At this moment, the battlefield was deathly silent
so quiet that even a falling pin could be heard.
An overwhelming, suffocating pressure weighed down on everyone's hearts.
Fushimi Kyo stood in a pool of blood.
His white clothes had long since been dyed crimson, his face splattered with the blood of countless people.
The snow-bright edge of Bloodsong gleamed chillingly.
As if having drunk its fill, the blade no longer cared for excess
a single drop of blood slid down from its tip and fell to the ground.
More than three hundred people still surrounded him.
But the sharpness in their eyes was gone.
As they raised their guns at Fushimi Kyo, their faces were pale, hands trembling uncontrollably.
The brutal slaughter from moments ago had finally crushed their courage.
"G-glup…"
A combatant swallowed with difficulty, his body involuntarily stepping backward.
"Demon… that thing is a demon."
"Why are we fighting him?"
"They're all dead… Changyuan and Songjian are dead."
"My best friend 's dead!"
With a hysterical shout, he threw his rifle to the ground and turned to flee the encirclement.
He barely made it a few steps.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out, and his body slammed heavily onto the ground.
Fushimi Kyo turned his head.
The one who fired was Hachikawa, the Special Class investigator whom he had nearly beaten to death earlier.
"Cowardice on the battlefield. Disrupting morale."
"Deserved to die," Hachikawa said coldly.
Fushimi Kyo frowned slightly.
He took that kind of damage earlier; being alive at all should already be a miracle.
Yet now he's practically recovered? What kind of ability is this?
In the original story, Hachikawa never possessed such terrifying regenerative power.
His gaze shifted past Hachikawa.
Not far away, a female investigator was placing half-used syringes into a small metal case that emitted a steady stream of cold air, clearly a high-grade cryogenic container.
"CCG-developed regenerative gene agents?"
Fushimi Kyo's eyes narrowed.
He glanced to the side again.
As expected, Tanakamaru Nozomu had just finished injecting the same drug.
His internal injuries seemed forcibly suppressed, and he slowly managed to stand up.
Fushimi Kyo focused on Tanakamaru's shoulder, the spot he had nearly cleaved open earlier.
Yet the next scene made his pupils contract.
Under the drug's effects, the wound healed at a visible speed.
In just moments, it was completely restored.
"So this world really is different from the original," Fushimi Kyo thought.
"To think CCG can already develop something like this…"
Not far away, Tanakamaru had fully recovered.
A subordinate handed him a brand-new suitcase.
At the same time, Kuroiwa Iwao and Shinohara Yukinori stepped forward as well.
"All combat personnel below First Class withdraw from the battlefield,"
Shinohara said gravely.
"The rest of this fight will be handled by us investigators."
"Huh? Shinohara, isn't that inappropriate?"
"They can still provide effective suppression," Hachikawa said unhappily.
"I agree with Shinohara," Kuroiwa stepped forward, his voice heavy.
"Too many people have already died. There's no need to let them die meaningless deaths."
"Yo, boy same here," Tanakamaru laughed loudly, stroking his mustache.
"I support Shinohara's decision."
Seeing all three standing together, Hachikawa wisely shut his mouth.
"Next," Shinohara continued,
"Houji Akira, Hirako Take, and Amon Koutarou, the four of us will jointly suppress the Ghoul Hunter."
"All others, retreat."
"Yes!"
Dozens of investigators responded in unison.
"I want to fight too."
An out-of-place voice rang out.
It was Mado Akira.
Watching so many lives fall moments ago had left her heart heavy with helplessness.
She wanted to contribute to do something.
"Withdraw. That's an order."
Shinohara's voice was unusually stern, completely unlike his usual gentle demeanor.
This was a matter of life and death.
With Mado Akira's strength, she wouldn't even last a single exchange joining would be nothing but suicide.
She tried to insist, but Takizawa Seidou pulled her aside.
"Don't be reckless. This isn't a fight we can interfere with."
"Just watch and treat it as an experience."
Though they often clashed, Takizawa knew what mattered when lives were on the line.
"Four Special Class investigators, three First Class investigators…"
Fushimi Kyo grinned slowly.
"Now this is interesting."
"I can feel my blood boiling."
"This is exhilarating."
His battle intent finally erupted completely.
His eyes burned with savage heat
like a predator staring at prey listed on his personal menu.
Several hundred meters away, atop a tall building
A girl in a red cloak, hood pulled low, her body wrapped in bandages, watched the battlefield without blinking.
She was Takatsuki Sen, leader of Aogiri Tree.
Behind her stood Tatara, as silent as ever.
"Kukuku… how amusing," Eto laughed softly.
"These foolish humans are actually turning on each other."
"But honestly these half-baked investigators?"
"How could they possibly be his match?"
"If CCG mobilized this many people and still failed…"
Tatara said calmly,
"then that man will probably step in."
"The White Reaper of CCG?"
Eto burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! I really want to see those two fight."
"But for now, the more important matter is the 11th Ward."
"Tatara gave the order. Tell them to wipe out the 11th Ward CCG branch immediately."
"With this guy tying down CCG's top combat power, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
She sat on the edge of the rooftop, slender legs swinging cheerfully.
Tatara nodded.
"Understood."
He activated his comm.
"All units move out immediately."
"Eliminate the 11th Ward CCG branch and seize the headquarters."
After giving the order, the two turned their gazes back to the battlefield.
On the wide street, Fushimi Kyo stood calmly with blade in hand.
Seven figures closed in on him from different directions.
"Hmph rat," Hachikawa sneered.
"I was careless before. This time, I'll blast you into dust."
He raised his right arm.
The golden, spiral-shaped quinque wrapped around it locked onto Fushimi Kyo.
Earlier, he hadn't even managed to deploy his quinque before being nearly dismantled by a single punch.
That humiliation burned fiercely.
Now, he was desperate to prove that a Special Class investigator wasn't so weak.
Fushimi Kyo glanced at him coldly.
"Looks like I was too gentle earlier."
"Didn't knock any sense into you."
"In that case…"
"Netherworld Nine-Headed Dragon Flash!"
His body blurred
and instantly appeared before Hachikawa.
Nine dazzling arcs of blade-light crashed down at once.
Before the blade even arrived, the shrill shriek of cutting air made everyone's hearts tremble.
"Hachikawa watch out!"
Kuroiwa and Shinohara shouted simultaneously.
Both swung their massive blades, sealing off all of Hachikawa's vital points.
Clang clang clang clang!
Metal rang violently as weapons collided.
"Heh, rat," Hachikawa sneered.
"Today I'll show you what real teamwork looks like."
From his raised arm, countless yellow flying blades erupted from the spiral quinque, surging toward Fushimi Kyo like a flood.
Fushimi Kyo flickered, dodging the barrage, and reappeared at Hachikawa's left.
He slashed horizontally toward Hachikawa's waist.
"Useless!" Hachikawa barked confidently.
Sure enough
From the side, a long sword slammed down, cutting off the attack.
It was Houji Akira, Hachikawa's subordinate.
Dressed similarly in a high-collared white robe, her swordsmanship was sharp and disciplined
the same coordination that once helped Hachikawa defeat Irimi Kaya.
Whoosh!
A violent gust surged from behind.
Fushimi Kyo bent backward, narrowly dodging, twisted midair, and kicked out.
Bang!
His kick was blocked by a massive blade.
"Oh?" Fushimi Kyo raised a brow.
"Not bad. You've improved a lot since Mado Kureo died."
"Should be enough to qualify for Upper Class Investigator by now."
"Or is it that Kureo being alive was suppressing your performance?"
He "praised" Amon Koutarou casually.
"You bastard!"
Amon roared in fury.
Mado Kureo was his deepest scar.
Two massive blades swung at Fushimi Kyo in a frenzy.
"Amon calm down!"
Shinohara and Kuroiwa intervened again, blades striking simultaneously toward Fushimi Kyo's neck and abdomen.
"Hmph."
Fushimi Kyo snorted, flipping backward four times in smooth succession, leaping out of the encirclement.
"Yo, boy High-Order Impact: Diffusion!"
Tanakamaru Nozomu raised a freshly deployed Angel's Wing.
During the brief distraction, he had fully recharged it.
He fired directly at Fushimi Kyo's position.
BOOM!
A devastating shockwave engulfed the area within more than ten meters.
The ground cracked violently, shattering layer by layer as smoke and debris filled the air.
"He hit him!"
Observers cried out in excitement.
"This time he's definitely badly injured!"
"That's a Special Class for perfect coordination!"
"Four Specials and three First Class investigators just to push him this far is unbelievable!"
"After so many deaths… it's finally over."
The crowd erupted.
Even Shinohara, Kuroiwa, and Tanakamaru stared tensely at the smoke-shrouded center.
"…That should have seriously injured him, right?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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