"I don't want to interrupt you, Cain, but I had nothing to do in the corridor, so I quickly checked her analyses. Fortunately, they're not nearly as complex as mine—let alone yours. She didn't need this virus anyway, since you already carry it, and it was you who turned her," Yamata said.
Did you really have to say that right now, in front of everyone? You couldn't have whispered it to me later? All this does is sharpen the conflict with Katherine. Or was that exactly your goal?
My angry look was completely ignored by the Four Eyes, who was studying Katherine with the detached air of a vivisectionist.
"I see. But I didn't have a choice, right? That wasn't really me—it was the virus, wasn't it?" the girl asked hopefully, lifting her yellow-red eyes to me.
"Yes. But only this once. From here on out, everything you do will be your own choice. And don't wrinkle your nose—you won't be able to live without blood, and our bodies don't accept human food. Except for purely meat-based stuff (and no, soy doesn't count)," I said, deciding not to nurture whatever illusions she still had—for the same reasons as before.
"Well… I think… later I'll be able to. Later," Warren nearly whispered at the end.
That's better. I remember telling myself something very similar at the beginning. Might as well calm her down now—show a bit of concern. That'll only help our relationship, and for proper teamwork it's better to have decent relationships to begin with.
"All right. This really can wait, so calm down. Everything's fine," I said, giving her a light half-hug. Unlike me, she should be able to feel it, as one who has now tasted human blood, and not only blood.
A couple of minutes later, Katherine pulled herself together—either demonstrating a fairly strong character or already showing mental changes brought on by the virus. But I didn't let the girls who had gathered react to the noise and head downstairs.
"But why?" Warren asked, genuinely surprised. Yamata, after a few seconds of thought, took a couple of steps back on her own. One look at her eyes made it clear—she understood.
"No point getting involved when the job can be done for you. We even risk getting caught in the crossfire—and not so much by the monster as by the survivor herself. And judging by the sounds, she's packing some serious hardware. Do we need that?" I explained briefly.
"So what do we do now?" the blonde asked, clearly unhappy with the situation, though she accepted the logic.
"You can practice climbing on any surface for now. I'll wait," I said, nodding toward Yamata so she could help—explain how to extend claws deliberately rather than purely on instinct, and how to use them to move along walls and ceilings.
Better to have one girl teach the other—maybe that'll improve their relationship at least a little. Right now, the two of them were snapping at each other like they had something unresolved. Meanwhile, I'd listen to the sounds of the fight. Or better yet, go down myself—using the same proven method.
Honestly, I was starting to feel like some kind of cockroach, constantly occupying ceilings. No—given these wings, more like a fly. And who cares that the wings don't quite fit the image.
I hadn't even started descending when Claire appeared at the base of the stairs, having come up and breathing heavily. I quickly sprang away from the opening and slipped into the corridor. After hissing at the girls, I settled back onto the ceiling in a dark corner. Luckily, the lighting here was much worse than in the room, and you could stay hidden on the ceiling just fine—as long as you didn't react to a survivor first.
Fearing exactly that (and also the possibility that someone might fall), Yamata and I positioned ourselves on either side of Katherine. For control. When the girl quietly asked what we were doing, she was given only the second explanation. Yamata and I already understood everything anyway—and I don't know about me, but in the former mercenary it was plainly written all over her eyes.
Why did I even start collecting people around me? No—back when I was several evolutions weaker, there was logic in it. Alone, I would have died hundreds of times over by now. But at this point, the only justification for this blonde was scientific curiosity—apparently partially inherited by me when I turned Yamata.
The Four Eyes herself had already proven her usefulness; her candidacy was beyond question. And honestly, two people are more convenient than one.
Claire, who had lingered in the room for a bit, suddenly broke into a run toward the elevator, clearly agitated about something. Ah, right—Irons's body was gone now, and someone had decided Sherry was in danger. Funny how that worked out. At least Claire was too preoccupied to notice us.
"And now we go down, before she comes back," Yamata and I said almost in unison, dropping from the ceiling in sync once again.
I immediately had to catch Katherine as she fell after us.
"So… you didn't practice landing, did you?" I snorted.
"She hasn't even really learned to climb yet—though I don't see what's so hard about it," Yamata grumbled, already heading toward the descent while I set Katherine back on her feet.
(End of Chapter)
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