Bleach

Night fell, and the bright moon hung high overhead.

Ward 14, the central area of the West Block.

This place was notorious throughout all of Tokyo. Whenever night fell, it became a small gathering ground for Ghouls.

The Ghouls gathered here were all thugs among their kind. Their goal was simple: kill and devour one another, distinguishing themselves from the countless ordinary Ghouls.

Among Ghouls, status amounted to nothing more than the difference in strength.

It was around eight-thirty at night. Shadows flickered along both sides of the street, and most of the Ghouls were already itching to make a move.

A man and a woman walked down the street. Compared to those sneaky Ghouls, the two of them had no intention of hiding at all.

"Second-Class Investigator Byakuya, is this really okay?"

Mado Akira carried a briefcase and wore a black uniform as she nervously scanned her surroundings.

"Ha~." Su Xiao yawned.

"It's fine. We'll act according to the 'plan' later."

Unlike the nervous Mado Akira, Su Xiao looked completely relaxed.

"Second-Class Investigator Byakuya, there's something I've always wondered about."

"Hmm?"

"Where's your Quinque? We might have to fight Ghouls later..."

Su Xiao didn't have a Quinque. Compared to a Quinque, he preferred using Dragon Slayer Flash.

"I don't need a Quinque."

At Su Xiao's words, Mado Akira suddenly stopped walking and stared at him in confusion.

"You don't need a Quinque?"

Mado Akira's voice rose noticeably. She looked as if she were questioning her entire life.

"We're here, Akira. You can stand here."

Su Xiao patted Mado Akira on the shoulder, then sprinted forward a few steps and leaped onto the roof of a two-story building beside the street, vanishing into the night.

"Byakuya~? Second-Class Investigator?"

The Quinque in Mado Akira's hand nearly fell to the ground. She vaguely guessed Su Xiao's plan.

She had become the bait.

As a Second-Class Investigator, Mado Akira could at most drive away B- to A-Rank Ghouls. If she encountered an A-Rank Ghoul, she might not be able to defeat it.

Mado Akira now felt as though Su Xiao had forcibly stripped her naked and thrown her straight into a frozen wasteland.

Just as Mado Akira was about to run, several pairs of blood-red eyes appeared in the darkness around her.

One, two, three... There were seven Ghouls in total.

I'm done for. If Su Xiao doesn't save me, I'm definitely going to die.

Mado Akira pressed the button on the handle of her briefcase, and her Quinque appeared. It was a weapon somewhat resembling a whip, named Amaz.

"A Ghoul Investigator!"

"How did an Investigator show up here?"

"Just kill her. It isn't time for the Cannibal Zone yet, and I've never eaten an Investigator before."

For some reason, the Ghouls around her didn't turn on one another. Their cannibalism actually had a designated time.

It seemed the cannibalism in the West Block was definitely not organized spontaneously by the Ghouls.

Some faction seemed to be maintaining order here. Otherwise, these Ghouls would never wait until nine o'clock before slaughtering one another.

This should be some sort of selection process. After standing out among the many Ghouls, a Ghoul would be able to join a certain faction.

"Get her! This woman isn't strong. She doesn't feel very dangerous."

More and more Ghouls gathered. The original few became more than a dozen.

Mado Akira's heart had already gone cold. She no longer even had a chance to escape.

"Looks like it worked pretty well."

Su Xiao's voice came from the rooftop beside the street.

Hearing Su Xiao's voice, Mado Akira let out a long sigh of relief. However, she was still somewhat uncertain. With so many Ghouls, could this newly recruited CCG Investigator really handle them, even if he was supposedly very strong?

"Who are you?"

"Another Ghoul Investigator?"

The dozen or so Ghouls surrounding Mado Akira stared warily at Su Xiao.

Su Xiao gave them a completely different feeling from Mado Akira—a feeling of absolute natural enmity.

Holding Dragon Slayer Flash, which had already been drawn, Su Xiao jumped from the rooftop several meters above the ground and landed steadily.

"Fourteen of them. Five minutes should be about enough."

Su Xiao walked slowly toward the Ghouls. His steps grew faster and faster until he finally broke into a sprint.

Two of the more cunning Ghouls immediately sensed that something was wrong and turned to run. The remaining twelve Ghouls charged straight at Su Xiao.

Ten Scale Kagune and Tail Kagune lashed toward Su Xiao.

In an instant, Su Xiao was almost enveloped by Kagune.

Seeing this, Mado Akira was horrified. She gripped her Quinque and charged toward an A-Rank Ghoul.

This was already the limit of Mado Akira's ability. Even against a single A-Rank Ghoul, she might not be able to cope.

Dark-red Kagune wrapped around Su Xiao, while a dazzling blade arc cut through the night.

Su Xiao activated Blue Steel Shadow, and his Mana fell at a rate of two points per minute.

The ten Kagune were severed in an instant. The broken Kagune turned into red mist and dissipated into the air.

The Ghouls whose Kagune had been cut off all let out anguished cries and stared at Su Xiao in fear.

Su Xiao dashed up to an A-Rank Ghoul. Dragon Slayer Flash left a pale blue-white line in the air.

A head shot into the sky.

In a single exchange, the Ghoul died horribly beneath Su Xiao's blade—an efficient, clean instant kill.

Su Xiao's rapid advance didn't stop. With a shift of his feet, he charged toward a nearby Ghoul.

Perhaps its companion's death had been too abrupt, but the Ghoul actually froze in place.

After standing there for a second, the Ghoul turned and ran.

"Fool."

Su Xiao's pitch-black eyes seemed to flash.

Running away in battle and turning one's back to the enemy was undoubtedly the stupidest thing one could do. It was no different from throwing one's life away.

"Pfft."

Dragon Slayer Flash pierced through the Ghoul's heart. Su Xiao gripped the hilt with both hands. His 13 points of Strength allowed him to effortlessly hoist the Ghoul up before hurling it viciously at a fleeing Ghoul.

With a thud, that Ghoul tumbled across the ground.

Just as the Ghoul tried to get up, a dazzling blade arc appeared in its field of vision.

First came a buzzing in its ears. Then, the Ghoul felt the world spinning.

The Ghoul's final memory was of a headless corpse spraying blood and a man standing beneath the moon with a sharp blade in hand, looking like the Grim Reaper.

Of the twelve Ghouls, one was entangled with Mado Akira, leaving eleven.

Less than twenty seconds after the battle began, only eight of the eleven Ghouls remained.

The only thought in the minds of the remaining eight Ghouls was to escape—to get as far away as possible from this man who resembled the Grim Reaper.

"This is impossible! How could someone this strong appear in the Cannibal Zone? Could that organization really just sit back and do nothing?"

After roaring, a Ghoul turned and ran.

Su Xiao's Agility Attribute was 13 points, equal to his Strength Attribute. In the Ghoul world, where the Strength system was not particularly powerful, this already put him above average.

What made Su Xiao strong now was not superhuman Attributes, but his swordsmanship and combat skills.

Of course, the effects of Shadow of Law Destruction could not be ignored either.

However, Shadow of Law Destruction currently had only one combat skill. He had obtained it too recently, so the power of this class had yet to be revealed.

The hunt began. Su Xiao sprinted down the street, cutting down a Ghoul every so often.

Pained screams and pleas for mercy rang out without end.

The Ghouls weren't stupid. They all fled separately.

In the end, of the eight Ghouls, Su Xiao killed six, while two lucky ones escaped.

At this moment, Mado Akira was still locked in a fierce battle with the A-Rank Ghoul. That A-Rank Ghoul was nearly crying. It wasn't afraid of Mado Akira—it was afraid of the man who resembled the Grim Reaper.

Mado Akira was completely absorbed in battle. The A-Rank Ghoul put tremendous pressure on her, leaving her no time to check the situation around her.

She was still too inexperienced. During battle, being able to listen in all directions and keep an eye on everything around her was essential. Otherwise, she could easily be ambushed.

"Please~ Please, let me go."

The Ghoul's sudden plea made Mado Akira freeze. It had clearly held the upper hand just now, so why had it started begging for mercy? The battle temporarily came to a halt.

Only then did Mado Akira see the situation around her clearly.

Su Xiao was sitting on the corpses of two Ghouls, a cigarette between his lips. The long blade in his hand was still dripping blood.

Mado Akira's beautiful eyes went wide. She hadn't even finished off one Ghoul, yet he had already killed all the rest.

"You over there. If you dare run, I'll cut you into a human stick."

Su Xiao looked toward the last remaining Ghoul. A new bait had appeared. After all, using subordinates as bait wasn't exactly ideal.

Um, does wearing women's clothes really let me update less? I'm just asking. Don't misunderstand.