𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘯𝘨!!!
I slammed the frying pan into his face with everything I had, letting all my suppressed rage explode into that single strike.
The release was cathartic, but I paid a steep price for it.
𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘣…!! 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘣…!!
"God, your face is like a slab of solid iron."
I unfurled my hands. The skin of my palms was shredded, curled up like wet rags, and blood was already beginning to pool. I had gripped the handle with everything I had to withstand the recoil, but the force had torn my palms open anyway. The frying pan went spinning off into the air.
𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳!
The pan rolled across the floor, so hideously mangled that it would never see a fried egg again. Still, it had fulfilled its purpose—not in the kitchen, but in this fight.
𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘥!
The Ghoul dropped to one knee.
A Ghoul's body is undeniably dense. Unless you possess a 'Quinque'—the specialized anti-Ghoul weapon—you wouldn't even be able to scratch them unless you hit them with a speeding truck or dropped a steel girder on them from a skyscraper.
However, aside from a few specialized organs, their biological structure is identical to a human's. I had aimed for the one weakness all humans share.
"You… you bastard…!!"
The Ghoul, down on one knee, glared at me with murderous eyes. He tried to rise but failed repeatedly, his hands slipping back into the electrified water. He wanted to pull away from the current, but his body wouldn't obey. The furrows on his brow deepened.
It wasn't just rage. It was an agony that even a Ghoul struggled to endure. One should never underestimate household electricity. There is a reason a person might survive a 100,000-volt taser but die from a domestic accident. Even if the Voltage (V) is relatively low, an Amperage (A) high enough can easily stop a heart. Household electricity, for the win.
I tapped my own temple mockingly as I looked down at him.
"Even if your skin is as tough as some special alloy, if your jaw gets rattled, your brain is going to rattle with it. We're built the same way, you see?"
The weak point I had targeted at the cost of both my hands was the jaw. It wasn't enough to kill him, but it was the perfect spot to render him momentarily incapacitated. A concussed brain and an electrical prison at his feet—no matter how monstrous a Ghoul's physical prowess might be, shaking this off would be no small feat.
Part of me wanted to beat him into the floor until he stopped moving, but I couldn't afford to be delusional. This was a temporary reprieve. If he recovered even a fraction of his strength and launched a surprise attack, I was as good as dead. The only logical choice was to use this window to run.
I threw open the balcony window the Ghoul had broken earlier and grabbed the rope tied to the railing post, tossing it over the edge. The Ghoul looked bewildered at the sight of an escape rope ready and waiting, as if it had been prepared just for this moment.
"About five years ago, a man much, 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 scarier than you broke into this place. I prepared this based on that experience."
If you're curious about what that man looked like, take a look at the Buddhist altar next to you. You might see the face of my father, likely wearing a murderous grin just for you.
I checked that the rope reached all the way to the ground from the fifth floor and stepped onto the railing. But then…
"Oh, one more thing before I go."
I hopped back down and grabbed the dented frying pan. I stood behind the Ghoul, who was currently crawling toward the electrical outlet to pull the wire. His backside was conveniently raised. I swung my arm in a massive upward arc and hurled the pan with everything I had.
𝘛𝘩𝘸𝘢𝘤𝘬!!!
"...!!!!!"
I nodded, satisfied by the sight of his face contorting in an agonizing, silent scream.
"I guess the reaction to being hit in the groin is the same for Ghouls and humans alike."
Calculated that this had bought me another three or four seconds, I stepped back onto the balcony and seized the rope.
"𝘒𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘨𝘩!!"
The moment I swung myself over the railing, a monstrous roar erupted from the room. I glanced back to see the metallic Kagune erupting from his back, lashing out wildly in a fit of rage and humiliation. It struck the wire I had jammed into the outlet, tearing it out.
The Ghoul, freed from his electrical cage, lunged toward the balcony. His brain hadn't fully recovered from the concussion, but he didn't care; he scrambled across the floor on all fours like a beast.
"…!!!"
𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩!!!
The moment I dropped, his hideous Kagune slammed into the steel railing, crumpling it instantly. It was a miracle his brain was still rattled; otherwise, that strike would have certainly taken my life.
The railing was a mangled mess, but the base where the rope was anchored held. My heart skipped a beat as I saw him aim his Kagune at the rope's anchor point.
"I am 𝘯𝘰𝘵 diving from a five-story building again!!"
I nearly died when I fell into that tree last time!
Swallowing the rest of the thought, I focused on what was ahead. Following the principle of a pendulum, my body swung through the air, the exterior wall of the building rushing toward me. I momentarily loosened my grip on the rope, letting myself slide downward.
Instead of a concrete wall, I was now facing the window of the third-floor apartment directly below mine.
Sorry to whoever lives here, but I'm coming in!
𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳!!!
I burst through the glass, rolled across the floor to break my fall, and sprang to my feet. It was a movement so fluid I felt a brief flash of self-admiration. If I could just run out the front door now, it would be a perfect escape.
However, that smooth sequence of motion came to a dead halt.
""....""
Two pairs of eyes, frozen in absolute shock, were fixed on me. It was a couple, and judging by their state, they had been quite busy. They were tangled together, half-naked, with flushed cheeks and heavy breaths.
As the adrenaline from fighting a Ghoul began to clash with the sudden, unwanted arrival of sheer embarrassment, I gave them a polite bow.
"Pardon the intrusion during your busy schedule. I'll be leaving immediately, so please, don't mind me and carry on with what you were doing."
"LIKE WE CAN JUST CARRY OOOOOOOONNNN!!!!!!"
"𝘒𝘺𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘨𝘩!!!!!!"
The man lunged at me with a golf club he had pulled from god-knows-where, and the woman screamed as she scrambled to cover herself. I didn't have time for excuses. I wrenched the front door open and fled into the hallway.
The moment I reached the corridor, I vaulted over the railing. Diving from the fifth floor was a traumatic prospect, but at three stories—and with a grassy lawn below—I could handle the impact if I braced myself.
𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘥!!
Even with a proper landing, the shock vibrated deep into my bones. The ribs I'd cracked fighting the Ghoul let out a fresh scream of agony, though my brain dutifully pumped out more adrenaline and endorphins to soothe the pain. I was fine for now, but I knew the bill for this physical debt would be astronomical later.
I looked back. The man from the third floor was still shouting at the top of his lungs, but there was no sign of the Ghoul. Knowing he could recover and attack at any moment, I turned and ran with every bit of strength I had left.
The man from the third floor had been enjoying a heated moment with his girlfriend, inspired by an adult film he'd rented from the local shop. That atmosphere had been utterly demolished by a lunatic who had crashed through his window out of nowhere.
The intruder had been covered in wounds, but the man didn't have the mental capacity to care about the stranger's circumstances. Regardless of his reasons, the man had shattered his window, committed illegal entry, and ruined a very intimate moment. Rage was the only logical response.
He had chased the intruder with his favorite golf club, but his pursuit had been in vain. Within fifteen minutes, the chase ended with the intruder vanishing into the city streets.
As the sun fully set, he returned home to find his girlfriend still recovering from the shock.
"Honey, what happened? Did you catch that pervert?"
"No, he gave me the slip in the streets. Damn it, if I ever catch him, I'll kill him!!"
"My man is so cool!"
The man pulled his girlfriend into his "dependable" chest and let out a boisterous laugh. But then…
"𝘋𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘺𝘺𝘺𝘺𝘺𝘺𝘺!!!"
A young girl suddenly poked her head through the front door, which the man had left open in his haste.
She looked to be about five or six years old. Her shoulder-length hair rippled softly, and she was pretty enough that she would undoubtedly grow up to be a beauty who broke many hearts.
But this girl was currently rushing into his home, calling for her father. Her large eyes were brimming with tears that threatened to overflow at any moment, and she wore the piteous expression of a baby bird that had lost its parents.
"Daddy!! Where is Daddy…! My Daddy…! Daddy…!!"
Her voice, thick with tears, rambled the word "Daddy" over and over. As the man stood there, dumbfounded by the child who had suddenly invaded his home, a cold voice cut through the air.
"…Honey, who is this child?"
The voice of his girlfriend, who had been nestled against his chest, had turned ice-cold.
"Wh—?! I-I don't know! I've never seen her before!!"
"What do you mean you don't know?! Why is she calling you Daddy then?!"
"I'm telling you, I don't know her!!!"
The misunderstanding sparked a violent storm between the man and the woman.
However, the young girl who had brought the storm soon realized that what she was looking for wasn't in this house. Scenting the trail of blood fading into the air, she turned and sprinted back out into the night.