After the battle

In other words, she had traded her intelligence for tremendous power.

Sen Takatsuki could no longer control herself and had begun a grotesque transformation. The Kagune growing unchecked across her body was its most obvious outward sign.

The SSS-rate Quinque in Huiqi's hand severed the Kakuja's arm in an instant. Then he sprang into motion and climbed onto its body.

Roar!!!

The fully transformed Kakuja roared in fury, twisting its elongated head repeatedly as it tried to attack Huiqi. More Kagune continually sprouted from its back to strike at him.

But thanks to his Quinque's strength, Huiqi could block and counter with every slash. For a time, he and the crazed Kakuja were locked in a stalemate, neither able to overcome the other.

Amid the dangerous battle, Huiqi kept his eyes firmly on his target, inching toward the Kakuja's head. Based on his years of experience hunting ghouls, the head was very likely its core.

Through persistent effort, Huiqi pushed through the onslaught and reached the head. The long blade in his hand shifted from defense to attack.

Crack, crack, crack!!!

Squelch!

Roar! Awooooo!!!

Piercing screams mingled with the sound of tearing flesh.

The Kakuja's head thrashed violently. Huiqi had driven his long blade through it and was now trying to sever it, grinding his way through bit by bit as though slicing a watermelon.

The process was accompanied by the Kakuja's agonized howls and Huiqi's muffled grunts. Both were giving everything they had. The intense struggle left Huiqi with no spare hand to fend off the other Kagune, and numerous wounds now covered his body.

Crunch, crunch, crunch...

Bang!

With every ounce of strength he had, Huiqi finally severed the Kagune head. As the armor around the Kakuja's head fell away, it revealed the figure inside.

"Die!" Even though the prolonged battle had left Huiqi utterly exhausted, a smile still appeared on his face.

Yet a strange look crossed Sen Takatsuki's face. Her scarlet Kakugan swept over Huiqi's entire body, seemingly carrying some kind of emotion this time.

Huiqi did not notice the change in Sen Takatsuki's expression. All he knew was that once he dealt with this ghoul, he would settle his score with Kishou Arima next. Without hesitation, his free hand drew a dagger from his pocket and thrust it straight toward Sen Takatsuki's neck.

The sound of a sharp blade tearing through flesh echoed around them.

Sen Takatsuki suddenly dispelled the Kagune armor around her body. The abrupt loss of support threw Huiqi's dagger off course, turning the strike aimed at her neck into one aimed at her abdomen.

But in the next instant, Huiqi's eyes widened as he stared at Sen Takatsuki in disbelief. She made no attempt to block him and instead leaned into his attack.

Their bodies pressed together in an instant, their rapid breaths brushing each other's faces.

"You could be more like... a ghoul..."

Sen Takatsuki seemed lost in her own world, paying no attention to her injuries. She merely raised a hand and stroked Huiqi's left eye.

"Like a ghoul? I'm a Ghoul Investigator."

The gentle touch on his face did not sway Huiqi. His right hand drew another dagger and drove it toward Sen Takatsuki's neck at an exceptionally tricky, lethal angle.

"You don't have to be... and if you were one-eyed... I think I'd enjoy it even more..."

The corners of Sen Takatsuki's mouth lifted into an enigmatic smile. An Ukaku burst from her back to block Huiqi's attack, but without her Kakuja transformation, her Kagune was nowhere near strong enough to stop it.

Still, her Ukaku deflected the attack from its original course. The dagger pierced straight through it and into her collarbone.

Though his attack had gone off target again, Huiqi did not give up. He continued driving his arm forward, trying to cut through Sen Takatsuki's neck and kill her once and for all.

Damn it! It's caught on the bone!

As Huiqi tried to make his next move, he felt a distinct, hard resistance.

I can't keep this up. I need to strike somewhere else...

Huiqi knew he had little strength left. Since he could not cut through the bone, he would have to try something else.

"I won't get to eat your thigh... what a shame..." A trace of regret appeared in Sen Takatsuki's eyes. Before Huiqi could react, she wrapped both arms around him.

The next instant, searing pain erupted in his shoulder. Flesh was bitten off and swallowed, accompanied by wet, sucking sounds.

"Mmm... ah... ngh."

Sounds of bliss echoed beside his ear. Sen Takatsuki kept chewing the flesh, her eyes hazy, as though she had been utterly conquered by its flavor.

In that single second, she carefully savored every mouthful. Her teeth bit down gently, the tender meat breaking apart between them as rich juices filled her mouth.

Her tongue nimbly licked the blood from the corners of her mouth, savoring its distinctive metallic sweetness. Every chew carried a sound of satisfaction that made one wonder just how delicious her meal could be.

Crunch!

"Ngh!"

The dreamy look on Sen Takatsuki's face vanished instantly, replaced by pain. Her hands clamped down on Huiqi's shoulders with such force that he could hear his bones creaking under the strain.

Just a moment earlier, Huiqi had plunged his dagger into Sen Takatsuki's chest.

"Die, with my blessing." Feeling the sensation transmitted through the dagger, Huiqi smiled broadly.

"Is... is that so? It hurts so much... but how could I die without a suppressant? Still, let's leave it here for today..."

Sen Takatsuki's voice was faint against his shoulder, yet Huiqi heard every word with exceptional clarity. As she spoke, she forcibly pulled the dagger out of her heart.

All of Huiqi's weapons had been specially modified with two features: custom blood grooves and reverse-facing blades. These had a tremendous effect on ghouls. Once a weapon wounded one, it meant a slow death.

Pulling out the dagger meant enduring the additional injury caused by its reverse-facing blades. Even if they could bear that and remove it, they would then have to withstand the massive blood loss caused by its blood grooves.

These features were enough to influence a battle and decide its outcome.

"It hurts... it hurts so much..."

Cries of pain reached Huiqi's ears one after another. Clutching his wounded shoulder, he watched Sen Takatsuki warily. If the excessive pain destabilized her mind again, she might unleash her Kagune and attack.

After a long while, the expected attack never came. Instead, she said something strange. "Let's leave it here for today. I had a wonderful time..."

"Tch. Then when are you going to die?" Huiqi snapped back viciously, his words brimming with malice.

Sen Takatsuki made no further move in response to his provocation. She merely answered with a smile, then leaned against the edge of the rooftop and fell backward.

After watching Sen Takatsuki leave, Huiqi slumped against the wall, panting heavily as his chest rose and fell.

The battle had left both of them badly wounded. Sen Takatsuki had bitten a chunk of flesh out of Huiqi, and blood seeped from wounds all over his body. He had long since exhausted his strength; otherwise, that dagger would not merely have pierced her heart-it would have cut her in half at the waist.

The SSS-rate Quinque beside him was already badly worn. Its edge was visibly uneven, and its sharpness had deteriorated drastically.

Cough, cough, cough, cough... cough, cough...

After escaping, Sen Takatsuki hid in a corner, coughing incessantly. Each cough brought up bloody froth and fragments of her internal organs. Without the powerful regenerative ability of a Kakuja, she would likely have died on that rooftop.

"That was close... thank goodness he didn't chase me. I almost died at his hands."

Sen Takatsuki's face was pale, her voice weak. Her wounds were healing extremely slowly, and using her Kakuja form had left her with barely any strength. She curled up in the corner, utterly drained.

Abandoning her defense to attack just so she could bite off a chunk of flesh had been an act of necessity. It was the only way to replenish her strength temporarily, and Sen Takatsuki had made the right choice.

Huiqi's system-enhanced body was a supreme source of nourishment for ghouls. That single bite had given Sen Takatsuki enough strength to leave the battlefield.

Notice

Ward 20 Special Class Investigator Executioner was injured in a ghoul attack. Rank 1 Investigator Kureo Mado will now take over his duties.

"Executioner was injured?"

"Seriously??"

"What kind of ghoul was it?"

For a time, everyone in Ward 20 began discussing it, speculating about the extent of Huiqi's injuries and what he had encountered.

Far away in Ward 13, Kureo Mado fell silent when he saw the message on his phone.