Rival

"Too bad. I thought that was another Treasure Chest."

Su Xiao lightly tapped the ground with the long blade in his hand. His bare upper body was already splattered with blood.

It was the blood of the beautiful Rize Kamishiro. Earlier, he had slashed open her lower abdomen, causing quite a bit of blood to spray out.

"Eto, hold him off."

Tatara's voice was low. Within Aogiri Tree, he was one of the few who knew Takatsuki Sen's true identity.

"You take Rize Kamishiro and leave first."

Takatsuki Sen stared at Su Xiao, her expression grave.

Tatara frowned.

"Is that necessary?"

"It is. This human is a complete monster."

Takatsuki Sen took off her top. Her entire body was wrapped in bandages, and she seemed prepared to fight Su Xiao to the death.

"Understood. Let's go, Ayato, Noro."

Tatara no longer hesitated. With Ayato Kirishima present, Takatsuki Sen couldn't reveal her true form.

As for Noro, he also knew Takatsuki Sen's identity. He was Takatsuki Sen's adoptive father.

"Hey, are we really running away with our tails between our legs? This guy killed Gecko."

Ayato Kirishima, still in severe pain, was extremely unhappy. Su Xiao had nearly killed him earlier.

Tatara said nothing. He merely stared silently at Ayato Kirishima. Ayato Kirishima grew uncomfortable under his gaze, then snorted and turned his head away.

"Crash."

The sound of shattering glass rang out. Everyone looked toward the source, only to see that Rize, whose injuries had recovered somewhat, had chosen to escape through the window.

The building was more than ten meters above the ground. Rize had been forced to jump because she had no other choice.

Being captured by Aogiri Tree wouldn't kill her, but the consequences would be terrible. Being captured by Su Xiao, however, would definitely mean death. That was why Rize had chosen to jump.

"Bang."

A loud crash came from below, followed by the urgent sound of a car alarm.

Su Xiao no longer paid attention to the people present. He hurried to the window and happened to see Rize limping away.

Rize had been badly injured by the fall, but she stubbornly fled a long distance before quickly disappearing into a dark alley.

She had escaped. The prey in his grasp had gotten away.

The smile on Su Xiao's face gradually vanished. He gripped the hilt of Dragon Slayer Flash until it creaked.

"It seems we've... really made him angry."

For some reason, Ayato Kirishima felt a chill rise in his heart. He instinctively retreated, but the severe pain in his calf caused cold sweat to spread across his forehead.

Su Xiao stared coldly at everyone present, veins bulging on his forehead.

Even if he couldn't kill Rize, obtaining her Kagune Core would still bring a rich reward.

But after Aogiri Tree had interfered, the benefits that had been within his grasp had "jumped out the window."

"She escaped, so you can take her place, Eto Yoshimura!"

When Su Xiao spoke Eto Yoshimura's name, the expressions of the three people present changed. Only Ayato Kirishima looked confused; this was the first time he had heard that name.

"Take him away."

Takatsuki Sen's voice was slightly cold. It was no longer the childish voice she had used earlier.

Kagune erupted from behind Noro. Its sharp fangs clamped around Ayato Kirishima.

"Noro, what are you doing? Let me go!"

Ayato Kirishima struggled several times, but the difference in strength was too great, and he couldn't break free.

Noro leaped through the floor-to-ceiling window that Rize had shattered earlier. It seemed he had gone after Rize.

"Do you need help?"

Tatara was somewhat wary of Su Xiao's strength. After all, this was the first time he had seen such a powerful pure human.

A Ghoul's sense of smell was extremely sharp, even surpassing that of most animals.

Through Su Xiao's scent, Tatara determined that he was a pure human—and so pure that it shocked him.

Ordinary humans in the Ghoul world also contained a small amount of Rc Cells. Ghouls judged whether others were human or Ghoul by the concentration of Rc Cells in their bodies.

But there wasn't the slightest trace of Rc Cells in Su Xiao's scent. Not even a little.

"No need. Go after Rize Kamishiro. She's important to me. Among the few targets I selected, she's the most 'excellent.'"

After Ayato Kirishima was forcibly taken away, Takatsuki Sen no longer concealed her true voice.

"CCG will be here soon. Your subordinates can't hold them back for long. Finish this quickly."

Tatara leaped out through the window, leaving only Su Xiao and Takatsuki Sen in the room.

"Who are you, exactly? How do you know my real name?"

Although Takatsuki Sen was already twenty-five, she was petite, standing only around one and a half meters tall.

The Kagune Cores within Takatsuki Sen began to stir. As the One-Eyed King, she had ten Kagune Cores in her body.

As her Kagune emerged, the bandages wrapped around Takatsuki Sen's body loosened slightly.

"Byakuya."

Su Xiao's concise answer left Takatsuki Sen stunned.

"What?"

Su Xiao said no more. The muscles throughout his body rose slightly as he prepared for battle.

A large amount of Kagune emerged from Takatsuki Sen's body and wrapped around her. Blood-red Kagune surged, and soon Su Xiao could no longer see her original body.

What appeared before Su Xiao was a monster at least two and a half meters tall. Two pale claws pressed against the ground, while its back seemed to bloom with a mass of spikes. Those spikes were Kagune gathered together. They possessed powerful defensive strength and could also attack.

Takatsuki Sen's appearance was no longer that of an ordinary Ghoul. Her current form was a Kakuja.

Kakuja differed from ordinary Ghouls. Their creation was extremely cruel; one had to devour a large number of other Ghouls before becoming a Kakuja.

Takatsuki Sen didn't even know how many powerful Ghouls she had devoured to obtain her current form.

"Ha~"

Kakuja-form Takatsuki Sen opened her cavernous mouth and exhaled a cloud of red mist.

"Hahaha, I've never seen such a pure human before. You must be delicious."

Takatsuki Sen's temperament had changed drastically, and her voice held a hint of madness.

A Kakuja's mental state was generally unstable. After the body became filled with large amounts of Rc Cells, those inherently ferocious Rc Cells would affect the Ghoul's brain.

Although Takatsuki Sen could already control her emotions quite well, her personality had become much more unrestrained.

Su Xiao grew alert. If Takatsuki Sen had exerted pressure of five before, then now it was at least around thirteen.

After taking a deep breath, Su Xiao calmed down. He couldn't let anger cloud his judgment during a battle.

"Her strength has increased greatly, and her personality has changed quite a bit too."

Su Xiao didn't charge forward. Instead, he moved sideways and circled around Takatsuki Sen.

Whenever Su Xiao circled some distance around her, Takatsuki Sen turned her body to keep facing him.

Su Xiao feinted as if he were about to charge. Takatsuki Sen raised a claw, preparing to meet him.

But Su Xiao didn't charge. The body that had seemed ready to surge forward suddenly stopped. After making a false move, he continued waiting for an opportunity.

Takatsuki Sen began to lose patience. She opened her cavernous mouth and let out a roar, then charged at Su Xiao on all fours.

Takatsuki Sen wasn't particularly fast after transforming into a Kakuja, but her momentum was astonishing, like an Armored Vehicle.

A fierce wind blew toward him.

When Takatsuki Sen reached Su Xiao, she rose and swiped at him with a pale claw, aiming for his head.

Su Xiao tilted his body aside. The claw grazed past his ear, and the accompanying gust blew up his black hair.

The moment Su Xiao dodged Takatsuki Sen's claw, the sword-like Kagune on her shoulder slashed toward him.

With nowhere to evade, Su Xiao chose to meet the attack.

Gripping his blade with both hands, Su Xiao slashed at Takatsuki Sen's Kagune.

"Boom!"

A thunderous sound rang out. The tiles beneath their feet shattered in a wide area, and dust billowed through the air.

The tremendous force transmitted through the blade made Su Xiao's expression change. Yet what happened next left him somewhat surprised.

Blue light flickered across the surface of Dragon Slayer Flash. The special energy converted by Blue Steel Shadow surged into Takatsuki Sen's body.

Takatsuki Sen let out a shriek and instinctively retreated.

Su Xiao naturally wouldn't miss such an opportunity. He brought his blade down, severing one of Takatsuki Sen's claws.

With the claw supporting her body severed, Takatsuki Sen's body fell to the side.

Su Xiao slashed again, this time across Takatsuki Sen's back. A large amount of Kagune was shattered, turning into countless fragments that filled the air.

The Kagune fragments glimmered with red light, appearing especially tragic in midair.

After suffering such a serious injury, Takatsuki Sen became furious. Enduring the pain of her Rc Cells burning within her body, she used her remaining claw to reach for Su Xiao's abdomen.

Su Xiao immediately leaped backward, but he was a little too slow. Several deep claw marks appeared across his lower abdomen, and blood dripped onto the ground.

His reaction had already been extremely fast. If he had reacted any slower, that claw would have ripped out his intestines.

"Huff, huff~"

Takatsuki Sen supported her body with one hand. The man before her, called Byakuya, gave her a sharp yet agile feeling.

She couldn't continue fighting. The sudden pain in her body had put her at a disadvantage.

Takatsuki Sen ran toward the window. Su Xiao naturally refused to let her go. Covering the wound on his lower abdomen with his left hand and holding his blade in his right, he quickly followed.

Takatsuki Sen leaped into the air and jumped out of the building.

Su Xiao stopped, standing beside the window with his blade in hand as he coldly watched Takatsuki Sen.

Takatsuki Sen turned her head in midair. A crack appeared in the Kagune covering her head, revealing the lower half of her fair face.

For some reason, Takatsuki Sen actually smiled at Su Xiao.

Su Xiao didn't jump down. Although his Strength and Agility Attributes were high, his Stamina Attribute was not. Jumping from a height of more than ten meters wouldn't kill him, but injuring his legs would be unavoidable.

Too many Ghouls from Aogiri Tree had come today, and the terrain was unfavorable for Su Xiao. He couldn't keep Takatsuki Sen here.

Just as Su Xiao temporarily gave up and prepared to leave, he saw a man in a suit standing not far away with a metal box in his hand.

The man in the suit had his mouth slightly open and was staring blankly at him.

"Amon Koutarou?"

Amon Koutarou had happened to witness Su Xiao chasing and slashing at the One-Eyed King just now.

The sight left Amon Koutarou unable to recover for a moment.