Byakuya was slightly taken aback and replied: "I'm fine. The blood on me is from those things on the ground."
"Good to hear."
Having received Byakuya's answer, Akira turned and walked back toward Kurona and Nashiro, her face expressionless.
"So Kanou was taken by those Aogiri Tree people after all..."
Kiyoko said with some regret in her voice.
"Special Class Aura, let's return to the surface now. We can leave the rest here to other investigators."
Byakuya also showed concern for Kiyoko's injuries. After all, her wounds were partly his responsibility—they were caused by the performance he and Eto had staged.
"Mm."
Kiyoko nodded.
Just as she was about to head back the way they came with Byakuya and the others, the stinging pain in her body suddenly intensified.
"Sss..."
Kiyoko couldn't help but wince and draw in a sharp breath.
"Is something wrong, Special Class Aura?"
Kurona immediately asked.
"Though they're all external wounds, there are quite a few of them. The thigh wounds especially tend to reopen with movement."
Kiyoko said.
Hearing this, Byakuya thought for a moment.
Feeling responsible, he offered: "In that case, let me carry you out on my back."
"..."
Kiyoko was somewhat surprised.
But she agreed. "Alright, thank you for the trouble."
At this moment, Kurona and Nashiro couldn't help but take notice. How had things suddenly developed this way?...
Afterward, Byakuya lifted Kiyoko onto his back and headed for the surface.
Kiyoko's figure appeared tall and full, but she was actually quite light—165 cm tall and 57 kg. For her figure, she had almost no excess fat.
While walking, Kiyoko suddenly spoke: "You remind me of my younger brother..."
"Special Class Aura has a younger brother?"
Byakuya's tone carried some curiosity.
"Mm. But he was killed by ghouls a long time ago..."
Kiyoko said.
Her brother's death by ghouls was the reason she'd entered the Academy hoping to become a ghoul investigator.
"I see..."
Byakuya fell silent.
"The last time I was carried on someone's back like this was when I accidentally sprained my ankle, and my brother carried me home. Though that was over ten years ago now."
Kiyoko recalled the past.
"After all, Special Class Aura is very powerful. This was just an accident."
Byakuya said.
"This wasn't an accident. That small-statured ghoul earlier should be one of Aogiri Tree's core executives."
Kiyoko denied. "Though I was caught off guard, even if I faced her at full strength again, I'd have almost no chance of winning."
"Eto's" power had shocked her. She'd never faced such a powerful ghoul. She even felt her opponent hadn't been trying...
It was precisely "Eto's" actions that had left no holes in Byakuya's performance, making Akira and the others believe it wasn't strange that Dr. Kanou had been taken by Aogiri Tree—because Aogiri Tree's strength now seemed even more unfathomable after "Eto's" display.
"Yes, that one is certainly formidable."
Byakuya nodded.
After carrying Kiyoko back to the surface, Byakuya notified the Ward 6 branch investigators to come assist.
Soon, a team of investigators arrived to process and investigate the underground laboratory, along with medical personnel who properly treated Kiyoko's wounds.
Just before they parted ways, Kiyoko suddenly invited Byakuya: "First Class Amaha, please come visit my home sometime. I'd like to thank you for today."
The moment Kiyoko said this, Kurona and Nashiro's ears perked up.
Special Class Aura's words sounded rather strange to them.
Could it be that Special Class Aura already had feelings for Byakuya...
Just then, Kiyoko added: "If possible, please bring Kuro and Shiro along with you, First Class Amaha."
"Hm?"
Kurona was somewhat surprised, but she nodded. "Alright."
Nashiro also nodded. "I have no objections either. It's up to Byakuya-oniichan."
"Then... whenever it's convenient for Special Class Aura."
Byakuya didn't refuse.
His intuition told him that Special Class Aura specifically inviting Kurona and Nashiro along definitely wasn't for anything improper—it was related to matters concerning Kurona and Nashiro.
After all, earlier, Madam A had shown that she knew Kurona and Nashiro. Given Akira's intuition and Kiyoko's capabilities, they would normally have noticed something unusual about the twins.
"I'm free these days. How about tomorrow afternoon?"
Kiyoko said.
"Alright."
Byakuya nodded slightly.
Akira shared a similar judgment with Byakuya—she figured Special Class Aura wanted to privately inquire about Kurona and Nashiro's situation.
So she didn't plan to get involved. She'd wait for Special Class Aura to get to the bottom of things.
...
In this operation investigating Dr. Kanou, Byakuya had eliminated several dozen "failed experiments."
That was quite a lot. The total number of "failures" wasn't limited to these, but the rest had died long ago after being abandoned by Dr. Kanou.
After all, someone like Dr. Kanou wouldn't waste limited cultivation tanks and "food" on useless "failures." Without nutrients to sustain them, failures would starve to death within a month—or die right after the experiment.
In total, he'd earned over three hundred Fusion Points.
Returning home, he could see the experimental subject had already been brought back by Rize and was lying on the sofa.
Rize had covered her with clothes—otherwise, the woman would have been naked.
The woman's face was deathly pale, with traces of blood tears, but her features remained delicate and beautiful. Almost no one in the entire Washuu Clan, including the branch families' half-humans, was ugly.
"I don't know her, but from her scent, she's definitely Washuu."
Rize said to Byakuya beside her.
"I wonder what methods that Furuta guy used to capture this person from the Washuu Clan."
Byakuya said evenly.
"This means she probably wasn't one of the Washuu's 'breeders,' and her status within the Washuu wasn't high—not important enough to draw attention."
Rize said. "Besides, the younger generation of Washuu, aside from 'breeders' like myself, have relatively more freedom. She was probably grabbed by that Furuta guy when she was out and about one day."
Just then, the woman suddenly woke up. Having been starved to the point of losing her reason during her long imprisonment under Dr. Kanou, she lunged at Byakuya, whose entire body exuded an alluring scent.
...
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