"Well, it makes sense that early internship candidates would be above average. Running into a prodigy occasionally isn't that surprising."
Hairu Ihei commented.
"Go Amaha-san!"
Shio cheered Byakuya on.
By now, Byakuya had closed in on his target.
He'd noticed from the start that something was off with this ghoul—all three of them, actually. They seemed to have been starved to the point of madness.
Their group was obviously an "experienced investigators training newcomers" formation. Yet instead of fleeing, these three ghouls were drooling, their expressions crazed as they charged forward.
This wasn't stupidity from hunger—it was the manifestation of ghoul starvation.
When ghouls went too long without human flesh, they entered an agonizing state of hunger. As time passed, they gradually lost their sanity, attacking anyone in sight regardless of who they were.
Even humans, when starving to death, had been known to resort to cannibalism—let alone ghouls, who possessed power far beyond humans and couldn't control their loss of reason.
It was like being on the verge of starvation with a living food source right in front of you. It looked like your own kind, but smelled incredibly delicious, and you had the power to kill it easily. What would you do?
Maybe you could resist at first. But once sanity slipped away, the choice was no longer yours.
Of course, this didn't excuse ghouls hunting humans—it simply explained the dynamic.
"Eat... eat... you..."
The ghoul facing Byakuya was muttering incoherently, words slurring together. Its kakugan were more grotesque than a normal ghoul's, and the rinkaku tentacles emerging from its waist writhed erratically—a sign of madness.
Not every ghoul was as fortunate as those in Ward 20, where Yoshimura had created a sanctuary. Every ghoul who sought refuge in Anteiku received just enough scavenged corpse meat to survive.
In other wards, especially the chaotic Ward 24, even scavenging scraps was a struggle. The weaker the ghoul, the more likely they were to starve.
Simply put: Ward 20 had Yoshimura distributing resources fairly. Everywhere else was survival of the fittest—fail to claim food, and you might become food yourself.
As for cannibalism among ghouls, that only caused RC cell levels to spike, increasing strength. It didn't solve hunger.
The original story never explicitly stated this, but logically it had to be true. Otherwise, ghouls could just eat each other indefinitely.
You bite me, I regenerate quickly, then I bite you, you regenerate—rinse and repeat. If that worked, ghouls would never have food problems...
The key was that ghoul cannibalism specifically meant consuming another's kakuhou—the organ storing RC cells. Eating the kakuhou meant absorbing those RC cells, which strengthened the consumer. Regular flesh didn't count.
Byakuya easily dodged the ghoul's frontal attack, closed the distance, and with his right hand gripping the "Scorpion 1/76" in a reverse grip, drove the dagger straight into one of the ghoul's kakugan.
That eye went blind instantly.
"GYAAAAH!"
The ghoul screamed in agony.
Suzuya wasn't as fast as Byakuya, but still moved quicker than most. He'd caught up by now.
Following Byakuya's earlier instructions, he seized the moment while the ghoul was blinded and distracted, circling behind to hurl his dagger.
Against a stationary target, hitting the kakuhou was easy for someone of his skill.
The "Scorpion 1/56" pierced through the ghoul's tough skin and struck its greatest weakness—the kakuhou.
Once a ghoul's kakuhou was critically damaged, it lost virtually all combat ability. Even its regeneration would shut down, since that power stemmed from the kakuhou itself.
Seeing the kakuhou was compromised, Byakuya moved in to finish it. He lunged forward and drove his dagger straight through the ghoul's heart.
[Ding! Host has defeated a "B-rated Ghoul." Reward: 5 Fusion Points!]
As the ghoul collapsed, Byakuya received his reward.
Expressionless, he retrieved Suzuya's "Scorpion 1/56" from the ghoul's kakuhou and returned it.
"Nice work."
Byakuya raised his hand for a high-five.
Suzuya didn't quite understand the gesture. He hesitated before mimicking Byakuya and raising his own hand.
Slap.
Only when Byakuya's palm met his did he grasp what he was supposed to do.
Byakuya handed back the "Scorpion 1/56" with a reverse grip.
The two prepared to return to Arima's group.
As for the other four and their battles—that wasn't their business to manage. If anything went wrong, Squad Zero would handle it.
But just then—
The moment Kurona realized Byakuya and Suzuya had already finished, she lost focus. She cared too much about keeping pace.
Byakuya noticed immediately. Kurona had actually gotten distracted mid-battle, glancing his way. Worse, the ghoul she and Nashiro were fighting was about to exploit that opening.
Kurona probably couldn't dodge in time. Unfortunately, Nashiro was also poorly positioned to intercept.
In that instant, Byakuya and Arima moved almost simultaneously.
Byakuya chose the direct approach—rushing in, scooping up Kurona, and retreating immediately. Arima opened his other briefcase—a black and gold one—and drew out "Narukami," an S+-rated ukaku Quinque.
As Byakuya swept Kurona up in a princess carry and pulled back, a bolt of lightning streaked past him and struck the ghoul.
Violent electrical energy rampaged through the ghoul's body. The devastating power extinguished its life signs in an instant.
Everything happened so fast that Kurona only now processed what had occurred.
When she realized Byakuya was holding her—in a princess carry—her pupils dilated and a blush crept across her cheeks.