Before the animals have begun to mutate, foxes in general were almost perfect animals. What they lacked in strength compared to the other predators, they made up for with their excellent senses.
Now that they've mutated, their overall tracking abilities have greatly improved.
No matter how careful the four men were in approaching Riku and his group silently. They were bound to get caught by Kohaku's senses, who didn't know what foxes were actually capable of.
Kohaku who sensed their presence immediately woke up Riku, who had tears in his eyes as he sleep. Having his pleasant dream interrupted, anger shone in his eyes as he searched for the culprit.
Seeing who the culprit was, his anger subsided as he wondered why Kohaku woke him up. It was important to note that unlike normal pets Kohaku was smart and wouldn't wake up Riku for no reason at all.
Searching his mind for any reason, he immediately remembered his last question to Kohaku before he went to sleep. Coldness filled his heart as he thought.
"There are people dying already yet there's still someone out there prioritizing his own emotions and is still willing to hurt his own kind."
Disgust filled his heart as he can't understand why someone would intend to harm their own kind whose numbers are diminishing already.
Perhaps it's because the situation is as it is and the only thing a human can value other than their own lives is their own emotions.
There was no one out there who was capable of taking care of others if there's a risk involved. The term dog eats dog fits the current society as Riku wondered what made the man confident enough to attack him.
"Was I too soft on him? Should I've just killed him before?
He thought to himself if he should've pulled out the roots before they grew into something. This wouldn't have happened after all, if he killed the man earlier.
Had it been at a later date and he managed to unknowingly offend someone with a System just like him, he might not wake up to regret it.
"No, I don't want to indiscriminately murder everyone just because they might take revenge. I should just be constantly prepared for whatever's coming and only deal with it when the time comes."
Riku didn't intend murder anyone before they actually act with the intention of harming him or those he considered important to him.
The Code of Hammurabi was the most accurate depiction of Riku's intention, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. The only difference is that he doesn't intend to discriminate others depending on their social class, whether it was the president of a country or a bum that lives in the streets, they'll be treated based on how they treat him.
Just as he thought of this he looked at the two women unaware of the probable incoming attack. He wore the mask the that he removed before going to sleep and lay on his back as he waited for the actions of the incoming men or man.
He didn't know how many there are but he was confident that he'll be able to deal with them based on their desperation to acquire his spear. The request made it known to him that they may have some weapons, but it the spear still has its value to them.
Meanwhile, Yori and his group finally felt the coldness disappear and the growling has stopped. They were finally able to move, but the effects of what they felt were apparent as they hesitated to continue the plan.
Seeing this, Yori immediately persuaded the three as he feared that they'll back away.
"The animal must've gone back to sleep already, look, if we try to approach closer and we hear that growling again we can always back away. Can we be called brave men if we're gonna stop just because of a growl?"
Hearing Yori's words their pride was hurt and with vigor they proceeded to continue their plan, it was nerve wracking when they were getting closer, it felt like an animal would suddenly lunge at them until they eventually reached a spot where they could see the man and two women along with a golden fox sleeping on the floor.
Seeing the figures of the women with curves in the right places, lust filled the eyes of the three men and regret could be seen in the eyes of Yori. The three men were happy they made the right choice and followed Yori instead of backing out.
Seeing the spear on one side, one man grabbed it while the other two slowly approached Riku. They were just about to grab him when he suddenly sat up straight.
All of the men were shocked for a second, followed by confusion when they see the mask he was wearing. The mask had a happy expression, there were two slits for the eyes while the lips almost reached from ear to ear and there was a wavy line dividing the two slits and one side was colored black and the other white.
A little bit freaked out, they hesitated for a while before they remembered that he was unarmed.Yori was just about to mock Riku, but he was interrupted by Riku, who said in a cold manner.
"We always regret things in the end, however you don't have to worry, I'll make sure you wouldn't get to regret it for so long."
Just as he said that Yori watched the three men he brought with him shaking, their mouths were moving as if they wanted to scream, but there were no sounds coming out.Yori could see the evident regret and fear in their eyes as he couldn't help but just stand there staring at this dumbfounding sight.
He fell on his knees as he said in a weak voice that turned into a scream.
"Demon... You're a demon... You're a f*cking demon!!"
There was a mixture of fear and anger in his eyes, he felt like he was going insane as he watched this scene that could probably only be seen in hell.
Riku could care less about what he thought, he picked up his spear and stabbed the spear through Yori's mouth that was wide open. The spear pierced through Yori's skull and the sharpened head can be seen covered in blood.
Riku observed the expression of the dead person in front of him, he felt slightly bad, but he thought of it as a necessity.
Riku knew he was changing, he wondered whether it was the effect of their current situation or if this was the true him that couldn't come out before due to the laws.
He couldn't help but gulp as his thought process reached that assumption, still he knew that it was unnecessary. The less guilt he felt every time he killed, the higher his chances of survival were.
Eliza and Rikka sat straight up when they felt like it was done.They knew about the men and Riku's plan on how to deal with them. They have already their fellow humans killed before by Riku, but they still couldn't help feeling fear and disgust at the sight of Yori's dead body.
They didn't blame Riku though, they were aware of how cruel their own kind could be, they have after all seen and experienced it for themselves.
The three other men who seemed like we're on the verge of going insane was made to leave the mall as Riku thought that they were just used by Yori. As for the mess he made, he cleaned it all up while he made Eliza and Rikka who fell asleep while watching their surroundings continue their sleep.
Throughout the night, he ignored the pain in his thighs as he started to think about the changes in his personality. The value of human life seems to deteriorate for him as he spends more time in this chaotic time.
His thoughts were a mess when he remembered the words of his mother in his dream.
"You need to be strong."
He thought to himself as he discarded his thoughts. He has already decided to live by the words "An eye for an eye." Regardless of whether how brutal it is he will kill if needs to whether they were human or not. His only goal is to survive and become strong enough to live peacefully.
He promised himself to try his best to live the way he has decided.
The sun started to rise signalling that another day has arrived for humans to fight for their survival otherwise they'll roam the land as part of the dead.