For every 100 power stones, there will be a bonus chapter!
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Mr. Ghoul is standing in front of me with a smile from ear to ear. In fact, it's the happiest face I've ever seen in my two lifetimes.
And the reason he's happy is because of me.
Ugh... That sounds disgusting.
If it were a pretty girl smiling at me like that, I'd be happy, and knowing that I'm the reason would make me even happier. But it's a damn ugly ghoul.
I want to rip my eyes out.
Well, I'm not far from that point because I'm a mess.
My right arm is stuck in the wall. I fell apart like a doll.
Sounds silly, right? But when I threw all my strength into hitting him and Mr. Ghoul dodged it, my fist slammed into the concrete wall. And the ghoul took advantage of that moment to cut off my arm with his disgusting flesh wing.
—Slash!
It was as easy as cutting butter.
I'm sad about my arm because it was my favorite arm. It was my companion in my previous life, as I used that hand to strangle my 'little brother' on lonely nights.
By the way, I can't use it in the same way in this life since I'm a zombie, but still...
That aside, I also have several wounds all over my body. Holes, cuts, deep scratches caused by projectiles.
In the end, I couldn't escape my fate of looking like Swiss cheese.
But Mr. Ghoul is unharmed, and I don't see a scratch on him. Because he's much stronger than me, and he has that damn regenerative ability.
It's not fair.
"Humans are really delicious, you know?"
The ghoul licks his lips.
"They're the only food ghouls have. But you smell better than humans. It's a shame you're a child. You probably don't have much meat on you, but anyway... Oops, I'm salivating, sorry, hehe."
Oh, what a nice guy.
I'm going to kill him.
"Ugh..."
Then I stagger, roll my eyes, and let my knees give way.
"I... I can't take it anymore..."
I use my weakest voice and I really sound pathetic.
"Please... forgive me... ghoul-san."
I let myself fall backwards onto the bed.
—Thump!
My body hits the floor.
"Hahahaha!"
Mr. Ghoul lets out a laugh.
"Forgive you? There's no way I'm forgiving you! From the beginning, this area is my hunting ground. And I have to go out to eat, right? It's only natural. You were just unlucky to be here."
I hear his footsteps approaching.
I show an expression of horror, my eyes widen, and my lips tremble.
My hand reaches under the bed.
At the same time, my fingers touch the broken wooden leg that I had hidden there about 15 minutes ago. I had kept it, thinking it might be useful in battle.
"P-Please! Don't eat me! I'll do anything!"
I continue to beg as I grip the wooden leg tightly.
It seems that my expression of horror made mr ghoul happy. He looks satisfied and proud, as that's normal, right? When a predator corners its prey and is sure of its victory.
"D-Don't eat me... I'm sure I don't taste good! Ah-ah! That's right! My flesh tastes like rotten meat!"
Mr ghoul crouches down in front of me.
"Hehe... Rotten meat? No, no, no. You smell very good, and your flesh must be very delicious. I know you're dead, but you should also know that we ghouls feed on dead humans."
"T-that's not possible..."
I show panic on my face.
"It's disappointing, you know? I thought you'd hold out longer. Maybe you lacked..."
He doesn't finish speaking.
Because I smile and stick my tongue out at him.
"Surprise, idiot!"
"What...?"
I jump forward as my left hand lifts the leg of the bed, which is splintered at the tip.
The ghoul opens his eyes in surprise.
And then...
—Shurrp!
The wood sinks deep into his right eye. It comes out the back with his brain matter hanging from the tip.
"Gyaaaaaaahhh!"
Mr. Ghoul lets out a horrible scream.
"Oi! You better shut up. I'm afraid the neighbors will hear you and think I'm slaughtering a pig in my house."
Then I kick him in the mouth.
—Kick!
Teeth fly out of his mouth and fall to the floor before rolling away.
"Ghaa! Gaaa! Guh..."
His body twists backward, taking the embedded foot with it.
Blood drips down his cheek as the wing on his back goes haywire, moving aimlessly.
With a smile on my face, I kick his head a couple more times.
—kaaak! Kaaak! Kaaack!"
Hmm.
I'm becoming a sadist.
That's bad.
"D-Damn... damn piece of corpse...!"
The ghoul curses me between gurgles of blood.
"Ufufufu."
I laugh chillingly as I kick him again.
I grab him by the hair and throw him on his stomach. At that moment, when he turns his face over his shoulder, I see his other eye open wide with fear.
He finally understands and finally realizes that he is going to die.
Then I step hard on his back and with my left hand, I grab the flap of flesh sticking out there.
And I pull.
—Ripprrrr!
The flap is torn from his back and makes a wet, horrifying sound.
It seems that thing was connected to Mr. Ghoul's spine because even his vertebrae come out attached to that mass of pulsating flesh.
"Woogyaaaah!"
His scream is even louder this time.
—Thump!
Mr. Ghoul stops screaming and collapses forward like a puppet without strings.
I kick him a couple more times.
Just to be sure, I pick up a stick from the ground and poke him in the cheek.
He doesn't react.
"Ah, he's dead."
I look at the ghoul's corpse, hoping to feel something.
Feelings like guilt, remorse, or horror at having killed someone.
But I feel absolutely nothing.
Is it because I'm a zombie? Or is it because he tried to kill me first?
I don't know, and honestly, I don't care.
Or am I worried that I don't care?
"Ah..."
Only now do I realize that I no longer feel hungry when I look at his body.
But when I look at the wings of flesh in my hand that have become inert...
—Grumble!
My stomach growls.
So I'm not hungry for the ghoul's body, but for this thing.
—Grumble! Grumble!
My stomach growls so loudly that it's quite disgusting to hear.
The wing of flesh in my hand is red, pulsating, covered in blood, and with vertebrae still attached to it.
It's the most disgusting thing I've ever seen in my life.
"It can't be... I have to eat this, right?"
My stomach responds by growling even louder.
"Ugh... okay... okay... Shit."
I close my eyes and exhale through my nose, bringing the wing to my mouth. Not only does it look horrible, it smells horrible too.
I open my mouth and take a bite.
It's... it's...
If you expected me to say it was delicious, you're wrong. Because it's...
DISGUSTING!
It tastes like mud mixed with iron and something bitter. The texture is chewy and stringy.
But I eat it anyway.
Gulp!
At that moment, when I swallow it, my stomach feels warm. It's the first time I've felt something like this since I became a zombie.
It's warm! It's so warm!
Like eating hot soup on a winter day. Like sitting in front of a fireplace.
Like I feel alive again.
Tears come out of my eyes.
"It's... it's warm..."
I start to eat more.
—Chomp! Chomp!
The warmth in my stomach slowly spreads throughout my body.
The sensation reaches my fingers, then my hand and my left arm. It travels down my leg, concentrates in my chest, and then reaches my head.
Everything feels warm.
Then I notice that the holes in my body are starting to close up before my very eyes.
Even the scars I accidentally caused in the past are disappearing!
"What... what is this? Is it possible that while I eat this wing, my regeneration... It can't be...!"
Before I finish eating, I run to my arm embedded in the wall. I pull it out and place it against my right stump.
Then I go back to eating the chicken wing.
The heat slides from my stomach to my stump. It seems that my body senses the biggest wound and concentrates all the heat there to prioritize healing it.
Because it seems to be working, I feel a tickling sensation in my arm. I see the tissues twisting and joining together like filaments at the same time as my bone melts and fuses.
After a few minutes, my arm is completely joined together as my skin seals.
"It worked! My arm is back!"
I move my fingers, arms, and shoulder.
Everything works perfectly.
By the time I finish eating the entire wing, I realize that only a few minor wounds remain on my body.
The large holes have closed, and the deep wounds are now superficial scratches.
"It didn't heal me completely..."
And although it's much slower than when I was eating the wing, I realize that even after the heat subsided, I'm still healing little by little.
Hmm... My natural regeneration increased after eating that part of the ghoul.
"So... if I eat these parts... I can get more regeneration..."
It's an important discovery because if I start hunting ghouls and eat these organs that come out of their backs, it's possible that someday I'll also have ghoul super regeneration.
That said, in about two days I'll be completely healed.
That's good because it's much better than the months I needed before with my normal zombie regenerative ability.
I look at the corpse of Mr. Ghoul.
"Thank you, Mr. Ghoul. For feeding me."
I bow respectfully.
Then I turn my head to look around my destroyed house.
Apart from the holes in the walls, there was also broken furniture and blood everywhere.
"Damn... I need to clean this up."
If any neighbors pass by and smell something strange, they will investigate and undoubtedly call the police.
So I also need to get rid of the corpse.
"It's going to be a long night..."