At the end of the ghoul restaurant's District D escape passage lay an unregistered, privately-dug tunnel that connected to Tokyo's sewer drainage system, an underground web as complex as a spider's nest.
In the dim light, murky sewage gushed forth. The rotting corpses of rodents drifted away with the rising rainwater, emitting waves of stench. Suddenly, deafening explosions and a string of gunfire erupted, sending startled, light-fearing scavengers and bottom-dwelling creatures scurrying in chaos.
"I will never let you through!!"
Splurt! Wading through the filthy sewage, Amon Koutarou roared, swinging his dark blue, long-handled heavy Quinque shaped like a blunt weapon. It narrowly missed the black-eyed girl's cheek and slamd heavily into the wall behind her.
Boom-crack!
The wall couldn't withstand the force of the heavy Quinque. Rubble burst outward, leaving a massive hole as cracks spread.
With a sidelong glance toward the white-eyed girl, Amon flexed his wrist, driving the blade forward with explosive force. He lunged five or six ters to pursue the black-eyed girl, the Quinque dragging chunks of fractured concrete with it, scattering debris as it swept forward.
Stones cut through the air, forcing her to block instinctively with her Kagune. Shards pelted the walls, plop plop in the sewage, echoing.
Dust filled the passage.
"Damn it! They're here too—how did the CCG find out?! Why didn't I hear a thing?!"
A blonde noblewoman, wearing glasses and a masquerade mask, clad in a fur-collared gown, shrieked in hysteria as dirty water splashed her legs. She hadn't finished when—rat-tat-tat!—a string of bullets ripped toward her.
CCG investigators, along with North Arican counter-ghoul operatives, lay in ambush, holding favorable positions and pouring suppressive fire.
That hysterical noblewoman, clearly not a fighter but being guarded closely, stood out as a VIP regular of the ghoul restaurant. She was one of those high-society ghouls deeply embedded in human society, and thus a pri target.
Bullets crisscrossed. Dust and stone sprayed as walls cracked with savage bullet holes. So struck steel beams, sparking bursts of fire.
In an instant, the largest ghoul in the passage, a bare-chested brute with his face covered, was riddled by more than a dozen Q-bullets. He collapsed, groaning twice: "Mama…"
Then silence. Even in death, he clutched a bloodstained hand saw tightly.
Seeing this, the noblewoman wailed: "Ah, my precious baby—!"
Before she could finish, the white-eyed girl shoved her back.
The sustained suppressive fire forced the ghouls shielding the noblewoman to keep leaping about, releasing Kagune to block bullets, rolling to evade, burning through stamina in a passive struggle.
In such a narrow passage, against firepower density far surpassing past CCG operations, even an A-rated Koukaku ghoul struggled to break through. S-rated ghouls perhaps could—but investigators specialized in close-combat Quinque executions weren't fools.
"Commander Russell orders—block those two one-eyed ghouls."
"Yes, sir!"
The speaker, a North Arican counter-ghoul operative, was a towering 1.9-ter-tall black-and-white mixed-blood giant. Muscles bulged against his uniform as he wielded a heavy Quinque shaped like a German dieval poleaxe. He struck down upon the neck of an S-rated ghoul who had just broken the blockade under fire.
Even as the ghoul collapsed, he swiftly drew a Smith & Wesson M460 from his hip holster. Bang, bang, bang! Three shots at point-blank range—0.46-caliber custom magnum Q-bullets exploded across the target's face, splattering blood.
Cooperating beside him, another operative swung a Viking axe-shaped Quinque, cleaving down, sending the bleeding head rolling across the ground.
A mass Arican-style execution.
The sounds of snapping necks and shattered bones echoed as fleeing ghouls fell one after another.
They toppled like cut wheat.
"Madam A!"
Exposed to the CCG's firing lines, the white-eyed girl abandoned her duel with Amon to shield the panicked blonde noblewoman. From her lower back, four dark-red Rinkaku Kagune lashed out like tendrils. Fighting while retreating, she pushed her charge into the ghoul restaurant's escape corridor beyond CCG's line of fire.
"Commander Russell orders—mark those two one-eyed ghouls as priority targets. They must not escape!"
Boom, boom!
Two 40mm offensive impact grenades launched, bang, bang!—two violent explosions rocked the entire tunnel. Murky water splashed, mixed with rubble and sand, as thunderous echoes left everyone's head ringing. Several B-rated ghoul guards scread as they fell.
A wave of odorless gas spread out. The white-eyed girl groaned, her movents faltering.
"This is… filled with CRc gas?!"
In that brief mont of slowed motion, a precise marksman struck her shoulder. The Q-bullet tore through, ripping her outfit, blood and shredded flesh staining the wall behind her.
"Shiro!!"
The black-eyed girl's expression changed drastically as she fought Amon.
"Don't get in my way!"
Her four Rinkaku tendrils suddenly bulged with blood. Two blocked Amon's heavy Quinque sword, halting his force, while the other two coiled together like a steel whip and lashed out.
Whip—!
Instinctively, Amon raised his blade to block.
Clang!! Sparks burst where the crimson Kagune clashed with the dark blue Quinque, shining clearly in the gloomy sewer.
Agony shot through his palms, his grip tearing as his body was hurled backward by the trendous force, slamming into the wall.
"Rank-1 Amon!"
"I'm fine. Leave them to —prioritize blocking the others!"
Falling hard onto the ground, blood seeped from his mouth. Gritting his teeth, Amon wiped it away and stood again.
He glared at the black-and-white sisters, their crimson Kagune flailing wildly.
"Why?"
Stepping into the center of the muddy sewer, blocking the exit, Amon gripped his heavy sword tightly and demanded again.
"Kurona Yasuhisa, Nashiro Yasuhisa—you were once outstanding CCG Academy investigator trainees. Why have you beco ghouls?! Why stand with this trash?!"
He didn't know what the Yasuhisa sisters had gone through, what misfortunes or helpless circumstances, but one thing he was certain of: back in the Academy, they had not been ghouls.
As a new investigator himself, he had once returned to the Academy to lecture a few classes. The sisters' excellence had left him a deep impression.
Before graduation, they disappeared. Learning of this, Amon had even asked his superiors about their situation. He never received a clear answer—only vague ntion of family circumstances. Never did he imagine their reunion would be like this.
And turning humans… into ghouls?
What technology was that?
Could it be that all ghouls were once human? Was soone manufacturing ghouls from the shadows? Or was this the inevitable result of human scientific progress—an experint in half-ghoul research? Why would the sisters willingly beco ghouls? And why one-eyed? Was there a connection to the One-Eyed Owl?
Since breaking their masks and recognizing them, countless questions had plagued Amon.
The more he thought, the colder his palms grew, dread rising from terrifying possibilities.
Nor was it only Amon. Other investigators present—many themselves Academy graduates—couldn't help imagining the worst upon seeing the Yasuhisa sisters' current state.
Humans becoming ghouls?
The seed of suspicion was already planted…
"There is no why, Amon-senpai. You know nothing. The sins of the CCG…"
"As you see, we've abandoned our human identity."
Clutching her wounded shoulder, Nashiro looked calmly at the senior she once admired. "This twisted world—we lost interest long ago."
"We don't want to hurt you. But please, don't stop us, Amon-senpai."
Protectively standing before her injured sister like a mother beast, Kurona's left eye glowed crimson. Her four Rinkaku tendrils lashed the concrete floor left and right, pounding with booming cracks, splitting the ground.
"You're the ones forcing ."
Amon's hands trembled around the heavy sword, yet he still couldn't bring himself to strike them down.
"I don't want to kill you. Hand over Madam A, the 'talent' supplier. Stop resisting. Tell everything that happened to you. Perhaps… I can plead with Special Class Russell on your behalf…"
The Yasuhisa sisters gave no answer to Amon.
"Kurona, this is bad. The CCG reinforcents will be here any mont. We must escape quickly. We have to inform 'Father' of this incident. Madam A must be abandoned…"
"Mm. But, Nashiro, your wound—"
"It's fine. I inhaled a bit of CRc gas, but the concentration isn't high. I'll recover."
Their words made their stance clear.
Rinkaku tendrils whipped the ground. With Kagune eyes glowing, the Yasuhisa sisters kicked off, bodies shooting forward like arrows loosed from a bow, lunging at Amon.
"Haaah—!"
Amon swung his heavy sword repeatedly, slashing, chopping, striking. His blade hamred against the flailing Rinkaku tendrils again and again, filling the sewer with muffled crashes.
The battle raged fiercely. Though holding his ground, the sisters showed no joy.
Step step step—from the far end of the tunnel, more and more CCG reinforcents arrived. Were these the forces that Arican White Dove, Vela Russell, had dispatched after Amon's report?
"Though the backup plan wasn't needed, to hold out so long against two S-rated ghouls working in perfect tandem—without even killing intent—your disciple has done well, Mado."
"You—you are—ahhh!"
A cold, unfamiliar female voice was followed by Madam A's terrified cry.
The Yasuhisa sisters paled.
No—had the CCG's main strike force already arrived? So quickly? What of the SS-rated 'Big Madam'? Had the restaurant's ghouls already been annihilated?
Crash! A figure smashed through the iron gate of the escape tunnel, tracing a clean arc before crashing heavily into the waterway, skipping across the surface before slamming into the wall.
"Mado, Madam A is yours to interrogate."
"Understood."
A neurotic male voice.
Bang, bang.
Black armored gauntlets bent the shattered iron gate apart. Out of the rising dust, a woman in black armor stepped forward, leading Kureo Mado and a squad of heavily ard investigators.
"One-eyed ghouls, what is your connection to the One-Eyed King of Aogiri Tree? And your Kagune reminds of a certain long-lost figure—the 'Binge Eater.' In Ward 20, the 'Binge Eater' committed heinous cris. I pursued her thoroughly, yet ca up empty."
Vela studied the sisters with intrigued eyes.
Kurona Yasuhisa. Nashiro Yasuhisa.
Their mirrored physiques, their short bob cuts and hoodies matching their nas—one black, one white—and even their single Kagune eyes, each on opposite sides.
Vela advanced slowly, unhurried.
Behind her, Kureo Mado's new team followed, delivering finishing blows to corpses one by one. Amidst the tearing of flesh, she closed to within fifteen steps and asked knowingly:
"And you two—you were turned into ghouls from humans, weren't you? Coincidence. Dr. Chigyou and I have a project exploring just such results. Your Kagune—it ca from the 'Binge Eater,' didn't it? Tell , where is she? Who perford the surgery? How did CCG's technology leak to the outside?"
Schwing—
Calm as water, Vela raised [Black Abyss IV].
Kurona clenched her teeth, pressing her Rinkaku low, eyes blazing with fury.
"Don't even think about it! You Washuu lapdog, hypocrite in disguise! All ghoul problems are because of you—"
Before she could finish, a black flash filled her vision. Pain struck. Bang!
Kurona was blasted away like a cannonball, her back slamming against the battered wall. Dust rained down as she vomited a mouthful of blood, bones broken, agony and dizziness leaving her unable to rise.
Her Rinkaku tendrils, too, receded.
Fast. Too fast!
Faster than any ghoul, any investigator, even the experintal subjects she had faced in 'Father's' lab. She couldn't react at all…
Then, as her eyes lifted, unbearable terror swept through every nerve in her body.
"No—no! Nashiro, run…"
"Kurona! Let go—mmphhh!"
Vela casually drew back her leg. Facing Nashiro Yasuhisa's charge, her blade flashed—blood splattered as she dismbered the girl's Kagune with ease, as if teasing a pet. With one hand she seized the screaming girl and hurled her down before Kurona, pressing the black spear-blade across her delicate neck. Blood trickled down her throat.
"Now, can we speak properly?"
"If you don't want to watch your only family dissected alive and made into a Quinque."
Her foot pinning Nashiro, Vela crouched slightly, calm as ever. "I ask, you answer. Understood?"
"I'm in a good mood today. You should know who I am. Tell everything you know. Judging by your hatred, perhaps I can play the role of belated arbiter of justice."
"Special Class Russell, they are…"
Amon looked uneasily at the scene, just about to speak, when Kureo Mado tugged his sleeve. His expression stern, he said: "Still too naive, Amon. Even if they were once fine Academy trainees, now they are ghouls. They no longer have any rights, no political standing. Guilty or innocent, forced or not—it isn't ours to decide."
"But, Sensei, Nashiro and Kurona, they—"
Amon swallowed his words, throat tight.
"I'll cooperate! Please, let Shiro go…"
Kurona, pinned by pain, struggled to rise but fell back down. Only able to lift her head, voice hoarse and breaking, she shouted: "The 'Binge Eater's' location, everything about the Washuu clan, the half-ghoul surgery… it was Kanou Akihiro! Yes, Kanou perford the surgery on . Release Shiro! Kill if you must—I'll tell you everything I know!"
"Good. Sisterly love."
Vela nodded with satisfaction.
Words alone were not her specialty.
Beat them first to sober the Rc-addled mind. Then threaten what they hold most dear. The effect was imdiate.
"Mado, record the na Kanou Akihiro. Place him under key surveillance."
The wedge to pry at the Washuu clan's rule over the CCG was now in her hands.
"Inform Rank-2 Suzuya Juuzou—there are two forr Academy trainees suspected as ghouls. I want him on-site to confirm their identities. Also notify Special Class Shinohara. He'll be interested. Outstanding investigator candidates… turned ghouls."
"Yes, Ma'am. Hm? Report from Ward A—they've located the SS-rated 'Big Madam.' Credit goes to Rank-2 Suzuya. Special Class Shinohara is leading Hirako, Fura, and Associate Special Class Hachikawa in an extermination op. A victory report should co soon."
Hearing that the SS-rated Big Madam's head would be claid by others, Vela showed no change of expression.
This wasn't so divine ga. Who took the kill didn't matter.
"So. They're all here? Good. Then let them all hear it—the explosive inside story of Tokyo's CCG. True or false, it doesn't matter. Seems my role as Special Commissioner with full investigative authority is finally of use."
Nodding, Vela swept her hand. Pointing at the sisters, she ordered: "Inject Rc cell suppressants. Take them away."
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