Ward 7. Hidden amidst the bustling commercial district, a ghoul's gluttonous den.
Its facade was low-key yet luxurious, disguised as an exclusive members-only restaurant.
Inside, the labyrinthine, enclosed spaces exuded silence.
Gloom, stains, and the stench of rotting corpses combined to taint the very air here—unfit for light.
Chaotic footsteps echoed faintly, mixed with panicked voices.
A group of finely dressed men and women, led by the restaurant's guards and attendants, were being rushed out through a secret VIP escape passage.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my apologies. Red alert. Because of those tasteless White Doves, today's banquet must end early."
"Damn White Doves! How hateful! They ruined my carefully prepared performance!"
"That useless waste Shitaro is taking so long to process it… such a rare delicacy, the 'ingredient'… I didn't even get to taste it before I was forced to crawl into the sewers like this! Disgraceful—absolutely disgraceful! Utterly inelegant!"
The guests shuffled along, their clothes fashionable, appearances striking, wearing thick makeup and ornate masks. They looked like nobles and ladies leaving a masquerade ball.
"Why was this raid so sudden? Who overfed and crossed the line recently?!"
"Idiot, don't you ever watch the news? No one overfed. It's that damned American White Dove leading this, digging up old cases the moment she arrived, stirring Ward 7 into complete chaos! She's only been here a single day, and someone already crumbled under pressure, risking exposure here—"
As they rounded a corner, one ghoul tried explaining to his gluttonous companion, but his words were cut off by a sudden scream.
From the far end of the passage, a bloodied figure staggered out.
An arm severed, blood gushed from wounds across his arm and chest. Stumbling, crawling, rolling—
"CCG."
He barely croaked the word before blood flooded his throat. Splurt! A jet-black steel thorn burst through his chest, blood spraying as he collapsed, twitching into a spreading pool of scarlet beneath the harsh fluorescent light.
At the same time, dull gunshots reverberated above.
Disaster!
Seeing this, the staff escorting the guests froze. The sclera of his eyes darkened with blood, his irises glowing crimson.
Death, gore—none of that fazed him. But this was an escape passage. The dead man, another staff member, had been assigned to guard the exit. Which meant—
Tap, tap.
Footsteps. Dense, synchronized, approaching.
A towering armored silhouette, nearly two meters tall, emerged slowly from the depths.
Its contours betrayed a female figure. Matte black armor laced with dark red Kagune veins pulsed like blood flowing through grooves, faint crimson haze curling with her movements.
In one hand, she gripped a pitch-black thorned lance.
Its spiral blade gleamed with wet crimson, blood still fresh, like a blooming steel flower.
Passing the corpse impaled earlier, whirr—the embedded blades detached, liquefied, and reformed seamlessly into the weapon's structure.
Her other hand clutched the throat of a ghoul in staff uniform.
Dragged along, her razor-edged gauntlet pierced into flesh. Blood-like luminescence coursed along the exposed Kagune veins, creeping upward from her claws to her torso, as though siphoning nourishment.
"Filth."
Crack. The pleasing sound of a neck snapping echoed. Feeling the backlash of [Arata-Ayato-α] grow ever lighter as it 'fed,' Vela casually tossed the corpse aside.
Ghoul blood was rich with Rc cells. Though not comparable to concentrated Rc supply injectors, against weaklings, as long as she inflicted continuous open wounds, she could sustain herself in battle.
Ghouls—truly, their entire bodies were treasure.
Splurt!
Finishing blows—swinging his centipede-like chainsaw Quinque, Kureo Mado beheaded the corpse Vela had discarded to prevent any revival. In combat uniform, glaring with his signature mismatched eyes, he stuck out his tongue with a retching motion and sneered at the panicking 'noble gentlemen and ladies':
"Trash masquerading as high society, monkeys in crowns, pigs in silk—ridiculous! Disgusting!"
"White Doves!"
One diner, without thinking, released his Kagune. A rough Bikaku tail slammed against the concrete floor as he roared: "Kill them! Break through—"
Whirr! The screech of air being split. A jet-black blade shot straight into his gaping mouth, slicing lips, shattering jawbone, piercing skull. In the same instant—screams, then clang! With an eruption of debris, thirty steps away at the escape tunnel's bend, [Black Abyss IV] nailed three ghouls in a row against the fractured wall.
Where the shouting ghoul's head had been, blood sprayed wildly.
It happened in a flash. Even as the headless body collapsed, its flailing Bikaku still smashed about reflexively.
"Mado, control your distance. Shinohara, you lead."
With that, Vela stepped forward. [Arata-Ayato-α] activated—the Ukaku wing thrusters at her shoulder blades erupted in twin violet-red plumes, blazing like a phoenix robe. In an instant, the air howled.
Rumble! The entire passage shook violently, drowned in thunder.
"She's that damned American Whi—"
A ghoul clad in Rinkaku tendrils for defense didn't finish his sentence before being smashed, body and Kagune together, into the wall. Cracks spidered, blood and flesh bursting.
Fast. Fierce. Ruthless. Even the fluorescent lights tore free, ceiling panels crashing down, sparking cables dangling.
"Don't let her reclaim her Quinque! Get 'Big Madam'!"
One veteran ghoul barked while retreating. Rip! A thick, blue-black Koukaku split from his shoulder, shielding his vitals, even as he ordered his Ukaku ally to cover him. But—Bang! A deafening gunshot rang out. He turned in time to see his comrade's forehead burst open, skull cap peeled back, blood and brain matter spraying over his arm.
That was no 9mm CCG submachine Q-round!
Tat-tat-tat-tat! A squad of heavily armed investigators advanced in formation.
Some bore firearms, others held sturdy CCG riot shields. Several investigators deployed their Ukaku Quinques, pouring suppressive fire. Close-combat specialists carried unopened Quinque cases, guarding flanks, scanning for ambush.
"This really isn't a good habit…"
Clutching his [Demon Yamada 1], clad in combat gear with bulletproof vest but no helmet, Yukinori Shinohara rubbed his forehead as he watched Vela surge ahead of the unit.
"Special Class Shinohara, aren't you going to wear [Arata]?"
Kureo Mado, cleaving a feigned-dead female ghoul in half with his centipede saw, asked while standing at his side.
"Me?"
Shinohara, directing the united squad, looked forward:
Even barehanded, clad in [Arata-Ayato-α], Vela's entire being had become a lethal weapon. Human eyes could scarcely follow her speed.
Through the retreating and counterattacking ghoul diners, she moved like an elegant, deadly ballerina. Weaving through impossible gaps, slipping past grotesque predatory appendages, she cut them down one by one with crisp precision.
Every punch struck like being hit by a car. Her razor gauntlets tore flesh wherever they passed. From her shoulders streamed violet-red Ukaku, trailing like tassels in her wake, slicing everything they brushed.
A beauty of violence, utterly unlike Kishou Arima's style.
Shinohara could only shake his head.
"Middle-aged now… I'm just an ordinary man. Unlike Russell or Arima, I was never blessed with that kind of physique."
"Even though Dr. Chigyou's improvements to [Arata] have greatly reduced backlash on the user, the enhanced performance still puts immense strain on the body. I couldn't sustain long combat. Best to save it for 'Big Madam' or other troublesome ghouls… Suzuya, get back!"
Continuing to command the advance, Yukinori Shinohara suddenly noticed Juuzou Suzuya—small, white-haired, with an androgynous, doll-like face—switching the S+ grade [Gun III] hybrid Quinque, a gift once given by Vela, from hand cannon form into broad blade. Clearly, Juuzou was excited, eager to imitate Vela's breakthrough charge.
Shinohara's expression hardened. He yanked Suzuya back by the collar and smacked his head.
"What are you thinking?! Suzuya, Russell has armor, you don't! Don't act reckless—stick to the plan!"
Vela could charge because she had already proven herself, and with [Arata-Ayato-α] guarding her, she didn't fear friendly fire. In this escape corridor, with no room to dodge or maneuver, an unarmored lightweight had no business straying into the firing line.
"Oh."
Meanwhile, Vela was about to breach the escape corridor completely.
Boom! Another violent explosion rocked the passage, concrete walls cracking inch by inch. Dropping the smoldering mess of flesh she had just pulverized, Vela remarked, "An S-rated detached solid Ukaku, huh."
She turned toward the bend, where more diners emerged.
One, wearing a half-mask with feather decorations, glared with crimson eyes. Though an Ukaku type, from his back sprouted Koukaku-like Kagune—rocket launchers.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Like a barrage of rockets, solid Ukaku projectiles fired, trailing heavy smoke.
Their target wasn't Vela—but the entrance of the escape passage.
"You bastard!!"
The most panicked weren't Vela, but the ghouls still trapped mid-corridor, caught between CCG's advancing line and the explosions behind them. They cursed furiously.
Boom, boom, boom…
Concrete splintered, cracks spreading like webs. Just as the ghoul was blasting away gleefully—whirr~
The shaft of [Black Abyss IV], pinning three ghouls already, suddenly vibrated violently. Rip! With jagged barbs tearing, three skewered bodies shredded apart. Whoosh! Crimson light flashed—the spiraled Kagune thorns forming the spearhead bent, liquefied like molten iron, then stretched into a sharp arc. Wall exploded, fragments spraying.
A scythe-like blade spun with shifting weight—slash!
"What—?"
The ghoul's skin, normally impervious to small-caliber rounds, split like cloth. The black-and-red edge pierced through his chest, blood erupting.
As the weapon shuddered, the ghoul stumbled, drained of strength.
Vela had already stepped forward. Calmly gripping [Black Abyss IV]—schlk!—she ripped the blade free, hoisting him up. With a savage swing—thud!—she hurled his body into the crowd at the entrance, scattering them in panic.
At that moment, Shinohara led the close-combat Quinque users in a charge, driving left and right.
Vela looked deeper into the restaurant's interior.
A surge of high-density Kagune converged, ignited—fwoooosh!
Fiery crimson wings unfurled, countless feathers bursting.
With shrill whistles, dense crystal shards rained down, shredding scores of A- and B-rated ghoul diners. Screams, blood spraying, painting the floor.
Outside the entrance, ghouls fled in panic. Inside, all resistance had been slaughtered.
Lightly, Vela swung [Black Abyss IV], smashing the last resisting S-rated ghoul into the wall, shattering it into craters.
Treading through broken concrete, torn flesh, and blood-soaked debris, she stepped into the restaurant proper.
The space opened wide.
A towering ceiling, windowless stairwells, sparse lighting.
Though it was daytime, the interior remained steeped in eerie darkness.
Its scale was massive.
As massive as the problems within the city planning department, the regulatory bureau, and the CCG's own Washuu clan…
With composure, Vela raised her hand. "Let's go."
"Go, go, go!"
"Action!"
With Vela as the spearhead breaking through the narrow passage, the CCG investigators and North American Federal anti-ghoul operatives surged in, swiftly spreading formation.
In combat squads, they opened fire on ghouls who failed to escape in time. Senior investigators wielding Quinques led sweeping, rescue, and search missions simultaneously.
Rat-tat-tat!
Bang, bang, bang!
Clang, clang!
Q-bullets of various calibers slammed into ghouls, Kagune, and reinforced concrete, mixing into chaotic bursts—an orchestra of carnage.
Tokyo's CCG investigators mostly used MP5 submachine guns, firing 9×19mm Q-bullets.
The North American operatives, however, carried far more diverse weaponry: HK417 assault rifles, Mk14 designated marksman rifles, M4A1 carbines, M249 SAWs… Compared to Tokyo's "barebones" loadouts, their weapons bristled with optics, grenade launchers, and attachments on tactical rails.
During the sweep—
"To fight these inhuman scum, your Bureau Chief really thought handgun calibers emphasizing stopping power were enough?"
Tat-tat-tat! 9mm Q-bullets splashed harmlessly on an A-rated Rinkaku ghoul thirty meters away, clanging against its hardened body.
Just as it vaulted toward a stairwell to escape, a US agent braced his Mk14 atop a riot shield, sighted the ghoul's exposed lower back, and fired.
Boom! The 7.62×51mm full-power Q-bullet punched through, slamming its spine, flesh erupting against the railing.
The ghoul shrieked, tumbling.
"Damn it! I'll dev—"
Bang, bang, bang!
Before it could finish, four or five more rounds smashed into its face. One pierced through its eyeball and into its brain.
The ghoul froze, twitched, then collapsed, lifeless. Suppressive fire riddled the corpse.
A CCG investigator with an MP5 glanced over his iron sights: "…"
When a US agent advanced with an XM556 micro-Gatling gun, ammo box on his back, supporting Vela, Shinohara, and Mado in suppressing the largest cluster of B- and A-rated ghouls, the battle turned one-sided.
An A-rated Koukaku ghoul, relying on experience, attempted a breakout along the flank—only to be pinned by M249 fire. Then, the XM556 roared.
First, its unshielded flesh shredded. Next, even its hardened Koukaku, after taking hundreds of full-power Q-rounds, crumbled into pits. By the time a CCG investigator arrived with a blade-type Quinque, all that remained was a honeycombed corpse exhaling blood mist.
Soon, they reached the core zone—an arena-opera house hybrid.
Here, gunfire and explosions from all directions thundered.
Resistance was fierce.
The first inside, Vela saw the carnage: heaps of flesh, blood, shredded clothing. Arms and legs torn away. Chests split open, half-dismembered torsos strung on racks.
Even seasoned investigators turned their faces aside from the grisly sight.
Contrasting with the brutal firefight in the adjacent hall, a golden staircase stretched upward, glittering under gaudy gilded tiles—an obscene mockery against the backdrop of horror.
Gulp, gulp. Ghouls feasted on dying comrades, desperate to resist.
Nothing to say.
Slash, slash, slash!
Kill, kill, kill!
But this time, Vela no longer charged headlong. Her role shifted to strategic support and decapitation.
Wherever support was needed, wherever an S-rated ghoul posed a threat, she moved—her mobility minimizing casualties.
"Ah…"
A delicate, sorrowful cry echoed.
Vela turned at the sound. Shinohara Yukinori, wielding his massive cleaver Quinque [Demon Yamada 1], swung down on a female ghoul hanging upside down from the ceiling. Slash! Blood sprayed wide. Black lingerie, a voluptuous figure with streaked hair, and that horrific wound… tch.
"Careful! The intel was wrong—she has a composite Kagune, Bikaku and Koukaku, S-rated!"
Lifting an injured investigator, Shinohara shouted.
Nutcracker.
Identifying the target, Vela swept her blade across, beheading an S-rated Bikaku ghoul on its knees and rescuing a cornered squad of CCG investigators, then dashed toward Shinohara.
"The indomitable Shinohara… Special Class, truly troublesome…"
Clutching her abdomen, blood bubbling in her throat, Nutcracker swallowed it back. Koukaku pincers jutted from her shoulder blades, blocking incoming bullets, while her Bikaku tail stabbed into the wall, dragging her toward a ventilation shaft. Damn it. The money she'd stored in the restaurant—probably lost…
Boom!
Just as she reached the shaft, air shrieked beside her ear.
Danger!
Shivers crawled her skin. Reflexively, she crossed her Koukaku pincers, bracing against the oncoming black blade.
Schlk! Too fast. The black lance smashed aside her armor, nearly breaking her shoulder blades. The tip speared through her body, lifting her high. Crash! Momentum slammed her into the ceiling, cracking it open.
"Waaah—"
Blood and organ chunks vomited forth. Dizzy, Nutcracker dimly sensed the rush of air, then fiery pain. She knew—she was dying.
Her bloodshot crimson eyes widened. Thump, thump. A tall, graceful armored silhouette loomed above.
"This armor… forged from Kagune? Beautiful… I want Kagune like this too…"
Her hand reached out, trembling, her bloody whisper fading to silence.
"Nutcracker, eliminated."
Rip. With tearing muscle and skin, Vela drew [Black Abyss IV] free, whipping the blood away onto the floor.
Around her, battle raged on. Explosions, gunfire, relentless chaos.
Exchanging a glance with Shinohara, Vela ascended the stairs, sweeping higher floors.
At the top VIP suite marked 'Mr. MM,' she rapped her gauntlet claws against the balcony railing, eyes narrowing.
Mr. MM… 'Gourmet,' Shuu Tsukiyama.
Clack. Her helmet disengaged. Pressing her earpiece, Vela spoke: "This is Vela Adelheid Russell. All squads, search for ghoul restaurant financial and transport documents. Report status. Any sign of 'Big Madam'?"
Beep-beep—
[Chuu Hachikawa: Hachikawa Squad, no anomalies. Zone B escape passage cleared. Advancing smoothly.]
[Take Hirako: Hirako Squad, Zone C escape passage secure. Special Class Russell, we're about to enter the core and link up with you.]
[Taishi Fura: Ward 7 Branch, we've secured the restaurant lobby and controlled all entrances. Entering underground facilities now.]
[Juuzou Suzuya: Hehehe, I-I-I, Special Class Russell, I-I think I found 'Big Madam'… familiar things, familiar…]
[Yukinori Shinohara: Suzuya! My apologies, Russell, I'll handle this.]
Vela accepted without objection.
Juuzou Suzuya's childhood past with 'Big Madam.'
"No matter. Everyone, stay sharp. I don't want 'maybe.' I want certainty. Find and eliminate 'Big Madam.' She should still be inside—Mado's interrogation confirmed she was here receiving 'cargo' just yesterday."
Then Vela remembered—someone was missing.
"Amon. Report."
[Amon Koutarou: This is Amon Squad. Zone D escape passage… Special Class Russell, I… I encountered former Academy trainees. They've… become ghouls. One-eyed ghouls…]
Vela's gaze sharpened.
"One-eyed? At all costs—hold them. I'm coming now."