The Ultimate Gourmet Delight

Louis knew he lacked Touka's speed. Even a surprise attack might not succeed, so he had taken the trouble to fill the entire Church with his special cold air, making his ability easier to use.

The Ice Spikes that instantly formed on the floor posed almost no threat to a ghoul, but Tsukiyama, who had never seen such an attack before, would certainly be extremely cautious. With those tricky angles, his only escape was into the air.

Although there were plenty of sharp crystal fragments in the air, Louis's fight with Renji Yomo had shown that the wounds they inflicted were too shallow to do meaningful damage. Their purpose was to exploit Shuu Tsukiyama's caution, distract him, and throw him off balance in midair.

The true killing blow was the Ice Blade Louis had painstakingly condensed to level-four strength. It should have been hard enough to match Tsukiyama's kagune, and it was sharper than his previous level-three Ice Blade.

A level-three Ice Blade struggled to injure an S-Rank Ghoul, but a level-four one was just enough.

Seeing Tsukiyama shield his head and other vital areas with the kagune on his right arm, Louis immediately switched targets and slashed at his left arm.

The instant the Ice Blade struck, Louis felt as though he had chopped into a tree trunk with an ordinary kitchen knife. The resistance was tremendous, and the blade actually lodged in Tsukiyama's bone.

An S-Rank Ghoul, all right...

But... the person holding this kitchen knife was no ordinary man, either.

Louis released the Ice Blade and twisted his body with the momentum of his jump, seizing Tsukiyama's left hand while kicking the wound the blade had opened.

"Don't you dare!" Tsukiyama's eyes were bloodshot. In a fit of rage, he thrust the koukaku on his right arm forward.

With a crack, Tsukiyama's forearm flew off in a spray of blood. Louis failed to dodge in time, and his right arm was pierced as well.

It all happened in a flash, in the brief instant Tsukiyama hung in the air after leaping. In a fight against a ghoul, the slightest mistake could mean death.

Both landed on the floor. Using the cold air as a medium, Louis pulled the Ice Blade back into his hand.

"He's a real handful..." Louis glanced at his bleeding arm as waves of intense pain washed over him.

Despite having every advantage at the outset, he still hadn't managed to take Shuu Tsukiyama down in one go.

"Ah..." With his arm torn off, Tsukiyama looked as though he had suffered an immense humiliation. His face twisted, veins bulged across his forehead, and barely containable fury rose within him.

"One after another... you're really pissing me-" Tsukiyama's voice cut off abruptly. He froze, turning to look at the bright red blood on the tip of his kagune.

It was the blood left behind when he had pierced Louis's arm.

Damn it!

Louis cursed inwardly. The thing he had feared most had happened after all.

"Human?" Tsukiyama stared at that smear of red in disbelief and gave it a lick. As though something had jolted him, his red pupils instantly contracted, filled with astonishment.

"So... so wonderful!"

For a moment, delight overwhelmed his anger and the intense pain in his left arm. His pupils trembled uncontrollably as he stared at Louis, breaking into a sick, crazed laugh.

"My apologies, my apologies. I was rude just now... This is the ultimate dining ritual... A combination of an exquisite human and a One-Eyed Ghoul..."

"Let Kaneki eat your flesh and blood, and before he's digested it... It would absolutely... absolutely be the ultimate gourmet delight!"

Tsukiyama drew a deep breath, struggling to calm himself.

Freak...

Louis's scalp prickled, and he couldn't help retreating two steps. His worst fear had come true after all.

If I don't handle this right, this freak will be after me for the rest of my life...

"Touka..." Louis looked at Touka pleadingly. His meaning was clear.

I can't beat this freak either...

"Watch out!"

Kaneki's sudden shout made Louis realize what was happening. He turned sideways, narrowly evading Tsukiyama's attack.

Even missing an arm, Tsukiyama's attacks had barely slowed. Under the control of his right arm, the massive koukaku smashed toward Louis again and again, striking the Ice Blade with deafening clangs that echoed through the vast, quiet Church.

"Yes, just like that! Exercise speeds up your circulation and makes your flesh and blood even more delicious!"

Every collision left Louis's arm tingling from the impact. He fought as he retreated, never blocking an attack he could dodge.

But with Tsukiyama focusing all his efforts on him, Louis could barely use his crystallization ability. He only had time to repair the chips each collision left in the Ice Blade.

After using so much of his ability and enduring Tsukiyama's relentless assault, Louis gradually began to run out of stamina.

"You don't even know what I am, and you still dare to eat me? Aren't you afraid I'll poison you to death?!" Seeing that he was outmatched, Louis resorted to trash talk to buy time.

"You're human, the most delicious human! And a young one at that. That vibrant blood, that flavor... That's what both my nose and my tongue tell me!" Tsukiyama's attacks never stopped. He desperately wanted the person before him.

But after dozens of exchanges, he, too, began to grow irritated. Although the man before him lacked offensive power, he was exceptionally troublesome. His ability to block and dodge was first-rate.

If this dragged on and someone else arrived, they would interrupt his meal again-especially those people from Anteiku...

"I can't let such a rare opportunity slip away!" Tsukiyama drove Louis back with a heavy blow, then turned and charged toward Kimi on the table. "Strategic chewing!"

"!!!" Louis was startled. Without time to hesitate, he pushed off with his legs and rushed forward.

But just as Tsukiyama was about to reach the girl, he suddenly looked back, a strange smile curling his lips.

At the sight, every hair on Louis's body stood on end.

He'll kill me instantly!

Naturally sensitive to killing intent, Louis understood that at once. He immediately used crystallization to freeze his feet to the floor, stopping his forward momentum. Then he kicked the ice apart and leaped backward twice to put distance between them.

That was close...

A bead of cold sweat ran down Louis's forehead. If he had charged in just now, he might really have died here.

Ever since their fight began, he had barely held off Tsukiyama's attacks by retreating as he fought. If he recklessly rushed forward, he could easily end up skewered through the chest.

His body was nothing like a ghoul's. Against the S-rank Gourmet, he had very little room for error.

"You can activate it anywhere on your body. What a remarkable ability..." Tsukiyama looked with some surprise at Louis, who had forcibly stopped himself.

But he soon smiled again. "Still, this is where it ends..."

He turned his gaze back to the human woman before him. As long as he replenished himself with some food, not only would his left arm heal immediately, but his fighting strength would also return to its peak.

And if the only person behind him still capable of fighting recklessly charged in, he would simply kill him. It was a perfect plan.

But suddenly, he heard a furious shout behind him.

"Someone's about to eat your wife! Wake the fuck up!" Louis grabbed Nishiki Nishio by his clothes and hurled him at Shuu Tsukiyama.

At those words, Nishiki Nishio actually snapped awake and lunged at the Gourmet with a roar. "Yeah!"

"Stay out of my way!" Tsukiyama glared and swung his arm. The blade formed by his kagune pierced Nishiki Nishio's body with a wet sound, spilling blood.

But the instant he pierced Nishiki Nishio, a figure suddenly emerged from behind the spurting blood and slashed at his chest.

Koukaku were exceptionally hard, with powerful defensive and offensive capabilities that gave the ghouls who possessed them tremendous close-combat strength.

But their weakness was just as obvious: compared with other kagune, they lacked flexibility and were far too cumbersome!

The instant Nishiki Nishio was impaled was exactly what Louis had been waiting for.