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“So… you’re the commander of these operations, am I correct?” A man speaks in a condescending tone.
Sitting down on his chair he looks at the bodies laying around his office, deciding on what to do with them.
“Kino! Do you read? Pick up, This is Shirogane! Are you guys having trouble?” The ear piece rings, flickering on and off.
The man looks at the commander who is heavily injured on the floor.
“I assume the rest of your team is trying to contact you? How perilous, you come into my property and cause a ruckus.”
He tightens his suit, looking at the documents on his desk.
“And I was going to secure this company a better future, it seems like I have to put those plans aside…”
He gets up from his chair walking towards the person.
“Hey, let me ask you a question. Why do you think people desire control of their actions?”
SLISICH!
“That is it boy! Let’s see how many you can handle!”
Masashi continues to slash at the blades being thrown at him.
The amount being thrown at him makes him wonder if this guy he’s fighting has bottomless pockets.
The man grins as he rips a piece of the floor from beneath him and chucks it at Masashi.
SLISICH!
One swift slice up Masashi splits the object in half.
“How long are you going to keep doing that?”
Appearing behind him.
The man tries to gut Masashi’s stomach.
To his surprise he is kicked back.
Henkōten’s expression changes, he is starting to shift his mood.
“You really don’t understand fear don’t you?!”
Masashi just looks on.”To a great extent I do, but you yourself.
I’m not scared of someone with lousy tricks.”
Henkōten eyes spread open once more.
“It’s people like you who don’t appreciate art. You don’t enjoy the joyous feeling of indulging in art, initially I found it frustrating that only one person came up here.”
His neck twists and contorts in an unnatural way.
“But it seems like my frustration was coming from your lack of understanding. I am going to teach you true fear.”
The room spreads with the creepy presence, the aura that Masashi felt touching him throughout the duration of this fight, spreads fully into the room.
Maybe even to other floors.
“My goddess of fear will instill into you why you can never experience art!”.
The man puts his hands together forming a handsign.
“Shunsetsu!”
WHOOSH!
“Huh?”
Suddenly Masashi is falling in murky water, he can’t move fully.
Everything feels like it’s closing in on him.
Henkōten’s voice echoes ominously.
“To understand the depths of a person’s mind, you must sink them into utter despair. Are you feeling it?”
Not knowing whether this is an illusion, or if the building really transformed into this ocean, Masashi tries to swim up.
“Wait… No way!” Masashi looks on in horror.
For a moment his heart stopped, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
His mother?
Only she wasn’t facing him, there were no tricks that were being played.
He couldn’t sense if this was that man’s ability.
It really was her.
Even if he couldn’t fully remember what she looked like, that outfit.
That presence… the overall appearance resembles her from an earlier time.
Reaching out through the endless ocean he attempts to get to her.
“Is that really you? Mom?”
The more he reaches out the wider and more crushing the waters become.
“Why can’t I reach it! Why can’t I feel the touch of your skin for one more time.”
His finger just nearly misses her skin.
Even a few inches would allow him to reach.
“It’s me! Don’t yo–”
Masashi’s mom turns around, for what seems like forever.
“Oh? You’ve come back to me? Haven’t you?”
It really was her voice, to Masashi there was no malicious presence he could sense coming from her.
As she turns around to reveal herself.
One can describe this as a terrible terrible joke.
“What’s wrong? Masashi, please come back to me…”
Her face melts into a dark green sludge, multiple eyes form and fall off.
Her body begins to decay, for a second Masashi had thought this was real.
But his senses quickly snap back at the disturbing sight.
Her body dissolves, spreading all spreading across the endless ocean.
Multiple eyes show up opening in a bloody fashion, ripping apart as eyes are formed and destroyed in an endless messy cycle.
“Do you not appreciate this art? Do you not seek comfort deeper than expected?! Boy you truly are a frown!” A face of Henkōten manifests under Masashi. You are reading on novelping dot com, the official source.
“You are not joy, but something of disgust. I’ve had enough playing with you.”
SWOOSH!
Masashi is flung out of the ocean only to reveal a dark paradise, there is nothing but monsters who consume each other.
Those who rely on instinct, the lustful, the greedy, the prideful.
Monsters who fight and consume on instinct, find no pleasure than to pursue the strongest thing they feel.
Looking on, Masashi sees the crumbling sky, a face pokes out of it.
Then it shatters revealing the full picture.
A female face who is covered in nothing but drowned clothing, her head adorns a jagged and stretched wicked crown.
Opening her eyes the only thing he can see is the deepness of the ocean and all the fear he has ever experienced.
Her mouth opens.
“To what do you embellish, child? Do you not seek joy in what you are seeing? The primal instincts of mankind, does it not indulge you?”
His eyes sharpen, as what he can only see is something so ominous it overwrites his fear.
He wondered if this is just a part of the man’s ability, he feels his presence coming from the woman.
But something feels off.
SWISH!
Swinging his chains, he attaches it to a nearby tree trying to get away from the view of the overseeing eye.
“Can I even escape here? I can’t even hear my thoughts properly?! Are the others okay?” He grunts as the situation seems hopeless.
Henkōten’s crooked voice pierces through the sky.
“No matter where you run, boy! You cannot escape from Shinen Hamaguri’s eyes, they will haunt your fear and take away what gives you joy, hahaha!”
“Shinen Hamaguri?”
A thought came across Masashi’s mind.
“So that must be his Kussetsu, huh? What a creepy reflection of your soul.”
CRUMBLE!
The gazing horizon collapses as Masashi runs across the field.
“Because you don’t understand the true essence of art! Your mind collapses at the thought of something you cannot reach.” Henkōten wickedly laughs.
“This guy is irritating.”
Tentacles burst from the ground forcing.
Forcing themselves out of the watery depths with a brutal display of struggle.
As the tentacles burst from one another, the more decrepit and lifeless they look.
Masashi vanishes from any observable eye.
Henkōten is shocked that he disappeared, with his eyes all over, he is confused on where he went.
“That boy, where did he go?”
Feeling everything around Masashi can sense how this is somewhat an illusion.
It all feels real, the wind feels real, the ground feels real.
Even the ocean he was submerged in felt like swimming.
He wonders how to get out of this.
Appearing on the ground Henkōten looks creepily around.
“Where did you go boy? Do you not want to witness what lies in your mind? Or are you scared of the inevitable truth.”
He lifts his hands in the air, the entire area changes.
Everything resembles a grey plain void, there is not a tree in sight, not an ocean, not even the sky.
“Where did you truly go? I cannot sense your presence.” Henkōten eyes dart around furiously.
“You aim to fuel my frustration!”
The female figure manifests in the empty void.
“Master. Must you hurry yourself with that child?”
“Of course Shinen! That boy has vanished; he might be out of the range of Shunsetsu.”
“Boy! Come ou–”
SLISCSH!
A blade ran through Henkōten’s chest from behind.
“For using my fear against me, especially my mother. You truly are despicable.”
Henkōten slimes.
“So there you are, boy!”
His bloodshot eyes threaten to consume everything around.
“Why do you run?! Do you not want to see the truth? Does it not scare you? YOU ARE SCARED OF TH–”
SLISCSH!
Quicker than he could even stop his words, even quicker than he could react.
Masashi slices at his throat.
The cut wasn’t enough to take him out instantly, but enough to end his ability.
Masashi looks around and sees everything has returned to the way they have been.
“Finally it’s over.”
Holding his bleeding throat, Henkōten wonders how Masashi could cut him any meaningful way.
Walking towards Henkōten kneeling on the floor, he looks at him in disgust.
“Have you forgotten about the chains wrapped around my body?”
“I guess they’re invisible to you huh? Tsk, your disgusting look at you. Being defeated by someone who doesn’t understand your art.”
Henkōten laughs.
“And so you think you defeated me? Huh….”
Putting his hand up, he unleashes a wave of fear aiming the intensity at Masashi.
A dangerous grin spreads across his face “So confident you are, but I’ve already gathered all your fear. And releasing it like this I amplify it ten times greater than it should be!”
The flow of fear threatens to consume Masashi, all of his frights, the unknown things and the outlandish seeks to tear his mind apart.
“You’ve thought you’ve won?! Let it consume your mind! Let it…”
An unsettling surge of energy hits Henkōten, looking at Masashi he makes an expression that would never be in character for him.
Fear…
The aura enveloping Henkōten is nothing but darkness, a darkness that entirely consumes his own. Find the original chapter at g.com.
“What is an inferior jester like you threatening to enter my domain?”
Looking at the throne on top of a jagged mountain top, Henkōten sees a figure.
A horrifying presence.
The UnWritten one.
“And do you think your fear can consume me? Hm, this is your final step. Don’t trespass here again.”
Waving his hand, he sends Henkōten out of his domain and crashing out the building window falling eight stories deep.
Masashi grabs his head.
“Shit, what was that? Was it that sovereign?”
Looking out the window, Masashi can’t seem to find Henkōten’s body.
Might it be from the darkness of the night sky or it’s just too far down, he is glad it’s over.
Walking towards the stairwell Masashi feels a sense of guilt, he couldn’t save that one man that was a victim of Henkōten’s games.
He wonders if there would be more of this intensity moving the upper floors.
“Finally… I can get to the eighth floor.” Entering the stairwell door Masashi ascends up once more.
“I’m coming for you. Bastard.”
Vrrrr!
“Amaiaruheitō, Kobayashi. You’ve finally made it.”
“Sorry about the delay Si, we had to fight some guy with some weird hand ability.” Amaiaruheitō smirks, “But hey Kobayashi was a big help.”
“Good to hear, we’ve managed to secure the first three floors, I’ve heard that Shirogane’s group managed the fifth and sixth.”
“They had trouble with someone who could clone themselves on the fourth floor. But they seemingly managed that.”
Si checks his coms.
“But no word from Kino’s group.”
Amaiaruheitō looks up at the high scaling estate.
“So mainly the top floors and the roof, the last I heard from them. They were entering the ninth floor, where they encountered the most resistance.”
“But did you manage to get all of the employees out?”
Si sighs, “We managed to safely get out most of them, but some of those bastards used them as a shield. While some of the staff members got complacent and ran into danger.”
“So it’s mostly good huh?”
“It is.”
Kobayashi approaches Si.
“Sir, are we going to scale up the building? To reach the top?”
Si shakes his head.
“After Ryu recovers a bit, Kintoki is fine; she’s just constantly mapping out the building with the scanner.”
Si looks behind Amaiaruheitō.
“So where is the vessel to the UnWritten one?
Did he split up from you?
Amaiaruheitō smirks a bit.
“Yeah he reached the seventh floor, from what I’ve been sensing. He’s apparently defeated someone up there. But I can’t sense the guy who got thrown out the window. So he might be dead already from that fall.”
“Hmm so it seems he’s been putting himself to good use.”
Amaiaruheitō looks at Si with a sharp expression, “And what do you mean by that? Tch, you know it’s not that kid’s fault. Besides I didn’t even want him to take part in this operation, but he was requested to come and be dragged in.”
Si just nods.
“Alright then, I understand. It seem’s hes making the most of this operation. If he manages to help out in a major way, I think the higher ups might sway from getting rid of him.”
Amaiaruheitō just looks down.
“Yeah maybe, but one thing to point out. Can you sense the upper floors? Like after the eighth floor, I can’t sense anything, it’s like something is blocking it.”
“Yeah I don’t seem to feel anything up there. All the more reason we should hurry up, we’ll meet up with Masashi and Shirogane’s group when ascending.”
“Ryu! Have you recovered yet?”
Standing up Ryu puts his service pistol in his holster.
“My bone’s ain’t aching anymore, I’m ready now.”
“Alright, come on all of you, let’s go!”
The five of them enter the building scaling up hurriedly rushing to the top, with the main goal of meeting up with the rest of the squads and taking out Hyuganatsu.”
“Hey dad? Where did Fuji go?”
“He went to see what had happened with the intruders that entered this building almost an hour ago, there are armed guards in this building so you shouldn’t worry”
The man clicks away at this computer.
Checking documents while overhearing the sponsors discuss in the other room.
“What is on your mind? Okemia? Are you worried?” Her father speaks out.
Her mind races as she can’t think how ridiculous this all is.
Bored out of her mind, she scrolls through her phone trying to find something to take her mind off the situation.
She hopes these sponsors would just hurry up with their deal, the fact that her dad and brother are here discussing with these sponsors.
Tell her things are getting serious for this company.
“Mr Hyuganatsu, you can come to the room. We have decided!” A voice shouts out.
Okemia’s father gathers his things before looking at her, he nods slightly before entering the room.
Getting up from her chair she wanders off into the hallway looking for the break room, she feels hungry right now hoping eating would take the feeling off.
Opening the fridge she picks out a fresh bento, putting it in the microwave.
She watches the one minute and thirty second timer tick down one by one.
“Like seriously… I have finals tomorrow and I am stuck up here…”
The timer of the microwave continues to tick down.
30… 23…16…14… 9… 4… 3…
2…1
BVROOSH!
A large explosion causes the building to slightly shake.
Okemia panics and manages to fall.
“What the hell is going on here? Is this some sort of bombing on the building?!”
RUMBLE!
“Just what is with today?! Now this is all happening!”