"The crackling fires spiral up with the wind, as colossal waves crash onto a distant shore." "The raging mechanical god shouts, as thunderclaps flow forth." "The Castle of Illusion Chapter Ten" "Kuon." "What's wrong?" "The air is too still." "Huh?" "I welcome you to the Red Castle, Kuro!" "I am Hasegawa and I'm in charge of this facility." "You might believe that this is our first meeting..." "However, I know all about you." "You're a thousand-year-old outcast." "I've been very patient... waiting for the day that you'd arrive here." "This is almost like..." "love." "You sure know how to keep people waiting." "I was worried about what I'd do if the likes of Arashiyama and Kagetsu had halted your progress." "After all, I purposely sent Kuon to guide you here." "So consider this as your punishment." "Both of you can suffer a bit more." "You bastard!" "Kuromitsu..." "What are you doing?" "What in Hell's name are you doing, Kuromitsu?" "You were watching?" "Indeed." "You saw what I just did?" "This is..." "You bastard!" "How was it?" "I'd be interested to know how you felt about it." "What was that just now?" "What are you referring to?" "Why do you have my dream?" "That wasn't a dream." "You don't remember?" "That is the only existing video we have that shows both of you together." "It's from twenty years ago." "Why do you have such a video?" "There was little in the way of entertainment back then." "They filmed a manhunt once and distributed the copies, and it seems it became a popular title." "After that, soldiers would always take cameras with them when they headed out." "In other words, they recorded videos of themselves killing humans." "You should know that, right?" "I get it now." "I see it clearly." "I'll tell you a "fact" about yourself." "During your journey here, you've lost all your memories, haven't you?" "My journey?" "Well, it has something to do with your unique physique." "My unique physique?" "I refer to the fact that your appearance remains ever-youthful." "Let's break this down for you." "Perhaps we know more about you than you do yourself." "Do you remember this man?" "Yokoyama Hiroaki." "He was a member of the SDF's Special Ops outfit." "Twenty years ago, he went MIA while on an assignment." "We don't know what happened to him after that." "His assignment was to pursue you and that woman." "We keep records of all our soldiers' fingerprints." "This is Yokoyama's fingerprint." "And this one, Kuro, is yours." "As you can see, it's a perfect match." "The fingerprints on the weapon you threw away back then are different to the prints you have now." "Meaning that, at that point, you and Yokoyama were still different people." "Now, however, all your fingers... all ten of your fingerprints are the same as his." "In other words, Kuro, we can only assume that you are, in fact, Hiroaki Yokoyama." "At the very least, this is his body." "Still, it's an amazing feat." "Your DNA shows that your body has been alive for up to a thousand years." "Your youthful appearance raised my suspicions, but that's what the base sequence tells us." "What could this possibly mean?" "Meeting you here..." "What exactly... are you?" "Can you provide me with the answer?" "You are... a monster." "Ugly, yet noble." "Essentially, you are supreme: a disgustingly beautiful... monster." "You see, you switch bodies every hundred years so that you can keep on living." "When the body withers with old age, you simply exchange it." "And every time your form changes, you lose all those memories you've accumulated." "How pathetic." "I couldn't help but tremble... when I learned of your existence twenty years ago." "I couldn't choke back my curiosity!" "If I could perhaps combine... your sublime blood with an equally superior body, what theatrics would they create together?" "I want to see that." "I want to see that." "I want to see that!" "If you had a body more suited to you, you might develop an unstoppable new ability!" "It could give birth to a superior form of life!" "That's why I created Kuon." "I created him using a sample of your blood." "He is the forty-eighth specimen who became ageless and immortal!" "Got it." "I'll end things quickly." "Hey." "Long time no see!" "Have you really forgotten who I am?" "That's so cold of you." "I know nothing about you." "Then, let's change the subject." "Don't you hate bugs?" "When you were a child, didn't you start wailing because a long-horned beetle bit your thumb?" "Isn't that why, even now, you unconsciously hide your thumb?" "I'm right, aren't I?" "Who are you?" "Should I tell you?" "My name is Kuon." "How you doing, bro?" "Hello me!" "Five years ago, you were still part of me." "Who do you think put in the effort to make you so good with a gun?" "It wasn't you." "It was me." "You inherited all my memories and abilities." "Did you forget everything?" "Five years ago, you were just a single cell." "Thanks to us, you've become a magnificent soldier." "You should be grateful." "After that, you successfully infiltrated the Haniwa, and succeeded in your mission to bring Kuro here once he'd appeared." "I'm so emotional right now!" "You've developed well!" "Congratulations, Kuon!" "My beloved brother!" "That's why this pains my heart." "It feels like I'm killing myself." "So, this is where you were." "Is this Kuon?" "Yes." "He's the specimen you've been waiting for." "He bears quite a resemblance... to him." "All that remains is to bring him here." "That's right." "That's our top priority." "For both you and me alike." "Indeed." "If you desire Kuromitsu's blood, you must overcome death." "You should be able to manage that much." "What are your intentions?" "Let's put on a sideshow first." "I wonder what kind of reaction we'd get... if we injected your blood into her." "Rai!" "Do you know the vampire story, Dracula ?" "It's a novel by Bram Stoker." "I would like to recreate that story using your blood." "I wish to confirm whether your powers are ones that can be transfered... through such a method, because I want to be the one who scribes this new legend!" "Stop this!" "She's not involved in this!" "That makes her a better guinea pig!" "The creation of a superior form of life starts now!" "Bastard, how dare you touch me with those filthy hands..." "I'll make sure you regret this!" "Next Chapter" "Endless Struggle Next Chapter"