Although this level of combat strength was clearly overkill, none of them had anything pressing to do at the moment. Resolving the situation in the 22nd Ward quickly was still a good option.
Besides, now that the four of them were all part of the Squad 0, it wasn't strange for them to act together.
Even after the CCG had been renamed to the TSC, the Squad 0 had not been disbanded.
The squad was composed of just four people — Byakuya as captain, along with Eto, Arima, and Minami as members.
"Well, looks like we won't have any free time tomorrow either" said Yoshimura immediately.
"Let's see if we can wrap it up today" Byakuya replied calmly.
He figured that was entirely possible.
Each of them — Arima, Eto, or himself — was an overwhelming force on their own in the 22nd Ward.
Only Minami was slightly weaker, but even she was now a Quasi-Dragon General of the TSC. That level of strength was nothing to scoff at.
Tokyo, 22nd Ward.
Byakuya, Eto, Arima, and Rika headed straight for the 22nd Ward.
It wasn't far from the 20th Ward so they arrived quickly.
The streets felt eerily empty. There were barely any pedestrians in sight. Recently, a large number of Dragon Oprhans and a few ghouls had been wreaking havoc in the area, so most people stayed home out of fear.
TSC officers from the 22nd Ward division were patrolling constantly to prevent any civilian casualties.
Among them were both humans and ghouls.
Reporting to the Squad 0 now was a pair — one human and one ghoul, working as a team.
"We've located the main nest of those Orphans" they said, clearly embarrassed.
"But we don't have the strength or courage to go in and drive them out"
"It's fine" Byakuya replied coldly.
"Leave it to us — the Squad 0. I want all exits to the nest sealed off. Surround the area. Don't let a single monster slip through and harm the public."
"Yes, sir!"
The command was relayed, and the local TSC branch quickly mobilized half of its combat force.
In less than 30 minutes, a large number of TSC troops had surrounded the Orphans's hideout — a decrepit, abandoned industrial factory.
With front doors, back doors, and shattered windows everywhere, the Dragonspawn could try to flee through any route once the fight began. The TSC officers' job was to block all escape routes.
The actual combat? That was entirely up to the four members of Squad 0.
Once they were informed that the building was fully surrounded, Byakuya gave the order.
"Let's go. End this quickly."
At his signal, all four of them entered the abandoned factory.
Inside, a swarm of Dragon Orphans were already lying in ambush. It seemed like these weren't mindless creatures — one of them might've developed enough intelligence to organize a trap.
But even the cleverest ambush couldn't make up for the vast power gap.
Byakuya activated his Kamui, easily evading all attacks.
Eto immediately transformed into her kakuja form. Any Orphans that jumped at her either got their heads lopped off or were stuffed straight into her stomach.
Minami, cautious as ever, avoided using her kakuja form. Unless absolutely necessary, she didn't want to lose control.
Even so, wielding just a single Rinkaku tail, she still had the strength of an S rated ghoul. The Orphans posed no real threat to her.
Arima had already drawn his quinque, weaving through the enemy with his legendary speed, countering with lethal precision.
The battle was completely one-sided. Waves of Dragon Orphans were annihilated, while Squad 0 remained untouched.
The supposed "leader" of the Orphans, lurking deeper within the factory, finally seemed to realize these were opponents they couldn't match. It ordered the rest to retreat.
Suddenly, all the Orphans before the squad turned and bolted.
"Pursue them. And especially—capture their leader."
Byakuya's voice was calm, but resolute.
In terms of speed, these Dragonspawn didn't stand a chance.
[Ding! Host has defeated a Dragon Orphan. +2 Attribute Points!]
[Ding! Host has defeated a Dragon Orphan. +2 Attribute Points!]
[...]
By the time the squad reached the rear exit, the leader had already escaped the factory — but was swiftly captured by the TSC units stationed outside.
The team finally got a good look at the "leader."
Its body had already begun to take on rudimentary human features.
It still couldn't speak — only scream and snarl like a beast.
Byakuya narrowed his eyes. A theory took hold:
"Could it be... that ghouls themselves had originally evolved from Dragon Orphan?"
With that unsettling thought, he gave a decisive order.
"Take it to Cochlea. Lock it up."
Cochlea was still operational. Despite the era of peace, there were still rogue ghouls who committed atrocities. That's what Cochlea was for.
Old inmates like the "Priest" were still being held.
Even if humanity and ghouls now coexisted peacefully, their past crimes couldn't simply be forgiven.
The Priest, especially, was pure evil. A man beyond redemption.
He only cared about Amon — every other life was meaningless to him. Letting him rot in Cochlea, reminiscing with Amon from time to time, was enough.
"Understood!"
TSC officers quickly escorted the leader to the Cochlea facility.
Byakuya watched it go, wondering... would this creature eventually evolve into something that looked fully human?
A new generation of ghouls?
If that were true, then the so-called shared enemy of humans and ghouls... was ghouls themselves, once again.
Still, the Dragon Orphan they had just exterminated weren't worth sympathizing with — mindless creatures that harmed humans and ghouls alike.
Whether you're human, ghoul, or Dragon Orphan — if you cross that line, you forfeit any right to mercy.
Arrest the guilty. Execute the worst. Do what needs to be done.
At the very least, before the Dragon Orphan could truly evolve into full ghouls, humanity and ghouls had a bit of time — time to strengthen their fragile peace.