Chapter 115: All About Acting

In the central city of District 24.

Suzuya Shikizo stood before Mutsuki Akira, whose one arm hung limp, badly injured.

Not far from them, Noro, Tachibana, and Kirishima Aki were watching them with predatory intent.

“What the hell is Special Class Arima doing? Abandoning his enemy mid-battle?”

Mutsuki Akira scanned the enemies before him, a sense of despair rising within him—if Suzuya Shikizo hadn’t donned his “New” form and gained such a power boost, they would already be dead.

“Though we don’t know what happened, you two are dead anyway.”

Tachibana stared coldly at the two, his eyes boiling with murderous intent.

“Finish them quickly—I can’t hold out much longer.”

Kirishima Aki crouched on the ground, spitting out large gouts of blood periodically; though he had fought Arima Tetsurou for only a short time, he had nearly been killed.

“Noro, surround them.”

Just as Tachibana prepared to kill the two and rush to support Kōzuki Izumi, three figures emerged from the entrance of the central city.

“This can’t be.”

Tachibana stared in disbelief at one of the three, bound and restrained.

It was Su Xiao and Arima Tetsurou, escorting Kōzuki Izumi out of the passage.

“Save her.”

Noro, who rarely spoke, suddenly opened his mouth—ignoring Su Xiao and Arima Tetsurou entirely, he lunged forward; clearly, Noro cared deeply for Kōzuki Izumi, having watched her grow up.

Su Xiao stepped forward, Zhanlong Shan raised, blocking Kōzuki Izumi’s front.

“Take another step, and I’ll cut off your head.”

He wasn’t joking—if Noro dared attack him, he would show no mercy.

Kōzuki Izumi, already bound, was startled, staring at Su Xiao’s back with a storm of emotions—what about our agreement?

“Order your men to withdraw, or Hakuya will kill her.”

Arima Tetsurou whispered softly into Kōzuki Izumi’s ear.

Kōzuki Izumi was speechless, her impression of Su Xiao shifting again—this man wasn’t just outwardly menacing.

“Noro, Tachibana, Kirishima—you three retreat. Find Ichizo. Have him figure out how to rescue me.”

Noro halted his advance, confused, staring at Kōzuki Izumi—he had never heard of Ichizo.

Tachibana beside him also had no knowledge of such a person, his mind racing.

As the strategist of Bronze Tree, Tachibana vaguely sensed a possibility.

“Noro, we’re leaving. Find Ichizo.”

Noro still didn’t understand what was happening.

“Go now, Noro—do you want to die for nothing?”

Kōzuki Izumi shouted, while subtly giving Noro a glance.

Even if Noro were stupid, he now sensed something was wrong—he used his Kaku to snatch up Kirishima Aki and retreated with Tachibana into the depths of the central city.

Kirishima Aki, dragged along, looked utterly bewildered, completely unaware of the current situation.

“Tachibana, who is this woman?”

Kirishima Aki stared at Kōzuki Izumi in confusion.

“She’s our leader. I’ll explain later.”

Soon, the three vanished into the depths of the central city—the central city was, in fact, Bronze Tree’s stronghold, and they knew it intimately.

With the enemies gone, Mutsuki Akira exhaled in relief.

“Special Class Hakuya, who is this woman? She seems to hold high rank in Bronze Tree.”

Su Xiao did not respond to Mutsuki Akira—it was a troublesome matter.

Kōzuki Izumi’s father had killed Mutsuki Akira’s mother, yet within the CCG, only a handful knew that “The Unkillable Owl” and “The One-Eyed Owl” were two separate ghouls; most believed there was only one Owl.

The Unkillable Owl was the shopkeeper; the One-Eyed Owl was the shopkeeper’s daughter, Kōzuki Izumi.

The shopkeeper had killed Mutsuki Akira’s mother—but if it were revealed that Kōzuki Izumi was the Owl, Mutsuki Akira would charge without hesitation, determined to kill her.

“This woman is the leader of Bronze Tree.”

Arima Tetsurou gave a casual reply—paper couldn’t forever wrap fire; Mutsuki Akira would eventually realize it. The behavior of Tachibana and the others had already been too obvious—Mutsuki had already suspected something.

“The leader of Bronze Tree?”

Mutsuki Akira stared blankly at Kōzuki Izumi.

“Then… she’s… the… One-Eyed… Owl!”

Mutsuki Akira clenched her teeth, her beautiful face twisted in anguish.

“Ah, so she’s the One-Eyed Owl. Hakuya, she’s your subordinate—you handle her.”

Arima Tetsurou’s expression remained calm, dumping the problem squarely onto Su Xiao.

“I’ll kill you!”

Mutsuki Akira screamed, charging at Kōzuki Izumi with her Quinque.

“Hey, is this woman insane?”

Kōzuki Izumi’s upper body was bound in iron chains, her wrists shackled with thick manacles—she could break free, but doing so would expose her.

“Stay where you are!”

Su Xiao barked, his face expressionless as he stared at Mutsuki Akira.

“A living Owl is far more valuable than a dead one.”

Hearing Su Xiao’s words, Mutsuki Akira’s grip on her Quinque trembled.

“She killed my mother—I must kill her!”

Mutsuki Akira was nearly out of her mind.

“Try it. See if you can kill her while I stop you.”

Mutsuki Akira’s face twisted in agony.

“Are you going to stop me, Special Class Hakuya?”

“Yes.”

If Mutsuki Akira interfered now, Su Xiao would not hold back.

“Damn it! Damn it! Why does this have to happen?”

Mutsuki Akira hurled her Quinque to the ground and collapsed to her knees, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

Under Su Xiao’s restraint, she could never succeed—and his cold gaze made her feel alien, as if she had never truly known this man.

The internal conflict within the team was temporarily contained; once they returned to the surface, Mutsuki Akira would have no chance to interfere.

“Return to the surface. Our mission is complete.”

The four escorted Kōzuki Izumi out of the central city; on the way back to the surface, Mutsuki Akira never took her eyes off Kōzuki Izumi.

Kōzuki Izumi remained calm—with Su Xiao and Arima Tetsurou present, Mutsuki Akira could never harm her.

Even if they weren’t here, Mutsuki Akira had no chance of killing her.

The journey was smooth—the changes in District 24’s tunnels had ceased; using a compass to orient themselves, the group quickly exited District 24.

The shattered metal gate at the entrance appeared; not far ahead, numerous investigators guarded the exit.

All the investigators bore injuries—they had clearly been attacked by ghouls.

“What is this?”

Maruji Saji stepped forward from the crowd and hurried to Su Xiao’s side.

“Where is Special Class Kuroiwa? Did he get separated from you?”

Su Xiao said nothing, only patted Maruji Saji’s shoulder—everything was understood without words.

“Is there… any chance… we can recover his body?”

Maruji Saji’s voice trembled—he had partnered with Kuroiwa for over a decade.

“Probably… not.”

Kuroiwa had been swallowed by the Blood Eye—and was now digested.

“I see.”

Maruji Saji’s voice sank low as he closed his eyes in pain.

“Then… how did he die?”

“To cover our retreat.”

Though Kuroiwa’s rearguard action had been futile, it could not be denied—he was a brave investigator.

“Give this to Kuroiwa’s family.”

Su Xiao pulled out a twisted, deformed Quinque—he had picked it up on the way back.

There was only one correct path out of District 24, so Su Xiao had passed through the site of the Blood Eye encounter on his return.

Maruji Saji gripped the bloodstained Quinque tightly, silent, and walked toward the surface.