Lunar Awakening-Chapter 36: Death For The Sinners (2)

She swayed again, much to his surprise, almost as if she were about to faint but somehow she stayed conscious.

"No, I really can’t. Don’t take pity on a stranger. I don’t really know you either," she pleaded, a level of remorse in her voice that Leo was almost certain could win an Olympic medal.

He raised his hand gently to silence her. "I was just heading to a restaurant around here. Besides, my mother always told me to treat any girl in need to a meal."

He watched her shrink further into the crowd and sighed, turning to leave. "I apologize again for spooking you."

But before he could take a step, he felt her hand grip his shoulder with surprising strength almost monstrous in its insistence. Her voice came in choppy stutters. "No... don’t... go!" He could hear the faint rumble of her stomach even over the ambient noise, the sound raw and desperate.

A few minutes later, they were seated inside a small but familiar restaurant he had visited long ago with his parents. It was well known for its steaks back then; he wondered if that reputation still held.

He settled at one end of the table, back sinking into the soft cushion, and ordered quickly. He avoided steaks or any meat-related dishes, he had eaten more than enough of that during his time in Hellscape. Instead, he opted for a simple but hearty serving of rice and a coke, eating with deliberate focus.

The young woman across from him ordered a bowl of ramen. He watched her devour it with chopsticks, each bite precise but fierce, like a wild animal indulging in a rare feast.

’Do I look like that when I go wild?’ he wondered, a flicker of curiosity crossing his mind.

She caught him staring, and her face flamed bright red. "I’m... I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be enjoying this meal. I—"

Before she could continue, he cut her off with a calm, amused tone. "Is that really good?"

She froze for a moment, eyes wide, clearly confused by the sudden shift, and then slowly nodded.

"Then I’ll have three servings of that to go," he declared.

Her eyebrow shot up, and she gave him a slightly awkward, incredulous look.

He caught her glance, but she quickly looked away. "Oh, they’re not entirely for me. I have a little sister who would love this. My name’s Leo, by the way."

The girl hesitated for a moment, then muttered, "Hinata."

His eyes widened slightly. "Great name. Mind if I call you Hina?"

Her face burned even redder, and when she looked up at him, she realized he had been completely oblivious to how flustered he had made her.

After they finished their meal, they stepped out of the restaurant. Leo offered to walk her home, and she was far too flushed to refuse.

They walked in silence for several minutes, the city’s sounds fading into a soft background hum. Finally, they reached an intersection in a more quieter part of the city.

"This... this is where I’ll be leaving you, Leo-san," she said, her voice quiet and hesitant.

Leo frowned in confusion. "Is that a nickname?"

"Thank you again for walking me home... and for the meal," she said after a pause.

He smirked faintly. "I’d love to say it was my pleasure, but my mom would kill me if she knew I let a girl walk home alone this late."

She giggled softly, watching the cold, stoic young man who had never truly smiled or laughed since they met. There was a subtle air of dominance around him, something she found oddly comforting and a little thrilling.

Leo turned to leave. "You should learn to smile more, Hina."

She waved as she walked toward the house she’d indicated. He watched until she was safely inside before continuing toward the train station. He had wanted to ask why she seemed sick or troubled, but he knew it wasn’t his place.

He never involved himself in the private matters of others. The most he could do was offer a small measure of help and leave the rest to fate.

As he walked, his thoughts lingered on Hinata for a moment. What had she gone through to be in such a fragile state? He hoped that, somehow, their paths would cross again ideally under better circumstances.

Meanwhile, inside Hinata’s home, chaos erupted.

"What the hell!" screamed the man who had descended the stairs to find a stranger standing in his living room. "Who the hell are you?!"

Hinata leaned over and vomited a mess of soggy noodles onto the floor.

"Get the hell outta my house, you maniac!" the man bellowed.

But she only looked up at him, grinning from ear to ear. Her eyes flashed a startling red glow, and she began walking toward him, crushing the vomit underfoot. Her smile widened, revealing long, sharp fangs.

"I almost fell sick eating that garbage," she said, her voice calm, almost teasing, as she noted the man’s panic.

He reached for his pistol, aiming at her with trembling hands. "Stay back!" he warned.

Hinata’s grin grew even wider. "I’m starving."

He fired two bullets into the air, but she dodged them with superhuman speed. By the time he pulled the trigger for the third, she was already upon him.

With inhuman strength, she grabbed his arm and ripped it from his body, streams of blood splattering the wall and stairs red.

The man tried to scream, but she thrust her nails into his mouth and tore out his tongue like it was paper, blood gushing and choking him.

Hinata watched him tumble down the stairs, collapsed, and finally lie still. Her smile widened as she wiped the blood from her lips.

"Death for the sinners," she whispered, her voice eerily calm, as if pronouncing a sacred vow.

Meanwhile, inside Hinata’s home, chaos erupted.

"What the hell!" screamed the man who had descended the stairs, frozen in horror at the sight of a stranger standing silently in his living room. "Who the hell are you?!"

Hinata leaned forward and vomited a tangled mess of soggy noodles onto the polished wooden floor. The smell hit him instantly, sharp and acidic, making his stomach lurch further.

"Get the hell outta my house, you maniac!" he bellowed, panic cracking his voice.

But she only looked up, her face pale, her eyes flickering with an unnatural crimson light. The faint blue glow of her hair seemed to pulse faintly in the dim light, like some spectral reflection of the sky at dusk. Her grin widened-- unnerving, impossible.

"I almost fell sick eating that garbage," she said calmly, her voice eerily soft, almost mocking.

The man reached for his pistol which he had come down with, trembling violently, and aimed. "Stay back!" he warned, the words brittle.

Hinata’s grin deepened. "I’m starving," she whispered, a low, chilling promise that seemed to make the air itself grow heavier.

He fired two bullets into the air, desperate to intimidate, but they did nothing. Hinata moved with impossible speed, each motion silent but deliberate. She dodged the bullets as if they were invisible, her eyes locked on him like a predator assessing its prey.

By the time he tried a third shot, she was already upon him.

There was a sickening sound as her fingers closed around his arm. With inhuman strength, she tore it from his body, the wet snap echoing through the small room. Blood sprayed across the walls and stairs, the red staining the wood like a gruesome painting.

The man’s scream cut short as she leaned in, eyes glinting with a crimson fire. Her nails dug into his mouth, and with a swift, horrifying motion, she tore out his tongue like it was nothing more than paper. Blood gushed freely, the metallic taste hanging in the air as he choked on it, gagging, his screams gurgling into silence.

Hinata watched every movement with a calm precision that made the horror unbearable. She let the severed arm and broken body slide to the floor, crimson pooling around him. Her lips were coated with blood, and yet she smiled wider, lips curling back to reveal sharp, fang-like teeth glinting in the dim light.

The man toppled backward, stumbling down the stairs in a chaotic tumble, his cries echoing off the walls. He hit the landing with a sickening thud, sliding to the bottom, where he finally lay still, blood pooling beneath him like a dark mirror.

Hinata’s grin remained, horrifyingly serene. She stepped carefully over the gore, her pale feet leaving faint smudges on the polished wood. She lifted her gaze to the ceiling, letting out a soft, almost reverent whisper:

"Death for the sinners."

The words hung in the room like a curse, heavy, final, and irrevocable. It was not just a warning, it was a declaration. The house seemed to grow colder around her, shadows stretching unnaturally as if recoiling from her presence.

Even in silence, the weight of what had just occurred pressed down on the space like a living thing. The man’s absence, the blood, the destruction, it was all a warning of something more. Hinata’s calm composure, the unnatural precision of her violence, suggested that this was no ordinary human. And in the dim light, with crimson still glinting on her lips and hands, it became painfully clear: anyone in her path would meet the same fate.