NECRO2136: Pinky Swear (1)

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■20:00 /// |Minamihizui Ward | Kikiba Town Kikiba Gymnasium■

“Fast, so fast, <Hanzaki the Quick-Eater>! 2.3t... 2.4t... Even in this Stomach Dead End with its long history, a swallowing rate of 0.1t per minute is an exceptional speed! The nickname is no lie! However, the previous rupture of the borrowed stomach is taking a heavy toll! A furious chase! But, there is still a gap of over 1t from the current leader, <Tube the Bellows>! This match is still anyone's game! The time limit is 7:00 AM tomorrow! The battle has only just begun!”

Beside Hibukure, who was rubbing his stomach that felt like it was about to burst, Hanzaki grabbed a piece of meat on the bone. The meat, suddenly snatched away, opened its eyes in surprise. On its charred eyelids was the stamp of Numabara Natural Foods, the sponsor of this big-eating contest. In this Zofu City, where only the undead live, there are no living animals. Pets, meat, everything is a substitute made by processing humans hired by some company while they are still 'alive,' and among them, Numabara's 'part-timers' were rumored to have a taste similar to the original, not human flesh. However, Hibukure keenly felt that the gratitude for that was only something you could experience by eating it yourself.

“Hanzaki... I’m about at my limit...”

Since they were undead, there shouldn't be any pain, but the sensation of the internal organs being compressed was more unpleasant than imagined. This wasn't what I intended... Hibukure regretted it. He had a bad feeling the moment he got the ticket from his friend London, saying he would participate with Hanzaki. “This tournament is a combo battle. You can connect from the stomach down and have three helpers help with digestion and excretion. Well, for Hanzaki, I’m enough on my own.” London, who puffed out his chest confidently, tore his stomach flesh and retired in less than an hour, leaving Hibukure, who was in the audience, to be dragged out as the second helper.

“Hanzaki... give me a break...”

While slurping up peristaltic steamed noodles with vegetable juice, Hanzaki glanced over and bowed his head apologetically. He was a quiet guy before, but after modifying his esophagus for big eating, he spoke even less. Instead, the second, old man Hamachi, raised his voice.

“You gutless wonder! You fool! Hanzaki, don't worry about it! Eat like you're going to burst Hibukure's stomach!”

“That’s... that’s too much, old man. I’m helping out of the goodness of my heart here...”

“What are you whining about, acting like you're doing me a favor! ‘Free shopping at the shopping district for 10 years’! You're the one who accepted after hearing that, aren't you! Between you and London, young people these days lack guts and a sense of responsibility! Why don't you learn a thing or two from Hanzaki!”

“Young or not, we’ve both been alive for thousands of years, so isn't it just a rounding error...”

“Shut up!” Hamachi’s face turned red like a boiled octopus, and he slapped Hibukure on the head. The impact was enough to make him almost throw up, and he covered his mouth. He was a short-tempered old man before, but today was especially bad. Is he drunk on the atmosphere of the tournament? It’s rare for this old man, who is basically only interested in his own business, to get this involved with others.

“Oh! <Hanzaki the Quick-Eater> has lost his pace!? Taking advantage of that, the current 3rd place, <Ikari the Sliced>, is catching up! Will he show the spirit of the previous champion!”

“Wow,” the audience erupted. It felt like a thin curtain was stretched over his ears and eyes, and he couldn't feel it. Could it be that he is “suffering” right now? There seem to be citizens who visit such shops in search of lost pain, but Hibukure doesn't understand that feeling. Eternal life is certainly boring, but suffering is even less welcome. What was Hanzaki thinking when he entered a tournament like this?

“<Tube the Bellows>, wary of the chase, has extended his abdominal bellows by one section! Meanwhile, <Ikari the Sliced> is also changing shape! 70cm from mouth to anus! The champion’s specialty, which is almost a foul, shortens the physical distance of swallowing, digestion, and excretion! <Hanzaki the Quick-Eater> is also increasing the speed of his chopstick movement and chewing! Can you hear it! That sound is no longer eating, it’s more like an engine... gaga...Um, Sazanka-san, is this okay? I should just keep talking like this, right? Testing, testing, everyone in Zofu City, can you hear me?”

The venue, which had been wrapped in enthusiasm, fell silent at the woman's voice that interrupted the live broadcast. Hibukure also looked at Hamachi. Only the contestants, who were in a state of extreme concentration, continued to chew without stopping, making noise.

“I can hear you. My name is Gunji, the chief of the Memegi Life Research Remote Transmission Development Office. Currently, with the help of Sazanka-san, I am hijacking radios all over the city to make this broadcast. Ah, um, Sazanka-san is...”

Now that I think about it, the voices were overlapping. Not just the live broadcast inside the gymnasium, but the portable radios held by spectators and athletes, and even the municipal broadcast lines were all emitting the woman's voice in unison. "Gunji" and "Sazanka." Hibukure knew those names. In this lawless Zofu City, they are designated as exceptional criminals for the reason that they "could fundamentally destroy the citizens' way of life." They are in the category of celebrities in this city.

"Old man, Sazanka is the lover of that Necro guy, right? Wasn't she sealed inside his body..."

"Huh? Where the hell have you been hiding? That idiot Necro screwed up, and now everyone is free."

"I see," Hibukure replied with a nod.

"He messed up when he was trying to take in this person called Gunji. Besides, you could see the top of that monster woman called Yubiki even from Nikuhida, right? She went on a rampage yesterday too, so it must have been a mess with earthquakes and tsunamis."

"I did think it was shaking a bit, though."

Hibukure worried a little, wondering if Necro was feeling down, but then reconsidered that he would be fine given his personality. If it were him, he would surely be taking action rather than wasting time feeling down. Even now, he might be running around the city chasing after the lovers he let escape.

...The lover who betrayed him, he will kill. How much damage will this Zofu City suffer from being caught up in that selfish promise? Hibukure wore a slightly imprudent smile at the premonition of excitement to relieve his boredom.

[NECRO2136: Pinky Swear]

■20:12 /// Zofu Ward, Nikuhida Town, Nikuhida Radio Tower■

As for how much damage Zofu City would suffer from this incident, Gunji estimated that, well, almost all citizens would be slaughtered, most buildings would collapse, and 70% of the city would be turned into a burnt field. 13km in total length. To kill and take in Yubiki, who far exceeded human standards, Necro also needed a size comparable to hers, and for that, he needed to attach other bodies to his own. And there was plenty of meat lying around this city as citizens.

"The cause of the earthquakes that have been occurring intermittently since the other day off the coast of Zasho Ward and Zofu Ward is due to 'Yubiki of Yubiki Town.' As you know, she is very tall, and just by being here, she tears this city apart. Her lover, 'Necro the Undying,' feels distressed by this and is currently running around trying to welcome her back into his body and soul. Therefore, we would like you, the citizens, to help us""

Necro is an immortal belonging to the 'monster-returners,' and he possesses the power to kill others and take them into himself, compressing them into the shape of one human being called 'Necro.' Those who are taken in increase Necro's weight by one person's worth and lose their freedom. For his 13 criminal lovers, including Gunji, he was a man to be loved and, at the same time, a prison that robbed them of their freedom.

That said, it's not as if they hate being taken in by him. Gunji originally approached him desiring that, and... according to the story, Yubiki also desires it. Her overly large body is a personality trait that is too much for her to handle, and for that reason, she seems to be seeking to be killed by Necro and become 'one person's worth.'

"Normally, the welcoming of 'Necro the Undying' only increases his density and does not contribute much to an increase in volume. However, he seems to have resistance to taking in people he does not love, and if he takes in someone other than a lover, the manifestation of his power becomes half-baked. In other words, he becomes giant by the amount he takes in. In order for 'Necro the Undying' to become large enough to kill 'Yubiki of Yubiki Town,' we need your bodies. For that reason, we would like you to die. Now then..."

Kill each other, Gunji ordered, and cut the broadcast. A sigh escaped him. Except for research presentations, he was not used to speaking. The middle level of the Nikuhida Radio Tower. The voices of the citizens who should have started killing each other according to his orders did not seem to reach this far. Instead, a roar was heard, like an elephant's snort magnified many times over. Gunji poked his face out of the window. Against the backdrop of the burning Zasho Ward and Nikuhida Town, a vague, giant mass of flesh was walking as if dragging them along. It was Necro.

Boo, boo, boo.

"What is it! It's too big, I can't! Understand what you're saying!"

"You're asking if there's a need to explain in detail to those idiots, aren't you?"

Gunji was startled by the voice that suddenly echoed from the ceiling, but he immediately realized it belonged to Sazanka. As the ruler of the city's radio and cable network, she knew every corner of this city and could make her voice heard anywhere. The broadcast from earlier had also been with her cooperation.

"Right now! Because of Hayashi-san's influence! The coercive power of my commands has dropped! If I don't explain it beforehand! They won't just kill each other smoothly!"

Boom, boom, boom.

"That's appreciated, but you're saying you could have managed on your own without my help... Gunji, you don't have to force yourself to shout. I'll relay it for you."

"...You talk big. Even Kiiro-san's transcription was in danger, wasn't it? You have no idea how much strain it puts on Necro-san's body and soul to welcome someone he doesn't love. Besides, this time too, the plan was to start collecting the citizens only after waiting for my simultaneous command, right? If we had possessed them with my soul—Necro-san's lover—after slaughtering all the citizens, it should have been easier to welcome them."

Boom, boom, boom.

"It's a promise to Yubiki. I want to welcome her as soon as possible... I'm jealous."

He knew full well that this was a man who wouldn't listen to reason even if he preached to him. Gunji cut the conversation short and told Necro to just go already. Necro shook his massive body, which was already deviating from human form, kicked aside the vehicles swarming at his feet, and smashed through the building. With every step he took, something was crushed. Pools of filthy fluid spread across the ground, and the flames that had spread burned the flesh. His staggering gait was somewhat pathetic, but this was something he had started himself. Gunji had no intention of stopping him.

"So, Gunji. How is it, really?"

Sazanka spoke to Gunji after he had seen Necro off.

"It's difficult to possess all the citizens with me. The market share of the Onomeki Life Research Institute is the highest in the city. My |Backup Soul| is kneaded into all of their products, and it is possible to manipulate them through commands... In theory, that is, but as I said earlier, the precision of the operation has dropped due to Hayashi-san's influence. Also, although it is a small number, there are citizens who are not wearing Onomeki's corpse materials."

"True, you can't pick up the folks at City Hall."

"They were never part of the plan to begin with. There is no reason for the current unstable Necro-san to win against City Hall. Even in the current outlook, whether Necro-san can return to Yubiki-san's side is a close call, and we can't afford to make any unnecessary enemies."

"You can rest easy on that point. I've been 'listening' to the movements inside City Hall for a while now, and the general consensus at City Hall is leaning toward cooperating with Necro. 'Yubiki of Yubi-ki Town' seems to have been a thorn in their side as well. The guys at the Pain Blocking Bureau, in particular, seem to have taken the initiative to start hunting citizens."

The Pain Sensation Blocking and Maintenance Bureau, commonly known as the Pain Blocking Bureau, has the job of removing the pain that Zofu citizens should naturally feel by offering it to the <Witch>. Due to its nature, it was a department that was heavily influenced by the organization led by the <Witch>... |Painism|, and was considered an anomaly even within City Hall. This event of slaughtering all citizens must be a chance for them to offer a massive amount of pain to the <Witch> as well. By the way, the <Witch>'s name is Gigi, and she is one of the 13 criminals, as well as one of Necro's lovers.

"Did Gigi-san order them to cooperate with Necro-san?"

"She's not that virtuous. The virtuous one is, let's see... Ballet, for example. It seems she's heading this way now to help Necro. Unlike Gigi, Ballet is a good person, and she was close with Yubiki."

"<Ballet of Life>, is it? As a fighting force, that's very welcome. Isn't it going smoothly?"

Hmm, Sazanka said, her words trailing off.

"Is there a problem?"

"There is one big problem. Among Necro's lovers, the worst wild horse is coming to meddle here. It's Aisa. <Aisa the Slaughterer>. You know her, right? A special riser whose body is composed of weapons from the previous century. That big idiot who slaughtered all living things except for the immortals, the inhabitants of the world outside Zofu City. She had been quiet since she was released, and I had let my guard down too..."

"Does she intend to get in Necro-san's way?"

"It's beyond just a nuisance. I don't know what ticked you off, but you've turned your body into a mountain of nuclear warheads and are falling toward Zofu City. You're planning to wreck everything, aren't you? There's not even a few minutes left until impact. Hahaha, even though Zofu City is a city of immortals, if it gets blown away without a trace of dust left, that's the end of it. Who knows how many thousands of years it will take to recover."

"...Does that mean I'll die too?"

"I doubt even your bones will remain."

This is the worst, Gunji thought, clutching his head and crouching on the spot.

■20:48 /// |Jintsu District Above■

There are plenty of people who lament the boredom brought by eternal life, but Aisa knew that was just the babble of low-sensitivity morons, and that this planet was the worst from the start—a garbage dump with no sense of purpose. Aisa remembered well the world before the "immortals" were born, something most Zofu citizens had pushed to the other side of a hazy memory, and she had lived in this pathetic city even before it was named Zofu City. Blazers. School bags. Desks. Just falling toward the city like this brought those memories back and made her want to vomit.

"Hey, Aisa. What are you dissatisfied with? If there's anything I can do to help, just say so."

"Shut up, you voyeur. Go die."

She crushed the voice of the spoiled brat echoing from within her body. She didn't know when a radio terminal had gotten mixed into the iron flesh that composed her. It was infuriating. Sazanka was one of the better ones among those dim-witted women, and she never exactly disliked her, but there was no doubt she was hateful. She would trip you if she saw an opening, and if you fell into muddy water, she would trample your head without hesitation. Aisa was aware that she was made of hostility and malice even more than iron and fire.

The trick to living a life of compromise while surrounded by stupidity is to hit. If you hit, you get hit back. The exchange of hostility and malice through the reciprocation of violence was the only reason they were worth tolerating; in other words, they were only worth the value of a vessel to contain that exchange. Throwing a potted plant from the third floor of an apartment, tying a kid to a utility pole and making them eat dog feces. It didn't take long to bring out blades, either. Her parents would always spend their days crying over their uncontrollable daughter's actions, but that was exactly the reaction Aisa sought, her fulfillment. The more she was hated, the better.

However, there was a limit. The scale of the reciprocation should be larger and more intense. Yet, for humans with limited lives, the violence they could muster was also limited. With brute force, you could at most commit murder, and even if you became a person of power, the entanglements wouldn't allow for total destruction. For her, who gnashed her teeth, the body of an immortal was the greatest gift. It might have been a terrible misfortune for everyone else, but... no, for everyone else except her and Necro, that is.

"Necro..."

Just by whispering that name, Aisa felt the black, swirling center of herself boil even more hideously. She loved men with empty brains. Dim-witted, thoughtless, unimaginative, frivolous idiots. Necro was the pinnacle among them. Hearing that man ramble on about empty love, the representative moron Ballet and the airheaded Kiiro seemed to get all excited, but she had to say they were hopeless trash. Betrayal and retribution, that structure. That it was just a mechanism, nothing more. It was similar to her. That was the core of the man named Necro.

"Necro...!"

She realized she was lusting. The booster's heat rose. She wanted to betray him. She wanted to get in his way. She wanted to turn everything about that man into a chaotic mess from the ground up, ruin everything he had with a prank, and deny him. How much retaliation would that produce? How much of a reciprocation of violence would it become? In a world that had lost the shackles of death and lost all limits, she wanted to do it to the end. The speed of her nuclear warheadbody| plunging toward the ground increased even further. Her vision was red. Did she red out from the excitement? No, she wasn't using her eyeballs to "see" right now...

When she realized it, Aisa was in a sea of blood.

"...What?"

The hydraulic pressure of blood was entangled with her entire expanded body, causing intense deceleration. The surroundings were red as far as the eye could see. It was a vast sea of blood, enough to submerge her current volume, which far exceeded Yubiki's, and all 15,200 of her weapons. Aisa folded her deployed flesh in a chain reaction, returning it to a human shape. Even that action was entangled with blood, taking an infuriating amount of time.

She released heat rays, evaporating the surrounding blood. When she tried to escape into the sky, as expected, the sea of blood spread beyond the horizon. It was likely covering the entire sky above Zofu City like an umbrella. Who was it? One of those dim-witted women? Or the city hall soldiers? In any case, Aisa understood that resistance had been returned to her malice. She was being hated. It felt good.

"Who the hell is that!"

Responding to Aisa's call, the blood at her feet began to bubble. A protrusion that barely resembled a human form rose up, and a giant business card was projected into the sky. "Zofu City Hall, City Disaster Expansion Promotion Department, Massacre Planning Division 2, Section Chief Shuan." So it was one of the city hall soldiers. That top-heavy, moronic group of disciplinary committee members the old hag had created. A section chief? Small fry. The blood-humanoid opened its mouth as if drowning.

"You are 'Gunji the Mass-Killer,' correct? I apologize, but I must detain you for a moment."

"Because I'm a criminal!? I don't give a damn!"

"No, that is not it. The designation of criminals is carried out solely by the Dark Management Society Realization Department. We, the City Disaster Expansion Promotion Department, view the various 'events' you cause in Zofu City as valuable entertainment. We are not hostile toward you."

"Oh! Then, are you going to help me!?"

"...However, there is such a thing as a limit."

The humanoid retracted, and countless blades of blood rose up from the sea. It was like a mountain of needles in hell. That's more like it. She dove headfirst into the swarm of blades writhing across her entire field of vision. Her iron flesh was scratched, making a pleasant, unpleasant sound. But there was no pain. ...There was no pain! Instantly, her anger boiled over. Low-life. Scum. She would never forgive Gigi. The exchange, the only value on this planet, was now, because of that woman, devoid of pain and always incomplete.

She rampaged as if taking it out on the world, evaporating the blood blades. It was unsatisfying, with no resistance. Even when she tried to dive into the sea, the water pressure blocked her. Something felt off. This sea of blood was certainly something, but it didn't have the density to stop her momentum. It's not 'water pressure,' Aisa thought. Something else was at work. The fact that this amount appeared before her in an instant was also unnatural, now that she thought about it. It was as if it were manipulating time itself... a dimension far beyond what a mere city hall section chief could achieve... comparable to a 'criminal'... at least at the department head level... A department head. The City Disaster Expansion Promotion Department.

The City Disaster Expansion Promotion Department?

"TAMAMUSHI!!"

The department name she remembered linked with the name of an acquaintance. As she shouted that name, letting the momentum of her unraveling memories take over, she felt a finger tap her back. Instantly, her entire body was twisted open in a reverse spiral, and several of the weapons that made up her body scattered like plucked petals. Aisa gritted her teeth at the discomfort of having her body's time forcibly rewound. She twisted her body to leap away, and in the direction of her glare, there stood a woman.

At the end of her sleek suit, the woman stood still on the sea of blood, balanced on the single point of her leather shoe's toe. She licked the blood from her right index finger—likely from when she had pushed Aisa's back—and flashed a carefree smile from behind her glasses.

"You're still doing crazy things as always, Aisa-chan."

A distant, dry, and clear voice.

"Shut up, you high-and-mighty lackey of that old hag. You're just a shitty dog whose only talent is wagging its tail."

"You still haven't gotten over your coprolalia, have you?"

She placed a finger on her cheek and tilted her head in an exaggerated gesture.

"If all I had to do was wag my tail, it would be easy for me too... but I don't have anyone to wag it for."

"I don't care."

"The mayor has gone off somewhere again. He's a man with no interests outside of his son. I really wish he'd show some sense of responsibility."

"I told you I don't know! What do you think you're doing!"

"What do I think I'm doing? Well, that's obvious. Our staff slogan has always been, 'For the further peace of mind and health of everyone in Zofu City.'"

The text on the business card projected into the air read, 'Zofu City Hall, Department of Disaster Expansion Promotion, Director Tamamushi.' She was one of the longest-serving staff members involved in the establishment of the city hall, and a powerful figure who had served as acting mayor several times when the actual mayor was absent. Within the highly compartmentalized city hall, she was a long-suffering individual who had even been branded a criminal by other departments. She was also one of the 13 lovers loved by Necro... and a workaholic who had only recently returned to the workplace, also known as <Tamamushi of the Changing Ways>.

{Continued in (2)}