Having declared the justification for his existence, Riley looked at the man with violent intent.
Yet, even after saying all that…
The gap between them, even at a surface level, was cause for concern.
Riley Woods was a skinny, short teenager. Not having an appetite, he grew up weaker than most.
And yet, his opponent was a much larger, much older man; a seasoned serial killer.
Even if Riley was supernaturally empowered, it stood to reason that the man also had similar strength. And so, Riley silently regretted his decision, wearing a smile.
"...Then, enough talking."
The man had spoken. The man had launched forward.
Unleashing an open-handed slap, the killer clapped Riley's ear, jolting his head and neck as he was taken off the ground, sent hurling against the wall.
The back of his skull crashing through the window, Riley grunted in pain, pressing off with his elbows and staggering.
Ah, shit, shitshitshit, what…?
Warmth. Dirty warmth.
His shaking fingers reaching up, Riley felt what was left of his ear. Getting a look at his fingertips, he saw them muddied with blood, able to discern his fingerprints within the red.
Cocking his eyes towards the man, Riley saw him lick his lips.
"Flesh tastes the best when it's raw," the killer coldly announced, a gentle smile on his face. And, offering his prayer, he gave thanks to Ghira with genuine gratitude.
He–bit me?
His breath stolen, Riley slumped his shoulders, feeling his hands grow weaker.
The reality of the situation setting in, written in blood, Riley felt paralyzed by fear. The man, muttering under his breath his thanks to the Forgotten King, remained still, enjoying his meal.
The mouths patterned along the man's body unanimously chanted, ringing their words within the house.
"Thanks be to Ghira."
"Thanks be to Ghira."
"Thanks be to Ghira."
"Thanks be to Ghira."
"Thanks be to Ghira."
"Thanks be to Ghira."
"Thanks be to Ghira."
"Thanks be to Ghira."
Chanting, chanting, Riley heard them chanting.
—The man, unmistakably, was a cannibal.
I want to run.
I want to vomit.
I want to leave.
I want to go home.
And yet, that was not an option.
Riley Woods, a man who yearned for death in comfort only, had once more been paralyzed by the fear of the thing he swore he craved.
"—My words have been spoken. My thanks have been given. Now that I have professed my gratitude with my lips, I must prove my thanksgiving with action."
"W-wai—!"
"—I won't wait."
Rampaging towards Riley, the man extended his hand, clutching his throat. Effortlessly taken off his feet and into the air, it was with that ease in which he was brought down.
Rumbling the house, Riley had been slammed with overwhelming force, knocking the wind from his lungs. His body left limp, the chokehold he was in grew tighter.
Wringing the life out of his slender neck, the man, the pureblood worshipper of the Forgotten King, did not hesitate.
A mouth formed on his palm once more, opening and tracing its fangs around the outline of Riley's carotid artery on the side of his neck.
Helpless. Struggling to resist. Kicking, he tried to press of the ground—he could not.
His thoughts blurring, his life about to extinguish. Riley, looked up, staring into the man's eyes. Cold. No, warm. They were warm.
Joyful, filled with life, they had found pleasure in murder. Scary, it was frightening, how could a monster like him exist?
Extending his hand, fully reaching his hand, trying to touch the clouds with his fully outstretched finger, Riley desperately wished to grasp a savior.
Cannibalism. Mouth. Lips, teeth and a tongue. Human hunger. Reentrance within the food chain.
The man, undoubtedly, hungered for humans. Riley hungered for death.
Suicide, desiring to end his idiotic life, to put a stop to the shameful incompetence that rang through each and every day.
If it was like that. If it was.
Then, come to me.
Then, accept my hand.
Then, save me.
Upon the bloody fingertip, he felt one of the methods.
A single method with which one took their own life: [Bleeding].
In his hand, he grasped a knife. Ruthlessly bringing it down, he plunged it into the man's shoulder. Blood spurting immediately, the man let out a roar of pain, getting to his feet and staggering backwards.
"Kgh, hk, y-you…!"
The man shouted, forming a mouth over his open wound, utilizing the supernatural to stop the outward blood loss.
Riley wheezed, able to breathe as he coughed. Rolling over to his side, his thoughts becoming clearer, he pressed himself upwards. With trembling knees, he found himself able to stand.
Bloody knife in hand, he had activated his ability.
"You had an ability, and I didn't even know I had one… now we're a bit more fair, aren't we?" Riley smugly announced, hiding behind a smile.
Piecing together that the man likely had an ability related to his personality, Riley had followed that logic, concluding that he too was gifted in such a manner.
Armed with a knife one would find in a kitchen, Riley took a step forward. Now emanating a murderous aura of his own, the man exhaled in anxious anticipation as a result of Riley's threat.
I can't imagine that he's used to fighting against other servants.
With how the man behaved, worshipping Ghira, then the likelihood of him standing against fellow servants was low.
Therefore, he's a killer, not a fighter.
Someone who preyed on the ordinary while they themselves were wholly supernatural—someone like that could absolutely not be a fighter.
"A big fish in a small pond. I'll show you how big the world is," Riley boldly proclaimed, his heart surging with confidence, hoping for a victory.
Kicking off the ground, Riley closed the gap. Twisting his hips, he thrust the blade forward with the intent to eviscerate the man's stomach.
And yet, with the formation of a mouth over the targeted area, the blade was bitten through and snapped in two.
His eyes widening for a split-second before an immediate counter was delivered, Riley was punched straight in the gut, lifted directly upwards.
"Urgh—!"
His stomach burning in pain—a second attack. Delivering a left hook to the jaw, the man had forced Riley's airborne body into a spin, landing on the floor.
Without waiting—a third attack.
A kick straight to the nose, snapping Riley's neck backwards and launching him back to the front door, where he slammed, momentum brought to a halt.
Blood spraying down his face, trickling over his lips and chin, the expulsion of vomit was imminent. He hugged his stomach, spewing vomit from the bottom of his throat, having never received a direct hit to his gut before in his life.
Burning pain, his ear mauled. Throbbing pain, his gut bashed. Stinging pain, his nose broken.
With only a handle left in his fingers, Riley was nearing his life's end.
If he did not move, surely he would die. If he did not, if he did not move, then, then surely—
"—I'm growing more and more hungry."
His hair grabbed, Riley was dragged to the kitchen. Lifted up, his broken nose was bashed against the kitchen counter, staining the marble material with his crimson blood.
"A-aagh…!" He vocalized, before being lifted up and smashed back down. His nose popping, bent and creaking repeatedly, the assault did not stop, it would not cease.
Dragged along the counter, wiping it down with his agony, smearing red and painting it.
"Ghira," the worshipper began, "does this please you?! Ghira, Ghira, do you like this? Is it pleasing to your eyes?"
Then, to both servants,
"It does. Continue."
His eyes, watering with pain and fear, had widened in response, before being brought down once more.
In pain. His head continuously bashed, he was in pain. Pain, he was in pain.
Summoning [Bleeding], Riley tried to stab backwards, instead having his wrist forced to the counter, his broken nose pressed harder against the marble.
[Bleeding] would not work.
Then, another method.
At the cost of [Bleeding], a new method was brought to life. [Hanging].
A noose floating into the air, it wrapped around the man's neck and pulled him away, removing Riley from his grasp.
The teenager huffed and puffed through his mouth, his nose too bloody to breathe through, as he sharply turned around, staring at the man with paralyzed fear.
And yet, as expected,
"A-ah!"
Yelping in fear, Riley saw the man effortlessly bite through the created rope, the mouth on his neck easily devouring the material.
With the man's escape, he growled, looking Riley in the eyes.
"—I know what your ability is."
Not wasting any more time speaking, the man lunged at Riley.
At the moment, was he not the perfect counter against [Hanging]? No matter how tight the rope, the man would be able to bite through it.
His mind flashing, Riley couldn't think of any other methods, instead relying on [Bleeding], forming a knife and resolving himself.
The man swung his arm, aiming an overhead right. Riley ducked as the man smashed his fist through his cabinet, with Riley moving just a few feet away, reaching the fridge.
A quick slash, Riley swung his arm and nicked the man's wrist, spraying blood. With a curving motion, it was a lot harder to directly bite the blade due to the length of skin covered in the attack.
The man shot his hand out, grabbing Riley by the throat. Then, quickly swapping between the two methods, Riley wrapped the noose around the man's neck, tugging him back.
"ENOUGH!" The man roared, ignoring his choking and keeping his hold over Riley's neck, lifting him up and smashing him down onto the ground once more.
Yet, with Riley thrashing, he escaped the grip, using the momentum to slip free and roll away, getting to his feet.
Adrenaline rushing through him, Riley breathed heavily, no longer feeling pain. Once more grasping [Bleeding] within his bloody hand.
I just need to kill him.
Backing up to the table, Riley grabbed chairs and launched them one after the other, his pursuer rampaging through them as though he was a bull.
Riley tucked his chin, launching his forehead forward. The two servants collided, Riley smashing into the man's nose with a loud pop.
And, his fingers laced around the handle of the blade, he did not hesitate. With a ravenous explosion of his muscles, he stabbed the man's sternum with the blade.
As befitting the name [Bleeding], the wound shot out blood, its lethality amplified. Tearing through his insides, eviscerating them, he ripped the knife out and went in for one more stab, before the man raised both arms.
Wrapping them around Riley, holding him tightly to his chest, the man smiled with all of his mouths, looking up with closed eyes.
"It was a great pleasure. Thank you, Ghira. Watch, and thoroughly enjoy."
Dozens of mouths opened up over the man's body, covering his torso and stomach. Then, his arms pulling Riley in closely, continuously pushing him closer,
"E-egh, ghk, AAH!"
Devoured. His body pushed closer, the hundreds of teeth mauled him. His light body unable to escape, Riley squirmed, screaming in agony as he was being bitten down hundreds of times.
Shredding, they were shredding his frontal area with overwhelming gluttony, his blood pooling out beneath him as he cried out in agony until his voice went out.
Am I dying? I'm going to die, I am going—no, I don't want to die. I want, I want—what was it I even wanted?
To live or die. A walking contradiction. A hypocrite.
I don't know, I don't know. If I die, that's fine, it's fine, it's… no.
Tears streaming down the sides of his face, Riley looked up at the ceiling.
I wanted to save someone. Anyone. To say I'm not completely worthless, I wanted to help people. And yet, I'm going to die to some random serial killer, just another victim.
Absurd… yet, fitting. I really was worthless, wasn't I?
[Hanging] pulled on the man, but it was not enough. Overwhelming, eaten. He was being consumed, and he could not fight back, his arms held together by the larger man's bloody embrace.
I wanted to help someone. Yet, even though I tried to help, I'll accomplish nothing.
Blurry vision caused by tears, Riley looked at the man, his snot spilling from his nostrils.
Even if he had [Bleeding] in his hand, he couldn't create enough distance with his wrist to be able to get any power behind his stabs.
…Even though I acted, someone in the future will be killed by him.
His heart broke, reminding himself of why he loathed himself so deeply. Riley Woods was an abyss, a sea of vices and shortcomings with nothing to make up for it.
But even if I'm worthless… if someone's going to die, then… then…!
Weeping, Riley opened his mouth.
And he crunched down on the man's own ear, chewing on it some. Then, in an act of pure spite, he spat the flesh back into the man's own face.
The last embers of his life, the flickering flame burned its brightest. Compelled by the fear of death, he devoured the devourer, targeting the sensitive areas of his face with his teeth.
I am going to kill you.
To be forgiven, I am going to kill you. To save any future victims of yours, I will kill you. To say it's okay to live, I am going to kill you.
Absolutely. You. Must. Die.
Not wanting to be bitten, the man turned his head instinctively. Exposing his neck, that gave Riley the murderous urge to bite his neck. Ripping it apart, sinking his teeth into his carotid artery, Riley acted as though a feral dog, and tore apart that crucial vein.
Having already lost heaps of blood thanks to [Bleeding] amplifying the wounds lethality, the severing of his carotid artery weakened the man.
No longer pulling Riley into himself, his grip weakened, allowing the youth to push himself out, escaping his grasp.
The man staggered away, bleeding rapidly. He covered the open wound with an open mouth, closing the bleeding. And yet,
"—GRAH!"
Rushing forward, Riley jammed his shoulder against the man's body. Sent crashing backwards against the fridge, the man's viscera stained the walls. .
Only conscious thanks to adrenaline, Riley lumbered over, clinging to the knife in his hand.
Bleeding rapidly, he no longer looked human. Bloody, bloody, he was covered in both his blood and his enemies.
I can't let you live.
Still alive. The man was still alive. Absurdity.
Absolutely, I cannot let you live.
Swapping grips, he held the knife in reverse, clasping one hand over the bottom for the most force possible. Rushing the man down, Riley used his momentum, raising it into the air.
With a violent plummet, he impaled the man's skull with the blade.
"Marvelous."
That voice calmly emerging from within his head, Riley jolted.
"—Hk."
His consciousness did not last. His adrenaline wearing off, his body growing heavy, Riley collapsed to the floor.
"Riley Woods, you are an amazing jester."
Having unknowingly played into the palm of the Forgotten King's hand, Riley shuddered.