"Eh...?"
"Huh...?"
The buzz-cut man and the blond man were both stunned on the spot.
Because the self-service vending machine right in front of their eyes had split diagonally into two halves.
The upper half of the vending machine slowly tilted and fell...
They had no idea what had happened. Why had the vending machine inexplicably broken by itself...?
Until dull footsteps sounded behind them, along with a sickly laugh like that of a female ghost, did they suddenly turn their heads..
The moment they turned around, they saw a pumpkin-head lantern emerge from the darkness, scaring them so badly that their souls nearly flew out of their bodies.
"Eek eek eek-!"
"What?! What is that thing?!"
The buzz-cut man was so frightened that he staggered backward repeatedly, while the blond man failed to keep his footing and fell straight onto his butt.
The pumpkin-head figure slowly revealed itself in the darkness.
It was clearly dressed exactly like the ghoul [Pumpkin Head].
Even the tail-type Kagune behind it had already been released. Just now, it was precisely a single strike from that tail Kagune that had split the vending machine into two halves.
In front of a ghoul's Kagune, the vending machine was as fragile as tofu...
At this moment, [Pumpkin Head] launched another attack. The Kagune lashed out like a whip toward the two men.
The buzz-cut man and the blond man hurriedly scrambled and crawled, trying to escape. The tip of the Kagune brushed past behind them, nearly piercing straight through their bodies.
"Bang!"
The wall struck by the Kagune shattered instantly.
This huge commotion made the buzz-cut man and the blond man even more terrified. They fled desperately in the direction they had originally come from.
"Ryou! Aki! Run!!"
"There's a monster!!"
The buzz-cut man and the blond man shouted as they fled for their lives.
"...What's going on? What did they run into...?"
Hearing his companions' shouts from afar, Ryou was immediately full of confusion.
"Who knows? Are they playing a prank to scare us?"
Sasada Aki did not take it seriously at all and thought they were joking.
While Ryou and Sasada Aki remained unmoved, Fura Taishi happened to arrive at this place.
"They usually gather here. This time shouldn't be an exception..."
With both hands in his pockets, wearing slippers that clattered loudly, Fura Taishi walked through the small alley.
He had planned to come over and properly talk some sense into them, but at this moment he heard the shouts of the buzz-cut man and the blond man.
A monster...?
Could it be...!!
Fura Taishi reacted immediately. It was very likely that another ghoul had appeared!
Having witnessed the power of ghouls before, he did not hesitate at all and immediately rushed toward the direction the sounds came from.
Ryou...
Aki...
You absolutely must not let anything happen!
With a grim expression, Fura Taishi charged forward.
"Taishi? Why are you here?"
Seeing Fura Taishi suddenly appear from another direction, Ryou was immediately surprised.
"Taishi! You finally know to come find us to hang out?"
Sasada Aki also exclaimed in delight.
"Not at all! You guys, run!"
Fura Taishi shouted at once.
"What on earth is going on? Why are you all acting like this...?"
Ryou was still completely confused.
"What exactly is happening? Taishi, where are you going?"
Sasada Aki also asked.
"A really 'terrible' guy has appeared. Anyway, you guys run. I'm going to save them!"
Fura Taishi spoke urgently.
Although his closest friends were only Ryou and Aki, he could not abandon the other two either. He truly could not bring himself to watch them die without doing anything.
"A really terrible guy? What do you mean? Explain it clearly to us!"
Ryou also gradually realized something was wrong. It seemed that something truly dangerous had happened...
If that was the case, he definitely could not let Taishi go alone.
"No way!"
Ryou insisted on going with Taishi.
"I'm going too!"
Sasada Aki chased after them as well.
At this moment, Fura Taishi's head was already about to explode, but he could not worry about that anymore, because he could already see the figures of those two companions.
They were being hunted down by someone wearing a pumpkin-head lantern, especially that Kagune behind him...
The last time, the cleaner Tanaka-san they had encountered also had a strange weapon behind him.
Although the color and appearance were not exactly the same, both were tentacle-like things.
That meant this guy wearing the strange headgear was also a ghoul!
Even knowing that ordinary weapons could not deal with ghouls, Fura Taishi still picked up an iron pipe from the ground.
"Get behind me, now!"
Fura Taishi shouted loudly.
The buzz-cut man and the blond man scrambled desperately and ran behind Fura Taishi.
"Now! You guys hurry and go!"
Fura Taishi still tried to urge Ryou and Aki to run quickly.
Having witnessed the terror of that pumpkin-head monster, the buzz-cut man and the blond man ran without stopping for even a moment.
On the other hand, Ryou and Aki had absolutely no understanding of how terrifying ghouls were. They still wanted to help Taishi.
The approaching [Pumpkin Head] suddenly swung its Kagune, attacking Ryou and Sasada Aki beside Fura Taishi.
[Pumpkin Head]'s target seemed very clear. It was attacking these bosozoku who were disturbing the public at night.
Naturally, Fura Taishi did not want to let this guy succeed.
"You bastard! Don't lay a hand on my buddies!"
Fura Taishi roared angrily, brandishing the iron pipe and trying to block [Pumpkin Head]'s attack.
But with his weak human strength, and that ordinary iron pipe, how could he possibly be a match for a ghoul?
The iron pipe was instantly cut cleanly in two by the Kagune, and Fura Taishi's body was also sent flying.
Looking at the smooth cross-section of the iron pipe, Ryou and Sasada Aki were both stunned.
What kind of monster was this guy wearing the strange headgear...?
Fura Taishi rolled on the ground twice before coming to a stop. When he looked up, the pumpkin-head ghoul's Kagune was about to strike Ryou and Sasada Aki.
Seeing Ryou and Aki standing there dumbfounded, completely unable to dodge in time.
With that kind of attack, Ryou and Aki would definitely die!
"Ryou! Aki!"
Fura Taishi let out a despairing roar.
His fist slammed hard into the ground.
He could not do anything at all!
If only that guy Ihei were here. If it were that guy, at least there would still be hope to protect everyone...