Abandoned warehouse, Adachi Ward.
Nearly a hundred Ghouls unleashed their Kagune - some forming blades, others armour, while some climbed walls like spiders to snipe their target. Most disgustingly to the girl present, many manifested revolting tentacles.
Suzuka Dairenji, already displeased by the warehouse's bloody stench, immediately declared:
"I retract my earlier statement. You're even more repulsive than insects."
"You human bitch!"
Amidst shrill roars, over a dozen Ghouls swarmed towards Suzuka Dairenji.
One Ghoul swung eight blade-like Kagune towards her.
The blades sliced through the air with piercing shrieks.
Yet the Kagune that should have diced Suzuka abruptly froze mid-air.
While the Ghouls surrounding her on the ground floor didn't notice their comrade's sudden halt, Takatsuki Izumi and Tatara, observing from the second floor, immediately spotted the anomaly.
"Hmm? What's happening?" Tatara frowned.
Beside him, Takatsuki Izumi warned:
"Look at his shadow."
Focusing his gaze, Tatara saw a mouse-shaped Familiar Spirit standing on the attacking Ghoul's shadow.
The next instant, the shadow-pinned Ghoul swung his eight blade-like Kagune, bisecting over a dozen surrounding Ghouls.
"Nagayoshi, you!!" roared one Ghoul who seemed to know the attacker.
"It's not me! My body won't obey!" cried the Ghoul called Nagayoshi as he continued slaughtering through the Ghoul ranks.
"Damn it!"
The apparent betrayal made wounded Ghouls howl in rage...
Yet at that moment, the Familiar Spirit resembling a black chicken flapped its wings in the sky, spewing dark crimson flames from its mouth like a flamethrower, sweeping across the area below while simultaneously drawing a semicircle before Suzuka Dairenji, blocking all enemies charging towards her.
The serpentine Familiar Spirit with a tortoise shell on its back spat out purple streams of water, washing away several Ghouls while coating the warehouse floor with the violet liquid.
As the serpent Familiar Spirit moved, the winged tiger Familiar Spirit continuously discharged arcs of electricity, using the purple liquid as a conductor to electrocute Ghouls one after another. Even those scaling the walls were paralysed by the current conducted through the warehouse's metal exterior.
Once the Ghouls were immobilised, the goat Familiar Spirit, wielding a crossbow, let out a sinister chuckle, picking them off with precise shots.
Among the Ghouls, a two-metre-tall centaur and a giant silver-armoured dog ignored their comrades' attacks, rampaging through the crowd.
"Damn it!!"
Watching the Ghouls below being toyed with by Suzuka Dairenji, Tatara nearby said gravely:
"Let's go, Eto."
Given the current situation, the selected Ghouls in the warehouse were clearly no match for Suzuka Dairenji.
With only half of her twelve Kishin deployed, she was effortlessly controlling nearly a hundred Ghouls. Faced with such power, Tatara naturally opted for caution.
However, in response to Tatara's suggestion, Takatsuki Izumi smiled and warned:
"We can't leave, Tatara."
Tatara immediately looked towards Takatsuki Izumi's direction, only to find a monkey wearing an Onmyoji hat staring at them with hollow eyes.
At that moment, Ayato Kirishima nearby also spoke up:
"Seems we're surrounded."
Before him, an upright black rabbit observed him intently with an earnest expression.
Simultaneously, clinging to the ceiling, a blue-scaled dragon narrowed its eyes, mouth slightly agape as if preparing some technique.
"You're the Ghouls' leader, right?"
Takatsuki Izumi paused mid-movement, tilting her head slightly to see Suzuka Dairenji's figure seated beside her, leaning against the opposite windowsill.
"When did you—?"
Takatsuki Izumi glanced at the Suzuka Dairenji blocking the warehouse entrance below, then at the one beside her, frowning:
"Doppelgänger?"
"To be precise, it's Instructor Natsuki's paper clone technique."
The Suzuka Dairenji by the window tore a page from her notebook and tossed it to the ground. The paper expanded mid-air, instantly forming another Suzuka Dairenji.
"This is my alternative since I couldn't master Instructor Natsuki's convenient spatial control. It lets me use paper clones as anchor points for spatial jumps."
Hearing this, Takatsuki Izumi fell silent before asking:
"Why explain your abilities to me?"
Suzuka Dairenji seemed momentarily taken aback, then tilted her head with a cute smile:
"Because I want you to counter them!"
"One-sided slaughter lacks entertainment value, don't you think?"
Takatsuki Izumi's pupils contracted slightly before she asked again:
"Who are you?"
"Onmyou Agency's Twelve Divine Generals – Taiyin."
Suzuka Dairenji covered her mouth with the notebook, smiling through narrowed eyes.
"By the way, my combat ability is unanimously considered the worst among the Twelve Divine Generals."
'The worst?'
Hearing this description, Tatara's expression darkened nearby, while Ayato Kirishima bluntly retorted:
"Who'd believe such nonsense?"
Meanwhile, Takatsuki Izumi deduced much from Suzuka Dairenji's words:
"I see. You arrived here before 11:15, just lurking in the shadows to set up preparations?"
Suzuka Dairenji had immediately identified her as the leader upon arrival, having planted paper talisman coordinates near her earlier.
Considering the past two days, she'd likely been here much earlier, hiding while making preparations and eavesdropping on the warehouse.
Thus, Takatsuki Izumi's conversations with Tatara and others, including her intention to test the attackers, had been known to Suzuka Dairenji long ago, leading to the correct conclusion about her leadership.
Realising this, Takatsuki Izumi remarked:
"Quite the cunning little devil, completely at odds with your youthful appearance."
"Still better than wrapping yourself head-to-toe in bandages to hide your identity," Suzuka Dairenji replied with a smile. "Binding your chest too tightly stunts growth, you know."
After a pause, Takatsuki Izumi's lips slowly curled into a grin:
"May I ask - is this your real body?"
"Guess?" Suzuka Dairenji countered.
"I guess not!"
The instant she spoke, Takatsuki Izumi's Kagune erupted from her back, enveloping her body to form a massive, monstrous cyclops.
The sudden expansion shattered the windows, engulfing Suzuka Dairenji's figure while producing an ear-splitting crash.
Simultaneously, Suzuka Dairenji abruptly appeared on the ceiling, upside-down, holding her skirt down as she observed the colossal creature standing in the second-floor corridor. Narrowing her eyes, she mused:
"So this is the Kagune of an SSS-rated Kakuja? The intelligence reports from headquarters mentioned your existence but omitted specific abilities."
By now, Suzuka Dairenji had understood everything. With faint amusement, she surveyed the Ghouls below being eliminated by her Familiar Spirits.
After a glance, she redirected her gaze to the fully transformed Takatsuki Izumi:
"Shall we fight? Though that armour looks troublesome, my speciality happens to be soul curse techniques."
Hearing this, Takatsuki Izumi remained silent for a moment before the gigantic figure suddenly grabbed Tatara and Ayato Kirishima, leaping through the shattered window. Landing with a thunderous impact, it charged into the distance like a speeding lorry.
Such commotion couldn't go unnoticed. Numerous Ghouls, realising the Aogiri Tree members had all fled, immediately shouted:
"Damn it! Aogiri Tree's running away!"
Several others bellowed: "It's a trap! A trap!! Aogiri Tree and this monster are working together!!"
"Took you long enough!" Suzuka Dairenji formed a Daoist hand seal with her free hand.
As the seal took shape, five pre-positioned Familiar Spirits surrounding the warehouse simultaneously released spiritual power, forming a pentagram barrier.
Now observing the trapped beasts below, Suzuka Dairenji declared with undisguised disdain:
"Well then, time to wrap things up."
"Disappear now, you vermin."
"That won't do." The sudden female voice made Suzuka Dairenji's eyes narrow slightly.
She turned her head to see a black-haired girl with twin tails, dressed in a red-and-black gothic dress, hanging upside down from the ceiling in the same position.
However, unlike Suzuka, who was suspended through Yin-Yang Arts, this girl's figure emerged from a circle of black and red ripples.
The newly appeared girl looked down at the numerous fallen Ghouls with pity in her eyes:
"Ara ara, what a terrible waste~"
"Such precious ingredients shouldn't be cooked in such a wasteful manner."
As the girl spoke with playful mockery...
All the Ghouls below—whether standing or fallen—suddenly found their feet sinking into the ground.
No, not the ground—but into something black-red and viscous like sludge.
"What is this?"
"Damn it! This thing is eating our bodies!"
"No! No! Please no!!"
"Mum—!!"
Suzuka Dairenji paid no attention to the devoured Ghouls, instead fixing a grave expression on the flamboyant gothic girl beside her:
"...The Time Angel of Truth Astronomy, Kurumi Tokisaki?"
"My my, has our intelligence been leaked?"
Kurumi Tokisaki regarded Suzuka with mild surprise:
"Well, though I always found it odd for a demon-worshipping organisation to call its powerful members 'angels', since you know this much..."
In an instant, Kurumi closed the distance between them, lightly tilting Suzuka's chin upwards with her fingers:
"Now then, my lovely miss? Won't you tell me who the mole is?"
Suzuka's face darkened, but before she could respond, Kurumi continued:
"Don't even think about running. This is your real body, isn't it? Such vibrant life force... and..."
Kurumi licked her alluring lips:
"Exceptionally delicious too."
Suzuka frowned at this, then abruptly relaxed.
Meeting Kurumi's gaze calmly, she stated:
"You win."
The moment the words left her lips, Suzuka's form rapidly shrank, collapsing into a flat paper doll.
Kurumi raised an eyebrow in genuine astonishment: "To escape my City of Devouring Time... So this paper doll really is a spatial technique..."
Though surprised by Suzuka's trick, Kurumi's smile remained unshaken:
"But can you truly escape?"
...
Meanwhile, five hundred metres east of the warehouse, inside a hotel room.
The paper doll lying on the bedsheet vanished abruptly as Suzuka materialised above it, landing on the mattress with a soft thump.
The moment her feet touched down, Suzuka grimaced:
"Troublesome. Instructor Natsuki did mention that Time Angel had come to Japan, but I never expected to encounter her directly."
Recalling the earlier confrontation, she analysed:
"That immobilisation effect must be caused by the black-red barrier that appears with Kurumi Tokisaki. It erodes life force to hinder physical movement."
"I'll need to purchase her combat data from an information dealer. Another encounter without intel would be disastrous."
As an Onmyoji trained in orthodox methods, Suzuka would never engage an unknown enemy recklessly.
Such impulsive battle tactics were, in proper Yin-Yang Arts tradition, the mark of a brute - completely wasting the technique's strategic potential.
Thus, though she might face reprimands later, Suzuka abandoned the Ghoul operation without hesitation.
"Time to leave. I'll settle scores with that Time Angel another day."
Just as Suzuka moved towards the exit, a figure rose from the floorboards, blocking the entryway while giggling madly:
"Now that won't do!"
"If little Suzuka hates me so much, why not settle things today?"
Suzuka's heart sank as she stared at Kurumi's form:
"A clone? No... the real body?... Was my safehouse compromised all along?"
Hearing this, Kurumi Tokisaki curled her lips mischievously and teased, "Guess?"
Yet in the next second, the cold touch of metal pressed against the back of her head.
"Don't move, Kurumi Tokisaki."
Kurumi's pupils contracted sharply.
At that moment, Luo Shu pressed the Sig pistol against the back of Kurumi's head and stated impassively:
"If you move recklessly, I can't guarantee my bullet won't pierce through your skull."
Behind Luo Shu, Natsuki Minamiya—who had just brought him here via spatial jump—flicked open her folding fan, covering the lower half of her face as she remarked:
"My student's extracurricular tutoring session seems to have concluded, Miss Time Angel."
"Ara ara~~" Kurumi slowly raised her hands, her expression one of surprise as she said:
"I see... So it was a trap..."
"My, my, it seems I've fallen for it."