[Ding! Host's first confrontation with S-rated ghoul "Jason." Reward received: 10 Fusion Points!]
Byakuya rose from his chair without a trace of expression, the Quinque briefcase in his hand unfolding into a gray tachi.
He had every intention of stopping Yamori. There wasn't a hint of fear on his face—otherwise he wouldn't have come here in the first place.
The current timeline was working in his favor. Asaki Fueguchi hadn't been killed by Yamori yet.
The human patient nearby reacted fairly quickly, though his choice wasn't exactly rational. Rather than hiding somewhere inside the clinic, he bolted straight for the door.
That meant running right past Yamori.
But Yamori completely ignored the man, letting him flee outside without a second glance.
Right now, all he wanted was to tear this brat apart. Everyone else was irrelevant.
Pity he's not a ghoul, Yamori thought. Otherwise he could have properly "entertained" him.
After all, a ghoul's unique regenerative abilities meant he could enjoy the pleasure of endless torture.
"Hah!"
Yamori let out a thunderous roar as he explosively closed the distance.
No kagune. He seemed intent on crushing Byakuya with pure physical strength alone.
Against an ordinary human, this would be child's play—their bodies couldn't possibly match a normal ghoul's, let alone one at Yamori's level.
But Byakuya was no ordinary human.
Yamori closed in on him in the blink of an eye, swinging his thick fist at Byakuya's head.
Byakuya had already tracked the movement. His pupils were locked precisely on the trajectory of the incoming blow.
He tilted his head slightly, dodging the punch with ease.
It looked like the fist had nearly smashed his skull in—but that was merely an illusion created by his precise evasion.
Simultaneously, Byakuya twisted his wrist and drove the tachi into Yamori's abdomen in a reverse grip.
Pain flared through Yamori's gut, and for a moment he couldn't believe it. He hadn't expected to be wounded so suddenly.
Still, a minor injury like this meant nothing to him. If anything, it only fueled his rage.
Yamori ignored the Quinque buried in his stomach and reached out with both hands to lock around Byakuya's throat.
But he was still a step too slow.
Byakuya decisively wrenched Thorn from Yamori's abdomen. The shark-tooth serrations along the blade tore through flesh a second time as it withdrew. Then he swiftly sidestepped Yamori's grasping hands.
If Yamori thought he could crush Byakuya with hand-to-hand combat alone, without even releasing his kagune, he was sorely mistaken.
Meanwhile, Asaki Fueguchi remained seated nearby, not daring to move.
Watching the young investigator hold his own against Yamori—actually gaining the upper hand—he found it almost unbelievable.
But he knew this wasn't Yamori's true strength. The man hadn't even released his kagune yet.
He couldn't help but worry for the young investigator. Where were Mado-san and Amon-san? They should have been nearby by now—why hadn't they come to support him?
After failing to even graze his opponent's clothing and sustaining yet another wound, Yamori's face twisted with rage and humiliation.
He finally released his kagune in fury. Two purple rinkaku tentacles erupted from the kakuhou at his waist, their surfaces bristling with sharp spines.
Of course, Yamori possessed more than just this one kakuhou. He had three in total—the other two acquired through cannibalism. Together, they gave him the power of a half-kakuja.
But he still wasn't taking Byakuya seriously. He'd only deployed his original kakuhou.
"Still underestimating me, I see."
A faint smile touched Byakuya's lips.
Those two rinkaku tentacles moved far faster than Yamori's body could, and rinkaku boasted the highest offensive power among all kagune types. They lashed toward Byakuya with explosive ferocity.
Now Byakuya was actually being pressed. He blocked one tentacle with his tachi while weaving his body to dodge the other.
He managed to evade, but not perfectly—his clothes had been torn open.
Byakuya attempted to damage Yamori's kagune with Thorn, but a B-rated Quinque simply wasn't strong enough. In both power and durability, it was vastly inferior to Yamori's kagune.
To put it in perspective: if Yamori's kagune were crafted into a Quinque, it would be the S-rated "Jason"—a completely different class from a B-rated weapon.
Not only did he fail to harm the kagune, but the impact numbed his hands. Fortunately, Thorn hadn't shattered.
From here on, he'd have to avoid direct clashes between Thorn and the kagune. A few more exchanges like that and his Quinque would break.
A savage grin spread across Yamori's face as his assault grew more ferocious.
Though Byakuya could no longer fight with the same ease as before, he wasn't being overwhelmed either.
Unless Yamori lost his temper and transformed into his half-kakuja form—but Byakuya still had cards to play too. Quite a few, in fact. He simply didn't want to use them yet.
Just as Byakuya and Yamori were locked in their intense battle, Kureo Mado and Koutarou Amon finally appeared, Quinques in hand.
Mado wielded an umbrella-shaped Quinque, while Amon carried Doujima 1/2—a metal rod-like koukaku.
"What?!"
Yamori quickly realized he'd walked into an ambush. His first instinct was to retreat immediately.
He was already fighting evenly with this kid. If two more investigators joined the siege, he'd eventually be overwhelmed.
Sure, he could transform into his half-kakuja form, but doing so would cost him his sanity.
He was here on a mission. He couldn't afford to take unnecessary risks over wounded pride.
Yamori broke free from his engagement with Byakuya and charged toward Mado and Amon, who were blocking his escape route.
Both investigators tried to intercept him, but that was wishful thinking.
Even as Mado's umbrella-shaped Quinque opened to envelop Yamori, the ghoul simply forced it apart with brute kagune strength, shattering the weapon instantly.
Then he kicked Amon's rod-shaped Quinque, sending the investigator stumbling back several steps.
They could only watch as Yamori escaped.
Byakuya remained expressionless, standing in place with no intention of pursuing. He knew there was no point—they couldn't catch Yamori. And if they pushed him into transforming into a half-kakuja, it wouldn't benefit anyone.