Chapter 6: The Enemy
"What a pity. I thought I'd be getting another treasure chest."
Su Xiao tapped the ground lightly with his long blade. His bare upper body was already stained with large patches of blood.
That was the blood of the beautiful Rize. Earlier, he had slashed open her lower abdomen, causing a gush of blood to spray out.
"Eto, hold him off."
Matori's voice was low. Among the members of Aogiri Tree, he was one of the few who knew the true identity of Takatsuki Sen.
"You take Kamishiro Rize and go first."
Takatsuki Sen fixed her gaze on Su Xiao, her expression extremely serious.
Matori frowned.
"Is that necessary?"
"It is. This human is a complete monster."
Takatsuki Sen took off her jacket, revealing her body wrapped entirely in bandages. It seemed she was preparing for a fierce battle with Su Xiao.
"Understood. Let's move out, Ayato, Noro."
Matori hesitated no longer. With Kirishima Ayato present, Takatsuki Sen couldn't easily reveal her true form.
As for Noro, he also knew Takatsuki Sen's identity—he was her adoptive father.
"Hey, are we really going to slink away like this? That guy just killed Jason."
Kirishima Ayato, still in pain, was very displeased. Su Xiao had nearly killed him earlier.
Matori said nothing, only silently staring at Kirishima Ayato. The latter felt uncomfortable under the gaze and finally snorted, turning his head away.
"Crack."
The sound of breaking glass came from somewhere. Everyone's gaze turned toward the source. It turned out that Rize, after recovering somewhat from her injuries, had chosen to escape through the window.
The drop to the ground was over ten meters. Rize had no choice but to jump.
Being caught by Aogiri Tree wouldn't kill her, but the outcome wouldn't be good. Being caught by Su Xiao, however, would definitely mean death. So Rize chose to jump.
"Bang."
A loud crash came from below, followed by the frantic blaring of a car alarm.
Su Xiao ignored the few people present, quickly ran to the window, and just caught sight of Kamishiro Rize staggering away.
Rize was badly hurt from the fall, but she forced herself to flee far, quickly disappearing into a dark alley.
She escaped. The prey in hand had escaped.
The smile on Su Xiao's face gradually faded. He gripped the hilt of his [Dragon-Slaying Flash] so tightly it creaked.
"It seems like~ we've pissed this guy off."
For some reason, a chill surged in Kirishima Ayato's heart. He instinctively stepped back, but the sharp pain in his calf caused large beads of cold sweat to form on his forehead.
Su Xiao coldly stared at the few people present, veins bulging on his forehead.
Even if he couldn't kill Kamishiro Rize, obtaining her kakuhou would still yield a generous reward.
But after Aogiri Tree interfered, the benefit within reach had "jumped out the window."
"She escaped, so you'll take her place, Fueguchi Eto!"
After Su Xiao spoke the name Fueguchi Eto, the expressions of the three present changed. Only Kirishima Ayato looked confused—he was hearing this name for the first time.
"Take the people and leave."
Takatsuki Sen's voice was now cold, no longer the childish tone from before.
Noro's kagune erupted behind him, the fangs at its tip clamping onto Kirishima Ayato.
"Noro, what are you doing? Let me go!"
Kirishima Ayato struggled a few times, but the difference in strength was too great; he couldn't break free.
Noro leaped, jumping out through the floor-to-ceiling window that Rize had shattered earlier. It seemed he was going after Rize.
"Do you need help?"
Matori was somewhat wary of Su Xiao's strength. After all, this was the first time he had encountered such a powerful pure human.
Ghouls had extremely keen senses of smell, surpassing most animals.
From the scent on Su Xiao, Matori deduced that Su Xiao was a pure human—so pure that it surprised him.
In the world of ghouls, ordinary humans also contained a small amount of Rc cells in their bodies. Ghouls used the concentration of Rc cells to determine whether someone was human or ghoul.
But Su Xiao's body had no trace of Rc cell scent—none at all.
"No need. Go after Kamishiro Rize. She's very important to me. Among the targets I've chosen, she's the most 'outstanding.'"
After Kirishima Ayato was forcibly taken away, Takatsuki Sen no longer bothered to hide her true voice.
"The CCG is almost here. My subordinates can't hold them off for long. Finish this quickly."
Matori jumped out the window. Only Su Xiao and Takatsuki Sen remained in the room.
"Who exactly are you? How do you know my real name?"
Although Takatsuki Sen was 25 years old, her figure was very petite, only about 1.5 meters tall.
The kakuhou on Takatsuki Sen's body began to activate. As the One-Eyed King, she had ten kakuhou within her.
As her kagune emerged, the bandages wrapped around her body loosened slightly. Especially the bandages over her chest—they slid off directly, revealing large patches of delicate skin. Her feminine features were completely exposed to the air.
Takatsuki Sen didn't care about this. She only stared intently at Su Xiao.
"Bai Ye."
Su Xiao's brief answer made Takatsuki Sen pause.
"What?"
Su Xiao said nothing more. His muscles slightly bulged as he prepared for battle.
A large amount of kagune appeared on Takatsuki Sen, enveloping her. The blood-red kagune surged, and soon, Su Xiao could no longer see Takatsuki Sen's original form.
What appeared before Su Xiao was a monster at least 2.5 meters tall. Two pale white claws touched the ground, and its back seemed to bloom like a flower, covered in a cluster of spikes—these were the gathered kagune, offering both strong defense and attack capabilities.
Takatsuki Sen's form was no longer that of an ordinary ghoul. Her current state was that of a kakuja.
A kakuja was different from an ordinary ghoul. The formation of a kakuja was brutal—it required devouring a large number of other ghouls.
Takatsuki Sen had devoured who knows how many powerful ghouls to achieve her current form.
"Ha~."
The kakuja-form Takatsuki Sen opened her gaping maw, exhaling a puff of red mist.
"Hahaha. I've never seen such a pure human like you. You should be very delicious."
Takatsuki Sen's personality had drastically changed, her tone somewhat manic.
The mental state of a kakuja was generally unstable. After being filled with a massive amount of Rc cells, the already extremely violent Rc cells would affect the ghoul's brain.
Although Takatsuki Sen could control her emotions well, her personality had become much more unrestrained.
Su Xiao became alert. If the pressure Takatsuki Sen gave him before was a 5, now it was at least around 13.
He took a deep breath and calmed down. In battle, he couldn't let anger cloud his judgment.
"Her strength has increased a lot, and her personality has changed considerably."
Su Xiao didn't charge in directly. Instead, he sidestepped, circling around Takatsuki Sen.
Every time Su Xiao moved a certain distance, Takatsuki Sen would turn her body, always keeping him in front of her.
Su Xiao made a feint as if to charge forward. Takatsuki Sen raised her claws, ready to counter.
But Su Xiao didn't charge. His body, which had seemed poised to lunge, suddenly stopped. After this feint, he continued to wait for an opportunity.
Takatsuki Sen grew impatient. She opened her massive maw and let out a roar, then lunged at Su Xiao on all fours.
In her kakuja form, Takatsuki Sen wasn't particularly fast, but her momentum was immense, like an armored vehicle.
A gust of wind rushed toward him.
As she closed in on Su Xiao, Takatsuki Sen stood upright, one pale claw reaching for him, aiming for his head.
Su Xiao sidestepped. The claw brushed past his ear, the accompanying wind lifting his black hair.
Just as Su Xiao dodged her claw, the sword-like kagune on her shoulder slashed toward him.
With no way to avoid it, Su Xiao chose to counter.
Gripping his blade with both hands, Su Xiao slashed at Takatsuki Sen's kagune.
"Boom."
A loud crash rang out. The tiles beneath their feet shattered into large pieces, and dust surged.
The immense force transmitted through his blade made Su Xiao's expression change. But what happened next surprised him.
Blue light flickered on the surface of [Dragon-Slashing Flash]. The special energy converted from Azure Steel Shadow surged into Takatsuki Sen's body.
Takatsuki Sen let out a screech and instinctively retreated.
Su Xiao wouldn't miss such an opportunity. With a swift slash, he severed one of her claws.
With the claw supporting her body cut off, Takatsuki Sen's body tilted to the side.
Su Xiao struck again. This slash landed on her back, shattering large swaths of kagune, which scattered into countless fragments in the air.
The glowing red kagune fragments looked eerily beautiful in midair.
Suffering such a heavy blow, Takatsuki Sen was furious. Enduring the pain of her Rc cells burning within, she thrust her remaining claw toward Su Xiao's abdomen.
Su Xiao immediately leaped back, but he was a bit too slow. Several deep claw marks appeared on his lower abdomen, blood dripping to the ground.
His reaction had been very fast. If he had been slower, that claw would have ripped out his intestines.
"Haah, haah~."
Takatsuki Sen supported herself with one hand. The man named Bai Ye before her gave her a feeling of sharpness and agility.
She couldn't continue fighting. The sudden pain that had appeared in her body earlier had put her at a disadvantage.
Takatsuki Sen quickly ran toward the window. Su Xiao wasn't about to let her go easily. Holding his wound with his left hand and his blade with his right, he quickly followed.
Takatsuki Sen leaped into the air, jumping out of the building.
Su Xiao stopped. Standing by the window with his blade in hand, he coldly watched Takatsuki Sen.
In midair, Takatsuki Sen turned her head. The kagune on her head split open, revealing the lower half of her fair face.
For some reason, Takatsuki Sen actually smiled at Su Xiao.
Su Xiao didn't jump down. Although his strength and agility attributes were high, his stamina attribute wasn't. Jumping from a height of over ten meters wouldn't kill him, but injuring his legs would be unavoidable.
Today, Aogiri Tree had brought too many ghouls, and the terrain was unfavorable for Su Xiao. He couldn't keep Takatsuki Sen here.
Just as Su Xiao had temporarily given up and was about to leave, he saw a man in a suit, carrying a metal case, standing not far away.
The man in the suit had his mouth slightly open, staring blankly at him.
"Amon Koutarou?"
Su Xiao's earlier pursuit and attack on the One-Eyed King had just been witnessed by Amon Koutarou.
This left Amon Koutarou somewhat stunned.
(Plea for recommendations~ A new book really needs them.)