Chapter 27 - A life-threatening mission in Kyoto (Part 4)

He was lying. That couldn’t be true. A Paroxys was born from the holder’s emotion. No one ever mentioned that it could be stolen. How was that even possible? And how come I didn’t remember anything about my dad having a Paroxys? Did my mom know? And how did I forget?

“Your face tells me that you have no idea what I’m talking about. Then let me shed some light on it. I have a good idea what might have happened.”

He was still pulling on my hair.

“I had just joined the RIP when the incident happened. The other members were well informed about your father. He and your mother were quite an infamous duo that were running around and punishing people who they didn’t like. If I remember correctly, your mother was a lawyer and your father a police officer. Your father followed his own twisted ideals and decided to kill anyone who was guilty of a severe crime but was let loose by the justice system without any punishment with the help of your mother. One thing led to the other and he finally made contact with the RIP.”

His voice was ringing in my ears. I couldn’t grab a hold of myself.

“He was a foolish man to believe that he could defeat us while having a child that he needed to protect. We had planned everything out and it was no coincidence that you were at the scene as well. He was on Adohira’s list of Paroxys after all. Tell me, do you know what happens if the Paroxys and the holder get forcefully separated. They die. And guess what? We have someone who can just do that. I don’t think I need to spell out what happened next, do I?”

He showed me his white teeth. My breathing was shallow.

“Your father dropped dead in front of you. We thought that we managed to apprehend Xykoss but something very unexpected happened. The little girl that was you got extremely angry to the point where she attracted Xykoss to herself. You merged with him and let me tell you it was not fun at all. Naturally, we thought that you would die but you didn’t. Instead, you and Xykoss ripped off one of Eien’s arms. Ah, what a tragedy. You could have given Xykoss back to your father, but you kept him for yourself. What a selfish child you were.”

“You’re lying! I don’t remember any of it.”

My voice was shaky. Tears were running down my face.

“Oh, of course you don’t remember. It’s probably because of your mother’s Paroxys. She can erase memories after all. What a cruel thing to do to your own daughter. Was it out of shame? Maybe hatred? She might have been disappointed in herself.”

He was playing around with me. With my sanity.

“That’s not true. My parents would have never done that. And even if they did, it was probably your fault. The RIP’s fault. You’re murderers and criminals. There was probably a very good reason why they decided to kill.”

“Ouch, what a horrible thing to say to someone. That’s why I hate you. You’re just wannabe heroes who think that the world resolves around you and your heroism. You guys just don’t understand, do you? You just happen to be on the good side, and we just happen to be on the bad side. These concepts were created by yourself. In my eyes, we are on the good side, and you are on the bad side. Adohira told us that it’s weird that we have to hide our Paroxys and control our emotions. It’s unnatural. Wouldn’t it make more sense to act on your emotions and let your feelings be free? Paroxys are like catalysts for your emotions. They set you free from everyday norms.”

I felt dizzy. It wasn’t making any sense to me.

“Stop it. I don’t want to hear it.”

It was a whimper that came out of my mouth. He was enjoying it.

“Oh my, don’t tell me that I have already broken your spirit. You know, I don’t really care that much of that stuff either. My reason for existing is to kill. They called me a psychopath for having such beliefs. You know, the prettiest colour on this wretched earth, is the colour of blood.”

His nail ran over my cheek and left a cut behind. I could feel my blood running down.

“Guten Appetit.”

He licked the cut. I could see my blood on his tongue.

“I like to play before I eat. For me, women are like treats and men are meals. But I’m not allowed to play with you yet. Your deliciously, terrified face made me nearly forget that.”

He finally let go of my hair and turned on the television. I couldn’t move. My body was petrified. He skipped through the channels.

“Let’s see what the others are up to.”

I looked up at the screen and saw Yu laying on the ground.

“Oh, your friend doesn’t seem to be doing too well. Dimitri is really not holding back.”

The television was flickering, and I kept staring at it. I watched silently as Yu was being punched and tossed around.

“It’s not fair. Why can he use his Paroxys but Yu can’t?”

I whispered it to myself.

“Not fair? I don’t think you know what fair means. Most of the people who joined the RIP were mistreated and let down by that fairness of yours. Take Dimitri for example. His daughter was killed in a hit-and-run but because the guy was rich and famous, he was let go by the judge. It was clear as the day that he had bribed not only the judge but any witnesses that were involved in that case. People just turned their eyes away. He sacrificed everything he had, but in the end lost the case because he was poor. His wife couldn’t deal with the trauma and committed suicide.”

“But that doesn’t mean he can go around and kill others, especially innocent children who had nothing to do with him.”

“Oh, are you talking about that girl who is in a coma? You really don’t know anything, do you? She was the grandchild of that very judge who let that criminal go. Dimitri wanted to make them feel and experience the pain that he had gone through.”

I was sweating.

“No, it’s wrong. And eye for an eye will leave the whole word blind. It’s just wrong.”

He started laughing out loud.

“Then let the world go blind. Who gives a damn?”

The television went black for a split second and another channel popped up. Shiraishi and Hino were on the screen with the young girl. They were in the same place as the floating white cubes.

“Ah, it’s Tsukiko. To make it fair, I’ll tell you about her Paroxys. We are in her domain at the moment. It’s like a doll house with different rooms. The goal is to complete a game of hide and seek. She splits people into two groups, hiders and seekers. The hiders need to hide and find her twin brother who is also hiding somewhere. The seekers need to search for the hiders. The catch is that the hiders can’t utilize their Paroxys. The tentacles that you saw earlier belong to her beloved pet octopus that she keeps within her domain as well. See, it’s playing with those two Outliners at the moment. Tsukiko never talks. The only thing she ever told me was that someone told her that children’s wishes come. She thought that it was a lie, otherwise there would be no pain nor suffering in this wretched world we live in. Isn’t she a smart little girl?”

I wasn’t really listening to him anymore. My mind was stuck and was repeating what he had told me about my parents earlier.

“But the easiest to give orders to is Noah.”

He switched channels again. A giant caterpillar occupied the television screen. It was the same one I had met before. The one that was responsible for Charlotte’s missing arm and her current state.

“Oh, did it catch your attention? Your eyes are filled with hatred. You still aren’t over what happened to your friend, are you? Noah doesn’t question the orders we give him. He just executes them. I wonder how many he has killed already. He thinks that he owes us for saving him. We gave him a home, a place where he belongs. In his eyes, we are the heroes.”

“Shut up.”

“I won’t. I want to tell you more about him. Are you not interested at all how he ended up with us?”

“I don’t care.”

“Don’t be so mean. That poor boy had a rough childhood. His father was an alcoholic, and his parents would constantly fight and argue. Poor Noah would always end up in the middle. He would be the release of their pent-up frustration. Like the good boy he was, he would silently accept it. How many times was he ignored when he reached out for help? I guess, one day he reached his limit and did what he thought his last, desperate option was. The police, of course caught him and without any questions asked, labelled him a murderer. Isn’t that strange? They ignored his cries for help, so why couldn’t they ignore his one mistake? It was self-defence, so I wouldn’t even consider that a mistake.”

My stomach was cramping. I felt sick. My thoughts were all over the place. I didn’t know what to think or what to feel anymore.

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