Chapter 33: Tastes Awful

University of Tokyo Hospital.

Located in Hongo, Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, it is one of the oldest hospitals in Japan.

Walking through a corridor thick with the scent of disinfectant, Sakata Hitohito, who had come for a visit, pushed open the door to a private room while carrying a fruit basket.

By the window, a man in a hospital gown, his frame gaunt, leaned listlessly against the headboard, staring blankly out at the sky.

Asai Sangin, a First Lieutenant in the Ground Self-Defense Force, was the only survivor on the ground from the Tsuchigumo Disturbance, aside from the crew of that helicopter.

After that "battle," the Ground Self-Defense Force hailed him as a hero, but only he knew how this man truly felt.

"Only I survived. Only I survived."

Asai Sangin turned his head, looking at Sakata Hitohito with bloodshot eyes.

Dead. They were all dead. Only he had survived—only him!

Sakata Hitohito watched his mentally shattered friend in silence, and after a long moment, he let out a heavy sigh.

"The higher-ups want to hold you up as a paragon."

Asai Sangin remained silent.

Sakata Hitohito, having expected this, lit two cigarettes. He kept one and handed the other over, the room soon filled with swirling smoke.

As for the rule against patients smoking… well, when under such immense mental pressure, one needs an outlet.

Halfway through the cigarette, Sakata Hitohito stubbed it out on the nightstand and slowly stood up.

"Once you’ve recovered and are back on your feet, we’ll go get revenge together."

Asai Sangin looked up, met his gaze, and gave a heavy nod.

"Yes."

————

On the hospital rooftop, Sakata Hitohito walked slowly toward the parapet and let out a long, ragged breath.

Seeing his old friend in that state was painful, but what was worse was that the enemy this time was not human. Every method they had used in the past proved completely ineffective, and now, they couldn't even track the enemy's movements.

It was precisely because of this that he hadn't dared to stay long in the room, terrified that Asai would ask about the progress of the investigation.

Progress… Heh.

"Progress? There’s no progress at all!"

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

He left a series of shoe prints on the rooftop wall, one after another.

After venting his frustration, Sakata Hitohito slumped, rubbing his head with the same listless expression as Asai Sangin in his hospital bed.

"Taking your anger out on a silent wall is not very polite, you know."

"Who's there!"

The sudden voice startled Sakata Hitohito, who turned vigilantly toward the source.

Standing there with his back turned, holding a black umbrella, was a… man?

"Who are you?"

"Cough, cough. Let me ask you: you really want to help your friend get revenge, don't you?"

*Is he an extraordinary?*

Sakata Hitohito keenly sensed that something was wrong with the person before him—that air of composure, and the topic he had chosen to broach.

What did someone like this want with him?

Just as his hand reached for his weapon, the umbrella-bearing figure vanished instantly. Before he could react, that familiar voice sounded right by his ear.

"Reaching for a weapon while in conversation is not a good habit."

"..." After a moment of silence, Sakata Hitohito relaxed his posture and said directly, "What do you want? I'm just an ordinary Self-Defense Force officer. You must know the situation with the Self-Defense Force well enough to know that my position can't help someone like you."

"No, no, no. I don't need your help. On the contrary, I'm here to help you." The man with the umbrella chuckled and turned to face Sakata Hitohito, though his face remained obscured. "Do you really want to help your friend get revenge?"

"...He saved my life. That is all."

*That is all.* A heavy weight indeed.

A chuckle echoed from beneath the umbrella, and an object was tossed toward Sakata Hitohito. He caught it instinctively and froze.

It was a fruit—a strange-looking, heavy, fist-sized fruit covered in spiral patterns.

"Eat this, and you will gain the power to help your friend. Of course, you may also choose to turn it in. I support whatever choice you make."

Staring at the fruit in his hand, Sakata Hitohito looked up at the man, whose face was still hidden by that signature black umbrella, revealing only his chest downward.

He slowly brought the fruit to his lips. He didn't know if the claim that he wouldn't be stopped was true, but his intuition told him this person had no intention of killing him.

What value did a low-ranking Self-Defense officer have to be killed by an extraordinary?

Furthermore, this might be the closest he would ever get to the extraordinary, and at the same time… the best chance he would ever have to avenge Asai.

As the fruit reached his mouth, Sakata Hitohito suddenly asked, "And what is the price?"

"You'll know in time. As you are now, you can do nothing."

Without further argument, Sakata Hitohito took a large bite.

"Ugh!"

It was disgusting!

It felt like the innermost pair of underwear left in a bucket for eighty-one days during the summer; not even wearing a gas mask and using tongs to extract it could prevent the stench from assaulting one's nose.

He felt like he was about to ascend to Nirvana.

"Spitting it out is useless. Only the first bite has any effect."

Covering his mouth, Sakata Hitohito glared at the man; if looks could kill, the person under the umbrella would have been torn to shreds.

Mustering his courage, he swallowed the pulp. The next second, his expression changed drastically. Pain—unimaginable, agonizing pain. It felt as if every bone and shred of flesh in his body was being shattered and reconstructed.

The agony was unbearable.

Yet, for some reason, he did not lose consciousness; it was as if the body's natural defense mechanisms had failed him.

The pain did not last long, yet to Sakata Hitohito, it felt like centuries had passed. At a certain threshold, he felt his perspective shift.

His body was growing taller, and something was sprouting from his palms.

A moment later, Sakata Hitohito vanished from the spot, replaced by a three-meter-tall, gray-black werewolf standing on two legs.

"What is this!?"

Looking at his fur-covered hands and razor-sharp claws, Sakata Hitohito was stunned.

Suddenly, it dawned on him.

*Wait, how do I change back!*

To this, the man with the umbrella simply ignited black flames beneath his feet, leaving behind a laugh and the words, "A mature adult should solve his own problems. Believe in yourself; you can do it."

*Believe in my ass!*

Power surged through his body, but Sakata Hitohito could only lie on the ground, still trembling with residual fear.

————

Life is like a wilderness; aside from the occasional wild animal, one faces only endless stretches of grassland or desert.

After a day of leave, the school gates opened once again.

The street remained cordoned off… it needed repairs, after all.

The commotion from two days ago was widely rumored among the students, but that was all.

Yokosuka Port.

Located on the eastern shore at the entrance of Tokyo Bay, it connects to Yokohama in the north and borders Yokosuka City in the south. The port is fully equipped with all the facilities required for a naval base. Naturally, the United States Seventh Fleet was stationed there.

Incidentally, about 115 vessels of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force were also docked here, making it one of the main bases for the JMSDF.

However, as everyone knew, the true master of Yokosuka Port had always been the United States.

With such excellent conditions, the U.S. had also established a laboratory there. After seizing the extraordinary materials from the Metropolitan Police Department, Lital had wasted no time in sending these precious, otherworldly assets to the Yokosuka laboratory.