The laboratory lights had been dimmed as far as they could go. Only a handful of emergency lamps remained, casting a faint glow from the corners.
The air reeked of disinfectant and blood, along with something even more pungent.
The scent of fear.
Genichi stood before the experiment table. In front of him was an enormous glass tank filled with pale blue liquid. It was a specially formulated nutrient solution designed to keep a human body alive under extreme conditions.
Kirari stood beside the tank, having removed all her clothes.
Her long hair spilled over her shoulders. Her face was pale, but her eyes shone with astonishing intensity, like two blazing flames.
The corners of her mouth curved upward in the same smile that sent chills down the spines of everyone who saw it.
"Are you ready?"
Genichi's voice was calm, as though he were merely asking about the weather.
Kirari took a deep breath and nodded.
"I'm ready."
Her voice trembled slightly, not from fear, but excitement.
She had waited far too long for this day.
She had been waiting ever since Haruno first displayed magic before her, ever since she first drank the Blood Wine, and ever since she first felt that power coursing through her body.
"In that case, we'll begin."
Genichi picked up a black Go stone from the table.
It was tiny, no larger than a fingernail, and completely black. An unnatural sheen rippled across its surface beneath the dim light.
Kirari knew that a vengeful spirit captured from the Afterlife had been sealed inside that tiny stone.
It was a Frenzied Spirit, a creature devoid of reason that knew only how to kill and devour.
Genichi had expended considerable effort to capture it and seal it inside the Go stone.
Now, that stone would either become the key that transformed Kirari into a Spirit Tamer or the instrument of her death.
Genichi approached Kirari and pressed the Go stone against her chest.
The instant the stone touched her skin, Kirari's entire body convulsed.
She felt something seeping out of the stone, burrowing beneath her skin, entering her bloodstream, and spreading through every limb and bone.
It was cold.
It felt as though she had been thrown into a freezer, and the chill was so intense that even her soul seemed to be turning to ice.
Genichi's voice reached her from what sounded like a distant place.
"I'm merging the Go stone with your body so the vengeful spirit can fuse with your soul. If you succeed, you will become the first Spirit Tamer. If you fail…"
He didn't finish the sentence, but Kirari knew what failure meant.
Death.
She would become a cold corpse. Even her soul would be devoured by the vengeful spirit, erasing her completely from this world.
The Go stone disappeared entirely into her body.
The next moment, Kirari felt as though every part of her had been locked inside a freezer.
This wasn't ordinary cold. It came from the depths of her soul, irresistible and so intense that it threatened to freeze her entire existence.
Her teeth began to chatter. Her lips turned blue, and a thin layer of frost formed across her skin.
Her blood began to congeal, her heartbeat slowed, and her breathing grew faint.
If anyone had measured her temperature, they would have discovered that it had already fallen below freezing, under 32°F.
No human could survive at such a temperature.
It was the temperature of death.
Yet Kirari remained alive, or at least she continued struggling to remain alive.
She could feel the vengeful spirit sealed within the Go stone battling her soul.
It wanted to break free.
It wanted to devour her.
It wanted to seize control of her body.
Its power was overwhelming, strong enough to nearly tear her soul apart.
Kirari's consciousness began to fade. The world before her twisted and warped, while a deafening hum filled her ears.
She felt herself falling into a bottomless abyss, descending endlessly with no hope of ever reaching the ground.
"Live, or die right here!"
Genichi's voice pierced the chaos and reached her ears with perfect clarity.
Those words were like a knife stabbing into her faltering heart.
Kirari's thoughts had already begun to freeze. She was on the verge of abandoning her struggle.
But the instant she heard his words, an overwhelming desire to survive erupted from somewhere deep inside her.
She couldn't die!
She absolutely refused to die here!
She had only just discovered the fascinating side of this world. She had only just touched the threshold of the supernatural. She had only just found something capable of making her heart race.
How could she possibly accept dying now?
Kirari clenched her teeth and fought with everything she had.
Almost instinctively, she activated the ability Genichi had granted her through the Blood Wine: Devour.
It allowed her to consume souls and increase her spiritual power.
She had never used it before, nor had she ever been given the opportunity. The ability was far too dangerous. Devouring another person's soul could corrupt her own, eventually warping it beyond recognition.
But she could no longer afford to worry about that.
The power of Devour surged through her like a starving beast and lunged at the vengeful spirit consuming her soul.
The spirit struggled desperately to escape, but Devour was far too powerful for it to resist.
Little by little, it was torn apart.
Little by little, it was consumed.
Little by little, it merged with Kirari's soul.
Had anyone else attempted to devour a vengeful spirit with this ability, they would have likely been driven insane.
The souls of vengeful spirits were saturated with negative emotions: hatred, agony, despair, and madness.
Devouring them meant drawing all those emotions into one's own soul.
Over time, the soul would become corrupted, the person's identity would twist, and they would eventually transform into a monster that knew nothing but slaughter.
Kirari, however, was different.
She was already insane. Madness and distortion had always been part of her soul.
Those negative emotions were like a river emptying into the ocean. They couldn't create even the slightest disturbance within her.
Not only did the spirit fail to corrupt her, but Kirari claimed its power for herself and transformed it into a part of her being.
The vengeful spirit sealed inside the Go stone continued to be consumed.
Its struggles became weaker.
Its power diminished.
Its existence grew increasingly faint.
Meanwhile, Kirari's soul continued to expand, solidify, and grow stronger.
At last, the vengeful spirit disappeared completely.
It hadn't been destroyed. It had been consumed, assimilated, and fused with her.
Kirari and the spirit inside the Go stone had achieved a bizarre form of balance.
Its power became her power. Its consciousness became part of her. Its existence became an extension of her own.
Kirari's body temperature gradually returned to normal.
Her blue complexion turned pale, then slowly regained a healthy flush.
Her weak heartbeat became strong, while her labored breathing gradually steadied.
She opened her eyes.
Something new now shone within them.
It was the light of power, the radiance of the supernatural, and the gleam heralding the birth of a monster.
Standing before the experiment table, Genichi watched Kirari inside the tank as a faint smile touched his lips.
He opened the tank, releasing the pale blue nutrient solution. Kirari's body slid out and collapsed onto the floor.
She fell to her knees, bracing herself with both hands as she gasped desperately for air. Her entire body trembled.
"How do you feel?"
Genichi crouched in front of her.
Kirari raised her head. Tears covered her face.
They weren't tears of sorrow or pain, but joy.
It was the indescribable joy of surviving death and receiving a new life.
She smiled.
There was madness in that smile, along with satisfaction and an excitement that made the heart tremble.
"Wonderful."
Her voice was hoarse, yet carried a strength it had never possessed before.
"I feel… wonderful."
Genichi reached out and gently wiped the tears from her face.
"From this moment forward, you are the first Spirit Tamer."
Kirari looked at him, her eyes filled with adoration and dependence.
She reached out and seized his hand, holding it with all her strength as though she feared he might disappear.
"Master."
Her voice was soft, but the conviction behind it was absolute.
"I won't disappoint you."
Genichi looked at her with a faint smile.
"I know."
The laboratory door opened, revealing Haruno standing in the doorway.
A complicated light flickered through her eyes as she watched the scene. There was relief, jealousy, and something even she couldn't quite describe.
She took a deep breath, entered the laboratory, and stopped beside Genichi.
"It worked?"
Her voice was perfectly calm.
"It worked."
Genichi nodded.
"The first Spirit Tamer has been born."
Haruno looked at Kirari, who was rising from the floor.
The woman was drenched and looked utterly miserable, yet her eyes shone with startling intensity.
Kirari looked at Haruno and smiled in the way that always made her uncomfortable.
"Thank you, Haruno-san."
A teasing note entered Kirari's voice.
"Thank you for giving me this opportunity."
Haruno said nothing. She merely stared at her as complicated emotions churned within her.
From now on, this woman would share Genichi's power with her.
No, not share it.
Kirari would be taking a part of it away.
She would take some of Genichi's attention and trust. She might even take some of his…
Haruno didn't dare finish that thought.
(End of Chapter)
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