Rebellious Youth

The sudden appearance of several figures made Su Xiao stop what he was doing. After groping around Rize's body for a while, he still couldn't find any organ resembling a Kagune core.

He pulled his left hand out of Rize's lower abdomen. Her body twitched noticeably as she lay flat on the ground, looking thoroughly broken.

If Rize were lucky enough to escape, Su Xiao would become her nightmare.

"Aogiri Tree."

The ones who had suddenly appeared were no small fry.

According to Su Xiao's memory, the little girl wrapped in bandages was the leader of Aogiri Tree—the One-Eyed King, Eto Yoshimura.

Eto Yoshimura usually went by the alias Takatsuki Sen, posing as a novelist and blending into human society.

As a rare one-eyed Ghoul in this world, Takatsuki Sen's strength was unquestionable. Though not at the top among SSS-class Ghouls, she was still not to be underestimated.

The figures beside Takatsuki Sen were the SS-class Ghoul Tatara, the SS-class Ghoul Noro, and the S-class Ghoul Ayato Kirishima.

Tatara wore a red mask and a white coat, the mask covering the lower half of his face, making his features unclear.

Noro was even more tightly wrapped, with no part of his body exposed except for his hands.

Ayato Kirishima also wore a mask, his crimson eyes staring at Su Xiao with defiance.

The four's goal was obvious: capture Rize Kamishiro. Gecko's earlier appearance had also been for the same purpose.

"Let her go, or die."

Tatara's tone was calm, carrying no overt threat, but a Kagune had already emerged behind him.

Gecko's headless corpse lay nearby. Though the group wasn't intimidated by Su Xiao, they didn't underestimate him either.

Defeating two S-class Ghouls showed Su Xiao's strength, but the Ghouls present had another guess—maybe Gecko and Rize Kamishiro had wounded each other, and Su Xiao had simply taken advantage.

"Looks like my luck is pretty good today."

Su Xiao wiped the blood off his left hand on Rize's clothes, then ignored her.

Before extracting the Kagune core from Rize's body, she couldn't die. Otherwise, who knew what might happen in this Derivative World? Su Xiao didn't want to take that risk.

This was something Reincarnation Paradise had clearly warned him about before.

One SSS-class Ghoul, two SS-class Ghouls—Su Xiao could feel the pressure.

As for Ayato Kirishima, the S-class Ghoul, he was simply ignored.

Su Xiao was confident he could now crush S-class Ghouls. As for SS-class, that should be fine too. The strongest, SSS-class, he hadn't fought yet, so he wouldn't jump to conclusions.

Whether he could kill the people in front of him would have to be tested in practice.

Even if he wasn't a match, Su Xiao could escape. They wouldn't be able to stop him—he had that much confidence.

Dragon Slayer Flash angled toward the ground, Su Xiao slowly walked toward the members of Aogiri Tree.

In the distance, many Contractors shared the same thought: Su Xiao had lost his mind.

Facing the top combat power of the Ghoul world, Takatsuki Sen, this guy was actually going to fight head-on? And with other Ghouls present?

The Contractors hesitated no longer and began to flee, scattering in an instant. They didn't dare to keep watching. If Su Xiao lost, they would die. But even if Su Xiao won, he might still be in danger.

The members of Aogiri Tree noticed the fleeing Contractors but only glanced at them before ignoring them.

"Ayato, kill him."

Tatara held a higher position in Aogiri Tree, so he directly ordered Ayato Kirishima to kill Su Xiao.

Ayato Kirishima, a rebellious youth, didn't openly defy Tatara's order but let out a light snort, showing his displeasure.

"Human, I'm in a good mood today, so I'll give you a chance to disappear from my sight."

Though the Ghouls guessed Su Xiao's strength was decent, they didn't take him too seriously.

The main reason was that Su Xiao wasn't holding a Quinque but a longsword.

Quinques were the primary weapons used by the CCG against Ghouls, manufactured by CCG laboratories from Ghoul Kagune cores.

Su Xiao said nothing, continuing to walk forward slowly. He didn't care about the enemy's contempt—it was an advantage in itself.

"Tch, since you're asking for death, I'll send you on your way."

The rebellious youth Ayato Kirishima's Kagune appeared. An irregularly shaped wing emerged from his left back—that was his Kagune, a Ukaku.

The trait of Ukaku Ghouls was speed and explosive power. Most had ranged attack capabilities, but they also had a major flaw: lack of stamina.

If they couldn't quickly finish an opponent in the early stages of battle, Ukaku Ghouls usually lost soon after.

Though Ayato Kirishima was somewhat arrogant, he wasn't stupid. Su Xiao clearly excelled in close combat, so Ayato didn't approach him.

Ayato Kirishima spread his Kagune behind him, and dense, diamond-shaped blood-red crystals shot toward Su Xiao.

"Whoosh~."

A sound of air being torn came through, showing the formidable attack power of those crystals.

Su Xiao stopped walking, his pitch-black eyes fixed on the rapidly approaching blood-red crystals.

As he stared, those fast-moving crystals gradually slowed in his vision. His increased Agility attribute had enhanced his dynamic vision.

His longsword slashed repeatedly, leaving several white lines in the air.

"Ding, ding, ding~"

The crystals hurtling toward him were all shattered, scattering into a flurry of debris.

Ayato Kirishima was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Su Xiao to deflect his attack so easily.

In that instant of Ayato's distraction, Su Xiao suddenly quickened his pace, closing the distance in three long strides to stand before him.

"So fast."

Ayato's pupils contracted sharply. Instinctively, he wanted to retreat, already shifting into a backstep stance, but his feet hadn't yet left the ground.

Was it really that easy to escape once Su Xiao got close? Of course not.

Su Xiao hopped forward a step and kicked Ayato square in the shinbone. Though the shinbone was tough, it was also brittle.

"Crack."

A sickening sound of bone breaking rang out. Ayato's shinbone snapped in the opposite direction, bending into a V-shape, with jagged, pale bone fragments piercing through flesh and skin.

Ayato let out a scream. His retreat was interrupted, and he stumbled backward, losing his balance.

A smile crept onto Su Xiao's face as his blade mercilessly slashed toward Ayato's throat.

This was Su Xiao's fighting style: either he didn't strike, or when he did, he went straight for the enemy's vital point.

Before Dragon Slayer Flash even reached Ayato's throat, Ayato felt a prickling sensation there.

If that strike landed, he would surely die.

Ayato was filled with regret. He had been too reckless, letting his guard down against an unknown enemy.

Just as Ayato was about to meet his end, a thick kagune blocked his path.

That kagune was unusually robust, its tip adorned with fang-like bone structures—it was Noro's kagune.

Su Xiao's slash wasn't so easily stopped. Noro's kagune was cut halfway through, Dragon Slayer Flash deeply embedded within it.

Su Xiao pressed on, but it felt like cutting into a rubber tire; the subsequent damage was minimal.

Blue Steel Shadow activated, and pale blue energy seeped into the wound on Noro's kagune. Noro, standing nearby, grunted and immediately withdrew his kagune.

Su Xiao knew some of Noro's secrets. This guy was strong—his entire body's tissue was almost identical in structure to a kagune, granting him a near-immortal regenerative ability.

Having narrowly escaped death, Ayato gasped for air. In that moment when Su Xiao swung his blade, he had been certain he was done for.

No one dared to underestimate the smiling Su Xiao anymore. Tatara and the others stepped forward, forming an encirclement.

Huh~, I had to go out for something this afternoon. Fei Wen's going to grab a bite first—I'm starving. I'll update the next chapter soon. Sorry, today's update is a bit late.