Slowly, I could see both of their bodies slumped down and their hands were limp, like puppets whose strings were cut.
The purple panels in front of me kept popping up; maybe because there were two people whose life I sucked out, the amount of BP I got was quite a lot.
“Kanzaki-chan?”
When I heard my name called, it snapped me awake from my reverie.
I blinked several times, witnessing the two men who were fighting earlier, their heads now submerged into the bowls filled with steamy broth.
A chill crawled down my spine at the sight of two grown men turning into corpse-like figures right before my eyes.
That was legit horrifying.
My hands reflexively released their grip, letting the two men's hands fall to the table with a dull ‘thud.’
“What's going on here?”
A man emerged from the back kitchen; his large, muscular body and fierce face looming behind me.
I glanced and saw the restaurant owner named Shirasaki Gen step closer, glaring at the two men dipped in the ramen broth.
“Kanzaki-chan, are you okay?”
The man asked, his hard face softened, and his voice turned calm.
I nodded, then looked at the two fainted men. Faintly from the wrists I gripped, I could see their body proportions seemed to shrink.
The difference wasn't too visible to other people, but as the person who used my ability on them, I could see the subtle difference clearly.
For a moment, I stepped back while Gen-san handled those men and effortlessly threw them out of the restaurant, watched by other customers.
It might sound impolite, but those two people earlier were the ones who first ruined the peace in this small restaurant, so no one opened their mouths.
Besides, the regular customers here actually wanted to participate in throwing those two salarymen out of here.
I looked at my palms, faintly able to feel a warm power pulsing through the tips of my fingers. It had a purple colour and wrapped around my pale white hands like a thin layer of protection.
Not long after, that power disappeared and went back into my body when I blinked.
I felt a soft touch on my shoulder, making me turn to the source and Shiori-san stepped up to stand in front of me, her face wrinkled with worry.
“Kanzaki-chan, are you alright?”
“Y-Yeah, I'm fine.”
I answered slightly stammering; the woman in front of me was one of the people who gave Kanzaki a motivation to stay alive.
Because amidst her harsh life, Kanzaki believed that not everyone is bad-hearted like these two people who hired her in this place.
However, just one small push for her, who was already standing at the edge of the cliff, caused her to make an extreme decision to end her life.
The memories that made Kanzaki Rin commit suicide resurfaced, making me grit my teeth.
Seeing my silence might have caused Shiori-san further worry; she immediately gripped my hand and said.
“Kanzaki-chan, you can go home early tonight.”
I blinked, seeing that Gen-san had already come in and was apologizing to other customers for the commotion.
“But, Shiori-san, I still have half an hour left.”
“*Sigh, never mind that, just go home and rest, my husband and I can handle it.”
“That's right, Kanzaki-chan, go home for tonight.”
After hearing the two plead, I, who was still remembering the terrifying incident that night, nodded with a dark expression.
I bowed, then turned around to the locker room to change clothes.
‘Tch, what a fucking nightmare.’
Apparently, this body I possessed has a darker history than I thought.
My hand that gripped my clothes clenched tightly, the embers from my heart flared, burning even the slightest feeling of doubt I had in my heart.
I let out a long breath, seeing the reflection of my face in the small mirror inside the locker was cold and vile.
‘I’ll have my revenge!’
After a moment of eerie silence, I changed my outfit and closed my locker, then left the restaurant through the back door.
My steps were halted, I caught the two adult figures who were fighting earlier now lying in this narrow alley, near the dumpster.
I paid attention to their faces, and sure enough their cheeks which looked gaunt due to exhaustion became even drier, because of the effect of my ability.
‘Well, it's called sucking life essence after all, I can understand that.’
First of all, I called up my status and looked at the results of the harvest earlier.
[You gained +46 BP]
From the points above, I concluded that my sucking ability takes one point per second. I held these two men's hands for exactly twenty-three seconds, so, it then multiplied by two.
However, from those twenty three seconds alone, I already made these salarymen‘s eyes roll back, unconscious.
What would happen if I continued for a minute?
‘Yeah, they’re dead.’
My interest to take more disappeared, not because of pity, but because I didn't want to involve myself with authority for murder charges.
I turned away from them and walked along the Tokyo streets that were bright with night lights, and still crowded.
While walking along the street, my black eyes swept the surrounding area, exploring every nook and cranny and catching every woman there.
It's just that, for some reason my mood didn't give me the surge of lust like when I was at work earlier.
I felt that my desire was tied by an invisible chain that brought back the memories from the night before Kanzaki committed suicide.
Thinking about that, I closed my eyes for a moment, then let out a long breath before whispering.
‘I need some rest.’
Because I didn't want to keep remembering that disgusting thing, I started distracting my mind by thinking again about this new ability of mine.
I hoped this could at least cool my searing head.
Several questions popped up, such as; would the effect be different if I used it on a younger person?
With their huge vitality, wouldn't I get more points compared to old people?
To prove it I need victims, and I already have some ideas in my head about who I would use this power on.
Just imagining it made my lips twitch, smirking.
‘I can’t wait.’
I, who was drowning in my own thoughts, unconsciously had walked far, until the area that was previously gleaming with lights now turned grim and dim.
However, this was not a new thing, my own feet brought me to this area, because this was a shortcut towards home.
My surroundings were filled with houses that stretched as far away as I could see. There was still light in some of the windows, while others had already gone dark as the residents slept to prepare for tomorrow.
The silence surrounding me made the nerves in my body loosen, and I felt a little peace after going through a long day.
The cold night wind whistled, fluttering my short hair which I held so it wouldn't get messy. I stopped my steps, trying to enjoy this silent world.
‘If only every day was calm like this. I would definitely be happy...’
I stopped for a moment, then continued without the slightest bit of shame
‘...and if I had a girlfriend I could sleep with anytime. That would be perfect!’
I sighed, right now there was only one candidate in my head whose heart deserves to be conquered. Not because of my power, but a pure human-to-human heart-to-heart approach.
I knew this method was troublesome, why didn't I just use my cheat ability that could make a girl's heart immediately fall in love with me?
However, if I only used it like that, my instincts told me I would lose something important inside me later.
Also this would be my precious experience. I’m also a normal man who wants to feel affection from a girl, because I know what it feels like to connect with someone without that basis of feelings.
Although my body was satisfied, in the end it felt empty inside.
I shook my head, pushing all these thoughts far in the corner of my head, and continued the walk.
‘I want to sleep, for now!’
However, when I stepped a few meters forward, a cold air suddenly caressed my cheek, making my body stiffen while shuddering in horror.
I furrowed my eyebrows, peeking back over my shoulder, but didn't see a single soul in this area. But no one was there; I was entirely alone.
Then, that freezing air appeared again, bringing a faint fragment of a voice that was clear, pure and a bit chilling.
“Ne!”
My body jolted immediately, as that voice appeared from around the corner just ahead.
Weird as it was, I didn't hear even the slightest footsteps in my ears, only seeing the figure of a woman with long, straight black hair walking, or sliding to stand a few meters before me.
My breath hitched when I felt goosebumps, awakening one of my deepest emotions, fear.
‘Haha, no, no way, no fucking way!’
I chuckled inside my own heart, realizing that this incident shouldn't happen in the real world.
The long-haired girl turned to face me, from the part of her middle bangs, that pale, smooth and cold face made me swallow hard.
She was staring at me, for some reason her mouth area was covered by a shadow making it look mysterious.
My feet stepped back, the sound echoed through the empty street.
As the girl came closer, my heart almost leaped through my opened mouth.
‘Nope, no way, I never signed up for this shitty trope. There’s no way.’
“Ne?”
My whole body froze when hearing that soft voice of hers, but it felt cold and also sharp as it pierced my soul.
“Am I pretty?”
Her long hair unraveled, showing the shape of her lips, I saw her pale blue lip line that reached all the way to her jaw.
‘Give me a break!’