Pop~!
The ogre's head made the sound of a can being opened. The top of its skull flew off, struck the wall by the headboard, then fell to the floor.
The scalp and flesh attached to the bone cap softened the impact.
The sound it made when it landed was not particularly crisp. It merely rolled over and landed on the head of the foot-tall teddy bear beside it.
Ivan lowered his head to look at the ogre's brain. Its intact, goose-egg-sized brain matter was exposed to the air just like that.
He could even see the black filaments within it constantly writhing, as though they were transmitting neural signals and expressing the ogre's current thoughts.
"They say you are what you eat!"
"You ate so many people, yet your brain is only this big. What a disappointment!"
"You're only wasting food by staying alive, so let me help you."
"I'll be gentle and quick, I swear!"
Under the ogre's large, now-clear eyes filled with pleading, Ivan extended both hands.
The shadow of his arms slowly grew larger in the ogre's pupils. Then its gaze completely lost its light and was no longer lively.
Beside him, Andrei opened a plastic bag. The adult ogre's brain was carefully placed inside, right next to the young ogre's brain matter.
"Oh, father and son reunited. What a heartwarming sight." Ivan pursed his lips.
Andrei did not say anything. He knew this was a way to vent emotional pressure. Although neither of them had directly confronted the ogres before—
The tension of facing a predator had been a hundred times more thrilling than a life-or-death match in a game.
Even when they had been hiding in the second-floor loft, he had felt as though he was holding his breath to the point of suffocation.