Materials

Under the streetlamp’s hazy glow, the air currents stirred fine dust. Perhaps affected by alcohol, the two drunken Black Nazi Officers reacted rather slowly.

When they saw the girl appear out of nowhere, their eyes filled with excitement. But their lecherous gazes lasted only an instant before endless pain descended upon them—

A streak of blood-red light swept past. Crimson radiance growing from her shoulders pierced the two Black Nazi Officers’ chests like a raging storm. The sickening sounds of flesh being sliced and bones severed came in rapid succession. Within only a few breaths, the two burly bodies were flung away like rag dolls, crashing into the wall and smearing it with blood.

The docile, well-behaved girl from the hot spring bath wore an innocent smile. The light wings formed from proliferating flesh on her shoulders suddenly swelled! Sharp feathers nailed into the two lifeless bodies and tore them apart in opposite directions!

Blood splashed across the alley walls and ground like a fountain, like burst tomatoes. Human organs leaped from the torn bodies—tangled intestines, pale bone fragments, half a still-beating heart… all of it lay vividly and bloodily before the girl.

The girl licked her lips. The scent of blood was fragrant and exquisite, like premium wine aged in oak barrels for years. She took a step, then immediately stopped.

Intense disgust flashed through her other eye, the one that still held human emotions. The scarlet glow dimmed for a moment, and the wings formed of bloody light gradually broke apart and retracted.

"So disgusting," a soft voice murmured, though it was impossible to tell whom she meant.

Glancing at the mangled limbs and flesh that had splattered into an abstract pattern, the girl sighed and prepared to leave. But at that moment, the dim scarlet light in her eye suddenly flared!

The retracted blood-red wings spread like sharp feathers and shot violently from her shoulders! The seemingly weightless bloody light, like alien limbs extending from her body, crashed into the darkness!

The force was strong enough to pierce steel, yet it failed to achieve the expected result. It was as though it had struck an unyielding wall. The rebounding force traveled through her body, and amid the intense pain, the girl leaned forward. Explosive force burst from her toes as she lunged ahead like an arrow released from a bow, charging into the dark shadows where another creature hid.

Almost simultaneously, the ghoul that had lunged forward so fiercely was sent flying back in a sharp straight line. She smashed through the streetlamp standing in the alley and crashed heavily onto the ground.

"I still prefer you as you were in the hot spring bath, Miss Yoshimura Eto." A teasing voice drifted through the night wind.

A tall figure stepped out of the shadows. Sean stared at the girl lying on the ground. Physical abilities comparable to a Super Soldier, versatile alien limbs in combat, human thought and emotion… Hydra really did have some skill.

These creatures they called "ghouls" were far more interesting than beast-like biological weapons. According to the information he had obtained by infiltrating the laboratory database, they had originally been the first test subjects of the Progenitor Virus, also known as the First Generation.

The Progenitor Virus excessively stimulated the human immune system, integrating its own genetic material into the chromosomes of the test subjects’ cells and coexisting with them over long periods. During that process, the genotypes of the test subjects’ cells changed due to the integration of viral chromosomes, creating these peculiar creatures.

What distinguished the First Generation from zombies was that their blood contained far more Rc cells than humans, enough for special sac-like organs to form within their bodies and store these mutated cells.

At the same time, under intense emotion or conscious control, ghouls could release vast quantities of Rc cells from those sac-like organs and force them through their skin to form unique predatory organs of various types.

"C-C-G?"

Wiping the blood from her lips, the scarlet eye of the girl shone brightly as violent, savage emotions surged into her mind.

The air let out a shrill howl. The blood-red wings on her shoulders shot out like bullets, launching a fierce assault on Sean, who stood where he was. The dense barrage was enough to riddle an adult body with holes.

The sounds of metal clashing echoed through the late-night alley. A semicircular invisible force rose before Sean, and even hundreds upon thousands of violent strikes could not shatter its solid defense.

A sharp flash of golden light flickered from his hand. Like a heated blade cutting through flesh, vivid crimson blossoms of blood bloomed as the girl’s shoulder wings were brutally severed. A powerful arm reached out and seized her by the throat.

Her petite body was lifted into the air, like a delicate white flower swaying helplessly in a fierce wind.

"Why didn’t you eat those two people?" Sean asked with great interest.

"According to the records, a ghoul feeds roughly once or twice a month. But whether it was you or your other two little companions, you’ve committed nearly forty cannibalism cases in total. That proves you desperately need to replenish your energy by eating."

The girl’s scarlet eye shrank to a pinpoint. Her lips pressed tightly together as she turned her head away, unwilling to answer.

"Such a stubborn little thing."

Sean grinned, swung his arm, and viciously smashed the seemingly frail body into the wall. As bricks and stones scattered, one foot stepped onto that gentle face.

"You are monsters artificially created by humans. You retain human emotions, yet driven by biological instinct, you have no choice but to hunt humans and feed on flesh and blood… It must be painful, right? That conflicted torment? The guilt and disgust of violating your inner morality and bottom line?"

The girl embedded in the ground blinked her scarlet eye as tears silently flowed down her face. At that moment, the ghoul instinct within her body gradually receded.

According to Hydra’s experimental data, the body’s immune system interfered during viral infection. White blood cells attempted to kill the infected cells, usually through mutual destruction, resulting in large amounts of necrotic tissue in the human body.

Repairing that tissue damage and restoring immune function required large amounts of food to provide materials and energy, causing the infected to develop a voracious appetite.

More crucially, the viral substance had completely altered the ghouls’ eating habits. Human food became extraordinarily strange in their taste buds and feeding organs, such as their mouths and esophagi, as though it carried a fishy, rotten stench.

For unknown reasons, ghouls could only survive on human flesh and blood, easing the hunger that constantly filled their hearts.

"Although creatures like you must have had tragic experiences, and you certainly didn’t willingly become this way, after all, it’s all Hydra’s fault."

Sean removed his foot, a gentle smile on his face. Golden light flickered in his deep eyes, carrying an intense sense of oppression.

"But if I sympathize with you, who will sympathize with those innocent people who became food? Just as you told me in the hot spring bath, defeated nations must accept punishment. People who do wrong cannot simply act as though nothing happened because they feel remorse… Don’t you agree?"

Perhaps sensing death bearing down on her, a trace of fear appeared on the girl’s numb face. Yet the human eye held nothing but relief.

"But you’re very lucky tonight—you’re the first ghoul I found. Such excellent material. It would be such a waste to kill you outright… If you had eaten those two Black men just now, perhaps I wouldn’t have been so conflicted."

Sean crouched down and looked at the stunned girl. "How about this? Be a good experimental subject, and I can help you return to being human. It’s a pretty good deal. What do you say?"

The petite body embedded in the concrete trembled. Tears mixed with the grime on her face as she shook slightly, suppressing the sobs in her throat.

"Thank you."