"Lancer!!"
"Leave it to me!!"
Lancer didn't even need to look back to guess Koutarou Amon's expression at this time, so he naturally gave the most appropriate response.
"Bang!!"
Lancer leaped directly into mid-air with a fierce push of his feet against the ground. Immediately after, several Kagune were seen lashing straight towards him, but this time, he did not choose to block them. Instead, he directly inserted the long spear in his left hand into one of them, temporarily fixing his body in mid-air.
Lancer body danced in the air along with the Kagune, but his expression was incredibly calm until he saw his target — the opponent's eye.
Although there was no evidence whatsoever, Lancer intuition told him that this might be the most crucial location.
"Smack~!"
The long spear shot out from Lancer hand like an arrow from a bow, but was forcefully smacked away by the wildly flailing Kagune.
'I really can't hit it from below, can I…'
Lancer had already tried once before, which was why he chose to use the opponent's Kagune as a platform this time, but it seemed to have failed again.
'No, there is still a chance.'
Looking at the lance in his hand, which was originally just for fixation, he abruptly gripped it with both hands, and then stomped fiercely on the Kagune with both feet.
"Bang~!!"
The Kagune sank directly under the force of Lancer two feet, and Lancer himself flew into mid-air again, utilizing the powerful thrust from his feet.
With the momentum from this push, he even flew over the opponent's head. Lancer, falling from a great height, stared wide-eyed at the seemingly chaotic Kagune, searching for that fleeting opportunity.
He was running out of time. The lances in the other directions had all been placed. Even if he missed this strike at the opponent's eye, he couldn't wait any longer.
Suddenly, at this moment, Lancer noticed Kureo Mado below rushing over quickly.
'What does the opponent want to do?!'
Just as Lancer thought the opponent was planning to stage the most common 'mutual destruction' scene in movies, the opponent's actions finally allowed Lancer to breathe a sigh of relief.
He first pried apart his twin swords and then simultaneously threw them to the left and right towards 'The Owl's' body. Immediately after, Kishou Arima rushed out from the other side and picked up the 'Guren' that had been smacked away earlier in an empty spot next to him, then threw it out again.
Undoubtedly, the two Quinque were smacked away, but that 'Guren' lance did hit 'The Owl's' lower abdomen.
It seemed that the goal was still not achieved, but for Lancer, it was enough!
A large part of the Kagune formation that was originally protecting the eye had already been shifted to the middle and lower parts for defense.
It was only at this moment that Lancer finally understood the plan of Kureo Mado and Kishou Arima. They intended to create an opportunity for Lancer through attacks on other parts, and undoubtedly, they had completed their mission. So, next —
"Hit ——— dammit!!!"
With his full strength applied, Lancer muscles surged all over his body. Even wearing the 'Arata' armor, one could still see a change in his physique, and this 'Guren' lance, infused with Lancer full-strength blow, actually flashed with a red light due to high-speed friction.
However, Lancer no longer paid attention to it at this time, because he had done everything he could. Now, what he needed to do was detonate them!
Taking out the 'Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian' that was previously hanging on his back, he gripped the staff with both hands, closed his eyes, and began to perceive.
In the world of consciousness, he saw 10 dazzling red dots stuck on 'The Owl's' body and slowly sinking into it, while the last one was rapidly approaching.
Gripping the long staff with both hands, he traced the Rune '$F$', representing 'burning,' in the air, but he probably didn't even notice that he normally couldn't use Rune Spells to detonate 11 targets simultaneously, but he managed to do it under intense mental focus.
As the final stroke of the long staff was drawn, a huge '$F$' was ignited in the air, and at the same time, the 11 dazzling red dots on 'The Owl's' body began to rapidly expand, until —
"Boom!!!"
The massive roars rose and fell, eventually merging into one giant explosion. Kureo Mado and the others standing next to 'The Owl' didn't even have time to initiate any defense, but fortunately, Kishou Arima blocked in front of them with 'IXA' at this moment.
The fierce shockwave forced him to even kneel on one knee and brace his shoulder against the Quinque to sustain the shield longer.
The terrifying explosion continued for several seconds before gradually subsiding. When the dazzling red light disappeared, Kureo Mado and the others widened their eyes and looked at the huge 'crater' in front of them.
The monster, originally dozens of meters tall, had completely disappeared, replaced by charred chunks of flesh scattered everywhere. Undoubtedly, these were all 'The Owl's' Kagune.
At the same time, the forest covering this area completely vanished. It was either turned into charred carbon in the explosion or directly uprooted and blown away by the shockwave, and a large pit appeared in the location where the opponent was previously centered. Visually, this irregularly shaped circular pit was at least five meters deep.
"Where is Lancer?! Lancer!!"
But at this moment, Koutarou Amon couldn't help but shout loudly, as he found that Lancer seemed to be missing?
Recalling the terrifying explosion just now and the almost collapsing Quinque in Kishou Arima's hand, he immediately had a bad premonition.
But just at this moment —
"Bang!!"
Accompanied by a loud noise, everyone saw a figure fall from mid-air into the pit.
The three of them exchanged glances and rushed towards the deep pit. Then, they saw Lancer, with the long staff strapped to his back and the black long rod-shaped Quinque in his hand.
His condition at this time was also quite messy.
His right arm was dangling, seemingly broken (in reality, all the ice on his right arm was shattered by the shock), and his face was completely charred, looking like a true 'chief' (a common internet joke in China for someone with a dark, charred face). However, Lancer didn't care much about his appearance at this time, instead looking solemnly at 'The Owl' lying on the ground, or rather, what was left of her.
However, her situation was much worse than Lancer.
Naked, her body was incomplete. Undoubtedly, she had completely lost the ability to resist in the previous explosion.
"You won… you are the strongest One-Eyed Ghoul."
If the situation were not inappropriate now, Lancer would have loved to shout out a certain Chinese internet meme, but in the end, he did not shout it out. Anyway, the opponent was already dying, so there was no need to dwell on this point anymore.
Lancer raised the black long rod with both hands and looked at her solemnly.
"Before I kill you, do you have anything else to say?"
"Reshape this… world… the new 'King of Ghouls'."
"Sorry, I am human, but I will reshape this world. Unfortunately, you won't see it."
Looking at the opponent's gradually dimming eyes, countless images flashed through Lancer mind, from his first time crossing over, being attacked by a Ghoul, being taken to the training camp by Kureo Mado to become an Investigator trainee, to becoming an Investigator subjugating Ghouls, his inner struggle when he first left, and the resolve he secretly made…
In Lancer view, as he was finally about to fulfill this obsession that had lasted for several years, his eyes gradually became determined.
"The Owl — farewell forever!"
As he activated it, the Kagune at the tip of the black long rod in his hand began to writhe again, but this time it did not transform into a lance head. Instead, it wrapped around Eto Yoshimura's 'corpse', completely enclosing it.
「Quinque: Owl — Devour, Activate」
「SSS-rated Ghoul · The Owl, Subjugated, Points gained 3200 points」
Seeing the text prompt floating on the system in front of him, Lancer finally let out a deep breath, because he had finally completed it…
Just at this moment, Kureo Mado and the others finally rushed over. The three of them slid directly down the slope and witnessed the scene of Eto Yoshimura being devoured by the 'Quinque'.
"Is she dead?"
Is she dead? Undoubtedly, the opponent was dead. Kureo Mado knew the ability of the Quinque in Lancer hand better than anyone.
Due to Lancer personal request, this Quinque did not have any fancy abilities. Its only ability was to become sharp with the help of Kagune. The only preserved ability besides that was the 'Owl's' devouring ability. This was to compensate for its huge consumption when used with full power. It could be said that when 'The Owl' was devoured by it, the opponent's only fate was to be converted into nourishment to replenish the consumption of 'Quinque: Owl'.
Kureo Mado was so stunned when he saw this scene that he just lay there on the slope.
"Mr. Mado?"
Koutarou Amon was also worried about Kureo Mado's condition and quickly helped him up, but to his relief, Kureo Mado's breathing was stable, and his eyes were still focused. It was obvious that he was at least not in life-threatening danger.
As CCG Investigators, everyone almost dreamed of being able to eliminate 'The Owl', but as the new generation, they couldn't understand the thoughts of the older generation of Investigators. After all, 'The Owl' rarely made a move personally now, but more than ten years ago, during the most chaotic period, almost all Investigators had friends who died at the opponent's hands, and there were even Investigators like Kureo Mado whose family members died at the opponent's hands.
Kureo Mado had often wondered in his dreams what would happen if 'The Owl' died one day.
Roar with laughter?
Become hysterical?
Cry loudly?
He had imagined countless scenarios, but when he actually saw 'The Owl's' corpse being devoured by Lancer Quinque, he found that his heart was incredibly calm.
The opponent was dead, his wife's revenge had been exacted, and his obsession seemed to have disappeared. The only thing he wanted to do at this moment was to compensate his daughter as a father, to accompany his last remaining family member.
His originally gloomy face seemed to brighten considerably with the disappearance of his obsession, but just at this moment —
"Clap~ Clap~ Clap~"
The sudden sound of applause made everyone freeze for a moment. Then, they saw several Investigators standing around the crater, and one person standing right in front.
"Associate Special Class Lancer! Congratulations! You have subjugated 'The Owl', the CCG's biggest menace!"
As he spoke, he slid down the slope sideways.
"Yo~"
After letting out a strange sound, he directly jumped to the side of the crowd.
Lancer wondered if it was his imagination, but he felt that the opponent seemed to be in a very good mood? If he had to give a metaphor, it would probably be the same expression as a dog who spends all day waiting for a reply from his goddess when she finally replies with a 'good night'?
Lancer knew his feeling was a bit strange, but that's exactly what he thought.
The opponent first glanced at the still-writhing Quinque in Lancer hand, then glanced at the surrounding area, and then looked at Lancer.
"Associate Special Class Lancer, let me congratulate you in advance. Under normal circumstances, you, who personally subjugated 'The Owl', might become the fastest person in CCG history to be promoted to Special Class Investigator, you know~"
The opponent gave Lancer a very strange feeling. If the opponent was trying to curry favor with him before he got promoted, the opponent's attitude was too frivolous. But if not, did the opponent have some other purpose? He was a bit confused.
"I'm not clear about this matter. It all depends on the decision of the Chairman and the others."
Although the opponent's situation was quite bizarre, Lancer himself didn't care about these things. He even planned to leave after Kimi Uikanae's research was completed. But since he still had to stay in this world for a while, he had to maintain the most basic social relationships.
However, Nimura Furuta did not seem to care about Lancer reaction. Instead, he walked up to Kureo Mado and Koutarou Amon with a smile on his face and took out a projection device.
"No, no~ I'm sure you can, but before that, I wonder if Associate Special Class Lancer can explain to me — what exactly is the ability you just used?"
Looking at the scene on the screen in the opponent's hand where he summoned the 'weapon box' and took out 'Guren' from it, Lancer expression instantly darkened.
'Does the opponent want to blackmail me with this?'
And what was even more unexpected was that this was not the end.
"By the way, Dr. Kimi Uikanae is now a guest at the CCG headquarters. Associate Special Class Lancer, I wonder if you can also explain what exactly is the relationship between you and Dr. Kimi Uikanae?"
Although Lancer expression did not change at all, Nimura Furuta smiled.
But unfortunately, he did not know that Lancer was actually not worried about Kimi Uikanae's issue. After all, they were only researching Ghoul food, which was already an approved project in the CCG. As for the specifics, the opponent could not reveal them due to the 'contract', so the only problem now was the 'weapon box'…
Just as he was considering whether to pretend to agree to the opponent's demand and then find a chance to deal with the opponent, or directly make the opponent shut up here, he saw the opponent turn and look at Kishou Arima on the other side.
"Special Class Arima~ I wonder if you should fulfill your duty?"
The smile on Nimura Furuta's face grew wider and wider. In his opinion, he had grasped hope, as he held the strongest 'trump card' in his hand!