Chapter 32 Past ⑥

Satoru, seeing Reika’s unusual reaction, couldn’t just ignore her.

He had heard about the trouble she was dealing with, and there was no doubt in his mind that man had something to do with it.

If that was the case, then what would happen if Reika were alone and helpless in front of him?

Just thinking about that made Satoru unable to sit still.

He followed her at a considerable distance, careful not to be noticed.

Even if she thought he was some stalker and ended up hating him for it—if he 

could just make sure she was safe, that was enough.

That’s what he believed.

But of course, things didn’t go the way he hoped.

Even from far away, the abnormal scene unfolding before him was obvious. By the time he reached the spot, the man was already baring his fangs at Reika.

Without hesitation, Satoru grabbed the man’s arm as hard as he could.

“What the hell? Who are you?”

“Let her go, you piece of shit.”

“S-Satoru…”

Unforgivable.

Yes, he cared about her deeply.

But more than that—why did someone like her, struggling so hard despite all the pain, have to be terrified like this? Why did she have to cry?

“A bastard, huh? Damn kids these days don’t even know how to speak to their elders. Do you even know who I am?”

“Oh, I know all right. You’re a scumbag—an abusive piece of trash, right?”

“The hell? You can’t just go saying crap like that… I’m her father!”

“What a joke. What kind of father makes his daughter cry like that? Even if you call it a ‘scolding,’ this is way past that.”

For now, Satoru focused on making him release Reika. He twisted the man’s wrist with all his strength.

Based on physics and the range of motion of the human wrist, twisting it sharply—clockwise or counter-clockwise—would cause enough pain to stagger almost anyone.

Apparently, it hurt more than the man expected. With a grimace of pain, he immediately let go of Reika.

“Ugh! Do you even understand what you’re doing!?”

“Oh, I dunno. Take a good look at your wrist. No marks, right? You’re just making a big deal out of nothing.”

“You cocky little brat… You’re just some kid and not even family, and you think you can butt in!?”

“If you were really family, you’d never treat her like this. From the looks of it, you were about to do something really awful to Reika. Don’t you dare hide your disgusting desires behind the word ‘family.’”

“Y-You little…!”

Satoru and the man shouted at each other furiously.

But the man, who had lost all sense of reason, only grew more and more agitated.

“You acting like some hero? I’ll kill you!”

Finally reaching his breaking point, he screamed out the horrifying threat.

“Satoru, no! He’ll really hurt you—please, just run!”

Reika cried, desperately tugging at Satoru’s clothes from behind, begging him to escape.

But the thought of running never even crossed his mind.

“If you think you can, then go ahead and try!”

“Damn brat… You’ll regret this!”

The man clenched his fist and punched Satoru hard across the face.

Reika let out a soundless scream as she saw it.

Satoru’s head snapped to the side from the force of the blow.

As he stared blankly into the distance, something deep within him—his inner darkness—finally erupted.

It was a feeling he always had: I hate myself. I want to destroy myself.

But he had never acted on it. He had only bottled it up, too afraid or unwilling to do anything more than loathe himself.

And now, finally, he encountered a situation that might just break him.

And it happened in the very moment he was trying to protect someone precious to him—Reika.

These two powerful emotions fused inside him.

And from that point on, Satoru was overtaken by a madness—a sense of euphoria at the idea of being hurt, of being destroyed.

Slowly, he turned back toward the man.

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, yet he wore a smile.

Like a robot or a zombie in fiction that never tires, never stops, no matter how much damage it takes—it keeps turning its gaze back toward its target.

To the man, who was starting to regain a shred of reason, Satoru now looked utterly terrifying—like something inhuman.

“W-What the hell are you…!?”

“…Oh? That’s it? Weren’t you going to ‘kill me’ or whatever?”

Laughing, Satoru stepped closer and closer to the man.

Overcome with fear, the man retreated, matching Satoru’s advance step for step.

“S-Stay back!”

“What’s wrong? Weren’t you acting all high and mighty a second ago? Feeling scared now? Serves you right. But remember—Reika felt way more afraid than 

this. Because of you!”

Satoru kept pushing the man into a corner.

“Aaaah! Stay away from me, you freak!”

Panicked, the man punched Satoru in the face again.

But this time, the meaning was completely different from the first.

This second punch was thrown in a desperate attempt to drive back the unknown, terrifying entity closing in on him.

But Satoru didn’t change.

Even as he was hit, he calmly turned his face back toward the man.

Still bleeding. Still smiling.

His every move only deepened the man’s fear.

Again and again, the man punched Satoru, trying to protect himself from the encroaching terror.

But Satoru never went down. He didn’t even flinch.

Eventually, the man’s will broke entirely, and he collapsed onto the ground.

“Police! What’s going on here!?”

They heard later that a nearby resident had seen the commotion and called the authorities.

When the police arrived, they were completely baffled by the bizarre scene: a man uninjured but collapsed on the ground, a middle school boy with a bloodied face calmly standing as if nothing happened, and a girl sobbing uncontrollably.

Based on the situation, the man was arrested on the spot for assault.

“Satoru…!”

As the man was taken away by the police, Reika immediately ran over and hugged Satoru.

“…Sorry. I couldn’t help it—I was just too worried.”

“No, I’m the one who should be sorry! I didn’t think it’d turn into something like this…”

“I’m fine. I protected you, after all.”

“But still… to get hurt this badly…”

“It’s okay. Now that guy’s been arrested properly. And more importantly…”

Right before the police arrived, the man had been completely overwhelmed with fear of Satoru.

Even if he didn’t get a long prison sentence, that level of fear would be enough to keep him from ever going near Reika again.

Ironically, Satoru’s self-loathing had reached its limit and ended up completely destroying the man—socially and mentally.

And he hadn’t even laid a hand on him.

“As long as I’m around, he’ll be too scared to come near you. So…”

He meant to finish that line with something cool like, “Don’t worry anymore.”

But the words never came out.

That unnatural euphoria had dulled his senses, but the fact remained: he’d been punched repeatedly by a grown man. There was no way he could walk away with just light injuries.

His vision blurred, and his body suddenly lost strength.

He collapsed on the spot.

Reika’s tearful voice called out to him, but he could no longer hear her clearly.