There wasn't any time to react.
It had happened within a fraction of a second.
I really don't know what just happened.
My body's heating up like crazy, and I feel an erupting sensation in my ribs.
It's hot, it's hot.
I'm trying to itch at my skin, but I realize I cannot move my hands.
Are they broken?
No, that's just not the case.
…..Rather, the nerves have already given up, rendering my muscles useless.
…Move!
Please, move!
Of course, nothing happens.
The heat turns into a frightening shiver.
And, it finally hits me.
"——————"
—Opening my two eyes, I can see the figure looming carelessly above me.
The one who killed me.
It doesn't appear to be human, but it takes on a familiar appearance.
There is a chance it is a homo sapien.
I have heard of rare genetic anomalies existing in our times, like humans who are extremely tall or strong.
But, something like this doesn't seem right.
No. Not 'seem.'
Something like this is just very wrong.
This thing defies the very standards of human creation.
Standing at about eight feet tall, a man in red kicks my body repeatedly.
"Ow! Stop that! Stop it, I said!"
I grimace and shout.
But, from the looks of it, my throat was slashed by something as well.
The man in red doesn't pay me much attention. As if he were to scoff, he finally kicks me over, like I'm something in the way.
Like the dozens of people here, I was just one more person that just so happened to get killed. There was no need or care to linger on one insignificant life, so he moved on without thinking twice.
It was obvious that life was simply a matter of being dead or alive to this man.
And rightfully so.
Because there are so many people here, he would be a fool to carry the value of murdering a small child. Even a pacifist would know this much.
I can see that I'm in a soup of helpless bodies.
It's my first time seeing what an organ looks like from the outside, so I finally let go of my vomit.
But, it doesn't come straight out.
More or less, like a punctured pipe, it sprays in every direction.
I try to clean it up, but my arms are confined to small twitches.
"....Whats….missing….?"
I weakly grab at my chest, where a gaping sensation is.
Like a black hole, something is missing from my body.
So I place my hand inside of my midsection.
…Oh.
—Theres a hole in my chest.
More specifically, the left part, where a particular important organ is.
I'm really not sure how I haven't died yet.
But even so, I want to.
I want to escape whatever hell this is and go home.
I want to go back to my Sensei.
I want to go back to the bakery.
I want to go back to my school.
I understand that I got seriously unlucky, but.
Why did I have to die as a child?
Everybody knows that children die every second, but why did I have to be that person?
Why do I have to die?
No, that's not it…
Why did anybody here have to die?
No. That's wrong, too.
Why did anybody here have to be killed?
"---Urk."
I think I'm finally dying.
Yes, I am.
I know this much because my heart isn't so warm anymore.
It's a tenuous heat that'll die out in about fifteen seconds.
I wasn't really able to do much in my life.
Even so, in my dying moments, I couldn't save any of the people here.
Nor did I have final memories of my loved ones or family.
Maybe I could have warned the people before this man began this massacre.
Or better yet, get up and go punch this man in the face.
Rather, I can only close my eyes as my ears pick up the helpless groaning of a woman being killed behind me.
I really couldn't save anything.
Even the merchandise and shelves are ripped apart like paper.
I had a bad omen beforehand, but I didn't do anything about it.
I couldn't even save myself, nor could I save anything worth of value in this red place.
It wasn't like I was capable of doing anything, anyways.
I'm only thinking about these stupid things because I am about to die.
Does this mean I'm dying with regrets in my heart?
Will I become a ghost?
"---Ahn…Ahn…"
My heart is pretty much dead. There are probably only a few seconds left until my life is gone.
It's not like it matters, though. My body has already died.
My veins are grey, and my skin is paper white.
"---Ahn…."
At least I can let go, and finally leave this red hell.
But in turn, I will let everyone die.
But I should not care because it is hopeless.
A dead body cannot face the consequences of his actions, after all.
And so, everybody in this building will be killed.
And so, the life of Sustrous Aron will come to an end.
And so, I shall be taken by this red hell.