Limits

Chapter 5: Limit

What is that?!

Huiqi's heart, which had been gradually calming down, leaped violently once more as he tightly gripped his Quinque longsword and whipped his body around.

"A woman? A Ghoul? A human?"

Seeing the owner of the voice, Huiqi could not help letting out a low gasp. She had long purple hair, and her clothes were clean and completely free of any bloodstains. From her appearance, she looked to be only in her teens.

"I'm a human, you know. I accidentally wandered in here just now."

The purple-haired woman's voice carried a hint of gentleness as she walked forward with dainty steps.

"Stop! Stop moving right now, or I'm drawing my blade."

Huiqi raised the longsword to aim at the purple-haired woman, his tightly furrowed brow gathering murderous intent. In a haunted place like this, there was simply no way a human could exist.

Seeing this, the woman no longer concealed herself, licking the area around her lips with her tongue as her pupils, which had originally belonged to a normal person, instantly transformed into Kakugan.

"Oh my, and here I wanted to make you let your guard down a bit... Since it's come to this..."

Before she could even finish speaking, several Kagune suddenly sprouted from behind the purple-haired woman, every single Kagune thin and long with red patterns spread across its surface.

Clang!

Bam! Clang!

The longsword continuously parried the Kagune. At this moment, the force transmitted through the blade made Huiqi's expression turn somewhat ugly. The purple-haired woman's Kagune in front of him was exceptionally powerful-unlike the Ghouls he had encountered in the past, it was like an innate talent.

"What are you resisting for? How about I eat you up bite by bite? Watching your own flesh and blood being consumed with your very own eyes..."

A look of pleasure overflowed on the woman's face as her crimson Kakugan stared dead at Huiqi, as if looking at a prime steak.

Although there's something a bit weird, there's still a chance to kill her... But Kishou Arima and Kawashima.

Huiqi knitted his brows tightly. The current situation was extremely unfavorable for him; whether he fought or not, it brought him nothing but disadvantages.

Seeing Huiqi's movements gradually slow down, the purple-haired woman became even more excited, as if her whole person had fallen into a state of extreme ecstasy while several Kagune behind her wantonly ravaged and destroyed this space.

Rip!

Bang!

Sounds rang out on both sides of Huiqi's body simultaneously. He saw one Kagune whip up the surrounding building rubble and smash it fiercely toward him, while another Kagune took the opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

In the emergency, Huiqi immediately swung the longsword in his hand. Two cold flashes swept past, instantly slicing through the building rubble, and then he immediately hurled his computer at the Kagune.

Bzzzt...

The computer was pierced right through by the Kagune, its shattered surface flickering with electric sparks.

"So much fun... Hurry up and run, just like a... mouse... hahaha..."

Hearing the woman's voice, Huiqi could not help twitching the corner of his mouth. Ever since he arrived in the 24th Ward, he hadn't encountered a single normal Ghoul; they were either neurotic or total gluttons.

I really want to go back to my old slacking-off days.

Thinking of this, Huiqi could not help sighing, then raised the Quinque blade in his hand high and aimed it at the dilapidated support frame beside him.

Creech...

The Quinque longsword met a tiny trace of resistance, but still successfully severed the supporting section.

Boom!

The iron frame crashed down onto the ground, and the next second it kicked up a sky full of dust, instantly making visibility underground pitifully low.

A little strategy for an emergency. If I remember correctly, there should be another support frame ahead. If I can't force her back, I'll find an opportunity to butcher her.

At this moment, Huiqi's face was covered in dark clouds. Avoiding the fight just now was to preserve his strength as much as possible; in this ghost place, getting injured once meant there was almost zero chance of survival.

The smell of human blood was simply a lighthouse for Ghouls. They only needed to catch the scent of blood to swarm forward wave after wave, and by then the system mission and his own little life would probably both be given an account of right here.

Just where on earth did Kishou Arima go! And Kawashima-they always disappear at the critical moment.

Huiqi cursed inwardly, calculating his subsequent plan while pondering how to escape the 24th Ward.

Click, click, click.

A trace of a stealthy sound slipped into Huiqi's ears.

It's here!

The moment he heard the sound, Huiqi immediately slowed down his breathing and heart rate frequency, lowering his own presence as much as possible.

Huiqi was not surprised by this at all. Judging from the Kagune just now, the woman was a Rinkaku holder, and Ghouls of this type possessed high capability levels; they always approached their prey in various unusual ways.

Rustle, rustle, rustle...

Caw... caw-caw...

The bizarre sound came closer from afar, ringing out like a countdown.

Through the dim light, his eyes could only slightly make out a single Kagune emitting the sound, with no human figure whatsoever behind the Kagune.

Huiqi looked slowly along the Rinkaku. Yet beneath the sky full of dust, his vision gradually blurred into obscurity, and by the time he blinked again, the trace of the Rinkaku had vanished.

Wait... mustn't rush...

He issued warning after warning to himself in his heart, telling himself not to let his guard down just because he couldn't see anything visually.

Five minutes later...

The dust slowly dispersed. Huiqi was still hiding motionless in the corner, save for his extremely pale complexion and unusually unfocused pupils.

"Where is he? Could he have run off? Damn it! The meal I had in the bag got away!"

The sound of destruction echoed through the originally silent space. Several Rinkaku wantonly wrecked the surrounding buildings. The owner of the Rinkaku was incomparably furious at that moment; his previously smiling face had turned pitch black, and a tyrannical aura radiated around his body.

"He didn't run far... Catch him... Catch him, catch him, catch him..."

The Ghoul was shockingly right up above. The Rinkaku just now was merely a bait deliberately lowered to draw out a sneak attack. If Huiqi had truly rushed in recklessly, what awaited him would have been the simultaneous attack of three other Rinkaku.

This single strike would have been enough to pierce several bloody holes in Huiqi's body, which would be tantamount to pronouncing his death.

One minute later...

Huiqi barely managed to clench his fists and struck a blow against his chest.

Thump... Thump... Thump-thump

Stimulated by external force, the fluctuation frequency of his heart rose just a tiny bit. With the help of the blood pumped by his heart, Huiqi slightly increased his breathing frequency to boost blood oxygen exchange.

Thump... Thump... Hoo... Thump... Hoo

Amidst the alternating sounds, his originally pale complexion gradually regained color, and his powerless limbs were reclaiming sensation little by little.

Just a hair's breadth away.

Having recovered his ability to think, Huiqi could not help exhaling a sigh of relief. It had been far too extreme just now; if the system had not strengthened his physique, Huiqi would never have dared to be so bold.

Ten minutes passed, and Huiqi's body thoroughly warmed up as strength returned to his limbs.

"Kishou Arima... Where are you, you bastard!"

"Kishou Arima!"

Panting heavily, Kawashima collapsed into a corner while still managing to issue a reminder.

"I know."

The long blade lightly swept across, and the ambushing Ghoul was split into two halves in the blink of an eye.

"Great, it's finally resolved."

Seeing the last Ghoul die, Kawashima could not help exhaling a breath of relief. Some Ghouls had inexplicably appeared to launch a sneak attack earlier, and just as Kishou Arima had spent a little time dealing with them, even more Ghouls had emerged.

For a time, Kawashima had fallen into a bitter struggle while Kishou Arima was still leisurely slaughtering Ghouls, not uttering a single word throughout the entire process save for the motion of his hands falling as his blade rose.

"Let's head back and find Rank 3 Huiqi. We've wasted a bit too much time here."

After sweeping his gaze across several corners and finding nothing special, Kishou Arima turned around to leave.

"Right, this time I have Associate Special Investigator Kishou Arima to thank. Come to think of it, you already possess Special Investigator strength... I'm so envious. Once we get back, I should be able to get a promotion..."

Kawashima kept chattering incessantly behind him, a look of yearning and happiness on his face as though he had already returned home to reunite with his family.