There was no time for him to regret it now; a strange sound had already reached them.
Tap, tap-tap.
It sounded like an old person wearing rubber shoes walking on a rainy night, and just hearing it made Yukinoshita Yukino and Shinomiya Kaguya's hearts tighten.
"The Starving Ghost is here?"
"I wonder what kind of anomaly occurred with this thing at Soichiro Kuzuki's place..."
Kisaragi Rin looked in that direction, only hoping this was the Starving Ghost he remembered.
"Should we deal with this ghost here?"
Gilgamesh asked, the [Arrow of Slaying the Ancient Sun God] already in her hand.
As long as the arrow hit through [Lock-on], the immobilized Starving Ghost would be sealed in gold, ensuring an instant resolution to this ghost.
"Of course, we should give that Soichiro Kuzuki guy a surprise."
Kisaragi Rin replied.
The dark blue mist grew thicker, and the power of the Ghost Domain reached its peak at this moment.
And from the direction of the footsteps, a second sound appeared.
That was... the sound of a knife being sharpened.
In just two moments, the Starving Ghost appeared.
It was of medium build, entirely dark blue, like a corpse forgotten for years in a cold storage.
Overall, it perfectly matched Kisaragi Rin's imagination of the Starving Ghost when he read novels.
However, this corpse was also draped in a layer of human skin.
It was very thin and small, with red and black stretch marks covering its thin skin, and its limbs and face were as fragmented as a Scarecrow in a wheat field. The only prominent feature was the billhook on its forehead.
From there, the sound of constant knife sharpening emanated.
"Ito Makoto?"
Looking at this layer of human skin, Esdeath generally recognized it as her former Master.
The reason the Ghost Infant could develop to the fourth stage in three days was because Soichiro Kuzuki had chosen a decent incubator for it.
Compared to ordinary people, players still had quite a few advantages in terms of nutritional value.
The moment Ito Makoto came to flirt, Steve Rogers had placed the infant on him.
"So this is Makoto-ge?"
"They can be together happily, I guess."
As Kisaragi Rin spoke, the Starving Ghost had already appeared in front of Emiya Shirou and reached out to him.
Within the Ghost Domain, spatial distance held no meaning for the Starving Ghost; it could appear anywhere in the Ghost Domain if it wished.
Because it had no self-awareness, the Starving Ghost regarded Emiya Shirou, who had the highest concentration of mystery, as its primary hunting target. The simple act of reaching out made Emiya Shirou feel a bone-chilling cold.
This [Starving Ghost] indeed could ignore the Pseudo Immortal-Slaying Blade Constitution brought by the Corrupted Holy Grail!
If it devoured Emiya Shirou, one couldn't imagine what reaction the Corrupted Holy Grail would have with the Starving Ghost.
However, the oppressive force of the [Starving Ghost] had already vanished the moment Kisaragi Rin knew of its existence.
If one didn't know that "ghosts cannot affect gold," then it would be an immortal and indestructible ultimate weapon capable of killing all living beings in the Ghost Domain.
But if you knew... Batman can take on Superman with Kryptonite, so why would a mere Starving Ghost expect to be invincible!
Its lack of self-awareness meant that the [Starving Ghost] would not arbitrarily change its actions due to other things before killing its primary target.
As it appeared before Emiya Shirou, Gilgamesh also drew her chosen bowstring.
Then, through [Lock-on]! Through [Time Zero]!
The [Arrow of Slaying the Ancient Sun God], imbued with infinite power, directly struck the Starving Ghost!
Although the Paradise's description was a bit strange, the power of Shinomiya Kaguya's trump card Item was undeniable.
Perhaps the player Ito Makoto underwent some mutation when incubating the Starving Ghost, which is why he remained as human skin beside the Starving Ghost. Perhaps the sound of sharpening on its forehead came from a [Billhook Devil] from another world.
All of this became irrelevant the moment the [Arrow of Slaying the Ancient Sun God] arrived.
Ito Makoto's last remnants were instantly reduced to ashes!
Then the drop of golden blood met the Starving Ghost. From Gilgamesh's Divine Speed perspective, the Starving Ghost's original movements stopped. The blood of the Ancient Sun God, representing judgment and punishment, confronted the killing rules on the Starving Ghost with absolute divinity.
Neither was willing to yield, nor could they yield.
Starving Ghost, immobilized!
Seeing this, Gilgamesh finally relaxed.
She took out the golden box constructed by Medea using [Item Creation], and in an instant, sealed the Starving Ghost inside this one-meter-thick pure gold box.
Hmm... the gold was provided by Gilgamesh.
—
The moment the Starving Ghost was imprisoned, the sky over Fuyuki City returned to normal.
In just a few minutes, Fuyuki City was filled with corpses and chaos. The sunlight shining down on the city instead gave it a desolate, wasteland-like feel.
The two Steve Rogers stared blankly at the vanished Ghost Domain and remained silent for a long time.
"The Starving Ghost is gone."
"I can see that."
"Once this thing forms a Ghost Domain, even we find it difficult to regain control."
"I know that too."
"So, he must know the ghost's weakness."
"I think so too."
"He's not from Japan."
"Mm."
"Do you know you were wrong?"
"I know I was wrong."
"Will you change next time?"
"In the next life."
Steve Rogers quietly stared at his neurotic self, who was constantly asking and answering questions beside him, and after a long while, calmly asked, "Are you mocking me?"
"Mocking?" Steve Rogers stopped his one-man show, tilted his head, and said, "How could you think that? I am you, and you are me. If I mock you, wouldn't I be mocking myself?"
Just after giving that answer, Steve Rogers's sincere expression suddenly changed.
He pulled down the corners of his mouth, revealing the Joker's signature smile to Steve Rogers.
"Ah haha! It's very funny, isn't it..."
The next moment, he couldn't laugh anymore; Hydra had bitten off his head.
Expressionlessly devouring himself, sensing his bloodline continuously improving, Steve Rogers was about to control Hydra to swallow the last thigh.
Then a mouth and a middle finger emerged from the foot of that thigh.
"I knew you'd get triggered, you idiot."
Controlling the flesh and blood to reassemble into his own form, Yuusuke threw away his square-framed glasses.
He said, "Tail-Devourer."
The next moment, the sky turned blood red!