CH 5.31

The band that cut Susanoo’s head was instantly reeled off, leaving a line of fire.

The man at the end of it was—

「Sugita….you were a variant?」

Sugita’s left arm, which had been transformed into a band, instantly reverted to that of a normal arm.

However, the fact that his sleeves have been torn off tells us that he was definitely the one who cut Susanoo’s head.

There has never been a hint of him being a variant from the many times I had encountered him.

And even now, aside from his left hand, he’s nothing but a human.

「No, I’m human.」

Sugita put a silver bracelet on his left hand, which was beginning to burn and crumble.

His bare left arm is engraved with a number of wounds that can be read as “Machiko”.

「Variant implanted left arm….?」

Is that silver bracelet a sealing device?

Is that even possible?

Transplanting arms between humans is difficult enough and yet it’s a variant’s which is a different creature.

Even if it is possible, it is hard to believe that he can use it.

As a proof of this, his arm started to burn immediately after it was released from the seal.

It should be losing the variant ability when it’s not sealed.

「You can tell it at a glance, don’t you? Yes, thanks to this, my internal organs are in shambles. I’m being eroded by this thing’s cells.」

「Why did you……」

「To kill him.」

Sugita glared at Susanoo with hatred.

「Why do you want to kill me?」

Susanoo, who’s only a head, turned his eyes toward us.

The cut was burning and emitting a strange smell of burnt flesh.

「Right, let me tell you. You should know what you’ve done before you die.」

Sugita gently traced the name engraved on his left arm and began to speak.

「I had a girlfriend I had been dating since high school. We were very happy. After I started working as a doctor, I was so busy that I didn’t have time to see her but we got engaged. Then, the day before our wedding, she died. You variants ate her!」

Red blood dripped from Sugita’s right hand, which he clutched tightly.

「When I came to her, the guy who ate her was walking away. I saw his back. In his hand is a gold pocket watch with a comb painted on it.」

Isn’t that….Susanoo’s pocket watch?

「Every morning, I kept engraving her name on my left arm. That pain reminded me of her. I continue to do so even after I made a deal with “him”.」

Him, I assume he means the guy who implanted the variant’s arm on Sugita.

「I was shocked when I found him at school with that pocket watch. I thought “Now, I could finally avenge my girlfriend’s death.”. It was worth the effort of luring him out even if it meant distributing drugs.」

「I see….it’s you! Because you you, Kushinada!」

Susanoo’s torso, which had lost its head and arms, rose up and kicked Sugita to the ground.

A strange young man caught Sugita who was blown to the entrance of the kagura hall……no, he looked familiar.

I think he was the nurse who was with Sugita during the physical exam.

-0-

Do Sugita and Susanoo consider each other’s adversaries?

Does this mean that Susanoo ate Sugita’s lover and Sugita spread drugs to lure Susanoo out which caused the death of Susanoo’s wife.

If that is the case, it all makes….sense?

No….something’s not right.

No matter how much Sugita carves her name on his body everyday, he remembers too much about her.

-0-

Sugita said he only saw Susanoo’s back.

They did not fight each other.

No matter how much he was bent on revenge, it should not be something he could remember through his own volition, considering all the people I’ve seen so far.

Even I, who had been using memory retention magic for some time, can’t fully remember what Kakogawa looks like.

Yui, for her part, seemed to be unable to remember a bit of him when I asked her.

Even though he had a variant arm implanted on him, how is it possible for him to remember?

「You two, are you both satisfied with your revenge?」

The nurse standing behind Sugita said that.

Before anyone had noticed the joyous tone of the nurse’s voice, his hand pierced Sugita’s abdomen.