As already mentioned, Ren knew where his brother was at the moment. He was with his friends, who lived a bit farther out near the edge of the large city. From this, Ren concluded that it was more likely that his brother was unharmed—unlike Emma, who lived only two streets away from him.
With red, swollen, and blurry eyes, Ren swallowed his grief for the time being and made his way toward his childhood friend.
His clothes were completely stained red with the blood of his mother, whom he had just been holding tightly.
But for now, that didn't matter.
"I have to find Emma quickly!"
he shouted as he wiped away the last of his tears with the back of his right hand, along with the blood running from the gash on his head caused by his earlier fall, and started running.
It didn't take long before he reached his destination.
"Emma…"
he muttered quietly. A sense of déjà vu unfolded before his eyes. Her house, too, was nothing more than a large pile of destroyed walls and furniture.
Ren's head sank downward. It seemed as if he had lost his last bit of hope—until he suddenly heard a very familiar voice behind him. A voice he had heard almost every day.
"REN!"
It was Emma, sprinting toward him with tears in her eyes.
Ren turned around, and in the very next moment, she was already in his arms.
"I'm so glad you're okay, Ren! I was just at your place and couldn't find you! I thought that maybe—"
She cut herself off with a quiet sob.
"I thought something terrible had happened to you."
Crying, she pressed herself tightly against him. After a brief glance behind her at the house, Ren realized that Emma had suffered the same fate as he had. Her parents were probably both buried somewhere beneath the rubble behind them.
"Please stay with me, Ren!"
Sobbing, she rubbed her tear-filled eyes against the jacket of his school uniform and clutched it tightly.
"Don't worry, Emma. I'll stay with you."
Her crying finally began to subside, and she slowly looked up at him. Immediately, her large eyes drew him in.
"Promise?"
She looked at him with teary eyes and a red face.
"I promise you, Emma."
At his own words, his thoughts immediately returned to the promise he had made to his mother just minutes ago.
"Thank you, Ren."
Slowly, the girl pulled away from him, took his hands, and stepped back slightly so she could look at him properly. She held his hands tightly, as if she never wanted to let go again.
She suddenly turned completely red and looked down at their hands.
Ren simply smiled at her. To be honest, he himself was completely overwhelmed and didn't know what to say.
"Thank you for always being there for me!"
Emma said, finally looking back up so their gazes met again.
"This is probably the worst possible moment, Ren… but I have to say it now."
Her face turned red—redder than it already was. Through their still-joined hands, Ren could feel her trembling all over. Slowly, he began to get an idea of what was happening. His heart started beating faster.
Emma closed her eyes briefly, took one last deep breath, and then opened them again.
"Ren… I lov—"
Ren suddenly felt something wet splash across his face and quickly shut his eyes. His arms dropped as the tension in Emma's hands disappeared. Still, he was holding onto her hands. Almost immediately, he realized that something was wrong.
Ren slowly opened his eyes again.
But Emma was no longer standing in front of him.
Instead, there was a large figure wearing an open white lab coat. No pants or anything similar.
At first, the boy didn't understand what was happening and looked down. He was still holding Emma's hands—but the rest of her body was gone. All that remained were her torn-off, bloody hands.
"What!?"
He threw them to the ground and staggered backward, falling onto his back.
He looked more closely at the strange creature in front of him. Blood, skin, smooth brown hair, and a female school uniform he knew all too well clung to the white lab coat.
He didn't know how, but he slowly realized that this thing must have just killed Emma right in front of his eyes.
"So, you must be the last one from this bunker."
The monster spoke the same language as Ren.
"Shit… I guess I was a bit too fast again…"
it muttered, brushing the remains of Emma's body off its coat.
It had blue, scaly skin made of some strange material, along with a peculiar head shape. From the chin up past the eyes, it resembled a human, but above that was a large plate that shielded its eyes like a hat. It felt as if it were looking down at him from the shadows.
The creature had poisonous green eyes and a tail attached to its backside that resembled that of a T‑rex. Its legs were built from thick thighs, and its feet looked far more like a rex's than a human's. Beneath the lab coat, its powerful musculature was clearly visible.
Slowly, Ren came back to the present.
"EMMAAA!!!"
Shocked, he crawled backward, away from the monster. Beneath him, his hands repeatedly sank into the still-warm blood that had once circulated through Emma's body.
Ren's heart raced. His vision blurred. His breathing grew faster and faster. It felt as if he were on the verge of a panic attack.
"Oh? Did you know this monkey?"
the strange creature asked and took a step toward Ren.
"Don't be like that. There are plenty more of these specimens… but you, my boy, you're something very special."
it explained with a grin and slowly reached for Ren.
Before it could grab him, Ren quickly rolled to the right and dodged its hand. He skillfully pushed himself back up and stared straight into its green eyes—at least, he tried to. The monster was significantly taller than him, forcing him to look up.
Ren's expression looked like that of a devil. Never before had his usually kind face been twisted with such hatred and regret.
"I will kill you…"
"What are you muttering, monkey?"
The monster scratched the flat plate above its eyes, which seemed to be its forehead.
"I WILL KILL YOU!"
Ren roared in hatred and leapt past the creature on the right. Where he landed, he grabbed a knife lying on the ground—probably from the kitchen of Emma's house.
He clenched the black handle with his sticky, blood-soaked hands and sprinted toward the monster.
"Hm?"
It looked down at Ren with curiosity, as if watching a cat play with a toy.
"HAAAAAA!"
With a loud scream, Ren rushed forward and stabbed the knife into the creature's blue abdomen just before colliding with it.
The moment the blade's tip touched its skin, the knife snapped instantly. The broken blade grazed Ren's right cheek and landed behind him with a sharp clatter.
"W… what?"
Ren looked back up into its green eyes in disbelief.
"My turn."
A punch—far too fast for him to dodge—slammed directly into the left side of his ribs.
Ren was sent flying to the right, crashing through several buildings that were still standing, until he finally came to a stop on the ground with broken bones. He lost consciousness instantly.
Ren perceived a quiet beeping sound. It reminded him of the constant beeping of a heart monitor in a hospital.
Slowly, he opened his eyes, but he couldn't see much. Dazed, he let his pupils wander, trying to look around, but quickly realized that he couldn't move his head—or the rest of his body.
No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't break free. Someone must have strapped him onto some kind of table. Not only his limbs, but his head as well.
In this dark room, there was no light source except for a small screen beside him. It seemed to be displaying his heartbeat—or at least that was what Ren assumed. The rest of the screen was filled with strange symbols he couldn't decipher.
The dizziness slowly faded as he regained more and more awareness. At the same time, he began to feel a sharp pain in his right arm. It was an incredibly unpleasant sensation, as if something were constantly crawling inside his arm.
In the next moment, the lights turned on. His eyes burned. It hurt like hell, as if he were seeing light again for the first time in ages.
"Did you finally wake up?"
A familiar voice sounded directly in front of him, but he couldn't look toward it since his head was still restrained.
Heavy footsteps slowly approached him. One after another, getting closer and closer—until his suspicion was confirmed.
A strange creature with a flattened forehead appeared before him. It looked as if it were wearing a flat hat that cast a shadow over its green eyes.
"I was afraid that my punch might have been a bit too strong and that I wouldn't be able to bring you back."
it explained.
"You…"
Ren muttered in a hoarse voice. His body was probably still adjusting to being awake again.
Immediately, he pulled a grim expression and stared at the monster as if he wanted to kill it on the spot. He clenched his hands into fists so tightly that his now long fingernails dug into his flesh, causing small, bloody cuts.
"Hate me as much as you want,"
it said with a laugh.
"What awaits you will be far worse than anything you've experienced so far."
Laughing, it grabbed a small metal plate. The plate had a strange shape with a small bend in it.
The Creature stepped closer to Ren and pressed the plate against the right side of his neck. It lay flat against his skin, and due to its odd shape, it extended up to his cheek.
"Please try not to scream too loudly. I have a bit of a headache today, alright?"
the monster said with a grin and pressed a button on the plate.
Instantly, an unimaginable pain surged through Ren, as if the plate were burning itself into his skin.
He squeezed his eyes almost completely shut from the pain. But instead of screaming or reacting otherwise, he stared deeply into his opponent's eyes.
His thirst for revenge and murderous intent filled the entire room.
Then it became too much for him, and he lost consciousness once more. His body was still far too weakened.