Campione: Strongest# 468: The World Is So Beautiful

Keita Minato was terrified.

Today should have been ordinary—just another day running with his gang through the old district, flexing their delinquent muscle on street vendors, grabbing some pocket money to blow on drugs in Kabukicho.

But at 6 PM, they'd received urgent orders from their Dead Apostle superiors to grab people.

Last week, some 'seniors' had dragged them in as food for the higher-ups. After witnessing those terrifying Dead Apostles—after being bitten by them—their little gang had become as obedient as beaten dogs.

Following orders, they'd immediately headed to this godforsaken dark alley, planning to kidnap defenseless passersby as they always did.

The old district's alleys in Kanbuko were chaotic and remote, but this was still the packed metropolis of Tokyo. Civilians passed through daily. On any given night, they could grab twenty or so people.

But today, they'd immediately spotted a stunning purple-haired girl—a student from that famous academy for young ladies.

It should have gone like always. After the boss had his fun, Keita and his four buddies would get their turn.

But why—why was this bitch a monster??

—————————————————

At the alley's exit.

Shiki Ryougi, dressed in her cherry-blossom pink furisode, gazed coldly at the brown-haired boy before her—legs twisted beyond recognition, crawling desperately across the filthy ground.

"Please, save me! There's a monster in the alley!"

"Call—call the police! No wait, get the Self-Defense Force!"

"No, hospital—get me to a hospital! You bitch, why aren't you moving??"

Shiki listened impassively to the dust-covered, tear-streaked boy's incoherent rambling.

Seeing those crimson Dead Apostle eyes, Shiki's own narrowed slightly, a cold light flashing through her dark pupils.

"Dead Apostle...?" Shiki stated rather than asked.

"Yes, yes! I'm a Dead Apostle! Save me if you don't want to die!" Keita snarled, waving his clawed hands threateningly.

Under the dim streetlight, his scythe-like claws gleamed with menace, constantly slashing. The razor tips demonstratively tore light scratches across the hem of Shiki's flowing kimono.

Even at death's door, scum like Keita had forgotten how to interact with people normally.

He instinctively treated the girl before him like the cowering street vendors he was used to, threatening her without restraint.

"I understand." Shiki said flatly.

Thinking his threat had worked, Keita's face lit up with wild joy.

A flash of cold steel appeared—like clouds parting to reveal the moon's frigid light.

Shwick—

Keita stared in shock at his severed right forearm.

The cut was smooth as jade, the bones, muscles, and nerves within clearly visible, as if it had always been that way.

A second later, incomparable agony flooded his mind.

Logically, this pain couldn't compare to his legs twisted into pretzels below. But more than just his hand had been severed.

His soul had been cut too. Even a Dead Apostle's regeneration would be useless.

The power of the [Mystic Eyes of Death Perception] had permanently 'killed' Keita's right arm.

"AAAAHHHHH!" His agonized shriek pierced the sky.

Shwick—

Keita stared dumbly at his severed left hand, then tremblingly raised his head. What met him were Shiki's indifferent, brilliant eyes—a gaze from 'death' itself that plunged him into an abyss.

"I ask. You answer." Shiki commanded, her Mystic Eyes active, expression cold.

The delinquent's face crumbled. He gritted his teeth hard, his primal fear of death overriding the pain. He stared at Shiki, trembling.

Seemingly satisfied with Keita's compliance, Shiki's lips curved into a frigid smile.

"Among your superiors—is there an orange-haired man? About twenty, uses a knife. Should be a serial killer."

Shiki narrowed her eyes, gripping her blade tighter, using its tip to prod Keita's forehead as if ready to plunge it through at any moment.

Most Dead Apostles had strong territorial instincts. Normally, Dead Apostles in a single city belonged to the same faction.

That's why Shiki, hunting for Ryuunosuke Uryuu, had patiently watched Keita's tantrum.

Otherwise, given her current agitation over SHIKI's 'disappearance,' she would have ended him with a single stroke.

"I know! I know! It's Ryuunosuke—Ryuunosuke Uryuu! My grand-superior!"

Feeling the skin on his forehead split, Keita's pupils contracted. He answered frantically, terrified the blade would pierce his skull.

"Where is he?" Shiki's eyes widened slightly with delight.

"West District, Asakawa-cho's Ogawa Apartments! The spiral building on Fourth Street!"

"Good." Shiki's lips curved upward as she raised her blade, ready to finish the Dead Apostle.

Keita's eyes bulged with terror. He'd answered honestly—why was she still going to kill him? He didn't want to die!

"Hold on a moment, Shiki."

The sudden voice stayed Shiki's downward strike.

Haru emerged from the alley's depths, leading Fujino by the hand at a leisurely pace.

"I have a few questions for him." Haru looked at Keita with a gentle expression, raising his free left hand.

A milky-white orb of light materialized in his palm, drifting lazily into Keita's body.

Like time reversing, his twisted legs gradually returned to normal, his severed hands regrew—though the one affected by the Mystic Eyes remained lifeless, hanging limp.

Ten minutes later.

"That's all I know. Can... can I go?"

Keita stood meekly before them. Haru toyed with the four delinquents' souls in his hand. Confirming the boy had revealed everything, he waved dismissively.

"You can go."

Keita's eyes widened with excitement. He glanced furtively at Fujino and Shiki, as if memorizing their faces.

The next second, he turned—first walking, then jogging, finally sprinting desperately toward the alley's exit.

At the street outside, having just escaped, Keita fell to his knees, ecstatic at the sight of passing pedestrians.

"I escaped! I'm free!"

Seeing daylight again, Keita had never found the world so beautiful, the air so fresh.

Suddenly, dozens of furry claws pressed against his body.

His ecstatic expression morphed into bottomless despair.

The next second, chewing sounds and wolf howls pierced the sky.

The bustling pedestrians seemed blind to the tragedy before them. Even when Keita hooked his bone-stripped arm around a passerby's leg, he received only a puzzled look.

The boy was devoured by the vicious wolf pack in utter despair.