Chapter 47: Chapter Fifteen: The Reaper

Night, the bright moon hung high.

District 14, central West Street.

This place was infamous throughout all of Tokyo; whenever night fell, it became a small gathering ground for ghouls.

The ghouls gathered here were all violent criminals, their goal simple: kill each other and feast together, rising above the countless ordinary ghouls.

A ghoul’s status depended solely on strength.

The time was around eight-thirty at night; dark shadows flickered along both sides of the street, most ghouls already eager to strike.

A man and a woman walked down the street; unlike the sneaking ghouls, they made no effort to hide.

“White Night Second Class, is this really safe?”

Shinodo Akira gripped her briefcase, clad in a black uniform, nervously scanning her surroundings.

“Haa~.” Su Xiao yawned.

“No problem. Follow the plan.”

Unlike the tense Shinodo, Su Xiao looked completely relaxed.

“White Night Second Class, I’ve always had a question.”

“Hmm?”

“Where’s your Quinque? We might have to fight ghouls soon…”

Su Xiao had no Quinque; he preferred using [Dragon-Slaying Flash] over any Quinque.

“I don’t need a Quinque.”

At Su Xiao’s words, Shinodo suddenly stopped walking, staring at him in confusion.

“You don’t need a Quinque?”

Shinodo’s voice rose sharply; she looked as if she were questioning reality itself.

“We’re here, Akira. Stay right here.”

Su Xiao patted Shinodo’s shoulder, then sprinted forward, leapt up, and landed on the rooftop of a two-story building beside the street, vanishing into the night.

“White Night… Second Class?”

Shinodo nearly dropped her Quinque; she had a hunch about Su Xiao’s plan.

She was now the bait.

As a Second Class Investigator, Shinodo could at most drive off Class B to Class A ghouls; if she faced a Class A ghoul, she might not survive.

Right now, Shinodo felt as if Su Xiao had stripped her naked and dumped her into a frozen wasteland.

Just as Shinodo thought to flee, seven pairs of blood-red eyes appeared in the surrounding darkness.

One, two, three… seven ghouls total.

She was dead. If Su Xiao didn’t save her, she was certainly dead.

Shinodo pressed the button on her briefcase handle; her Quinque emerged—a whip-like weapon named Amaz.

“Ghoul Investigator!”

“How did an Investigator show up here?”

“Kill her. It’s not yet feeding time—I haven’t eaten an Investigator yet.”

For some reason, none of the surrounding ghouls turned on each other; their feeding had a fixed schedule.

Clearly, the feeding in West Street wasn’t spontaneous.

Some force must be maintaining order—otherwise, these ghouls wouldn’t wait until nine to begin killing each other.

This must be a selection process: the strongest ghoul among them would earn a place in some organization.

“Attack. This woman isn’t strong—she doesn’t feel dangerous.”

More ghouls gathered, swelling from a few to over a dozen.

Shinodo’s heart turned icy; she no longer had even a chance to escape.

“Looks like it’s working well.”

Su Xiao’s voice came from the rooftop beside the street.

Hearing him, Shinodo exhaled deeply—but still doubted: could this new CCG Investigator really handle so many ghouls? Though he was said to be strong.

“Who are you?”

“Another Ghoul Investigator?”

The dozen ghouls surrounding Shinodo eyed Su Xiao warily.

Su Xiao felt nothing like Shinodo—he radiated the aura of a natural predator.

Holding [Dragon-Slaying Flash] drawn, Su Xiao leapt down from the rooftop several meters above, landing smoothly.

“Fourteen. Should be done in five minutes.”

Su Xiao walked slowly toward the ghouls, then accelerated until he was sprinting.

Two clever ghouls immediately sensed danger and turned to flee; the remaining twelve charged straight at Su Xiao.

Ten Kakuja limbs—scale and tail—lashed toward Su Xiao.

In that instant, Su Xiao was nearly engulfed by Kakuja.

Seeing this, Shinodo gasped in horror and charged toward a Class A ghoul, Quinque in hand.

This was Shinodo’s maximum capability—even against a Class A ghoul, she might not prevail.

Dark red Kakuja wrapped around Su Xiao; a brilliant blade of light cut through the night.

Su Xiao activated [Qinggangyingsuo], draining 2 mana points per minute.

The ten Kakuja limbs were instantly severed, dissolving into red mist that vanished into the air.

The ghouls whose limbs were cut screamed in pain, staring at Su Xiao in terror.

Su Xiao sprinted forward, closing the distance to a Class A ghoul; [Dragon-Slaying Flash] left a pale blue trail in the air.

A head shot skyward.

In a single glance, the ghoul was slaughtered—clean, swift, and decisive.

Su Xiao didn’t slow his charge; he shifted his step and lunged toward another nearby ghoul.

Perhaps because their comrade died so abruptly, this ghoul froze in place.

After a second of shock, he turned and ran.

“Foolish.”

Su Xiao’s pitch-black eyes seemed to gleam.

Fleeing in battle, turning your back on your enemy—nothing was more stupid. It was suicide.

“Pthsh.”

[Dragon-Slaying Flash] pierced the ghoul’s heart. Su Xiao gripped the hilt with both hands; his 13-point Strength stat let him effortlessly lift the ghoul and hurl him toward another fleeing ghoul.

Thud. The ghoul rolled like a tumbleweed.

As the ghoul tried to rise, a flash of brilliant blade light appeared in his vision.

First, a ringing buzz in his ears; then, the world spun wildly.

The ghoul’s final memory: a headless corpse spurting blood, and a man standing beneath the moon, blade in hand—like Death itself.

Of the twelve ghouls, one remained entangled with Shinodo; eleven others remained.

Less than twenty seconds into battle, eleven ghouls were reduced to eight.

The remaining eight ghouls had only one thought: flee—away from this man who looked like Death.

“Impossible. How could such a powerful human appear in a feeding zone? Doesn’t that organization just let this happen?”

One ghoul roared and turned to flee.

Su Xiao’s Agility stat was 13, equal to his Strength—already above average in a ghoul world where physical stats were generally weak.

What made Su Xiao truly formidable wasn’t his stats, but his swordsmanship and combat technique.

Of course, the effect of [Qinggangyingsuo] couldn’t be ignored.

But [Qinggangyingsuo] currently had only one combat skill; Su Xiao had acquired it too recently—the full power of this class hadn’t yet manifested.

The chase began. Su Xiao sprinted down the street, cutting down a ghoul every few steps.

Pained screams and pleas for mercy echoed endlessly.

The ghouls weren’t stupid—they scattered in all directions.

Of the eight ghouls, Su Xiao left six dead; two lucky ones escaped.

Meanwhile, Shinodo was still locked in battle with the Class A ghoul; the ghoul was nearly in tears—not afraid of Shinodo, but of the man who looked like Death.

Shinodo was fully absorbed in combat; the Class A ghoul’s pressure was immense, leaving her no time to observe the surrounding battle.

She was still too inexperienced—in battle, hearing all directions and seeing all angles was essential, or she’d be ambushed.

“P-please… let me go.”

The ghoul’s sudden plea stunned Shinodo; he’d been dominating the fight—why beg now? The battle paused.

Only then did Shinodo finally take in her surroundings.

Su Xiao sat atop two ghoul corpses, smoking a cigarette, his long blade still dripping blood.

Shinodo’s eyes widened in disbelief—she hadn’t even finished her own ghoul, yet he’d slaughtered all the rest.

“You over there—if you try to run, I’ll cut you into a human pole.”

Su Xiao turned to the last remaining ghoul; a new bait had appeared—after all, using a subordinate as bait wasn’t ideal.