Qi lässt sich leicht weitergeben

Kapitel 91

"Foolish! Does that mean only those with all five limbs intact are human? No matter what parts of the body are missing, as long as there is life, a human is a human! The dignity of life remains unchanged. Kanako only had her injured parts removed! Even if it's just for a second, a doctor's job is to do everything possible to prolong life."

"Mr. Mimasaka!"

Kyogoku-do shouted loudly.

“Your argument is correct, and I agree with your viewpoint and do not intend to refute it. However, you have shifted the question.”

Mimasaka was quietly filled with excitement.

Kiba stood tall with a fierce expression.

Kyogoku-do took two or three steps toward Kiba.

"Uncle Kiba should retract his words. Please consider a mother's desire for her daughter to live, no matter what she becomes. Look at Miss Yoko, can you still say what you just said?"

Kiba did as instructed and looked at Yoko.

Yoko, curled up in a ball—this newly emerged butterfly—is still gazing at the hospital bed where Kanako once lay.

"I believe there will be objections to Professor Mimasaka's medical practices. That's a matter of interpretation, not relevant to the present. Aoki, Toriguchi, and Fukumoto, you all seem to have been greatly affected, but that's the reality. We must now face this medical practice and this reality to discuss the issue. This shouldn't be the topic of discussion right now."

"Kyogoku-do, is that right!"

"Sekiguchi, you're the same. What he's doing is medical procedure; it's pointless to try and find something horrific in it. We shouldn't bring values into science. If you see disgusting illusions in it, it's just that you've injected your own inner filth into the characterless framework of science. That's just who you are!"

What I... want to see is...

What is a demon?

After hearing Kyogoku-do's words, Aoki regained his composure.

“You’re right. Mr. Chuzenji is right, I got too emotional—I’m sorry. But even if this is normal medical practice, there are still things I can’t understand. Why must the severed limbs be discarded?”

Kyogoku-do remained expressionless.

“It wasn’t discarded. The right hand falling was just an accident. But the left hand was going to be used as material for a threatening letter—right, Ms. Yoko?”

"A threatening letter? You...you just said you wanted to use it as proof of Kanako's survival after being kidnapped?"

Masuoka forced himself to cheer up.

"Kyogoku-do, but why can that be considered evidence that he is alive?"

"Yes, that's possible, right, Ms. Yoko?"

Yangzi nodded. What kind of mechanism is involved?

"The threatening letter would likely have Kanako's left handprint on it—no, it would probably have her fingers cut off one by one and sent over—that would be better as evidence of her survival. I think that was their original plan. Remember, Kanako's fingerprints can be confirmed by the fingerprint in her forehead—"

"—That's right."

Kiba said with a sour face.

"Then we can be certain. Suzaki originally intended to do this, didn't he?"

Kyogoku-do stared at Mimasaka.

“Mr. Chuzenji, but isn’t this pointless? This kind of action doesn’t serve as evidence of survival. No matter how incompetent the police are, they can still determine whether the cut was made after death or while the person was still alive.”

"That's what Masuoka said," Aoki added.

"Yes. If Suzaki's method of prolonging life is haphazard, or if Suzaki himself planned it with Kanako's death as the premise, as Yoko-san claims, then doing so would be a foolish act. No, even if Kanako wasn't dead before this—hadn't her hand already been severed? Even if the fingers were further severed from the severed arm, no signs of life could be detected on the cut surface, so—"

“That’s right. Sending something like this would only prove the prisoner is dead, wouldn’t it? This plan is doomed to fail.”

"That is generally true."

Kyogoku-do moved silently to the graveyard of the box.

"But, Mr. Mimasaka, I remember you once conducted an experiment during the war to keep the fingers of soldiers who had been severed in an accident during a training exercise alive. That time—I think they survived for eight days?"

"You really only remember these trivial things. It was just—a game. And I didn't use—that method."

"Is that so? So this is Suzaki's idea?"

"Kyogoku-do, what exactly happened? Please explain clearly. Is there really a way to keep a severed arm alive?"

I started to feel uneasy again.

A living arm? If such a thing really exists—I—

Yangzi said:

"Yes. He—and said very proudly—that was the key point. He said that if anything happened, as long as his hand was still alive, there would be no problem—"

Sure enough, the living arm exists! So—

"A living, live arm?"

Aoki let out a strange cry.

Kyogoku-do questions Mimasaka.

"Professor, what do you think? If a limb continues to maintain life activities after being cut off, should that arm be considered alive or dead? If a finger is cut off from that arm, it's an assault if the limb is alive, and a desecration of a corpse if the limb is dead."

Deep bass. The sound of the enclosure operating.

"As long as life activities are maintained, even if it is only a part of the human body, it is not considered dead. But that is not a human being, but a human hand."

"I see."

"An arm is still alive the instant it is severed, even without any treatment. But even if that instant is extended to a minute, and that minute to a day, the arm is still just an arm. Even if it can maintain life activities, as long as it lacks the subjectivity of a living organism, it is not a living being—that is to say, it is not human. Therefore, this kind of research for the sake of research is utterly foolish research. It is a technique that can only be used for low-level behaviors such as threats and intimidation. I have absolutely no interest in this kind of technology! Foolish."

Mimasaka cast a disdainful glance at the void.

It seems that the object of this gaze is his beloved disciple.

"Is it really possible?!"

"I can't believe it," Masuoka said in surprise.

"Is this what Suzaki meant by 'the method of sustaining one's own life'?"

When asked by Kyogoku-do, Mimasaka responded very honestly for some reason.

"Chuzenji, Suzaki is indeed conducting research on sustaining life in a part of the human body, just as you said. Immersed in a culture medium and connected to minimal mechanical support, he barely keeps the body alive—this technology was originally developed for the long-distance transport of organs for transplantation. But, including live transplants, I long ago lost interest in these kinds of studies. Susaki's research on sustaining life in an arm is meaningless. It's a meaningless life. What makes humans human is consciousness. But Suzaki has taken up the research I abandoned—he says that using this technology might extend the child's life for a while—about a month. He suggests that as long as funds are raised during this time, she can be restored to her original state later. I don't agree with this method because the success rate is extremely low."

"But you still joined the plan in the end! All that sweet talk, all you wanted in the end was money!"

Kiba spoke with his back to him, almost spitting out his own saliva.

Mimasaka ignored Kiba's statement.

Kiba became even more excited when he saw Mimasaka ignoring him.

"Didn't you say that even if she only had an arm, she was still alive? Cutting off her fingers one by one would be proof that Kanako was alive! Is that what a doctor should do?! No, is that what a human being should do?! Kanako isn't your granddaughter?!

Kiba is heating up again.

The vibrations of this building have heated its interior countless times.

"It has absolutely no relation to that. Indeed, what Suzaki wants to do is a scientific experiment, but it's not a medical procedure; it's just a pointless game, so I have no interest in it whatsoever. But at the same time, I feel no sadness whatsoever. As I just said, even if it's still alive, it's not human; it's just a human arm. Even if it was originally human, even if it's a living being related to me by blood, these facts have nothing to do with the act itself. Besides, after being separated from the brain, even if it's still alive, cutting or stabbing it won't hurt. I'm just saying that Suzaki picked up the part I discarded."

Mimasaka then turned his disdainful gaze, which had been directed at Suzaki, toward Kiba and said this.

"Don't you feel any guilt?"

Aoki said.

I don't think Mimasaka has this concept.

Kyogoku-do is right; science is an empty box.

What value can be found and utilized depends on the user's mindset.

But the monster Mimasaka Koshiro was too close to the box—

Instead, it became the box itself.

Therefore, everyone who became involved with Mimasaka saw their own darkness reflected in it.

Therefore, he trembled with fear.

Kyogoku-do said:

“Aoki, you shouldn’t judge this man by the standards of guilt or human feelings. Doing so will only leave you with a terrible aftertaste. That’s what a demon is.”

This is—the Wraith

What does this mean?

"Wasn't the right hand, both feet—and the waist—discarded later? Was that an accident or something else?"

Torikokuchi asked the question as if he were talking to himself.

"I mentioned this before; it wasn't abandonment but a water burial. She was buried in the place Kanako wanted to go before she was injured—performed personally by Mr. Amamiya, who held deep love for her."

"Amamiya?"

By the way, Amamiya's whereabouts are still unknown.

But nobody mentioned him, why?

"No matter what her daughter looks like, Miss Yoko wants her to live, but Amamiya and Uncle Kiba just felt very similarly; he couldn't bear to see Kanako's pitiful state any longer. You could sense a different kind of feeling from him than Miss Yoko feels towards her daughter—that must be right?"

Yangzi recalled.

“That person—Amamiya—maybe he loved Kanako even more than I did. He said several times—if she was going to die anyway, he'd rather she die beautifully. I thought I was mentally prepared, but in the end, I couldn't give up. Didn't Mr. Masuoka come here? It was the day Mr. Kiba came to visit for the second time. At that time—you inquired about Kanako's condition, right?”

"Yes, I did ask. I heard you say it would take another month to recover, but it turns out there are only ten days left. That's outrageous fraud."

Masuoka was much calmer now, perhaps because the emotions around him had become too high.

"I'm not lying!"

Mimasaka said sternly.

"What I'm telling you is—in another month, if your condition is still good, your clouded consciousness will recover. If the experiment had continued, your consciousness would have returned to normal long ago."

“That’s not the problem. I’m saying—you knew perfectly well that she was going to die, but you didn’t tell me.”

“When you came, there was still hope to keep her alive. I heard about the inheritance from Yoko, so I thought there was still hope. As long as there are funds, we can keep her alive as long as we want.”

"But I also mentioned that Mr. Yaohong was in good health at that time—ah, I only said that before I left, and I told it to Ms. Yangzi secretly—ah."

Masuoka let out a deep sigh.

"I should have mentioned this first."