Feeling the grip on his hand, Huiqi pulled hard with his right arm, trying to break free. But Sen Takatsuki smiled faintly and tightened her own arm, refusing to let him escape.
For a moment, the two stared at each other. Huiqi's eyes held only silence, while Sen Takatsuki's brimmed with smug satisfaction.
"Hey, why not be good and listen to me? I'm in such a nice mood today, I might consider not using my Kagune. All Mr. Toy has to do is let me take a little bite~"
As she spoke that last sentence, a red glow shone deep in Sen Takatsuki's eyes, and her little tongue traced her lips.
"I want to kill you... Give me a chance."
After a second of silence, Huiqi voiced his most honest thought. He had never had the opportunity during their previous fights.
"Huh? But you don't have a Quinque, do you? You want to attack me? Hehehehe..."
"Come on, come on, come with me~ I won't use my Kagune, because I want to savor you slowly..."
Huiqi's expression grew colder and colder, killing intent gathering in his eyes. As Sen Takatsuki had said, he couldn't kill her without a Quinque.
But Huiqi's body had been enhanced by the system, making his physical abilities far greater than an ordinary person's. Unlike most investigators, losing his Quinque didn't mean losing his ability to fight.
With that powerful physique, his fists and feet could still hurt a ghoul. He might not be able to kill her, but he could at least make things unpleasant.
"Let go."
On the surface, Huiqi still looked resistant, refusing to move his feet.
"Come on, come on..."
Sen Takatsuki's smile grew increasingly sinister. Certain that Huiqi could do nothing to her without his Quinque, she became even more brazen with her hands.
Neither would give way, leaving them at an impasse in the street. Fortunately, everyone around them was busy with their own affairs and failed to notice their little movements. With Huiqi keeping up his convincing act, the two slowly moved toward the shadows.
Once they entered the darkness, Sen Takatsuki could no longer wait. Her small body unleashed considerable strength as she pinned Huiqi against the wall, pressing her little nose close to his face and sniffing him again and again.
Feeling Sen Takatsuki's movements and the state of her body, Huiqi rapidly analyzed the situation while planning his escape route.
While Sen Takatsuki was absorbed in her own enjoyment, Huiqi clenched his right fist and drove it hard into her lower abdomen.
A muffled grunt rang out in the darkness.
Sen Takatsuki staggered back several steps, clutching her stomach with one hand. Her eyes grew bloodshot, and her chest heaved.
"How is that possible?!"
Huiqi offered no answer to Sen Takatsuki's incredulous question. Instead, he put even more force into his blows, his movements growing increasingly savage.
He hammered punch after punch into her abdomen. The tremendous force caught Sen Takatsuki off guard, driving her backward until she hit the wall.
In just a few seconds, the situation changed dramatically. Huiqi instantly turned his disadvantage into an advantage, raining vicious punches down on Sen Takatsuki's body.
The sounds of fists striking flesh mingled in the darkness. Huiqi gave her no openings. After every few punches to her abdomen, he looked for a chance to strike her throat, his blows whipping gusts across her face.
Yet the longer Huiqi fought, the more alarmed he became, unease rising within him. Despite the force of his attacks, he was only making Sen Takatsuki suffer. She showed no sign of injury at all.
Without a Quinque, he couldn't inflict deep wounds, but Huiqi had the system. His physical strength far surpassed that of ordinary investigators and, in some respects, already rivaled a ghoul's. The only difference was that he had no Kagune.
Why? Could Sen Takatsuki be a Kakuja? No... Kakuja is a state that manifests after releasing the Kagune...
All kinds of possibilities ran through Huiqi's mind. Her body was absurdly tough. An ordinary S-rate or SS-rate ghoul would have been at least half-conscious after taking this barrage.
"You're... a little... enthusiastic. But I really didn't expect Mr. Toy to be so strong. Your hand-to-hand skills are impressive too... So how many more surprises do you have?"
Ignoring the pain in her body, Sen Takatsuki stared straight at Huiqi. Deep in her gaze, a twisted desire to uncover his secrets began to emerge.
Huiqi snorted coldly. "Find out in your dreams." As he spoke, he abruptly gathered strength in his right leg and unleashed a lightning-fast side kick straight at Sen Takatsuki's head. The strike swept in like a fierce gale, its sharp pressure stirring her hair before it even reached her.
Bam!
Roll, roll...
Sen Takatsuki had only just raised her arm to block when Huiqi's attack landed. The tremendous force sent her flying, her small figure tumbling into the shadows.
The blow instantly opened some distance between them. Huiqi turned and ran without hesitation, moving so swiftly that he was out of the alley in mere seconds.
From the shadows, Sen Takatsuki could only watch Huiqi leave. Waves of aching numbness coursed through her arm, leaving her unable to muster any strength.
"How frustrating. Not being allowed to use my Kagune... I really hate that rule."
"The first... A human who drove me back without a Quinque... Just how many secrets do you have? I want so badly to peel you apart, layer by layer, taste your skin, and drink your blood..."
Across the entire CCG, only Kishou Arima had managed to defeat a ghoul without a Quinque. But that ghoul hadn't been a Kakuja like Sen Takatsuki; its physical strength and overall abilities had been far inferior to hers.
After leaving the alley, Huiqi immediately headed for the Ward 20 branch. He had an S-rate Quinque there. Though its rating wasn't high enough, it could at least resolve his current predicament of being unarmed.
Meanwhile...
"Senior Mado, I... isn't digging up graves a little wrong?" Kōtarō Amon looked at the expanse of graves below them, then at Kureo Mado, who held a shovel.
"What's wrong with it? Just think of it as opening blind boxes... My intuition tells me we're bound to find something here."
"Shouldn't we tell Special Class Investigator Huiqi? He's probably reached Ward 20 by now, hasn't he?"
Amon looked at the notification on his phone and roughly worked out the timing. He figured Huiqi had more or less arrived in Ward 20 by now.
"No need, no need. He'll only nag if he finds out. I'd rather keep something as entertaining as grave digging all to myself."
"..."
The silence at that moment was telling. Even Kōtarō Amon's stern face betrayed his helplessness. Kureo Mado had captured many ghouls thanks to his remarkable intuition, but he had also done plenty of things that made people shudder.
Now he was digging up graves in the middle of the night simply because his intuition told him there were clues here. If someone saw them and called the police, things would get troublesome.
"Senior Mado, I'll keep an eye on the surroundings. I'll warn you if anyone comes."
After a moment's hesitation, the importance of the job won out over his personal feelings. Digging up graves might be unethical, but he could simply avoid taking part himself.
"A warning won't make any difference. Since you don't want to dig, keep watch." Kureo Mado swung his shovel, digging away with excitement written all over his face.
Before you continue