"W-what in the world is this thing?!" the scrawny Ghoul shrieked hysterically, his Koukaku-wrapped right arm flailing wildly, but the scarlet viscous fluid, like a living entity, coiled tighter and tighter.
...
Death came more peacefully than imagined.
The moment the Koukaku pierced his chest, He Xi Qian Yu clearly felt his heart stop beating. The world seemed to be muted, and all his senses rapidly receded from him.
"Is this how... it ends?"
He thought unwillingly before his consciousness plunged into darkness.
He had inexplicably transmigrated, then was targeted by two Ghouls.
He had just arrived in this world, never expecting to meet his end so soon.
He had so many unfulfilled wishes.
But he could do nothing.
...
In the deep-sea-like darkness, a strange voice suddenly rang out:
"It's not time to die yet..."
"The Slaughter... has just begun..."
The voice seemed to come from both outside his body and from the depths of his soul. Qianyu felt a powerful force awakening within him, tearing through the haze of death like a butterfly breaking free from its cocoon.
When his consciousness regained control of his body, what he felt was no longer a human flesh-and-blood body. Some entity was perfectly fused with him, every nerve trembling with this new life.
He knew what this was.
...
The scarlet liquid spread quickly, soon enveloping He Xi Qian Yu's entire body.
When He Xi Qian Yu opened his eyes again, he was no longer in his previous form.
His entire body was covered by a scarlet exoskeleton differentiated from the symbiote, his physique was more robust, and dozens of barbed tentacles wriggled on his back.
His human face was gone, replaced by a pair of pale eyes and a terrifying gaping mouth with a long scarlet tongue and sharp fangs.
He felt an unprecedented power surging within him, a strength he had never experienced before.
It was like being reborn.
This was He Xi Qian Yu's feeling at this moment.
He pulled the Koukaku from his body under the Ghoul's terrified gaze, and the wound healed at a visible rate, causing him no harm whatsoever.
He Xi Qian Yu easily broke the Koukaku. He ripped out the opponent's Kagune sac from under their shoulder blade and swallowed it without hesitation.
The moment the Kagune sac entered his stomach, He Xi Qian Yu clearly felt a new power surge within him; the symbiote wriggled excitedly, craving more.
He realized that, just like the "Ghoul cannibalism" behavior, by devouring Kagune sacs, he could also enhance his own strength.
...
"A... Ghoul?!"
The scrawny Ghoul looked at He Xi Qian Yu in front of him in horror; he had already taken He Xi Qian Yu for a Ghoul.
The "Ghoul cannibalism" behavior among Ghouls can lead to a surge in RC cell count and changes in their Kagune, and the Kagune sacs may also increase, eventually evolving into a Ghoul.
For Ghouls, cannibalism is taboo, and "Ghouls" as the ultimate product of this taboo are extremely rare, so the scrawny Ghoul had never truly seen a Ghoul.
He Xi Qian Yu's current appearance had completely exceeded his comprehension, and he could only explain it as a "Ghoul."
"A Ghoul, huh... It doesn't matter..."
He Xi Qian Yu had no intention of explaining.
On the one hand, in his symbiote-possessed state, he indeed had many similarities to a Ghoul; on the other hand, the scrawny Ghoul was already a dead man in his eyes.
All he wanted to do now was send these two Ghouls to hell.
He didn't want to, and didn't need to, explain so much to a dead man.
Tentacles, like venomous snakes, wrapped around the scrawny Ghoul's body, the barbs deeply embedded in his flesh. Amidst the shrill screams, He Xi Qian Yu opened his fanged maw and bit off the victim's head whole.
"Delicious..."
Compared to Kagune sacs, human brains were clearly more appealing to the symbiote and provided more significant power, and Ghoul brains were no different.
He Xi Qian Yu's symbiote body immediately became more solid, visibly expanding by several inches, and more tentacles grew on his back.
Casually tossing the scrawny Ghoul's body aside, He Xi Qian Yu turned his gaze to the other Ghoul who had just gotten back on his feet.
The burly Ghoul turned to flee but was yanked back by suddenly extending tentacles. He Xi Qian Yu savored the despair in the opponent's eyes, slowly licking his blood-stained fangs: "It's your turn."
...
When the last corpse fell, the scarlet viscous fluid receded like a tide. He Xi Qian Yu knelt on the ground, gasping for air. Under the moonlight, his shadow was no different from an ordinary person's, as if the Slaughter had been just a nightmare.
"How do you feel?" The voice in his mind carried a bloodthirsty pleasure.
"Just like... I had a dream." He Xi Qian Yu wiped the blood from his face, his fingertips still trembling slightly.
Perhaps because of the Slaughter, he didn't feel much discomfort.
Minutes ago, he was a lamb to the Slaughter; now, he had become the hunter.
...
In the original work, when the villain Cletus Kasady was executed by lethal injection, the drug reacted chemically with the venomous tissue in his body, and through their interaction, "Slaughter" was born.
He Xi Qian Yu was gambling that the same thing could happen to him.
He won the gamble. The chemical reaction between the lethal injection and the venom fragments indeed spawned "Slaughter"—the most dangerous symbiote.
With the symbiote's power, he easily counter-killed the two Ghouls.
...
"This is just the beginning..." Slaughter whispered, "I want more..."
"We will get more," He Xi Qian Yu replied calmly, "but not senseless killing."
The voice in his mind was silent for a moment: "Are you trying to... control me?"
"No." Qianyu looked at the lights of the distant coffee shop, "I just hope we can... understand each other. After all..."
He stroked the healed wound on his chest: "We are one."
"You seem to know me well?"
"Of course, I know 'us' very well."
It seemed he hadn't expected him to say that; He Xi Qian Yu could feel Slaughter pause.
The voice in his mind didn't immediately respond. After a while, Slaughter spoke again.
"Slaughter... All I want is Slaughter... That's all..."
"I will give you the Slaughter you want, and in exchange, I hope you will listen to me normally."
Although He Xi Qian Yu didn't particularly want to live a life of constant fighting and killing, he had to admit that this world never lacked blood and Slaughter.
He had a premonition that from the moment he killed these two Ghouls, his life was destined to drift further and further from the ordinary.
Even among all symbiotes, Slaughter's birth was extremely special, and precisely because of its unique birth method, Slaughter was extremely difficult to separate from its host.
Or rather, they were originally one.
But he was not Cletus Kasady, that madman. Whether in his previous life or this one, his identity was merely that of an ordinary university student. He could not become a complete murderer, constantly surrounded by blood and Slaughter, just for Slaughter's selfish desires.
He had his own life.
Slaughter remained silent.
...
After a long silence, Slaughter finally responded: "Remember your promise..."
His lips curved into a slight smile.
"Of course." He Xi Qian Yu's lips curved into a slight smile. The night wind swept through the blood-stained alley, bringing the scent of coffee from afar. He knew that from this night on, an ordinary life was a luxury. But at least—
He had survived.