Beneath the pitch-black bridge, watching two crimson Kagune explode toward him, Fushimi Kyo's pupils shrank sharply.
However, after two rounds of system enhancement, both his physical strength and sword mastery had undergone tremendous growth.
That confidence in his own power was absolute.
So when facing Rize Kamishiro's berserk assault, Kyo didn't dodge.
He chose to meet it head-on.
Shing !
The snow-bright blade burst from its scabbard.
Kyo surged forward in a single explosive step, his body lifting into the air with practiced precision.
Both hands tightened around the katana's tsuka as he descended, the blade falling in a devastating arc clean, absolute, as if meant to cleave through sky and ground alike.
"Ryūtsuisen!"
Seeing his resistance, Rize's eyes grew even more frenzied.
"Hahahaha resist!"
"I'll show you what despair really means!"
Under her control, the two Kagune whipped upward like massive blood-red lashes, slamming toward Kyo in midair.
Rip !
Boom !
Two very different sounds rang out as Kagune and blade collided.
Kyo's body was hurled backward.
When he hit the ground, he staggered back seven or eight steps in a sorry state.
"So strong…"
After that direct clash, Kyo gained a much clearer understanding of an S-rank ghoul's raw power.
With his current strength, pure head-on confrontation put him at a disadvantage.
And more importantly
Rize possessed four Kagune.
Continuing to trade blows like this would be suicidal.
I need to change tactics.
Nearby, Rize stared at the scene with an ugly expression.
One Kagune had been cleanly severed.
Another bore a long, ugly gash.
"This isn't even a Quinque… and he still cut through my Kagune using sheer strength?"
"This human… really is something."
"But that ends here!"
The two damaged Kagune rapidly regenerated, returning to their original state.
At the same time, two more crimson Kagune emerged from her back.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh !"
Four Kagune surged forward like raging dragons, launching a relentless assault.
Kyo pushed his speed to the limit, weaving left and right to evade the attacks while rapidly closing the distance between them.
Having watched the anime, he knew this well
Rinkaku-type ghouls excelled at regeneration, but their defense and close-combat ability were only average.
Once he got close enough, Kyo was confident that with Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, he could completely suppress her.
"Hahahaha! Run!"
"Jump!"
"Kyo just let me kill you, isn't that better?"
"Didn't you say you loved me?"
"Then let me eat you so we can truly merge into one!"
Rize swung her Kagune wildly, her expression utterly unhinged.
Slash!
At last, one Kagune grazed Kyo's shoulder, tearing open flesh and spraying blood.
"Hahaha I hit you!"
"Kyo, you're bleeding~"
She retracted that Kagune, extended a pale finger, dipped it into the blood, and brought it to her lips.
Then her head snapped back.
Her eyes closed.
Her face twisted into pure intoxication.
"Ahh… so delicious!"
"Kyo, your blood is special…"
"It makes me want to steal every last drop."
She turned her head, gazing greedily at Kyo as he struggled to evade the onslaught.
"Is that so?"
Kyo smiled coldly.
"Miss Rize… funny enough, I was thinking the exact same thing."
At this moment, the distance between them was less than ten meters.
"Kuzuryūsen!"
He whispered the name in his heart.
Nine chilling arcs of blade light tore through the air, instantly striking three Kagune.
Two were severed in a single blow.
The third stiffened for just a fraction of a second.
In a high-level battle, an opening even one this brief was everything.
And Kyo seized it perfectly.
"Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki!"
Shing!
His body vanished, leaving only an afterimage.
In the next instant, he appeared directly in front of Rize.
The blade came down viciously toward her chest.
"So fast !"
Rize's face drained of color as her earlier arrogance evaporated in an instant.
She barely had time to pull one Kagune back across her chest in defense.
BOOM!
The Kagune snapped.
Rize's body was sent flying.
Blood sprayed wildly as she flew backward, a terrifying wound stretching from her shoulder all the way down to her abdomen.
CRASH!
She smashed into the ground more than twenty meters away, carving a deep crater into the earth.
"Gah !"
She spat out a huge mouthful of blood, looking utterly miserable.
Clutching her body and feeling the searing pain, Rize stared at Kyo in disbelief.
"You… you actually managed to injure me like this?!"
"Heh."
Kyo licked the blood off his blade and sneered.
"Miss Rize, if you're going to fight…"
"You talk way too much."
His body blurred as he charged again.
"AAAAHHH !"
"It hurts so much, Kyo!"
"For hurting me like this, I swear I'll catch you, break your limbs, rip your intestines out, and devour your heart and liver!"
Rize roared hysterically, her face twisted with madness.
Behind her, the four Kagune had already fully regenerated.
They plunged into the ground, lifting her body upward like living pillars.
The wounds Kyo had inflicted were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"…What a monster."
"That regeneration is completely insane."
Kyo knew ghouls had terrifying recovery abilities
But witnessing it firsthand still left him deeply shaken.