By this point, Kurona and Nashiro Yasuhisa had already undergone Dr. Kanou's experiments. Currently, they were the only two successful specimens under his control.
In other words, they had become artificial half-ghouls—one-eyed ghouls.
Under orders from their "father" Kanou, they served as Madam A's personal bodyguards.
They each wore masks with black and white stripes—Kurona's mask had only a right eye hole with vertical stripes, while Nashiro's was the opposite, with only a left eye hole and horizontal stripes.
The single eye holes corresponded to their kakugan—Kurona's was in her right eye, Nashiro's in her left.
Neither had expected to encounter Byakuya at a place like the "Ghoul Restaurant."
The moment they spotted him, both sisters' pupils trembled.
They were torn. They had to protect Madam A, and going to rescue Byakuya would mean disobeying "Father's" orders and offending the "Madam" organization, causing enormous trouble for him.
"Madam" was one of the most prominent upper-class ghoul factions, possessing staggering financial resources. Both the "Ghoul Restaurant" and the "Auction" were founded and operated by "Madam."
While they remained frozen in indecision, Byakuya had already made his move against the Scrapper.
The Scrapper had risen at Madam A's command and charged ferociously toward Byakuya.
Byakuya surged forward, thrusting the sword-form "Jason" straight through the Scrapper's abdomen. That single strike essentially ended the fight.
"Ma... ma..."
The Scrapper collapsed, crying out in agony.
An S+-rated Quinque's lethality was nothing like ordinary weapons—the Scrapper's internal organs had been virtually shredded by that one thrust.
"Baby!"
Madam A screamed from above, but her voice cut off the next instant. Byakuya had already shifted from the rinkaku sword form to ukaku mode.
The blade tip transformed into a "barrel," and countless blade-like "bullets" shot forth.
Byakuya fired casually, not targeting anyone specific—just randomly selecting some lucky audience members as his trophies.
He couldn't possibly capture every ghoul present. Too much effort for too little reward.
Nearly everyone here was ghoul nobility—not necessarily strong, but backed by powerful factions...
Setting aside whether he could even manage it without using jutsu or his Mangekyo Sharingan, even if he could round up every ghoul here, the consequences would be problematic. First, he'd face retaliation from multiple factions. Second, he'd attract the Washuu Clan's attention.
The Washuus were ultimately a ghoul family. The Tsukiyama family and other ghoul factions simply weren't as well-hidden as the Washuus, but fundamentally they operated the same way. The Washuus surely had private dealings with other upper-class ghoul factions.
If Byakuya offended all these factions at once, and his non-half-human self performed too impressively, his situation would become dire.
[Ding! Host defeated an "A-rated ghoul." Reward: 10 Fusion Points!]
[Ding! Host defeated a "B-rated ghoul." Reward: 5 Fusion Points!]
[...]
As countless blades crippled or killed several ghouls, most of the others scattered in panic.
The scene descended into chaos. Kurona and Nashiro immediately moved to cover Madam A's retreat.
"Young Master, we must go!"
A masked female servant urged Tsukiyama.
The Tsukiyama family couldn't openly oppose CCG investigators. Even with their connections to the Washuu Clan, the CCG wasn't entirely under Washuu control.
The vast majority of CCG investigators were human. Among Special Class Investigators, only Arima was under Washuu control. The Washuus had to maintain appearances before human investigators—otherwise they couldn't have hidden their identity this long.
The Washuu Clan had to side with humans, at least publicly.
"..."
Tsukiyama covered his masked face with one hand. Though deeply reluctant, he withdrew from the "Ghoul Restaurant" with the servant.
As for Furuta—he'd vanished without a trace at some point.
If Byakuya had one specific target, it was Madam A.
He knew she was Dr. Kanou's assistant. He was curious about Kanou's current situation, so capturing her seemed worthwhile.
He'd also noticed Kurona and Nashiro protecting Madam A. Even with their masks on, he could easily recognize them.
Byakuya leaped upward from below, landing directly on the viewing platform.
The sisters' retreat speed while covering Madam A was far too slow compared to his. He caught up in an instant.
Kurona and Nashiro turned to block him, but seeing Byakuya made them hesitate.
That brief moment of hesitation was potentially fatal.
Byakuya flashed before them instantly, both hands simultaneously removing their masks.
Both sisters instinctively covered their faces with their hands—they didn't want Byakuya to see...
"Kurona-san, Nashiro-san. So it really is you two, making this kind of mistake again."
Byakuya spoke calmly.
He didn't do anything to them. Instead, he casually tossed aside the masks and turned to attack Madam A.
In desperation, Madam A released her kagune, her fierce kakugan visible even through her sunglasses.
But she was far too weak against Byakuya. Her kakuhou and kagune were severed in an instant by the sword-form "Jason."
"Gah...!"
Critically wounded, Madam A lost all ability to resist, collapsing to her knees and coughing up blood.
[Ding! Host defeated an "A-rated ghoul." Reward: 10 Fusion Points!]
The S+-rated Quinque's benefits were immense. Even without jutsu, dealing with A-rated ghouls was as easy as slicing vegetables.
Even now, Kurona and Nashiro hadn't forgotten "Father's" orders. They desperately wanted to rescue Madam A from Byakuya.
Byakuya's gaze shifted to them. "You're no match for me. Are you sure you still want to fight?"