Chapter 1
My name is Tatsuda Kaizen.
I was a genius birthed once every century, a pioneer of a generation.
But that status others envied for was willingly thrown away by me to pursue something childish called love.
Those who once called me their friend, mentor, student, rival... family. All of it was abandoned by me, and I in turn was abandoned by them.
What once was envy and admiration now turned into disdain and disappointment.
"What was wrong with me?" I asked myself with blank eyes and a mocking smile, dazedly staring at the skies painted a bright crimson from the flames that surrounded me.
Glancing to my left, the framed photo of my wife dressed in a humble yet gorgeous wedding dress. A stunning, otherworldly beauty fit inside the dress perfectly. As if the world itself was praising her elegant and noble appearance, sunlight wrapped around her in a gentle, radiant glow, like an angel sent from heaven...
Was stained a deep-crimson red.
Blood constantly seeped out of the fist-sized hole in my chest. By some miracle, the steel javelin-like object which pierced my chest managed to evade my heart and lungs, lodging directly in the center of the three.
It was a fatal injury, and death was certain, but it wasn't instant. Every breath of air I desperately gasped for burned my lungs with intense heat.
Both my lungs and heart would throb with an intense pain that sent a mind-numbing sensation throughout my body, causing me to faint and wake up in an endless cycle.
"Wait for me... No matter how long it takes... how many lives I am reincarnated to..."
Kaizen breathed his last. Hot, red misty air escaped his mouth.
The weakly beating heart slowed to a stop.
His burning gaze lingering on his wife's beautiful smile dimmed until there was no longer any light within them.
Tatsuda Kaizen had died.
◊ ◊ ◊
The crumbling apartment building Kaizen was living in couldn't withstand the constant tremors caused by the JSDF artillery and the monstrous creature's rampage throughout the city.
Very quickly, the city turned silent. The enormous monster stood motionless within a cloud of smoke, concealing its presence while the military helicopters cautiously circled around the hidden monster.
What no one was expecting was for a beam of purple light to clear the smoke, slicing through the encirclement of human forces and destroying everything in its path.
The soldiers stationed outside of the city were horrified by this sudden display of power, unsure of what to do at this moment until new commands were issued a moment later.
Type 10 main battle tanks, M270, Kin-SAM, and various other military vehicles all retreated a distance of several tens of kilometers from their position, watching the clearing view of the monster standing proudly in the center of the city without a single scratch, even after dozens of missiles and heavy artillery rained down on it unhindered.
Just as they were wondering what it was going to do next and what action they should take next, the monster craned its neck forward until its eyes were parallel with the ground.
The monster's jaws unhinged into a 110-degree angle followed by a torrent of crimson-black blood gushing forth in a surge of towering waves that corroded away at the foundations of the buildings surrounding it.
Everyone was stunned silent by its behavior before excitingly taking this chance to attack it all out once again.
Another couple of minutes passed with the monster doing nothing by vomiting out an amount of blood that far surpassed what its own body could contain.
You are reading story Final Apex Monster Evolution at novel35.com
This crimson-black blood flooded the city in its entirety, eventually pouring into the sea off Tokyo Bay, polluting both the sea and land.
Meanwhile, Tatsuda Kaizen, who had already died and was buried under the collapse of his own apartment building, was swept away by the sudden flood.
The monster's blood melted away his skin and flesh right down to his bones. However, through some miracle, his heart which stopped beating a few minutes ago was stimulated enough to start pumping blood through his body again. Except, what was now pumping through his veins was now a mixture of the monster's blood and his own.
Like a black hole, the surrounding blood around him weakly changed directions. Like a vacuum, his lungs frantically sucked in the crimson-black blood before flowing into his heart and then into his veins.
Technically, Kaizen was still dead, and what was happening with his body was an instinct deeply ingrained inside his DNA. As if pandora's box had finally been opened, and the secrets to the human body were unlocked.
Humanities' infinite potential was revealed at this very moment.
Time gradually passed.
Kaizen's flesh constantly tore itself apart and repaired itself back together in an endless cycle, strengthening his physique every time by a small increment.
His bones were also crushed into a fine powder before solidifying and reinforcing themselves again and again.
Every inch of his body was fighting a silent war for survival, tenaciously holding onto life, forcefully evolving himself through trial and error. The cells in his body rapidly absorbed any and all energy in their surroundings.
Thankfully, there was a nigh-infinite amount of radiation coming from a certain monster not too far from his position.
Eventually, his body which was left broken and tattered from his DNA's reconstruction started to recover at a rapid pace.
Flesh, bones, organs, spinal cord, skull, eyes, brain, nerves, veins, and skin. All were strengthened, reinforced, and improved beyond human limitations.
Rippling muscles like steel cables stretched taut across his body, bursting with power. His heart pumped violently inside his chest like a roaring dragon, vigorously pouring vitality through his into his body. Obsidian-black reptilian scales covered his body from head to toe, protecting every inch of his body. His face was covered in a featureless black mask with a smooth surface. Thin blade-like plates rested on his head mimicking hair, faintly glowing a dim purple light.
Tatsuda Kaizen laid flat on the ground, his head resting on a palm-sized stone, breathing rhythmically and soundlessly sleeping, unperturbed by the tremors, explosions, and roars of the battle a small distance away from him.
Suddenly, the 4-meter tall giant started shuddering for a moment until it broke out in a slight seizure followed by a sudden jolt as it stood up in confusion, scanning its surroundings with a blank gaze.
Kaizen, who had returned from death, landed his gaze upon the horrific monster the size of a large mountain, fighting against the Japanese Self Defense Forces.
Realization struck him as his mind became incomparably clear, dispelling the doubts and lingering emotions.
Looking down at his raised hands which now looked like ferocious claws, he froze for a moment before clenching them into fists.
Power continued to accumulate within his fists. Kaizen swung his fist in a casual jab, releasing the power contained.
BANG!
The barely standing six-story building collapsed under the immense strength of his fist.
"..."
Honestly speaking, he was a little shocked by his own strength, and a little excited as well, but quickly turned indifferent. Even if he now had immense strength, it didn't change the fact that his only reason for living still wasn't beside him in this life.
Taking one final glance at the giant monster and the flying missiles that bombarded it, Kaizen's cold gaze lingered on the body of the monster for a long time, instinctually attracted to it.
He shook his head, quickly leaving the city, escaping toward Tokyo Bay, disappearing into the now polluted sea.