"Fight him head-on in front of everyone and kill him..." A trace of excitement seeped into Eto's calm voice. She clearly wanted to see that happen.
"..." Louis looked at the malice in her eyes and felt a sinking feeling.
After thinking for two and a half seconds, he spoke again.
"I told you, I can't become the next One-Eyed King. I can represent neither ghouls nor humans, so I can't kill him."
Louis quickly calmed down. "But I will defeat this One-Eyed King of yours fair and square in front of everyone, then grant him a victor's mercy and spare his life."
Counters between special abilities were extremely clear-cut. Once a half-human entered the range of his cold aura, even Arima, the White Grim Reaper, would be no more threatening than a little girl.
Humans had to breathe, so getting cold air inside their bodies was easy. They also lacked a ghoul's powerful heat production and regeneration. Their only chance was to kill him the moment they met.
For once, Eto fell silent, though the look in her eyes kept shifting.
"How strange..."
"Oh, right. Since we're working together again, I need to see Doctor Kanou." Louis regained his composure.
"Of course... He wants to see you too. He's right here..."
In a rudimentary laboratory, Kanou Akihiro was organizing his experimental data.
"You want to use your own flesh as a template to produce meat that ghouls can eat on a mass scale. I've been experimenting with replicating your cells as well. If all goes well, we might actually manage it."
Once Kanou Akihiro confirmed who had arrived, he breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought I'd never see you again after your falling-out. Apparently, I worried over nothing. Your goals must have plenty in common."
"I'll be