Dealing with it

"Aah! Aaaaaah!!"

The Ghoul's screams grew fainter, and Huiqi's movements slowed. Blood clung to his long blade, dripping steadily from its tip.

"Hey?! What are you doing? Are you killing someone?!"

"Murder!! Call the police!"

Several terrified voices suddenly reached his ears. Some of the braver passersby ventured into the alley, but their wary expressions and visible tension made it clear they were still afraid.

"Call the police? You think that'll help?"

Huiqi stopped what he was doing. The icy menace faded from his face, replaced by a harmless smile.

"A monster! Aaaaaah!!! A Ghoul! Aaaaaah!! Run!"

The sight frightened the passerby so badly that they collapsed. Their legs frantically pushed against the ground as they tried to get away from Huiqi, their hands scrabbling along too. They looked just like a worm.

"Tsk, tsk. Don't go outside if your eyesight's that bad. If it's really hopeless, get yourself some Ghoul eyes."

Huiqi walked past the passerby, making sure to give their crawling body a kick.

Outside, someone had already called the police. Plenty of others held up their phones to film the alley, afraid of missing anything exciting.

Drip, drip...

The scene was terrifyingly quiet. Only the sound of dripping liquid came from the alley. Tiny beads of sweat formed on the onlookers' faces as they stared fixedly at its entrance.

"What are you staring at? A Ghoul Investigator is doing his job."

Huiqi appeared before the crowd, but the blood-red blade in his hand and the eerie smile on his face still made everyone flinch.

"Ghoul Investigator... yes, yes, of course! Sorry for disturbing you!"

"Sorry for disturbing you!"

"Sorry for disturbing you!"

A few sharp-eyed people immediately began bowing, apologizing to Huiqi over and over.

"All right, all right. Hurry home. It's not safe to be out at night."

At worst, it could be called obstruction of official duties. At best, it was nothing. It all depended on Huiqi's mood. He did not bother holding such trifles against them, though, and took out his phone to call the CCG's Ward 20 branch.

"Hello. I was attacked by Ghouls. Send the support staff over now."

"Where are you? We'll send backup immediately!"

"They're all dead. The second-to-last alley on Hanamori Street in Ward 20. Make sure you don't damage the bodies. I still need a new Quinque."

"Understood! Please wait a moment."

Click.

Huiqi hung up and leaned against a nearby wall.

Up above...

"Aren't we going to do anything? Three Ghouls have already died."

"No need. They made their own choice, and they must take responsibility for it. Besides, killing a White Dove would make the CCG send more personnel to Ward 20."

"But they're Demon Apes. My children."

"Forget the past. We have to keep Anteiku going."

An unexplained chill? Where is it coming from? The Ghouls' companions?

Huiqi, who had been waiting for the support staff with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and scanned his surroundings. His idle gaze sharpened in an instant as he searched for any threats nearby.

This one? No, that's not it. Could it be that one? No, not that one either.

Huiqi scanned several people in succession but failed to find whoever was hiding. The other person seemed to know he had noticed her presence, and the unexplained chill gradually faded.

Suddenly, Huiqi noticed a figure moving through the crowd. As she moved, she kept glancing back at him, as though nervous about something.

"Found you. Still far too green, in the end."

He grabbed the long blade beside him and vanished from the spot in an instant. To the nearby onlookers, Huiqi had disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Hey, kid. Where are your parents?"

Holding his long blade, Huiqi looked at the girl with short blue hair before him. His voice carried a teasing note, but the murderous intent deep in his eyes had not faded in the slightest.

Touka stared blankly at Huiqi, who had suddenly appeared before her. She seemed so nervous or frightened that she had lost the ability to speak.

It took a full minute for Touka to shake off the tangled shock, fear, and other emotions. The Ghoul Investigator before her was completely different from the ones she had encountered before. Against the backdrop of the night, he spread fear like a demon.

"Are you trying to lecture me? Get out of my way!"

Touka shouted with a bravado she did not feel. Her instincts told her that she must never, ever reveal her Ukaku, or her life would be forfeit.

"Really? But I think you're..."

"Don't hurt her! You bad Ghoul Investigator!"

Before Huiqi could finish, a little boy suddenly emerged from the crowd. He spread his arms and stood firmly in Huiqi's way, his face bearing a determination and seriousness beyond his years.

The boy kept his eyes fixed on Huiqi, as though he would not budge an inch no matter what happened.

Touka was startled by the little boy's appearance too. She looked at him in surprise, not understanding why he had stepped forward to shield her. Ghoul Investigators had plenty of excuses for killing people.

All the investigator had to do was say the boy had obstructed his duties and interfered with a Ghoul extermination, and his death would have been for nothing.

Huiqi's expression remained unchanged. His gaze swept over Touka from head to toe, as though seeing straight into her mind. She felt deeply uneasy, a chill rising within her.

In that eerie atmosphere, the two of them instinctively pressed close together, as though doing so could give them a shred of safety.

"Excuse me, let me through..."

A man's voice suddenly rang out. He sounded anxious as he pushed through the crowd, trying to get inside.

A few seconds later, the man squeezed into the center, his forehead drenched in sweat.

"I'm sorry, Ghoul Investigator! This is my son, Shota. I'm sorry for the trouble he's caused you!"

"I'm sorry! Please let the children go!"

The middle-aged man stood in front of Shota and Touka and bowed deeply to Huiqi. He repeated apology after apology, looking as though he would never give up until Huiqi agreed.

At the sight, Huiqi put away his long blade and stopped pressuring Touka. By then, police cars had formed ring after ring around the scene, and yellow tape had been put up.

"Ghoul Investigator! I'm Zhangben Yihan, a supporting police officer from Ward 20, originally a Hokkaido Native! Please give your orders!"

"Disperse the crowd and take the bodies back to the CCG."

Huiqi waved a hand, signaling them to begin.

The surrounding crowd gradually dispersed...

"Thank you for helping me find my child. I'm sorry for the trouble. I couldn't find him anywhere, and I only realized where he was when I heard Shota shouting in the crowd. I'm truly sorry."

The man was visibly emotional, tears glistening in his eyes as he thanked the girl before him in a trembling voice.

"I-it's... nothing... if anyone should say thank you... it should be me..."

Touka stammered her reply. If Shota's father had not stepped in, she might well have died there.

"Hey! Stupid sis, what happened?"

As the two spoke, a jarring voice interrupted them. Three pairs of eyes turned toward a blue-haired boy walking over.

Seeing her younger brother, Touka grew anxious. She glanced at Shota and his father, then back at her brother. After hesitating several times, she decided to leave this awful place.

"Hey? What's wrong, sis?"

Only after the two reached a deserted spot did Touka stop and begin explaining everything that had just happened.

The more Ayato Kirishima heard, the stranger his expression became. By the end, anger seemed to radiate from him.

"I'll teach him a lesson! How dare he lay a hand on Ghouls? He's asking to die!"

"Don't!"