Black Doberman

"Damn it..."

A thick ice shield appeared in Louis's hand, blocking the entire stairway entrance. Trapped halfway up the stairs with almost no room to dodge, he could only retreat while weathering the Kagune's attacks.

Boom! Boom!

The Kagune slammed into the ice shield again and again with monstrous force. Each impact jolted Louis's body and numbed his arm, sending chunks of ice crystals falling from the shield.

He couldn't win head-on, and the space was too cramped to maneuver around his opponent.

"He's only after me..." Louis kept repairing and reinforcing the ice shield with his ability in one hand, while clenching the other hard in Nico's direction.

Shhk-

Something pierced flesh. The attacks stopped, followed by the smell of blood.

Blood gushed from Nico's mouth. Dozens of sharp ice spikes had suddenly sprouted from the room's walls, surrounding and impaling him, leaving him unable to move for the moment. "An attack I never saw coming... wonderful..."

As his strength grew, Louis became increasingly adept at using his ability. His Ice Spikes, which had previously been of little use as a direct attack, had transformed into sharp, sturdy piercing weapons.

But that attack had also consumed almost all the cold he had previously spread through the room.

"I'm falling for you more and more!" Despite coughing up blood, Nico only grew more excited. With a sweep of his Kagune, he shredded all the ice spikes embedded in his body into brittle fragments.

He wasn't finished. Freed from his restraints, Nico immediately smashed his Kagune into the ice shield. Unlike before, this attack was far faster and fiercer. With a single boom, the shield that had blocked several attacks shattered instantly.

Nico immediately realized the impact felt wrong. He stared at the empty stairway entrance. No blood seeped from beneath the shattered shield. "He ran?"

"Should I chase him...?" Nico hesitated for a moment. His wounds weren't serious, but he had heard about Ice Mask's strange tricks.

He pulled out an ice spike still lodged in his body and licked the blood left on it, seemingly considering his options.

But soon, a lewd grin curled his lips again. The Kagune behind him shot upstairs in pursuit without losing momentum, its length seemingly endless.

Meanwhile, Hinami hurried downstairs clutching a phone and came face-to-face with Louis.

"The manager said Irimi's on her way!"

Hiding upstairs, Hinami had quickly discovered the others fighting below. In her panic, she had chosen to call the manager, who was far away in Ward 11, for help.

The manager and Yomo were in Ward 11 investigating Aogiri Tree, while Koma had taken Ryouko Fueguchi to Ward 24. Only Irimi remained in Ward 20.

"Irimi..." Louis froze for a moment. He had no idea whether Irimi could beat the pervert downstairs.

Then, suddenly, he saw Hinami's eyes turn blood-red. Four Kagune extended from her back at once, stabbing toward the space behind him.

"Get down!"

Before Louis could react, a deafening clash of Kagune rang out behind him. A thick Tail Kagune had been forcibly knocked back by Hinami's four Kagune.

Only then did Louis realize it was Nico's Tail Kagune. The thick appendage had followed him as though it had eyes of its own.

Across the rooftops not far from Anteiku, a dark figure approached like lightning, her black clothes snapping in the wind.

"Aogiri Tree..." An angry voice came from beneath the Black Dog mask. Her eyes, already blood-red, had spotted Anteiku with half its windows destroyed.

Inside the café, Nico froze at the sensation transmitted through his Kagune. He hadn't expected this tiny coffee shop to have another powerful fighter.

"Keeping this up won't get me anywhere..." Nico rubbed his chin. Given enough time, either Ghoul Investigators or the powerful ghouls overseeing Ward 20 could arrive. Trouble would only keep coming in waves.

"But that Ice Mask really is interesting... I'd hate to leave..." As Nico pondered, he caught sight of the unconscious Touka behind Ayato out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey... you cross-dresser, what are you trying to do?" Ayato frowned and stepped in front of Touka. Having just witnessed Nico's strength, he didn't dare act rashly.

Banjo Kazuichi exchanged glances with the few followers behind him, and they all moved behind Ayato Kirishima.

"I'm not interested in little girls, but if I can use her to threaten those two upstairs..." Nico narrowed his eyes and walked toward Ayato.

"Ayato, why are you still here? Do you want to protect her?"

If Yamori was a senior executive in Aogiri Tree, Ayato was merely a junior one, while Nico was an assistant to a senior executive. In a sense, that put him above Ayato.

"What right does a spy sent by another organization have to order me around...?" Ayato gritted his teeth. He knew Aogiri Tree's law of survival all too well: the strong ruled. As long as Nico continued serving Aogiri Tree, even killing him here wouldn't cause much trouble.

The reason he had always avoided showing that he cared about his family was his fear that his enemies would target them.

"Hey... Banjō..." Ayato lowered his voice. "If you can, take the girl on the floor and get away when the fight starts."

Banjo Kazuichi blinked. This was the first time he had known the arrogant, overbearing Ayato to ask him for something like this.

"Understood..." Banjo Kazuichi nodded. For the first time since being absorbed into Aogiri Tree, he willingly obeyed an order.

"Then there's nothing more to say..." Nico's expression slowly hardened. "I don't like brats, but I've always looked forward to seeing what you can do..."

Nico approached step by step, while Ayato summoned his crimson Kagune... The two were about to come to blows.

Boom!

Glass shattered and scattered across the floor as a tall, black-clad figure crashed through the window and landed between them. Chilling killing intent, accompanied by the fierce gaze beneath her Black Dog mask, swept through the entire room.

"Black Doberman?!" Nico flinched, instinctively retreating half a step.

The once-cozy Anteiku was now a complete wreck. Countless tables and chairs had been smashed, and the blood and shards of ice spoke of the vicious battle that had just taken place.

"Touka..." Irimi Kyouko glanced at the unconscious Touka, then swept an angry gaze over everyone else present. "Who did this?"

"That girl was his..." Before Nico could finish, he saw Banjō and all his followers point at him. After a moment's hesitation, Ayato pointed at him too.

"..." For the first time since arriving, Nico was left utterly speechless.

The woman in the Black Dog mask looked over Banjō's group, her gaze finally settling on Ayato's face, as though she had understood something.

She slowly turned her head, fixing Nico with the blood-red eyes visible beneath her mask. A dark purple Ukaku burst from her back and slowly spread open. "This is Anteiku. We won't tolerate you causing trouble here..."

"Then I'll leave right..." Nico's voice cut off abruptly, his pupils contracting. He leaned backward, narrowly evading Black Dog's sweeping kick, which struck as swiftly as a slashing blade.

So fast...