"Mr. Shinohara!"
Amid the smoke and dust, Yu Fura helped Shinohara up from where he had crashed into the wall, blood at the corner of his mouth. Shinohara merely grunted and used the support to get back on his feet.
Kōki Shinohara examined the chips broken off his weapon, then recalled Ice Mask's unremarkable airborne kick. He still could not believe it had carried such tremendous force. After a moment's thought, he said slowly, "We can't judge Ice Mask's body mass or center of gravity by ordinary human standards."
A moment later, Shinohara recalled those translucent, crystalline arms that looked nothing like a human's, and his confusion deepened. "Or do those crystal-like parts of his body have a different mass?"
"..." Yu Fura fell silent for a moment before speaking again. "Mr. Hōji has joined up with the local Ghoul Investigators and is on his way here. Should we wait for reinforcements first?"
They were originally Ghoul Investigators assigned to Ward 20, but some leads they had uncovered had brought them across district lines to Ward 7. Once they confirmed the presence of enemies, Hōji Kōsuke, who was in charge of the support unit, immediately contacted the Ghoul Investigators stationed in Ward 7 to reinforce their position.
"No..." Kōki Shinohara took a moment to recover, then shook his head after confirming that he was not badly injured. He knew this was a rare opportunity. The Aogiri Tree had only a small force here, and the RC Suppressant appeared to be working exceptionally well. Even if reinforcements did not arrive in time, they still had a chance to wipe the enemy out.
At that thought, Kōki Shinohara raised his head and looked at Yu Fura. "Where's Suzuya?"
"That child... why..." Kurona Yasuhisa and Nashiro Yasuhisa lay on the ground for