Tokyo: My Superpower Refreshes Every Week

"Help! Save me!"

Shrill screams rang out as a man dressed like a prisoner scrambled out from behind a thatched hut.

He had a simple, honest-looking face and a buzz cut. Panic filled his expression as he said, "Are you prison guards? Please save me, there's a monster here!"

The man shouted as he ran towards them.

Morimoto Chiyoda's eyes turned cold. She commanded, "Stop! Spread your arms, raise them slowly, put your hands on your head, and squat down!"

She harbored not a trace of sympathy or any desire to help this man.

The scene clearly showed that a prisoner had been torn apart. Footprints on the ground confirmed the man's account.

Yet, that the man had dared to hide right there under such circumstances indicated great boldness and attention to detail, not the fright his appearance suggested.

This was a dangerously deceptive man; allowing him to approach might lead to unnecessary sacrifices.

Morimoto Chiyoda took the handcuffs from Okayama Buji and threw them towards the man. "Cuff yourself with these!"

"Yes."

The man picked up the handcuffs, his face a picture of compliance. Inwardly, he sneered. She really is a tough woman. It's just unfortunate that she underestimated my abilities.

These handcuffs might restrain most people. But for someone like him, born with hypermobile joints and further trained, they were incapable of holding him.

The man put on the handcuffs. His goal was clear: seize a firearm.

In this perilous world, only a gun can provide a sense of security.

"I'm going to ask you a question now. What did the monster you saw look like?"

Morimoto Chiyoda holstered her M500 revolver and began to question him about the scene.

The man quickly responded, "It was a monster that looked like a mix of a lion and a bull, covered in black fur, with huge, bat-like membranous wings. Its claws could easily tear a human body apart. Those fragments on the ground were its doing. Everyone was startled by the monster and scattered. My legs turned to jelly, so I hid in the thatched hut and, by sheer luck, avoided disaster. I'm so glad you're here! Please, take me away from this place!"

The man pleaded loudly, mentally calculating the distance. Just a bit closer, he thought, within effective range. Then I'll take this woman hostage, snatch her M500 revolver, and ensure my retreat to safety.

Morimoto Chiyoda inquired, "Where did the Lion Bull Monster run off to?"

"Northward."

The man pointed.

Morimoto Chiyoda drew her gun and pulled the trigger.

BANG! A loud gunshot echoed. A large hole appeared in the man's chest, his face frozen in the act of pointing.

"Hey, Morimoto, don't just fire the M500 like that!" Emily complained.

The sudden shot made her eardrums throb.

"Sorry," Morimoto Chiyoda put away the M500 and murmured, "It seems the gun's power hasn't weakened. That's good news for us."

"The Lion Bull Monster is to the north. Should we go after it and take a look?" Miyaji Yosuke finally spoke, wanting to hear what the others thought.

Okayama Buji gave a wry smile. "We have no way back. We can only keep moving forward and hope to find a way out."

"Let's just treat it as a tour," Morimoto Chiyoda said. She appeared indifferent, but internally, a hint of irritation pricked at her.

If this has nothing to do with Dio, or if Dio isn't Aozawa, then getting out of this place won't be easy.

"Luckily, we're not in the Dragon Palace. We won't end up like Urashima Taro, emerging to find hundreds of years have passed in the outside world."

Judging by the corpses, there seemed to be no significant difference in the flow of time between this world and theirs.

"Alright, enough of that. Let's go. There must be a way back," Emily said with an optimism that belied her awareness of their grave situation.

A chill of fear touched everyone. Emily felt it too but couldn't show it. Only by staying optimistic can we find a sliver of hope in this predicament.

「...」

"AH!"

Another prisoner was torn to pieces by the Lion Bull Monster.

The beast was like a messenger from Hell or perhaps a gatekeeper, relentlessly pursuing them. Ghost observed from the sidelines. Dozens had died, yet no sign of salvation lay ahead.

This desolate land seemed endless, a place where one could run forever. The occasional mountains were barren Stone Mountains, devoid of water and almost all vegetation. What little grass there was lay hidden beneath the rocks. Finding it would require considerable effort.

Ghost knew he couldn't keep running. If he continued, the shackles, combined with the gnawing hunger from a missed breakfast, would soon sap his fighting strength.

I need food.

Ghost glanced at the Lion Bull Monster, still pursuing the prisoners, then turned back towards a cave.

It was a naturally formed cavern where four prisoners were hiding. Seeing him enter, the four men's eyes flickered with wariness. Even stranded in this place, they had no intention of cooperating.

Ghost didn't care. He sneered, "I'm hungry."

"Who isn't?" one of the men retorted.

BOOM! With a deafening crack, Ghost swung his thick chains like a whip, striking the nearest man's head.

SMACK!

The man's skull split open.

Seeing this, the other three immediately showed expressions of shock and fury.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

"Don't panic," Ghost said calmly, stepping forward. He bent down and began to suck at the man's exposed brain, the warm blood carrying a raw, metallic tang.

But Ghost didn't care. The manhunt in Hokkaido had lasted ten days and nights. He'd torn through mountains and forests, sustaining himself by fighting and eating, replenishing his strength on the go. He knew which parts of a human body were tastiest and which were worst. His shackled right hand plunged towards the man's neck, tearing out the heart.

CRUNCH. He bit into it.

Ghost chewed heartily, unfazed by the taste of raw flesh. He had to eat his fill to have the strength to challenge the Lion Bull Monster.

After eating his fill, he glanced at the remaining three men, then turned and left.

The three men stared at the corpse on the ground. Their exchanged glances were ripe with greed. They quickly pounced, scrambling to begin eating.

In this desolate land, filling one's stomach first was never a mistake.

Ghost heard the sounds of their chewing from within the cave and sneered inwardly.

In my eyes, those three are just emergency rations.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, a thrill of excitement coursing through him. Now, it's time to test myself against that Lion Bull Monster! Let that beast witness the true extent of human skill!

「...」

The special task force headed north.

Clear footprints marked their path. Periodically, they passed corpses by the roadside—all escaped prisoners. Their faces were frozen in terror. Some heads lay a considerable distance from their bodies.

These gruesome discoveries heightened their vigilance.

Morimoto Chiyoda disliked the coppery tang of blood in the air. She glanced back; the thatched huts were no longer visible.

We're so far now. Is this really another world? she murmured to herself. The air, the ground beneath my feet, the sensations in my body—everything tells me this is real. But this reality is too exaggerated. A world beyond the one I know... I've heard theories about other worlds, of course, but I always dismissed them as fairy tales, never imagining they could actually exist.

"It must be," Emily replied casually, wiping sweat from her forehead. So tired... As a detective, my stamina is terrible. "Hopefully, we can find some locals and learn about this place."

Katerina paused, then looked ahead to her right, her expression grave. "There's a sound coming from over there."

Emily's spirits lifted. "Everyone, be careful!" she urged.

Morimoto teased, "Emily, you're the one who should be most careful. You're the weakest one here."

Emily looked around at the others and realized Morimoto was right. She had no weapons. And with her lack of skill, a gun would be useless in her hands anyway. The recoil of a gun was no joke.

"You all have to protect me."

"And now you're asking us to protect you," Morimoto joked, reloading her M500. They might soon face that unimaginable Lion Bull Monster; a full weapon was essential.

They jogged towards the source of the sound.

It was a low Stone Mountain. The sound came from its flank. They circled around and saw the Lion Bull Monster standing halfway up the mountainside.

"It's exactly as that man described!" Emily exclaimed, visibly shocked.

The Lion Bull Monster was clearly not a creature that should exist in their world. Its body was covered in black fur. Its two massive buffalo horns jutted out, and its membranous wings looked less like a bat's and more like a Demon's.

"Is that a Demon?"

"ROAR!"

The Lion Bull Monster's ROAR was more earth-shattering than a tiger's in the mountains, loud enough to feel like a firecracker exploding next to your ear.

Emily's heart leaped, and she instinctively flinched, shrinking her shoulders.

Morimoto, however, remained unfazed. She calmly observed the scene: fresh blood dripped from the tips of the Lion Bull Monster's claws. It just killed someone.

She quickly scanned the mountainside. Not far from the monster, a man's upper body hung askew from a dead tree, thick shackles on his arms, a long chain dragging on the ground. His blood-red hair was as matted as weeds, his features coarse like a wild beast's. He was still breathing, his eyes flicking sideways towards the approaching task force.

Ghost let out a wild, cackling laugh. "HAHAHA! A monster like this... can't be beaten by human skill! You'll all die by its claws too!"

They were quite far apart, but Morimoto managed to read his lips and relay his words.

"That guy seems to have lost a close-quarters fight with the monster. Looks like a powerful martial artist."

"Mm, that red hair... I have some recollection of him. Ghost, from Hokkaido," Katerina said, staring at the shackles on Ghost. Their heavy look suggested significant weight. Yet even Ghost, presumably strong enough to bear that weight, looked exceptionally fragile before the monster.

"ROAR!"

The Lion Bull Monster fixed its gaze on the task force. It let out a great ROAR and, with a powerful flap of its membranous wings, prepared to swoop down.