Chapter 119

After transforming into a Kakuja, Takatsuki Izumi became extremely brutal; her battles with investigators were nothing but one-sided massacres.

“Where did Arima and the others go?”

Su Xiao arrived near Takatsuki Izumi, surrounded by pools of blood and severed human limbs.

Takatsuki Izumi turned her head toward Su Xiao, her single eye filled with madness.

“Roar!”

Takatsuki Izumi suddenly roared at Su Xiao, poised to pounce—this elegant woman might have been carried away by bloodlust.

“You~… are certain you want to do this?”

Su Xiao, wielding Zhanlong Shan, looked at Takatsuki Izumi with a faint, unreadable smile.

“You~… bastard.”

Though mad, Takatsuki Izumi still retained some reason; having been bested twice by Su Xiao, she deeply feared him.

“Ding-dong-ding~.”

The phone in his pocket rang; Su Xiao answered it.

“We found the person. Now just withdraw from the Ghoul Containment Facility—Takatsuki Izumi knows where to regroup.”

After hanging up, Su Xiao looked at Takatsuki Izumi.

“Done. Let’s go.”

As he spoke, Su Xiao leapt onto Takatsuki Izumi’s back—her Kakuja form was massive.

This had been pre-planned: after completing the mission, Takatsuki Izumi would breach the roof gate of the Ghoul Containment Facility, allowing them to escape.

Now Arima Maegi and the others were missing, but there must be a way out.

“Don’t press your blade against my back—I hate that sword.”

Su Xiao said nothing, only crouched halfway on her back, one hand gripping a protruding Kakuja appendage.

“Hmph. Don’t blame me if you fall off.”

Takatsuki Izumi curled her legs and leapt with all her strength, like a cannonball fired from its barrel, hurtling straight toward the roof of the Ghoul Containment Facility.

The interior of the facility was not low-ceilinged, yet Takatsuki Izumi managed to leap up, her claws embedding into the metal roof gate.

As she strained, the half-meter-thick massive gate tore open, and Su Xiao saw blue sky and white clouds above.

Su Xiao stepped on Takatsuki Izumi’s back with one foot and her head with the other, leaping twice through the gate and out of the Ghoul Containment Facility.

This act enraged Takatsuki Izumi immensely.

But she had no choice—she was bracing the gate; if she let go, it would slam shut.

“Clang… clang…”

After a few sharp sounds, Takatsuki Izumi clearly felt the closing force vanish; she flipped out through the gate and landed on the roof.

On the roof, Takatsuki Izumi saw Su Xiao standing before a jagged hole—formed by dozens of slashes.

Inside the one-meter-wide hole were several severed hydraulic rods—the roof gate’s power system.

Takatsuki Izumi looked at Su Xiao with wariness; carving such a massive hole through pure metal exceeded human capability.

Su Xiao’s swordsmanship had subtly reached the transcendent level—transcendent meaning beyond what any ordinary human could achieve.

Moreover, he recently felt his perception of his blade growing sharper; he could glance at any object and roughly judge whether it could be cut or not.

Sometimes, when the wind brushed against the edge of Zhanlong Shan, Su Xiao could faintly sense it—this must be what Kōshirō meant by the blade becoming an extension of the arm.

Sheathing Zhanlong Shan, Su Xiao said to Takatsuki Izumi:

“Where’s the rendezvous point?”

“At my new base.”

“Bronze Tree’s new base?”

“Exactly!”

By the end, Takatsuki Izumi was grinding her teeth—her previous Bronze Tree base had been destroyed by Su Xiao.

Once enemies, now allies—the world is indeed strange.

Children care about right and wrong; adults weigh only advantage and loss.

Fools judge good and evil; the wise create rules—within the rules is good, outside them is evil.

Clearly, Su Xiao and Takatsuki Izumi were both rule-breakers.

Rules are established by the powerful to control others; most rules benefit those who make them.

The two on the roof stopped discussing the “history” of Bronze Tree’s bases—further talk might lead to a fight to the death.

After breaking through the investigators’ defense network, Su Xiao and Takatsuki Izumi walked away without looking back.

…

In the CCG headquarters command center, Washinoki Jishi stared grimly at the large monitor, where the backs of Su Xiao and Takatsuki Izumi were visible.

Washinoki Jishi clenched his fist until his knuckles cracked, his pupils faintly turning blood-red.

“Arima Maegi, Hakuya, Arito Hoshin, Donato Pupula—you four bastards…”

Washinoki Jishi’s temples bulged with veins; their alliance posed a serious threat to him.

Arima Maegi’s strength was unquestionable—the strongest openly recognized CCG fighter. Su Xiao, as a pure human who could repel the Storekeeper head-on, was equally formidable.

Takatsuki Izumi was an SSS-ranked ghoul and the Storekeeper’s bloodline descendant—this made Washinoki Jishi deeply wary.

As for Donato Pupula, Washinoki Jishi was even more troubled; the priest was planning something unknown and held a secret leverage over the CCG. Though imprisoned, they dared not harm him.

If they killed the priest, the information he held would be exposed—within ten years, a resistance movement would emerge among humans, and the ghouls would be finished.

Compared to humans, ghouls were closer to beasts: keen sense of smell, easily impulsive, and abysmally poor at science.

Humans were different—they could invent weapons to exterminate ghouls. They were merely deceived by ghouls and lacked the will to resist.

Excluding their tendency toward infighting, humans were truly powerful.

…

In Tokyo, Ward 13, Shibuya, inside an abandoned construction site.

On the tenth floor, in a room sheltered from wind and rain, five people gathered; outside, a large group of figures in red robes stood guard.

These robed figures were ordinary Bronze Tree ghouls, who kept glancing toward the room—upon seeing the two inside, they grew uneasy.

“What’s going on? These people are all so strong.”

A young girl with short white hair hid by the door, secretly observing the five inside.

“Sister, don’t be reckless. Knowing too much isn’t good.”

A girl with short black hair pulled her sister away—the twin sisters had one black and one white hair, otherwise nearly identical: Anji Kuroi and Anji Naihaku.

“Then from this moment on, we are allies. Do any of you have demands?”

Arima Maegi’s voice echoed in the room.

Inside, Su Xiao tapped the table, looking around at the others seated at the round table.

The five allies, besides himself, were: Arima Maegi, Takatsuki Izumi, the Priest, and Kirishima Arata!

Kirishima Arata was the father of Kirishima Kyouka and Kirishima Touka. The original lore claimed he was dead—but he was not.

Kirishima Arata had been captured alive and imprisoned in the Ghoul Containment Facility; the material for the Quinque “Arata” was harvested from his body, and the Quinque was named after him.

Kirishima Arata had a unique physiology; the mad scientists did not fully remove his Kakuhou, but instead cut it open inside his body, then injected him with high-concentration RC cells to stimulate regrowth.

Thus, the material for Quinque “Arata” became inexhaustible, enabling mass production.

Kirishima Arata was a sunny, warm-hearted man with blue hair and handsome features—evident from Kyouka and Touka’s appearances.

He radiated a comforting warmth, kind and gentle, yet his strength was no joke—his value was high enough for the CCG to invest heavily in experiments on him.

“Arima saved my life—I’ll help without hesitation. I have no demands.”

Kirishima Arata spoke first, his face still lit with a gentle smile.

“I have no demands either. My thoughts align with Arima’s—defeating the V Organization is my goal too.”

Takatsuki Izumi declared.

“Ah, it’s been so long since I tasted fresh human flesh—I lost composure. I have no demands either. After all, you rescued me; gratitude is mandatory for a Catholic believer.”

The Priest wiped blood from his lips; before him sat a plate with traces of blood.

The Catholic Church saves lost sheep; Donato Pupula, as a priest, was meant to be the shepherd—but this shepherd had a taste for the sheep.

All eyes turned to Su Xiao.

“Heh~… what a group of ‘selfless’ ‘good people.’ Arima, I’ve suddenly lost interest in that SSS Quinque ‘Strix’ you mentioned.”

Su Xiao spoke; Arima Maegi and Takatsuki Izumi frowned.

“Then what’s your demand?”

“I have some ‘enemies’—they’re members of Bronze Tree, but their origins are… unusual…”

After hearing Su Xiao’s demand, all eyes turned to Takatsuki Izumi.

“Those guys~?” Takatsuki Izumi hesitated briefly, then answered.

“No problem.”