My name is Yoshida Kazuo, 41 years old. I work as a fitness center instructor in Tokyo's 20th Ward. At the same time, I am also a Ghoul who feeds on human flesh. That being said, apart from the difference in diet, I am no different from an ordinary person in human society. If I had to say what makes me special, it's that I'm exceptionally unlucky.
For example, not long ago, a female client at the gym swindled 500,000 of my savings. As a Ghoul, all I could do was lament my lust-addled brain and bad luck, and continue living as usual. But I believe a person won't always be unlucky, just as misfortunes don't come one after another.
Thanks to Manager Yoshimura of the Anteiku coffee shop, he transferred the hunting ground that originally belonged to Kamishiro Rize to me. This was something I never dared to dream of before, as only the most powerful Ghouls could have their own hunting grounds. Even though it was stipulated that I could only feed on one person per month, for a weak Ghoul like me, it was like hitting the jackpot.
It's just that I can't help but feel regretful about Kamishiro Rize's departure. It was expected that such a powerful and beautiful Ghoul would choose to leave the overly peaceful 20th Ward. And it is precisely because of this that I have the opportunity to hunt in the feeding ground tonight.
Pushing aside the cluttered thoughts in his mind, Yoshida Kazuo concealed himself in a dark alley off the main road. Although Ghouls' physical attributes in all aspects far exceeded ordinary humans thanks to the enhancement of rc cells, they even possessed a trump card called a Kagune, whose power was comparable to thermal weapons.
But those Ghoul Investigators from the Ghoul Countermeasures Bureau were not to be trifled with. A weakling like him probably wouldn't survive a single round against them. Hiding in such a remote corner far from human habitation late at night, waiting for prey, was the best choice. As long as a lone human stepped into this feeding ground, he would finally be able to feast to his heart's content after a long time.
[Ah ba ba ba ba (^q^)!!!]
"What kind of infernal text tone is that?"
Rosen, whose head was still a bit dizzy from the recent teleportation, instantly snapped awake. This was the phone Nyarlko had given him before he left, saying it could be used to check various data and mission details. It also came with a Bluetooth earphone to maintain contact, but only with Karenina, who had also come to the material world under the guise of mentoring a newcomer.
[Material World: AC_25872]
[Location: Japan, Tokyo, 20th Ward]
[Collapse Index: 30%]
[Anomaly: rc cells (RedChildCell)]
[Main Mission: Investigate and eliminate the cause of the rising collapse index]
[Side Mission: Collect rc cells related items]
"So this is the so-called material world? It feels no different from the world I came from. I thought I'd be squashed into a paper doll."
Rosen opened the phone that had just chimed. He found an email from the Administrator detailing the basic information of his current world, as well as a call from a number labeled 'Genius Explosive Beauty 500 Yen a shot'. Considering the phone came from Nyarlko, there was no need to guess who it was. Speaking of which... that guy's composition was truly quite complex.
"Anime is a culture, not simply a two-dimensional world. You should have understood the battle plan beforehand! I told you we need to find a new path and avoid the main stages of those old gods. Can't you at least watch some anime to understand the background? Ahhh... why do I have to mentor a newcomer? I'm perfectly capable by myself."
Karenina's impatient voice rang out from the earphone. According to Nyarlko, she hadn't spent the past three years solely watching anime and playing games. Based on the information collected from the Pantheon Forum, she discovered that most old gods chose material worlds related to 'history' or 'mythology.' So, by doing the opposite, they might have unexpected gains.
With the help of the Forum Administrator, whenever God Chosen traveled to an unknown material world coordinate, their affiliated God could set two keywords for filtering, such as attribute-based 'games,' 'movies,' 'novels,' or theme-based 'war,' 'supernatural,' 'sci-fi.' This time, Nyarlko chose 'anime' and 'supernatural powers.'
"Kindergarten kids watch cartoons."
Rosen waved his hand dismissively. If the material worlds were truly as numerous as Nyarlko said, then the anime works derived from them would be countless. There was no need to waste time gambling on luck; watching too much would only make it easier to get stuck in empiricism.
"That's it! Talking to you makes my circulatory pressure shoot up! Don't be so condescending. We've been teleported to different areas and need to rendezvous quickly. If you keep being so careless, I won't even bother to collect your corpse if you die."
Karenina was so furious she wanted to swing her Heavy Hammer at the newcomer's head a few times. Unfortunately, she was currently far away at the Ghoul Countermeasures Bureau's 20th Ward branch. Besides complaining a few words on the phone, she couldn't interfere with Rosen's actions at all. She could only pray that this scoundrel would be a little more discreet and reserved before real danger arrived.
"You only need to know one thing, and that is... I will never make a mistake."
With that, Rosen leaned back without warning, narrowly dodging a Ukaku that attacked from behind, grazing his nose. The monstrous limb, proliferated by rc cells, slammed heavily against the alley wall, instantly piercing it and sending out shards of stone powerful enough to cut a face. However, the exorcist, already prepared, blocked with his left hand, emerging unscathed from what could have been a fatal ambush.
"What's going on!? Does this guy have eyes on the back of his head?"
Yoshida Kazuo was also stunned. He had seen the human concentrating on his phone and had planned to sneak up behind him and quickly deal with him to avoid attracting Ghoul Investigators. He never expected a sure-fire strike to be so easily dodged by this guy.
[Ah ba ba ba ba (^q^)!!!]
"...Are you done yet?"
Rosen, who wasn't startled by the Ghoul, instead flinched again at the notification sound from his earphone. However, he was in a tense standoff with the monster in front of him and couldn't spare a moment to check his phone. Fortunately, Karenina on the other end also received the Administrator's email alert simultaneously.
[Divine Grace Technique: One Thousand Faces (Nyarlathotep)]
[Level 1: Trigger identity guidance mission upon entering the material world]
[Guidance Mission: Hold out for 3 minutes, await Ghoul Investigator rescue]
[Mission Reward: Ghoul Countermeasures Bureau Investigator Assistant ID * 1]
"The Divine Grace Technique has activated! Run, you idiot! You'll be saved if you just hold out for 3 minutes!"
Karenina, mentoring a newcomer for the first time, seemed particularly flustered. It wasn't that she didn't trust Rosen's strength; it was just that, unlike her, a construct, a human body was too fragile. Even a slight injury could lead to instant death, and she had promised Nyarlko to bring him back unharmed.
"Run? Why run?"
Rosen, who had created distance while the enemy was momentarily stunned, now clearly saw his attacker's appearance. It was a middle-aged man whose face could be described as ugly, but what was peculiar about him was that his eye whites were completely consumed by black, his pupils had turned into a terrifying crimson, and blood vessels spread from his eye sockets, covering the upper half of his face.
"Wait! What are you trying to do? Don't mess around, hey!"
Seeing that the newcomer not only had no intention of fleeing the dark alley off the main road but had also flicked open his tactical folding knife, Karenina urgently called out to dissuade him. Although an SSR-level God Chosen had immense potential, that was only after they had grown. In the early stages, their attributes were basically not much different from ordinary humans.
"Of course... I'll just kill him."
Rosen said something that would sound incredibly arrogant to others, as if it were the most natural thing. His earlier discovery of the Ghoul's presence was not accidental; rather, the 'Calamity' had revealed its tracks. This black smoke-like substance clinging to it was, simply put, the resentful qi exhaled by the unjustly deceased in their final moments.
"How dare this human!? Is he an undercover Dove? No... no, he's just bluffing. A Ghoul Investigator without a Quinque can't be my opponent!"
Rosen's advancing instead of retreating action startled the timid Yoshida Kazuo. However, after forcing himself to calm down, he realized that the opponent's weapon was not taken from a silver briefcase. Since it wasn't a Quinque, this strange human in front of him posed absolutely no threat.
A Quinque, in essence, is a weapon crafted from a Ghoul's Kagune and memory metal. It can penetrate the defenses of rc cells and inflict effective damage on Ghouls, allowing humans to fight these monsters head-on. However, due to the immense lethality of Quinques, they usually need to be stored in a fingerprint-locked briefcase to prevent misuse.
Rosen, being new to this world, naturally didn't know that special weapons were needed to break through a Ghoul's defenses. He held the tactical folding knife in a reverse grip and calmly dodged the Ukaku swung by Yoshida Kazuo. The attack trajectory of this middle-aged man, who lacked combat experience, was simply too easy to predict. Even if the opponent had a slight advantage in speed and strength, it would be difficult to hit him.
But the Ukaku was not just a simple weapon. This aberrant limb, proliferated by rc cells, was more like another arm of the Ghoul. After its attack missed but still shattered the concrete ground with undiminished force, Yoshida Kazuo controlled its sharp tip to instantly whip back and stab towards Rosen's back.
However, the exorcist's movements were even faster. He kicked off the alley wall, using the momentum to twist past the Ukaku in mid-air, his agile figure sweeping over the Ghoul's head. Yoshida Kazuo didn't even realize what had happened before he felt a chill at his neck, followed by the crisp sound of metal breaking.
Clang—
"Tsk... unexpectedly hard."
Rosen looked at his knife tip, which was missing a good portion, with some surprise. His previous attack should have precisely cut through the enemy's carotid artery, but even the most fragile part of the human body seemed more durable than his tactical folding knife.
"Hahahaha! Trying to break a Ghoul's skin with a common metal knife? Do you not even know such basic common sense!?"
Yoshida Kazuo, who had broken out in a cold sweat, reacted and then laughed with relief. If this guy in front of him had been carrying a Quinque, he would probably be decapitated by now. Although some powerful Ghouls could quickly recover even from fatal injuries, a weakling like him, who often went hungry, was clearly not among them.
"Your Divine Grace Technique level is too low; you haven't received the special weapon. Now, try to shake him off and wait for me to get there... Hello? Hello? Damn it! He hung up on me!"
Before Karenina could finish speaking, a busy tone indicating a hung-up call came from the other end, making her so angry she almost crushed her phone on the spot. But she couldn't just leave him to his fate, so she forced herself to calm down and quickly complete her guidance mission to get a Quinque before heading to support him.
"He really is a senior who is cold on the outside but warm on the inside. It's a pity that tsundere has already fallen out of the meta this season."
After taking off his headphones and feeling the world return to quiet, Rosen also started to get serious. In his vision, dozens of black smoke wisps were swirling around two locations on Yoshida Kazuo: one was the Kagune sac near his tailbone, and the other was his pupils, which had already turned blood-red.
This was "Calamity" actively reminding him of the Ghoul's weaknesses. Rosen wasn't quite sure where his ability came from; it seemed that after many years of being an Exorcist, one day he suddenly received some kind of "recognition" from ghosts. Before that, he could only see the existence of malevolent energy.
However, the most troublesome problem at the moment was that neither the eyes nor the tailbone were places he could reach with a broken knife. Considering the Ghoul's incredibly high neck skin defense, the opponent's eyelids might also be difficult to pierce. As for the Kagune sac... unless he wanted to trade his life for theirs, it wasn't even an option.
"You're just food, don't put on such a relaxed expression!"
If it were the usually timid Yoshida Kazuo, he would have already fled after making noise and being unable to deal with his prey quickly. But a Ghoul with activated Kagune and fully expanded Kagune was a completely different personality from his disguised state. The former would lose all reason, becoming extremely cruel and violent, especially when he hadn't eaten his fill.
To avoid being caught by Ghoul Investigators if he delayed too long, Yoshida Kazuo chose to attack proactively this time. He raised his Ukaku high and slammed it onto the ground. Instantly, sand and dust filled the entire already dim alley. As a Ghoul, he could find his prey through his keen sense of smell even if he lost his sight, but a weak human would be helpless.
"Just playing petty tricks."
Even with his back to the enemy, Rosen could "see" the Ghoul's movements. This low-level diversion would at most only have the negative effect of attracting Ghoul Investigators faster.
But then he noticed that Yoshida Kazuo had already used the power of his Ukaku to leap high into the air. While performing a front flip, he straightened his iron whip-like Kagune and swung it towards the ground. If it hit squarely, a human body would likely be split in half like butter cut by a hot knife.
Previously, the opponent had used his Ukaku for horizontal sweeps or direct thrusts, which couldn't be fully utilized in the narrow horizontal space of a dark alley. But if it were a vertically falling attack trajectory, the walls on both sides would become a cage limiting Rosen's dodging.
Fortunately, the enemy didn't seem to be skilled in combat. This jump was over-exerted, revealing a serious flaw. Instead of running away and gambling that the enemy's Ukaku wouldn't reach him, Rosen decisively chose to meet the attack head-on.
If the alley was seen as a straight line, with the falling Yoshida Kazuo as the center, the area in front of him would be the region about to be lashed by the Ukaku. Therefore, its blind spot was very obvious.
Rosen, passing the "origin point," used the momentum of his sprint to step on the wall and flip onto the bay window of a second-floor residence. He wouldn't jump too high like the Ghoul in front of him, giving the enemy enough buffer time. So, at this moment, the outcome was decided.
Boom—
The Ukaku, accompanied by a piercing shriek, slammed heavily onto the ground. Even the buildings on both sides vibrated to varying degrees. The dust that had filled the alley was swept away by the strong wind, yet the sensation of cutting through flesh and crushing bones did not come.