"Perfect timing?"
Hearing that, Nutcracker froze for a moment, genuinely confused. She started wondering if something was seriously wrong with this boy's brain.
Every Investigator she'd ever fought showed up prepared to die — willing to use any dirty trick, any suicidal gamble, just to kill her. To them, the weaker she was, the better. A half-dead Nutcracker was a dream come true.
Yet this kid… She had recovered to peak condition — even stronger than before — and instead of panicking, he actually looked relieved, almost happy.
Did this guy hit his head or something?
"Yeah," Hayashi said casually, smiling. "You being alive is a good thing."
Originally, he assumed Nutcracker would be too injured to fight. He was already thinking about using the Horse Talisman to heal her — but if she ran or resisted afterward, he'd need to beat her half to death again anyway.
But now? She had healed herself. Perfect. Now he only needed to beat her half to death once.
"You're a weirdo. But whatever," Nutcracker muttered, killing intent rolling off her in waves. "Anyone who gets in the way of my money dies. Every last one of them!"
Her tail shot forward like a whip.Hayashi drew Thousand-Edge to block.
Clang!
The tail struck again and again — all cleanly parried.In the chaos of close-range fighting, the two rapidly closed the distance.
Then, after a violent impact, Nutcracker lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him.Her two razor-sharp claw kakuja shot from behind her, stabbing forward.
A sudden warm, sweet scent hit him — distracting for a split second.
Hayashi crossed both blades in front of him, blocking — but still staggered back several steps.
"Oh great… body-slam with airbags, huh?"
His eyes flicked to the soft, bouncing curves that had slammed into him. Memories of that sudden warmth and fragrance flickered in his mind.
Damn… he almost took a hit because of that.
"My money! My money! You owe me my money!"
Nutcracker darted in again, claws and tail striking together.
Hayashi sidestepped and slashed — clean, precise.
Crack!
Her tail was severed instantly.
Nutcracker coughed blood, but her lips curled upward.
"You fell for it. Die!"
A hidden kagune erupted from inside a stone pillar behind Hayashi — stabbing straight through his torso and pinning him mid-air.
"Finally… dead," Nutcracker exhaled, relieved.
That boy's pressure was terrifying — every exchange felt like death breathing down her neck. And yet… it never felt like he had revealed his full power.
No… impossible.Why would someone hold back in a life-or-death fight?
He must've been playing around.
Well, whatever. He was dead. She'd crush his balls for good measure, then go collect her 500k and 1 million.
But right as she turned—
Crack.
The kagune inside the wall shattered.
Hayashi dropped lightly to the floor like nothing had happened.
"Oh right," he stretched lazily, "I forgot you had that party trick."
In Tokyo, a ghoul without a hidden ace never survived long.
"How are you still alive!?" Nutcracker's eyes widened in shock.
She saw it clearly — he had been stabbed through. How could he just… walk it off?
"No… no way. I must've imagined it…"
"You can play your tricks," Hayashi said, "but I don't believe you can kill me twice."
Nutcracker vanished, reappearing instantly in front of him. Claw shields up. Tail stabbing.More kagune shot from the walls to block every escape route.
After dozens of clashes, the underground hall was collapsing, walls caving in, space tightening.
Soon, the last of the hidden kagune sealed every direction.
"No way out now! I'm crushing your balls!"
Her high heel swung forward as the tail lunged.
Hayashi sighed.
"In that case… I guess I have no choice."
He looked around, sounding genuinely disappointed.
Crack.
He drew Asuramaru.
Red, blood-tinted phantom blades floated into the air.
Then he drew Thousand Demon Daggers. The blade fragmented, merging into the red swords.
"Cut."
He pointed downward.
A blinding flash — Everything was severed.
All hidden kagune shredded. All collapsing pillars turned to dust. Even the air felt sliced apart.
Nutcracker's claws shattered. Her tail was cut again. Dozens of bleeding gashes opened along her pale, flawless skin.
In one heartbeat, her overwhelming aura collapsed into helplessness.
"My… five hundred thousand… my one million…"
Nutcracker fell onto the ground, coughing blood.Her eyepatch had slipped off, revealing her beautiful eyes.
"Am I… dying?"
"I just wanted to be pretty… With money, I could be pretty…"Tears slipped down her cheeks.
"I just wanted… a pair of beautiful high heels…"
Hayashi looked down at the fallen beauty — broken, seductive, almost pitiful.He raised his blade to her smooth, pale neck.And waited.
Then the familiar system chime echoed in his mind.
[Ding! You have triggered a Time-Limited Mission: How to Deal with a Seductive Beauty]
[Objective: Save Nutcracker or Kill Her]
[Reward: One Random Talisman]
Hayashi's lips curled upward slowly.
"Finally. I've been waiting for you."