled down.
He who kills shall be killed.
The avenger and the killer are merely standing on opposite sides of the stage, not of their own volition.
And then, one day, I, who am deeply immersed in the spiral of killing, will also be killed by someone else.
The pain of lost love, the sin from love, even if the killer has no intention, it is still unforgivable.
Until then… I think I want to be by his side.
If possible, I also want to die in his arms.
“Oh, is it done already?”
…It’s over.
E Light Novel
After waiting on the rooftop for a while in the cool breeze, Xun arrived.
“Oh, you’ve been cutting them into bite-sized pieces lately, haven’t you? Good job, Xue’er~”
“No, it was easy.”
This time, the opponent wasn’t even an enemy, let alone a battle. It was merely a one-sided slaughter, a reaping of lives.
He merely sought release, and I gave him the death he craved.
“Hey, I thought they would calm down a bit after last time, but there are still some reckless serial killers active… Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing, I just felt a familiar aura. I originally thought it might be the Yaksha demon we missed, but I didn’t expect it to be…”
“Who?”
In the last serial killer incident, most of the demons were found and eaten by Xun, but one Yaksha demon, the one possessing Tong Jialin, escaped.
Thinking back, Ye Liusu killing Tong Jialin might have been a minor act of mischief, like a friend breaking another’s toy. But this playful act ironically saved the Yaksha demon’s life. If I hadn’t left too early, the Investigation Department might have found the Yaksha demon’s location and had Xun deal with it.
Now, this Yaksha demon is wanted by the organization, but they haven’t found it yet. After all, demons are best at playing hide-and-seek.
I thought this newly appearing serial killer might have been possessed by that Yaksha demon, but since she said it wasn’t, and it was something that made Xun feel…
“Ah, it’s different from what you think, Xue’er. The familiar aura I sensed is from my own kind.”
Xun pointed at the meat chunks on the ground.
And I understood what she meant by “my own kind.”
“Other… ghouls?”
“That’s right… They’ve come here after all.”
“Well, to us, this place is practically a holy land. Xue’er, do you know what we ghouls love to eat the most?”
I tilted my head and thought for a moment before answering.
“Um… donuts?”
Xun likes to eat many things, so it’s hard to judge. Every time she eats something delicious, she says, “X is so delicious! It’s simply the best food in the world!” But only when she ate donuts did she say, “This is the best food I’ve ever eaten—no, it’s on another level!”
So it should be donuts.
“Yes, that’s right! What we ghouls love to eat the most is… No! I mean, since we’re called ghouls, our favorite food is naturally corpses!”
“But, won’t you get tired of eating the same thing all the time?”
“I do get tired… I’m starting to feel a bit sick just looking at corpses now… Ah, don’t change the subject, Xue’er!”
Xun huffed and walked over, trying to grab my cheek, but I dodged her.
I don’t care about other ghouls. I only know you, one ghoul.
“In short, ordinary ghouls still love to eat corpses the most! And among these corpses, the ones that increase our power the most after eating are ‘stimulating corpses’.”
“Zombies?”
“Yes! Zombies and ghouls have always been mortal enemies! And there are a lot of zombies in this city, so it’s not surprising that ghouls would gather in this city.”
This matter isn’t of much significance to me, but it is very important to Xun.
After all, regardless of what happens, those ghouls are Xun’s kin.
“Is it okay?”
From Xun’s expression, I could tell it wasn’t ‘okay.’
…When your own kind fights each other… if it really comes to that… I…
I walked over and hugged her.
“Don’t push yourself.”
“Yeah, I know. Thank you, Xue’er.”
Seeing her smile again, I let go of her.
Xun, who had regained her spirits, changed the subject.
“By the way, you’ll be able to see Jun Cheng at school tomorrow. Are you happy?”
“Yes, I’ve been waiting for a long time.”
Finally, I can see Juncheng again.
Although Juncheng’s finger is now inside my body… we are always connected.
Still, I want to see him.
I want to throw myself into his arms, be held by him, kiss him, and exchange saliva.
It’s only been two days since we last saw each other, yet I miss him all the time.
His existence is my flaw, my incomplete part.
“Hehe, to be honest, Jun Cheng has already joined the organization! He’ll be appearing in Black Street often from now on, Xue’er. You can go find him anytime.”
…
“Eh? Why that expression? Aren’t you happy?”
…”I’m very happy. Super happy.”
A power acted on my cheeks, pulling up the corners of my mouth.
This must be called a smile.
“Thank you for telling me, Xun.”
…Ahhh! You’re smiling! Xue’er! This is the first time I’ve seen you smile! Yay~~ So incredibly cute!!!”
“…Is it that exaggerated?”
But, when you’re happy, you should smile, right? Mom.
I can finally smile naturally too…
I am very happy now, and I will smile more in the future.
“Quick! Smile again, Xue’er! I’ll take a picture this time!”
I think I should probably stop smiling so often?
In the future, I’ll only smile for Jun Cheng.
Maybe he’ll stare blankly like Xun and make a silly expression.
Oh no, I want to smile again.
