Bleach

Night. A bright moon hung high.

Ward 14, the heart of West Block.

This place was notorious throughout all of Tokyo. When night fell, it became a small gathering spot for ghouls.

The ghouls that gathered here were thugs among their kind. Their goal was simple: kill each other and cannibalize, rising above the mass of ordinary ghouls.

Status among ghouls was nothing more than a matter of strength.

It was around eight-thirty in the evening. Dark figures flickered past on both sides of the street. Most ghouls were already getting restless.

A man and a woman walked down the street. Unlike the skulking ghouls, the two made no effort to hide themselves.

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

Mado Akira carried a briefcase, dressed in a black uniform, scanning her surroundings with slight tension.

"Haah~." Su Xiao yawned.

"No problem. Just follow the 'plan' when the time comes."

Unlike the nervous Mado Akira, Su Xiao looked completely at ease.

"Second-Class Byakuya, I've had a question for a while."

"Hm?"

"Where's your Quinque? We might have to fight ghouls soon..."

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

"I don't need a Quinque."

Hearing Su Xiao's words, Mado Akira stopped in her tracks and stared at him in bewilderment.

"Don't need a Quinque?"

Mado Akira's voice rose noticeably. She looked like she was questioning her own existence.

"We're here. Akira, stand right here."

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

"Byakuya... Second-Class?"

The Quinque in Mado Akira's hand nearly fell to the ground. She had a vague idea of Su Xiao's plan.

She was now bait.

As a Second-Class Investigator, Mado Akira could at most handle B-Rank to A-Rank ghouls. If she ran into an A-Rank ghoul, she might not even be a match.

Right now, Mado Akira felt like Su Xiao had stripped her naked and thrown her 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... a total of seven ghouls.

She was dead. If Su Xiao didn't save her, she was absolutely dead.

Mado Akira pressed the button on her briefcase handle. Her Quinque emerged—a weapon somewhat like a whip, named Amaz.

"A Ghoul Investigator!"

"What's an Investigator doing here?"

"Just kill her. It's not time for cannibalizing yet, and I've never eaten an Investigator before."

For some reason, the ghouls around her weren't turning on each other. Their cannibalization had a set time.

It seemed the cannibalization in West Block wasn't spontaneous.

Some force was maintaining order here. Otherwise, these ghouls wouldn't wait until nine o'clock to start killing each other.

This was probably some kind of selection method. After standing out among the many ghouls, one could join a certain organization.

"Go. This woman isn't strong. No dangerous feeling."

More and more ghouls gathered, going from a few to over a dozen.

Mado Akira's heart turned ice-cold. She didn't even have a chance to escape now.

"Looks like the effect is good."

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

Hearing Su Xiao's voice, Mado Akira let out a long sigh of relief. But she still felt uncertain. Could this newly joined CCG Investigator really handle so many ghouls? Even if he was said to be strong.

"Who are you."

"Another Ghoul Investigator?"

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

The feeling he gave them was different from Mado Akira. It was like facing a natural predator.

Holding the already-drawn Dragon Slayer Flash, Su Xiao jumped down from the several-meter-high rooftop and landed steadily.

"Fourteen. About five minutes."

Su Xiao walked slowly toward the group of ghouls, his pace quickening until he broke into a sprint.

Two of the more perceptive ghouls immediately sensed something wrong and turned to flee, while the remaining twelve charged head-on at Su Xiao.

Ten scales and tails of Kagune lashed out toward Su Xiao.

In that instant, he was nearly engulfed by the Kagune.

Seeing this, Mado Akira's face went pale as she raised her Quinque and rushed at an A-Rank Ghoul.

This was the limit of Mado Akira's ability—even against a single A-Rank Ghoul, she wasn't sure she could handle it.

The dark red Kagune wrapped around Su Xiao, and a blade of gleaming light cut through the night.

Su Xiao activated Blue Steel Shadow, his mana draining at a rate of 2 points per minute.

The ten Kagune were severed in an instant, the broken appendages dissolving into red mist and vanishing into the air.

The ghouls whose Kagune had been cut let out agonized screams, staring at Su Xiao with fear.

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

A head shot upward.

In a single exchange, that ghoul died brutally under Su Xiao's blade—a clean, instant kill.

Su Xiao's rapid advance didn't stop; he shifted his footing and charged at a nearby ghoul.

Perhaps because his comrade had died so abruptly, this ghoul stood frozen in place.

After a second's hesitation, the ghoul turned and ran.

"Foolish."

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

Turning your back to an enemy in battle is the stupidest move—no different from walking to your death.

"Pfft."

Dragon Slayer Flash pierced the ghoul's heart. Su Xiao gripped the hilt with both hands, his 13 points of Strength letting him easily hoist the ghoul into the air before hurling him violently at another fleeing ghoul.

With a thud, that ghoul tumbled like a rolling gourd.

As the ghoul tried to get up, a flash of gleaming blade appeared in his vision.

First came a ringing in his ears, then the ghoul felt the world spin.

His last memory was of a headless corpse spurting blood and a man standing under the moonlight, blade in hand, like a god of death.

Of the twelve ghouls, aside from the one Mado Akira was locked in combat with, eleven remained.

In less than 20 seconds of battle, only eight of those eleven were left.

The remaining eight ghouls had only one thought: escape, get far away from this man who seemed like death incarnate.

"Impossible—how can a human this strong show up in the Cannibal Zone? Is that organization just letting this slide?"

One ghoul roared, then turned and fled.

Su Xiao's Agility was 13 points, equal to his Strength—above average in the ghoul world, where the power system wasn't particularly robust.

What made Su Xiao strong wasn't just his extraordinary stats, but his swordsmanship and combat skill.

Of course, the role of Shadow of Law Destruction couldn't be ignored.

But Shadow of Law Destruction only had one combat skill for now—he'd acquired it too recently, and the class's true power hadn't yet manifested.

The hunt began. Su Xiao sprinted down the street, cutting down a ghoul every few steps.

Agonized screams and pleas for mercy rang out without end.

The ghouls weren't stupid—they all fled in different directions.

In the end, Su Xiao took down six of the eight ghouls, while two lucky ones escaped.

Meanwhile, Mado Akira was still locked in a bitter fight with the A-Rank Ghoul. That ghoul was on the verge of tears—he wasn't afraid of her, but of the man who seemed like death incarnate.

Mado Akira was fully absorbed in the fight; the A-Rank Ghoul put immense pressure on her, leaving her no time to check the surrounding situation.

She was still too inexperienced. In battle, you must keep your ears open and eyes on all sides, or you risk being ambushed.

"P-Please, let me go."

The ghoul's sudden plea stunned Mado Akira. He'd clearly had the upper hand—why was he begging for mercy now? The fight paused.

Only then did Mado Akira take in her surroundings.

Su Xiao was sitting on the corpses of two ghouls, a cigarette dangling from his lips, blood still dripping from the long blade in his hand.

Mado Akira's beautiful eyes went wide. She hadn't even finished off one ghoul, yet he had slaughtered the rest.

"You there. If you try to run, I'll chop you into a limbless stump."

Su Xiao looked at the last remaining ghoul. A new bait had appeared—after all, using subordinates as bait wasn't ideal.

That thing about crossdressing—can I really get fewer updates? Just asking, don't misunderstand.