In the curtain of rain, the sounds of fighting gradually faded—the battle had reached its end.
"Almost forgot, I haven't had my appetizer yet!"
The old man with disheveled hair grinned with a sickly expression.
"First Class Mado?"
"Ignore me—kill her, kill them first..."
Kureo Mado suddenly broke free from his colleague's support.
His body, already pushed beyond its limits by injury, exhaustion, and old age, immediately lost balance and crumpled into the filthy puddles.
The brief but intense skirmish had left the wide alley's walls nearly collapsed, looking like they'd been chewed by a dog. Aside from a few unlucky storefronts, the surrounding ground was littered with building rubble, ghoul body parts, and blood-soaked debris.
Paying no mind to his bedraggled state or the grime on his body, Kureo Mado staggered to his feet.
He looked toward a pile of off-white bricks in the corner and muttered as he reached for the centipede-linked Quinque lying submerged in the sewage—but,
"Dad!"
Seeing this, Akira Mado quickly handed the new Rc cell suppressant spray she had acquired from Dr. Kouitsu Chigyou to a nearby Rank-1 Investigator from the 1st Ward. While signaling for others to check out the corner, she hurried over.
Pulling aside the so-called "Fueguchi One" Quinque, she helped her father up and scolded him with a frown:
"Dad, your mission is over."
Akira Mado carefully examined her father's condition. The bandages wrapped around his arms and legs were again seeping blood—clearly, the wounds had reopened. She immediately pulled him firmly and called for CCG medics to take him away.
"Right now, you need proper rest and recovery. As for the security issues in the 20th Ward, leave them to Associate Special Class Russell."
She spoke sternly.
"No, Akira—listen to me first. There are still two ghouls there. One female, one small one..."
Kureo Mado smiled grotesquely, gesturing erratically toward the off-white Kagune half-buried under the collapsed bricks.
Perhaps hearing his words—clatter—the coiled off-white Kagune seemed to shudder. Some bricks fell.
Earlier, amidst the chaos of battle, the noise had masked everything. But now in the silence, many investigators could clearly hear the muffled sobs of a child from within.
"Is it a civilian?"
"Unclear."
"No response to hailing. Have we confirmed the missing investigators' identities?"
"Yes—Rank-1 Amon Koutarou, Yasunori Nakajima, and Kusaba..."
Clack, buzz—guns were raised, Quinques readied. Several investigators exchanged words when suddenly, a soft female voice came from within the coiled Kagune:
"They're here. They're not in mortal danger..."
"Ha, still alive? Mrs. Ryouko Fueguchi—you actually didn't flee in the chaos. Truly surprising... 'Jason' and 'Nico' are both dead. A perfect operation, Akira."
Kureo Mado chuckled like a night owl.
"Do you think using Amon as a hostage will make us spare you?"
Just as he was about to continue mocking—clang—the pile of rubble was lifted by four unfolding wing-like panels of off-white, massive Koukaku Kagune, revealing within a mother and daughter embracing—and—
"Rank-1 Amon! Nakajima, and Kusaba..."
Some investigators immediately recognized the figures lying on the ground and cried out in shock.
For those who made a living at the CCG, the death or mutilation of investigators by ghouls was nothing out of the ordinary. What shocked them was that a ghoul had protected investigators—a scenario straight out of fantasy.
On the ground, Rank-1 Investigator Amon Koutarou was unconscious. Aside from a few bruises and being soaked, there were no signs of him having been eaten. Yasutomo Nakajima and Kusaba, both still conscious, showed no intention of attacking the female ghoul. In fact, their expressions were indescribable. Judging by their position, it seemed the ghoul's Koukaku had shielded them from being crushed by the collapsed wall.
"I'm truly surprised."
Kureo Mado was the first to react, his wide eyes—one large, one small—still brimming with malice, bulging further with excitement.
"A mother discarding her life for her child, even willing to endure humiliation and betray her own kind? Disgusting. Laughable. You ghouls mimicking humans... Do you think using Amon and my subordinates' lives can barter for your own?"
Ryouko Fueguchi remained silent, clutching the trembling Hinami tightly. In a hollow voice, she asked, "Is it possible?"
If she could, of course she would want Hinami to escape. But she couldn't. There was a ghoul war erupting all around, vicious ghouls like Jason who had engaged in cannibalism roamed freely, and CCG investigators swarmed the area. The moment they moved—they'd be seen. Certain death.
She was just a housewife.
Staying put might still hold a chance. She hadn't expected that in just the few minutes they'd been hiding, the battle would already be over before an escape opportunity arose…
"Hahaha... Of course not! If you've got the guts, go ahead and kill Amon..."
Just as Kureo Mado prepared to crush the last bit of hope from the Fueguchi mother and daughter—
A foreboding creaking noise echoed from the shattered storefront at the alley's end.
At first faint, it swelled rapidly.
"It hurts, it hurts~ Yakumo, it really hurts... What are these Doves injecting into my body? It's so swollen, so tingly, so weak..."
"Damn it! He's not an S-class!"
"I recognize him—it's Nico, a SS-class transvestite from 'Clowns'... The suppressant won't hold him..."
"Alert Associate Special Class Russell immediately—we can't hold much longer!"
Akira Mado rushed over again, bombarding the twisted figure pinned to the wall by a black spear inside the store with every type of new suppressant round and Rc cell inhibitor spray she had.
Before Kureo Mado could shift his attention back to the Fueguchi mother and daughter—
BOOM! The wall cracked.
Under everyone's gaze, coarse, sawblade-like Kagune began swelling and spreading from the figure, bursting through the outer wall. Shards of glass, bricks, wood beams—an entire cascade of shop debris was flung outward.
"Hissss... Pain, it hurts, it hurts so much... My body feels like it's being torn apart by thorns, like centipedes crawling up my spine... Yes, this feeling, it's perfect, absolutely perfect... She must be my soulmate—I must eat her. I must eat her. Eat her, eat her, eat her..."
This time, the deep, guttural voice was Jason. His earlier murmurs gave way to a renewed frenzy—neurotic, hysterical, slurred, and choked with drool.
BOOM! Four dark-red Kagune suddenly lashed out like steel whips, thrashing violently in all directions. Explosions followed, smoke and dust billowed. The black spear, still glowing reddish-purple through the haze, emitted a sharp, twisting screech—as though it was on the verge of being torn free.
"Ha~" The twisted figure in the smoke opened its massive maw and exhaled a foul red mist.
Akira Mado anxiously looked around. Instinctively, she stepped back—but then clenched her teeth and stepped forward. She couldn't run!
As long as they kept suppressing, there was hope. If they let these two Kakuja-tier ghouls break free, even more lives would be lost.
"Everyone, continue the suppression. These two SS-rated threats must not be allowed to escape and endanger Tokyo's civilians. Hold until Associate Special Class Russell arrives after purging the external ghoul forces. Victory will be ours!"
That back—Kureo Mado froze in place.
"Ve..."
At this moment, for the first time, Kureo Mado completely put the Fueguchi mother and daughter out of his mind. "No, no..." He once again broke free from his colleague's support, scrambling through the filthy water, crying out, "Ve..."
Ahead, the further swollen and proliferated Kagune rose even higher—thicker and larger.
"Ve!"
"Don't cause more trouble, First Class Mado." A cold female voice.
Kureo Mado suddenly realized his field of vision had shifted—tilted upward and backward. Was he flying?
No, he was being lifted!
A figure clad in black armor veined with glowing crimson cracks—like molten metal flowing beneath strained muscle—brushed past him.
Shhh! A shrill, piercing sound cut through the air, nearly bursting Kureo Mado's eardrums. Then—BOOM! A thunderous blast.
A black streak tore through the smoke, puncturing the already unstable storefront wall. Debris erupted high into the air, blotting out the view.
"That's investigator Russell."
Caught by a colleague, his mind still ringing like it had been blasted by a concert speaker, Kureo Mado barely made out the words.
Vela Adelheid…
Splurt—
The sound of blade tearing flesh. Vela violently ripped off one of Jason's lower-back Kagune.
Harnessing the kinetic energy from her charge, she kicked the rising Jason back down. Her legs pierced through the layers of Kagune like javelins.
Gripping the Black Abyss III lodged in his right chest, Vela's eyes—covered by the V-shaped visor of the Arata Proto bio-Kakuja armor—flared menacing red.
With both hands, she twisted the weapon—tip upward, hilt downward—shredding through regenerating layers of Kagune.
Then she rotated the weapon—click, crunch—ripping through skin, muscle, even bone.
From the moment it pierced flesh, the tip of Black Abyss III had already split into multiple spiral thorns. These barbed, hook-like spikes now burst inward from Jason's torso as Vela churned the shaft. The agony was unimaginable.
"AAAAAAHHHHH—!"
Even Jason let out an inhuman scream, wailing in pain.
"Ooooh~ it hurts, it hurts, it hurts so much~"
At the same time, Vela found another impaled figure beneath the floor tiles—Nico the transvestite, also skewered by Black Abyss III alongside Jason.
Unlike the burly Jason, Nico wasn't short, but was lean and curvaceous—more feminine than even Akira Mado—his frame completely hidden behind Jason's bulk. (PS: Nico is 175 cm tall)
Also ensnared by the split, spiral thorns of the weapon, Nico cried out in pain. But his face—flushed, moaning, seductive, biting his lip—was twisted in bizarre delight.
"Ah~ So rough and barbaric, Investigator Russell. Teasing my body like this—your own pleasure not enough, you keep having your subordinates shove new CCG toys into me. So bad... making me so weak... even my Kagune's gone limp..."
Vela: "...."
Disgusting. Truly a degenerate to match Jason.
If she wasn't mistaken—even after inhaling and being injected with such massive doses of Rc cell inhibitors, Jason still managed partial Kakuja transformation, possibly nearing full transformation—all because of this transvestite's Kagune.
Vela glanced at the merging tissues between Jason and Nico's Kagune.
Thin, intertwined Kagune strands inserted into Jason's body—Nico was transmitting his Rc cells into Jason.
Tch. Quite the game you two are playing.
Even now, while flirting and moaning, he hadn't stopped healing Jason's injuries.
"Member of the Clowns, SS-rated ghoul, transvestite Nico. Loyalty, huh? Didn't flee right away—so stay and keep Jason company. I'll make you into a Quinque from the same batch."
"Your healing power's decent—but can you fix someone else's head?"
"You..."
When Vela bluntly exposed the truth and limits of his Kagune ability, Nico the transvestite finally showed hesitation for the first time.
Not even among ghouls did many know the truth of his ability, let alone the CCG.
Bang bang bang! Vela raised her rifle and fired multiple times at Nico, interrupting and dispersing his healing ability. At the same time, she grabbed the shaft of Black Abyss III with her other hand, twisted her body slightly, and kicked the spear upward.
Slash! Black Abyss III's blade sliced diagonally up Jason's chest, through his throat, and burst out from the top of his skull.
Chunks of bone, blood, and gore splattered across the ground.
"Go ahead, heal him—try reviving someone with no head."
With her black polearm in hand, Vela spun a flourish, carving away the fusion point of Jason and Nico's Kagune, then swept the blade horizontally—splurt!
The grotesquely deformed head flew through the air.
CRUNCH! Vela stomped down with thunderous force. The ground cracked and burst beneath her feet, tiles and piping exploding outward. With a horizontal sweep of her spear, Jason's headless corpse was sent flying outside the building.
No head, body hurled afar—go on, heal him again, let me see you try.
Though Nico was rated SS by the CCG, his offensive power and destructive urge were nowhere near Jason's. His rating came from unmatched regenerative ability and his unpredictable support-healing power.
As for his self-repair?
She could beat him all day.
Recalling what was documented in CCG's archives, Vela charged forward without hesitation.
Boom boom! Thud thud! Bang bang...!
Jason's headless corpse crashed through the storefront and landed in front of the investigators outside.
"Is that Gecko?"
Investigators from the 20th Ward stood dumbfounded.
At the same time—dull thuds rang out. Two silhouettes clashed violently, the impacts so intense and bizarre they defied belief.
One-sided.
The twisted, emaciated form was repeatedly slammed into walls by the armored black figure.
Not just the head—blood spurted from the ghoul's limbs and torso. Flesh, skin, muscle, and bone were pounded into pulp again and again until the entire alley reeked of putrid rot.
A broken mess of flesh vaguely resembling a person slammed onto the cratered ground. Blood, gore, and Kagune-like organs still twitched slowly in a futile effort to heal.
"Phew..."
Vela exhaled deeply, muscles relaxing.
"Akira. Spray Rc cell suppressant. Send Jason and the transvestite to Dr. Kouitsu Chigyou."
Crack crack crack—a soft sound of splitting. Vela partially disengaged the helmet of the Arata Proto armor, letting her golden hair cascade freely behind her.
As her adjutant, Akira Mado quickly stepped up.
"Ma'am, how do you feel? Any backlash from the Arata Proto?"
"At least for me, it's bearable long-term."
While rubbing her temples, Vela nodded respectfully to the three present First Class Investigators—one of whom was injured and already being carried off for emergency treatment.
Compared to ghouls, human bodies were still too fragile. High offense, low defense—classic glass cannon.
"Hmm? Two more ghouls."
Naturally, Vela noticed the pair of investigators explaining something as they stood before a mother and daughter—one big, one small—trembling and sobbing, surrounded by seven or eight investigators.
"...Still alive?" she murmured.
Akira asked, "Ma'am, what should we do?"
She proceeded to explain how Ryouko Fueguchi had saved investigators.
"Associate Special Class Russell... they're my prey. I apologize for letting them live until now. It's my negligence—I'll take care of them now..."
Following the voice, Vela turned—spotted the white-haired, asymmetrically-eyed old man.
He staggered as he raised his Quinque, preparing to execute the ghoul mother and daughter.
"Fueguchi—what relation is Asaki Fueguchi to you?"
As if grasping a lifeline—at least Vela seemed less hostile than that crazed old man—Ryouko Fueguchi answered loudly, "Asaki Fueguchi is my husband. He once worked for the investigators."
"I see."
Vela stepped closer. "Has he killed anyone?"
"Never!"
Ryouko Fueguchi shook her head frantically.
"Neither my husband, nor I, nor Hinami have ever hurt anyone—never killed. We only wish to live in peace. If scavenging corpses or body parts of suicides counts as murder... then I... I... Hinami had no intent—I'm willing to take full responsibility."
Tears streamed down her face as she looked directly into Vela's eyes. Steady, unflinching.
"Understood."
After a moment's thought, Vela waved her hand. "Detain them for now."
"Wait... Associate Special Class Russell, they're ghouls! Ghouls are liars! Ghouls eat humans—they threaten us, cause disasters!"
Kureo Mado suddenly grew agitated.
"Who's a threat—I decide. I have eyes—I don't need you to tell me."
Vela slowly walked up beside Kureo Mado.
"I know how to kill dangerous ghouls better than you. I understand your past, First Class Mado."
"But what the higher-ups want is to maximize ghoul traits to aid human evolution. Slaughtering them all is wasteful. Just like Quinque technology. Containment and control is the optimal path for sustainable development. That's all I'll say. Now carry out the order."