Boom!
As if in answer to his words, a tremendous crash suddenly erupted behind him. Looking over, he saw someone in an Aogiri Tree coat and a Long-Beaked Crow Mask racing toward the passage above. In his arms was a woman with long purple hair and old bloodstains on her face.
A crimson tail kagune pursued him relentlessly.
As though it had all been calculated, the moment the man in the Long-Beaked Crow Mask reached the Ventilation Duct, the tail kagune reached its maximum length, falling half a meter short.
The man in the Long-Beaked Crow Mask did not hesitate. In the blink of an eye, he vanished into the passage.
Tatara frowned at the ghoul who had already escaped his attack range.
The sudden turn of events seemed to make Tatara realize something. He turned to look at the Ice Mask, then shifted his gaze to Shachi.
The Ice Mask was farther away, so that was understandable. But why had Shachi, who was right beside him, made no move to stop the escape either? This had clearly been planned in advance.
It was hardly a secret that Rize Kamishiro was Shachi's adopted daughter.
Eto was looking toward the place where Renji Yomo had disappeared, the pieces seemingly falling into place in her mind. "I've been played..."
Rize Kamishiro was also one of Aogiri Tree's targets, yet someone had snatched her away right before Eto's eyes.
Meanwhile, neither Shachi nor the Ice Mask had reacted when the man in the crow mask suddenly appeared. Instead, they had stood rooted to the spot, their expressions grave, almost as though...
They had been guarding against her.
"Say, if I'd tried to stop that ghoul just now, would you have attacked me?" Eto turned her gaze back to the person before her.
"I..."