As soon as the bell rang, ‘Hummingbird’ launched into action, skillfully wielding her whips. Anticipating her attack, I conjured a thin layer of blood armor on top of my body, mimicking Karako’s technique of encasing her fists. Her attacks were completely ineffective against my armor, which I made in a hexagonal shape that had jelly-like blood beneath it. 

I couldn’t help but think of a certain white-haired OP guy.

‘No wonder he was so egotistical; when you feel this invincible, it's easy to understand how one might develop a god complex.’

The primary reason armor was so effective against her was because her weapons were whips, which were, in my opinion, one of the worst weapons to get, which many weapon users will undeniably agree with. 

While undeniably menacing and capable of inflicting considerable damage under the right circumstances, whips are ultimately one of the least effective weapons when it comes to penetrating armor. Even sufficient winter clothing can block normal whip strikes.

Although her whips were undoubtedly faster and deadlier than average, they still posed no threat against a well-crafted and resilient set of armor.

‘When facing a whip user, the most effective strategy is to close the distance between you and your opponent, rendering their weapon less effective and difficult to maneuver. At best, a whip can serve as an element of surprise or as a secondary weapon, but no rational person would choose it as their primary weapon of choice.’

But it synergized perfectly with Minatsuki’s sadistic personality.

‘No wonder her branch of sin manifested like that.’

Her whips were not merely instruments of combat but an embodiment of her own twisted desires. The visceral pleasure she derived from each strike showed just how twisted she was. The whips could kill anyone with a few well-positioned strikes, but the pain was so great that the person would remain conscious through it.

‘Oh well, enough monologuing. It's time to end this. There is no benefit in prolonging this battle any further.’

I just lunged towards her at an extremely fast speed and did something that most people would say is impossible in a normal world, at least.

I karate-chopped her on the neck, and she was unconscious. Even in real life, this was just extremely difficult but not impossible, as you'd pretty much have to hit the vagus nerve right on the dot with the right amount of pressure.

It was basically a ‘Plausibullshit’ thing shown in the movies.

With how weak Minatsuki was, it was easy to do something like this, but it won’t work on anyone like Crow, Nagi, or Karako unless I become massively stronger than them. 

I could hear the commentator saying things awkwardly.

“...Unbelievably, The match didn’t even last 10 Seconds. Uhhh…Based on the rules of the Carnival Corpse…Since, Hummingbird can’t continue to fight…Vulture is declared the winner.”

There were no shouts of ‘We want blood’ or ‘Kill the girl’ which was weird considering there were many shouts like that when Ganta defeated her.

‘Now this is getting weird. First Karako, now this. It’s as if everyone is afraid of me or something. I am sure these people have watched more barbarous things, but they are afraid of me. Hell, they aren’t even here, they are watching me through some cameras.’

‘Now I am a billion percent sure something is going on…Let’s hope it has nothing to do with my evolution or whatever cause; that would be a shitty plot.’

—————

[Narrator’s POV]

In a darkly lit room, An old man was sitting on a chair. He had many scars on his face, and there were tubes going throughout his body.

There was a girl sleeping in a big and comfortable bean bag.

The old man’s voice slithered through the air.

”What a fascinating Boy…Heh heh”

His voice was weirdly unsettling. The sound reverberated in the stillness of the room, carrying with it a hint of sinister amusement.

“Hey… You are awake, aren’t you…Shiro?”

The old man said this to the sleeping girl, who looked oddly serene, contrasting the eerie atmosphere in the room.

“Isn’t it time for you to make my dream come true? The lullaby has stopped…”

The girl woke up, which inexplicably caused destruction throughout the room. It seemed as though a sleeping monster had been unleashed.

“I got your favorite pudding yesterday. It’s in the secret cupboard.”

“I don’t like sweets. I’m not the one who likes them.”

“Oh, Of course, then forget about it. Can I take that as a sign of your agreement? Will you help me, Shiro?”

After saying that, the old man started ripping the tubes attached to him, which caused blood to flow out, but the blood stopped midway and started floating around his finger.

“I must kill…”

‘Shiro’, who was emotionlessly seeing all of this, questioned the old man in a cold voice.

“That’s what you live for. Don’t you?”

The old man ignored the question and continued standing up.

“Shall we begin…?”

The old man started floating in the air and uttered something chilling that was laced with malevolence.

“Let’s keep killing..And dying.”

Whatever those words meant, only the duo understood.

 

—————

[Axton’s POV]

‘This is really unnerving, even after the event, nobody came to talk to me.’

I was thinking about those things when suddenly I could feel small vibrations through the bed. They almost went unnoticeable if it weren’t for my higher than normal senses after the evolution.

‘The only thing that could be happening should be that thing. Ahhh, Nothing is following the plot anyway. I should just break out of here, all these things are annoying.’

Despite my agitation, I went towards the room where Minatsuki lived, compelled by a duty to save her. As an earthquake rocked the building, I went forward and saved the girl from being crushed by the cupboard.

Without a word, I left her, my mind consumed by the nagging questions surrounding my evolution.

‘Just calm down, Axton.’

I got in the room and sat on my bed, ignoring the things that fell on the floor due to the earthquake. I sat cross-legged and started meditating to help me calm my mind.

‘Come on, Axy. You are not a teenager…unless evolution..’

‘No, Axy, stop dwelling on evolution and just calm down.’

‘I should just sleep. I don’t think I'm in the mood to meditate right now.’

‘I really am becoming more manipulative and everything. Nobody should be this annoyed at things not going your way. That’s just normal life.’

It wasn’t my fault, being influenced by all those fanfictions and the rapid pace of events really took a toll on my mental health.

‘I am really bitching right now. I didn't even take a moment to appreciate the ability to walk after being paralyzed.’

Now, I understand a little about what everyone else seeing you with fear can do to people. Maybe if I were a sociopath or psychopath, things would have been easier.

_________

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