Drizzling rain.
"Uwah—! Hiss… hah… mercy—gaaahhh—!"
At the chaotic scene of a food shop under lockdown, amidst the wee-oo of sirens, shrill screams burst forth from deep in the throat.
As Kureo Mado thrust syringes into the conjunctiva of two half-dead ghouls and injected Rc cell inhibitors, then dragged them with a chilling grin toward the nearby special armored vehicle for interrogation, Vela ripped down the entire shutter door. She waved inward, signaling the investigators maintaining the cordon outside that they could move in to clean up and gather intel.
A group of investigators in field uniforms, carrying Quinque cases, immediately filed inside.
For a ghoul investigator, a profession with a casualty and injury rate higher than that of firefighters or narcotics police even during peacetime, the most direct and immediate way to restore prestige was nothing other than leading people to butcher ghouls.
Rat-tat-tat—
Bang, bang—
No one here spared pity for ghouls, especially after seeing a wholesale food shop operated by a ghoul organization…
Ghoul food was human flesh.
The moment the inner storeroom door swung open, a wave of thick, bloody stench surged out. The cold storage was filled with slices of meat, blood, scattered human limbs and heads.
The rookies who had just graduated from the CCG Academy staggered, clutching their mouths, on the verge of vomiting.
The veterans, though equally grim-faced, continued securing evidence, sealing contraband, and efficiently putting extra bullets into the ghoul corpses—always to the head.
"Ms. Russell. Our men just raided Pleasure Street. Ghoul suspect 'Nutcracker' has made a move. The ghoul organization 'MADAM' should soon have results from their den as well."
The man speaking stood out from the Japanese CCG agents. A burly white man in sunglasses, broad-shouldered, bearing a white-headed eagle badge on his chest, holding an umbrella in one hand and a PDA tablet in the other, leaned close behind Vela and lowered his voice in English.
Without doubt, he belonged to the North American Commission of Counter Ghoul.
He was part of the team Vela had brought with her when she applied for transfer back to Tokyo after her promotion to Special Class Investigator.
Unlike her first arrival in 2014, this time she was not alone. Even for her, acting solo was inefficient. The power of the organization—if not used now, then when?
"Dennis, how much of our operation do you think will leak out?"
Vela asked.
"Ward 7 will be swept clean. Any ghoul with half a brain will see it. But our specific tactical planning and deployment—they shouldn't know. If even that leaks, it means under the Washuu clan's administration, CCG's internal problems run deep. Far more than just grassroots corruption."
At this, Dennis laughed.
"Ma'am, you're not fishing for leaks again, are you?"
In North America, he was a senior agent who had worked with Vela for years, through Brazilian rainforests, Mexican no-man's lands, the Yukon valley. He had seen enough to understand her temperament.
"This is called prevention before disaster."
Vela shot him a glance, took the PDA, and pulled up data on 'Nutcracker,' 'MADAM,' and 'Big Madam.'
Compiled by Kureo Mado.
For all his eccentric, stubborn, ill-tempered nature, as a First Class Investigator, his abilities were exceptional.
Especially his zeal and instinct in pursuing ghoul cases.
Even after being gravely injured in Ward 20 and bedridden for two months, he hadn't idled. He had analyzed unresolved ghoul cases, then immediately gone to investigate in person once able to walk again.
By merit and record, he should long have been Associate Special Class, but he refused repeatedly, unwilling to be tied down by administrative duties.
'Nutcracker'—her appearance and residence, in fact, had already been investigated by Kureo Mado before Vela's return to Tokyo. He had left her untouched, laying bait for bigger prey. Unexpectedly, Vela returned in time.
One wanted to act but lacked authority. The other, a newly reinstated superior, sought a blaze of fire to mark her arrival.
A perfect match.
"Have Rick and the others keep watching."
Vela said.
"Understood."
Dennis nodded, stepping aside to press his earpiece and relay orders.
Vela continued browsing through the data.
This 'Nutcracker,' real name Mayu, worked openly as a hostess.
She was quite attractive, with good curves, a cool clothing style, and a habit of wearing masks and lingerie. Records showed multiple instances of her crushing male clients' testicles.
A rather lascivious character, indeed.
In secret, she was a human trafficker, selectively eating women prettier than herself, and maintained ties with the ghoul group 'MADAM.' She often conducted human trafficking deals with them, capturing people who fit certain requirements, then reselling them to 'MADAM' for consumption, or keeping them as pets, or putting them up for auction.
'MADAM'—as the name implied—was a circle of ghouls comprised of pretentious noblewomen and socialites.
Big Madam, real name unknown, was the leader of the ghoul restaurant and performance hall operated by 'MADAM.' Nicknamed the 'Big Madam,' she was SS-rated, and although repeatedly targeted by the CCG, every attempted eradication operation against her had ended in failure.
The sexless boy Juuzou Suzuya had in fact been rescued from one of 'MADAM's' ghoul restaurants during a CCG raid. The commanding officer of that operation had been Yukinori Shinohara.
And speaking of ghoul restaurants, Ward 7 had an even higher-class one, organized by the so-called Mr. MM. It was tied to the S-rated ghoul 'Gourmet.' From Market Regulatory Bureau data—by digging deeper into overlapping shares of capital circulation and property ownership—the presence of the Tsukiyama Group loomed faintly.
"Quite a catch of big fish."
Knowing the true nature of the Tsukiyama Group, Vela felt her hands itch.
No other meaning—she simply craved that pile of rare S+, SS-rated Kakuhou, as well as the Tsukiyama Group's assets.
More precisely, it wasn't just her. Behind her stood the North American Commission of Counter Ghoul, her superior and patron the Attorney General, and several congressmen in both the House and Senate. For now, she was still merely tasting soup and meat broth.
Thanks to her silver tongue, this mission carried another purpose.
Namely—when the pigs were fattened, it was time to slaughter them.
Step, step.
Footsteps splashing in puddles approached. "Special Class Russell, the ghoul who escaped into the sewers has been eliminated."
A coarse, hoarse male voice.
Setting aside the PDA, Vela turned slightly and nodded. "Mm. Well done, Associate Special Class Hachikawa."
With a spiral brass-colored Quinque coiling around his right arm, clad in a special high-collared coat covering his mouth, Chuu Hachikawa approached.
"Is that the [Arata]?"
Focusing, he glanced at Vela fully clad in Living Quinque Armor. "Compared to Special Class Shinohara and Special Class Kuroiwa, the coverage is broader…"
The pinnacle of custom design.
"Unfortunately, materials to create [Arata] are scarce. High-quality Kakuhou of the level of the Kakuja 'Corpse Collector' are too few. In my and Dr. Chigyou's view, it ought to be assigned to an Associate Special Class."
"I don't have your exaggerated physical resilience. The [Arata]'s load—my body couldn't withstand it."
Chuu Hachikawa shook his head knowingly, without the slightest envy or greed.
As they conversed, the team members who had arrived with Hachikawa, along with police blockade personnel, all ignored the ghouls still writhing on the ground in screams of agony.
Hands and body soaked in blood, Kureo Mado now walked over smiling.
"This is their food order."
He handed Vela a crumpled, bloodstained sheet of paper.
"Foodstuffs. These scum… tch. They classify the abducted and unconscious victims by quality. The inferior ones are slaughtered on site and sold as products. The better ones are sent to ghoul restaurants, auctions, and clubs, or kept as pets…"
"Those damn beasts."
No matter how many times one saw it, it was hard to grow numb. Upon hearing this, the investigators present and even the uniformed police all wore furious expressions.
Kureo Mado glared with his mismatched eyes: "That's why, Special Class, I say you're still too merciful and rational with ghouls. They're not worth it. Sometimes, one should act on impulse."
His words seethed with deep malice toward the ghoul race as a whole.
"They're indeed unworthy. But I have my considerations."
Vela accepted the paper. On it were listed some buyers' 'order' dates and several marked addresses.
Clap.
Snapping her fingers toward the two ghouls barely clinging to life, she spoke to Chuu Hachikawa: "Dispose of them."
"Understood."
Raising his right hand—whirr! Two bright yellow Kagune projectiles pierced through the ghouls' heads. Blood splattered across the ground once more.
Watching it all, Kureo Mado only shrugged.
Toward Vela, though he did not say it aloud, in his heart, he felt grateful.
She had saved his life. His only daughter's career had also become brighter because she followed Vela.
What welcoming banquet? In his view, that was a waste of time. Far better was giving her a summary report of recent ghoul disasters in Tokyo, gathered and investigated personally. That, to him, was the best gift to an outstanding investigator.
Vela's cheerful acceptance had only made him more motivated, more convinced.
Especially after she read the case file on the serial taxi murders—where every female victim's head and feet had been severed and discarded—and made a single phone call. In that call, she summoned the head of the Tokyo Taxi Association and the Metropolitan Police Department's Traffic Bureau Chief, berating them as though scolding grandsons.
Under Vela's orders, the Taxi Association dropped their evasive, delaying, non-cooperative stance and fully cooperated.
That codename 'Torso,' the A-rated ghoul who enjoyed desecrating and preying on women, along with many ghouls hiding within the taxi system to hunt, were caught and executed.
Before this, whenever Kureo Mado tried to push for investigation, those worms had only bowed while shirking responsibility, afraid of harming the Association's reputation and profits.
He knew very well—he owed it to Vela's influence.
Beyond her title as CCG Special Class Investigator, she also held posts as Commander of the Special Countermeasures Unit for Wards 6 and 7, and Deputy Director of Countermeasures Division II. The former a temporary position, the latter permanent. Division II's director was Marude Itsuki.
Most critically, Vela bore international offices as well—Assistant for Security Affairs to the UN Commission of Counter Ghoul, and Special Envoy of the North American Commission of Counter Ghoul [Tokyo].
This was why Vela could command the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and related civilian organizations, even directly interfere with administration—her word carried weight, sometimes greater than Bureau Director Washuu's.
Clap, clap.
Brushing her hands, Vela did not bother arguing with Kureo Mado over the original sin of ghouls. Instead, she raised the 'food order' in her hand.
"With this as the lead, the sweep begins. Special Class Shinohara's team is already on the way."
Let the killing start.
The first fire—
It must burn bright!