Part 245: Hint

"What... is this..."

When we arrived, Ueno Station had been utterly transformed into a disaster zone.

Coconut trees planted at regular intervals were snapped clean off at their bases, and thick black smoke was rising from the bus terminal. Some parts of the buildings appeared to have collapsed.

"Koji, stop the bus!"

"Eh?"

"Stop it! Hurry!"

"Y-yes..."

As she spoke, Rinne suddenly leapt off the slowing bus, landing with remarkable athletic precision, then immediately dashed forward.

When I arrived at the scene shortly after, Yohku and Rinne were already there, along with a woman named Hōjōji Sanae. We noticed several small craters scattered nearby.

The armored bus the advance team had been riding in was now belching black smoke.

"This... "

I recognized this scene.

It resembled the battle damage we'd seen near Tsukishima Station just moments ago.

"Someone must have used 'Weapon Creation' to make small bombs."

"But who...?"

"I don't know. — I can't use telepathy anymore right now."

Zonryi glanced around with a dark expression.

"Haruna! Status report?"

The woman, her voice bright and bouncy at any other time, kept it low for once:

"Yes, yes. I just arrived myself... I was out on a supply run."

"What remained?"

"Only Konosuke-kun from Hibiya..."

"Where is he?"

"I don't know... I heard he fought against the 'Hunger People'."

Looking around, the devastation of a brutal battle became evident.

Upon closer inspection of the crater, fragments resembling human body parts were clinging to its edges.

"Impossible... could this be...?"

"Stop saying such unlucky things!"

Rei sounds unusually hysterical, shouting out.

In that case, it's up to me to take on the role she usually handles.

"The remains consist of two female bodies and one male body. The male was clearly an elderly man, so he's definitely not Kōsuke-kun."

"Maybe they're back at the base, resting their bodies?"

When I voiced what seemed like a natural question, everyone suddenly fell silent, at a loss for words.

It was as if they were refusing to head toward that place—refusing to face the truth.

"Yoruiku-san, could you come with me?"

"Hmm... Yeah. But, miss..."

"What is it?"

"I've got a hunch... but there's something ahead—"

Ignoring that, I walked into the building on the first floor of the station.

For some reason, the building was powered, and the automatic doors were moving.

I walked with soft footsteps across the spotless, glossy floor, heading toward the area lined with gift shops.

Ahead—there it was.

The brave young man, standing in stark contrast to the terrifying trio of "Hungermen."

"…………Damn it. Just as I feared."

Only I and Yonku, who had never been close in life, were spared from feeling any particular emotion toward him.

We examined his corpse as if a forensic expert were inspecting a crime scene.

Hibiki Kohei-kun.

Right before our eyes, he lay spread-eagled, a gaping hole in his chest. Peering into the wound, it seemed his heart had been completely taken.

"A single stab to the heart... He didn't suffer long."

"Yeah. A peaceful way to die. I'd like to go that way too."

Yeku is pressing his palms together.

I stared intently at his face, and... I felt sad that, once again, no sense of emotion stirred within me.

Is he... definitely Kōsuke?

I don't know. But it does match the description I heard.

He was still alive when I contacted him by radio just thirty minutes ago.

Our late arrival was due to just a minor miscommunication.

On the way, we were delayed slightly because we ran into a group of "zombies."

"Better not think about that, miss."

"I know."

Nodding, I felt a strange sense of melancholy.

Whether someone is a friend or a stranger, death is always sad.

"Still, he looks... almost happy."

Kosuke's peaceful expression at the moment of death seems to have minimized the shock it would otherwise have caused us.

"He probably chose to die with this expression, so we wouldn't be saddened. A real man, for someone so young."

Yozu-san fully acknowledged his resolve, letting out a long sigh through his mask.

"I'm going to call everyone over."

"Please do."

When I asked, Yozu-san hurried off toward the bus.

Alone, I noticed that inside Kousuke-kun's palm, a single piece of paper was tightly clenched.

"?"

Incredible. This must be what they call a dying message. First time experiencing it.

Kneeling down, I yank the note from his hand.

The text written on the crumpled paper was the hastily scrawled characters 'hito rō,' as if drawn by a frantic pen.

"Jinrō... hmm. Werewolf, is it?"

I immediately understand its meaning.

Now that I think about it, his ex-girlfriend Rika-chan liked board games, didn't she?

"So 'Hito Rō' can imitate humans... is that right?"

I'll definitely make good use of this clue, Kousuke-kun.

Good night.