Chereads / "Atarashii Karada De Ikikaeru / Chapter 17 - "This is the beginning of the real story,

Chapter 17 - "This is the beginning of the real story,

Kazuki began to open his eyes, feeling a soft light sneaking into his room. He got up from his bed, his body feeling heavy and his head throbbing. "My headache is gone," he murmured, but there was something else nagging at his heart.

In a state of confusion, Kazuki looked around. His room felt silent, too silent for the comfort of a teenager. "Why is it so quiet?" he thought, remembering that there usually were sounds from Rin or Grandpa Fujita cooking in the kitchen.

Kazuki stepped out of his bedroom and made his way downstairs. As he walked toward the kitchen, he was shocked to find that no one was there. "Where did they go?" he wondered. "Did they both go to my mother's house?"

He returned to his room and grabbed his phone, trying to call his mother. But only the sound of ringing answered him. "No answer," he sighed. He switched to his father's number, but it was the same. "What the hell is going on? Why aren't they picking up my calls?"

As he pondered, suddenly, an odd noise came from outside the house. "What is that sound?" Kazuki felt his heart race. He stepped outside, searching for the source of the noise, but he found nothing outside.

"Is it just my imagination?" Kazuki thought to himself.

He turned to go back inside the house, but suddenly, he was attacked from within his home. Kazuki was thrown far back, landing hard outside the fence.

"What just happened? Who attacked me?" he wondered. Standing up, he looked around and was stunned. There was fire everywhere, and monsters raced by, destroying everything in their path.

Kazuki looked up at the sky and gasped, seeing many dragons soaring above; the sky had turned a deep red.

"It seems you are the only one left in this world," a mysterious voice broke the silence.

Kazuki followed the voice and saw a man walking toward him. The man wore a red cloak, with jet-black hair and eyes. Just by looking at his attire, Kazuki immediately recognized who he was.

"Did you come here to kill me?" Kazuki asked, his voice calm, devoid of fear.

"More or less," he replied in a flat tone. "You might be confused about why the Earth looks like this, right? I'll explain."

In an instant, the man was standing right in front of Kazuki.

"Hours ago, gigantic trees suddenly appeared on Earth. You can see those trees, right?" Kazuki turned to look in the direction the man pointed. There, he saw enormous trees towering high, as if piercing through the sky and earth.

"Those are not ordinary trees," he continued. "Those trees are what released the monsters you see now. They seem to come from another dimension, and everyone on Earth has been transported to another world. You are the only one left."

"Then why are you here?" Kazuki asked with an expressionless face.

"Well, that's because of my own will; I can go to that world whenever I want," he replied.

"But for some reason, looking at your face reminds me of someone I very much want to kill."

"Then why not just kill me now? You are the boss of the red-cloaked people, right? Where are your other people?"

"I don't need them, so I killed all my followers. I let them die at the hands of those monsters," he said casually.

"Honestly, killing you would be very easy," he added with an evil smile. Suddenly, Kazuki felt something strong binding his body, lifting him into the air. He couldn't move; the bindings were too strong.

"Maybe this is the first time you've seen such power," said the man. "But killing you this way won't satisfy me. I want to see your desperate face, your fearful expression."

Kazuki only stared at the man with an expressionless face, unaffected by all his words.

"That's why I let you live for now. But that doesn't mean the monsters will let you live."

"Many monsters were running toward him, their bodies gigantic and their speed incredible.

"Good luck. I hope you can survive them all, although that's quite impossible," the man laughed before disappearing into the darkness.

"Something that was binding him has been released.

So what should I do now? Kazuki stood tall, showing no fear on his face.

Kazuki himself didn't even know why he couldn't feel fear; he was confused about himself.

"My purpose in this world is actually what? Why am I so different from others?"

Kazuki looked at the monsters charging toward him.

"Come on, show me what you can do to me."

One of the monsters aimed its fist at Kazuki, who easily dodged it.

"But without realizing it, there was still another monster behind him. The monster attacked Kazuki's chest with its long claws.

Kazuki's chest was pierced, blood spilling from his mouth, his hand devoured by one of them, and his leg severed by the monster.

"They crushed his eyes, tearing apart every part of Kazuki's body brutally.

"But for some reason, Kazuki felt no pain at all; he didn't understand why he didn't feel pain even though his entire body was destroyed.

The monsters left Kazuki's mutilated body, no longer interested in it.

"However... suddenly, his crushed body returned to normal very quickly, as if someone was trying to prevent Kazuki from dying.

Kazuki was bewildered by this situation.

"Why is my body returning to normal...?"

As Kazuki observed his restored body, the monsters tried to attack him again.

"Kazuki's hand suddenly moved on its own, crushing one of the large monsters.

Kazuki felt an immense power emanating from his body.

"What is this power? Why do I have this power?"

This was the first time he witnessed his own strength, but somehow Kazuki felt like he had used this power before.

The monsters that were about to attack Kazuki froze in place.

"Why are you just standing there? Come on, kill me now, you fools!!!"

Suddenly, a powerful aura erupted from Kazuki's body, and just with his aura, he made the monsters' bodies shatter into pieces.

Kazuki's eyes became terrifying.

"In the eyes of the monsters, Kazuki no longer looked human; he seemed like a newly born demon, and the earth turned dark as if shrouded in shadows.

"This is just the beginning of the real story.

Who is Kazuki, really...? That will be revealed bit by bit."