￢ PERFECT World Episode 5

Episode 4

Episode 5

“Lou. Lou, wake up.”
At Haru’s panicked voice, Lucia rubbed her still-sleepy eyes and woke up.
“Those two are gone. The entrance is open... Could they have really left the village...?”

While she was frowning at the situation she had feared, the outside began to grow noisy for some reason.

Before long, a young man entered Lucia and Haru’s room.
“Lucia, Haru. Those two... they were found dead in that thicket. The village chief thinks they might have committed double suicide, thinking they couldn’t escape.”
“What did you say?!”
Faced with a development even worse than them leaving, Lucia stood up and pressed the young man for details.

“The thicket, you said. I’m going too.”
But the young man grabbed the arm of Lucia, who was eager to head out, and tried to push her back into the room.

“Lucia, please go to the village chief’s house. The chief said that since the suspicions against you and Haru have been cleared, he wants you to look after his daughter... She still hasn’t woken up, apparently.”

“...Understood.”
“I will accompany you as well.”

With a solemn expression, the young man followed behind Lucia and Haru.

It was only a five-minute walk, but the gazes of the villagers they passed were cold.

The young man’s words and his attitude did not match.

When they arrived at the village chief’s house, the young man bowed and ran off toward the thicket.
They entered the foyer and called out for Ken, who should have been there.

Then, they heard Ken’s voice from the second floor.
Lucia and Haru went up to the second floor and entered the room.

Ken was holding the hand of Nayuri, who was tossing and turning in bed.
“Ken. How is Nayuri...?”
“She’s been like this ever since she lost consciousness... Maybe seeing Sion brought back memories from ten years ago.”

Haru stood leaning against the closed door, while Lucia knelt beside Ken and looked at Nayuri’s face.
“Father... Mother... help... it’s hot...”
Is she suffering from memories of the past?
Did Nayuri see the culprit’s face directly?
“Can you tell me in detail... about Nayuri’s experience ten years ago?”

This was something she hadn’t been able to ask because she had prioritized getting along with everyone over the past month.
“...I only heard it from my father; I didn’t hear it directly from her. Nayuri... well, she didn’t have any memories, but she never talked about it either.”

Ken’s lonely expression.

“It seems Nayuri didn’t even remember that the village was attacked, let alone the culprit’s face, or even who she herself was.”

A silence followed. Only the sound of Nayuri’s moaning echoed from time to time.

“There is a deserted village not too far west from here. The people who lived there were attacked by someone. ...Everyone says it was ‘Perfect,’ the group rumored to be attacking cursed races and research facilities, based on their methods. ...That’s about all I know.”

"Atype24"
Haru looks up. Ken looks at Lucia.
A murderous aura drifts from Lucia.
"A Perfect of the first type, and an attacker. Are they really in this village?"
The murderous intent spills from her lips.
It is emitted from Lucia with an extraordinary intensity.

Ken felt as if he had sensed the danger of a Perfect for the first time. The reason Perfects are feared. It is the murderous intent when driven by hatred, or the cruelty when they commit murder.

"Lu...cia..."
Lucia, brought back to her senses by Ken's voice, looks at him. Ken looks at Lucia with a relieved expression.
"I'm sorry. It seems I can't control my emotions when I remember that time. ...Even though I became a Perfect to protect Villiers... I couldn't protect her. Even now... I didn't notice when they were right in front of me, and I couldn't protect Sion..."

A stifled sob is heard from Lucia, who has buried her face in the bed.
Ken's hand embraces Lucia's shoulder and pulls her close.

"It hurts your heart even more to stifle your crying. ...Just cry. No one will blame you even if you cry out as loud as you can."
Along with a cry close to a scream, tears overflow from Lucia's eyes.

A knocking sound echoes on the door.
Taichi was standing beyond the opened door.
"It's not like I want to watch a love scene between kids. The phone has been ringing non-stop. You're androids, can't you hear it?"

Taichi continues to make snide remarks. ...A faint smell of blood.

"Hey, wait a minute."
Haru grabs the right arm of Taichi, who was about to head downstairs.
At that moment, sharp eyes pierce Haru, and his hand is shaken off.
"Ah, excuse me. I don't like being touched by others."
He ostentatiously brushes off his right shoulder with his left hand and glances at Haru.

"What did you come here for?"
At Ken's question, Lucia closes the mouth she was about to open.

Even if Haru was distracted, could he really have failed to notice the presence of Taichi, who had likely been listening from the beginning?
It would be more accurate to say that there wasn't even the sound of footsteps on the stairs.

"That's cold words for someone who's been working. I was carrying their bodies. It was gross, so I came to take a shower. Might as well have some lunch while I'm at it. We need to deepen our family bonds once in a while, right?"

He smiles ostentatiously at Ken.
"Don't mess with me! What bonds! You leave whenever you want, and come back whenever you want. Do you have any idea how much pain Father was in!"
"Pain?"

Taichi's expression changed.

He pushes into the room and grabs Ken by the collar.
Ken's eyes, looking straight up, clash with Taichi's eyes filled with hatred.
"He was in pain? It was him who abandoned me. There's no way he could have been in pain!"

He raises his voice, baring his emotions at Ken.
An emotional side of Taichi that he had shown to Ken for the first time.

But it was only for an instant.

The next moment, with quiet hatred in his eyes, he let go of Ken and left the room.

As if to replace him, the village head returns home.
"Ms. Lucia, Mr. Haru. May I have a word with you?"

The village head invited Lucia and the others, who had come downstairs, into the parlor.
He wanted to say something about Ken tagging along, but kept his mouth shut.

The conversation began before anyone even had a chance to sit down.
"First of all... those two did not commit suicide. It seems they were killed by someone. However, the villagers have accepted the double-suicide theory for now."
"Why aren't you searching for the culprit? Not only travelers, but villagers are being killed as well, aren't they?"

A short silence.

The village head sighs and looks at Lucia.
"There are travelers who are getting irritated from being cooped up in the inn. We must reach a conclusion soon."
"Village head, you're protecting the culprit, aren't you? Is it an influential person in the village? Is it because you fear the power of the Perfects? ...If it's for the sake of the village, that might be one way to go, but..."

Stared down by Haru, the village chief stammers.
But he continues to speak.

“I will not cast suspicion on you two. I swear that as Ken’s father as well. However... could you please leave this village? That will settle the villagers’ confusion.”
“Wait a minute! Why do Lucia and the others have to leave! Lucia and the others didn’t do it! Makoto and the others, starting with me, will prove it!”

The village chief refuses to meet Ken’s eyes.
“Ken, don’t do anything. If you try to do anything, I will lock you up, friends included.”

The village chief leaves the house without meeting his eyes.
He ignores Ken’s calls, his face stiff, without meeting anyone’s eyes.

“Damn it! Why! Why do Lucia and the others have to be put through this? ...What is Dad hiding?”

Ken’s frustration mounts, and he slams his hand against the desk.
Lucia, while bewildered by the accuracy of what Haru said last night, tries to organize her thoughts.

“Is he protecting him? ...Is it Atype24? Or is it not...”
“Doesn’t the age match up? We only saw them for a split second when we attacked the laboratory, so I can’t compare their features or anything, though.”

“The risk of protecting them is too great. Atype24 is being targeted by the Empire, too. Even if he is his son.”
“So who is Dad protecting... son?”

Realizing her slip of the tongue, Lucia looks at Ken in a panic.
He looks troubled, waiting for Lucia’s words with a suspicious expression.

She steels herself and reaches a final conclusion.

That smell of blood.

It is something I can only tell if I use Perfect’s sensitive abilities, but it was slightly different from his testimony.

It still felt fresh.

“Ken. The person the village chief is protecting is...”
“Ken!! Ken!! Are you there!?”

Rina bursts into the living room, cutting off the conversation.
Rina’s hair is disheveled, and her clothes are damp with sweat.
It is clear she has been running around everywhere to get here.
“Ken... Sunny, hasn’t she come here?”
Ken stands up and supports the staggering Rina.

A bad premonition creeps over everyone.

“She hasn’t. What happened to Sunny?”
“She left the house 30 minutes ago to go check on Nayuri... I told her to call me when she got to Ken’s house... but when I call, no one answers... Ken... I hate to think it, but...”

She couldn’t put the rest into words. The worst-case scenario that everyone is thinking of.

“Ken, take Rina home. I’ll go look for Sunny. Haru, there’s something I want to ask of you.”
Lucia whispers to Haru in a panic.
After hearing it, Haru nods deeply and pats Lucia on the back.

Lucia hurries toward the thicket.
She had been taught a path by Ken that leads directly to the thicket without having to climb the hill.
On the way, she peeks into the thicket’s management office, where Taichi is said to live alone.

In an instant, she wishes she hadn’t looked.
The unmistakable smell of blood, with no attempt to hide it.

There is no body.

Shion had been abandoned It seems that pair was also in the same place They weren't at the location. I looked around.

...Is there a more conspicuous place?

I gave up on the thicket and decided to head to the pond.
After passing through the thicket, I saw the back of the village chief standing in the pond.
When I looked suspiciously, the water at the village chief's feet was red—
“Village Chief!!...!! Sunny!!”

At the village chief's feet lay the transformed body of Sunny.
“Why are you here? You know who killed Sunny, don't you?”
The last words were not a question, but words of disappointment.

“Lucia... so you really couldn't just leave it alone, could you?”
“What are you talking about! Nayuri's life is in danger too! Eventually the whole village will be!! Village Chief, you! What on earth are you trying to protect!!”
“Sunny!!!”
Lucia and Rina's screams overlapped.

Ken and Rina were on the hill.
It seems they didn't go to the house and came here instead.
Rina stepped into the pond and picked up Sunny.

The small face was turned sideways, beyond the limits of a human.

“Sunny, Sunny. Ah... you people! Why can you kill people without meaning to!? So calmly... this is cruel.”
“Rina!”
Ken grabbed the shoulder of Rina, who had turned to face Lucia while still holding Sunny.

“Lucia and the others aren't the kind of people to do this! They are the ones being hurt by the culprit. You're not the kind of person who wouldn't know that after being with them, are you, Rina?”

“I don't know!! I'm not always watching Lucia like you are, Ken!!”

Rina shouted while hugging Sunny.

Ken let go of Rina's shoulder and looked down.

It was just when silence was about to continue. Lucia called Rina's name.
“I am... we are human.”
Just before disappearing into the thicket, Lucia heard the village chief's prayer.
“I'm sorry... I'm sorry. Please, save that child...”

It had been a while since Ken and the others left Nayuri's room.
The door opened without a sound.
After confirming the gentle breathing in the dim light, the intruder reached for her neck.
That was when it happened.

A hand emerged from the quilt, grabbed the intruder's right arm, and threw him toward the window.

Along with the sound of breaking window glass, the intruder was thrown outside.
Even though he was caught off guard, the intruder landed perfectly on the ground.
“Are you Taichi?... No, Atype24, is it?”

Haru, who had been sleeping in the bed, landed lightly in front of the intruder Taichi.

Behind Taichi was the village chief's house. Behind Haru was the main street leading to the residential area.
With the sound of the window glass breaking earlier, the villagers had gathered around.
Taichi was holding his right arm, where his sleeve was torn, and looking straight down at Haru.

“Culprit? What are you talking about? I was just trying to check on Nayuri's condition—”
“Do you think an ordinary human could be thrown from the second floor while caught off guard and be fine? You landed perfectly, didn't you? What's wrong with holding your right arm?”

Even when cornered, Taichi showed no signs of agitation.
Rather, it was the villagers who were watching who were agitated.
“Change of plans.”
Before he could finish his sentence, Taichi attacked Haru.
Haru blocked it with the same speed.

What caught his eye were the characters "Atype24".

"Why are you at home? Didn't you go to look for the child?"
"It was Lou's idea. To move Nayuri and flush out the intruder... The smell of blood in Nayuri's room. That was... that was Sunny's, wasn't it?"
Haru explained while dodging Taichi's attacks.
Taichi brilliantly dodged the fists that were thrust out whenever an opening appeared.

"So you really are the culprit behind this incident, and you are Atype24."
To an ordinary person, it would have looked as if Lucia had appeared suddenly.
Lucia appeared in front of Taichi at a speed that made full use of her Perfect ability.

Lucia and Haru cornered Taichi, forcing him back toward the house.
"You must be the one who attacked Nayuri's village, too. If you had heard my conversation with Ken in front of the room, I knew you would target Nayuri, thinking that her memories might return... Why did you kill Sion and the others? People who were guilty of nothing."

There was an aura that he was about to attack at any moment.
However, not giving him an opening, Lucia tried to engage him in conversation.

The aura of attack vanished from Taichi. Only the bloodlust still lingered.
Just as the three of them were becoming unable to distinguish whose energy was whose, Taichi let out words filled with deep contempt.

"Guilty of nothing? Those who want to become Perfect are guilty from that moment on. I must impose sanctions on those living as Perfects and those who created the Perfects."
"Why... why are you Atype24!"

Taichi and Lucia both sprang into action as if repelled.
When the villagers were able to see the two of them again, Taichi was clutching his stomach and kneeling, while Lucia stood there breathing heavily. Taichi took a stance.

"Lucia!"

Ken's voice could be heard from within the crowd.
He stepped in between Lucia and Taichi.
Ken continued to speak while keeping his eyes on Taichi.
"There's no need for Lucia to put her body on the line... I don't want to see Lucia fighting."

It was Taichi who reacted first to Ken's words. He suddenly started laughing and looked up at the sky.
"You really are naive, Ken. Is this a problem that can be solved by talking? Your precious little sister was about to be killed. That's why people who are coddled... It seems a fair number of spectators have gathered, too. Fine, I'll tell you all!"

Taichi looked around at his surroundings and shouted in a loud voice.
"I didn't run away from home 12 years ago! I was sold by this guy! ...In exchange for solving the problem of the drying up of the water source. Having successfully become a Perfect, I decided to take revenge."

The village chief was in the direction Taichi was pointing.

Haru gradually moved from behind Taichi to the side, stepping in to shield the village chief.

"You guys who were obsessed with researchers wouldn't understand. How terribly we were treated. Suddenly abandoned by our parents and treated like tools... The ones who were coldest when we were treated like tools were the cursed race. The moment I became a Perfect, those same people started worshipping me in a way that made me sick. I killed the first one, the developer, that old geezer, and the second one, the servant of the Perfects... You could even thank me. I wiped out the root cause."

"Just because of that, it doesn't mean you can destroy everything! ...We were raised in a way that we could only live there, after all. Even if we were suddenly set free, we had to fight the fear of being killed by you, the fear of being exposed to the world... Many chose death!"
Haru couldn't help but shout.

"They should have chosen. That is my wish. What do those who didn't choose have to say?"
A smiling face, cold eyes.

Thud.

A sudden dull sound. Along with it, Taichi's expression stiffened.
"E...nemy... of... everyone."

Nayuri's figure could be seen from behind the turned Taichi.
Perhaps because her fever hadn't gone down yet, Nayuri was unsteady and precarious.In the back of the staggering Taichi
in his lower back, a kitchen knife was embedded.
"You..."Unlike the intensity coming from his mouth, Taichi collapsed on the spot.

Even a Perfect cannot be fine after being suddenly stabbed in the abdomen. However, Taichi stood up and pulled out the embedded kitchen knife.
He raised his arm as it was and swung it down toward Nayuri's chest.

Clang...!

Along with the dull sound again, blood sprayed from Haru's arm as she shielded Nayuri.
Nayuri had already lost consciousness. Haru hid Nayuri behind her with her left arm, which she could still use.
"Move. If you don't move, I'll kill you first."

A pool of blood was beginning to form, running down her leg.

"Stop it. If you force yourself to move, you won't get away unscathed."
Lucia calls out to Taichi.
Taichi, whose sharp gaze remains unchanged, glares at Lucia.

"You... you're trying to kill me, aren't you? I'll die just as you wish. But I won't die for nothing."

At Taichi's words, the village chief, who had been frozen the whole time, desperately squeezes out a raspy voice and shouts.
"Stop it, Taichi. Stop... You should have just killed me from the start. To hurt others... Nayuri, at least, please. That child, that child is my..."

"Object of repentance."

Taichi stares at the village chief with cold eyes.

The village chief was looking at Taichi with fearful eyes.
"You must have projected us onto the poor children whose village was attacked by the Perfect, and who we sold as research material for the Perfect. You thought if you saved the children, if you gave the village moral education, you could atone for your sins, even a little. Without even considering that I might be alive."

Hatred was there.

However, something was intertwined with it in a delicate balance.

"You never even thought about how much pain I lived through. 'I sold my son,' 'but it's in the past now,' 'it must be the past'—you people thought that, and without even telling the villagers about us, you built this up into a 'good village'."

A twitching smile.

That was probably the first weak expression Taichi had ever shown.

"The look on your face when I, who you never thought was alive, came back. The troubled faces of the executives. In the end, I've become the prodigal son who left the village. ...Why do you think I stayed silent until now? If I stayed silent, your sin from 12 years ago would never be exposed. But you must have been trembling, wondering when my true identity would be revealed. ...Even if I sometimes hungered for blood and killed people, you would frame others for it. By doing that, you would just keep piling up your guilt."

He keeps looking at the village chief with a faint smirk.

The village chief makes up his mind and takes a step toward Taichi.
"From the start... you should have just killed me. I was the one who decided to sell the children of this village. You should have just hated me, and tried to kill only me. ...Kill me. I'm tired... of what I should hold dear. Taichi, me..."
"Don't mess with me!!! You want me to kill you because you're tired? Who do you think you are! Take responsibility for abandoning your children! If you're my parent, think harder about how I can be saved!!"

A sorrowful cry.

"...If you still want to die, then die yourself."
Taichi throws a kitchen knife at the village chief.

The blade of the knife, having drawn a straight line, sticks into the ground at the village chief's feet.

The village chief pulls the knife out with a slow motion and then holds the blade to his own neck...

"Stop!!"

Lucia, who had run out at the same time she shouted, snatched the knife from the village chief's hand.
"Lucia-san..."
"Don't say you want to die so easily. Don't let anyone die in front of me anymore. ...Live. Think of a way for yourself, and for others, to live."

"Don't get in my way!"

Taichi comes rushing at full speed to snatch the knife from Lucia.
"Taichi. You couldn't actually kill your father, could you? You just wanted your father to understand how much pain you were in, didn't you?"

Taichi's speed is sluggish due to the deep wounds he sustained.
Lucia continues to dodge Taichi with ease.
"Shut up! Don't act like you know everything!"
"I'm not acting like I know everything! People start by trying to understand others! That is what I! Learned from Ken!!"

Taichi finally collapsed. It was no wonder.
Even after being stabbed in the abdomen, he had been moving using the power of Perfect.
He was bleeding quite a bit, and under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be strange for him to have fainted.

The village chief ran toward Taichi as if repelled by something.
He called for a stretcher, intending to carry him to a doctor.
"I'm sorry... Taichi, I'm sorry... Please live. I beg you... please live..."
Amidst his fading consciousness, Taichi heard the voice of his father, who had completely aged.

To be continued in Episode 6

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