Tonight, the clinic owned by Dr. Mori ceased its regular operations.

Over the past three days, Dazai not only remained within the Sheep Organization but also managed to establish preliminary cooperation with Dr. Mori. However, the prerequisite for their collaboration was Dr. Mori’s protection of both individuals, providing underground medical services for Hyakki. Compared to Dazai’s promises to Dr. Mori, these conditions seemed insignificant.

All the lights in the clinic were turned on, and the doors and windows were tightly shut. Special ventilation facilities were activated, and the clinic, stocked with various medical supplies, cleared out a space specifically for physical examinations, permeating the air with the smell of disinfectant.

However, things did not go as smoothly as Dazai had hoped.

Hyakki exhibited an unusual resistance!

As Dazai led him closer to this underground clinic, within the range of his senses flashed a “red” alarm. A human life flame blazed about ten meters ahead of them, crimson and dripping with blood-red specks scattered across it, thick as if fueled by sin, announcing how many lives “it” had once taken!

A villain among villains, a killer among killers.

Such humans perhaps had caused more deaths than demons and monsters combined, their souls tarnished almost as much as those of demons and monsters.

Hyakki couldn’t bear it. He immediately pushed Dazai aside and lunged toward the open door where Dr. Mori stood. Moving forward at the speed of an arrow, he broke free from Dazai’s restraint with sheer force!

Dr. Mori, as if anticipating the situation, cautiously retreated behind the door. Just as an ancient forged samurai sword was about to strike, and the door was about to shatter, a golden-haired girl dressed in a white nurse’s uniform rushed out, wielding a large syringe to intercept the attack.

With each possessing unique supernatural abilities, a fierce battle ensued!

The clash of blades and shadows forced Alice to attempt to shift the battleground, but she failed nonetheless. Hyakki’s target was Dr. Mori, not the peculiar force obstructing him.

Dr. Mori, the instigator of this turmoil, could only shrug helplessly at Dazai and say, “You didn’t mention he was this dangerous.”

Dazai chuckled. “Well, you didn’t mention you were this nefarious.”

Based on Dazai’s observations in Dazai Street and his encounters with members of the Port Mafia, even some thugs with dozens of lives on their conscience hadn’t provoked Hyakki to such a determined killing intent. This indicated one thing: the person Dr. Mori had chosen to collaborate with wasn’t just a mere doctor in the past.

Dozens of lives?

No, at least hundreds of lives. Dare to guess a bit more boldly… perhaps even thousands?

As he watched Alice about to be dismembered, Dazai began to suspect that Dr. Mori had been involved in wars in the past, perhaps as a field medic or even an officer. He exchanged a glance with Dr. Mori, and simultaneously they intervened.

That was enough to gauge the situation.

“Hyakki!”

“Alice!”

Alice was the first to halt her actions, her syringe severed in two by Hyakki’s blade, leaving her weaponless. Dazai swiftly intervened, positioning himself between Hyakki and Alice, unafraid, calm, and terrifyingly composed. Hyakki’s blade narrowly missed his eyes as Dazai deftly dodged, a few strands of his hair drifting down as the blade passed by.

He felt a twinge of regret; if Hyakki had swung a bit further, he would have been decapitated instantly and painlessly.

“Alright, stop.”

Dazai’s actions proved that Hyakki listened to him.

Hyakki ceased his attacks, his gaze fixed on the direction of Dr. Mori’s sinister life flame. Dr. Mori’s professional curiosity took over, and seeing no immediate danger, he began to analyze the situation. “How did he see me? Did he use special materials for the eye section of his mask, or does his ability directly alert him and prompt him to act?”

To be honest, Dr. Mori didn’t believe Hyakki had such a strong sense of justice. A black-haired youth who wore a mask every day, lacking both hands and feet, was either a recluse living in the underworld or had someone protecting him as he grew up. How could such a person be taught such a deadly sense of morality?

It wasn’t that a sense of morality was bad, but it simply wasn’t necessary for him.

“It’s neither,” Dazai said, understanding Dr. Mori’s thought process. He picked up the arm that had been thrown aside, dusted it off, and carefully reattached it to the weapon embedded in Dr. Mori’s arms.

Hyakki was filled with various confusions. Even without his sixth sense prompting him, he knew how dangerous the people nearby were.

“Dororo, we can’t get close to someone like this!” Hyakki’s heart was full of worry.

Dazai grabbed Hyakki and tried to pull him forward, but the boy remained rooted to the spot like a stubborn nail.

Dr. Mori, watching the spectacle with interest, said, “He refuses to enter the clinic, so I can’t give him a full-body examination. Looks like your puppet isn’t as obedient as you claimed.”

Alice, the puppet with human-like traits, quipped, “He looks pretty dumb.”

Upon hearing this, Dazai became displeased. Hyakki was very obedient. It was all because of this unscrupulous black doctor that he was forced into a state of battle readiness. What right did Alice, a human-like ability user, have to criticize Hyakki? Hyakki almost dismembered her.

Expecting conflicts before they arrived, Dazai took a deep breath, then, before the arrival of summer, once again bound Hyakki tightly and sent him into the clinic. The proficiency of his binding skills made Dr. Mori look at him in a new light, thinking, “Dzai, not bad for your age.”

Inside, Hyakki struggled against his restraints, feeling like a fish on a chopping board, utterly lacking in security.

“Dororo!”

“Dororo, you can’t keep treating me like this!”

“I’m going to kill this evil person!”

In the clinic, with Dazai’s tacit consent, Dr. Mori administered a muscle relaxant injection into Hyakki’s neck, gently pushing the plunger. Despite the injection, Hyakki’s resistance didn’t diminish much; he still exerted considerable strength. Dr. Mori commented, “Excellent physical condition, and good resistance to drugs. He’s a promising candidate in terms of physical ability.”

After admiring Hyakki’s struggles on the brink of death, Dr. Mori administered another injection, finally rendering Hyakki unconscious.

Dzai interest was piqued. “What kind of needle is that?”

Dr. Mori raised the empty syringe in his hand, smiling kindly. “It’s a personally formulated concoction. It doesn’t harm the body; it just induces sleep for a period of time. It’s an exclusive formula not found on the market.”

In that moment, Dazai was filled with a newfound enthusiasm for pharmacology.

“Long story short, I’ll start the examination now,” Dr. Mori said, turning to Dazai. “Dazai, any objections?”

Dazai remained calm, with an indifferent expression, as if saying, “Do as you please.”

Raising an eyebrow, Dr. Mori no longer paid attention to the “relatives” of the patient and instead focused intently on examining… no, dissecting the materials at hand. Alice, at this point, sensibly walked to the side and sat on a cardboard box near the door, as light as if she had no weight, taking out crayons and a sketchbook from her hand.

On the operating table, Hyakki lay unconscious, completely unaware of the modern high-tech procedures awaiting him.

Dr. Mori first donned gloves and then used a scalpel to cut through the bandages on Hyakki’s body, precise enough not to cut the skin. He furrowed his brow slightly at the red “skin” under the bandages. “Skin peeled off…” He palpated Hyakki’s shoulder blades and humerus inch by inch, pausing when extending his arm, then dismantled the prosthetics installed at the elbow.

The prosthetics for both forearms were removed and placed on a nearby tray.

The black-haired youth lost both arms, then had his legs dismantled one after another. His clothes were removed, leaving him only in underwear. The sight of him on the stretcher, resembling a dismembered corpse, made Dazai blink rapidly, feeling uneasy for reasons he couldn’t quite understand, even though he had seen his fair share of corpses.

Dr. Mori explained the reason: “It’s not about rationality. Humans are always prone to emotional reactions. Being touched by one of their kind, he’s alive but more miserable than the dead. It’s inevitable that you’ll feel psychologically uncomfortable.”

Dazai nodded slightly. “I see…”

But then he chuckled casually.

“Continue, Doctor Mori. I want to know exactly how many parts of Hyakki’s body are missing, what caused it, and whether there’s a way to treat him. You promised to give me a satisfactory answer.”

Why was he able to laugh?

Dr. Mori was somewhat surprised; with his keen eyes, he could tell that Dazai cared a lot about this “puppet.”

Then, Dr. Mori’s gaze fell on Hyakki’s mask. The face was excessively refined and indifferent, devoid of any sense of incongruity, clearly the work of a top-notch…

“It’s a masterpiece crafted by a top-notch sculptor.”

“Dzai, can I take it off? We’ll need to examine it without the mask later…” With these words of inquiry spoken, Mori did not hesitate to act. He noticed that when he took off the mask, Dazai turned away from him, clearly indicating he didn’t want to see the true face.

Mori hesitated for a moment, sensing that something was amiss as he continued to observe.

The horrifying face, stripped of skin, was exposed to the air, with eye sockets and nostrils gaping like dark voids. With only pale teeth remaining in the mouth, it was evident that Hyakki had been devoid of the typical five senses from the very beginning!

Is this Japan’s latest horror film?

The shock was too overwhelming, even for Mori, who was accustomed to witnessing scenes of human demise. He was completely taken aback by how terrifying the face under the mask turned out to be. His gaze scattered, lips slightly parted, and his eyes refused to directly confront Hyakki’s true visage.

Dazai, why didn’t you tell me in advance!

At the entrance, Elise heard the sound of Lin Taro gasping and immediately turned her head. “Lin Taro?”

Suddenly, the clinic erupted with the piercing screams of a frightened little girl.

“What is this?!”

Facing Elise, Dazai calmly walked over, reaching out his hand to touch her terrified head, employing a technique he learned from Hyakki to instantly calm her down.

The golden-haired girl looked at Dazai in astonishment, then disappeared uncontrollably.

Morrie tensed up all over. “Dzai?”

Dazai faced Elise and calmly walked over, reaching out to touch her frightened head with a technique he learned from Hyakki, instantly dispelling her distress.

The golden-haired girl looked at Dazai in astonishment and disappeared uncontrollably.

Morrie tensed up all over. “Dzai?”

After nullifying Morrie’s humanoid ability, Dazai spoke cheerfully, “Doctor Mori, please focus. I just found Miss Elise a bit too noisy. It’s better to take a break for a moment.”

Although he seemed playful, his mind was filled with the most indifferent exchange of information and value assessment.

“This is my ability—Disqualified from Humanity.”

Unable to experience normal human emotions, Dazai refused to even look at Hyakki, fearing that his own desire for death would be triggered.

How boring it is to be alive.

Why would someone who has lost everything, living worse than death… still want to live?

Mori’s thoughts grew serious as he focused on Hyakki’s body with eyes as cold as metal.

Found two diamonds, didn’t we?

Unfortunately, one of the diamonds has shattered into this state, making it nearly impossible to piece back together.

He removed Hyakki’s oddly prominent ears and felt his scalp to ensure it wasn’t a wig. Suddenly, as if discovering something, his hand, while examining the scalp, moved to the back of the neck.

The spine is out of alignment.

Dr. Mori exclaimed loudly, “Dzai, his spine is also fake!”

Dazai reflexively wanted to look back but managed to resist, narrowly avoiding falling into Mori’s trap.

Mori didn’t intend to deceive him into turning around, genuinely marveling at the wonder of life in this moment. If Hyakki’s internal organs were fine, this young man had lost his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, spine, and all four limbs, enduring multiple tortures throughout human history.

You see, even the notorious Port Mafia, when dealing with traitors, at most makes them bite down on a slab of stone, kicks them in the back of the head, shatters their chin, and then rewards them with three bullets to the chest.

“The person who tortured him must have really hated him.”

“…”

Dazai didn’t respond, faintly feeling that the truth might be even more horrifying than speculation.

Mori adjusted back to his doctor’s mindset, lifting up the dismantled Hyakki and placing him into the examination device. High-tech medical equipment is always much more accurate than the human eye and experience. After several hours of examination, while Dazai was dozing off in his chair, Mori set down the printout and said, “Dzai, we may be facing a medical dilemma.”

Dazai, exhausted from three consecutive days of sabotaging the Sheep organization, propped up his cheek, feeling a bit overwhelmed from staying up late.

“Uh… What kind of dilemma?”

“He is born like this.”

Is there really someone in this world who has been struggling with fate since birth?

Mori felt puzzled.

With a slip of his hand, the sickly youth’s head drooped, muscles twitching on his unhealthy cheeks, teeth gently grinding. Rather than ordinary shock, it seemed more like an indescribable suppression.

“Hey, Dr. Mori.”

“Yes?”

“What’s the point of him trying so hard to stay alive?”

“There is no point.”

Dr. Mori offered a different answer, one that resonated with Dazai’s sentiments yet did not defy common sense.

As the middle-aged man in the white coat set aside his pen for notes and rubbed his tired temples, he spoke to his former comrade in the quiet of the night, “This is humanity, even when living in hell, there are still those who refuse to accept their fate.”

“Dzai, do you still want to save him?”

To save someone so fundamentally different from you, who resists death and cannot accept your desire for it.

Under Dr. Mori’s simple question, Dazai trembled nervously.

He murmured, “I want him to die.”

Dr. Mori smiled, gently guiding him to voice his inner thoughts, “Yes, death brings release, sparing your puppet, whom you call ‘Hyakki,’ from further agonizing struggles.”

Dazai, as if confused by Dr. Mori’s words, kept thinking about the benefits of death, a murderous intent rising within him. But before he could even stand up, he screamed, covering his face and blocking his eyes tightly with his fingers. “Mori-sensei! Why haven’t you put the mask back on him yet?”

Dr. Mori innocently responded, “I just finished examining him. His face needs to breathe too.”

The chair of the black-hearted doctor swiveled, showing his utter lack of morality.

“Dzai, face reality.”

“I refuse!”

“I used 3D craniofacial identification technology to assess it for you. The person who made the mask is undoubtedly a top-notch master. His facial features are excellent, almost identical to the face on the mask.”

“What do you mean…”

“What I mean is, just bear with it. Hyakki is still a decently handsome young man.”

“Bear with it? It’s like trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear!”

Dazai glared angrily at Dr. Mori through his fingers. If looks could kill, Dr. Mori would have been slashed to pieces a thousand times over.

Dr. Mori was tolerant of minds and tempers similar to his own, to the extent that he developed some fondness for Hyakki as well. Those who strive to survive always emanate a burst of vitality, which is captivating to others.

And then…

They attract people like Dazai, who are lost in confusion.

Upon waking up from his unconsciousness, Hyakki, who had spent the night in a coma, suddenly felt that his clothes had been changed. After sitting up alertly, the first thing he saw was the white flame calmly burning in front of him.

The flame seemed a bit subdued.

Hyakki reached out to touch Dororo’s head again. What had happened?

Dazai, with eyes weary from a sleepless night, said in a daze, “Hyakki, let’s just stick with him for instant noodles from now on. The clinic won’t be able to afford much.”

Beside him, Dr. Mori was enjoying his instant noodles without any concern.

What’s wrong with instant noodles anyway?

“To save money!”

Hyakki, who relied solely on intuition to make judgments without external information, thought for a moment, then withdrew his arm and pointed his sword towards Dr. Mori, expressing his inquiry about “Dororo”.

“Did you kill that person?

Dazai, with dead fish eyes, pushed his arm back in and earnestly looked at Dr. Mori’s exquisite and handsome mask.

Hyakki would look similar to the mask?

At the thought of this, Dazai, whose thoughts had been inadvertently influenced by Dr. Mori, pondered silently.

“Hyakki, if you ever decide to sell your body, make sure to earn the money back for me.”

“……?”

Hyakki felt like the symbol of purity, the white flame, suddenly became tainted for a moment.

“Did I… Did I see it wrong?”