In the dead of the night, people often found it difficult to sleep.
The horrors of reality forced them awake. Then there were some who didn’t care about such things and slept peacefully, even after committing atrocious acts.
Zera hated the latter.
They had committed a crime and had to be punished... for his sister’s sake.
He sighed, remembering how he ended up in such a messy situation.
His red-rimmed eyes remembered Hina’s smile that morning. Sadly, it was the last time he saw that smile.
He didn’t know what had happened to her, but when she returned that evening from kitchen duty, something felt off.
He asked what was wrong with her, but she only cried, not letting him touch her.
Clueless, he asked Neha and Min for help, but Hina, who always clung to Min, refused to let him enter the room.
Neha entered the room alone, and... she didn’t like what Hina said.
Through tears, Hina told them she was forced to indulge in cannibalism.
Some people indulged in such activities, but Min and Neha had drawn a clear boundary against them. No more cannibalism, or they’d be forced to leave the base.
It led to a tense standoff, at the end of which the base was essentially partitioned into two parts.
Min’s faction took over seven-tenths of the base, while the rest was given to the cannibals. The latter faction didn’t like it one bit, but since most superhumans chose Min’s faction, the cannibals had to settle for a small area.
To increase its dominance, the cannibal accepted humans wholeheartedly. Their background didn’t matter as long as they were strong, but Min didn’t accept any cannibals or those with shady pasts, no matter what.
Neha and Min even made it a law that anyone who indulged in cannibalism would be expelled from their part of the base. It was an absolute rule that everyone had to obey without fail.
However, the cannibals wanted complete control. One way to do that was to take away the belief people had in Min’s faction.
Hina became their target since she was close to them.
The cannibals colluded with the few spies they had inside Min’s faction and planned to have Hina unknowingly consume a corpse.
They knew people would react as usual, demanding to throw her out once they found out Hina had broken their sacred law.
Under the mounting pressure, Neha and Min would have to follow their rule and force Hina to leave.
Once she was in their camp, they’d toy with her. All of it was to torture Zera, who had refused to join the cannibal faction at the time of partition.
Slowly, they’ll erode everyone’s trust in Min and Neha, and then strike, taking everything back.
"Y-You won’t kick me out... right? I didn’t do it intentionally!" Hina exclaimed, clinging to Neha.
"Of course not!" Neha said, consoling the kid. "But can you tell me who was there in the kitchen with you?"
"...Joane and her son."
"Those two, huh," Min said, shaking his head. "It had to be those loudmouths. If we don’t do something, everyone on the base will know what happened by the morning."
Zera was listening to their talks, his hands clenched into fists.
He was angry and knew he had to do something about the injustice. Then it hit him. Without witnesses, no one could blame Hina.
And that’s how he ended up in Joanne’s room.
He looked around the room. As she was in charge of cooking, Joanne’s family enjoyed some luxuries that most of them didn’t. A working shower and spacious room were some of those benefits.
However, it also made others jealous.
With so many people jealous of them, Zera could frame anyone for the crime. His grip on the spear tightened. Watching the mother-son duo sleep so carefree irked him.
Hina was a mess because of them, and they didn’t give a shit about her?
He raised his spear, aiming for the son first. Zera knew what he had to do, but his hands didn’t move.
He was used to killing beasts, but when it came to ending a human... he couldn’t do it.
"I can just threaten them and shut them up. There’s no need to kill them... right?"
Slowly, he lowered the spear, but then stopped. Hina’s crying face appeared before him, calling him a coward.
Zera shook his head, arguing with his sister’s imaginary form.
Zera froze as Joanne’s son woke up. The kid was sixteen, the same age as Hina.
"Zera?! What are you doing here? Mom—!"
Zera lunged at the boy, covering his mouth with his hand.
"Shut up! I’m leaving. Just shut up! Wait... what is that?" Zera asked and looked down when he felt something warm under him.
At first, Zera thought the kid had peed himself out of fear, but the metallic smell said otherwise. He looked down and stumbled backwards.
The bedsheet was soaked in blood, and his spear remained buried in the boy’s chest.
"How...?" Zera murmured, staring at his arms.
Back when he lunged at the boy, he forgot to lower the spear. The spear could pierce through thick animal hide, so human skin didn’t have a chance against it.
"What have I done? This can’t be happening!"
The boy tried to reach Joanne to alert her, but Zera panicked. He knew it would be the end of his life if anyone saw him.
He needed to silence the boy.
"You brought this on yourself," Zera said, justifying his actions. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by NoveIꜰire.net
He jumped on top of the boy, once again covered his mouth, and shoved the spear deeper. The boy let out a muffled scream, but it was too weak.
Blood drizzled down the spear’s shaft, marking Zera’s hand in blood before the boy’s body went limp. Zera stood there, staring at the boy as his eyes rolled into his skull.
He was still in disbelief when another problem arrived.
Zera looked over his shoulder and saw Joanne sitting on her bed.
"Y-You monster!" she yelled, rushing at Zera.
This time, he didn’t panic and turned around, driving the spear straight into her chest without any emotion.
Joanne gasped, her eyes wide with shock as she looked down. The spear had gone right through her heart.
This time, Zera didn’t kill by mistake. He knew what he was doing and did it without regret.
He kicked her away, yanking the spear back.
"I have to... erase evidence," he mumbled, but before he could take a step, someone slammed him against the wall.
"What have you done?!" Min screamed at the top of his lungs.
Zera couldn’t react as Min slapped the spear out of his hand. Hina and Neha entered the room as the spear clattered on the ground.
Hina fainted at the sight of blood. Neha grabbed her, checking her pulse and breathing.
Seeing his sister faint, Zera struggled against Min’s grip, but in vain. The latter maintained a firm grip on him, yet his eyes were on the people Zera had killed.
After ensuring Hina was fine, Neha checked on Joanne and her son. With a sigh, she shook her head. They were too late.
"Why did you do it?" Min asked, gritting his teeth.
"Why? You’re asking me that?" Zera laughed before shoving Min back. "You’re asking why I did that when you know what they did to Hina?"
"Don’t act surprised, Min! I heard your conversation with Hina. They forced her to eat human flesh!"
Min let him go and grabbed his head. He tried to hold back, but he couldn’t and punched Zera in the face.
"You moron! They didn’t know it was human flesh!" Min yelled. "Someone had swapped the meat, and they were the only ones in the kitchen who could’ve known who did that!"
"...what?" Zera’s smile faltered. "You’re lying, aren’t you? I heard Hina say they were t-there in the kitchen with her—"
Min buried his face in his hands. He was beyond pissed to have the conversation with an emotional dimwit like Zera. Instead, he was about to slap him again, but Neha stopped him.
"Let me talk to him," she said.
"I’ll make sure no one enters the room..." Min said and turned to leave.
Meanwhile, Zera slumped to the ground, struggling to believe what he had heard and what was the reality.
"You reacted after listening to half of it," Neha whispered, sitting next to Zera. "Joanne didn’t feed human flesh to Hina. She was the one who realized something was off with the flesh. She tried to stop Hina, but she had already taken a bite."
Zera shook his head, refusing to believe it. He didn’t want to admit he had just killed two innocent people because of what little he had heard. If only he had stayed there a minute longer, he’d have known the truth.
Just then, a bag was dropped before him with a thud. Zera looked up and was pulled to his feet by Min.
"You can’t stay here," he said, shoving the bag into Zera’s arms. "Leave and don’t ever show your disgusting face here."
"Wait? What about Hina—"
"She’ll stay with us. She didn’t commit a crime, unlike you. So leave."
Min slapped Zera again.
"Taking you under my wing was a mistake. Killing two people is a choice," he snarled. "Now get lost before I rip your head off by mistake!"
Zera knew that was it. He understood why he was being exiled. Despite that, he thought he had done the right thing. Instead, he saw Min as overreacting.
Everything happened in the heat of the moment. He shouldn’t be punished for protecting Hina.
"...screw you!" Zera yelled and left with his backpack.
However, he didn’t go far. After all, he needed to keep an eye on Hina.