Kaneki clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, tensing his body little by little as if to call upon his dark power. He glanced at Skae. He had to protect her, he had to keep her alive. She was the only one he had left.
“Kaneki....”, Skae squealed, slowly walking backwards and keeping her eyes on Simon and Lance, visibly shaking.
His eyes widened as he turned to look at Simon and Lance. At any moment they could rip Skae to pieces, he had to transform, he had to do it now. He clenched his fist harder, and furrowed his eyebrows, waiting for a pulse of energy course through his body.
“Well?”, Simon taunted, looking at Kaneki, “Are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna use this power I've heard so much about?”
He looked at Lance and laughed.
“You sure are taking your time.”
“Just use the vial on him already.”, Lance said as he met Simon’s gaze, slightly panicked, “Before he transforms.”
Their words were nothing but distortions for Kaneki as he closed his eyes, waiting, painfully waiting for any feeling of power. He kept Skae in her mind, nothing mattered in that moment, except keeping her alive.
“I don’t think he can transform on command!”, exclaimed Simon, laughing.
Lance sighed with frustration and snatched the vial from him before locking his eyes on Kaneki, gripping the vial tightly as he closed the distance with him.
“Kaneki!”, Skae cried, “What are you doing?! Use your power!!”
“I’m trying!”, Kaneki shouted back, closing his eyes tighter.
His breathing became rapid as he heard Lance’s footsteps get closer and closer.
‘Why... Why can’t I transform?’
Kaneki opened his eyes as Lance forcefully gripped his left arm and rose the vial. Time slowed down as Lance moved the vial closer and closer to his arm.
‘If I can’t transform now...’
His mind recalled the bodies of his father and Hannah’s lifeless bodies.
‘It’ll all be for nothing...’
The cold metal needle touched his skin, Kaneki let out a breath of fear but just before the needle could pierce deeper, Skae let out a furious scream before punching Lance across the jaw and dazing him for a second. The vial fell out of his hand and rolled onto the ground.
Simon stopped laughing at that moment and Lance blinked as they both focused their eyes on Skae in shock.
“Skae...”, Kaneki muttered, watching Skae as her breathing became deep, realising the deep trouble she had dug herself into by choosing to save him.
Lance clenched his fist as his eyebrows twitched with anger.
“Let’s leave the boy alone for the moment...”, he said, keeping his voice eerily steady, “I’m gonna make this girl feel a world of pain.”
Kaneki barely had time to process what had just been said before Lanced slammed him to the ground, pulled out an extendable knife from his pocked and plunged it straight through his stomach.
Kaneki let out a blood-curdling scream as the knife pierced through his body.
“You stay right there.”, Lanced murmured as he turned his attention to Skae, “Watch as I rip her apart.”
Simon watched as Lance closed the distance with Skae with fast but measured strides.
“Weren’t you eager to get his power a moment ago?”, he said to Lance, smiling.
Skae was frozen with fear as Lance drew closer and closer. She glanced at Kaneki one more time, completely incapacitated by the knife in his body. She tried to reach out to him but before she had time to move her arm, Lance grabbed her by the throat and lifted her in the air.
“I could crush your neck right now.”, he whispered, his eyes deadlocked on Skae’s watching as she choked and struggled, slamming her fists against his forearm, but the effort was futile.
Kaneki’s mind returned to the present moment, his visioned blurry and ignoring the excruciating pain in his abdomen. His eyes focused just in time to see Lance slam Skae onto the ground, still having his grip, firmly on her throat. Skae let out a scream cut off by her choking upon the impact.
“Please...”, she begged weakly.
But Lance stayed silent, slowly making his grip tighter and tighter. Kaneki, looked at Lance’s focused expression, his complete unresponsiveness to Skae’s suffering. He raised his gaze to see Simon, giving a half smile and watching as Skae had her life slowly being choked out of her. Eventually, Skae’s struggled stopped and her arms fell limply to the ground.
Everything went silent, only the faint sound of his heartbeat could be heard. Upon seeing Lance’s cruelty, Kaneki felt nothing but the desire to kill the two psychopaths he saw in front of him. He felt a pulse of energy shoot through his body as he gripped the handle of the knife he was stabbed with. Blood oozed out of his wound and his mouth as he slowly pulled the knife out, his eyes fixed upon Lance and Simon with nothing but an intention to kill. Dark particles swirled around him slowly as he finally pulled the knife all the way out of his body. As Kaneki slowly rose to his feet, Simon’s smug expression changed into a look of shock as he realised the events that were about to unfold.
“Lance... look.”, he said eerily, causing Lance to turn his attention to Kaneki.
The dark particles continued to swirl around him with increasing speed and his eyes glowing white as he was stood on both feet. The particles covered the knife wound for a moment, completely healing it in mere seconds. Skae turned her head weakly toward Kaneki, her eyes widened slightly.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“You two... are nothing but murderers.”, Kaneki murmured, keeping his voice low but steady as a pulse of energy was emitted from his body.
“Leave her alone...”, he began, before his eyes flashed white, “OR I’LL KILL YOU!”
A fierce black tornado erupted around Kaneki, pushing Lance and Simon back with brutal force. They both watched in terror as a being of pure destruction was being created before their eyes.
“We’re dead...”, Simon said quietly, “Even if we somehow fight Kaneki off, Jiro might still be around here. We have to go.”
The tornado dissipated revealing, Kaneki’s transformation, a silhouette with glowing white eyes. He let out a demonic scream before locking his eyes on Lance. He clenched his fist and charged toward him, charging his fist back, ready to tear right through the man who dared to threaten Skae’s survival.
Lance tensed up, ready to engage in battle, he moved his fingers slightly until electricity crackled around his fists. Simon’s eyes widened with shock.
“You idiot, those gadgets are no match against him!”, he cried, “Run before he kills you, Lance!”
He didn’t acknowledge Simon at all, instead, he focused on Kaneki’s movements as he drew closer with each stride. Lance clenched his fists harder, concentrating the electricity around his fists.
As he charged towards Lance, Kaneki’s mind reflected on his previous transformation against Tray. All his punches and kicks were thrown with lethal power, but it felt as if he was watching his body move on its own from a distant dream, like he was being pulled by strings. But this time was different, his thoughts, his movements, this overwhelming strength coursing through his body, it was all under his control. He focused his gaze on Lance, no matter what, this fight would end with his complete annihilation.
As Kaneki lunged, Lance timed his swing perfectly to land a clean punch with his right fist straight across his jaw. However, the electricity that he had concentrated all but dazed Kaneki for a split second.
He stopped and watched as Lance’s face reflected nothing but fear. Kaneki, however, gave a cruel grin, realising that the outcome of the battle had already been decided.
“All that power for what felt like slap on the face.”, he smirked.
Kaneki grabbed the back of Lance’s head and drove it into the earth with monstrous strength. The first impact shattered his nose. The second cracked his skull. The third sent a spray of blood across Kaneki’s own face, warm and sticky. And yet, he didn’t stop. Skae watched as pure and unchecked bloodlust raged before her eyes, Kaneki was unleashing his power on Lance with no remorse. The sight rattled her bones to the core but at the same time, she felt almost glad that Kaneki was able to do this.
Kaneki’s eyes flicked up, expecting to see Simon standing there in stunned horror. Instead… nothing. His stomach dropped. Simon was gone.
Kaneki’s eyes narrowed.
‘That bastard ran the moment he saw my power. ‘
He clenched his jaw, his nails digging into the back of Lance’s head. He let out a monsterous scream before slamming Lance’s head into the ground one more time, the impact giving an audible squelch and scattering more blood.
Kaneki closed his eyes and stood up slowly as his transformation faded, the last wisps of dark energy dissipating into the air. His body felt lighter. He looked down at his hands—still trembling, still stained with Lance’s blood. His breath caught in his throat as he took a shaky step back, his stomach twisting in knots. Lance’s body lay motionless. But it wasn’t just a body—it was a thing, something Kaneki had reshaped with his own hands into an unrecognizable mess of blood and bone. He swallowed hard. There was no regret, no sadness, just a deep, unsettling realization. He had done this.
Kaneki’s breath became shallow for a moment before he turned his attention to Skae, running over and helping her stand up.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”, he asked hurriedly, holding her hand as she stood up.
“I’m okay, I only passed out for a couple seconds I think when he strangled me.”, she replied, coughing.
The two took another look at Lance’s mangled body.
“He deserved everything that he got.”, Kaneki retorted, clenching fist, “He tried to kill you.”
Skae glanced at Kaneki, his face, his passion to keep her alive, she felt safe but the heat rising to her face told her that she was feeling something completely new, something she had never felt before.
“Thank you”, she said, smiling and placing her hand on his arm, “You saved me.”
Kaneki’s fist unclenched.
But at that moment, time stopped as he heard a familiar voice call his name from behind. Memories flooded in, memories he thought were long gone. As he turned around his eyes lay on someone he thought would remain as a figment of his past.
“Is that really you?”, the boy asked as he walked closer.
Kaneki took a step back, his eyes widening.
“Red?”
Everything was quiet, nothing could be heard except the occasional call of an owl and the faint chirping of crickets. The sound of his footsteps, only his own, ripped through the tranquility of the night, a constant reminder of the horrors he had witnessed and the brother he had lost. Simon replayed the continuous bashing of Lance’s head into the ground, over and over. The crackling of his skull splitting open, his initial vocal exertions of pain eventually followed by his haunting silence, his disfigured face and Kaneki’s glowing eyes of rage. The images, the sounds, it all lingered in his mind as he continued his weary trek through the night.
‘What kind of power does he truly possess?’, Simon thought, ‘I witnessed a demon, not a human.’
At that moment, he raised his head, realising he had reached his destination. He felt his throat tighten. A house that had been blown to bits from the inside, a sight of pure tragic destruction, it felt almost fitting that Simon would arrive here, after watching his brother’s complete annihilation. As he made his way into the house, debris crunching under his feet, he saw a boy digging through the rocks and concrete, effortlessly moving the masses debris. Small embers of fire emitted from his hands as he continued to dig. But upon hearing Simon’s footsteps, he stopped and turned his head. It was Tray. He stood up and looked at Simon, with concern.
“Simon? Where’s Lance?”
He took another look at Simon’s stiff expression.
“What’s wrong with you? Where’s Lance?”
Simon looked Tray dead in the eyes.
“Killed, he had his skull bashed in by Kaneki.”
Tray’s eyes widened.
“How? He doesn’t even have full control over his powers, he barely knows how they work, how did he manage to kill Lance!?”
Simon looked at the ground and closed his eyes.
“It’s my fault. I got complacent. We both did. We lost focus, we thought he was weak. He was cowering and shivering one moment and the next moment he transformed.”
His eyebrows quivered and he clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.
“He was too powerful, it was like he was invincible, and then he took Lance’s head and...”
“I get it.”, Tray interjected, “You don’t need to tell me anymore.”
“Was like this for you too?”, Simon asked, his voice breaking, “When you lost your brother?”
“That’s enough!”, Tray raised his voice, clenching his fist.
Simon looked up at him, gritting his teeth.
“Aren’t you the one with powers? You’ve defeated Kaneki before, why don’t you just take his power?!”
“I’m trying to explore some other options first.”
“Well?”, Simon demanded, “Did you manage to find his dad’s body?”
Tray looked back at the piles of debris he had been digging.
“I’ve looked everywhere, if Jiro really did kill his dad in this house, someone must’ve moved his body, I'm guessing Jiro must’ve done it himself.”
“Why would he move the body?”, Simon asked.
“Well... most likely for the same reason we’re looking for his body.”
Simon scoffed.
“There’s not a chance we can demand anything from Jiro and I’m not wasting my time with other options.”
The image of Kaneki’s cruel white eyes looking over Lance’s bloodied face flashed in his mind. He clenched his fist as a tear rolled down his cheek
“He killed my brother... I’ll end Kaneki Tureng, no matter what!”
How will Red react to the new Kaneki?
