"Go on," Rei Ao asked at his leisure. "What do you want? To bring some specific person back? Or…?"
He was genuinely curious what Eto Yoshimura had in mind.
Eto shook her head. A near-fanatical fire kindled in her kakugan. She spoke clearly, word by word:
"I don't want to change one person's life or death.
"I want to change the current, twisted stalemate of despair—ghouls and humans set against each other, grinding each other down.
"I want to spark an unprecedented transformation and break this cursed cycle.
"For ghouls, and for the humans dragged into this, I want to open a brand-new path where we can coexist."
"!!!"
Yomo Renji, Irimi Kaya, and Koma Enji all stared in utter shock. They had always thought Aogiri Tree was an extreme, violence-worshipping group that ruled by fear—never imagining its leader's true goal was this grand, even… idealistic.
Even Yoshimura Kuzen lifted his head, his aged eyes full of astonishment and disbelief. His daughter harbored ambitions like this?
Just then, the long-silent Arima Kishou pushed up his glasses and spoke calmly: "That is the goal I share with the new One-Eyed King. To achieve it, I am willing to make a deal with you as well—using my limited life and everything I can offer."
Rei Ao waved a hand as if he'd heard something distasteful. "Sorry, I'll pass. I'm not interested in men—especially half-dead men."
Arima: "…"
A hairline crack seemed to appear in that icy mask of his.
Eto narrowed her eyes at Rei Ao. "It seems, Rei Ao-sama, you're the sort who doesn't mind a 'monster' like me, yet you're quite picky about men."
She paused, then pressed him again: "So—will you accept my deal? Are you truly confident you can do something that practically changes the world?"
She stared hard at him, trying to spot the faintest hesitation or exaggeration. All she saw was a loose, even slightly bored smile—like what she'd asked for was trivial.
"Change how ghouls and humans live? That's it?" Rei Ao chuckled. "Your deal is child's play."
He snapped his fingers.
A phantom contract, gleaming gold and visible only to him and Eto, slowly unfurled in midair.
"Then the deal is sealed."
A flash of light—and the contract turned into a streak that sank into Eto's brow. The mad One-Eyed Owl had just staked herself on a wager of a deal with an unknowable being.
As the contract's glow faded from Eto's vision, a strange sense of binding, tightly linked to her soul, quietly took shape—an unseen reminder that she had pawned herself to something beyond imagining.
Rei Ao regarded her, unhurried. What to others might be a world-upending bargain was, to him, nothing out of the ordinary. He asked lightly, "All right, with the deal sealed—what's the implementation plan? How do you want to change the current ghoul–human situation? If you like, I can offer a few ready-made options for reference."
He raised long fingers and listed them as casually as if reciting a menu:
"Plan One: simple and direct.
"I can erase all humans from the earth in an instant—or erase all ghouls.
"One and done; the conflict ends at the root."
"Plan Two: biological re-engineering.
"I can convert all humans into ghouls—then everyone's on the same side, no more food-chain conflict. Or the reverse: turn all ghouls into ordinary humans. They'd lose their power, but at least live like normal people."
His tone was utterly even. To everyone else in the café, the words landed like thunder from the ninth heaven.
Erase all humans—or all ghouls—in an instant?! Turn every human into a ghoul, or every ghoul into a human?!
What kind of insane, horrifying options were these?
"…"
The Antique café fell deathly silent. The air itself seemed to congeal; you could hear a pin drop. Yoshimura, Yomo, Irimi, Koma— even the ever-impassive Arima—stared in shock and disbelief.
More than one mouth hung open as they looked at Rei Ao. In that moment he seemed less like a man and more like some nameless thing from the abyss wearing human skin.
Could anyone really say such things so lightly? And could it actually be done?
Power like that could hardly be called mere "power." It was… divine authority. Or a demon's idle jest.
Even Eto's kakugan constricted, clearly not expecting options so extreme and terrifying—far beyond her wildest imaginings.
After a stunned heartbeat, Touka was the first to come to. Almost without thinking, with a hint of urgent hope, she blurted, "Y-you mean turning ghouls into humans? If that's the case…"
If they could return to being human, there'd be no more fear, no more hunger; they could live like ordinary people. It sounded like the best ending—didn't it?
"Not enough."
The cold, hoarse voice cut her off like a blade. Eto.
She turned and fixed Touka with that single, chilling eye—full of scorn and the message, "you're too naïve."
"You think just turning ghouls back into humans would end all this twisted mess? That the world would suddenly become wonderful?"
~~~
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