Chapter 62: Despair Always Follows Hope
"Is this guy even killable?!"
Umezono Chizu gasped, his mind reeling in disbelief, his facial muscles twisted in terror.
Despite being hit by both his and Daigo's ninjutsu and hidden weapons, inhaling massive amounts of poison gas, and losing enough blood to kill several people over, the monster still hadn't collapsed—much less died.
What the hell was this thing?
The fear he'd temporarily suppressed came roaring back with exponential force, completely overwhelming his reason.
They were facing an unkillable monster!
The massive, serrated cleaver slowly rose into the air.
Beneath the blood-red mask, the Butcher's cold, merciless eyes looked at them as if they were nothing more than livestock awaiting slaughter.
Their breath caught in their throats.
Boundless fear gripped their hearts like an invisible hand, squeezing tighter and tighter.
"Run! I have to run!"
Umezono Chizu's reason completely shattered. The last thread holding his mind together snapped.
The instant the thought of escape crossed his mind, he abandoned his companion Daigo entirely, bolting away while screaming at the top of his lungs, "Help! Somebody help me! Please!"
His desperate cries echoed through the empty, darkened tower.
But the tower was utterly deserted. No one answered his pleas.
In truth, this wasn't entirely Chizu's fault.
The sheer presence of that imposing figure and the incomprehensible terror it radiated were beyond what any human could endure!
"Chizu?!"
Daigo's expression changed drastically. He clearly hadn't expected his companion to abandon him and flee.
Just as he prepared to run himself, a pungent stench of blood suddenly flooded his nostrils. The hideous, terrifying blood-soaked figure suddenly brought down its serrated cleaver.
In that split second, Daigo yanked his puppet back in front of him as a shield.
CRACK! CRUNCH!
The wooden puppet stood no chance against the serrated blade. It was instantly cleaved into a pile of splintered wood and scrap metal.
Though his puppet was destroyed, Daigo seized that momentary opening. Driven by pure survival instinct, he channeled all his chakra and dove to the side.
But would he really get away that easily?
The Butcher gripped his serrated cleaver and swung it horizontally in a wide arc.
SHHHRRRK!
Daigo, who had only managed one step, suddenly felt searing pain shoot through both legs.
Before he could process what happened, he collapsed to the ground. Looking back in absolute horror, his face contorted in agony, dark veins bulging across his skin, pupils bloodshot. He let out a bloodcurdling scream:
"AAAAHHH! MY LEGS! MY LEGS!"
Both of his legs had been severed cleanly at the thighs.
The flesh at the severed stumps was a mangled, pulpy mess—clearly sawed off with brutal force.
Agonizing pain surged through his brain. Daigo screamed continuously, "No! Don't come any closer! Help me! Chizu, please help me!"
Hearing the desperate cries for help, Umezono Chizu finally remembered his companion. He looked back toward the sound, and his face went even paler with terror.
The Butcher—body still riddled with steel senbon and kunai, several gaping bloody holes in his chest—stood with his legs spread wide at Daigo's waist level. His hands gripped the half-bent serrated blade, now stained with fresh bits of flesh and blood, raised high above his head.
"Help me!" Daigo gasped in pure terror, his trembling pupils completely bloodshot.
He placed his last hope for survival on his companion, his eyes filled with desperate pleading.
Their gazes met across the several meters separating them.
Umezono Chizu's lips were deathly pale, his entire body trembling uncontrollably. He desperately wanted to save Daigo, but his survival instinct held him frozen in place.
His foot, which had been about to step forward, silently retreated instead.
"Chizu...?"
Daigo's eyes widened in disbelief.
The serrated cleaver fell with a sickening thud.
CRRRACK!
Daigo was split from the abdomen down, severed cleanly by the massive blade.
"AHHHH—!"
Cut nearly in half at the waist, Daigo almost passed out from the sheer agony.
But the Butcher raised his massive cleaver again, his eyes scanning Daigo's broken body as if calculating where to strike next.
"Help me! Please help me!"
Daigo used every last ounce of his strength to look at his companion, his face twisted in unbearable pain, completely consumed by terror.
Meeting his companion's desperate gaze, Umezono Chizu gasped for breath, his face like a corpse, his pupils dilated to their limit. Finally, he bit down hard on his lip and whispered in a barely audible voice:
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
He forced down his guilt and turned to run without another moment's hesitation.
"Chizu... I HATE YOU—!"
Having been abandoned by his companion, Daigo was now completely consumed by bitter resentment, his eyes blazing with hatred.
He regretted everything!
If he had abandoned Umezono Chizu instead, he would be the one still alive!
But unfortunately, there was no going back now.
"I hate you—Chizu!"
"Ahhhh, I curse you!"
"No... please... spare me... ah..."
"Just kill me! Kill me already!"
Gradually, Daigo's voice grew softer and softer until it disappeared completely.
As Umezono Chizu fled deeper into the tower, the sound of his companion's agonized screams grew fainter and fainter—which only intensified his own fear.
He knew he was next!
However, there was one small piece of good news.
The time he'd gained by sacrificing his companion allowed him to discover the tower's intricate interior layout.
It contained numerous corridors, rooms, and hidden passages—perfect places to hide.
After searching desperately, he found a narrow ventilation shaft—a well-concealed spot normally used for air circulation, making him extremely difficult to detect.
He squeezed himself into the cramped space and began crawling forward.
After crawling for what felt like an eternity, Umezono Chizu felt completely exhausted and decided to rest.
"He won't find me here," he thought, desperately suppressing his breathing and trying to control his wildly pounding heartbeat.
Just then—
Scraaaape... scraaaape...
The sharp, grating sound of a serrated cleaver scraping against brick came clearly from directly above him.
It was here!
It had found him!
Umezono Chizu clamped both hands over his mouth, desperately trying not to make a single sound.
He didn't dare breathe. His pinpoint pupils trembled violently. His heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst from his throat at any moment.
Each scraping sound of that serrated blade dragging overhead stirred a primal terror deep within him, testing his fragile, shattered nerves. A bone-chilling cold enveloped his entire body.
He didn't know how much time passed.
Only gradually did the sound of the blade scraping above his head begin to fade into the distance.
"It's... it's gone?"
Hearing the Butcher's presence recede, Umezono Chizu felt a wave of relief wash over him. His taut, frayed nerves relaxed ever so slightly.
His reason—which had been constantly teetering on the edge of total collapse from sheer terror—seemed to slowly return.
"I have to find a way to escape," Umezono Chizu thought, regaining some composure. His trembling eyes gradually calmed. "This is a ventilation duct. If I can find a weak point in the barrier, I can force my way out!"
He put his plan into action immediately!
The ventilation tunnel was painfully narrow—especially for a grown man.
To move forward, he could only rely on his abdomen, legs, and ten fingers, slowly wriggling like a snake through the confined space.
Umezono Chizu crawled forward inch by agonizing inch, even as his skin was scraped raw and bloody against the rough surfaces.
Finally, his perseverance paid off!
After crawling for more than ten minutes through the narrow, cramped passage, he saw a faint glimmer of light ahead.
"That's... the exit?!"
Umezono Chizu's eyes widened, revealing a look of desperate joy. "And there's no barrier covering it yet!"
At the end of the passage was an iron grating.
What made him even more ecstatic was that there was no barrier sealing it off. As long as he could reach it, he could escape!
Scrape... scrape...
Ignoring the blood and gore from his skin being rubbed raw, Umezono Chizu writhed forward like a maggot toward the exit.
"Almost there... just a little bit more..."
The faint light gradually grew larger before his eyes.
Umezono Chizu had never felt that light was so warm, so desirable.
Closer... closer!
Just a little bit more!
Finally, after persistent effort, Umezono Chizu poked his head out through the passage opening.
Fresh, sweet air—free of any trace of that sickening bloody smell—rushed into his lungs through his nostrils, as if awakening boundless vitality within him.
"I'm out! I made it!"
A look of wild, uncontrollable joy spread across Umezono Chizu's face.
"Found you..."
Suddenly, a piercing, hoarse voice rang out from behind him.
Umezono Chizu's heart seemed to stop for a moment. His wild joy froze instantly.
Having already pulled half his body out of the shadows, he instinctively looked back into the depths of the narrow, cramped passage.
From the darkness, a blood-red mask slowly emerged!
He felt his ankle being gripped by an ice-cold hand.
Then, an irresistible, terrifying force began dragging Umezono Chizu back into the narrow passage.
"NOOO! NO! PLEASE NO!"
Umezono Chizu screamed, his face contorted with absolute terror.
His ten fingers clawed desperately at the floor tiles, but he couldn't resist the monstrous strength pulling him backward—not until his fingernails were completely torn off, leaving ten bloody streaks trailing behind him in the passage.
Umezono Chizu's screams echoed through the darkness as he was dragged back into the depths of the ventilation shaft.
The deepest despair always comes after you've been given a glimmer of hope.
[End of Chapter 62]
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