After smashing through the outer defenses, Amano Hiro reached the depths of the laboratory.
An alloy door, clearly different from the others, stood in his way. A complex access system flickered faintly, complete with password, fingerprint, and iris recognition.
Amano Hiro glanced at it and did not bother wasting effort. His right arm writhed and transformed again, the dark red symbiote condensing into that vicious, spike-covered round hammer.
Boom.
The first strike landed, and the door let out a heavy roar, trembling violently. It was far sturdier than the outer walls.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
He smashed it repeatedly with growing impatience. The harsh sound of twisting metal echoed through the space.
Finally, under the violent force, the entire door along with its warped frame was blasted off the lifting track. He lifted his leg and kicked it hard.
Clang.
The heavy slab shot inward like a projectile from a catapult, howling into the laboratory before crashing onto the floor and sliding a distance before stopping.
Amano Hiro stepped inside, his crimson gaze sweeping quickly across the room.
On both sides of the laboratory were several specialized cages. The ghouls imprisoned inside were without exception mutilated, their limbs severed at the root. The wounds at the stumps were grotesque, unable to heal due to the long-term deprivation of necessary "food."
They were like broken dolls. Even at such a tremendous commotion, none of them lifted their heads. Their eyes were hollow and numb. Their minds had clearly collapsed long ago under endless torment.
He did not stop. He continued inward. Several researchers in white coats were curled up behind precision instruments, their bodies trembling violently in terror.
Amano Hiro's gaze swept over them. He searched the cages again. There was no ghoul matching Kirishima Arata's features.
It seemed he could only ask for directions.
With a thought, five dark red tentacles shot out from his back, agile as hunting pythons. They precisely wrapped around five researchers and dragged them violently before him.
"Spare us. Don't kill me."
"Please, let us go."
Begging instantly filled the air.
"Shut up." Amano Hiro interrupted coldly. The icy tone silenced all wailing at once. "I ask. You answer. If your answer satisfies me, I will let you leave this laboratory."
The five researchers nodded frantically as if grasping at a lifeline.
"Where is Kirishima Arata."
They looked at one another, faces blank with confusion, all claiming they did not know who "Kirishima Arata" was.
Killing intent flashed in Amano Hiro's eyes. The tentacles began to tighten.
Just as he was about to dispose of these useless people, one bespectacled researcher struggled and screamed,
"Wait. I know. There is a ghoul with the codename 'Arata.' He has been kept in a sealed chamber. That might be the one you are looking for."
Amano Hiro's eyes sharpened. "Where is the chamber."
"The button. The red button right in front of you." The researcher hurriedly pointed toward a conspicuous red switch on the console.
Amano Hiro pressed it.
A low mechanical hum filled the air.
An entire wall on the side of the laboratory suddenly slid upward, revealing a hidden space within.
It resembled a cruel torture chamber. At its center was a cold metal platform. On it, a figure was firmly restrained.
It could barely be called a complete person anymore.
All four limbs had been severed at the root. The cut surfaces were forcibly fixed and pried open by special instruments to prevent regeneration. Several transparent tubes were inserted directly into the stumps, continuously dripping drugs that suppressed RC cells.
His body was completely naked. Old and new wounds overlapped across his torso. Some had just formed scabs. Others still exposed raw, bright red flesh. The sight was horrifying.
It was Kirishima Arata, constantly drained as "material."
Even Amano Hiro's pupils contracted slightly at the sight that rivaled hell itself.
As if hearing the commotion, Kirishima Arata's cloudy eyes slowly opened a slit.
The door had opened again. Was it time to extract Kakuhou once more.
He had long lost any sense of time. He only knew that each time the door opened, it meant another round of pain.
The only thing sustaining him was the faint image of his two children deep in his heart.
But this time seemed different. The one who entered was not a white-coated researcher with a cold gaze.
It was a tall figure cloaked in dark red armor. A ghoul.
In his deadened eyes, an almost imperceptible glimmer flickered.
Then he heard the figure speak, the voice clear in his ears.
"Kirishima Arata. I am your daughter Kirishima Touka's friend."
"I am here to save you."
"Touka."
The moment he heard that name, the faint light in Kirishima Arata's eyes flared violently, like embers reigniting into flame, nearly overflowing.
He struggled, extremely slowly, to turn his neck. His cracked lips moved, producing a nearly inaudible rasp.
"You. You really are Touka's friend."
The voice was hoarse and broken beyond recognition, but Amano Hiro heard clearly.
"Yes."
Amano Hiro stepped forward. His armored hands seized the specialized restraints binding Kirishima Arata and exerted force.
Crack. Snap.
Metal locks and restraints broke apart. At the same time, one tentacle lashed out and wrapped around the researcher who had pointed the way, suspending him above Kirishima Arata's head.
Then the tentacle tightened violently.
With a wet tearing sound.
Like squeezing a bag filled with liquid, bright red blood mixed with other bodily fluids burst from the researcher's twisted body.
It poured down over Kirishima Arata's face and body.
After prolonged extreme starvation, his body's instinct was fully awakened.
Like a dying traveler in the desert finding a spring, he threw his head back and greedily swallowed the warm blood cascading down.
It surged down his throat, bringing long-lost vitality.
Only when the researcher's body was completely drained and no more liquid flowed did a faint trace of life return to Kirishima Arata's ashen face.
Amano Hiro casually tossed aside the shriveled corpse. He tore large chunks of flesh from another researcher.
Before the man could scream, his neck was twisted off. Amano Hiro brought the flesh to Kirishima Arata's mouth.
Without hesitation, Kirishima Arata bit down and devoured it frantically.
As fresh flesh entered his body, the powerful ghoul constitution began to function.
At the grotesque stumps of his forcibly suppressed limbs, flesh buds began to wriggle and grow at a visible pace, beginning the arduous process of regeneration.
The sight completely shattered the remaining three researchers' courage.
One collapsed to the floor, his trousers soaked.
Another cried incoherently.
"You said you would let us go!"
"Spare us. Please. Don't kill us!"
Amano Hiro turned his head. His crimson pupils swept over them as he spoke calmly.
"That's right. I said I would let you leave the laboratory."
He stepped aside, clearing the path to the shattered doorway. "Now, you can go."
The four froze for a moment. Then wild joy of survival erupted across their faces. Scrambling and shoving each other, they rushed toward the exit, desperate to escape this hell.
However, the instant they stepped through the ruined doorway.
Sharp red spikes shot out from the shadows like waiting vipers, piercing their chests and skulls with perfect accuracy.
The ecstasy on their faces froze, replaced by ultimate shock and despair.
They did not even have time to scream. Like insects pinned in place, they staggered a few steps and collapsed heavily to the ground, lifeless.