Puh!
Vela casually swung the long Quinque blade she had snatched from the ground, beheading a Aogiri Tree ghoul wearing a gas mask. The severed Kagune fell, and the corpse spun away under inertia.
So, they came prepared against CRc gas…
Quite thorough.
Her eyes shifted from the fallen gas mask, and Vela pressed forward. With each step, her blade slashed and stabbed, felling three or four more ghouls. Swish!—she made use of every last bit of the dulled blade, hurling it like a thrown dagger to impale another.
"Once contact is established with the Cochlea branch personnel, inform me immediately."
While monitoring the possible crossfire around the ghoul prison perimeter, Vela calmly issued orders: "Also notify Special Class Investigator Kishou Arima and Squad 0. Report the situation."
"CCG, SWAT, and Mobile Units—seal off the scene."
"All squads, listen. Maximum firepower restriction lifted. Suppress ghoul activity, enforce national law. All Aogiri Tree members—kill them all. Any prisoners escaping alongside them—execute on sight."
As soon as Vela finished, clang-clang-clang! fully armed CCG investigators poured out, moving up the reinforced concrete steps lining the towering outer walls of Cochlea.
"It's her!"
"CCG's Angel of Death!"
"Quick, inform Lady Eto!"
Seeing CCG reinforcements seize control of Cochlea's entry points, the ghouls revealed kagugan, flashing Kagune, some even drawing firearms.
In the ghoul world, no matter one's temperament, remembering which CCG investigators were untouchable—especially Special Classes and Associate Special Classes—was essential survival knowledge. Even foreign investigators were not exceptions.
In an instant, gunfire roared.
Bullets of all calibers slammed into metal and concrete, fragments spraying, muffled cries sounding intermittently.
"Stop her! Buy time for the leader! Once we kill the 'White Reaper' and the 'Black Reaper,' free our imprisoned kin, and rally Tokyo's ghouls—we will surely create a world for our kind to live—"
Bang—!
A high-explosive grenade marked with the letter Q struck the face of the shouting ghoul leader. Boom! Fire engulfed him, and shards of disintegrated Kagune scattered amid the sound of tearing flesh and spraying blood.
"Noisy."
Taking cover behind a raised riot shield, Vela reset the safety on the 40mm rotary grenade launcher and handed it back to her subordinate.
She then calmly raised the [Ayato-Arata-α] Quinque case. Zzt! Her armor deployed. Passing [Black Abyss IV] to Dennis, she drew her newly obtained [Owl]. Zzt—
Aogiri Tree would be the perfect test.
Flicking the pale Quinque longsword, Vela stomped heavily—crack!—the ground splintered as her figure shot forth like a blur.
As the ghouls howled and lunged at her like dying beasts, [Owl] sliced through cloth, Kagune, flesh, and bone like a hot knife through butter.
Whether Koukaku, Bikaku, Rinkaku, or even an S+ half-Kakuja whose armor could withstand medium-caliber machine-gun fire—in the face of one of the CCG's only two SSS-class Quinques, it was no different than paper.
With each swing, Vela felt no resistance.
Even steel gates and concrete walls yielded smoothly, cuts clean and seamless.
In less than two minutes, with the 'Angel of Death' at the vanguard, CCG reinforcements broke through Aogiri Tree's defenses at Cochlea's entrance. Amid blood and flying limbs, survivors were freed, and the vanguard pushed inside.
Thump, thump.
Vela recalled the prison map she had memorized, advancing deeper. Around her lay scattered corpses of guards, smashed and torn apart behind shattered Quinque steel gates.
The deeper she went, the heavier the suffocating atmosphere grew.
This cylindrical fortress was built mostly underground, buried like a massive ingot of forged steel deep beneath the earth.
"So many… Prisons and detention centers really are like granaries waiting to supply the enemy if you're not careful."
Vela made the remark as she flicked [Owl]'s blade, scattering blood droplets through the air.
She could feel the fullness conveyed by [Ayato-Arata-α]—bloated, stuffed, no more room to take in fresh Rc cells. Completely full…
From the corner of her eye, Vela caught sight of thick drops of blood dripping from her gauntlet.
From the pure-blooded banquet of the [Washuu] in Ward 1 to the Aogiri Tree's filthy all-you-can-eat buffet in Ward 23—indeed, it was gorged to bursting. The fresh ghoul blood rich in Rc cells was no longer being absorbed.
Pshhk!
Her pale greatsword pierced through flesh into the ground. One hand braced on the weapon, her boot pinned a ghoul's twisted corpse. Buzz! The crimson glowing V-shaped visor of her helmet locked forward.
By experience, the ghouls should have broken and fled already.
But this time—
"For the One-Eyed King!"
One ghoul roared above the rest.
The desperate, hate-filled voice made Vela pause slightly.
Really charging head-on?
These ghouls were acting like Rc-crazed addicts, throwing away their lives without hesitation.
Behind her, investigators and anti-ghoul agents hardly needed to aim. Raising their rifles, most of their shots found living targets.
Vela frowned in suspicion.
What were Arima Kishou and the One-Eyed Owl plotting? Such wasteful, tactless sacrifices…
And besides the escaped prisoners—since when did Aogiri Tree have so many members?
No matter. Irrelevant.
Whooosh—
Ukaku fire burst alight, Kagune garments fluttering without wind. Shaking her head, Vela hefted her greatsword and strode forward.
Slaughter!
Slash, slash, slash!
Waaaaaagh!
If they dared to come, she dared to kill!
Boom! A shadow paused briefly, then accelerated again. In an instant, the clash of blade through Kagune and flesh blended into a storm of strikes.
Aogiri Tree surged like a dark red tide welling up from Cochlea's depths. Vela carved into the 'red tide' upstream, forcing open a bloody path through the uneven ranks of ghouls.
For Vela, it wasn't intense combat—but it was grotesquely bloody.
Aogiri Tree was pushed back relentlessly as investigators pressed forward.
The corpses piled so thick they hindered movement, tripping attackers.
But only hindered.
Clang—!
In the cylindrical underground facility, an iron gate on the uppermost level was kicked inward from outside.
Vela broke through, her arc graceful as she crashed through railings, delivering a crushing kick that sent an S+ half-Kakuja Aogiri Tree officer slamming into the thick central wall.
The devastating strike, fast and heavy with gravitational force, smashed even reinforced C80 concrete laced with Quinque steel fibers. Debris burst, armored plating fractured.
The half-Kakuja's chest and ribs were nearly crushed flat, a wet gurgling wheeze escaping. Out of mercy, Vela pierced through its chest and severed its head, granting swift death instead of torture.
Clang! She landed steadily.
Standing on the honeycomb-patterned steel grating of the ring walkway, she gazed down into the spiraling depths of the underground prison.
The detention center's interior resembled a colossal cylindrical mixer forged of Quinque steel.
At its core, the 'central shaft' held the elevators, the warden's office, guard rooms, armory, central control, medical station, and other key facilities.
The outer 'cylinder wall' housed ghoul cells across many tiers. Each level had its own walkway, with stairs sealed off by Quinque gates and guard posts. Every few floors, automated steel bridges connected the central shaft to the cell blocks.
The deeper down, the higher the classification of the ghouls imprisoned.
"Commander, Special Class Shinme Haisaki's corpse has been found…"
An investigator reported.
"Assign a team to arrange a simple burial."
Sweeping her gaze over the bridge to central control—littered with corpses of ghouls, guards, and interrogators—Vela turned and instructed calmly.
"Any word from Special Class Arima?" she asked.
"Not yet. But presumed alive."
Saying so, the investigator glanced downward into the deepest levels of Cochlea.
Bang! Boom! Roar! Clang! Crack…
Explosions, thunder, howls, and tremors—
All of it loudly declared that battles were still raging in the lower levels.
That inhuman roar most likely belonged to the One-Eyed Owl, king of the Aogiri Tree. It was down there.
Vela looked downward.
From the pitch-black depths, a suffocating stench of blood rolled upward, making one cough. Dozens of crimson eyes gleamed like fresh blood, staring straight at her.
Ratatatatata!
Gunfire rattled through the underground as more anti-ghoul operatives arrived.
Tap, tap—
Then came hurried footsteps.
"Where is the Owl? The Owl, it must be here! Owl, haha, your death has come!"
The voice arrived before the man himself.
A white-haired old man with uneven eyes—Kureo Mado—ran urgently onto the walkway, clutching the railing, leaning forward, muttering with nervous obsession.
When he saw Vela standing one level below, his face lit up.
"Special Class Russell, Special Class Arima—this time, we'll drive out the Owl! Drive it out, haha…"
"First Class Mado, calm yourself. You're a veteran of the CCG. You understand ghoul habits and weaknesses. The task is yours—arrange the encirclement, seal Cochlea's exits. Remember, do not let a single ghoul prisoner escape."
Hearing Vela's order, Kureo Mado forcibly suppressed his hatred. His expression grew serious, and he nodded.
"Good. I trust that when martial law in Tokyo ends, you'll no longer refuse promotion."
As she spoke, Mado froze in surprise, and Vela leapt from the walkway.
"Thank you…"
Watching her armored form vanish into the depths below through the slit of the partition gate, Kureo Mado whispered to himself.
In truth, after the ghoul restaurant raid in Ward 7, Vela had proposed his promotion. But he had refused. His reason was the same as always—rising from First Class to Associate Special Class would bring endless trivial duties. And he was a man of vengeance.
"Mado-san!"
Another set of hurried footsteps arrived.
"Excellent. Amon, secure the upper floors, set up a defensive line. Hirako, Itou… Akira, move! This will be the final 'Owl Extermination Battle'!"
...
Meanwhile, in the deepest part of Cochlea—the ghoul disposal grounds—
"She's here."
A cold male voice echoed.
"At last."
A woman's voice followed, tinged with hysteria, as though restraining madness: "Sorrow, rage, emptiness… a nameless darkness festers in the heart. Despair at everything, no hope in anyone… the urge to destroy everything… Why did we make this decision, Arima?"
"..."
Silence.
"Tch. Boring."
The woman disliked the silence. "But you're right. I'm so foolish, truly. And you're just as foolish, choosing only her to be—"
At that moment—BOOM!
With a shrieking roar that tore the air apart, the steel lattice of the ceiling collapsed. A black-armored figure plunged down like a shell, slamming before the massive hydraulic crusher used to process and recycle ghouls. Dust and debris shot skyward.
"You two—are you playing house here?"
From the thinning smoke, a cold female voice came, laced with mockery.
The blade of [Owl] sliced through the haze as Vela stepped out of the crater.
"A decorated Special Class Investigator and a sin-stained SSS-class ghoul—two utterly irreconcilable things. How do you manage to get along so harmoniously?"
Feigning ignorance, Vela looked at the half-human man and the half-ghoul woman before her.
The man—white hair, white coat, refined build, handsome features framed by narrow glasses.
Kishou Arima. The CCG's White Reaper.
And beside him, a monstrous ghoul towering over three meters tall.
Four pallid three-fingered claws pressed against the ground. From its shoulders and spine, Kagune spikes jutted out like grotesque flowers, clustered together. But the most striking sight was its head—its enormous gaping maw, torn open to the extreme, within which stood a young woman, upper body bound only in bandages.
At a glance, she appeared a sweet, refined girl, long disheveled dark-green hair framing her like the daughter of a noble family. But her right eye—one blazing, crimson kakugan—shattered the illusion of beauty.
A one-eyed ghoul.
"At least on the surface…" Vela spoke in uncertain tone. "Takatsuki Sen."
"My, my… to think the famed Angel of Death of the CCG, the lofty Special Class Investigator and Martial Law Coordinator, would remember my little name. Truly an honor."
With no attempt to hide, as though she no longer cared for her human persona, Takatsuki Sen grinned with wild madness.
"Is that so. Then be honored to die."
Vela sneered. She had no intention of wasting words. Step by step, she advanced, [Owl] in her right hand, its blade writhing with crimson light, scraping across the floor with a piercing screech and sparks.
Just as her body lowered into stance, Arima Kishou spoke: "Russell, let us talk."
He added calmly, "I have already destroyed the monitoring and listening systems."
His tone was flat, calm to the point of being devoid of all emotion. Polite, courteous, yet utterly distant and cold.
Vela said nothing, but the lowered point of her sword made her attitude clear.
"I am about to die."
An explosive statement to begin with.
"So what?"
"I am not human."
Showing no reaction, Arima simply continued: "At least, not as ordinary humans understand it."
"I was born in the Sunlit Garden. I am a member of the Washuu branch family you eradicated, and of V. I carry ghoul blood, but without Kakuhou or kakugan, able to eat human food normally. The price is an average lifespan of less than thirty years."
"Thirteen years ago, I made a pact with Takatsuki Sen—to change this world, to build one where humans and ghouls could coexist. Even if only beginning in Tokyo. For that, the strength of a One-Eyed King was necessary…"
"I and Arima were the previous throne," Takatsuki Sen cut in suddenly. "Arima had the power of a King, but was not one-eyed. I, as a one-eyed, did all a King should, yet ultimately lost to Arima. So we sought to create an opportunity. If a ghoul could kill Arima Kishou, then surely that one would become hope for all ghouls. Unfortunately…"
Her eyes turned to Vela.
"Your arrival, the intervention of international power—it's like the Black Ships forcing open Japan's doors over a century ago. Our scheme looks laughable… hopeless."
Takatsuki gave a bitter, mocking smile.
"The speed of human progress… it cannot be matched by my kind—uneducated, plagued by mental illness, trapped in poverty."
"I thought again and again—wait until you left, or kill you with Tatara's help. But no…"
"The [High Rc Artificial Food for Ghouls] project, the [Legal Ghoul] bill—these are vital for our kind's survival. And you are the one pushing them. So Arima and I decided to stage a play here in Cochlea, grand enough to 'invite' you."
At the word 'invite,' her emphasis was heavy.
"Interesting."
Vela's reply was calm. "So, you intend to sign a new 'Human-Ghoul Friendship Treaty' with me? You don't mean to say that those rabble were your proof of loyalty, do you? They're not enough. And I don't need them."
No wonder Aogiri Tree's numbers didn't match CCG estimates.
This was recruitment.
Unexpected—yet within reason.
She had slaughtered ghouls relentlessly, and naturally those with blood and spirit would resist. As the organization that had defied the CCG, defeated sweeps, and even killed Special Class Investigators, Aogiri Tree was undeniably the vanguard of ghoul resistance in Japan.
"You can think of it as a greeting gift. I didn't release the monsters from the lowest levels."
Takatsuki Sen said, "Thanks to your sweep policies, many of my comrades determined to fight the CCG to the end… In your CCG's terms—violent, aggressive, hostile predators—all joined Aogiri Tree, only to be wiped out by you in one battle."
"As for the true offering…"
The monstrous Kakuja body writhed. Its gaping maw closed, swallowing Takatsuki Sen's slender upper body whole. Haa~
The One-Eyed Owl exhaled a rusted, bloody breath.
"That would be me! Hahaha—!"
Its shriek turned piercing and terrifying.
"Aogiri Tree's original purpose was to build a world where ghouls could live, to uproot the twisted source behind it all. Now that the twisted root, the Washuu family, has been eradicated by you, my only remaining wish is—a world for ghouls."
"And you, by killing me and killing Arima, will become the new One-Eyed King. The ghouls who remain, those who have proven they can live obediently, will honor you as King. Whether through containment and surveillance, or Rc suppression for civilians, or as Quinque material stock… at least you are a law enforcer. You will not wipe us all out."
"Hah?"
Vela blinked.
I've become the One-Eyed King?
For once, she almost broke composure.
Since when had she been cannibalizing, and how did she not know?
But after a moment's thought, Vela pieced together Arima Kishou and Takatsuki Sen's logic.
To them, the one able to lead them was King.
This "One-Eyed" King emphasized not just identity, but power.
Of course, if she were like Kureo Mado, a man of vengeance who sought to annihilate all ghouls, Takatsuki Sen and Arima Kishou would likely have chosen mutual destruction.
Tch. What was this…
A reluctant compromise with the times?
An unexpected sermon from the Gourmet?
Far easier than she expected.
A pleasant surprise.
Either way—an SSS+ potential Kakuja, plus the three highly functional Quinques in Arima's hands—she could take them as a belated Mid-Autumn Festival gift to herself.
"Then, farewell, Kishou Arima. Farewell, Takatsuki Sen."
Bang—!
Pshhk!
Tap, tap!
...
One day later.
Ward 1, in front of CCG Headquarters.
[2015 Capital Region Anti-Ghoul Anti-Terror Martial Law Victory and Stabilization Rally]
Click.
Crowds bustled, investigators stood elated. With victory reports arriving in waves, camera flashes lit the scene. A single precious moment was captured.
At the center stood Vela Adelheid Russell—Commander of the International Anti-Ghoul Joint Operations Command, Martial Law Coordinator [Tokyo], and Special Commissioner Plenipotentiary [USA]—fresh from her speech.
To her left, first in line, Marude Itsuki—Acting Bureau Chief of the CCG and Commander of the Capital Martial Law Operations.
From the inner row outward: Yukinori Shinohara [Operations Commander, Wards 6, 7, 8], Iwao Kuroiwa [Operations Commander, Wards 4, 13, 14], Kousuke Houji [Chief of Countermeasures Division II and Support Forces Commander], Mougan Tanakamaru [Ward 2 Branch Chief and Operations Commander, Wards 3 and 9], Kiyoko Aura [Chief of Countermeasures Division I and Ward 1 Commander], Chuu Hachikawa [Mobile Sweep Unit Commander], Koori Ui [Ward 4 Commander]…
To her right, first in line, Dennis Carnegie—Assistant Supervisor of the International Anti-Ghoul Joint Investigation Team and Commander of Martial Law Operations in Tokyo.
From the inner row outward: Rick Hubbard [Senior Inspector and Quick Reaction Force 1st Squad Leader], Martin Leonard [Inspector and Quick Reaction Force 2nd Squad Leader], Deputy Division Commander of the 3rd Marine Division, Colonel of the 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, CIA Japan Branch Liaison…