Night

The clock ticked away. The customers had already left the café.

The three people still inside sat around a table, their expressions grave. "He's here. What do we do?"

"I don't know. I admit I'm no match for him," said a man with brown, bun-shaped hair, his voice steeped in helplessness. Although they had no grudge against the Executioner, he was a Ghoul Investigator. There was no telling when he might start hunting ghouls.

"Neither am I. His presence is terrifyingly powerful." Yoriko agreed with Enji Koma. Ordinary humans tended to find Huiqi gloomy and stern at first glance, but to ghouls, only one word could describe that first impression: powerful.

For many ghouls, the world ran on survival of the fittest. Living with the possibility of being killed by a Ghoul Investigator today or tomorrow had honed their instincts under those harsh conditions. As a result, powerful ghouls could often gauge someone's approximate strength at a glance.

"That damned Binge Eater! She actually drew the Executioner here. We should have kicked her out of Ward 20!" Touka angrily cursed Rize Kamishiro, her expression completely different from the one she wore at work during the day.

"Don't be angry, Touka. The Executioner won't kill ghouls for no reason. If it comes down to it, we'll join forces and drive him back!" Enji Koma tried to comfort the furious Touka, but his words sounded hollow. Driving him back together would be difficult.

Their more likely hope lay in the manager intervening. At present, he was probably the only one who could drive the Executioner back.

"It's all right, it's all right. Don't be scared, Touka! We're here with you this time. What happened before won't happen again..."

"N-no... I'm not scared. It's just that the Executioner is bound to affect Anteiku. After all, his presence is a huge, huge threat to Ward 20..."

"You're such a sweet, thoughtful girl, Touka! Your big sister will figure something out, so don't worry!" After hearing Touka's words, Yoriko couldn't help reaching out to stroke her hair, her eyes full of affection.

"Come on, sis~ I'm not little anymore~"

"Hehehe! You'll always be a little girl to me, Touka~~"

Yoriko's laughter echoed through the café, filling it with warmth for a moment. The manager came downstairs and saw the scene, but said nothing to interrupt them. He simply watched in silence, his eyes full of worry.

The Executioner... What exactly changed you back then... Did ghouls kill your family, or was it something else... Rize Kamishiro... Ward 20 is about to change.

The manager's heart was heavy. Compared with the three downstairs, he had far more detailed information and knew exactly what Rize Kamishiro meant to the CCG. Until she was recovered, the pursuit would never end.

I hope that day doesn't come too soon.

Ring, ring~

"Hello? What is it? This is my sleeping time, so you'd better make it quick."

Huiqi groggily answered the phone, speaking in a voice still thick with sleep.

"I'm sorry, Special Class Investigator Huiqi. There's been another fatality in Ward 20. Please come over."

"Mm... Get Kureo Mado to go. Don't bother me."

Still half asleep, Huiqi answered impatiently. Being woken in the middle of the night was unpleasant enough. If it was for work, it was downright infuriating. Besides, Kureo Mado was perfectly capable of handling an ordinary ghoul attack. Failing that, there was also Rank 2 Investigator Kōtarō Amon.

"Uh... Special Class Investigator Huiqi, Senior Investigator Kureo Mado seems to have gone off to look into other leads. He isn't in Ward 20 right now, so could you come over?"

"What??? That old bastard! Give me the address."

Hearing the news over the phone, Huiqi couldn't help cursing. The man deliberately stalled his own promotion so he could hunt ghouls freely, without the slightest consideration for anyone else. Huiqi would have to give him a warning the next time they met.

Ten minutes later.

Huiqi arrived at the scene with a dark expression.

"Assistant Ono, give me a detailed account of what happened."

"Yes, Special Class Investigator!"

The man named Ono bowed deeply to Huiqi, then solemnly laid out the details of the case.

"The victim was discovered at one in the morning with multiple bite wounds. Testing revealed ghoul saliva..."

Huiqi studied the wounds on the corpse, looking thoroughly displeased. His irritation at being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night only grew.

"Put it down as the Binge Eater's work."

Behind him, Assistant Ono looked astonished, a trace of disbelief in his eyes. Barely a few minutes had passed, and Huiqi was already attributing the case to the Binge Eater.

"Don't believe me? Look at the bite marks on the wounds yourself. They were clearly left by a female ghoul. Then there's the timing and the method..." Huiqi pointed out several of the most obvious spots and clearly explained the key evidence.

"But this..."

"What are you trying to say? Right now, I want this attack classified as the Binge Eater's work."

Huiqi walked up to Ono and patted his shoulder, staring at him with a smile that never reached his eyes.

"Yes! You're absolutely right, Special Class Investigator Huiqi! I'll record it immediately!"

Ono briskly wrote down the relevant evidence, adding the Binge Eater's name at the end.

"Notify the family to collect the body. Call me if anything else comes up." After this attack, Huiqi was no longer in the mood to sleep. He returned to the CCG's Ward 20 branch to study the relevant records.

The rustle of paper filled the archive room as Huiqi leafed through files containing ghoul-related information from the past ten years in Ward 20.

"Demon Ape? Black Dog... Two ghoul organizations that once dominated Ward 20..."

Huiqi worked forward from ten years ago until he reached the last few years, when something had clearly changed with the two ghoul organizations. Both their hunting of humans and the traces of their activities had diminished considerably, as though someone had reined them in.

As he pondered this, a cup of coffee suddenly appeared in front of him. Huiqi looked up to see a female support staff member.

"Misaki... Aika?" Huiqi read the name badge on her chest aloud without thinking.

"Y-yes. You're still working hard in the middle of the night, Special Class Investigator Huiqi. You're so dedicated and responsible, so I made you a cup of coffee to help you unwind."

"I see. Thank you, Misaki."

Huiqi took a sip of coffee and replied with a smile. He hadn't been in Ward 20 long and still wasn't familiar with his colleagues here. Most of them probably remained cautious when speaking to him out of respect for his Special Class rank. This cup of coffee was a rare gesture.

"Wow... Everyone out there says you're very stern... But now you seem like such a polite man."

"Haha, it might be the Special Class rank."

Huiqi waved both hands helplessly, then picked up the pen beside him and marked the Demon Ape and Black Dog organizations. He had also been attacked when he came to Ward 20 before. If he remembered correctly, the ghouls responsible had belonged to the Demon Ape organization.

"Demon Ape... That sounds a little familiar..." Watching Huiqi's actions, Misaki recalled something from the past.