"Do you know this one?"
"Let's say he's a tool that I used a long time ago." Lucius rested his hand on top of the Yamato blade's hilt as if he was about to draw the sword.
"Tool? Don't tell me he's one of your poor test subjects?"
"Shh… Don't say it out loud."
Of course, Lucius knew who the test subjects Hakein was referring to.
"Otherwise, it wouldn't be interesting."
"That test subject is really pathetic, but I'll leave first."
Hakein understood that the man inside the tank was nothing more than a tool for him to use and throw away. When they lost their value, they also lost their value to exist.
The same was true for himself.
Hakein wisely chose to leave, and there was nothing for Hakein could say to Lucius's actions to destroy the container. There was nothing in the world that could kill this monster anyway.
Hakein's figure disappeared behind Lucius.
Lucius looked at Yuri in the incubation tank. After turning into a Level 4 infected body, he really helped Lucius a lot. But now, his form was reverted back to human again. Although he didn't know how that was possible, he was certain that an infected person like him could never blend in among humans again. As he was a creature that preyed on humans.
"Let me see what you've become. Once you were weak and being humiliated, you now possess the power to devour others indiscriminately… How many humans have you eaten? A monster-filled with hatred."
As the Yamato blade sliced through the air, the fragile glass tank was broken. At the moment, the glass shattered, a murderous aura swept up all over Lucius. Lucius instantly felt his body being violently struck and fell to the ground by a figure that even his own vision couldn't capture its movement speed.
"Uaaaaaaahhhhh!!!"
A roar that belonged only to a monster was heard.
A hand heavily pressed down on Lucius's shoulder, causing him to fall to the ground, disabling him. In the next second, a pair of berserk eyes met up with Lucius's eyes. So he became a mindless monster, huh? But this monster stiffened once it locked eyes with Lucius. What happened? Lucius looked at the berserk expression on Yuri's face that turned into shock.
'Do it… kill everything in your way. That's what you should do after being infected by the Black Light virus. Hunt down humans, swallow them whole, devour every living thing in sight, destroy everything…'
Why did you hesitate now?
"Lu…Lucius…" he mumbled the name Lucius on his lips.
Was there a shred of sanity still left? Lucius didn't understand why Yuri stopped. Something unexpected happened. Yuri quickly let go of his grip and backed away.
"A…aa…." he whimpered as if he was a weak man.
Lucius patted the debris off his body and stood up, looking at Yuri, who huddled in the corner. A bloody human arm appeared in his hand. Yuri's frightened eyes suddenly became rabid as he gazed on the blood-soaked fresh meat. A desire to devour it suddenly emerged in Yuri's brain.
'Surely you want to eat it, right? As a human-devouring monster, you shouldn't show off that pathetic expression.'
"It's okay if you're hungry." Lucius smiled at Yuri, who was trying his best to restrain himself, "If you don't eat, you won't be able to survive."
This guy still had memories of when he was human.
"I…" Yuri clenched his teeth against the desire in his body. He was hungry…very hungry, he really wanted to eat…but…Lucius .....
Yuri looked at Lucius…
He knew he had become a monster and had eaten many people. But the only thing he wanted was for Lucius to not see him as a monster.
"It's not like that… I…I'm not what you think I am." Yuri held his head with his hands and closed his eyes tightly.
He was abandoned as a human, humiliated by others, and now dominated by the desire to devour everything in sight. Yuri no longer knew what he had become, he didn't want to hurt anyone, but the desire to eat compelled him to keep killing and eating. He had always been a lonely man, but Yuri had kept his sanity, his human memory. Why? It's because he had someone he didn't want to hurt.
"What did I think of you were?" Lucius unconsciously stood in front of Yuri, half crouching down to see the teary creature. He looked like a girl, a harmless little girl*, but he was indeed an infected being that fed on humans.
"I didn't turn into a monster." Yuri closed his eyes tightly, "No. Really… I'm just… hungry…"
But the hunger in his stomach drove Yuri to search for food, but if he did forage for it, he would be… hated. But he had seen his own ugly face that day. They must've hated him, those humans…
Did he still have it? Lucius looked at the Band-Aid tape on the back of his smooth nape. He had given it to Yuri that night to cover his wound. It's still here… how was that even possible?
"It's okay." Lucius reached out his hand and touched Yuri's forehead.
"Eh?!" Yuri looked up at Lucius.
"I know. You're not going to eat me." Lucius cracked his smile, showing his shark-like teeth, "Because I'm also a man-eating monster just like you."
Truly… Yuri had always thought Lucius had no destructive desire to devour humans.
"There's nothing wrong with eating in order to survive." Lucius picked up the bloodied arm, "Eat it if you're hungry. I'm just like you, so I won't hate you."
"Master Lucius…" Yuri didn't know why his eyes were overflowing with tears again. He was crying like a little girl.
Truly…
"That's a good boy, good boy."
Lucius gently stroked Yuri's forehead. This scene might look heartwarming. Except, of course, Yuri was gnawing on a human's arm.
In any case, Lucius felt that he can make use of this level 4 infected person. After all, Yuri seemed to possess the talent to control the Black Light Virus. So it happened that Lucius lacked a way to control the zombies. This child would be an excellent pawn to unite the zombies together and form a zombie army that could actually fight.
"Put this on."
A blanket appeared in Lucius's hand, he threw it over Yuri's body, covering his naked body. Yuri's appearance was clean and pretty. A little too pretty for a boy, with a blanket covering his body, he looked like a cute loli.
Lucius walked towards the door. He still had someone else to save. Yuri was still paralyzed on the floor, stunned, as if he was still afraid of Lucius.
"Ah… about that. You can follow me later if you don't have anywhere to go."
Lucius looked at Yuri with a reluctant smile on his face as he walked to the door. Sure enough, upon his words, Yuri immediately stood up and followed Lucius.
An unexpected chess piece fell into his hand. Lucius smiled as he disappeared on the corner of the corridor. Obtaining one more piece would be the official start of a rebellion against the New Federation of China.
TL's note:
*In case any of you were confused, I guess Yuri is a 'trap', aka a male/female that looked like the opposite sex.