"No saving them."
The Scav trembled as he spoke. They'd already started carving—how could anyone be saved now?
"Oh."
Riku nodded, a tinge of regret in his voice. His cybernetic eye scanned the two poor souls on the table, barely clinging to life, more breath out than in.
Shunk!
Without hesitation, Riku's claw shot out, piercing the throat of the Scav in front of him.
[Ding! Experience +1.]
"Guh…"
The Scav opened his mouth, trying to say something, but it was too late.
"Wait! This one can still be saved!" the other Scav shouted desperately. No way they were unsavable! There was hope—definitely hope!
"…"
Riku was speechless. Really? That flexible, huh? "Then get to saving them! Why're you staring at me?"
He shot a glare at the Scav, who was gawking at him. Riku wasn't a medic—though he could eat people.
Spooked, the Scav ducked his head and fumbled to start "saving" the victim. But come on, the guy was beyond help. He was just stalling.
The moment Riku turned away, the Scav slipped a pistol from his clothes.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out. Riku spun around to see the Scav slump to the floor, a look of despair frozen on his face.
"You're welcome! Showed up just in time to save your hide," Jack Welles said, blowing on his gun's muzzle with a cocky eyebrow raise.
"…"
Riku gritted his teeth, staring at the Scav, now deader than a shinigami's target.
"Jack, I'm so grateful," Riku muttered through clenched teeth, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
He'd let that Scav move, hoping to turn a measly 1 EXP into 5. Now? Not even that 1 point. Gone.
"No need to thank me, choom. It's what I do," Jack chuckled, though he sensed something off about Riku's gratitude. Kinda… creepy.
Then again, this basement wasn't exactly a kawaii hangout spot. Shelves lined with jars of human organs, a pile of mangled corpses in the corner—this place screamed yokai lair. The Scavs had nabbed plenty of victims.
"These two are done for. Give 'em peace," V said, glancing at the operating table. Her face showed a flicker of pity, but mostly calm resignation.
In their line of work, scenes like this were old news. You got numb to it.
Shunk.
Riku's claw ended the suffering of the two victims with one swift strike.
"Revenge is yours," he whispered, sighing softly. He noted their IDs and names to pass to Father later—maybe their families could be contacted.
For the first time, the +2 EXP from those kills felt… hollow. Was he really so desperate for those measly points?
"Actually… yeah, I am," Riku admitted, checking his stats. [Experience: 62/200]. Still 138 points shy of Level 3—roughly 27.6 armed Scavs' worth.
A long road ahead. He glanced at Jack Welles and V, wondering if teaming up with these two was worth it. Their headshot game was too strong—they kept stealing his kills!
"There's two still alive over here! Lucky bastards," V called out, snapping Riku from his thoughts. She'd found two more in a tub of ice in another room.
"These ones might make it," Jack Welles said, rushing over to help V pull them out of the freezing bath.
"Riku! What're you spacing out for? Help us out!" Jack called, hoisting one of the survivors, puzzled by Riku's daze.
"Coming, coming!" Riku snapped back to reality, jogging over to take the other from V.
"I'm fine, I got this," V insisted stubbornly, despite her gunshot wound making it tough.
"Nah, let me," Riku said, not bothering to argue. He scooped up the half-frozen survivor.
"You guys go ahead and get them help. I'll stay, see if there's any ill-gotten eddies to grab. Meet up at Father's," V said. She wasn't about to leave empty-handed—why waste the trip?
"Watch that wound. Don't take too long," Riku warned, knowing all too well the struggle of being broke. He got why V was scavenging.
"Relax, I know what I'm doing," V grinned, flashing an OK sign before diving into her loot hunt. Her moves screamed pro looter—she'd done this plenty.
"Let's move. I've already called Father—he'll arrange treatment," Jack said, carrying the other survivor and motioning for Riku to follow. He noticed Riku seemed off, not as hyped as before.
After this job, Jack finally got why Riku was covered in blood yesterday. With his berserker fighting style, how could he not end up soaked?
Riku followed Jack in silence, his mood low. A realization had hit him hard.
Either the Limit System or his oni-fication was messing with his head. His attitude toward human lives was getting… cold. Too cold.
Sure, V and Jack were a bit numb too, but when there was a chance to save someone, they didn't hesitate to lend a hand.
And him?
Even though he'd smelled survivors in this basement—people in bad shape—he hadn't rushed to check on them or see if they could be saved.
Instead, he'd been scheming how to turn 1 EXP into 5. He'd been eager to "finish off" the unsavable for a quick 2 points. He'd even considered ditching Jack and V because they were "stealing" his kills.
Heck, he might've even thought about the remaining survivors as potential EXP if they couldn't be saved.
It hadn't been long, but human lives were starting to feel like currency—tradeable for EXP.
His mindset was slipping into that of a mow-down game, where killing monsters powered you up and fed your hunger. The double buff of strength and sustenance was subtly twisting his morals.
Riku was grateful he'd noticed this early, thanks to Jack and V. He couldn't go solo for too long—being around normal people kept him grounded, let him spot his flaws and fix them.
If he kept going alone, he'd spiral down a dark path, too far gone to pull back even if he realized it later.
He refused to become one of those brain-dead villain yasha from novels—wiping out entire families, treating lives like trash, or devouring people to boost his power.
Was there really a difference between killing indiscriminately for EXP and an oni eating people to get stronger?
He needed a baseline. He'd already drawn the line at not eating people. Next was only killing those who deserved it.
He wasn't a seigi no mikata—a hero of justice—out to save every suffering soul. He wasn't noble enough to sacrifice himself for others. But if it didn't put him at risk, he'd try to save who he could.
"That's my baseline. It's low enough," Riku muttered to himself.