"Is this guy unkillable?!"
Shimizu gasped for air, her heart racing with fear. Her facial muscles were tense with disbelief and shock.
She and Daigo had hit him with ninjutsu, stabbed with hidden weapons, and exposed to a deadly amount of toxic gas. He had bled more than enough to kill several people over, yet he was still standing. He wasn't even close to falling, let alone dying.
What kind of monster is this?
The fear that had been momentarily suppressed was now overwhelming, completely overpowering any sense of reason.
They were up against an indestructible beast!
The "Butcher" raised his enormous serrated cleaver.
Behind his blood-red mask, the cold, ruthless eyes of the 'Butcher' stared at them like they were livestock, like two helpless lambs at a slaughterhouse.
Suddenly, they couldn't breathe.
A deep and boundless fear, like an invisible hand, squeezed their hearts.
"Run! Run!" Shimizu's last shred of sanity snapped. The urge to flee flooded her mind, and she panicked, abandoning her companion, Daigo. She dashed away, screaming, "Help! Somebody help me!"
Her voice echoed through the empty, dark tower, bouncing off the walls without a single response.
In truth, you couldn't really blame Shimizu.
The sheer sense of dread and the unimaginable fear brought by that towering figure were beyond human comprehension!
"Shimizu?!"
Daigo's face paled, shocked to see his comrade fleeing like a coward. He didn't expect to be abandoned so quickly.
But as he prepared to run, a strong metallic scent filled his nose. The terrifying blood-red figure lunged forward, bringing down the serrated cleaver in one brutal stroke.
At the critical moment, Daigo pulled his puppet back to him.
Crackling!
The wooden puppet shattered under the force of the serrated meat-chopping cleaver, turning into a pile of debris.
Despite the puppet's destruction, Daigo used this brief moment to his advantage. Desperate and driven by a life-or-death situation, he burst out with chakra and dashed to the side.
But could he really escape?
The 'Butcher' swung the serrated meat-chopping cleaver in a wide arc.
Slash!
Daigo had just taken a step when he felt an excruciating pain in his legs. In a sudden, horrifying moment, he collapsed to the ground.
Looking back in terror, he saw his leg muscles twisted and twitching, black veins protruding, his eyes bloodshot, and he screamed in agony: "Ah! My legs! My legs!"
Both of his thighs had been severed at the base.
Judging by the cross-section, the flesh and blood were in fine mince, showing that the cuts were brutally forceful.
The pain overwhelmed his senses, and Daigo shrieked, "No, don't come closer! Someone help me! Shimizu, come and save me!"
Shimizu, hearing his cry for help, quickly rushed to his location. Her face was pale with fear as she took in the scene.
The 'Butcher', covered in steel needles and hidden weapons, with several bloody holes in his chest, approached with wide steps.
He stood over Daigo's waist, holding the half-curved cleaver, its serrated edge dripping with fresh blood and minced flesh, and raised it high above his head.
"Help me!"
Daigo's voice trembled with fear, his eyes wide and bloodshot. He was terrified. He looked to his companions as his last hope for survival, eyes full of desperation.
The two companions stood at least ten meters apart, their gazes locking.
Shimizu's lips turned pale as her body trembled. She wanted to help Daigo, but instinct held her back. The urge to survive overpowered her sense of duty.
Her foot, which had just taken a step forward, retreated slowly.
"Shimizu?"
Daigo couldn't believe his eyes.
The serrated meat cleaver descended swiftly.
*Click!*
It sliced through Daigo's lower abdomen, nearly cutting him in half.
"Ahhh——!"
Daigo's scream pierced the air, his body writhing in excruciating pain, on the verge of losing consciousness. The "butcher," however, lifted the cleaver again, his eyes coldly assessing Daigo's position, as if calculating where to strike next.
"Help me! Help me!"
With his last ounce of strength, Daigo pleaded with his companion. His face, contorted by agony, was now a mask of absolute terror.
Looking into her companion's eyes, Shimizu was gasping for air. Her face turned pale, her pupils trembled, and she finally bit her lip, whispering to herself: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Suppressing the guilt within her, she turned around and fled without a second thought.
"Shimizu, I hate you!"
Daigo, abandoned by his companions, was now consumed by resentment, his eyes full of hatred.
He regretted everything.
If only he had left Shimizu behind, he might be the one still alive now! But unfortunately, there's no way to undo what's been done.
"I hate you, Shimizu!"
"Aaaah! I curse you!"
"No, please! Please, spare me! Aah!"
"Just kill me! Kill me!"
Daigo's voice grew quieter and quieter until it finally vanished.
Shimizu was running through the tower. As her companion's screams faded into silence, the fear in her heart grew. She knew she was next.
But there was some good news.
Using the time bought with the lives of her companions, Shimizu discovered that the inside of the tower was like a labyrinth.
There were countless passages, rooms, and hidden tunnels where one could hide.
She crawled into a narrow secret passage, a place typically used for ventilation, making it hard for anyone to find her.
After crawling for a while, Shimizu felt exhausted and decided to rest for a bit.
"He won't find me here," she thought, controlling her breathing and heart rate to stay calm.
Just then, the sound of a serrated meat cleaver scraping against the green bricks echoed above the passage.
That was the sign!
It's coming!
Shimizu clamped her hands over her mouth, trying to stifle any sound.
She couldn't even breathe; her eyes were like pinpricks, trembling, and her heart was racing so fast it felt like it might burst from her chest.
Each scrape of the serrated cleaver above her head triggered a deep sense of fear, sending shockwaves through her nerves and making her entire body shiver.
Time became a blur.
The sound of the cleaver scratching above her head slowly began to fade away, moving farther from her.
"Is it leaving?"
As she heard the 'butcher' disappearing, Shimizu felt a wave of relief, and the tension in her body eased just a bit.
The sanity that had been teetering on the edge of fear and madness started to steady.
"I need to find a way out."
With her mind slowly clearing, Shimizu's trembling eyes grew calmer: "This is the ventilation duct. I need to find a weak spot in the barrier and break through!"
No time to waste!
This ventilation duct was extremely tight, especially for a big man.
To move through it, she had to rely on her abdomen, her feet, and her fingers, wriggling forward like a snake.
Shimizu inched forward, her skin scraping and bleeding, but she didn't stop.
Finally, persistence paid off!
After crawling through the dark, narrow duct for over ten minutes, she spotted a faint light.
"Is that the exit?"
Her eyes widened with hope: "And there's no barrier blocking it!"
At the end of the ventilation duct, there was an iron grate.
What made her even more excited was that there was no barrier covering it. If she could just get there, she could escape!
*Shimizu* grimaced in pain as she crawled toward the exit, her skin bruised and covered in blood. She moved like a wounded caterpillar, inching her way toward the faint light at the end of the narrow passageway.
"It's almost there. It's almost there," she whispered to herself, desperate to reach freedom.
The soft glow of daylight grew larger as she approached, filling her with a sense of warmth and relief. She had never felt light so welcoming before.
Just a little more, and she would be out. She could taste the fresh air, free of the stench of blood, as it filled her lungs, bringing her a surge of hope and energy.
"I'm out!" she exclaimed, her face lighting up with joy as she finally poked her head through the exit.
But then, a harsh, raspy voice shattered the moment of triumph.
"I found you."
Shimizu's heart skipped a beat, and her joy turned to shock. She twisted around, peering back into the dark, narrow tunnel. From the shadows, a figure emerged, wearing a blood-red mask. Cold hands clamped onto his ankle, gripping him with bone-crushing strength.
"No! Don't do this!" she screamed as she felt herself being dragged back into the darkness.
Her fingers clawed at the ground, trying to hold onto anything that could save her, but the force was too strong. Her fingernails scraped against the floor, leaving deep, bloody scratches as she was pulled back into the abyss.
As she disappeared into the darkness, her screams echoed through the tunnel, a chilling reminder that hope can quickly turn into despair. The deeper the hope, the greater the despair when it's ripped away.
********
Support me on my patreon and read upto 15 early chapters.
https://www.patreon.com/Unique_Writer