Bridal carry

"Usually, only the more talented recruits get assigned early field training, right? It's no surprise to run into a genius every now and then."

Iba Irimi spoke up then.

"Good luck, Mr. Amahane!"

Hajime Iba also cheered Amahane Byakuya on.

By then, Amahane Byakuya had already charged right up to the ghoul.

He had noticed from the start that something was wrong with this ghoul, and with the other two as well. They had probably all gone mad with hunger.

Their group was clearly a team of Ghoul Investigators pairing veterans with rookies, yet rather than fleeing, these three ghouls had charged at them of their own accord, drooling and looking crazed.

Strictly speaking, they had not simply gone mad with hunger. This was a manifestation of a ghoul's starvation state.

If ghouls went too long without eating human flesh, they entered an agonizing state of starvation. As time passed, they gradually lost their reason and would attack anyone before them in a frenzy, no matter who it was.

Never mind ghouls-even humans on the brink of starvation could resort to cannibalism, as the saying went: "In years of great famine, people devoured one another." That was all the more true of ghouls, whose strength surpassed that of humans, especially when their loss of reason was beyond their control.

It was like having living food right in front of you when you were about to starve to death. Though that person looked like one of your own kind, he tasted delicious, and you had the power to kill him easily. What would you do?

Perhaps you could hold back, but once you lost your reason, it would no longer be up to you.

Of course, that did not mean ghouls were justified in preying on humans. It was simply how things worked.

"Eat... eat... you..."

The ghoul facing Amahane Byakuya muttered incoherently. Its kakugan looked even more hideous than those of a normal ghoul, and the rinkaku kagune extending from its waist writhed unnaturally. It had already gone insane.

Not every ghoul was as fortunate as those in Ward 20. With Yoshimura Kuzen overseeing things and transforming the ward's environment, every ghoul who sought refuge at Anteiku received enough carrion to barely stave off hunger.

In other wards, especially the chaotic 24th Ward, even getting hold of carrion was difficult. The weaker a ghoul was, the more likely it was to go hungry.

Simply put, Yoshimura Kuzen distributed the carrion resources evenly in Ward 20, while other wards followed the law of the jungle. Those who failed to secure food might even end up being eaten by stronger ghouls.

As for cannibalism among ghouls, that could only rapidly increase the level of rc cells in their bodies, making them stronger. It could not solve their hunger problem.

Although the original story had never emphasized this, that ought to be how it worked in theory. Otherwise, ghouls eating one another's flesh would become a perpetual motion machine.

You took a bite out of me, and I quickly recovered through regeneration. Then I took a bite out of you and waited for you to recover. If that cycle went on indefinitely, the ghouls' food shortage would not be a problem at all...

After all, ghoul cannibalism specifically involved eating another ghoul's kakuhou, not the flesh on their body. The kakuhou stored rc cells, so eating it meant absorbing the other ghoul's rc cells and growing stronger.

Amahane Byakuya easily dodged the ghoul's frontal strike and used the opening to close the distance. Holding "Hizashi 1/76" in a reverse grip in his right hand, he drove the dagger straight into one of its kakugan.

That eye was blinded instantly.

"Gaaaaah!!"

The ghoul immediately let out an agonized scream.

Though Juuzou Suzuya was not as fast as Amahane Byakuya, he was still much faster than an ordinary person and had already caught up.

Following the battle plan Amahane Byakuya had just given him, he circled behind the ghoul while it was distracted by its blinded eye and threw the dagger in his hand.

Hitting the kakuhou of a stationary target like this was certainly no challenge for him.

The power of "Scorpion 1/56" allowed it to pierce the ghoul's tough skin and strike its greatest weakness-the kakuhou.

Many ghouls would not necessarily die even if they were beheaded, but the kakuhou was a fatal weakness shared by every ghoul.

Once a ghoul's kakuhou suffered severe damage, it would have almost no ability to fight back. Even its regeneration would be rendered nearly useless, because that ability originated in the kakuhou.

Seeing that the ghoul's kakuhou had been badly damaged, Amahane Byakuya immediately moved in to finish it off. He lunged forward and drove his dagger straight through its heart.

[Ding! The host has defeated a "B-Rank Ghoul" and received a reward: 5 fusion points!]

As the ghoul collapsed and lay still, Amahane Byakuya received his fusion points.

Having successfully eliminated the ghoul, Amahane Byakuya pulled Juuzou Suzuya's "Scorpion 1/56" out of its kakuhou with an expressionless face and returned it to him.

"Nice work."

Amahane Byakuya first raised his hand, intending to celebrate with a high five.

Juuzou Suzuya did not quite understand the gesture, however. He paused before copying Amahane Byakuya and raising his hand.

Smack.

Only when Amahane Byakuya brought his palm against his did he understand what he was supposed to do.

Amahane Byakuya turned his hand over and passed "Scorpion 1/56" to Juuzou Suzuya.

The two then prepared to return to Kishou Arima.

As for the four others, including the Yasuhisa sisters, and their battles with the ghouls, it was not Amahane Byakuya and Juuzou Suzuya's place to interfere. If anything unexpected happened, Zero Squad would naturally step in to handle it.

Just then, however, Kurona Yasuhisa realized that Amahane Byakuya and Juuzou Suzuya had already dealt with their target. She immediately became distracted, because she cared far too much about it.

Amahane Byakuya also noticed that Kurona Yasuhisa was actually looking his way in the middle of a fight. He also saw that the ghoul the Yasuhisa sisters were facing was about to seize the opening and attack her.

Kurona Yasuhisa most likely would not have time to dodge. Unfortunately, Nashiro Yasuhisa was also poorly positioned and would not be able to stop the ghoul in time.

At that instant, Amahane Byakuya and Kishou Arima moved almost simultaneously.

Amahane Byakuya chose to rush over, pick Kurona Yasuhisa up, and retreat immediately. Kishou Arima opened another black-and-gold Quinque briefcase and took out the S+ ukaku Quinque, Narukami.

As Amahane Byakuya reached Kurona Yasuhisa and retreated with her in a bridal carry, a bolt of electricity shot past him at lightning speed and struck the ghoul instantly.

Violent electrical energy rampaged through the ghoul's body, its astonishing power snuffing out all signs of life in the blink of an eye.

Everything had happened so quickly and so suddenly that Kurona Yasuhisa only now registered what had occurred.

When she realized that Amahane Byakuya was holding her-and in a bridal carry, no less-her eyes widened, and a bashful blush rose to her cheeks.

P.S. A fourth update is coming later.