"Is the young man who took both my arms ten years ago not here?"
Owl approached step by step, radiating an oppressive presence as his gaze swept over everyone there.
He had considered that question before coming. If that man was involved in this operation, fleeing the instant he appeared as Owl would be his only chance of survival. Otherwise, death might await him.
But as long as that man was absent, he was confident he could hold everyone here back.
About ten years ago, he had heard that his daughter, the One-Eyed Owl, had fled with severe injuries. He had immediately disguised himself as the One-Eyed Owl and attacked the CCG to draw their fire.
The Manager looked at the two Special-Class investigators at the front. One was Iwao Kuroiwa, who had risked his own life to grievously wound his daughter back then. The other was someone he knew quite well: the Special-Class investigator Yukinori Shinohara.
The Manager did not attack immediately. His only goal was to keep them occupied.
"Shinohara, it seems you've made quite a name for yourself."
Shinohara gritted his teeth. He had encountered Owl ten years ago, before he became a Special-Class Ghoul Investigator. His superior and mentor, Fujishige Iba, had led the effort to take Owl down. That was when his mentor had lost his arms.
What he did not know was that his mentor had only survived because the Owl they encountered then was the Manager in disguise.
"Perhaps I should have taken those arms of yours back then as well." The Manager's voice was steady, yet laced with murderous intent. He knew full well how many ghouls Shinohara had killed over the years to reach Special-Class.
Facing a formidable enemy, Shinohara and Kuroiwa chose not to converse with Owl.
"Kuroiwa!"
"Got it!"