Red.
Everything was red.
His vision was red, his hands were red.
His face was red.
His fist was red with sticky blood. His emotions burned with red rage.
*Squelch...* The metal fist struck the softened red mush—all that remained of Dirty Baal's head.
The fist crushed the creature's eyeballs. The fist shattered the facial bones and smashed the skull.
The fist reached the brain and did to it what a bartender does to fruit in a cocktail shaker.
The fist…
"Ha... Ha... Ha..." He breathed rapidly, leaning over the bloody mess that was all that remained of Dirty Baal.
Acting mechanically, he swung his fist again, but stopped it in midair.
"..." The red began to recede from his eyes, and the incessant ringing ceased to assault his ears.
All that remained was his heart hammering in his chest, his rapid breathing...
And the carnage before him.
He couldn't take his eyes off it. He had no right to look away.
"..." He still hadn't said a word, but his mind was filled with horror, no less than the spectacle before him.
Many people disliked Dirty Baals.
Imposed, instilled, invented, justified, true, righteous... There were many reasons to dislike these creatures.
But did they have to die?
Why did they have to die?
"..." As he continued to watch the massacre, his eye began to twitch.
Why did he have to kill them?
Why did he kill them?
He attacked them, and in response, they attacked him.
Was he to blame for attacking first? Perhaps.
Were they to blame for refusing to negotiate? Perhaps.
But the reasons were irrelevant.
The Dirty Baals were just doing their job, and he was doing his — that was the answer.
"..." In the final struggle, the enemy cut his right hand, and now red liquid flowed from his hand directly into the red pulp that used to be Dirty Baal's head.
Despite all his hatred for these creatures, their insides were no different from those of humans. He had seen it himself — inside, they were both the same... red.
'AAAAAAAAAAA!!!'
He screamed frantically in his head, but only heavy breathing came out.
What was in that silent scream? He didn't know himself.
"…" His lips began to tremble as well. Nevertheless, he did not utter a single sound.
It looked as though he might start crying.
"..." He bit his lip and finally looked away from the remains of Dirty Baal.
If anyone had seen his face at that moment, they would have realized that it was wet... with blood.
Nevertheless, he raised his head, and his trembling lips formed a forced smile.
"I fucking love this job…"
He said this, looking at the shadowed interior of the car, which had remained in the shadows until now.
"…"
However, he could not have expected that his gaze would find someone looking back.
He met the eyes of a deep blue hue and predatory slit pupils.
There was something special in the way it looked at him.
Something that inexplicably made him feel a strange sense of understanding with the creature.
Of course, it was all nonsense... But what could he possibly have in common with it? He didn't know and would probably never find out.
But whatever the case, at that moment, he felt a little better.
And a hint of sincerity appeared in his forced smile.
"Cat...?"
…
In the back of the SUV was something resembling a cage, about a meter and a half tall
It was impossible to see what exactly was inside. It was clear that it was some kind of object covered with thick brown fabric and filling most of the cage.
And yet, besides this object in the cage, there was something else... someone else.
"A cat..." he said again, as if he couldn't quite believe his eyes.
"..." A black cat with blue eyes was in the cage, standing right in front of the covered object. As if guarding it.
Of course, he had heard from Marcel and Paymax that various types of animals could exist in this world, so the cat's presence was quite understandable.
But why was this cat in a cage? The purpose of his contract was to steal a small item, so why was there a cage here at all?
His assignment, the convoy of garbage collectors chosen to transport contraband, the cat... It was all very strange.
"..." He tried to wipe the excess blood off himself and stood up.
The cut on his arm was bleeding, but that bothered him less now.
He slowly made his way to the cage.
"..." The cat kept staring at him intensely, but did not move.
Its reaction was strange. After the shootout and such a bloody spectacle, it was obvious that any animal would be frightened...
But it didn't seem like the cat was afraid of him. Its fur wasn't bristling and remained smooth, and its tail barely twitched. Except for its piercing gaze, it showed no emotion...
And yet, it seemed as if the cat was wary of him and, if necessary, ready to fight to protect what was behind it.
"What the..." He shook his head to dispel the strange impression inspired by this creature and its piercing gaze.
The cat was strange, but not that strange…
Approaching the cage, he crouched down, trying to be at eye level with the creature.
Only now did he notice that the cat was quite long for a cat. Its body alone looked to be about a meter long, and with its tail, it could reach up to a meter and a half.
"Hello," he said, trying to smile, and raised his hand in greeting.
"..." The cat took a small, cautious step back and glanced at his hand.
"Damn..." Looking at his palm, he saw that it was completely covered in blood and understood the creature's reaction.
It seemed that his first impression was completely ruined...
"...h-hng."
"...?"
A strange squeaking sound came from the cage. Looking at the cat, he realized that it was silent.
Indeed, the sound seemed to come from the object covered with cloth. Looking closely, he noticed it trembling faintly.
It was as if someone was shaking with fear.
"What the...?" he whispered and reached his hand through the cage, intending to pull down the cloth.
"..."
However, meeting the cat's cold gaze, he decided to stop his impulse and approach from the other side.
"Ahem. Is anyone there...?"
"S-señor! P-please don't kill me!" came a frightened squeak.
The incident made his eyebrows shoot up.
"Señor?" he said in surprise.
"D-don't kill me!!!"
The thick fabric slipped off, revealing behind the cat…
"A crying... girl?" he whispered, not believing his eyes.