[ Kill the monster! ]

[ Protect our children! ]

[ Get rid of the devil! ]

[ Kill the devil! ]

Those were the voices of all the people who could be heard from here as they had their weapons in the air. I could feel all of their hatred and anger directed at me as they continued yelling.

I couldn't understand what was happening and why it was happening. The entire city had gathered here while pointing their guns at me as they were thirsty for blood.

[ You monster, you will finally get what you deserve! ] ( Kenji )

Kenji yelled in anger as he pointed his sword at me. But why is he acting like that? What did I do to get treated like this once again?

I'm not a monster and I don't want to be one!

That's what I thought, but to these people, I was nothing else but an enemy.

[ Look at what that monster has done! My daughter was hypnotised to the point where she wanted to kill herself for him! ] ( Kenji )

On his side was Ichika who was calmly standing there without saying anything.

Hypnotised? What is he talking about?! I never did such a thing to Ichika! All I did was help her increase her strength as a fighter just like her father asked me to.

And why isn't Ichika saying anything!? She should know that I never did anything bad to her?

Everyone became even more furious after listening to what he said about his own daughter.

[ Don't get close to him! ]

[ Kill him! ]

[ Don't let him near our children! Kill him! ]

No matter what I tried thinking about it, everyone here wanted me dead. To them, I was nothing else but a dangerous thing. But I never threatened or showed my powers to any of them, did I?

The only people who somehow had grasps of my powers were Kenji when we had a match.

Did he want to get rid of me after realizing that he couldn't beat me?! Was that the reason? That would explain why the assassins were following me the day when I was training Ichika. But he wouldn't put a hit on me if his daughter was in the same group as me.

Unless…

His daughter knew the whole time so they had a plan ready for me…

No! I don't want to come up with that kind of conclusion! Ichika isn't that kind of girl!

But still, that doesn't explain why she's standing there blankly beside her father.

I wanted to call out her name, but somehow my throat was very dry and I couldn't say anything. I wanted her to look me in the eyes like she used to, but she didn't even dare to look at me.

...But then…

When I looked somewhere near Ichika, I saw… something that I never expected... Countless voices were screaming in my head as I was trying to remain calm. But no matter what I thought, this was the reality.

The painful truth… something that I didn't want to ever think about it…

Right in front of me, was Haruto with a prideful and heroic face, looking at me… and the reason he was acting like that…

.

Because, beside him was… Akemi and Chloe…

N-no… way…

I couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing! Right in front of my eyes, I was looking as Haruto had his arm around Akemi's waist and Chloe on his other side.

My body completely froze as I continued looking at them. Even Shiro, Hina, Angela, and Demonica were near them without a care about what was happening right now. I even tried talking to them telepathically, but none of them replied to me. It was as if they didn't want to do anything with me anymore.

[ To think that bastard would brainwash these cute girls! I can't believe that for a moment I trusted his words! ] ( Haruto )

He said as he gripped Akemi's waist closer to him.

When I looked down at my hands, I noticed that they were shaking a lot. The last time that I reacted like this was when I was back at Sakuru.

I've fought countless monsters and I never reacted like this, but now... I'm acting like this?!

That's when I noticed that nothing had changed ever since I was thrown away from Sakuru…

I finally understood everything! It was clear to me the whole time, but I was blinded with hope.

Even though it was a small hope of not being hated or manipulated, I still held into that small feeling. I wanted to protect it the whole time even though it was a tiny bit of it.

[ … ] ( Hatsuko )

.

.

Shiro, using me as a way of getting stronger then reaching a new form…

Akemi, forcefully making a contract with me so I wouldn't kill her…

Angela and Demonica, using me as a way of getting away from the Demons and Angels…

And Chloe… she used me to head back into the city safely...

She had a fake mask the whole time as she tried opening me up. A kind act so I would let my guard down when I was near her. Everyone looked at me as nothing else but a tool to achieve their personal goal. And now that they don't need me anymore, they are trying to get rid of me.

No matter what I did, every single one of them was the same and I could not change it...

Why am I even thinking this much about it anyway? This was bound to happen one day and I already knew that.

My heart was aching really bad as I continued looking at the situation in front of me.

But I wasn't shocked, nor was I confused about this situation.

It's just… I had finally accepted it...

This was my fate… my life... ever since I was born…

Ah...

Well, whatever…

...I'm tired…

No matter what happens…I don't care anymore...

I give up…

.

.

.

.

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***

As Hatsuko was standing still without moving an inch, at a certain rooftop of a building, was a guy with a massive sniper on his hands.

That gun was specially made for powerful monsters, and It could penetrate anti-tanks without any problems. The position of this person was really far from Hatsuko, but using this kind of weapon made it easier for him.

[ Do you have a clear view of the target? ]

A voice on his earphones was heard as he was concentrating on his target. The way he was breathing was calm and he was ready to act anytime.

[ Affirmative. ]

He replied as he placed his finger on the trigger.

[ Take the shot! ]

And without a second thought, he pulled the trigger of his sniper, releasing an insane bullet that couldn't be grasped by the naked human eye.

The bullet left a white line created by its speed, cracking through the air until…

.

.

.

It pierced through Hatsuko's head…

Hatsuko didn't react at all to what just happened, he just stood there until his body started to fall into the ground.

His face didn't show any fear, anger, or any kind of emotion at all. His face remained completely emotionless. And he didn't try to protect himself from this attack.

Could this be his end? Did everyone in this city manage to protect themselves?

They all considered this as nothing else but a victory after seeing that the bullet managed to kill him.

But little did they know... as Hatsuko's body was falling into the ground, a lot of things were about to take a different turn.

.

.

.

On that cursed day… at that exact moment...

It was the death of a loser…

...And the birth of something that humanity has never seen before!

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