Infinity, Progressing from Arasaka - Chapter 156

Tokyo CCG investigators are mostly armed with MP5 submachine guns and 9x19mm Q bullets.

The Federal Anti-Ghoul Operatives from North America are much better equipped with weapons, including HK417 assault rifles, Mk14 marksman rifles, M4A1 carbines, and M249 squad automatic weapons. Compared to their counterparts in Tokyo, their tactical rails are also equipped with a wide range of optical sights and grenade launchers.

Search in progress.

"Using pistol bullets, which emphasize stopping power, to fight Ghoul, these inhuman trash... What was your chief thinking?"

With Ghoul sharp, 9mm bullets, they struck a swiftly moving A-rank Rinkaku 30 meters away, producing a metallic clang.

Seeing that the other party was about to escape by climbing over the wall and into the stairwell, a USA operative set up a Mk14 marksman rifle on a riot shield and aimed it at the lower back of the Koukaku, which was not covered by his armor in time, and fired a shot.

Bang! The 7.62*51MM full-power Q-elastic shot pierced through its skin and struck its spine hard, sending flesh and blood flying out and splattering onto the railing.

With a scream, the Ghoul Rinkaku.

"Damn it! I want to eat it..."

Bang, bang, bang.

Before it could turn over, four or five more bullets struck its face. One of them pierced its eyeball, went through its eye, and penetrated its brain.

The Rinkaku Ghoul abruptly, then its head snapped to the ground, convulsing, before it was met with concentrated fire.

CCG investigator with iron sights on a submachine gun. "..."

When the Federal Anti-Ghoul Operatives, armed with XM556 Gatling guns and carrying ammunition boxes, followed up and, together with Vera, Yukino Shinoara, Kureo Mado, began to suppress the largest number of B-rank and A-rank Ghoul on the scene, the battle had already become one-sided.

An experienced A-rank Koukaku Ghoul tried to break through from the edge, but was suppressed in the room by the M249 squad's machine gunners. Then, the flames spewed by the XM556 Gatling gun pulled them over.

First, the body that the Koukaku couldn't cover was beaten to a bloody pulp. Then, the Koukaku that had withstood hundreds of full-power Q-bullets was riddled with holes. When the investigators with machete-shaped Quinque arrived, they only saw the blood-smoke-like corpses and the pitted Koukaku.

Soon, they arrived at the core area, a structure that resembled a hybrid of an amphitheater and an opera house.

By this point, the gunshots and booming sounds coming from all directions were quite noticeable.

The resistance inside was fierce.

Vera was the first to enter the core area, saw a large number of chunks of flesh, blood, torn clothes and other debris scattered haphazardly in the arena, as well as twisted arms and legs, and human or 'human' torsos with their chests completely ripped open, hanging on racks before they could be dismembered.

The horrific scene was so gruesome that even many veteran investigators turned away.

In stark contrast to the intense gunfight in the adjacent hall, the staircase, paved with gaudy gilded glazed tiles, stretched silently upwards, appearing particularly ironic against the backdrop of the opulent decor.

Glug glug, bloodthirsty Ghoul are dying together, and the injured teammates are preparing to put up a last-ditch effort.

There's not much to say.

Chop, chop, chop!

Kill! Kill! Kill!

However, at this point, Vera no longer charged forward aggressively, and her role shifted to strategic support and decapitation.

She goes wherever she's needed, or when faced with a troublesome S-rank Ghoul. Her high mobility minimizes casualties among her personnel.

"Ah..."

A soft, plaintive cry, like a sob.

Vera looked in the direction of the sound and saw Yukino Shinoara wielding the large cleaver called "Oni Yamada No. 1" and slashing at a scantily clad female Ghoul hanging upside down from the ceiling. Splatter, blood flew far away. The black lingerie, the voluptuous white flesh, and the horrifying wound... tsk...

"Be careful, the intelligence is wrong. It has a composite Kagune, Ukaku and Koukaku, and is an S-class kagune."

Yukino Shinoara called out loudly as he helped an injured investigator to his feet.

Nutcracker.

Having identified the target information, Vera swung her blade, beheading an S-class Ukaku Ghoul was kneeling on the ground, and rescued a group of CCG investigators who were struggling to cope before speeding towards them.

"The indomitable Shinohara... Special Class Investigator, indeed a troublesome one..."

Clutching the massive wound in her abdomen, Nutcracker swallowed the blood churning in her mouth. Using her two armored Koukaku forelimbs protruding from her shoulder blades to deflect the ground investigator's Kagune bullets, she used her needle-like Ukaku to pierce the wall, moving relentlessly towards the ventilation duct. Damn it, the money she'd deposited at the Ghoul Restaurant was probably gone forever...

Just as she was about to crawl into the ventilation duct, a wailing, explosive sound filled her ears.

Not good!

Nutcracker felt goosebumps rise all over its body and instinctively crossed its Koukaku, thinking of blocking the black blade that was thrusting at it.

But the black spear moved even faster, smashing through the Koukaku and the immense force that nearly broke her shoulder blade. The spear tip pierced through her body, lifting her up with a boom! The momentum caused a shallow crack to be carved into the solid ceiling.

"Wow--"

Vomiting a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs, the Nutcracker's remaining consciousness, in a dizzying moment, sensed the sound of the wind as she hit the ground, followed by a searing pain. She knew she was about to die.

She opened her bloodshot, dark red eyes, and thud, thud. A tall, graceful Armored Figure walked up to her and looked down at her.

"This... armor, is it made of Kagune? It's so beautiful... I want Kagune like that too..."

The Nutcracker stretched out its hand, coughing up blood and murmuring, gradually falling silent until it stopped moving completely.

"The Nutcracker, problem solved."

Vera drew her sword [Black Abyss IV] and flung the blood-soaked weapon onto the ground with a tearing sound.

The fierce battle was still raging nearby, with explosions and bursts of gunfire never ceasing.

Vera exchanged a glance with Yukino Shinoara, then ascended the steps, sweeping through the upper echelons.

In the top-floor VIP suite marked "Mr. MM," she tapped erratically on the balcony with her fingernail, her eyes slightly narrowed.

Mr. MM, is it Shuu Tsukiyama 'gourmet'?

Click, the head armor disarmed, and Vera pressed her earpiece, asking, "This is Vera Adelheid Russell. All squads, search the Ghoul Restaurant's finances and transportation documents. Report the battle situation. Have you found 'The Madam'?"

Beep beep—

[Chu Hachikawa: Hachikawa Squad, no abnormalities reported. Escape route in Zone B has been cleared; progress is proceeding smoothly.]

[Jyo Hirako: Hirako Squad, the escape route in Sector C is progressing smoothly. Special Class Investigator Russell, our unit will soon arrive at the core area of Ghoul Restaurant to meet you.]

[Fura Taishi: 7th Division Branch, has breached the restaurant front desk and controlled all entrances and exits, and is now entering the underground facilities.]

[Juuzou Suzuya: Hehehe, I, I, Special Class Investigator Russell., I, I think I've found traces of the 'The Madam,' it should be right, familiar objects, familiar...]

[Yukino Shinoara: Suzuya! I'm sorry, Russell, I'll take care of it.]

Vera has no objection.

What was Juuzou Suzuya's childhood and his past with the "The Madam"?

"It's alright. Everyone, be on high alert. I don't want to say 'seem,' I want to say 'definite.' We must find and eliminate 'The Madam.' She should still be in the Ghoul Restaurant. Mado interrogated her; he saw 'The Madam' in the restaurant the day before when he delivered 'talent.'"

As she spoke, Vera realized that she seemed to have forgotten one person.

"Yamen, what's going on your end?"

[Kōtarō Amon: This is Amon's squad, the escape route in Sector D... Special Class Investigator Russell, I... I encountered former trainees from the Investigator Training School... They... they've all turned into Ghoul, One-Eyed Ghoul...]

Vera's gaze sharpened.

"One-eyed? Hold them off at all costs. I'll be there soon."

As an aside, there are discrepancies between the original Ghoul manga and the second season of the anime. In short, the story of Ghoul was severely altered starting from the second season, with various scenes being deleted, adapted, and mixed up.

The simplest example is that in the manga, Ken Kaneki formed his own team to find Donato Porpora, but the second season of the anime changed it to him joining Aogiri Tree and moving the battle to Quilalea (the Ghoul Prison).

~~~~~

155

Chapter 155 Seeds of Doubt and the Commissioner Poised for Action.

At the end of the escape route in Zone D of the Ghoul Restaurant is an unregistered, privately dug tunnel that connects to the intricate underground sewer system of the Tokyo metropolitan area.

In the dim light, murky sewage gushed out, and the rotting carcasses of rodents flowed away with the rising water level brought by the rain, emitting a foul stench. Suddenly, several deafening roars accompanied by a series of gunshots rang out, and various disturbed carrion-eating, light-fearing benthic creatures scurried about in panic.

"We will absolutely not let you pass!!"

Thud! Moving through the filthy sewage, Kōtarō Amon roared, wielding a dark blue long-handled heavy sword that looked like a blunt weapon. It narrowly grazed the Black-Clad Girl's cheek before forcefully hammering it into the wall behind her.

Boom!

The wall couldn't withstand the force of the heavy Quinque; debris flew everywhere, and a large hole was punched in it, with cracks spreading outwards.

Kōtarō Amon glanced at the White-Clad Girl on the other side, then with a flick of his wrist, propelled his sword forward five or six meters to catch up with the Black-Clad Girl. Amidst the cracking sound of the concrete wall, he swung his Quinque Greatsword at the cracked concrete block.

The stone arrow pierced the air, causing the opponent to instinctively use their Kagune to block it. The fragments hit the wall and splashed and thudded in the sewage.

Dust filled the air.

"Damn it! It's here too! How did the CCG find out?! Why didn't I get a single tip-off?!"

The bespectacled, masked, blonde noblewoman with a folding fan got splashed with dirty water on her leg and immediately went berserk, saying something before she could finish speaking. A barrage of bullets came flying.

CCG investigators and North American anti -Ghoul agents, who were stationed there, were positioned in advantageous positions to provide suppressive fire.

This loud, shouting woman, who didn't look like a combatant at all, was being protected by special personnel. The lady in the fur-trimmed dress was clearly a VIP regular at the Ghoul Restaurant, belonging to the kind of upper-class socialites who were deeply integrated into human society, and naturally, she was their primary target.

Bullets flew everywhere, sand and gravel flew in all directions, and the wall was gouged out with hideous bullet holes and cracks. Some of the bullets hit the steel structure and sparks flew out instantly.

In an instant, the largest, shirtless, masked fat man in the passage was pierced through the body by more than a dozen Q-shots, and fell to the ground whimpering twice. "Mom."

He then completely lost consciousness, and until his death, he still tightly gripped a bloodstained handsaw.

Upon seeing this, the noblewoman covered her head and wailed, "Ah, my darling—"

Before he could finish speaking White-Clad Girl pushed him to the back.

The continuous barrage of fire forced the Ghoul blocking the noblewoman to jump around, release his Kagune to block, roll and dodge bullets, passively expending his stamina in a desperate struggle.

Such narrow terrain, coupled with a firepower density far exceeding that of CCG's past operations, would be difficult for even an A-rank Koukaku Ghoul to break through; only an S-rank would be able to. However, the investigators, who specialize in decapitation with close-combat Quinque, are not fools.

"Officer Russell ordered that those two one-eyed men be stopped."

"Yes, sir!"

It was a North American anti- Ghoul agent, a mixed-race man of black and white descent, at least 1.9 meters tall, with muscles bulging his clothes. He was wielding a heavy Quinque, resembling a medieval German halberd, and was slamming it down on the neck of an S-rank Ghoul had broken through the blockade while enduring heavy fire and was attacking his own side's Heze front.

As he slashed him to the ground, he swiftly drew his Smith & Wesson M460 from its holster and fired three shots, 0.46 caliber Magnum Q rounds hitting his face at close range, causing a long burst of blood to erupt.

Then, the operator who was cooperating in the operation swung the Viking battle axe-shaped Quinque and chopped it down, and the bleeding head rolled to the ground.

Under the American-style group living arrangement.

The sounds of Ghoul fleeing in terror, their necks snapping and bones breaking, rose and fell.

They fell down like wheat being harvested.

"Madam A!"

With her opponent exposed to CCG fire, the White-Clad Girl couldn't spare the time to support the Black-Clad Girl who was fighting against Kōtarō Amon. Helplessly, she stood in front of the panicked blonde noblewoman, waving the four dark red Rinkaku that sprang out from her lower back like tentacles, while fighting and retreating to push her protected object into the Ghoul Restaurant's escape passage, which was in a blind spot for CCG fire.

"Commander Officer Russell has ordered us to give special attention to those two One-Eyed Ghouls; they absolutely cannot escape!"

Thud, thud!

Two 40mm offensive impact grenades were launched in response. Bang! Bang! Two loud explosions made the entire tunnel seem to shake. Muddy water mixed with gravel and mud flew around, and the echoing roar made people dizzy. Several B-class Ghoul guards screamed and fell to the ground.

The diffused, odorless gas hit them, White-Clad Girl, moving at high speed, let out a muffled groan.

"This is... filled with CRC Gas?!"

The moment her movements faltered slightly, a sharpshooter seized the opportunity and pierced her shoulder, tearing her clothes open with a bouncy motion, bloodstains and bits of flesh staining the wall behind her.

"Little White!!"

The Black-Clad Girl, who was locked in combat with Kōtarō Amon, suddenly changed her expression.

"Don't get in my way!"

The four Rinkaku swelled and engorged with blood in an instant. Two of them parried the Quinque Heavy Sword, hindering the opponent's power. The other two intertwined and lashed out like steel whips.

Puff--

Amidst the whistling wind, Kōtarō Amon instinctively raised his blade to parry.

Clang! Sparks flew from the point of contact between the crimson Kagune and the dark blue Quinque, clearly visible in the deep sewers.