"Have you guys heard?"
Inside the Paranormal Research Club, Marin leaned in with a mysterious look.
"Heard what?" Miko asked on reflex.
Marin didn't answer directly. Instead she asked, "You know that news from a while back about missing girls, right?"
That caught Yukino's attention. She set her book down with a frown. "You mean the case where more than twenty girls disappeared in three days?"
She's the type who follows the news, and she'd read about it.
Marin's eyes lit up and she nodded quickly. "Yep, yep! This morning, they cracked it."
"What exactly happened?" Yukino pressed. At school she isn't glued to her phone like Marin, so she hadn't seen today's update.
Eriri and Megumi looked over too—over twenty missing people in three days sounded huge.
"Was it a kidnapping ring?" Eriri guessed.
Marin shook her head. "You won't believe it—it was one person."
"One person kidnapped more than twenty girls in three days?" That sounded impossibly hard. How could he act that frequently without being caught?
"It's true! They found them in a restaurant basement. The owner was the culprit." Marin shivered as she spoke. "They say there were people chained up, and bodies gutted and hanging on hooks… probably organ trafficking."
"Ugh!"
With Marin's description the images hit hard. Miko and Eriri both shuddered. "That's terrifying."
As the one who'd actually been there, Tatsuki had the right to clarify. "It wasn't organ trafficking. It was cannibalism."
"Huh?" Marin stared at him. "How do you know?"
Everyone's eyes swung to him. Eating people—the words alone chilled the room.
Megumi's gaze flickered as she ventured, "An irregularity?"
"Megumi, smart as ever. It was a man-eating monster."
He gave her a thumbs-up—spot on.
With that hint, the others remembered: it didn't have to be humans eating people. If a monster did it, the logic fit.
Though disgusted by cannibalism, Yukino's curiosity sharpened on the truth. "Tatsuki, are you saying the restaurant owner was the monster? Or that he was feeding humans to one?"
"The owner himself was the monster—something called a ghoul."
Yukino blinked. "You mean… a humanoid monster?"
"Think of them as a kind of demi-human—humans mutated by some cause into a subspecies. They can almost only eat humans or their own kind. Normal food is difficult for them to swallow."
"There's really something that twisted?" Eriri's jaw dropped. A man-eating monster whose origin is mutated human—that was twisted on two levels.
"Ghouls are exactly that twisted," Tatsuki said. From what he knew of that story, ghouls were warped not only in body but in mind.
"Is it really fine to just let a ghoul go to prison?" Yukino worried aloud. That was still a man-eating creature.
Marin, however, looked baffled as she scrolled her phone. "But the news says the owner's a lunatic—kept shrieking nonstop. And those girls don't remember anything; they only know he kidnapped them."
"That part was me." Tatsuki tapped the table; a cup of tea appeared. He took a leisurely sip and explained. "The man was Shizuka-sensei's blind date. I ran into it last night and uncovered his secret."
"As for the girls, I altered their memories so they'd forget the gore."
"And the ghoul… I sentenced him to endless, undying punishment. He's stuck between life and death now—he'll experience pain for all eternity."
"Shizuka-sensei!" Eriri snapped her fingers. "So that's why you stayed at a hotel with her last night?"
"Eh?! A hotel—with Shizuka Hiratsuka-sensei?!" Miko had been trembling through the cannibal talk; this new piece of info left her dumbstruck.
Marin, unbothered, craned over toward Tatsuki with a mischievous grin. "Tatsuki-kun, you didn't—y'know—do anything with Shizuka-sensei, right?"
Even Yukino, rarely flustered, shot an intensely curious look at that. Tatsuki and Shizuka-sensei… she didn't dare picture it.
Tatsuki's mouth twitched. He flicked Marin's forehead with a sharp pop and said dryly, "Don't talk nonsense. She was terrified and drugged. I took her to a hotel to rest, that's all."
"Ow… jeez, if nothing happened then nothing happened. Why hit me…" Marin covered her forehead, watery-eyed.
Miko and Yukino both exhaled in relief. If something had happened, Yukino wouldn't have stopped it… but nothing was obviously better.
She returned to the ghoul issue, worry returning. "Are there many ghouls?"
"Not many. In fact, as far as I can tell, only that one—just in the last few days."
Tatsuki grimaced. From Vensuke's memories he'd learned that ghouls weren't like ghosts, filth, onmyōji, or yokai.
Take Vensuke: his memories showed a perfectly normal life—nothing about living as a ghoul. Then three days ago he awakened as one… and a whole extra life's worth of ghoul memories just appeared in his head.
It was bizarre—as if a copy of him from a ghoul timeline had been jammed into his body.
He'd never eaten anyone before the change. Only after mutating did he start.
At first Tatsuki thought it was an apocalypse factor. Now he figured he'd guessed wrong. This awakening-style mutation into a ghoul was downright eerie—like two identical isomers fusing into one.
"I've already broadcast my mind across the globe," Tatsuki said, "and I haven't sensed any other ghouls."
He added, "So keep an eye on people around you. They could mutate at any time."
He looked specifically at Miko. "You especially. If you're in danger, call any one of us."
Miko nodded meekly. "Okay…"
They exchanged looks and nodded soberly. Ghouls were trouble.
For Tatsuki, this was a reminder—the apocalypse wouldn't be simple. He still needed to get stronger.
He opened his chat profile:
[Human]: Tatsuki
[Points]: 7.52 million
[Apocalypse]: Spiritual Apocalypse (12 stars), Anomalous Apocalypse (12 stars), Unstable Apocalypse (12 stars)
[Abilities]:
B-Rank: Physical Enhancement (lv 4), Lightning Dharma: Yin Lightning (lv 4), Rokushiki (lv 4), Armament Haki (lv 3), Observation Haki (lv 4)
A-Rank: Intuition (lv 4)
S-Rank: Gemstone - Vector Manipulation (lv 6), Zanpakuto: Dominator (lv 6), Gluttony (lv 6)
SS-Rank: Myriad Worlds Mystic Eyes of Death Perception (lv 7), Chaos Wings (lv 6)
Currently 7.52 million apocalypse points.
To level Death Perception to lv 8?
He glanced at the cost… 25 million points.
A massive number—nope, not happening right now.
He decided to raise something else. Chaos Wings could grow through faith and sin and were mostly support at the moment—no rush. He turned to S-rank… and after a moment, chose the old favorite: Vector Manipulation.
[Ding! You spent 5,000,000 apocalypse points to upgrade an ability!]
[Gemstone - Vector Manipulation to lv 7!]
He checked if it could go higher. It still could. He let out a breath. S-rank to 1v8 seemed doable. Above S-rank, though, the ceiling felt like a chasm compared to other skills.
"Got 2.52 million left—time for a round of the wheel."
It had been a while—gacha time!
Before spinning, Tatsuki beckoned Megumi, Yukino, and Eriri to come over. Marin and Miko watched curiously.
Eriri scowled. "What are you plotting?"
She knew he'd been out all night—Kanae had passed along that he stayed at a hotel to take care of Shizuka-sensei.
"Come on, Eriri—sit on my lap." He patted his thigh.
"No way!" She turned her head and refused at once.
"That's not a request."
The little tsundere act again—Tatsuki simply scooped her up and sat her sideways on his lap.
"Ugh, you—!" Eriri fumed, burying her face against his neck and giving him a tiny bite. If her little fangs were longer she'd pass for a vampire.
Then his arms slid around Megumi and Yukino, one on each side. Those two were obediently compliant.
"Tatsuki, what is this for?" Megumi tilted her head.
"Hehe. Borrowing luck." He smiled mysteriously—and spun the wheel.
As expected, the first nine pulls were either blanks or junk. Barely any combat items, and even a pack of soldier pills—what was he supposed to do with those?
On the tenth pull, it felt like a mini pity-counter kicked in.
Hit.
[Ding! Congratulations, you obtained the item: Perfect Float-Float Fruit!]
[Item]: Perfect Float-Float Fruit
[Effect]: Upon consumption, grants an A-rank ability: Perfect Float-Float Fruit.
Tatsuki's eyes brightened. Unlike Nami's and Shinobu's fused Devil Fruit powers, this was an item. Eat it, gain the ability. If he didn't need it, a teammate could.
"Good start." He spun again.
Another ten—hit.
[Ding! Congratulations, you obtained the tool: Perfect Stand Arrow!]
[Tool]: Stand Arrow
[Effect]: Using the Perfect Stand Arrow guarantees awakening of a Stand between C- and A-rank. Single-use.
"A Stand Arrow—from JoJo!" Not quite the original, given it capped out at A-rank and was one-time use… If it could guarantee an S-rank Stand, he'd stab himself on the spot. "I'll stash it for now."
Third round.
The first nine were more small fry—at least a Senzu Bean softened the blow.
Then the tenth—the wheel slowed… clicked… and stopped.
[Ding! Congratulations, you obtained the item: Infinity Stone — Space Stone!]
[Item]: Infinity Stone — Space Stone
[Effect]: A perfect user can instantly move themselves or any objects anywhere, and may manipulate space at will according to their intent.
"—!"
Tatsuki was stunned. An Infinity Stone. The Space Stone.
That's straight out of Marvel.
By canon, Infinity Stones don't function outside their native universe. But since this came from the Apocalypse Chat Group… usage should be fine, right?
...
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