Misfortune

"Let's go. What a waste of time." Huiqi turned to leave, but just as he turned, he unexpectedly caught sight of a figure.

The figure stood atop a tall building, holding a pair of pliers and wearing a Clowns mask, seemingly waiting for something. Still, Huiqi could sense anticipation in the figure's subtle movements.

"What the hell? A ghoul?" Huiqi stared at the figure, calculating how long it would take him to reach the rooftop with his physical abilities.

The figure on the rooftop seemed to sense his gaze. A slight turn of the head was enough to spot Huiqi below. As their eyes met, the Clowns even waved at him in greeting.

"Heh. Ptooey! You've got some nerve."

Huiqi gave the Clowns one last cold look, then slipped into the darkness and moved swiftly toward the Clowns on the rooftop. There was now a very strong chance that the figure was a ghoul, so an arrest was necessary.

The Clowns above paid no attention to Huiqi's movements. They were only a human Ghoul Investigator; there was no way they could get up here quickly. That left plenty of time to cut through the steel reinforcement bars and carry out the plan.

"Washuu Rise... I can hardly wait. Just look at why you chose this path! I liked you so, so much. Do you still remember the promise we made as children...?"

Lost in happy memories, the Clowns paid no attention whatsoever to Huiqi's movements. Unlike ordinary Ghoul Investigators, Huiqi relied directly on his formidable physical abilities to perform an extreme climb. In just a few seconds, he was already two-thirds of the way up.

Meanwhile, Ken Kaneki was filled with joy, lost in this wonderful surprise. The woman in his arms made his heart pound, and he could not suppress the smile on his face.

"Th-then, Miss Rise... you too...?"

Ken Kaneki spoke excitedly, one word at a time. Words could no longer express how he felt; only actions or some other means would do. This was the first time he had ever felt surprise, excitement, and so many other emotions mingling together.

Rise's face flushed slightly as she leaned forward, feeling Ken Kaneki's strong heartbeat. The faster his heart beat, the tastier the food would be. Besides, Ken Kaneki suited Rise's tastes in every possible way.

"Yes... I really... like you too~"

Rise raised her head and leaned close to Ken Kaneki's ear, speaking those words in a cheerful, excited voice.

Hearing her voice beside his ear, Ken Kaneki could no longer contain his feelings. Had his hands not been carrying things, he would probably have wrapped them around the beauty in his arms.

His eyes shone with excitement, his hands trembled, and Ken Kaneki felt he had reached the pinnacle of his life. A beautiful woman was in his arms, telling him she liked him. At that moment, his happiness reached its absolute peak.

But Ken Kaneki was not the only one feeling that way. Rize Kamishiro could no longer suppress her desire and was desperate to taste him.

Her eyes glowed scarlet, fully revealing her kakugan, while her kagune gradually began to take shape.

Held in Rize Kamishiro's embrace, Ken Kaneki's eyes had originally been filled with happiness and excitement, but now those emotions slowly gave way to terror.

His pupils trembled violently, as though struck by an earthquake, his gaze fixed on the kagune taking shape before him.

Crunch!

The sound of flesh being bitten into rang out, accompanied by waves of excruciating pain that swept through Ken Kaneki. Feeling the pain in his shoulder, he tried to flee, but his legs felt filled with lead and refused to obey.

"Ahh... so delicious... You taste far better than my last meal. You're so delicious, Kaneki."

Rize Kamishiro released him, and Ken Kaneki fell to the ground. He pressed one hand over his wound, staring in terror at the beauty before him.

"You know, Kaneki, there's something I enjoy even more than reading... Th-that's tearing the organs out of people as they scramble to escape... I hear... th-they taste better that way."

"Heeheeheeheehee... Hahahahahahaha! That expression is wonderful, Kaneki... I can't wait any longer. Mm-hmm, hahahaha!"

Rize Kamishiro's voice was no longer as sweet and pleasant as it had been at first. Instead, it battered Ken Kaneki's vulnerable heart like a demon from hell. As his mental defenses crumbled, he began scrambling away on his hands and knees, fleeing blindly.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! That's it! Make me feel good! I'm already coming! Hahahahaha!" Rize Kamishiro screamed wildly, the scarlet rinkaku behind her smashing the surrounding structures in her excessive excitement.

"As expected of Rise. Her kagune is intoxicatingly beautiful." The Clowns stared down below, murmuring in an entranced voice.

"Is that so? Then what do you think of my fist?"

Huiqi's chilling voice suddenly sounded from behind, immediately followed by a heavy punch. Its tremendous force whipped up a fierce gust.

"What?!" the Clowns cried in disbelief. How could they have climbed to the rooftop in so little time?

The next second, before the Clowns could react, Huiqi's Quinque-covered fist slammed straight into the Clowns' body, breaking bones.

What kind of monstrous strength is this?! Is he really human?! That was the only thought lingering in the Clowns' mind the instant Huiqi's fist made contact.

In battle, a single opening often decided victory or defeat in an instant. Caught completely off guard, the Clowns had already lost any chance of winning. Huiqi offered no opportunity, pressing his fingers together into a knife-hand and driving it straight through the Clowns' heart.

"Aaaaaaaaaah!!!"

Two different screams rang out at once. After screaming, the Clowns in Huiqi's grasp went limp, limbs dangling like a corpse's. The other scream caught Huiqi's attention.

Looking down toward the sound, he discovered a ghoul toying with a human below.

"Not a bad haul." Huiqi turned the Quinques on his hands into small knives and severed the tendons in all four of the Clowns ghoul's limbs. Then he shifted his attention to the ghoul below, quickly calculated his options, and immediately moved.

"That hurts... He really doesn't hold back... Plan A has failed. Time to begin escape plan B..."

On the rooftop, the Clowns, now all but crippled, began crawling like an insect, inching toward the edge of the building...

"Kaneki... I've caught you..." Rise looked at Ken Kaneki with a radiant smile. The game was over; now it was time for the main course.

Just as Rize Kamishiro opened her mouth to eat, a heavy kick suddenly sent her flying. The kagune wrapped around Ken Kaneki was forced to release him as its owner came under attack.

"Am I too late? Looks like he won't survive, but I might as well try." Huiqi sighed and shook his head at the wound in Ken Kaneki's abdomen, but called for an ambulance out of humanitarian concern.

"What dares interrupt my meal?! You're asking for-"

Her voice abruptly cut off before she could finish. Only when Rize Kamishiro emerged from the smoke did she realize that her enemy was the Executioner.

"Asking for what? Death?"

Huiqi regarded the ghoul before him with amusement. Who knew how many meters tall the grass on the grave of the last person to say that had grown?

At the sight of him, Rize Kamishiro wanted to retreat. Her rinkaku began searching for an opportunity to escape. Against the Executioner, she had no chance of winning. They were not even on the same level.

One particularly terrifying rumor circulated through the ghoul world: the CCG's Executioner had single-handedly captured five SS-rate ghouls...

"Why do you look like someone I know?"

Seeing that she still had not made a move, Huiqi could not help feeling puzzled. Observing her up close, he felt that the ghoul before him looked very much like someone in his memory.