he sheer scale of the force deployed against him made one thing clear to Fushimi Kyo
The CCG had no intention whatsoever of sitting down and talking things through.
Whether he was human or not didn't matter.
Capture him if possible.
Kill him if necessary.
That was their stance.
And for this outcome, credit had to be given to the Washuu family, the true power behind the CCG.
After all, it was this very family that had first proposed establishing the CCG to deal with ghouls.
Even quinque weapons had been developed by the first CCG General Chairman, Washuu Tsuneyoshi.
What was most ironic was this
The Washuu family itself was a ghoul bloodline.
Their crusade against ghouls was nothing more than a façade to conceal their true nature, while monopolizing the ultimate authority over ghoul extermination.
Only as long as ghouls and the CCG remained locked in endless conflict
only as long as blood continued to be spilled
could the Washuu family's supreme status remain unshaken.
But Fushimi Kyo's existence had shattered that balance.
In just over a month, nearly one hundred and thirty ghouls had been killed.
This was an outcome the Washuu family could not tolerate.
So before Fushimi Kyo could fully spread his wings
They intended to erase him completely.
"CCG enforcement operation!"
A CCG combatant shouted through a loudspeaker.
"Raise your hands and surrender immediately!"
"Any resistance will result in on-the-spot execution!"
"On-the-spot execution?"
Fushimi Kyo scoffed softly.
"How harsh."
"So you're forcing me to slaughter my way out, huh?"
"You'll regret this."
A cold, razor-sharp arc curved across his lips.
His eyes locked onto the unit ahead, icy and merciless.
"Special Class Investigator Shinohara,"
he said calmly,
"to my knowledge, I've never harmed a single human."
"I even saved one of your CCG comrades."
"Isn't that right, Amon Koutarou?"
His gaze shifted toward Shinohara Yukinori and Amon Koutarou, piercing and frigid.
Under that stare, Amon instinctively shrank back.
Guilt flashed across his face but he still stepped out of formation.
"Mr. Fushimi,"
Amon said earnestly,
"thank you for killing Yamori and saving my life."
"Then why all this?"
Fushimi Kyo pressed.
"This doesn't look like a thank-you ceremony."
"Mr. Fushimi,"
Amon replied after a brief hesitation,
"you evolve by consuming ghoul kakuhou."
"We cannot confirm whether you are human."
"But if you cease resistance and come with us to the CCG, I promise
we will not harm you."
"Hahahaha "
Fushimi Kyo burst out laughing, as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world.
Then he looked at Amon with open mockery.
"Your promise?"
"Does that even matter?"
"The CCG is dying to know the secret behind my ability to consume kakuhou, isn't it?"
"Tell me "
"Wouldn't I make the perfect experimental specimen?"
"And once you drag me into the CCG…"
"Do you really think I'd still have freedom?"
Amon fell silent.
Because he knew
Every word Fushimi Kyo spoke was the truth.
No matter how noble Washuu Yoshitoki had made the operation sound, there were dark motives buried beneath it.
Everyone understood that.
A once-in-a-generation anomaly like Fushimi Kyo
The CCG would never allow him to roam free.
"Can't answer, can you?"
Fushimi Kyo sneered.
"At ease with the chatter, Amon."
A cold voice cut in from the side.
"He's just an unknown rat."
"Kill him and be done with it."
"Sending this many people after him is already giving him far more respect than he deserves."
To Fushimi Kyo's left stood a man in a high-collared cloak.
His lower face was concealed, glasses glinting faintly.
Mounted on his right arm was a golden, cannon-like device
A quinque.
It was Special Class Investigator Hachikawa.
"An unknown rat?"
Fushimi Kyo's voice dropped to the temperature of hell itself.
"You're really bad at choosing words."
The next instant
Boom!
His foot slammed into the ground.
The pavement exploded.
Whoosh!
His figure vanished.
When he reappeared, he was already standing directly in front of Hachikawa.
The sheer speed made Tanakamaru, Shinohara, and Kuroiwa all change color instantly.
"Hachikawa watch out!"
Shinohara roared.
"Hehehe…"
Hachikawa laughed darkly.
"Little rat. I was waiting for you!"
He hadn't spoken recklessly.
Those words had been deliberate
meant to provoke Fushimi Kyo into exposing himself.
And now
The golden "barrel" was already aimed squarely at Fushimi Kyo's torso.
"Hmph."
Fushimi Kyo snorted in disdain.
In a blink, his body twisted like a phantom, reappearing on Hachikawa's left.
At the same time
He threw a punch.
A shrill shockwave ripped through the air.
Hachikawa's pupils shrank.
"Damn it too careless!"
BOOM!
Fushimi Kyo's fist slammed into Hachikawa's ribs.
The impact was solid.
Crack crack crack
A dense cascade of bone fractures echoed.
Hachikawa let out a muffled groan as his body shot backward like a cannonball, smashing through ranks of CCG personnel and sending them flying in every direction.
The formation instantly collapsed into chaos.
Moments later, panicked voices erupted
"Special Class Investigator Hachikawa!"
"Are you alright?!"
"Medical team! Medical team!"
"Severely injured repeat, severely injured!"
Fushimi Kyo looked over.
Hachikawa was barely lifting his head, blood pouring from his mouth.
That single punch had nearly crushed him.
Hachikawa stared at Fushimi Kyo with burning fury
but deep within his eyes lurked unmistakable fear.
One move.
Just one move, and he was critically wounded.
Even when facing the SS-class ghoul Black Doberman, he had never been humiliated like this.
Was this monster really only SS-class?
An oppressive silence fell over the battlefield.
Aside from Hachikawa's unit, every other squad stood frozen.
Shinohara exchanged a grave look with Tanakamaru and Kuroiwa.
They all understood the same thing
The CCG's evaluation had been catastrophically wrong.
This was not an SS-class opponent.
Even against the One-Eyed Owl, Hachikawa would not have been crushed so utterly.
Which meant
In terms of raw combat power, Fushimi Kyo was already on par with an SSS-class ghoul.
Across the entire CCG
The only person who could possibly fight him one-on-one…
Was the pride of the organization
The White Reaper.
Arima Kishou.
At the command center, Washuu Yoshitoki's expression darkened.
"One strike to cripple Hachikawa…"
"It seems our previous assessment was still far too conservative."
"But that's fine."
"I prepared Plan B."
"No matter how monstrous he is…"
"He will not escape today."
Without hesitation, he issued the command:
"Shinohara. Tanakamaru. Kuroiwa."
"Order all units begin fire suppression."
"All investigators Second Class and above
look for an opening and deliver the killing blow."
"Roger!"
"Roger!"
"Roger!"
"All units prepare to fire!"
"Open fire!"
Ratatatatata
A storm of bullets erupted.
From all directions, concentrated gunfire tore toward Fushimi Kyo, sealing off every possible avenue of retreat.
The weapons had been carefully selected
Mid- to short-range firearms, with an effective range under three hundred meters.
That way, even with four-directional crossfire
There was no risk of friendly fire.
The net had closed.
And the hunt had truly begun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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