The auctioneer had a placid expression on his face as he leaned forward, exposing his vulnerability as extended his hand toward Kazuichi. There was no sense of hostility emanating from him at all, and Kazuichi didn't find his smell unpleasant or pleasant, which was weird since his nose worked differently than before.
His gesture didn't prompt Kazuichi to take his guard down though since he was well aware of the auctioneer's identity. He didn't smell like an uninfected, and that could only mean one thing.
A hybrid resides within him.
Kazuichi was still early in his transformation so he had no idea what kind of a hybrid the auctioneer is. From what he could recall, there are three types of hybrids. The first one was a Hound. If he could recall, the first hybrid he encountered referred to Arisu as a hound.
The Hound, one of the sub-classes of being a hybrid, relies on speed and agility more than anything else. They could see well at night, and they rely on their senses when they hunt. Out of all the hybrids, the Hounds have a very sensitive mood swing, and they are known to be the most unpredictable out of all the three sub-classes. Since they rely on speed, however, their damage lacked the damage but they could get pretty speedy when they attack. A single hound won't stand a chance against a Bulwark, which relies primarily on defense. This is why Hounds tend to use hand-held weapons so they could maximize their damage output while utilizing their speed.
The Bulwark, as mentioned before, is defensive in nature. While the Hounds have a slender and flexible bodies, the Bulwarks have more bulk, and they're built like a tank. They could survive an ambush from a Hound and they wouldn't lose so easily against them. And moreover, they tend to be calm and passive, only ever engaging in a fight when they're already backed into a corner. Because of that, they would almost always win a brawl against a hound because hounds tend to act out of their emotions.
The third sub-class and most probably the rarest one is the Merc Class, which is a nice balance between the Hound and the Bulwark. The Mercs are not that speedy and not that defensive, but they pack serious damage. With their wide array of natural abilities, they could easily go one on one against a Bulwark and emerge victorious. But when it comes to fighting a hound, they're at a disadvantage due to their lack of speed and defense. They may have high damage output, but their attacks would easily be dodged by a Hound if it played its cards right.
In essence, a Hound could be compared to a speedy character, a Bulwark to a defensive character, and a Merc to a damage dealer character.
There were rumors about a fourth class emerging from the scene, one that had the nature of the first three sub-classes. But in hindsight, those were just baseless rumors, and no one had encountered someone from that fourth class.
"You smell weird. I get that you're masking your scent as well, right?" The auctioneer pointed out, as Kazuichi stood up and walked beside him.
"You too?" Kazuichi asked back even though he had no idea what the auctioneer was talking about. "What kind of hybrid are you?"
The auctioneer was taken aback. He flinched before he chuckled under his breath. "Straight to the point, are we? You shouldn't ask such a sensitive question a little off-handedly, you know."
"I'm sorry." Kazuichi simply said in an apologetic manner while keenly following the auctioneer. He was mindful enough to steer clear from the two men who brought him here in the auction since they would more or less recognize him.
"Right this way, sir." The auctioneer continued.
It was probably because of his nature as a shut-in, but Kazuichi trusted the auctioneer a little too easily. Even though he was led inside a room where he immediately smelled the scent of multiple hybrids, he still didn't hesitate to follow the auctioneer inside.
The moment he was led inside the room, Kazuichi felt a tug on his hand.
"What's happe—" Kazuichi was about to blurt out something when he felt the joint on his shoulder dislocating.
Grabbing onto Kazuichi's arm tightly, the auctioneer pulled on it until he dislocated it. With a grunt and a little bit of force, Kazuichi's arm was ripped from the joint, and the auctioneer threw his hand away.
"Welcome to the auction... what's your name?" The auctioneer asked as three figures from the deeper parts of the room emerged from the shadows.
One glance and Kazuichi instantly knew that this was a trap laid out for him. And these hybrids, who were inching closer toward him while making the creepiest of faces, were out for blood. His blood. Kazuichi bit his lips in frustration as he grabbed the stump on his shoulder in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding. "What do you want from me?" He gritted his teeth.
"We're about to find out." The auctioneer responded as he momentarily disappeared in front of Kazuichi. He then reappeared a little bit closer, crouching down low before he delivered his knee to Kazuichi's diaphragm.
"Aghk~!" Kazuichi's core tightened in pain as he fell to the ground. Blood and water escaped his lips as he tried to breathe. Meanwhile, the heavy breathing of the other hybrids could be heard from the background. Kazuichi didn't have to look up to know that they were eagerly waiting for their dinner to be served.
"Serves me right trusting this cunning auctioneer," Kazuichi said to himself as he received a nice strike to the head. It was a literal strike since he was hit by a bat.
"Gah~!" Kazuichi let out an exhale as he felt his skull splitting open. The auctioneer alone was more than a match for him, and there was nothing he could do about it. He was helpless.
In that brief moment, he once again remembered the scene from when he was a kid. A knife was pointed at him and he was knocking on death's door. Somehow, he felt that very same threat emanating from the auctioneer himself.
"Come on, you're going to get killed if you don't put up a fight, friend." The auctioneer taunted, extending his hand and encouraging him to attack.
Kazuichi, who desperately tried to think of a way of escape, started hyperventilating as his mind entered a state of light panic once again. He wasn't used to the situation. Furthermore, the headcount in the room was much more than he could handle, hence his reaction.
Fwiwip~!
With the sound akin to a stretching rubber and the goopy sound of flesh, an arm suddenly grew on Kazuichi's stump of a shoulder. Clenching his fists, his bloodshot eyes turned a darker hue of red as he glared at the auctioneer. "You were saying?" He asked before he sprang directly at the auctioneer, ripping his arm off just like he did him.