Amon was about to give chase when he realized Jason had already vanished from sight.
"Damn it! He got away!"
He punched the air in frustration.
"It's fine, Amon. We couldn't have caught Jason anyway."
Mado remained composed.
His Quinque had been destroyed by Jason—proof that the ghoul's strength exceeded their expectations.
It was just a random Quinque he'd brought along. Broken was broken. He had plenty of others in his collection.
He'd simply underestimated Jason's power.
"Yes, sir."
Amon nodded.
"We should actually thank Investigator Amaha for helping us gauge that ghoul's strength. Otherwise, we might have been in real danger."
Mado turned to look at Byakuya.
This young man was still a rookie, yet his strength was remarkably impressive—able to fight an S-rated ghoul like Jason head-on without falling behind.
There were a few others in the CCG who were similarly inexplicably powerful. Could this kid have come from the same place as those people?
"Indeed. Thank you, Investigator Amaha."
Amon also turned to address Byakuya.
He couldn't help but feel admiration. The other man was just a rookie, yet had performed far better than Amon himself.
"It was nothing."
Byakuya replied evenly.
"Mado-san, Amon-san... what do we do now?"
Asaki Fueguchi spoke up, his face etched with worry.
They hadn't managed to capture Yamori. The ghoul had surely figured out that Asaki had collaborated with CCG investigators. Retaliation was inevitable.
Among ghouls—especially Aogiri Tree "colleagues"—Yamori was typically called by his alias.
"Yes, what indeed?"
Mado pondered for a moment before his expression twisted into a cold sneer. "What to do, I couldn't say. All I know is that you're no longer useful."
"Wha—"
Asaki's eyes went wide as the meaning sank in. They were going to dispose of him?
"..."
Amon remained silent, though clearly something weighed on his mind.
Mado-san had used Doctor Fueguchi. And over the past few days of interaction, Amon hadn't gotten the impression that this ghoul was particularly malicious. Quite the opposite—he'd been remarkably kind to humans.
But Mado-san had always taught him using the Ghoul Countermeasures Law: once a target was confirmed as a ghoul, they lost all legal protection.
In Mado-san's eyes, no ghoul had any reason to live. They all deserved to die.
Even if Amon felt some reluctance, he would follow Mado-san's will. He couldn't bring himself to object.
"Amon!"
Mado called out.
His own Quinque had been destroyed by Jason, so he needed Amon to carry out the execution.
Generally speaking, an investigator without a Quinque was virtually defenseless against a ghoul.
The only exception was Kishou Arima, who had once driven off a ghoul with nothing but an ordinary umbrella. But his physical capabilities were on an entirely different level from normal humans—or even half-humans.
"Yes, sir!"
Amon steeled himself, all hesitation gone. He would obey Mado's command.
He gripped Doujima 1/2 and advanced toward Asaki.
"This... this isn't what we agreed on!"
Panic flooded Asaki's face. His instinct was to run, but there was nowhere to go.
Three investigators stood before him. He had no escape.
All he could do was cower in place, drowning in regret.
If only he hadn't approached them for cooperation. He'd believed CCG investigators could be trusted. Instead, not only had they failed to eliminate the threat of Yamori, but now he was going to die here too.
And the worst part—he had a wife and daughter.
Both Yamori and Mado knew about them. He could accept his own death, but he couldn't bear the thought of his wife and daughter being killed too.
"Trust? With a ghoul? Disgusting."
Mado's sneer deepened.
As he spoke, one eye went wide while the other narrowed, his gaze filled with pure loathing.
He'd never considered Asaki a person. Ghouls weren't people to begin with—just vermin that deserved to die. Trust was meaningless.
Already, Mado was mentally planning his next Quinque. He'd use this ghoul's kagune and kakuhou.
Then he'd use that Quinque to hunt down the wife and daughter. Let the whole family have a nice little reunion. The thought was deeply satisfying.
"No! Please, no!"
Asaki's desperate screams filled the clinic.
But just as Amon raised his Quinque to strike—
"Wait."
The voice came from behind. From Byakuya.
"What?"
Amon froze mid-swing, caught off guard.
Mado also turned to look at Byakuya, his eyes questioning.
"Jason hasn't been captured yet. This ghoul still has value. Jason will definitely come back for revenge. Killing him now would be a waste."
Byakuya spoke with casual indifference. "That ghoul escaped pretty quickly this time, but I won't give him another chance."
"..."
Mado fell silent for a moment.
Amon thought Byakuya made a valid point and hesitated, but he wasn't in a position to decide. He looked to Mado.
"Fine. We'll do it your way. If you can catch Jason, that would be ideal."
Mado appeared to relent.
But inwardly, he was already beginning to suspect that Byakuya might be trying to protect this ghoul.
His instincts were exceptionally sharp—just as in the original story, where he'd suspected Kaneki of being a ghoul from their very first meeting. If Kaneki hadn't possessed Rize's bloodline, allowing him to pass through the RC detection gates undetected, things would have gone very differently.
Asaki's legs nearly gave out beneath him. He realized his entire body was drenched in cold sweat.
But he couldn't relax yet. His execution had only been postponed.
Compared to Mado, Amon was rather naive.
Because Investigator Amaha was genuinely skilled, Amon saw nothing suspicious in his words. Since he had the ability to catch Jason, it was worth attempting.
Besides, Investigator Amaha's expressionless demeanor made him seem perfectly rational—the type who'd be just as ruthless toward ghouls as Mado-san.