However, what Fura Taishi had absolutely no idea about was that Ihei Byakuya had actually been watching from the shadows from the very beginning.
Only now did Byakuya feel that the timing was right, so he suddenly descended from above.
The Quinque tachi [Nameless] in his hand had already been prepared.
Just as Ryou and Sasada Aki were about to be pierced by the Kagune, Ihei Byakuya suddenly landed in front of them and blocked the Kagune's attack.
Note that it was blocked, not directly cut off, because...
On the other side, just as Ihei Byakuya moved, [Pumpkin Head] seemed to possess the ability to foresee the future and raised its head to look toward a certain direction.
"Wh... who is that...?"
Ryou was completely stunned.
"Someone came to save us...?"
Sasada Aki was also full of surprise.
Because of the insufficient lighting, and because Byakuya had his back to them, neither Ryou nor Sasada Aki recognized that the youth in front of them was the person they had previously disliked.
"Why are you not running yet?"
Ihei Byakuya turned his head slightly, glanced at them, and said calmly.
"You are...?!"
Seeing the side of his face, Ryou finally realized that the other party looked very familiar.
At the same time, on the other side, Fura Taishi also noticed Ihei Byakuya, who had saved Ryou and Aki.
Hope was rekindled in the heart of the previously despairing Fura Taishi, and his face immediately filled with joy.
"Ryou, Aki, just run! Do not worry about me, I will catch up with you right away!"
With hope reignited, Fura Taishi immediately got up, ignoring the multiple abrasions on his body.
"Okay, make sure you come find us."
Ryou had calmed down a lot and behaved much more obediently, no longer daring to foolishly fight against a ghoul.
"Aki, let's go!"
Ryou urged Sasada Aki to leave together.
Although Sasada Aki was still worried about Taishi, who had been sent flying far behind by [Pumpkin Head], she also knew that staying behind would likely only make things worse...
Ryou and Sasada Aki quickly left, and in the end only Ihei Byakuya, Fura Taishi, and [Pumpkin Head] remained.
But next, the fierce battle that Fura Taishi had imagined did not happen.
Ihei Byakuya and that pumpkin-head ghoul seemed, for some reason, to have entered a ceasefire, or perhaps neither side dared to act rashly.
"...?"
Unclear about the situation, Fura Taishi looked at Byakuya and the pumpkin-head ghoul with a vigilant expression, not daring to make a sound.
At this moment, Uruka Minami slowly removed her pumpkin-head hood.
She then turned her head to look at Fura Taishi and said, "Good evening, Fura-san..."
Looking at that beautiful and cute face, and hearing that familiar voice, especially those scarlet Kakugan eyes, Fura Taishi's brain instantly froze for a moment.
The expression on his face gradually shifted from fear to shock.
"Minami... san...?!"
Fura Taishi simply could not believe it. The ghoul that had just attacked them was actually Minami-san from the same class?!
"It's me. You did not expect it, right? I am the man-eating ghoul."
Uruka Minami interlaced her fingers with both hands, striking an inexplicably cute pose, but under the contrast of those terrifying Kakugan eyes, she now gave off a kind of sickly and eerie beauty.
"Why... this... impossible..."
Fura Taishi's mind was in complete chaos, and his words had already become incoherent.
"Sorry, Fura-san. I am not a well-behaved, normal girl. I am a very bad, very bad bad child."
At this moment, a smile actually appeared on Uruka Minami's face.
However, in Fura Taishi's eyes, this smile was no longer the kind that used to make him feel healed. Instead, it made him feel fear...
"You probably cannot understand it. I really enjoy and cherish the peaceful time when nothing happens, but you all insist on breaking this peace. That is something I cannot tolerate."
Uruka Minami seemed to be explaining her motive as she stated directly, "As humans, you clearly have the right to enjoy all of this, yet you do not know how to cherish it at all. So I really hate you, hate you so much that I want to kill you..."
Hearing this, Fura Taishi's face became even paler.
"But I have still seen the changes in Fura-san, and I do not hate you to the point where I absolutely have to kill you, right?"
At this moment, Uruka Minami looked completely unhinged.
This truly terrified Fura Taishi.
Because this was far too disconnected from the kind and adorable Minami-san he had originally known.
"..."
Ihei Byakuya simply stood there watching without intervening.
Indeed, it was time to let Fura Taishi clearly see Uruka Minami's true face.
Although it was a bit cruel, there was no other way.
Moreover, only with sufficient stimulation could this guy be completely pulled back from the path of self-degradation. Overall, it could also be considered a good thing for him.
"So then, Fura-san, are you still willing to continue being classmates with me?"
As she spoke, Uruka Minami took step after step toward Fura Taishi.
She neither retracted the tail Kagune behind her nor withdrew her Kakugan. She simply approached Fura Taishi directly like this...
"You..."
Fura Taishi immediately became tense.
Fear occupied his mind, and he instinctively felt afraid of Uruka Minami as a ghoul.
"Do not come any closer..."
Fura Taishi could not help but start retreating backward.
When Uruka Minami was about to reach him, Fura Taishi even picked up one half of the iron pipe that had been broken in two earlier and pointed the sharp end at Uruka Minami in front of him.
"Do not come any closer!"
"..."
Uruka Minami stopped in her tracks.
The smile slowly faded, and her gaze became cold.
Fura-san's reaction like this did not disappoint her, because she had already anticipated that Fura-san would definitely react this way.
After all, ghouls were man-eating monsters. There was no human who would not be afraid of ghouls, and developing a sense of rejection was the most normal thing in the world.
Uruka Minami put the pumpkin-head hood back on and then disappeared into the darkness.
Ihei Byakuya watched the entire time without making a move, allowing [Pumpkin Head] to leave.
After all, he had been fully aware of [Pumpkin Head]'s actions tonight from the beginning.
Before the action started, Uruka Minami had already discussed it with him.
Uruka Minami's purpose in doing this was very simple. First, it was to shatter the filter that Fura-san had placed on her. Second, it was to help these delinquents like Fura-san return to the right path...
Not only that, tonight also made Uruka Minami even more certain that the only person who could accept her existence was Ihei.
By Ihei's side was her only and final place of refuge in human society.