"What… what the hell is this?!"
The skinny ghoul screamed hysterically.
His right arm, wrapped in hardened kagune, thrashed violently through the air. Yet the dark crimson slime clung to it tighter and tighter, writhing as if it possessed a life of its own.
No matter how violently he struggled, the viscous substance refused to let go.
Instead—
It spread.
Like blood flowing backward through veins.
…
Death came more quietly than Ren had imagined.
The moment the kagune pierced his chest, he clearly felt his heart stop.
His hearing dulled.
His vision faded.
The world seemed to grow distant, like a sound slowly fading beneath deep water.
"Is this… the end?"
The unwilling thought surfaced in his mind before everything plunged into darkness.
He had transmigrated into this world for no reason.
Then, almost immediately, he had been hunted by ghouls.
He had barely begun to understand this new world.
Yet his life was already ending.
There were still so many things he had never done.
So many possibilities left unexplored.
But now—
None of it mattered.
…
Within the endless darkness—
A voice suddenly echoed.
It sounded distant.
Yet also impossibly close.
As if it came from deep inside his soul.
[It's not time to die yet...]
[The slaughter… has only just begun...]
A powerful force erupted within him.
Like something tearing through the suffocating depths of death.
Like a butterfly breaking free from its cocoon.
When consciousness returned—
His body no longer felt human.
Something was merging with him.
Perfectly.
Every nerve trembled with the sensation of rebirth.
He knew exactly what it was.
…
The crimson liquid expanded rapidly.
In mere seconds, it completely engulfed Ren's body.
When he opened his eyes again—
He was no longer the same.
A scarlet exoskeleton formed across his entire body, created by the awakened symbiote.
His physique had grown larger and more powerful.
Behind him, dozens of barbed tentacles twisted and writhed like living serpents.
His human face had vanished.
In its place—
A monstrous visage appeared.
Pale, predatory eyes.
A horrifying maw filled with jagged fangs.
And a long, crimson tongue.
An overwhelming surge of strength flowed through his body.
A power unlike anything he had ever known.
It felt like rebirth.
This was the sensation flooding through Ren at that moment.
Under the horrified gaze of the skinny ghoul—
He slowly pulled the kagune from his own chest.
The wound healed instantly.
As if the injury had never existed.
The ghoul's kagune, which normally possessed incredible durability due to the density of RC cells, was easily snapped in half by Ren.
With brutal efficiency, he tore open the ghoul's shoulder.
Then ripped out the kagune sac.
Without hesitation—
He swallowed it.
The moment the organ entered his stomach, Ren felt a surge of energy erupt within his body.
The symbiote stirred excitedly.
Hungry.
Craving more.
In that instant, Ren realized something.
Just like the cannibalism phenomenon among ghouls, consuming RC-cell-rich organs such as kagune sacs could strengthen him as well.
…
"Kakuja…?!"
The skinny ghoul stared in horror.
His trembling voice echoed through the alley.
In ghoul society, cannibalism was a taboo.
When a ghoul devoured another ghoul, the massive intake of RC cells could cause dramatic mutations in their kagune.
Over time—
This mutation might develop into a terrifying evolutionary state known as kakuja.
Because cannibalism was rare and dangerous, true kakuja were extremely uncommon.
Most ghouls would never see one in their entire lives.
Thus—
When the skinny ghoul saw Ren's grotesque transformation, he could only interpret it one way.
"A… Kakuja…"
"…Whatever."
Ren showed no interest in correcting the misunderstanding.
After all—
From the ghoul's perspective, his current form did resemble a kakuja.
And more importantly—
The ghoul standing before him was already dead.
There was no need to explain anything to a corpse.
His only thought now was simple.
Kill them.
Tentacles lashed forward like venomous serpents.
They wrapped tightly around the skinny ghoul's body.
Barbed spikes pierced deep into flesh.
The ghoul screamed.
Before he could struggle free—
Ren opened his monstrous jaws.
And bit.
The ghoul's head was torn off in a single motion.
[Delicious…]
The voice of the symbiote whispered within his mind.
Compared to kagune—
The brain was clearly far more nourishing.
Rich biological energy flooded the symbiote.
The crimson armor thickened.
His body expanded slightly.
Even more tentacles sprouted from his back.
Casually tossing the corpse aside—
Ren turned toward the other ghoul.
The burly ghoul had just regained his footing.
The moment their eyes met—
The ghoul turned and ran.
But it was too late.
A tentacle shot forward instantly, wrapping around his body and dragging him back.
Ren slowly approached.
He deliberately savored the terror in the ghoul's eyes.
Then he slowly licked the blood from his fangs.
"Your turn."
…
When the final corpse collapsed—
Silence returned to the alley.
The crimson symbiote receded like a withdrawing tide.
Ren dropped to one knee, breathing heavily.
Under the moonlight, his shadow looked completely normal.
As if the brutal slaughter moments ago had never happened.
Like nothing more than a nightmare.
[How do you feel?]
The voice in his mind carried a faint hint of bloodthirsty delight.
"Like… a dream."
Ren wiped the blood from his face.
His fingers still trembled slightly.
Perhaps because of the adrenaline—
Perhaps because of the killing.
But strangely—
He didn't feel much discomfort.
Only minutes earlier, he had been prey.
Now—
He was the hunter.
…
In another world's story, when the serial killer Cletus Kasady was executed by lethal injection, the chemicals reacted with the Venom symbiote within his body.
That reaction gave birth to the infamous symbiote known as Carnage.
Ren had gambled.
Betting that the same reaction could occur here.
And he won.
The lethal injection had indeed reacted with the Venom fragment inside him.
The result—
Carnage.
One of the most dangerous symbiotes ever created.
With its power, he had effortlessly slaughtered two ghouls.
…
[This is only the beginning…]
Carnage whispered within his mind.
[I want more…]
"We will get more," Ren replied calmly.
"But not pointless killing."
The voice fell silent briefly.
[You are trying… to control me?]
"No."
Ren looked toward the distant lights of Anteiku.
"I simply hope we can… understand each other."
He touched the place where his chest had been pierced.
The wound had completely vanished.
"After all…"
"We are one."
[You seem to know me very well.]
"Of course."
"I know us very well."
Carnage seemed surprised by that answer.
For a moment—
The voice disappeared.
After a long silence, it spoke again.
[Carnage…]
[All I want is Carnage…]
[That is all.]
"I will give you the carnage you want."
Ren spoke quietly.
"But in exchange, I want you to listen to me in daily life."
This world was soaked in violence.
That much he already understood.
From the moment he killed those two ghouls—
His life had already begun drifting away from normalcy.
Carnage was unlike other symbiotes.
Its birth made it almost impossible to separate from its host.
They were essentially one being.
But Ren was not Cletus Kasady.
He was just an ordinary college student.
Both in his past life and this one.
He could not become a mindless killer who lived only for bloodshed.
He still wanted a life.
Carnage remained silent.
…
After a long pause—
The voice finally spoke again.
[Remember your promise…]
A faint smile appeared on Ren's lips.
"Of course."
Ren's lips curved slightly upward. The night wind swept through the blood-stained alley, carrying the aroma of coffee from afar. He knew that from tonight onward, an ordinary life was a luxury. But at least—
He survived.