On the other side, Raize spent some time reaching a certain CCG branch. He had arranged an appointment by phone earlier, and today he had two matters to attend to.
First, to thank the benefactor who had saved him before. Second, to investigate which organization the ghouls who killed his family belonged to.
Taking out the gifts he had prepared in advance from his backpack space, he passed through the CCG's ghoul detection facilities and, after some communication, entered the branch directly.
It was around five in the afternoon, and many investigators were present inside the branch. Raize's unfamiliar face drew quite a bit of attention. Several investigators subtly fixed their gazes on him, sizing him up.
CCG investigator work was life-threatening if one wasn't careful, so they were all extremely sensitive—an occupational habit.
"Hello, may I ask where Mr. Mado Kureo is?"
Raize approached the front desk, where a young and pretty receptionist was stationed.
"You're looking for Mado-senpai? May I ask who you are?"
The receptionist showed a polite, professional smile, her attitude gentle.
"I'm here to thank Mr. Mado for saving me some time ago. I made an appointment to meet him."
Raize took out his phone and made a call. After speaking briefly, he handed the phone to the receptionist.
After confirming everything over the call, she returned the phone and said,
"Mado-senpai is in his temporary office on the ninth floor. You'd better hurry—he's about to head out on a mission."
Raize nodded, thanked her politely, and took the elevator straight to the ninth floor.
Mado had visited him while he was hospitalized before, bringing along his junior, Amon.
Raize himself hadn't expected that the one who saved him was this CCG investigator—the white-haired, eccentric man from the original story whose hatred for ghouls bordered on madness.
Although he knew of Mado's strange personality, that was only toward ghouls, enemies of humanity. Toward juniors and partners, Mado was genuinely kind to an almost excessive degree.
A respected senior and investigator—naturally, Raize felt both respect and gratitude toward this lifesaving benefactor.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Come in."
Raize knocked and pushed open the office door. Inside were three people—two men and one woman.
One of them was an elderly man with a full head of white hair, uneven eyes, and slightly twitchy movements, giving off a sickly impression.
The other was a vigorous young man with a resolute expression.
Mado and his partner, Amon, were organizing their quinques, clearly preparing to head out on a mission.
The only woman in the room was also young and beautiful, with waist-length blonde hair and a pair of cold, sharp blue eyes.
She was Mado's daughter, Mado Akira—an important supporting character in the ghoul storyline.
"Looks like you've recovered quite well, Yotsuki kid."
Seeing Raize, Mado put down the quinque in his hand, sat behind the desk, and smiled at him with his mismatched eyes.
"Thanks to Mr. Mado and Mr. Amon. If it weren't for the two of you, I probably wouldn't be standing here today."
"I'm truly grateful to you both. Please accept this small token of thanks."
Not accustomed to deep bows, Raize still bowed sincerely to the two benefactors, then quickly placed the gifts he had prepared on the desk, leaving them no chance to refuse.
At the same time, he quietly contacted the Biblical loli God who resided within his body alongside the system.
{ Sei, I'll be counting on you next. }
{ No problem, leave it to me! }
Sei's voice immediately echoed in his ear. The reason Raize had come today was to learn which faction the ghouls who murdered his family belonged to.
If he asked directly, these investigators would almost certainly refuse to tell an outsider.
So extraordinary measures were needed. He had originally planned to let the system probe Mado's or Amon's memories.
But now, he entrusted the task to the other resident inside him.
A golden holy radiance flashed briefly in Raize's eyes. Mado, Amon, and Akira all froze for a moment, noticing nothing unusual.
{ Done! }
That was fast…
Raize was secretly amazed at Sei's efficiency. Reading memories really was frighteningly smooth.
In the brief moment of distraction, it was as if she had walked into her own home. Without harming anyone, Sei instantly finished reading the entire life memories of the three people in the room other than Raize.
The two most important matters were now done. What remained was just one last small thing.
"You came today not only to thank us, but also because you have other matters, right?"
After Raize stepped closer, Mado carefully examined the young boy before him. He could sense that something drastic had changed about this boy.
Compared to how he looked in the hospital—bearing pain alone, forcibly suppressing the sorrow in his heart while speaking to him—
Raize now showed sincere respect and gratitude on his face, yet Mado's intuition told him that something profound and unknown had changed deep inside this boy, which made him slightly curious.
Raize was not surprised by Mado's sharpness. Investigators all possessed keen intuition, especially veterans like him.
He believed that his subtle changes had probably been noticed, at least to some extent, by this old gentleman.
The smile on Raize's face gradually faded, and he began to speak.
"There is indeed something else. It concerns my deceased family. After my mental state gradually improved, I calmly recalled the ghoul attack that happened when my family went out on a trip. I noticed some strange points that I wanted to inform you about, Mr. Mado."
When speaking of his family being attacked by ghouls, everyone present could feel Raize's tone turn icy.
"Oh? Strange points?!"
Hearing this, Mado narrowed his mismatched eyes. To the side, Amon and Akira also pricked up their ears.
One was Mado's junior partner, the other his daughter. Naturally, they were aware of the incident in which Raize's family had been attacked some time ago.
Now, hearing the sole survivor say that there was something strange about the ghouls who attacked his family, the three sharp investigators all sensed something beneath the surface.
"First, there were plenty of cars traveling alongside us or ahead of us on that suburban road, yet those ghouls targeted only our family."
"Second, before they tore open my father's car door and dragged us out, I had opened the window to let in some cold air and heard them say a few things: 'We finally waited for them,' 'I'm starving,' 'Let's finish the job quickly and clock out'…"
As Raize spoke in a calm yet cold manner, the expressions of the three investigators gradually grew serious.
They were not fools. With their clear thinking, they naturally caught the oddities in his words.
The attack on Raize's family was not accidental. It was very likely that those ghouls had been lying in wait.
Amon also realized this, but he could not understand why ghouls—creatures that only ate human flesh—would lie in ambush for Raize's family.
Raize had already been investigated by him and Mado. His background was completely clean—he was neither related to investigators nor connected to them in any way.
According to what Raize said, did his family possess something special that attracted the ghouls' attention?
Compared to Amon's chaotic line of thought, Mado and Akira, as senior investigators, thought faster and deeper.
If Raize was correct, and the ghouls had attacked his family with intent, then based on the words Raize overheard, it was very likely that someone was directing those ghouls from behind the scenes.
Could it be those bastards who raise ghouls?!
Mado raised his head and exchanged a look with his daughter. They could see the same thought reflected in each other's expressions.
At that moment, Raize saw the old man's already twisted expression grow even more distorted, a terrifying killing intent suppressed within his mismatched eyes.
As a veteran investigator, Mado was well aware of certain filthy affairs among the upper echelons of humanity—things that filled him with rage and disgust.
That was the fact that some humans raised ghouls, tamed them, and then used them to attack their own kind.
Humans raising ghouls that preyed on humans, using them to achieve unspeakable, hidden objectives—such things had truly happened.
Certain human conglomerates had once taken a batch of investigators from the CCG under the pretense of protection.
But at a deeper level, some people used those investigators to capture young ghouls, raise and tame them, then use vicious, man-eating ghouls as loyal hounds to deal with dirty work. It was extremely convenient.
If something went wrong, they could simply discard them. After all, countless people died every year from ghoul attacks—no one would suspect them.
Mado and his daughter had once participated in a special ghoul extermination operation. It was during that operation that they learned of many filthy truths.
Humans using ghouls to slaughter their own kind, treating ghouls entirely as assassins, eliminating business rivals or hostile forces.
The impact of such matters on social stability was too great, so they were jointly suppressed by certain factions and the CCG.
When Mado learned of this back then, he was nearly driven mad with rage. He desperately wanted to torture those bastards who raised ghouls to death.
Using the very ghouls he hated most to attack humans—such people, in his eyes, no longer deserved to be called human.
"…Young man, I understand what you mean. Rest assured, we will thoroughly investigate this matter. We will absolutely give you justice."
"I will make those bastards regret ever being born into this world!"
Mado took a deep breath, forcing his expression to calm somewhat, and made a solemn promise to Raize with a dark gaze.
He was serious. He was not brushing Raize off. This time, he intended to investigate Raize's case properly.
If he discovered that humans truly had used ghouls to attack and slaughter others, there would be no need for legal judgment. He would make those bastards die in agony under his hands, just like the ghouls he loathed—howling in pain.
"Thank you, Mr. Mado. This is a list of people who had conflicts with my parents. I hope it can help with your investigation."
Raize's expression was silent and cold. After calmly reflecting on the strange points of the ghoul attack, he had already suspected someone was directing those ghouls.
He had not been entirely certain before, but after reading Mado's memories, he was now convinced that someone had ordered those ghouls to attack his family.
Informing Mado was merely one part of a plan forming in his mind.
How could he allow his enemies to die at someone else's hands? He would personally return the favor—properly.
He trusted the slightly insane old man Mado, but he did not trust the CCG.
Having read Tokyo Ghoul, how could he not know that ghouls interfered at the upper levels of the CCG to maintain the balance between humans and ghouls?
There were indeed people driving out ghouls and protecting humans—but it was absolutely not the CCG.
Investigators protected humans, yes, but the CCG did not.
In the original story, investigators were like diligent "cleaners," controlling the number of ghouls.
Humans were the primary food source for ghouls. If ghouls hunted humans without restraint and caused human extinction, then ghoul extinction would soon follow.
But the greater likelihood was not human extinction, but mutual destruction.
Humans were not without means to deal with ghouls. Even though ghoul skin was tough, it had its limits.
In the original plot, Rize Kamishiro was nearly killed by falling steel beams, proving that ghoul skin was far from indestructible.
Were airplanes, artillery, tanks, and missiles weaker than steel beams? Under humanity's steel war machines, were ghoul flesh and blood made of vibranium?
Humans being unable to completely eradicate ghouls? What a joke.
However, in this world where gods and devils lurked in the shadows, certain supernatural forces that relied on humans would never allow ghouls to exterminate humanity. Ghouls simply lacked that capability.
If this world contained only the Tokyo Ghoul storyline, Raize would have changed his plans and exterminated the ghouls.
What he feared was whether there were other abnormal forces backing the ghouls.
If he struck at the ghouls' foundation and drew out something even more dangerous, it would be extremely disadvantageous for Raize in his current developmental stage.
Once his strength was sufficient and he had identified the forces lurking in the shadows, the day of the ghouls' extinction would not be far off.