Part 37
Arcueid can't find them, but I can spot The Dead if I take off my glasses.
"------Alright."
Taking off my glasses and grimacing from the slight headache, I run to the shopping district.
I rub my temples with my fingers.
As long as I have my glasses off, this headache will only get worse.
But still--I can't give up this easily.
Taking a deep breath, I start to run through the shopping district once more.
I start to pant from exertion.
The exhaustion from running coupled with the pain in my head makes me nauseous.
No matter how many times I run around, I can't find any Dead or anything out of the ordinary.
Lifting up my hand to my forehead, I feel a feverish heat.
It really does feel like I have a high fever.
"...... Damn it, I'm not done yet----"
I tell myself this as I start to run once more.
----And then.
"............... Ah."
Not here, but somewhere farther away.
In a narrow alley between two buildings, I can see something like sparks flying in the air.
No, more accurately,
it feels like the "points" of death are shooting forth and disappearing.
"----That's..."
...... There's no mistake.
It's exactly the same as when Arcueid defeated The Dead before.
She----in that condition, is fighting by herself......!
Time for the human to play "save the vampire""----Found her......!"
Forgetting my pain and weariness, I dash towards the alley.
Music: play track 6
I can hardly bear it.
As I run to the alley, my spine groans in protest.
"Ha------agh."
As if a saw was slowly but surely slicing through my spine,
a pain works it way from inside me.
My instincts scream at me.
They say where I'm going is too dangerous, and I have to go back.
For once, I really wish you'd listen."Shut----up."
Hey, screw you, too, buddy.But, that goes without saying.
The amount of death there isn't normal.
Inside. I know something terrible is happening inside this alley.
But I can't turn back now.
I can't leave Arcueid alone.
If----I run away here, she might go off and die.
I can't shake off that feeling, and I enter the alley filled with death.
The last one, the last human shape full of lines expires from her hands.
With a single hand.
She smashes the head of The Dead into the wall, squishing it like a tomato.
As if not satisfied, she tears the headless body vertically in half and smashes it onto the ground.
"Ar----cueid."
The world is only filled with red and the moonlight.
In the center of it all stands Arcueid.
She doesn't notice I am here.
She only looks up at the moon----in a trance and breathing heavily.
"------"
I can't speak.
The pain inside me reaches a feverish pitch.
It seems like the saw has cut all the way through.
Music: stop
oh god get it away 
Th, ump.
My blood races through my entire body and my mind is jolted.
----At first, a sense of overwhelming crisis.
I shouldn't be here.
I shouldn't be in front of that thing.
IT WILL KILL YOU.
YOU CAN'T STAND UP TO IT.
That "creature" is on an entirely different level.
Not a matter of higher or lower, but something beyond evaluation.
Before that thing----just being there means death.
THU, MP.
My entire body throbs.
At first, it was fear.
Then, a desire to kill.
Because, that thing shouldn't exist.
So kill it. Hurry up and kill it. Kill it here. Kill it now.
In the name of this blood,
take that thing here,
and destroy it----
"Gah----, ah."
...... No. I'm not... here.
Those eyes----I must not look at those golden eyes.
I know this, but I can't escape her eyes.
Thump. Thump. My blood boils...
The stimulating throb of my blood.
But, there's something else that tries to burst through my consciousness.
Music: play track 4
Why does Shiki have to be so goddamn creepy? 
Ah."
Yes. I want all of it.
Her heart, her body,
Her tears, her saliva,
Her blood, her flesh, sin and punishment, desire and impatience------
"HA----agh......!"
My breathing is out of control.
I can't get a grip on my mind.
Her eyes are consuming me.
Those swaying, golden eyes.
That is,
something that cannot be killed no matter how much I kill...
Music: stop
I can hear her voice.
The core of my brain starts to overheat.
"Shut up------!"
My arm tightens around her neck.
She painfully lifts her chin.
...... I can't believe it.
With all of her strength, she can't even free this one arm right now.
"Shi----ki."
Breathing painfully, Arcueid coughs out my name.
Thump.
My heart beats hard in my chest.
I pant. And pant.
My breathing is out of control.
My vision is blurry and indistinct.
This fire inside of me----I have to release it right away.
This scene is somewhere between the ero and non-ero versions. Most of it is just cut straight out, for obvious reasons.Panting.
I slowly start to move.
I move my hips down her stomach.
Spreading her legs, I press myself between them.
"Wha..."
She looks at me uncertainly.
That look makes my head pound.
Panting. And panting.
I have to violate her right now or I'll go crazy.
I can feel her heartbeat.
Panting, panting, panting.
Her golden eyes seem to suck away my soul.
I release her neck.
And instead touch her breasts.
Her arms. Her legs.
My fingers trace the white skin under her clothes, soaking up the coolness of her body.
"No----this, this isn't like you, Shiki......!"
Her burning voice.
Her inviting red eyes.
Seeing these things, my mind completely shatters.
"N.........!"
She stifles her cries as if embarrassed.
Frantically, she tries to push me back with both hands.
Stretched out like this, she looks even more beautiful.
Like this, I can't use my arms either. If I let go, she'll rip my throat open for sure.
This tension. This balance that makes us seem like we're killing each other rather than me violating her increases the beast-like lust in me.
"--Stop, it----stop, or you'll regret it----"
I won't let her finish.
Since my mouth is free, I use that to undress her.
Breathing wildly, I violently tear the clothes from her body.
I continue removing her clothes.
In the middle of it, her bra gets stuck on her chest, but I simply tear it off.
"Naha----!"
She lets out a gasp.
Her entire body arches like a bow.
I don't care.
I run my tongue along the flesh between my teeth, relishing the taste.
"Shi...... ki........., stop......!"
Her voice becomes a bit hotter.
"Shiki----if you do this, afterwards----"
"N...... ah----!"
Her face starts to contort.
Her heated voice.
Her body glistening with sweat.
Her shaking head, her pained gasps.
"S, stop...... Shiki, pl... ease---"
It sounds like she's gritting her teeth.
I'm annoyed that her voice is still so reasonable.
In the 'full' version, Shiki is the world's worst rapist. I'm pretty sure most rapists don't go down on their victims, anyway."No...... Shiki... you... don't... even... like... me......!"
I don't acknowledge her.
I can't even hear her.
Her glistening body destroys any reason I have left.
Her beautiful body looks even better covered with sweat.
----Thump.
My blood is surging painfully.
I want to take her right now.
My panting echoes through the alley.
There's no need to hold back.
If I want to do it, I'll just do it.
I just----have to have her body.
She's crying.
Why----is she crying?
If it was me, I would never let her cry.
Yeah, that's right... it went there. The choices this time are "rape" or "don't rape". This shouldn't require a great deal of thought, especially for those of you following the Crescendo thread.