(M) Chapter 18 – No Escape
Main Story 1, Chapter 6, Part 2
Novel Title: 獣はかくして交わる (The Beasts Intertwine This Way)
Author：沙野 風結子 (Fuyuko Sano)
Illustrator：小山田 あみ (Oyamada Ami)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: 鹿倉 陣也 (Kagura Jinya -MC) & ゼロ (Zero -ML)
*Please read at knoxt.space, the original site of translation. TQ*
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⚠️TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains depictions of non-consensual sexual act. Readers’ discretion is advised.
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With both thumbs bound tightly by something narrow, likely a zip tie, he struggled, trying to throw off the man pinning him, but Zero sat on his lower back, restricting his movements. His coat was flipped up, and Zero’s hand slipped over his abdomen, pulling out the belt from his slacks. The belt was wrapped around his neck and threaded through the buckle.
The message was clear―――Zero could kill him at any time.
When he awoke in the bed, his entire body felt stiff. Zero was already gone.
A thin light seeped through a gap in the curtains. Glancing at the clock by the headboard, he saw it was six.
He remembered Zero dragging him from the living room to the bedroom sometime after midnight.
The last time he checked the clock while being violated, it had read 2:30 a.m. Although they hadn’t been connected the entire time, Zero hadn’t let go of him even once.
Somewhere in the blur of pleasure and pain, his consciousness had faded.
“…Damn.”
Naked, Kagura climbed out of bed. Still feeling a dull ache and lingering sensation as if something thick was still inside him, he gritted his teeth as he steadied himself and headed for the living room.
His coat, shoes, and everything he’d worn the night before were strewn across the floor.
Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out his phone.
There were no messages from Xuan.
An uneasy feeling crept into his chest. Had she found out he hadn’t made it to their meeting spot, realising he had slipped away? Was she safe?
Forcing his aching body to move, Kagura washed away the grime in the shower, threw on his civilian clothes, and hopped on his bike. He couldn’t help but head to Ichikawa before reporting to work to check on things directly.
Riding his bike along the Edogawa River after crossing the bridge, Kagura glanced down at the riverbank and blinked. Police officers in both uniform and plain clothes were milling about. Onlookers stood just outside the restricted area.
It was the area where he was supposed to meet Xuan last night.
―――Could it be… something happened to Xuan…?
His heart clenched.
Kagura parked his bike, rushed over to the perimeter, and grabbed a college-age bystander by the arm, questioning him urgently.
“What happened?”
The young man, taken aback, responded with a startled look.
“Uh, someone got shot. With a gun.”
“Was the victim a girl?”
“No, a businessman, apparently.”
Upon hearing it wasn’t Xuan, Kagura felt his strength drain from him.
Then, a new possibility dawned on him.
“When did this happen?”
“There were people tweeting about hearing gunshots around ten last night, so maybe by then?”
The young man answered, then, as if wanting to escape from Kagura’s grip, shook him off and hurried away.
“Ten o’clock…”
He wanted to know more details, but without his police badge on him, and with the possibility that Rong Lan’s members might be monitoring nearby, he avoided approaching the officers. Adjusting his scarf to cover the lower half of his face, he climbed back onto his bike and left the scene.
10:00 p.m. last night. That was the exact time he was supposed to meet Xuan.
After returning to his apartment, changing into his suit, and heading to the precinct, he found that information about the incident was already circulating. A businessman, sobering up with a walk along the riverbank, had been shot from a distance with a rifle. The victim was in critical condition, and the shooting bore the marks of a professional familiar with handling rifles.
It was almost certain that Rong Lan members had targeted Kagura, knowing he would be there.
“I’m… sorry… I’m so sorry.”
The memory of Xuan’s tearful voice on the phone echoed in his mind.
…Most likely, by the time she made that call, Xuan had already intended to set him up.
It seemed Rong Lan had tracked down the man visiting Xuan at the general store and decided to eliminate him.
Even though Xuan had probably lured him there with full knowledge of the situation, Kagura couldn’t bring himself to resent her.
―――She had no choice.
It was he who had driven her into that situation.
He now realised he needed to get Xuan officially protected as soon as possible.
If only he hadn’t let personal feelings cloud his judgement and had reported to his superiors once he had proof, he could have spared Xuan unnecessary suffering.
“You’re not thinking clearly right now. So, I’ll make the decision for you. Don’t meet that girl Xuan again. Do your job properly as a detective.”
Zero had been right.
And then, he remembered something else Zero had said.
“I’ll be the one to protect you.”
If Zero hadn’t forcibly stopped him last night, he would have gone to the riverbank and been shot.
Zero had saved his life.
―――But how did he know everything as if he’d seen it coming?
No matter how skilled a freelance journalist Zero was at gathering information, it was strange that he’d known even about last night.
However, setting aside that question for the moment, Kagura reported to Takizaki that the Eastern Alliance and Rong Lan were colluding to smuggle minors into the country and forcing them into human trafficking, and that Machida Shogo, who had been murdered, had been investigating this story.
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*Translator’s Note: Well, Zero could have told Kagura that his life is in danger instead of violating him, right? I think his jealousy and possessiveness are what had driven him to assault Kagura like that. -K
Next update: 2025.09.21
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