In a deserted alley near the Anteiku coffee shop, Lancer took out the quinque made by Kureo Mado. He knew that if nothing went wrong, the Fueguchi mother and daughter would be lured here soon, but at the same time, he was also thinking about something.
'Why did the Fueguchi family incident happen faster than the Nishio Nishiki incident?'
But as he thought about it, he couldn't help but smile self-deprecatingly. Although he had been considering the 'plot,' the plot itself had already been shattered by him. Not to mention the large number of ghouls hunted in the 20th ward because of him, the things he was about to do next were enough to completely shatter the original 'plot.'
His understanding of this world only came from the anime he had watched, and he had no idea about many of the later plots and settings. But the one thing he was sure of was that at least in the plot he knew, there was no incident of the Tsukiyama family being attacked by the CCG, but because of his decision, there was a high probability that this would happen.
As a 'disruptor,' he should have been prepared long ago. When he made that decision, it meant that he would completely abandon his so-called 'advantage.'
"Daddy~!"
Just as Lancer made up his mind, a figure rushed in from outside the alley.
An expression of disbelief appeared in the girl's eyes, and as Lancer turned around, an adult woman in a dress also ran into the alley.
Unlike the innocent Hinami Fueguchi, Ryōko Fueguchi had a premonition and a realization when her husband told her to leave—that was probably the last time she would ever see her husband.
And at this moment, seeing the 'dove' in a suit brandishing a quinque similar to her husband's kagune, she knew that her premonition had come true.
Her husband was not only killed, but even his kagune was made into a quinque by the CCG. As for her daughter's so-called 'scent of Daddy,' it referred to the quinque in the other's hand. The purpose of this investigator doing this was already obvious; he should be trying to kill the mother and daughter.
"Hinami! Hide behind me!"
"Mommy?"
Hinami, who hadn't reacted to what was happening, stared blankly at her mother's serious profile, which was a change from her usual gentle attitude, not knowing how to react.
But while Hinami would be stunned, Ryōko Fueguchi would not. She unhesitatingly released her kagune to block in front of the two of them and gently hugged her daughter.
"Hinami, go to your big sister Touka."
After saying that, she let go of her hands and looked at the young investigator in front of her with a determined expression.
She knew him. According to Touka Kirishima at the Anteiku coffee shop, the other party, although he looked a bit strange and went to the shop to drink a cup of coffee and eat a dessert every day, was undeniably strong and would never show mercy to ghouls. In just over two months, he had killed dozens of ghouls.
Such an elite investigator was undoubtedly not a match for her, an ordinary ghoul who had only manipulated her kagune a few times. But for her daughter, even though she knew this battle was bound to be lost, she would not hesitate in the slightest.
'Even if I die, I must protect Hinami!'
At this moment, Ryōko Fueguchi felt that there was nothing to be afraid of.
Hinami, who was let go by her mother, shook her head the first time she heard her mother's words. Although she didn't know what her father's scent was just now, she knew that her mother was about to fight that scary-looking 'dove.' Holding her mother's leg, she felt that as long as she let go, she might never see her again.
"Hinami, be good, don't..."
"No one is going anywhere."
Before Ryōko Fueguchi could finish her words, she heard a slightly low male voice from a distance. Immediately after, she felt the kagune that enveloped her and her daughter suffer a heavy blow, but fortunately, the kagune was not broken.
On the other side, Lancer, whose first shot was unsuccessful, frowned and looked at the 'quinque' in his hand.
This quinque in his hand was a gift from Kureo Mado. The material used, he said, was the kagune of the ghoul that had attacked him. This weapon had a certain commemorative significance for him, but in terms of material, it was only average.
The reason why it was not destroyed in the previous battle with Rize Kamishiro was only because Kureo Mado, according to his request, gave up on 'extension,' 'deformation,' and other abilities and only strengthened its hardness. Otherwise, it would have been destroyed in the previous battle.
He didn't feel anything unusual usually, as he rarely wrestled with ghouls but instead used his speed advantage to finish them off. After all, even if ghouls' physical abilities were far superior to humans, they would still die if their hearts, throats, and heads were pierced. But now, it was much worse for 'storming.'
He was sure that the strength of this 'Ryōko Fueguchi's' kagune alone, even if it didn't reach S-rated ghoul level, should be far superior to that of ordinary passersby. The only result of her continuous defense was that she would be exhausted and eventually killed by him, or Lancer would simply call for backup and have the investigators perform dense shots with a 'Barrett.'
But this was obviously not what he wanted, because up to now, he had not made up his mind to kill the two of them. His goal was to 'capture' them, but the other party was like a turtle shell, and he didn't know where to start.
But Lancer inaction seemed to give Ryōko Fueguchi the wrong signal.
"Hinami! Run!"
The kagune wrapping the mother and daughter did prevent them from being attacked, but it also prevented them from escaping. When she found that Lancer wasn't attacking, she unhesitatingly pulled back a part of her kagune to let Hinami take the opportunity to escape, but what she, who had no combat experience, didn't know was that Lancer was waiting for this opportunity.
Because of the kagune, Lancer couldn't see the mother and daughter protected by it, and Ryōko Fueguchi couldn't see Lancer either. So he took the opportunity to move to their back. When Ryōko Fueguchi moved her kagune to let Hinami escape, a long spear suddenly pierced in from the side.
Ryōko Fueguchi, who noticed that something was wrong, wanted to close the gap again, but it was already too late. The spear pierced into the ground in front of her, and a figure in a suit was holding the spear with one hand and a handgun with the other, pointing it at Hinami Fueguchi.
"Checkmate!"
Ryōko Fueguchi, who had no idea this would happen, turned incredibly pale.
There was no doubt that if Lancer shot and killed her daughter at this moment, she had a high chance of killing the other party. After all, Lancer most skilled 'gun' was stuck in the ground, but this had no meaning to Ryōko Fueguchi.
Her husband was already dead. If her daughter also died, then what was the point of her killing her enemy?
"..."
The silent confrontation had already been lost from the beginning. The kagune that had spread out gradually retracted.
"I am willing to be captured. Please let my daughter go. I'll do whatever you want!"
At this moment, she was not a 'monster' with far more strength than a human, but just a mother who wanted to protect her daughter.
On the other side, Lancer eyes lit up when he heard what she said.
"Whatever you want..."