Hiro

Rather than thanking her savior with both arms, she stabbed him with a knife. Her eyes had a crazy glint in them. She was like a cultist.

Bunta was too absorbed in the fights that he only thought of calling the police now but when he checked his pockets, he realized he left it in his house.

However, when he glanced back at the two, the woman was already on the ground and Elijah was walking in a daze on the street.

The gaijin still had a knife in his stomach, but he should be on the ground! Who was he? A martial artist?

"The cultivation techniques!"

Improving one's health, living longer and becoming more powerful. This is accomplished through the cultivation of True Essence and martial and mystical arts training.

Cultivation is usually pursued with the ultimate goal of becoming an Immortal or attaining godhood.

Bunta had recently got into some Chinese web novels about martial art cultivation techniques in fantasy worlds.

Elijah must be a martial cultivator! How else can he withstand all those hits and stabs?

'If I ask for his help, he might train me!'

Bunta got excited thinking that and ran towards Elijah until he saw a fast-moving dark brown beast jumping over a fence.

It was the tosa dog that killed his brother.

"He-"

It was too late. The killer dog jumped on Elijah's back and bit into his neck.

"Hey!"

Bunta turned around and ran to his house. He heard screaming from behind.

He picked up the combat knife in his room and hunched over his door. Not only that, but he was feeling nauseous.

***

"Come on, it will not bite!" Hiro said.

"How are you so sure?" Bunta asked.

"Because I got Hero senses!"

Hiro reached over the fence and patted the tosa dog. The dog had its tongue out and looked like it was enjoying it.

"See? Just a quick selfie and you can have the boxstation for the entire day. Just please!" Hiro said exasperatedly.

"I'll take it… But just you. I'm not going in."

"Fine. You're such a coward, and you're older than I."

"That's why you're the Hero, Hiro."

"Yea, I am a Hero!" Hiro said thrusting his fist in the air.

Bunta rolled his eyes and took out his phone.

Hiro loved reading comics about heroes. It just so happens that his name is homophonic with the English word hero. Whether at school or home, he always played Heroes and Villains with his friends.

Hiro climbed over the fence and sat next to the dog.

Bunta aimed with his camera. There was a bright sunset in the shot's west. He took a picture.

"How was it?" Asked Hiro.

Bunta squinted at his phone.

There was a thick drool dripping from the mouth, and the dog looked viciously at the camera.

He exited the photo and saw the dog glaring at Hiro without moving its head. On his phone, the dog slowly turned to face Hiro while growling. Hiro turned to see what was going on.

The dog bared its teeth and opened its mouth wide into a V shape. It fit most of Hiro's little face into its mouth and bit.

"AGHHH!"

It stretched a piece of flesh from his face and between its incisors. Blood painted Hiro's face red.

When the taut flesh was ripped out, more blood spurted from his face. Another dog ran through the side gate leading to the backyard. It was abnormally large.

It had bulging muscles on its shoulders, back, legs, neck, and jaw.

The oversized mutant toga joined in and bit Hiro's face.

Bunta was still standing there holding onto his phone in landscape orientation with both hands. His phone shook in his trembling hands in its slow descent from Bunta's chest to his waist until it stayed in his right hand to his side.

He was a coward. Too afraid to jump in as he'll get himself killed. He told himself that he can't save his brother if he's dead too. After a while, the phone dropped from his hand.

The big toga pulled out an eyeball and shook its head left and right to play with it. The eyeball flew out and bounced off Bunta's chest. It rolled on the ground until it stayed still and stared at him.

"Ah, argghhhhh!"

Bunta fell back on his butt and stared at the accusing eye of Hiro.

"Bunta! Bunta!" Hiro called.

The smaller dog had bitten into his neck hard which caused him to scream earlier but relaxed its grip a bit because it knew it was a vital spot.

It growled and ground his flesh with its teeth. It clenched the wounds tightly with its teeth and shook its snout wildly to induce agony in the little boy.

The dogs were repeating the same action. They jumped back and growled to get a wide view of Hiro's body, so it can find other places that haven't been injured yet. Then jumped back in, biting, pulling, and shredding the flesh with its teeth.

They spread the bites evenly around his body so that he wouldn't die from a single wound.

They weren't trying to kill quickly. Likewise, they were playing with their food and torturing him for their amusement.

"Help me, brother!"

Hiro had his head lifted and pleaded Bunta with one eye. The other was an empty socket, black and red staring back at him.

"Brother, please!"

Bunta grabbed his face and covered his eyes.

A single tear dribbled from Hiro's shocked face when he realized his brother had abandoned him.

"Brother…"

The toga dogs' jaw strength was powerful, they used so much force in biting and ripping they pulled Hiro in their direction every time.

He screamed when the savages pulled him 10 meters away from the fence and left behind a trail of blood.

The bigger dog went to the opposite end of the other dog so that when they rend him with their teeth, the boy would stay in one spot because the forces counteract each other.

Hiro thrashed for another minute. Punching the dogs and kicking them, but there was hardly any strength for a little boy who was a few years younger than his older brother.

One ripped the flesh from his arms and the other dug into his stomach.

They had eaten him alive.