Chapter 177
Butcher Demon
ââ¦â¦â
ââ¦â¦â
Since she stopped talking, I continue the conversation.
âWhatâs the matter with you, suddenly want to meet me after we managed to escape from Faymbaum? and what are you doing back here at the Fort? You knew it was dangerous. Youâre like a moth that flies into the flame.â
âYeah, I knew that â¦â¦.but I really wanted to check something out.â
âHmmm. So are you done yet?â
âFor the most part. But Iâm not quite yet.â
Oh, you havenât yet?
âAbigail, this place is dangerous for you. First, letâs leave the Fort together. I have a lot of things I need your help with, too.â
ââ¦â¦â
At that, Abigail, who had been pondering something, grumbled.
ââ¦â¦ I just need a little more time.â
Seriously.
Then Iâll need a new hiding place. Itâs not good to stay at Shigeakiâs house any longer. Maybe we should go knock on some random house or something. But I donât want to cause too much commotion. I should go back to Titaniaâs place once too. But Iâm worried about leaving her behind. Iâm at a loss.
âI can wait a little longer, but could you prepare a place for me to hide somewhere? Iâm afraid Iâm going to have to move out of my current room soon, or Iâll be exposed.â
âRoom? where are you living now?â
âSomeone else home.â
âWho is it?â
âShigeaki.â
âuh, who?â
I donât know.
âThe guy I randomly picked up in Haven and took a room from him. Now heâs in suspended animation with his face peeled off and crucified in the SM room.â
ââ¦â¦â¦â¦ yes?â
Abigail cocked her head, not understanding my words.
âItâs a total stranger, and Iâm hiding in that guyâs room, take over his room. Iâve been in that room for almost two weeks now, and itâs fun. I can use his credit to shop all I want. I also bought souvenirs for Titania and Lydia.â
Abigail placed her hands on her temples in the middle of my words. She was looking very pale.
If they found out about our hiding, it would be dangerous. I am aware that we have decided on a rather daring infiltration plan. I didnât imagine it would be such a long trip. I thought it would be a quick few days.
âNo, you canât do that, you shouldnât get innocent civilians into this.â
âinnocent, I wonderâ¦â¦â
The guy is a murderer and a cannibalistic.
âSo assuming that Shigeaki was a just regular guy, why?â
âWhy? Because Itâs not rightâ
Of course, thatâs obvious.
âBecause youâre not an alien or a butcher.â
ââ¦â¦â
That doesnât sound like the intelligent woman I know.
I mean, sure, at the moment I am now wearing human skin, butâ¦
I pulled the skin off my face and showed her.
ââHow about this? This is Butcher 100%, in all respects.â
She has no words to reply when she sees my true face, which is the most horrifying thing I have seen in a long time.
âIâve killed many civilians that working for the aliens. I donât care if they run away or beg for their lives. Iâve killed and eaten humans before. Itâs something Iâm very good at.â
âBut thatâs because you were ordered to do itâ¦â¦. You even remember that when you were human, right?â
âI told you, I donât remember â¦â¦ â
âI do remember what you said. You were so engaged with me on the subject. And if you didnât consider yourself human, why did you try to escape? Youâre human, you wanted to get out of there and be free, remember?â
Well, I guess she thinks so.
When we were prisoners together in Faymbaum, I kept my true intentions from her.
Now Iâm in deep troubleâ¦â¦.
âWell, I donât knowâ¦but I guess it doesnât really matter now.
When I was in prison, I was just very reluctant to disclose information because Abigail said she was a spy and I didnât want to give her information. By posing as a pathetic, harmless monster, I could get her to cooperate with me.
And we already escaped.
There is nothing Abigail can do now, no matter how she tries to plot or scheme to interfere with my operations. Because Iâm free now.
But â¦â¦.
As expected, She knows that Iâm a former Foxâ¦â¦.
How embarrassing â¦â¦.
Yup. I donât want to be identified.
Itâs almost like the feeling of someone who publishes erotic novels anonymously and does whatever they want and never wants to be identified. I donât want my activities as a butcher to be linked to my human life. Itâs called the respect of the dead.
As I was silently contemplating this, Abigail took a deep breath.
She slowly opened her mouth.
ââDoes the golden grim reaper sound familiar to you?â
âIs this what youâve been doing?â
I was shocked.
I managed to mend the situation and calmly formulate my words, but they sounded a little strange. This brainwave voice synthesizer, if the concentration is disturbed, the sounds will get distorted.
âAnswer me.â
ââ¦â¦â
The silence was the obvious answer. I should quickly drop the subject.
I didnât expect that word to come up. The totally unexpected and abrupt question brought Butcherâs slow brain to a halt.
Abigail looked at me and let out a convincing sigh.
âI knew itâ¦â¦.â
âAbigailâ¦â¦.I didnât think you were going to look things up.â
âYou are Nigel.â
She took a breath and repeated.
âFort 88, Fox team, the golden grim reaper, the brave warrior who has fought many battles in her career, Nigel.â
â-Nigel â-
âI donât remeââ
âLies!!!â
âSuddenly, a booming voice roared through the chapel like thunder.â
âYouâre doing that againâ¦â¦ even just earlier, youâve dodged the subject.â
âEarlier?â
âWhen I told you about my childhood!!â
ââ¦What? No, thatâs notââ
I just wanted to prank you a littleâ¦â¦.
âEven when you were in Faymbaum, you always misrepresented the important parts!!â
âNo, no. Whatâs that? I donât know. I donât remember.â
âItâs always been this way too! you just do whatever you want without consulting me. Iâm all alone in my room, worrying about this and that, and all of a sudden you bring Lydia in with a smug look on your face and say, âLetâs do a threesome!â â
âYouâre still mad at me about it!? Youâre holding on to it for that long!?â
Abigail was extremely agitatedâ¦â¦..No, she was completely worked up â¦â¦. Her eyes were uncharacteristically restless. Somehow, even Niblo was protesting with her, joining her on her shoulder in a banzai threatening pose. Damn this guy has switched sides.
Abigailâs expression softened and she took my hand.
ââHey, why do you hide who you are? What do you want? Please tell me all about you, about Gevaudan, please.â
I donât know, but I guess I better take this seriouslyâ¦â¦.
I grabbed her thin, cold hand and wrapped it in both of my own, squeezing it back.
âCalm down. Abigail, Iâll answer you properly.â
She stared at me with a clinging look in her eyes.
âYouâre right, I do remember some things. But itâs true that I donât remember my own name or what I look like. also, names, faces, and figures related to people I knew when I was human. I canât remember those things at all.â
ââyou mean you canât remember anyone?â
âNo one.â
âEven yourself?â
ââ¦â¦ I can barely remember â¦â¦. Youâre right, I was at Fox, and I remember being called the Golden Grim Reaper and being shunned by many. But I donât remember my name. The longer in the past, the hazier it isâ
âVery convenient.â
Abigail said accusingly.
âYou do remember, donât you?â
âI donât remember.â
âReally?â
âReally.â
ââ¦â¦â
Abigail squinted doubtfully. She doesnât believe me.
Grrr â¦â¦ I cleared my throat â¦â¦ and shook my head.
ââIf I had remembered, the whole thing would have been a lot easier.â
âEasy what?â
ââ¦â¦â
âDonât hide it.â
Talking to Abigail makes my mouth loosen.
But youâre right, I canât talk about the plan to destroy Fort 88 or the plan to kill all humans. Even the Shigeaki thing I mentioned earlier was enough to make her angry.
But I am thinking in the sense of a butcher, and Abigail is thinking in the sense of a Human. I should choose my words carefully so as not to offend her further.
As I was pondering how to wrap this up, Abigail started talking again.
âNigel was an amazing soldier. She fought proudly until the end of her life. She had a lovely junior, adored by her peers, and an excellent mentor. Nigel was trusted by everyone on the team. Some people had bad things to say about Nigel, but that was the other side of her outstanding presence. There were even people who said you saved their lives many times.â
ââ¦â¦â
â Gevaudan, youâre human. You donât kill anyone needlessly, and you donât eat people like youâre picking them off the street. Donât call yourself a butcher.â
âYou â¦â¦ what do you know about me?â
She seemed to have collected all sorts of gossip from all over the Fort and created a much glorified and false image of me.
How can I be such a noble person?
â¦..Iâm starting to get annoyed.
Abigail pulled a terminal out of her pocket and held the screen up to me.
âThis is you, Nigel.â