“Thud… Thud… Thud…”
The sound of a heartbeat reverberated through the air.
A heartbeat that was strong and powerful.
As Amatori Biba injected the pitch-black syringe into his own heart, infusing its plasma, the rhythmic thumping of that heartbeat echoed loudly across the entire roof of the Hayajiro.
At that moment, Fang Li witnessed something crazy.
He saw the heart within Amatori Biba’s chest undergo gradual changes.
Whether it was a Kabane or a Kabaneri, their hearts would emit a radiant glow, akin to the dazzling color of a golden fruit.
However, in an instant, the brilliance of Amatori Biba’s heart shifted, morphing into a deep shade of blue.
“Clang…”
The empty syringe fell to the ground, its impact producing a crisp sound.
Amatori Biba lowered his head slowly, his body slumping as if he were a puppet being animated by invisible strings suddenly brought to life.
“Splat…!”
Like a burst balloon.
Countless iron-like spikes erupted from Amatori Biba’s body, resembling spider legs as strong as iron stakes as they extended in all directions, reaching out relentlessly.
Along the path of each extending iron stake, Kabane crawled up, chasing after the remaining life within the Hayajiro.
“Splat, splat, splat…!”
An iron stake pierced through a Kabane’s body, sending it hurtling through the air.
“Splat, splat, splat…!”
With the sound of weapons penetrating flesh, the Kabanes were impaled one by one by the iron stakes, hanging like macabre pieces of meat.
Soon after, the iron stakes, carrying the impaled Kabane, retracted back to Amatori Biba’s side.
Under this bizarre circumstance, countless Kabane gathered within Amatori Biba’s body, akin to haphazardly assembled building blocks as they gradually grew and transformed.
Before long, the figure of Amatori Biba, radiating a blue glow, vanished.
In its place stood a monstrous creature, constructed from an amalgamation of countless Kabane stacked together.
Its limbs were irregular.
Its body was irregular.
Its shape was irregular.
Like a demon emerging from the depths of hell, resembling black smoke that could dissipate at any moment, it could only be described tentatively as a colossal monster.
“Aaah, Aaah, Aaah, Aaah, Aaah, Aaah, Aaah, Aaah, Aaah, Aaah…”
The massive monster emitted an array of cries, a chorus blending with the voices of the Kabane, reminiscent of a newborn baby.
Enveloped in this overwhelming sound, Fang Li’s eyes underwent rapid transformations, until he finally uttered a single sentence.
“So… that’s the Fused Colony…”
The Fused Colony.
It was formed by using a single Kabane as its core and assembling the rest of the Kabane into a gargantuan entity that incessantly absorbed humans and Kabane to grow into an abominable being.
In essence, it was a colossal monster assembled from other monsters and corpses.
Those who had knowledge of this creature called it the Black Smoke.
They did so because when viewed from a distance, it appeared as an ever-shifting mass of distorted black smoke.
Undoubtedly, it was the most terrifying monster in this world.
Formed by the convergence of countless Kabane, it was a creature born solely to bring about destruction.
And now, Amatori Biba had transformed into such a monster.
All because of that syringe.
The syringe was capable of turning individual bodies into the core of the Fused Colony, an injection known as Black Blood Plasma, which was artificially created to give rise to the Fused Colony.
Injected with the Black Blood Plasma, Amatori Biba had completely lost his human intellect, transforming into a mindless monster driven solely by a thirst for destruction. His monstrous form let out a deafening roar, shaking the very skies.
Faced with such an unstoppable creature, Fang Li had no choice but to flee.
“Run!”
There was no hope of defeating such a beast. Without a moment’s hesitation, Fang Li swiftly scooped up Mumei, who appeared to have lost consciousness and sprinted away with unmatched speed.
“AaahAaahAaahAaahAaahAaahAaahAaahAaahAaahAah—”
The colossal monster unleashed a thunderous roar and gave chase.
“Dōng Dōng Dōng— BOOM!”
The resounding thuds of its heavy footsteps reverberated through the Hayajiro, threatening to shake it to its core.
Fang Li, running at breakneck speed, couldn’t resist stealing a glance backward, only to be met with a sight that sent chills down his spine.
The Black Smoke, the monstrous fusion of Kabane, was rampaging on the roof of the Hayajiro, moving with spider-like agility, its roars echoing in the air as it relentlessly pursued Fang Li.
“How can we possibly defeat that thing?!”
The Fused Colony was not an individual but a conglomerate of countless independent Kabane. Only by eliminating the core Kabane could the Fused Colony be destroyed.
No matter how many Kabane were killed, it would be in vain if the core remained intact. The Fused Colony consumed both the living Kabane and the corpses of the dead, assimilating them into its body.
Even with Fang Li’s Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, rushing in blindly would only lead to a dead end.
“Forget about getting close, even if I manage to reach Amatori Biba, he’s surrounded by countless Kabane. I won’t be able to kill him!”
At that moment, Fang Li had no choice but to keep running.
His wounds were bleeding profusely, and the pain he is experiencing at this moment was excruciating. Yet, he pushed through, ignoring the agony, carrying Mumei and propelling himself forward with unwavering determination.
But even the Hayajiro had its limits.
In the next instant, Fang Li spotted the end of the Hunters’ Hayajiro.
Then, to his surprise, something unexpected occurred.
“Fang Li!”
“Fang Li-San!”
At the end of the Hunters’ Hayajiro, the Iron Fortress was still attached, its carriage doors wide open, revealing Ikoma, Yomokawa Ayame, Konochi Kurusu, and others standing inside.
Ikoma, waving his hand frantically at Fang Li, froze in shock as he laid eyes upon the approaching Black Smoke.
“What… What kind of monster is that?!” Konochi Kurusu exclaimed, his voice filled with disbelief.
“Fang Li!” Ikoma shouted, his voice dripping with concern. “Hurry, come over here!”
“You idiot!” Fang Li couldn’t help but curse. He quickened his pace, his steps becoming more resolute, and like an arrow released from a bow, he leaped towards the Aragane Station Hayajiro, landing in front of Ikoma and the others.
Without wasting a moment on pleasantries, Fang Li swiftly grabbed Kurusu’s blade, turned around, and faced the gargantuan monster.
His ice-blue Mystic Eyes gleamed silently.
…
