As for what heaven truly was?.
"A place full of happiness, where you won't be hungry, won't be cold, and can be with everyone forever—that is heaven!"
Ba Xun, who had the aura of a blind saintess, like a little teacher to the girls, explained the meaning of heaven to them in words they could understand.
"Heaven, how wonderful!"
"I love heaven!"
"From now on, can we live in heaven?"
"Is it really okay? We'll make it dirty, won't we?"
"Idiot, of course you have to wash yourselves clean first!"
The little lolis followed Bai Luo and Ba Xun's steps one after another.
A few of them, seeing their footprints on the smooth floor, even bowed their heads to apologize to the floor and said they would wipe it clean.
This amusing scene truly made Bai Luo laugh and cry at the same time.
"Catch that guy!"
In the real world, on a street in Tokyo Ward, an abrupt voice rang out among the crowd.
Almost simultaneously, a young girl broke through the human wall and rushed out.
She was holding a supermarket shopping basket full of food.
She was wearing denim shorts and a white fitted top.
However, just like the girl's grimy face, both pieces of clothing had not been washed for who knew how long; they were not only worn out but also covered in patches.
As a Cursed Child living in the outer district, the girl had no means of making a living.
To survive, she had no choice but to rummage through trash cans and steal unwanted clothes and food.
But today, she broke into a human convenience store and snatched a bag of food from inside.
The girl didn't even look at what she took.
She just kept stuffing things into the bag and then frantically fled outwards.
'Faster, faster!'
Driven by inner fear and worry for the children she lived with, the girl disregarded the figures blocking her way and rushed forward madly.
On a tall building diagonally opposite, unseen by the girl, a news report was playing on a large display screen.
On the screen, a beautiful silver-haired young girl was expounding on the "Gastrea New Law."
The girl, named Holy Child, was at this moment sternly appealing to the general public, hoping they would treat the Cursed Children kindly, and then once again proposed a bill to respect the basic human rights of the Cursed Children.
Unfortunately, those who could speak up for the Cursed Children were ultimately a minority.
Most people simply could not accept the existence of the so-called Cursed Children.
In this world, Cursed Children were usually secretly given birth by their parents by the river, and then drowned before their eyes had even opened.
Furthermore, because they possessed astonishing regenerative abilities, many parents would inflict their misfortunes on these children in the form of violence.
It was said that some parents even suffered from a post-war syndrome that triggered shock upon seeing red eyes—Gastrea Shock.
Ba Xun was born into such a family.
Her mother, fearing her scarlet eyes, blinded her with molten lead and then abandoned her.
Many people might say that such parents are simply scum.
But the problem is, who knows?
Due to genetic contamination by the Gastrea virus, even Appraisal cannot prove blood relations.
This makes it so that if parents who give birth to Cursed Children do not acknowledge them, no one can prove that they are their children.
Because of this, many people even began to question whether Cursed Children are legally considered human.
"Stop right there!!"
"Disgusting red eyes!!"
However, these things had nothing to do with the girl who was desperately fleeing.
She didn't understand what the Holy Child was saying, nor did she care.
Gradually, more and more people were drawn by the commotion, which made the girl's movements increasingly difficult.
"Ah!!"
Countless hands reached out from behind her, and even though the girl had a physique far superior to humans, she was still held firmly.
Several adults together rudely pushed her down, the sound of her bones scraping the ground clearly audible.
"Let go of me!"
The girl's face was pressed against the asphalt, her otherwise proper face contorted.
She clawed and thrashed like a wild tiger, but no one in the audience showed her any sympathy.
"Thieves, you are the scum of the Tokyo Area!"
"Good job! That damned Gastrea."
"Stop screaming, you murderer."
"If you 'Red Eyes' hadn't killed all my relatives back then..."
······ ······
"Red demon, go to hell!"
Not only were they verbally abusing her, but many people also viciously kicked the girl's abdomen and back, not even sparing her head.
"What are you all gathered here for?!"
Just then, two police officers pushed through the crowd and walked over.
"This disgusting fellow broke into the convenience store and stole something."
"The clerk just tried to stop her and was almost hit and injured by her."
"Yes, it was too dangerous."
"You're police, right? How can you let a monster like this run wild on the streets?"
...
Soon, from the mouths of the surrounding people, this pair of police officers learned the whole story.
.. ..... ....
"Ah, I understand."
Without any sympathy, and without needing to hear the girl's explanation, the police officer simply stated with extreme indifference that he understood.
"Get up!"
The stronger police officer grabbed the girl's hair and pulled her up.
He didn't care why the girl stole, he just took out handcuffs from his pocket and put them on her, locking her hands behind her back.
"Let go of me!"
"Hey, let go of me!"
The other police officer ignored the yelling girl, saluting the representatives of the crowd and expressing gratitude for their courageous actions.
Then, the two of them pushed the girl into the police car and drove off.
Soon after, in a secluded, uninhabited area of the Outer District.
The girl, who had been arrested by the police for theft, was dragged out of the police car like livestock.
Cursed Children have stronger physiques than ordinary people, but they are otherwise no different from human children, and can be easily lifted by adults.
"So painful!"
The girl, who had fallen to the ground, was completely covered in mud.
However, there was not a trace of pity in the eyes of the two police officers.
"How disgusting, a monster that looks human."
"Haha, isn't this great!"
The tall police officer sneered, his face contorted in a grimace as he drew a pistol from his waist and aimed it at the girl on the ground.
"Bang!"
"Ah!!!"
A gunshot rang out, and the bullet pierced one of the girl's arms, immediately splattering blood.