Sitting in the command vehicle, Marude Itsuki stared grimly at the screens in front of him. On these screens, Investigators under the CCG were annihilating the building's occupants with astonishing momentum, and yet——
"Something's not right..."
"Marude Tokutou?"
Marude's muttering startled his subordinate, who was in charge of monitoring communications. After all, he couldn't understand why his superior seemed displeased. From his perspective, this was already an overwhelming victory, achieved with minimal casualties.
"Marude Tokutou! Amon and I have finished resting. Where should we head next?"
Just as Marude hesitated, a somewhat "familiar" voice rang out from the communicator.
"Rank 2 Investigator Lancer? You've already recovered? Then please head to the rooftop. No one's reached it yet—could you two inspect it first?"
"Yes, sir!"
Lancer's clear, straightforward response greatly satisfied Marude. This rookie was not only obedient but also consistently capable of handling assigned missions. Mado Kureo really had incredible luck to end up with two subordinates who rivaled even Hirako.
Just as Marude was about to return to his monitoring, he noticed that Lancer's communicator hadn't actually disconnected yet.
"Rank 2 Investigator Lancer, is something wrong?"
"Marude Tokutou, Amon and I just discovered something suspicious. Beside the bodies of several Ghouls, we found a box containing explosives."
!!!
Lancer's words hit Marude like ice water pouring over his head.
Why hadn't any of the enemy officers attacked the main forces? Why had the Ghoul encounters always been in small groups of two or three? Even ordinary Ghouls weren't meant to be wasted this way. And more suspiciously, the number of known Aogiri Tree officers appearing so far had been oddly few, almost as if they were merely leading—
"Damn it! Bring up the positions of all our squads!"
Looking at the signal map showing every CCG Investigator's location, cold sweat immediately dripped down Marude's back. According to the map, CCG Investigators had split into three major thrusts, rapidly advancing into the shopping center. At this rate, within twenty minutes at most, the entire shopping center would be under their complete control.
He had to withdraw everyone immediately!
Yet, just as Marude reached for the communication handset, his hand froze halfway.
Because of the unspoken "rules" between both sides, large-scale lethal weapons had never been used… Thus, neither he nor the other two Special Class Investigators had considered that the enemy might employ bombs. But now, it seemed the enemy had completely cast aside those restraints. And the greater issue was…
"Rank 2 Investigator Lancer, can you confirm if the explosives you found are timed or manually detonated?"
"Uh... sorry."
Lancer remembered clearly how timed bombs in movies always had a countdown clock. However, the device in front of him had nothing like that, and Lancer had no way of verifying exactly how this bomb operated. Who knew whether these Ghouls would deliberately create something without a timer display?
Hearing Lancer's hesitant response, Marude rubbed his head vigorously. Although the CCG had Quinques and firearms, as Investigators, their primary training was marksmanship. Disarming bombs was police work, wasn't it?
"Whew… Lancer, you and Amon continue to the rooftop as planned. I'll alert the other commanders and strike teams. Regardless, we must retreat. But to avoid tipping off the enemy too early—"
"Yes, sir!"
Lancer's immediate response left Marude momentarily speechless. But soon after, Marude revealed a strange yet confident smile.
Since you've placed yourselves in my hands, I definitely won't let you down!
"Attention, this is HQ…"
Despite announcing information crucial enough to threaten everyone's lives, Marude's confident voice ensured minimal chaos. Without anyone outside noticing, the attack operation quietly shifted into withdrawal mode. Rank 2 Investigators retreated to the first floor, ready to evacuate, while veteran Investigators carefully repositioned themselves.
Although stronger than others, they were still flesh and blood. If caught in an explosion, not even a corpse would remain. Following Lancer's tip-off, they began inspecting hidden corners as they moved, discovering numerous additional bombs.
With intelligence confirmed, the battle's objective shifted instantly from "eradication" to "self-preservation."
...
Meanwhile, another group observed the developments with expressions turning increasingly strange.
"What's the CCG's current movement?"
Yoshimura Kōzen, clad in Aogiri Tree's red cloak, habitually asked the question. But the face of Irimi Kaya, standing beside him, twisted oddly.
"The CCG seems to have halted their assault and begun regrouping their forces."
"Regrouping? Are they preparing for a final assault?"
Neither the CCG nor Yoshimura had imagined Aogiri Tree would dare use bombs directly. But regardless of the reason, for Yoshimura, this scenario was undoubtedly the best outcome. Their goal was simply rescuing Kaneki Ken. How many Investigators died, or whether Aogiri Tree itself survived, was no concern to him.
"It appears I don't need to act just yet. I only hope Touka and the others move swiftly..."
If Lancer knew Yoshimura's thoughts at this moment, he would probably let out a bitter laugh. After all, he'd continuously upgraded his weapon precisely for a chance to fight the "Manager" himself.
With just a month left before he had to leave, Lancer could already defeat S-rated Ghouls. He'd even encountered SS-rated ones. But SSS-rated? Against one of them, he'd barely stand a chance to run, let alone fight. Yoshimura, however, was an exception. During this operation, the Manager hadn't killed a single Investigator—his sole aim was rescuing Kaneki Ken. Thus, Lancer would have had the rare opportunity to test himself against an SSS-rated Ghoul without risking certain death.
But now——
"Lancer, have you seen Suzuya anywhere? He hasn't responded on comms."
"What happened?"
"It's nearly time for evacuation. Most have already reached safe zones, but Suzuya..."
Shinohara Yukinori's voice crackled anxiously through the communicator. Lancer frowned, looking to Amon Koutarou for his opinion.
Personally, Lancer sympathized deeply with Suzuya Juuzou's tragic past and understood the reasoning behind his eccentric behavior. However, understanding wasn't the same as endorsement. Sympathy alone wasn't enough reason for Lancer to risk his life for someone he'd known for less than a day—especially when he had something else important to handle…
"We should split up and search for Suzuya. If we don't find him in fifteen minutes, we'll evacuate as planned."
Amon Koutarou's decision was exactly what Lancer expected. After all, Suzuya's status was unknown, and Amon wasn't about to recklessly put his friend at risk.
"Shinohara Tokutou, Amon and I will search for Rank 3 Investigator Suzuya, but if we can't locate him before evacuation, we'll proceed with withdrawal as scheduled."
"That's more than enough... Thank you."
After disconnecting, Lancer and Amon shared a glance, simultaneously extending their fists toward each other.
"Don't die."
"You too."
With those words, they immediately separated…
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