An unexpected turn

"I'm late... I'm sorry."

Huiqi reached out and helped Yukinori Shinohara up, his voice apologetic. Every ghoul he had faced in Ward 24 had to die. Even one escaping would pose an unimaginable danger to society. They had no morals or ethics, only greed.

"What are you apologizing for? I'm already glad you came to help. Otherwise, I'd have died here."

Shinohara smiled as he answered, still shaken by how close he had come to death.

Facing one S-rate and two SS-rate ghouls alone, Shinohara had already done everything he could. Another Special Class Investigator might not have lasted this long.

"Marute, reinforcements have arrived." Once he confirmed Shinohara was all right, Huiqi began reporting the situation.

"Understood."

Click.

Only that single word came through the earpiece before the connection abruptly cut off.

Marute's face was flushed as he paced inside the command vehicle. Just moments ago, Ward 8 had also come under attack from the Aogiri Tree. Headquarters had dispatched another two Special Class Investigators to suppress it, leaving them short of top-tier combat power.

Kishou Arima spent most of the year on missions and was rarely seen. Cochlea in Ward 23 needed a Special Class Investigator stationed there, as did headquarters in Ward 1. With everyone assigned like this, there were no Special Class Investigators left to spare.

Everything rests on you now... Marute silently repeated to himself.

"Everything rests on you now."

Shinohara patted Huiqi's shoulder, then carried his greatsword Quinque off to support the Ghoul Investigators behind them.

"No problem."

Huiqi answered with a smile.

He held a red longsword. His white coat had already turned red, and flecks of blood dotted his face.

None of the three ghouls made the first move. They merely watched the Executioner warily. Even Tatara, the strongest among them, unconsciously stepped back, his eyes repeatedly darting toward the Quinque in Huiqi's hand.

That familiar scent... Could it be... Yoshimura Kuzen?

The scent coming from the Quinque left Tatara uncertain. Beside him, Noro tilted his head as though pondering something.

The next instant, Noro suddenly attacked mid-thought, the enormous kagune behind him hurtling straight at Huiqi.

The sight instantly drew Tatara's and Ayato Kirishima's attention. Their eyes locked onto the battle.

Facing the kagune's vicious assault, Huiqi swept his longsword as lightly as a passing breeze. In an instant, the kagune proved as fragile as torn paper, unable to resist at all. At the same time, electricity flashed along the blade, sending a high-voltage current racing through the kagune toward Noro.

Bzzzt... crackle...

The deep-blue current spread like a swarm of snakes, leaving a powerful burnt smell wherever it passed. The kagune convulsed, turning limp and powerless.

Catching sight of the approaching current from the corner of his eye, Tatara felt his left eyelid twitch incessantly. His hair stood on end, and a chill ran down his back. Sensing his body's alarm, he moved away from Noro without hesitation.

Just as Tatara had expected, distancing himself from Noro was the right choice. The instant the high-voltage current from the blade touched Noro, it exploded into even more electrical arcs.

High-voltage electricity now filled the space around Noro. His body jerked wildly, pouring black smoke and giving off the smell of roasted meat.

"The Executioner..."

The wariness deep in Tatara's eyes intensified. That last attack would have been enough to wound him.

"He's the Executioner?!" Hearing Tatara's words, Ayato Kirishima cried out in shock, his eyes repeatedly returning to Huiqi's face.

"It's him... Find a chance to escape."

While the two stood stunned, however, Huiqi had already rushed in front of Noro. Taking advantage of the current's paralyzing effect, he unleashed several slashes in an instant.

In a flash, Noro's body shattered into several pieces like crumbled tofu. Just as Huiqi thought he had finished the ghoul off, he was astonished to discover that his opponent's body was actually healing.

Countless blood vessels appeared throughout Noro's body. Like interwoven threads, they pierced the flesh, then gathered it back into its original shape.

How could he regenerate like that?

Huiqi watched Noro's entire healing process.

Seeing that the Executioner appeared helpless against Noro, Tatara did not hesitate. He wrapped his kagune around Ayato Kirishima and began fleeing the battlefield. As for the rank-and-file ghouls of the Aogiri Tree, he abandoned them completely. Their only purpose was to cover the retreat.

After recovering, Noro did not attack again. Instead, he looked toward the departing Tatara and Ayato Kirishima, then took a broken clock from inside his clothes and studied it.

Huiqi frowned slightly at the ghoul's actions. What exactly was he planning?

Electricity flickered along the longsword in his hand. Though he did not understand his opponent's intentions, a chance to keep even one ghoul from escaping was worth taking.

Huiqi tightened his grip on the longsword, steadied his breathing, and focused. Electricity danced along the blade as he dashed toward Noro, leaving a trail of afterimages.

He aimed the longsword at Noro's head and slashed straight down, splitting his body in half along the blade's path.

This time, Huiqi deliberately held the blade inside his opponent's body for several seconds, allowing the current to spread fully through him in an attempt to destroy his regenerative ability.

Bzzzt...

The vessel-like things inside Noro's body began trembling, unable to intertwine and reconnect his torso. Both halves of his body began breaking down. The vessels swelled grotesquely into thick kagune, sharp mouthparts sprouting at their tips.

"What the fuck is that?!!!"

"A m-monster..."

Yukinori Shinohara and Huiqi spoke at the same time, both staring at the scene in utter shock.

A moment ago, he had been a dying ghoul. Now he had become a monster that was neither human nor anything recognizable. Those vessel-like things used his flesh as a breeding ground and began spreading unchecked.

"How do we deal with this?" Huiqi instinctively asked Shinohara, hoping his years as a Ghoul Investigator might offer a suitable solution.

"I... I don't know..." Shinohara stammered. This was his first time encountering anything like this, too.

Clack, clack, clack... creak.

In an instant, the enormous creature displayed a staggering capacity to devour. Without mercy, it swept the surrounding Ghoul Investigators and ghouls alike into its mouths.

The monster's throat writhed continuously. Each swallow took down a full five people, a terrifying feeding speed that defied imagination.

Those being devoured vanished into the monster's bottomless maw before they could even scream. And as he continued feeding, his body seemed to swell, becoming ever larger and more hideous.

The battlefield fell utterly silent. Ghouls and Ghoul Investigators alike stopped what they were doing and stared at the monster in horror.

But that brief silence was soon broken.

"Oh dear, what have you done to my guardian?"

Just as everyone stood helpless, a small figure emerged from a corner. She skipped over to the monster and stroked him with a bandage-wrapped hand.

That voice sounds so familiar... That build... Could it be Sen Takatsuki?

Huiqi watched her warily, gripping his longsword tightly with both hands. If she was Sen Takatsuki, virtually every Ghoul Investigator in Ward 10 would be wiped out.

With his current abilities, he could get Shinohara out at best. As for the other Ghoul Investigators, their lives would have to be left to fate.

"Heehee... Is it useful? You tasted pretty good, though..."

Sen Takatsuki!!!

Hearing that, Huiqi had his answer. He had never reported the battle on the rooftop. No one else knew what had happened.