I barely escaped. But I can't be certain I've lost him completely.
The cold rain was draining my energy in real time, and each breath felt like it would tear my lungs apart.
If I kept going like this, I'd collapse from exhaustion before my father could catch me, so I looked for a place to catch my breath.
When I emerged from the narrow alley, I saw the riverbank and a wide bridge spanning it.
I figured under there would offer shelter from the rain and a chance to rest, so I ran toward it.
"Huff! Huff! Huff!"
I hid in the space between the supporting pillars beneath the bridge and tried to steady my breathing.
Once my breathing quieted, I realized Eto was crying.
Had the sound of my gasping been so loud that I failed to notice her sobs? Or did I simply have no room to pay attention? Probably a bit of both.
"I'm sorry… I must have terrified you with my father's craziness…"
As I soothed her, I looked into the tear-filled eyes of that child.
I let out a sigh at my reflection staring back at her.
"No… I was the one who scared you."
I'd fallen from a tree, slammed onto concrete, and rolled in the mud. I looked horrendous. No wonder she was frightened by the sight of me.
My teeth chattered…
Maybe because I'd been soaking wet and running the whole time. I rubbed my arms to heat myself, but the chill wouldn't go away.
My head throbbed painfully, and my entire body felt like it was weighed down by a hundred-pound sack.
"Damn it, of all times…!"
I was already in rough shape, and now I looked to have caught a cold after getting drenched and exhausting my stamina.
I needed to keep moving before my father caught up. I forced myself to stand up—and that was when I heard it.
Squish.
The sound of someone's foot pressing into mud that wasn't mine.
With every bad sign stacking up, today was unquestionably the worst day of my life.
Leaning against the pillar, I turned my head—and there he was, my father.
"You're injured. The blood loss isn't going to wash away in the rain."
Oh, right—that too.
The branch wedged in my back. The wound had split open, and blood was streaming down uselessly.
I'd assumed the rain would wash away every trace of blood, but I must have been wrong. Or perhaps my father's tracking skills were just that good.
He seemed to notice my condition, extended his hand, and said, "Come here. I'll take you to a hospital."
"…I'll go if you promise to take Eto with us."
"..."
My father raised the arm holding his [Quinque] in silence.
A clear sign of refusal.
He planned to kill Eto here and take me to the hospital.
That meant my answer was simple.
"Ugh…?"
I set Eto down and stood up.
I turned and clenched my fist.
I was ready for battle—my way of saying he could shove it.
My father sighed, perhaps exasperated by my refusal, and asked, "Why? Why do you keep protecting a ghoul? Is that child really that precious to you?"
"Well… At first she was just freeloading trouble the old man I know dumped on me, but after living with her for the past month, it's like I've become a total doting dad."
I grit my teeth and walked toward my father as he strode closer.
"Step aside."
"No."
"I'll say it again. Step aside."
"I'll say it a thousand times. No."
When the distance between us closed, I pushed off the ground and swung my fist.
Grab.
But he caught me with alarming ease.
When my father twisted his body, mine followed, unable to resist.
Thud!
"Kuh—!"
The world flipped as I was hurled onto the ground.
Blood or bile rose in my mouth. I spat it out, rolled on the ground, and forced myself up.
My father ignored my crumpled form and raised his butcher‐knife–shaped [Quinque] over his shoulder like a spear throw, aiming at Eto!
"Stop it!!"
I tackled him around the waist.
His balance wavered, and the [Quinque] flew off‐target and sank into the ground.
Crash!
The [Quinque] embedded itself about thirty centimeters to the left of where Eto was standing. She was unharmed.
Before I even had time to feel relief, my father's elbow drove into my back.
Wham!
"Guhk!!"
I lost control of my breathing. The arms around my father's waist went limp.
He grabbed me by the collar and pulled me to my knees, then unleashed a blistering punch.
Wham!!!
It was a fight between an adult and a child.
No, even that wasn't fair—it was a middle‐aged veteran against a young guy in his prime.
Wham!!!
The blow sent me rolling toward Eto.
One arm lost its strength as I tried to push myself up. Had I fallen, Eto would have been crushed, so I held on by sheer will.
"Kuhk. Gahk…!"
I coughed, sending torn flesh and blood spitting toward Eto.
That kid, who normally would've been delighted, just kept crying her head off. Could even a baby sense that something terrifying was happening?
"Why…?"
For once my father's voice trembled.
I looked up to see him grinding his teeth, his fist shaking.
"Why do you keep protecting ghouls!? Have you forgotten what they did to our family!? At least you! You saw the incident with your own eyes! I thought you, if anyone, would understand my hatred, even if you couldn't join me in vengeance! But why…!"
"…"
Ah… He's dredging up old memories I'd rather forget.
I wiped blood from my lips and stood up.
"You mean 'the incident'?"
Even after losing so much blood, getting beaten up, and catching a cold, I could still stand because anger had flooded my body with adrenaline.
Yes, I was angry.
All that suppressed rage, the feelings I usually kept pinned down by calm reason, were bursting out.
"You mean 'the day mother was killed by a ghoul'?"
That was your reason for hating ghouls.
You lost the woman you vowed to love above all others—you vowed to cherish her above anyone else in this world—so of course you hated ghouls.
"Exactly! I can never forgive those monsters! Who do they think they are, taking away our happiness like that!? Ghouls twist the world out of shape!! They must be exterminated!!!"
Father shouted in rage.
I felt the same. I'd lost my family—my beloved mother too.
But my rage wasn't aimed at ghouls.
It was aimed at the man standing right in front of me.
"How dare you talk about that…!!!"
My father looked stunned, as if he couldn't fathom my anger.
"I saw it with my own eyes! I remember it even now! That day! The ghoul who ambushed mother and me on the way home from a long trip! The one who ended her life and tried to take mine!! As you know it happened!!"
But… my voice trembled with an anger I couldn't control.
There was something my father didn't know.
Something only I, who was there when mother was killed, remembered.
A sight only I could understand.
"That ghoul… was crying."
"Crying…?"
"Yes! Why do you think that was? Because that ghoul was a victim too—a victim who'd lost his family to a ghoul investigator! His grief! His hatred! He tried to take revenge the only way he knew—by doing to you what was done to him! To you… my father!!"
"…?!?"
"I hated that ghoul. But at the same time I felt pity! After killing mother and moving to kill me, he kept crying and apologizing over and over! That ghoul had no other choice—after losing the only people he loved, revenge was the only thing that kept him alive!!"
Cough!! Cough!!
I'd been so worked up that every wound screamed in pain.
I caught my breath and continued.
"…The one who saved me at that place was a ghoul named Kuzen."
"Kuzen…?"
"Yes. And he's the father of the girl called Eto."
I learned later that the ghoul who attacked mother and me was the target of the organization Kuzen once belonged to.
Kuzen had come to exterminate that ghoul but found us injured instead.
"Mr. Kuzen, even knowing it would put himself in danger if his identity were revealed, carried me—still barely clinging to life—to the hospital. He is my savior."
I raised my head and glared at my father.
Stunned by the unexpected truth, he clutched at his legs as if he were about to collapse.
"And now you're about to do the same thing he did!!"
"…!!"
"If you kill Eto here, Mr. Kuzen will never forgive you!! But if he kills you for revenge, I will never be able to forgive him!!"
What a tiresome cycle.
A chain of hatred that never ends.
"I want to break it!! This godawful chain!! Stop passing this shitty hatred on!! Let's end it with our generation!!"
I'd lost so much blood that my vision began to blur. But I raised my voice even higher. There was still more I had to say—I couldn't collapse before finishing my plea.
Father's face turned pale, sweat beading on his brow.
He muttered in confusion, unable to make sense of what he'd just heard:
"That can't be… Ghouls twist the world…."
"It's not just ghouls!!!"
My knees threatened to give out as blood poured harder.
I ignored every warning from my body.
"They're not the only ones twisting the world!!!"
Please, just admit it, Father!
Humans are not the rulers of all creation. If humans suffer, they bear responsibility for it!
"Ghouls aren't the only ones who make people unhappy!! You, right now, are making yourself the most miserable person alive!!!"
"…!!!!"
Thud.
Father's knees buckled. Mine did too.
This was an absurd fight between father and son—one that inflicted serious wounds on both heart and body. Even children wouldn't fight so miserably.
"Father…."
I squeezed out my voice, but my throat was hoarse, or maybe I'd reached a physical limit—no stronger sound would come out.
"If, after all this, you still insist on rejecting ghouls… and no matter that it may end with you being devoured by one… then go ahead and do it."
My vision was too hazy. I couldn't even tell if he was listening.
"So please… even if only devouring by a ghoul remains as the outcome… let me trust ghouls, let me approach them…!!"
This is my final childish plea.
Please, hear me, Father......….
Thud.
My mind went blank.
Right after hearing my son's words, I couldn't think of anything.
No, I was refusing to think.
I tried to dismiss it as childish nonsense, unworthy of attention or consideration.
"Waaah~! Waaah~!"
The baby's cries reached me.
I saw the hateful ghoul's baby crawling across the muddy ground toward my son.
"..."
I tightened my grip on the [Quinque].
I am a ghoul investigator. My duty remains unchanged.
I felt the butcher‐knife form of my [Quinque] heavier than ever as I approached the ghoul's baby.
"Waaah~! Waaah~~!"
As I drew near, the baby's cries grew louder, yet she refused to leave my son's side.
Instead, she wrapped her tiny arms around his unconscious face.
The sight struck me… as if the baby was throwing herself to protect my son.
"..."
I raised the [Quinque] high above my head. Determined to end it in one strike, I tightened my grasp…
"Not just ghouls…!"
"It's not only ghouls who twist the world…!"
"Damn it…."
Clang.
The [Quinque] slipped from my hand and clattered to the ground.
Then the sobs came—like rain pouring down, tears flowed with no end as I wept aloud.
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