182. My Name is Houraiji Kyuushou, Occupation: Savior
Where the spotlight shone, a series of human statues, each with a different posture, stood tall, frozen in a moment.
They possessed a lifelike quality far surpassing ordinary wax figures—the texture of the skin, the subtle curves of the joints, the lines of the muscles, even the almost realistic, nuanced expressions frozen on the faces… exquisitely detailed to the point of being chilling.
Especially her.
Others surround the statue of the young girl on the central display stand.
She seemed ready to blink, exhale, and awaken from her eternal stillness at any moment.
She was the pinnacle of art—she was a girl, or more than just a girl.
The surrounding so-called upper class—their gazes a mixture of admiration, infatuation, and naked possessiveness—whispered about this eternal beauty, their tone filled with the superiority complex of art connoisseurs, yet tacitly aware of, or rather, indifferent to, the bloody reality behind the statues.
The young girl's beauty stood out in the exhibition, but a glance around revealed a far more grotesque and infernal scene:
A nearby, distorted sculpture: dozens of arms of various shapes—men's, women's, old men's, children's—stretched upwards and inwards like twisted vines, clawing and piling up to form a suffocating cage. At the top of these arms, a head gaped in terror, its eyes nearly bursting with utter fear. The head-down body was completely submerged by the dense array of arms, as if being dragged into an abyss by countless greedy desires.
Almost every display was surrounded by people; exclamations of admiration and laughter created a twisted hymn.
In a corner of the hall, a woman in a white dress stood quietly, a triple ring adorning her slender fingers.
A look of satisfaction graced her face. She gazed with satisfaction at her masterpiece—the perfect statue of a young girl became the focus of the entire hall, bathed in admiring and longing gazes.
This was what she deserved.
She had poured unimaginable effort into this work of art.
The perfect head, the symmetrical left and right hands, the flowing lines of the thighs, the slender shinbones, the eyes as clear as glass… every part of the body was like a puzzle piece being searched for its perfect match.
She had traveled far and wide to find the most suitable material; any flaw—even an untimely mole, a tiny scar—was enough to make her discard it like trash.
Finally, the work of art was born. It was flawless, needing no additional embellishment to conceal it. It was beauty in itself.
Just as she was lost in her art, a blood-soaked voice reached her ears, causing her brow to furrow instantly.
"Vivi! Vivi!" A figure covered in blood kicked open the exhibition hall door!
The man's clothes were soaked with dark red and deep brown bloodstains, indistinguishable as to whether they were his own or someone else's. His bloodshot eyes frantically scanned the chaotic crowd and exhibits, searching for the only light in his life—his missing sister.
Then, his gaze froze.
It froze on the perfect work of art, surrounded by countless people, exposed without any cover under the spotlight.
The man's pupils contracted sharply. He recognized the face—the face that had made him laugh countless times, the face he had sworn to protect with his life.
That was his sister, his only pillar of support as he struggled to survive in this cannibalistic city, the warm smile that dispelled all gloom when he returned home exhausted, the face he had proudly told his deceased parents countless times in his heart: Look, I took good care of my sister.
However, he was just a few hours late… the house was empty.
He searched The City like a mad dog, killing countless people in his quest for clues. Ultimately, he stepped into this slaughterhouse called art, harboring a deep premonition of the worst, though his surviving instincts refused to acknowledge it.
When the brutal reality crashed down upon him without warning, the string of reason in the man's mind snapped with a whistle.
"Aaaaaah! Shit! Shit! Shit! You damned bastards! All of you, go pay for my sister's death—!!!!"
A beast-like roar tore through the air! His longsword, its blade already chipped and dulled, swung indiscriminately! Slash! Tear! One, two, three, four… the feigned admiration turned into piercing screams, the magnificent gown soaked in blood.
He wanted to turn this exhibition hall into a true slaughterhouse, making every beast that participated, who admired this beauty, pay the price!
"It's all your fault! If it weren't for you devils in human skin! If it weren't for you—!"
The man was like a madman.
He was about to cleave a terrified, obese guest in two!
"Tsk…how ugly." A female voice rang out.
The Ring Master made her move…
A terrifying force slammed heavily into the man's side! He didn't even see where the attack came from before he was sent flying backward like a tattered sack!
A dull thud accompanied the cracking of bones! The man smashed into two guests who couldn't dodge in time, and all three slammed against the hard, cold wall! The two unfortunate guests instantly burst open like blood-filled sacks, while the man lay paralyzed in a pool of blood and flesh, writhing in agony, coughing up mouthfuls of blood that stained his chest.
But he seemed oblivious to the pain, struggling to get up.
Kill! Kill them all! Crush them! Use their screams and flesh to appease Vivi!
Boundless resentment, brutality, and despair, like a black tide, instantly overwhelmed his consciousness.
Just as this pure negativity was about to completely devour his last shred of clarity, a woman's voice, like the whisper of a venomous snake, clearly pierced his mind:
"Well done, just like that... Kill, kill, tear them all to shreds..."
"Didn't you want revenge for your sister?"
"Look at your sister now... These are the people who killed her! Pick up your sword, let their blood stain this sinful land! Let them suffer even a fraction of your pain!"
The voice pierced the darkest corners of the heart, like an invitation to the abyss of hell. The man's eyes were instantly filled with a frenzied crimson, a low growl emanating from his throat, as if he were about to utter a bloodthirsty declaration.
"Kill..."
Just then
Thump...thump...thump
A clear set of footsteps, abrupt and unstoppable, pierced through the chaos, the wails, and the man's growl.
It wasn't loud, yet it eerily drowned out all other noise, striking each person's heart with a clear, resounding impact! It was as if an invisible hand had seized everyone's pulse.
Even the crazed man froze, his crimson pupils turning blankly towards the source of the sound…
All eyes involuntarily turned to the kicked-open door…
Outside, a figure slowly advanced.
When the figure fully entered the exhibition hall and stood at the boundary between light and shadow, the air in the entire hall seemed to be sucked out.
The newcomer was Kyuushou.
She surveyed the scene, a veritable scroll of hell—frozen artworks of flesh and blood, twisted sculptures, profane paintings, limbs and severed bodies scattered on the floor, terrified and contorted faces, and that soul, though insane, shattered by its protection…
Kyuushou raised a hand and gently covered her eyes. Her shoulders trembled slightly, as if suppressing something. She tilted her head back, her voice echoing in every corner of the exhibition hall:
"Are you… even worthy of being called human?"
Her voice was filled with unbelievable disgust and an anger that had reached its peak.
"Time and time again…breaking the limits of my understanding! I thought this city was dark and twisted…but compared to the art you're displaying now, it all seems so pure!"
As she said this, a smile tugged at the corner of Kyuushou's mouth, a smile devoid of genuine joy, only burning rage and murderous intent.
"Truly…impressive."
The hand covering her eyes slowly lowered.
Her gaze swept across the entire room like a tangible force, finally settling briefly on the man struggling in a pool of blood.
"What…is your relationship with them?"
The man seemed to be forcibly pulled back to his senses from the brink of madness by this voice. He stared intently at his sister on the stage, his teeth grinding together, each word seemingly bleeding:
"Never give up until death!!!!"
Kyuushou was silent for a moment.
"…No need for that." Her voice was soft, yet reached the man's ears with perfect clarity.
Then, her gaze swept over everyone in the room.
"Because…"
Kyuushou slowly raised her right hand, her five fingers outstretched. Gravity gathered and compressed in her palm, distorting the surrounding light to form a visible black sphere of gravity.
"…They…"
Her voice suddenly rose, like a declaration of final judgment!
"…Not a single one will live! They will all go to hell to atone for their sins!"
"Wait…wait! Lord Hunter of Fingers!" Someone clearly recognized Kyuushou's identity.
A well-dressed old man shrieked, "We…we are not Five Fingers! We just…we just came to appreciate the art! We'll leave! We'll leave!"
"Yes, yes, yes! We'll leave right away! We won't bother you!"
The others, as if waking from a dream, echoed her, their faces plastered with obsequiousness more painful than tears. However, their feet seemed nailed to the floor, not daring to move an inch.
Looking at these people, Kyuushou's eyes were filled only with anger.
"What I want to kill is never just five fingers…"
Her hand, which had been loosely gripping the gravity sphere, tightened abruptly! Like crushing a rotting heart!
"What I want to sever is the darkness rooted in this city! What I want to judge are you sinners in human skin!"
"You…"
"Will suffer daily in endless hell the pain you inflicted on the innocent! Your flesh will be torn and reassembled, your souls will be scorched by karmic fire, never to escape!"
"Now…"
Kyuushou's right arm pressed down fiercely!
"All of you…"
The suspended dark red gravity sphere instantly expanded! An invisible yet terrifying gravity field, powerful enough to crush steel, swept across the entire exhibition hall like a raging torrent!
"…Sink completely!"
An indescribable, terrifying pressure descended! The air was compressed, emitting a sharp, explosive sound! Countless exquisite glass display cases instantly turned to dust! The stacked sculptures, terrified heads, distorted paintings… along with the surrounding connoisseurs, were as if thrown into an invisible, gigantic shredder!
The sounds of flesh exploding blended together! Like the drumbeats of hell!
Severed limbs, organs, bones… under the powerful twisting force of gravity, they mixed, compressed, and deformed indiscriminately! Blood gushed out like fountains, only to be forcibly forced back into the exploding carnivore the next second!
The entire art gallery instantly transformed into a gigantic, viscous, ever-collapsed and contracting…millstone of flesh!
At the center of this viscous, slowly rotating crimson hell stood the master of the Triple Ring.
She looked like a broken doll forcibly stitched back together. But instead of pain, her face radiated a morbidly fanatical smile!
"Ahhhhh!!" she screamed, not from pain, but from extreme excitement! Her eyes were fixed on Kyuushou, filled with twisted worship and the ecstatic joy of discovering a treasure.
"Art! This is true art! Pure violent aesthetics! Beautiful! So beautiful!!" she screamed, raising a trembling finger with all her might, pointing at the expressionless Kyuushou.
"Genius! You are absolutely… a genius beyond the ordinary!!"
Kyuushou, expressionless, increased the distortion of gravity, and instantly the woman was reduced to one of those exploding bodies.
After doing all this, Kyuushou didn't linger, turning to leave, but just then, a voice called out to him from behind.
"Please wait!"
Kyuushou stopped, turning back to look at the man who was shakily standing up.
The man met Kyuushou's gaze, gritting his teeth and enduring the pain.
"Were you serious about what you just said?"
"To sever the darkness of The City."
"Are you serious?!"
Kyuushou gently closed her eyes, her steps halting as she slowly turned around.
When she opened her eyes, a serious and determined smile graced her face.
"I'm serious."
"My name is Houraiji Kyuushou."
"My profession is savior."
"Yes, you heard me right, savior."
The man froze, instinctively opening his mouth to ask.
"What is savior?"
"Is that even a question?" Kyuushou pointed to herself with her thumb.
"The so-called savior."
"Of course, it's becoming the embodiment of justice."
"Driving away all the darkness in this world!"
The girl stood before the door, light shining on her, but at this moment, in the man's eyes, she was more dazzling than the light.
Kyuushou didn't stop.
She turned around resolutely; what she had to do was far from over.
Watching that figure resolutely depart, the man dragged his weary body, trying to catch up.
"Wait… wait, savior! Can I join you?"
The man, unable to keep up with the figure, shouted. Kyuushou pointed to the sky.
"Then come to our side, join the Fire Moth!"
"But…where are the Fire Moth?"
"Wait and anticipate."
"Just you wait, the Fire Moth will resound throughout The City, and that moment will mark the beginning of a new era!"