Pincer Attack

It was impossible to tell what was on Kishou Arima's mind beneath his calm gaze.

"There's movement up ahead!"

Kawashima suddenly shouted, his expression unusually tense.

"I see it."

By now Kishou Arima had already spotted the crawling figure in the distance. The target was using four Kagune to help herself move along the ceiling, looking just like a spider.

Watching the figure draw closer, Kishou Arima only felt a sense of familiarity. Her purple hair and unique Rinkaku... taken together, she was undoubtedly the Matriarch!

"The Matriarch... then only her child is left."

He muttered the task in a low voice before charging straight ahead, carrying his Quinque.

"Found them... two fresh meals... Who is it? Not that person from just now..."

The crawling female Ghoul slowed her movements, looking at Kishou Arima with a puzzled gaze. The dim, reddish light underground did not let her recognize the person before her right away.

Just as the female Ghoul was puzzled, the long Quinque blade cut straight across her four limbs. Empowered by formidable strength, the blade tore through the Kagune's defense before even touching the Ghoul, the fierce wind at the edge of the blade ripping through tissue and breaking through the moment it contacted the Kagune.

Such familiar strength... Could it be him?!

Mere moments into the clash, the image of a blue-haired man instantly flashed into the female Ghoul's mind. She had once crossed paths with him briefly in her youth; despite the short time, Kishou Arima had left a deep impression on her.

With no time to reminisce further, the female Ghoul hastily defended against Kishou Arima's attack, barely managing to resist as the four Kagune behind her overlapped.

"Kishou Arima?!"

Feeling the sheer intensity of the power transmitted through the Kagune, the female Ghoul fully recalled exactly who this person was, especially given his familiar combat style and strength far surpassing a human Ghoul Investigator.

Seeing that she had recognized him, Kishou Arima halted his movements. He glanced at Kawashima behind him, then said slowly, "Rise, I ask you not to make things difficult for me."

"I'm making things difficult for you? You know the fate awaiting me if I go back! To be a breeding machine for the family? How pathetic, how miserable."

"Even if you are one of their people, performing your duties conscientiously and fulfilling your obligations, do they ever look at you as a human? They just treat you like a machine!"

"Now you've been domesticated too, killing people and Ghouls purely on command, completely unable to experience any joy in life. Though I suppose that's not unexpected, seeing as you're just a half-breed..."

Rise's hateful and intensely resentful voice echoed through the space, the tone alone fully illustrating the outcome.

"Considering we belong to the same organization... if you come with me, I'll consider not making a move."

Kishou Arima's voice remained cold, completely undisturbed by Rise's words.

"Heh, heh, heh, heh. What a fine organization."

The Rinkaku behind Rise went berserk, sweeping across everything around her with self-destructive fury, leaving numerous bloody gashes even on the semi-fleshy walls.

"Kishou Arima... w-what do we do?"

Kaede Kawashima's voice trembled slightly. From the conversation just now, he could tell the two of them had an extraordinary relationship, yet he was merely a Rank 3 Investigator.

"What do we do..."

Beneath his calm exterior, Kishou Arima's thoughts raced at that moment.

Looking back on the first half of his life, he had joined the CCG investigative agency back in high school. To the outside world he appeared to be an ordinary person, yet behind the scenes he carried out different missions.

Sometimes they were search warrants issued by the CCG, and other times they were missions assigned by the organization. Day in and day out, Kishou Arima carried them out, eliminating external forces that opposed the organization.

Plunder, plunder. Aside from plunder, there was only more plunder. Living such a repetitive life, Kishou Arima had grown sick of it all.

External sounds reached Kishou Arima's mind as Kaede Kawashima stood anxiously by his side, waiting for him to give the order.

"What do we do..."

A moment later, Kishou Arima's expression returned to normal, his gaze fixed coldly on Rise above.

"Treat them as an external Ghoul! If she cannot be captured, exterminate her!"

Having issued his command, Kishou Arima surged forward instantly. The long blade severed the defensive circle formed by several Rinkaku in a single stroke, seizing a fleeting opportunity to slash a bloody gash across Rise's chest.

"Why is it so far? Where did they patrol off to?"

Huiqi looked around vigilantly. The surroundings were unexpectedly quiet, with no activity whatsoever even overhead; that Rinkaku Ghoul seemed to have vanished into thin air.

"Hello."

A voice suddenly rang out in the quiet space-coming from right behind Huiqi. In an instant, Huiqi's expression shifted drastically as he immediately spun around, drawing his Quinque blade into a defensive stance.

"Hey, hey. It's rare that I'm full and feeling somewhat in the mood."

"Full? Feeling somewhat in the mood?"

Huiqi subconsciously picked up on the key words used by the Ghoul before him. Judging solely by those words, this opponent was definitely extraordinary.

"Y-you... What do you want?"

After hesitating repeatedly, Huiqi chose to speak up and question her, though his gaze remained fixed on the female Ghoul in vigilance.

"It's nothing. The two of us meeting is a matter of chance. Care to leave your contact info? I'll come look for you next time I'm hungry."

*????*

What the hell kind of contact info is that...

Hearing what the female Ghoul said, Huiqi felt like a herd of alpacas was stampeding through his heart. The ghouls of the 24th Ward were truly a gathering of extraordinary talents.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Does that mean you agree? Then I'll write it down."

As she spoke, the female Ghoul didn't forget to take out a piece of paper and a pen, intending to record it.

"Um... there's something better to eat ahead."

Huiqi pointed behind him and replied with a forced smile, selling out Kishou Arima with zero guilt in his heart. Anyway, the other guy was unrighteous first by tossing him aside, so he shouldn't blame Huiqi for shifting the disaster eastward.

"Oh? But I think you're tastier."

The female Ghoul looked at Huiqi with a playful expression, showing no intention of changing her mind.

Hearing this, a crow flew past Huiqi's head; things seemed to be developing in the worst possible direction.

When the situation grew cold, complicated sounds suddenly came from behind Huiqi-the sound of rustling and heavy objects constantly scraping against the ground.

Huiqi turned his head to look and saw a Ghoul with four Rinkaku sprinting over, one of which still had a mutilated corpse hanging from it. Judging by the remaining traces on the body, it appeared to be a Ghoul Investigator.

"What happened?!"

Looking at the rapidly approaching Ghoul, Huiqi subconsciously cried out. The other party was none other than the one that had chased him earlier, and now its entire body was covered in injuries, the heaviest of which had almost cut her in half at the waist.

"Stop him!"

Before Huiqi could recover his wits, the figure of Kishou Arima appeared behind the female Ghoul. He swung his blade to dispatch the Ghoul behind him while pursuing the female Ghoul ahead.

The moment he heard those words, Huiqi instantly felt a sense of dread. He was already caught in a pincer attack from front and back; fighting back was no good, and standing still was no good either.

"Go kill him... Let me see your performance. If it's entertaining, I'll consider sparing your life."

Just as Huiqi was hesitating, the female Ghoul made the decision for him.

"This?"

Huiqi knitted his brows, not knowing what to do.

"Then I'll eat you!"

The next instant, the previously small female Ghoul instantly transformed. Her body was covered by several Kagune that condensed into the shape of a monster, and pale white arms slammed against one side as a ferocious head drew close to Huiqi.

"I..."

Huiqi could no longer find any adjectives to describe his mood at that moment. The female Ghoul, who had just been small in stature with long dark green hair, had turned into a huge monster in a mere second.