Chapter 49: Arima, You Absolute Disaster
Carefully lifting his left foot, Su Xiao dodged a kagune that an eyeless ghoul had unconsciously swept his way.
A gust of wind brushed against Su Xiao's pant leg, the tip of that eyeless ghoul's kagune lightly touching the fabric.
"Rip~."
The pant leg tore open. Su Xiao frowned. These guys were incredibly strong, and their kagune were abnormally sharp.
Su Xiao continued moving forward without a sound. With his mental fortitude, even in a more perilous situation, he would remain calm.
When Su Xiao had made it halfway, Yuna had already passed through this dangerous zone, weaving through the gaps between the numerous eyeless ghouls.
Arima Kishou and Yuna stood before the passage on the opposite side, their thumbs pressed against the activation buttons of their koukaku, ready to cover Su Xiao at a moment's notice.
After the previous battle, Su Xiao knew these two were definitely not useless teammates; otherwise, he wouldn't have taken the rear.
Yuna crouched low, her long black hair draping over her shoulders, carefully observing every move of the eyeless ghouls for Su Xiao.
Yuna suddenly raised one hand, while the index and middle fingers of her other hand came together and tapped the center of her palm.
This gesture meant 'stop.'
Su Xiao immediately noticed Yuna's signal.
Yuna pointed at the two eyeless ghouls in front of Su Xiao. Those two eyeless ghouls had their backs to him, so he couldn't see their movements.
Yuna pointed to the side, signaling for Su Xiao to change his route.
Without much hesitation, Su Xiao chose another path. Now that the three of them were in the same boat, judging by the distance Arima Kishou and Yuna were standing, they wouldn't abandon Su Xiao and leave first.
After taking a few steps, Su Xiao noticed that the two eyeless ghouls Yuna had pointed out were in a conscious state, their heads swaying left and right as if they vaguely sensed something.
Su Xiao continued forward. With the cover provided by Arima Kishou and Yuna, he successfully advanced over 180 meters. Victory was within sight.
"Boom, boom~~."
The sound of dense footsteps came from behind.
The three of them's expressions changed drastically. The eyeless ghouls that had been lured away were returning.
Su Xiao didn't care about being exposed anymore; he quickened his pace under the cover of the running footsteps.
A few seconds later, Su Xiao successfully crossed this dangerous area, and the three regrouped.
Because of the roaring footsteps, the ghouls in the open space became active.
Yuna made a victory gesture, but at that moment, a ghoul suddenly appeared behind her.
It was a normal ghoul, female, around thirty years old.
It was normal for ghouls to suddenly appear in District 24; the three had encountered this situation over a dozen times. But the timing of this ghoul's appearance was frustrating.
The gazes of Su Xiao and the others immediately locked onto the female ghoul, practically radiating killing intent.
"White Reaper!"
The female ghoul gritted her teeth upon seeing Arima Kishou.
Su Xiao knew things were about to go wrong. Dragon-Slaying Flash appeared in his hand, and after adjusting his grip, he threw it with full force.
The female ghoul revealed a manic smile as she spotted the eyeless ghouls.
She lived in District 24, so she recognized those 'beasts.'
"Ah!!!!"
A scream that shook the passage echoed.
"Pfft."
"Bang."
Su Xiao's blade and Arima Kishou's golden electric sphere arrived simultaneously.
The female ghoul was first pierced by Dragon-Slaying Flash, then electrocuted into charcoal, falling dead.
But it was too late. That scream had alerted the eyeless ghouls. Including those returning from the depths, there were at least five hundred or more.
Pairs of eyes wrapped in gray hard shells stared fixedly in the direction of Su Xiao and the others.
In that instant, all sound around them vanished.
Su Xiao turned his head stiffly. Upon seeing all the eyeless ghouls standing up, a chill ran down his spine. A cold sensation rose from the soles of his feet, traveled up his spine, and shot straight to the top of his head.
Facing so many eyeless ghouls at once was definitely a death sentence!
"Roar~! ..."
The roars merged into one, and the eyeless ghouls charged toward the three on all fours.
Before that, the three had already sprinted forward desperately. As they passed the female ghoul's corpse, Su Xiao reached out with one hand and grabbed the hilt of Dragon-Slaying Flash.
"Boom, boom... ."
A large cloud of dust rose behind them as the eyeless ghouls, on all fours, charged like wild beasts.
These eyeless ghouls were incredibly fast, running on all fours and using their tail kagune for balance.
Even in battle, ordinary ghouls walked upright, but these eyeless ghouls were completely bestial; their tail kagune perfectly replaced a tail.
Su Xiao and the others had no time to look back; they ran for their lives.
Su Xiao's agility attribute was a full 13 points, so his speed wasn't slow. Yet even so, those eyeless ghouls were slowly closing in on them.
"This won't work. We'll be chased down sooner or later."
Although Arima Kishou was running at high speed, he remained calm.
After the three passed through a straight corridor, two forks appeared ahead.
"Bai Ye, you take the left, I'll take the right. Take Yuna and go first; I'll hold the rear."
Su Xiao had taken the rear before, and now Arima Kishou volunteered to do so.
"Hope you survive."
Su Xiao nodded to Arima Kishou. He wasn't the type to be indecisive.
Arima Kishou stopped in his tracks, halting before one of the forks.
Su Xiao and Yuna charged straight into the other fork. Before entering, Yuna shouted,
"Arima, you have to make it!"
After yelling, Yuna rushed into the fork.
"Boom."
A crashing sound came from behind. Su Xiao turned to look; the entrance behind him was tightly sealed.
That was Arima Kishou's koukaku, 'IXA,' a koukaku that could change its form at will.
"Bang, bang... ."
Continuous impacts sounded, likely the eyeless ghouls slamming into the wall formed by 'IXA.'
'IXA' was sturdy, but it couldn't withstand such battering.
After Su Xiao ran a certain distance, a loud crash came from behind. The wall formed by 'IXA' had been broken through.
About fifty or sixty eyeless ghouls surged into the passage, ferociously chasing after Su Xiao and Yuna.
Su Xiao ignored these eyeless ghouls and continued forward.
After running for about a minute, Su Xiao suddenly stopped, and Yuna collided with his back.
"Why~ did~ you~ stop?"
Yuna was already out of breath. The previous battle combined with this desperate escape was no easy feat.
If their speed were recorded, the two of them would have completely blown away the world's sprint champion.
"If we keep running, our stamina will be exhausted. We can't outrun these beasts."
Su Xiao stood his ground, blade in hand, as the dozens of eyeless ghouls rapidly approached.
"I'll cover you~. Use this koukaku for now."
Yuna tossed a koukaku to Su Xiao. After a moment's thought, he pressed the button on the koukaku.
This was his first time using a koukaku.
"Click~."
The silver-white metal case popped open. The koukaku inside, upon contact with the air, began to rapidly expand, climbing up his upper body.
This wasn't a weapon-type koukaku, but an armor-type one. Su Xiao had seen this before.
In the original work, Shinohara Yukinori used this kind of armor koukaku. It was called 'Shin,' a recent development by the CCG.
The black-cyan koukaku armor enveloped Su Xiao's upper body. The armor was somewhat heavy, but its defensive power was strong.
After Su Xiao put on 'Shin,' the Reincarnation Paradise issued a notification.
[You have equipped the koukaku 'Shin.' Strength +3, Agility -3, Defense +2, Movement Speed reduced by 30%. (Temporary status. After removing 'Shin,' the buffs or debuffs will disappear.)]
With this koukaku 'Shin' combined with Su Xiao's swordsmanship, his combat effectiveness in a fixed position would at least double.
PS: (Daily request for recommendation tickets~)