"Byakuya-kun, do you know my favorite scene in The Black Goat's Egg? It's when the black goat rips out all the entrails of the fleeing man. No matter how many times I read it... it always gets me excited~"
Rize approached slowly, an eerie "hehehe" bubbling from her lips.
She yanked off her hair clip and tossed it aside. Veins bulged around her kakugan, giving her a savage edge.
Her purple hair cascaded freely down her shoulders. Strangely, the looser style only made her more beautiful.
Having already secured his System reward, Byakuya saw no point in continuing the act.
Facing the true Rize Kamishiro, he showed his real self too.
Just as Rize prepared to toy with her prey, Byakuya spoke calmly: "Honestly? You look even prettier with your hair down."
He wasn't being sarcastic. He genuinely meant it.
Without the clip—and ideally without the glasses too—this was Rize at her most stunning. That was his honest opinion.
Rize paused, momentarily caught off guard.
Normally, her victims would be panicking and fleeing by now. Yet this one stood there completely composed.
Disappointing. She wanted to see despair, terror, disbelief in his eyes—not this flat indifference. Her excitement evaporated.
Her savage grin faded to cold detachment. "What nonsense are you spouting? I'm going to eat you."
"I know. But that's beside the point. You wanting to eat me doesn't mean I can't compliment your looks."
Byakuya smiled faintly.
Rize hadn't released her kagune yet—which gave him room to chat.
"Your composure disgusts me. Aren't you afraid of death?"
Rize's expression darkened. Four dark crimson rinkaku kagune burst from her lower back, their tips razor-sharp. Among the four kagune types, rinkaku boasted the highest offensive power.
"With these, I'll gently stir around inside Byakuya-kun's stomach~ Hehehe..."
She waved the four tentacles menacingly, still trying to provoke fear. Without that, the "game" lost all its fun.
But Byakuya's expression didn't change.
Rize's patience snapped.
"Fine. This is boring, but your flesh is far more delicious than anyone else's. That'll have to compensate."
She lunged.
Let's see if he stays calm facing actual death.
The moment she committed to the attack, Byakuya ran.
His Body Flicker Technique had strengthened with his advancement—the teleportation distance was noticeably greater now.
He flickered onto the roof of a nearby low building.
"Goodbye, Rize-san."
He gave her a little wave.
Before she could react, he flickered again to a taller rooftop. Combined with his enhanced speed, he vanished from her sight within seconds.
He had no intention of fighting her. Without a quinque, taking on an S-rated ghoul was more trouble than it was worth.
Besides, Rize's S-rating was just the CCG's threat assessment—based on danger level, not pure combat strength.
A ghoul could be incredibly powerful but wouldn't receive a rating unless they'd harmed humans.
Rize possessed the purest Washuu bloodline. Her potential was terrifying—especially her kakuhou and kagune, which produced extraordinary results when transplanted into others.
In the original story, she never got to demonstrate her full strength. She was captured at the very beginning and used as an experimental donor.
By the time Rize processed what had happened, Byakuya was already gone.
"Tch!"
Rize bit her thumbnail in frustration.
That "goodbye" of his had really pissed her off. A perfectly good meal had just flown away.
But his display of ability made her curious.
A normal human couldn't move like that.
And his earlier composure—as if he'd known all along she was a ghoul.
Putting it together, Rize concluded Byakuya was definitely not ordinary. Not a ghoul investigator either, so then...
Lost in thought, she suddenly noticed a strange shadow on the ground at her feet.
She looked up instinctively—
Several massive steel beams were plummeting straight toward her.
Already distracted, she had no time to dodge.
CRASH—!!
The heavy beams, accelerated by gravity, crushed her body into something barely recognizable.
"Why... would..."
Rize lost consciousness.
But she wasn't dead.
The thunderous impact echoed across a wide area, like an explosion.
Byakuya, who hadn't gone far, heard it immediately. He realized instantly what had happened. The System chimed in his mind:
[Ding! Host has activated a quest. Initiating Divine Selection!]
[Option 1: Ignore the "steel beam incident" and go home to sleep. Reward: 1 Fusion Point!]
[Option 2: Go back and rescue Rize Kamishiro, preventing the aftermath of the "steel beam incident." Reward: 10 Fusion Points!]
[Option 3: Return to the scene and lie next to Rize Kamishiro, pretending to be unconscious. Voluntarily undergo Dr. Kanou's artificial half-ghoul experiment. Reward: 50 Fusion Points!]