You're the monster

The spirit particles aren't transported into the realms of the underworld or Holy realms because those realms only accept souls.

So, the tiny balls of white light were sent to the spirit realm. Not to be confused with the spirit plane which is where spirits known as familiars are summoned from.

It is a dark place of nothingness. Many other spirit particles were spat out from the gates that randomly open in the darkness.

The spirit particles that came from Rowan mixed in with countless others.

In the sea of spirit particles, they wander around aimlessly until they react and spin around one spot.

As they spun faster, it began to narrow at the waist resembling a tornado. Spinning faster and eventually, they collapsed in the centre forming a big spirit ball.

Most souls are blank slates but this one was imprinted. It carried a message saying "Destroy."

A gate then opened from which a silver hook shot out of it and pierced the newly made soul. It was fished out of the spirit realm to be reused.

***

A man in grey skin stood in the centre of everlasting white. He put out his hands in front of them and was shocked at what he saw.

"This isn't real…" He exclaimed.

"Growl"

He turned around and saw what was like a giant black lamprey salivating as it eyed the piece of meat in front of it.

It was 5 metres wide in diameter, 10 metres long and its mouth was 3 metres tall.

As it didn't have any lips, he could see and count all the pointed teeth lining its circular mouth. It had no eyes or nose, just a large gaping round mouth and a row of black tentacles around the outside of the mouth.

The black tentacles sprung out and took hold of him. He turned around and tried to sprint, but he couldn't take a single step forward as he couldn't possibly move the 2-ton giant creature behind him.

More black tentacles emerged from the black lamprey and wrapped themselves around his neck and face. He fought hard but he was only being slowly dragged across the white world.

He looked back in fear and saw that its mouth was getting closer to him.

"I see… So, you're the monster…" He said upon realizing that resistance was meaningless.

He stopped struggling and accepted his fate as prey destined to be eaten.

When the grey man suddenly stopped resisting, the sudden change in the equilibrium of forces caused him to fall and be reeled in like a fish.

"Hahaha... Bahahaha!" He laughed manically.

His legs had reached the entrance of its mouth first and it chomped down without waiting.

"AGHHHHHH!"

He screamed at the sudden pain and then burst into laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Strangely he laughed louder than he screamed.

Subsequent parts of his body were gradually minced as he was pulled in like meat on a conveyor belt.

No more laughing could be heard.

Satisfied, Hikaru returned to his mental world from the soul's corridor. There the last part of the parasite's grey body was sucked into his hand like spaghetti.

He had finished the assimilation process.

Now he needed to wake up. He stood there and stared at his dead mother for a moment. Still smiling, she slowly sank into the pink blossoms like quicksand.

After she disappeared, the light in Hikaru's eyes in the real world began to return as he swam up from his deep consciousness.

***

Hikaru's eyes opened.

"Ahh!" A girl's sharp voice shrilled through the air.

He sat up to a sight of blood, a decapitated black cat, and a girl… who was staring back at him as if he were a ghost that had suddenly appeared.

She had tears stained black by her eyeliner and was holding a cell phone to her ear.

"Who…" Hikaru said in a faint groggy voice but then he noticed her school uniform design matches his school.

"You're a third-year… class 2-E Aimi, Harue-san."

"!"

She gasped and placed her hand close to her mouth. Her cheeks were slightly red.

'Is this the time to blush?' He thought.

He really couldn't understand her way of thinking. He knew that she was pleasantly surprised that he remembered her but if it weren't for his sharp memory and meticulous nature and the fact that he wanted to blend into society, he wouldn't have recognised her at all.

It was amazing… or ridiculous that she could blush considering the current situation.

Although he couldn't clearly see the face of his stalker earlier, it was most likely this girl right here.

'Hm? How did she get into my house?'

"You recognized me? Oh wait… ye-yes, it's an emergency" she said into the phone.

"Wait. I'm fine." Hikaru interrupted her.

"Ehh!? But there's blood on you!"

"That I'm certain, but I'm fine. Please stop the call." He said assertively. "Will you trust me?" He earnestly asked.

"!"

Her eyes snapped open in shock and her cheeks flared up again.

"… Do you still need the ambulance? Hello," the operator said with a hint of irritation in her voice.

She figured that this was a non-emergency situation and was annoyed at the voice of the anxiety-ridden girl who called seconds just before she was about to end her shift.

Aimi snapped back to reality.

"Ahh yes, I mean no, sorry to bother you, thank you." She hurriedly replied but the operator didn't say anything and immediately cut Aimi off before she finished her sentence.

'How am I going to explain this ordeal with her?' He contemplated.

"Hikaru-san… Is it all right if I call you that?"

"Yes, the rumours you heard are true."

Hikaru was referring to the rumours that told that he didn't like to be called by his last name despite etiquette. The students at school suspected that he didn't like his sir name for some reason.

His sir name was Suteki which meant "lovely" or "wonderful". A perfectly normal name in Japan.

However, he knew the real reason his father named him that because it was after his favourite dish.

Suteki also meant "steak". No one else knew that though.