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Chapter 59: Birthday Song - Part 6

A room sealed by concrete and steel plates, without a single window.

At its center stood a small glass-enclosed chamber.

And within that chamber, bound to a tilted bed, was a man.

A man with reddish hair.

The man, still restrained, darted his wide eyes back and forth.

Because the bed was tilted upright, he could be clearly seen from where we were.

Two prison officers stood on either side of him.

...The man was a death row inmate.

His arms and legs were tightly restrained.

A tube was connected to his left arm, leading to a large machine.

The machine had several cylinders extending from it, each filled with a pale green liquid.

Execution by lethal injection—this was the method of capital punishment in this country.

『We will now proceed with the execution of Cletus Kasady.』

A mechanical voice rang out from the speaker.

At the same time, one of the prison officers beside him addressed Kasady.

“Any last words?”

Kasady lifted his head and looked toward us—the spectators beyond the glass.

Present here were members of law enforcement... and the families of the victims he had killed.

Yet even though his gaze turned in our direction... it felt like he wasn’t truly seeing anything.

There was a quiet madness in his eyes. Someone let out a small gasp, as if overcome by fear.

Then, Kasady spoke.

“It’s my birthday today. You’re welcome to celebrate.”

His sudden words made the prison officer glare at him.

“It’s not your damn birthday.”

“Oh, isn’t it? Cletus Kasady may die here... but something new is going to be born.”

“...What exactly is being born?”

“I don’t even know myself... Right now, I’m a forbidden Pandora’s box. Who knows what’s inside me now... human organs, or perhaps... heh.”

Thinking it was just more rambling nonsense, the officer sighed.

Then he glanced toward the second officer, who nodded and pulled down a lever by the wall.

The machine connected to Kasady whirred to life.

The drug-filled cylinders slowly drained.

At the same time, Kasady’s face twisted in response.

“Oooh... I feel like singing... what a rush.”

The two prison officers ignored him and stepped back.

Kasady’s body jolted violently, the straps binding his arms straining with a loud creak.

The onlookers collectively held their breath.

Everyone here wished for this wicked murderer’s death.

And yet... I felt it.

This whole thing was abnormal.

Everyone—absolutely everyone in this sealed room—was wishing for a human being’s death.

A chamber swirling with murderous intent.

Honestly... it made me feel sick.

Kasady rolled his eyes back and began frothing red bubbles from his mouth.

Even through the glass, the sound of him choking could be heard.

...I grew suspicious.

This wasn’t the first execution I had witnessed.

The drugs used weren’t supposed to cause symptoms like this.

The law clearly stated: “Capital punishment must not inflict physical suffering on the body.”

Something was wrong—

Yes, just like Kasady had said.

A forbidden Pandora’s—

Crack!

A dull sound rang out as the restraints holding Kasady burst apart.

First his arms.

Then his legs.

Eventually, he slipped off the bed and landed on all fours on the ground.

Seeing this, the two prison officers drew their sidearms.

They aimed directly at Kasady’s head as he crouched on the floor.

I looked to the end of the tube still connected to him.

The cylinder was completely empty.

There was no doubt—the execution had been carried out.

And yet, the man who had been injected with a lethal dose far exceeding the fatal limit... the man who should have been dead... was groaning.

Kasady... lifted his head.

His eyes were bloodshot and blazing red.

Blood gushed endlessly from his nose and mouth.

There was no sanity, no trace of life—only madness remained.

Then... he began crawling toward us, placing his hand against the glass...

A gunshot rang out.

A split second later, screams followed.

It was one of the prison officers, unable to withstand the terror of what he was seeing—he had fired.

A hole opened in Kasady’s forehead, blood trickling from it.

But the glass that separated us from them was reinforced.

No cracks. No damage. Not even a bullet mark.

Thud. As Kasady’s corpse collapsed against the glass... something began.

Kasady’s skin turned a deep red, and blood erupted outward.

No... that’s not right.

What is that?

Is that blood?

Something red—and viscous—splattered against the glass.

Whatever it was, it blocked our view of what was happening inside.

Then came a scream from one of the officers.

Several more gunshots, flashes of light.

The sound of fists pounding on glass.

The sound of something being severed.

...The sound of bodies collapsing without pattern or purpose.

That’s when I snapped out of it.

I pulled my gun from my jacket and shouted at the top of my lungs.

“Everyone, evacuate! Right now!”

Other officers and prison guards began ushering the victims' families out of the room.

Relieved as the number of people in the room slowly decreased, I took a step toward the glass stained a deep, bloody red—

Happy birthday... to... you...

It was a voice—no, it was more like a shriek, or a distorted screech—hoarse, cracked, like no human could ever produce.

Happy birthday... to... you...

No... That’s not right.

Those aren’t words.

It’s a song.

A birthday song.

The glass, stained red with some horrific “something,” began to crack.

I took a step back in fear.

The others around me were backing away, too.

In this nightmare of a world, a song echoed through the air.

Happy birthday... dear—

And then, the glass shattered.

The lid of hell had been flung open.

Something red, nearly two meters tall, loomed over us.

It revealed itself.

“The Massacre... Carnage...”

It was a grotesque, insane form—so twisted it was hard to even comprehend.

Its tar-like skin was a filthy, deep red, as though its own organs had been turned inside out... and its eyes were massive, white, and slanted sharply upward.

Across its body, black vein-like structures bulged beneath the surface.

A monster.

A creature from a nightmare.

“Uwaaaaahhh!?”

A young police officer screamed and opened fire.

At the same time, I—and everyone else around me—fired at the monster.

Our hands shook with terror, and some bullets struck the lights or the execution machinery by mistake.

The creature staggered backward.

One of the machine’s pipes was punctured, letting out a stream of white smoke.

With the lighting broken, the back of the glass-paneled execution chamber grew dark, shrouded in shadow.

The monster disappeared into the smoke and darkness.

…Did we get it?

My thoughts were paralyzed by fear… but deep inside, I wished desperately for this nightmare to be over… One young officer cautiously stepped closer to the execution room…

Suddenly, from the smoke and darkness, a tentacle lashed out.

It seized the officer’s leg and dragged him to the ground.

“N-No! Nooo!”

Screaming, he was dragged away into the darkness.

Even with his face contorted in terror, even trying to resist—it was all in vain.

“Burke!”

I shouted the name of the officer who’d been taken as I aimed my gun toward the darkness.

…No good!

Now that he’d been captured, firing blindly meant there was a risk I’d hit him instead.

Should I shoot? Or not? I hesitated—just for an instant—

Suddenly, the emergency lights in the execution chamber flickered on.

And what we saw—

A headless corpse—

And the red monster, chewing on something.

That was the breaking point.

There’s a limit to how much fear a person can endure.

And we had just witnessed something that far exceeded that limit.

That monster—was trying to eat us.

It made perfect sense, really.

Predator and prey.

Would a zebra ever charge at a lion?

Of course not.

It runs.

That’s the wisest choice.

“Uwaaaaaaahh!?”

One by one, people began to flee.

Crying, choking on sobs, their faces twisted in terror.

Screaming, No! Please! Why!? as they ran.

But who could blame them?

Faced with a monster like that… who wouldn’t run?

“D-Dammit!”

With trembling legs, I forced myself to stand and aimed my gun at the monster.

Before I knew it, everyone else had disappeared.

The red monster noticed me. Step by step, it started approaching.

I fired.

The bullet hit its body.

But it didn’t care. It kept coming.

I fired again.

This time, a direct hit to the head.

Even so, it paid no mind and kept coming.

Click. Click.

By the time I realized the magazine was empty… it was already too late.

“Ah… ugh… wa…”

A strangled sound escaped my throat.

My body was being crushed with immense pressure.

A tentacle, extended by the red monster, had wrapped tightly around me.

Just like that, I was lifted into the air.

“Hello, George Stacy…”

The monster spoke my name.

“H-Huh…!?”

Gasping for breath, I struggled, trying to break free from the tentacle.

In response, the grip tightened.

With bone-grinding force, it squeezed me.

“Ugh… guhh…”

“I’m grateful to you, you know. Really.”

“Wh…at…?”

“If you hadn’t caught me, I never would’ve become this. And I’ve never felt better, George Stacy.”

That voice… that tone—I recognized it.

“Y-You… Cassidy…?”

“No… I’m not.”

It grinned—a vicious, merciless grin that didn’t even attempt to hide its cruelty.

“I am… no, I am The Massacre—Carnage.

“Carnage…?”

“Yes… the last nightmare you’ll ever see.”

The red monster—no, Carnage—licked its lips.

Fear.

The fear of being eaten alive.

The fear of unimaginable pain.

And… the fear of dying and leaving my daughter behind.

That broke me.

Along with my tears, my pride, my sense of duty, my justice, my identity—everything spilled out of me and drained away.

“P-Please… Cassidy, don’t kill me…”

“…Why not?”

“I… I have a daughter… she’s waiting for me to come home…”

“…I see. Then—”

Squelch.

The sound of something piercing into my gut.

A searing, overwhelming pain.

“Die. You’re not even worth eating.”

I couldn’t even form words—blood surged up and filled my mouth.

Released from the tentacle, I collapsed onto the ground.

I tried to curl up, to hold my stomach.

But my body wouldn’t move.

Slowly, death crept closer.

In my fading vision, I saw the red monster.

What crossed my mind was my daughter’s—Gwen’s—face.

She would be so devastated.

After my wife passed, I’d raised her on my own.

Even if I’m gone… she’ll survive. She’ll go on.

But still…

To not even see her in a wedding dress someday—

What kind of father…?

What… am I…

My vision was swallowed by darkness.

I sank into the void, a darkness I would never awaken from again.


“Eh…?”

In front of me, Gwen was staring at the TV in shock.

Just moments ago, we’d been celebrating my and Peter’s birthday together… and now, all the lightheartedness had vanished.

I turned my eyes to the TV as well.

“Earlier this morning, death row inmate and serial killer Cletus Kasady escaped from Ryker’s Island Prison. Thirty-eight police officers and staff at the scene were killed.”

…To be honest, it should’ve been news that had nothing to do with us.

Incidents like this happen all the time in New York.

And usually, Spider-Man or some other superhero takes care of it.

I reached out and lightly tugged on Gwen’s sleeve.

“Gwen, what’s wrong?”

I asked her.

“D-Dad… He went to Ryker’s today… I… I can’t…”

I gasped.

Maybe… I’d made a terrible mistake.

Even if the case is resolved later—those who were lost don’t come back.

What was I thinking?

What the hell was I thinking?

“G-Gwen… it’s okay. I’m sure…”

“B-But… But…!”

The names of the victims appeared on the TV screen.

Among them was one I knew very well.

George Stacy.
Fallen in the line of duty.

“…Ah…”

Gwen stared at the TV, completely dazed.

Ned looked lost, unsure of what to do, flustered and confused.

Peter was glaring at the screen, his face contorted with sorrow and pain.

And me.

What should I do?

How can I possibly comfort her?

I didn’t know anymore—and I tried to take Gwen’s hand…

“Please… just let me be alone for a while.”

I didn’t know what to do with my hand.

But I knew she’d turned me away.

“…Okay.”

I nodded and gave her some space.

“…Sorry… Michelle… I really appreciate it, I do.”

Gwen was crying uncontrollably, her expression still hollow. I didn’t want to leave her alone. But if she pushed me away any more than this… I wouldn’t be able to take it.

Cowardly, I left her.

Left Gwen alone in her house.

Ned and Peter, too, left the house as if they’d been driven out.

…Right now, in this city—New York—there’s a man roaming free.

The man who killed Gwen’s father, George.

But to slaughter every officer and guard in a prison alone… and then escape?

There’s no doubt—he’s a villain with special powers.

Back at the apartment, Peter glanced at me as we stood in front of my room.

“Michelle, it’s dangerous out there… You should stay inside today.”

“Got it. You too, Peter. Don’t go out.”

“Of course.”

…Liar.

He’s lying.

Peter will definitely go after the escaped death row inmate.

As Spider-Man.

As this city’s friendly neighborhood hero.

And I will, too.

After parting ways with Peter, I sat down on my bed.

In my hand was my phone.

Reflected in the pitch-black screen was my own miserable face.

Fear. Terror.

Anger. Pity.

And conflict.

I focused my hearing.

I could sense it—from the next room, Spider-Man slipping out.

…I turned on my phone and dialed a number.

Then held it to my ear.

After a few rings—

Someone picked up.

I closed my eyes—and switched my mindset.

“I have a job for you.”

I slowly opened my eyes.

Michelle Jane—Gwen’s schoolmate—was no longer here.

The one here now—

I am—

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