This kakuja with its abnormally massive form was the other Owl—the SSS-rated One-Eyed Owl!
The One-Eyed Owl had landed directly near the Non-Killing Owl, sheltering him beneath her body as if she'd come to rescue him.
Before Shinohara and the others could react, a kagune arm—far larger than the Non-Killing Owl's—swept toward them horizontally.
Koori Ui reacted fastest, twisting his body to barely dodge. Otherwise his head might have been taken clean off.
The others couldn't react in time. Houji was sent flying, crashing into a wall along with his SS-rated Quinque Chi She.
"Guh..."
Blood immediately poured from his mouth. That single blow had nearly incapacitated him.
Kuroiwa was knocked off the rooftop, falling along with his now-broken Quinque. Fortunately, he was still wearing the SS-rated kakuja Quinque "New Proto"—even falling from this height, he'd probably be fine.
Shinohara crashed into the edge railing. Already in poor condition after fighting the Non-Killing Owl, he could barely move now.
"...Though you look quite different from the footage from ten years ago, you must be the 'One-Eyed Owl,' right...?"
Koori Ui raised "Hanging Ice" in a combat stance, clearly not yet grasping how terrifying the current One-Eyed Owl truly was.
The One-Eyed Owl responded with a flurry of rapid attacks.
Koori Ui frantically dodged while saying, "I'll take that as a yes. That okay with you?"
Just then, Koori Ui spotted an opening and immediately slashed at the One-Eyed Owl's shoulder with the longsword-shaped Hanging Ice.
He was using the same tactics that worked against the Non-Killing Owl—prioritizing attacks on the shoulder kakuhou that connected to the primary attack weapon, the kagune arms.
But the next moment, his hands went numb from the impact, as if he'd struck an impossibly hard boulder.
CLANG!
The massive recoil sent Koori Ui sprawling backward.
Not only that—the One-Eyed Owl's counter-strike cleaved his Hanging Ice in two.
"This... you're kidding, right?!"
Only then did Koori Ui realize how dire the situation was. The One-Eyed Owl before him was far beyond anything he could handle.
"No no no...!"
Having lost his Quinque, Koori Ui scrambled to dodge.
He rolled toward Houji and picked up the SS-rated Chi She from the ground. "Houji Kousuke, let me borrow this..."
Facing the One-Eyed Owl that towered over him, cold sweat poured down Koori Ui's face.
"Director... I'll try to buy time, but please send Arima-san and Amaha-san here as soon as possible. Because I... don't have the courage to face 'it'...!"
Koori Ui's smile was strained at best.
...
With the One-Eyed Owl's appearance, the investigators who'd been cheering suddenly froze.
Looking up, they could even see Kuroiwa's silhouette falling from the high-rise building.
"Mado... Vice Squad Leader!"
Just then, Takizawa Seidou spoke to Akira beside him. "You said earlier that First Class Amaha was locked in a fierce battle with some powerful ghouls, right? I... want to go search for him. I'm worried First Class Amaha might already be wounded."
"Takizawa..."
Akira was momentarily stunned.
"Though it really annoys me to admit it, I have to acknowledge that your intuition has always been accurate. I think we need to check on First Class Amaha's situation!"
Takizawa said.
"I'll go too!"
This cemented Akira's decision. Until just now, she hadn't been able to focus on the battle—her thoughts kept drifting to First Class Amaha.
No ghouls had attacked the command post for a while now. Briefly stepping away should be fine!
Meanwhile, Yoshitoki had fallen into deep thought. "...Where did it come from?"
"...Unknown. The perimeter is intact. The One-Eyed Owl appeared somewhere we didn't anticipate..."
A nearby investigator responded grimly.
"According to our investigation, without going through the underground V14 route or breaking through the surface perimeter, it should have been impossible to reach this location..."
Yoshitoki was confused. "But neither side reported anything. Where on earth did that thing come from...?"
His expression was ugly. One unexpected development after another—now he had no choice but to order Arima and Squad Zero to reach the One-Eyed Owl's battlefield as quickly as possible...
Koori Ui was still fighting the One-Eyed Owl, but the overly heavy Chi She was hard to handle.
Even an SS-rated Quinque like Chi She couldn't break through the One-Eyed Owl's defenses. He was being completely overwhelmed.
"Ahahaha! Hehehehe!—"
Watching Koori Ui struggle to breathe, the One-Eyed Owl let out a bizarre laugh.
"Cough!..."
Soon Koori Ui was also sent flying, slamming into the railing, momentarily unable to fight back.
But the One-Eyed Owl didn't finish him off. Instead, she slowly walked toward the seemingly unconscious Shinohara.
"!"
Suzuya immediately sensed something was wrong, but he couldn't move.
At that moment, the One-Eyed Owl swung a kagune arm down on Shinohara's right leg, casually slicing off the lower portion. New Proto's defense was nothing against the One-Eyed Owl.
The unconscious Shinohara was instantly jolted awake by searing pain shooting to his brain. He screamed reflexively. "GAAAAHHH—!!"
But the One-Eyed Owl wasn't finished. She continued cutting Shinohara's right leg piece by piece, eventually skewering the chunks like meat on a kebab, then stuffing them into her mouth with several wet crunching sounds.
The continuous torture kept Shinohara screaming until he finally passed out completely.
Suzuya watched blankly. The scene seemed to have short-circuited his brain.
Then the One-Eyed Owl deliberately turned to look at Suzuya, opening her mouth in a mocking grin. "Now~ you~ match~"
This showed just how vengeful Eto Yoshimura was.
She'd shown mercy to Koori Ui and the others—after all, she was here to coordinate the "performance" with the "One-Eyed King" Kishou Arima. Otherwise, she could have killed every investigator on this rooftop instantly.
Only Shinohara and Suzuya received targeted torment. When she'd visited the CCG as the author "Sen Takatsuki" to conduct interviews, some casual answers from Shinohara had infuriated her—which was why she'd done this in front of Suzuya.
"Shino... hara... sir..."
Suzuya's brain had nearly stopped processing. He could barely speak.
His mind flashed with memories of all the little moments he'd shared with Shinohara-san. As if he finally understood why Shinohara-san had cried earlier.
"Stir~ stir~ Gahahaha!"
The One-Eyed Owl used the tip of a kagune arm to prod Shinohara's abdomen—refusing to let him go even though he'd already passed out.
THUNK—
Just then, a dagger flew over and struck the One-Eyed Owl's shoulder.
The One-Eyed Owl turned to see Suzuya forcing himself to stand using his Quinque for support.
Then more daggers flew toward her—all B-rated Scorpions—completely ineffective against the One-Eyed Owl.
"Ahaha~ tickles~"
Suzuya charged forward on one leg, but was immediately swatted away by the One-Eyed Owl.
This repeated again and again. The One-Eyed Owl didn't kill him—just toyed with him.
In truth, Eto was using Shinohara and Suzuya as entertainment while waiting for Kishou Arima to arrive for their "performance."
When Suzuya's injuries became too severe to continue, a reinforcement squad finally arrived—though it wasn't Kishou Arima...
It was Special Class Tanakamaru, Associate Special Class Hachikawa, First Class Hirako, and the other investigators who still had combat capability. Tanakamaru had grabbed a backup Quinque, and Hachikawa was dragging his fractured arm while wielding a backup Quinque as well.
Hirako immediately caught the collapsing Suzuya.
"Suzuya boy... you're truly a model investigator!"
Tanakamaru exclaimed.
"Tanakamaru-san, Hachikawa-san, everyone's Quinques..."
Koori Ui, sitting by the railing, had already noticed something was wrong.
"Mm... Ui boy, without Higher Mind, my soul itself is now my strongest weapon..."
Tanakamaru declared. "Regardless, we must hold out until Squad Zero arrives..."
The group of investigators desperately resisted the One-Eyed Owl, but one by one they were knocked down like toys.
"Hirako-san! Please use Chi She!"
Koori Ui threw Chi She toward Hirako—clearly placing his hopes on the man whose fighting style most resembled Kishou Arima's.
"Much appreciated..."
Hirako caught Chi She. With Chi She's power, he barely managed to hold off the One-Eyed Owl for a moment.
But the One-Eyed Owl's strength was too terrifying. When Eto put in slightly more effort, she sent Hirako flying along with Chi She.
"Ah... finally here..."
Hirako peacefully closed his eyes. Of course, he just wanted a rest—because Arima-san had finally arrived.
An electric current struck the One-Eyed Owl, causing her to stiffen briefly—though it seemed to have only given her a massage...
"Reporting to Headquarters. Squad Zero has assembled and arrived at the One-Eyed Owl's location."
One member reported to Headquarters.
"...Standby."
Kishou Arima advanced alone to engage the One-Eyed Owl, ordering the others to hold position.
"Hehe~ you're here."
The One-Eyed Owl let out a strange laugh. Her kagune had become flexible enough to form a smile on her kakuja face—though it was rather unsettling...
But just as Arima was about to begin fighting (performing) with the One-Eyed Owl, another dark figure suddenly descended from the sky.
It had even activated Susanoo mid-air—the third-stage Susanoo at that...
CRASH——!!!
The third-stage Susanoo stood dozens of meters tall. Its size and weight completely dwarfed the One-Eyed Owl. The impact of its descent from the sky directly collapsed the rooftop!
Compared to the initial "ribcage form," the first-stage "half-body form," and the second-stage "half-body with weapons form," the third-stage Susanoo was far more complete.
Not only did it now have legs, but it could also wield four longswords with four Susanoo arms. The user had also moved from the ground to inside the Susanoo's head.
"What?!"
The rooftop collapse and the sudden appearance of this colossus left every investigator present dumbfounded. Some fell to the floor below; some luckily remained on the rooftop; some scrambled to grab the crumbling edges to save themselves.
"Gaaah...?"
The One-Eyed Owl was clearly stunned too. This situation was completely beyond her expectations.
According to her plan, she'd exchange a few moves with Kishou Arima, then swallow Yoshimura and take him away. To the CCG, it would simply look like she'd come to rescue her "comrade (father)."
But now her plan had been completely ruined...
However, Eto quickly realized the colossus before her looked familiar. Focusing on the figure inside the head...
Her single kakuja eye widened.
Him?!
Why?!...
"..."
Kishou Arima silently regarded the Susanoo. He too was momentarily speechless.
Eto had mentioned to him about Byakuya's strange "kakuja" form and "half-ghoul" identity, so he barely recognized him. But this had exceeded not only Eto's expectations—it was beyond his as well.
Even if he'd considered that Byakuya might interfere with this "performance," he never could have imagined Byakuya's "kakuja" could be this powerful.
Cleaving an entire building with one stroke—such combat power exceeded everyone's understanding.
Now not just Eto—even Kishou Arima didn't know what to do.
"Emergency report! Emergency report! A kakuja-like colossus several dozen meters tall has suddenly appeared at the One-Eyed Owl's location!!"
By the time Byakuya's Susanoo had cleaved the building, the emergency news had already reached Yoshitoki Washuu and the command post.
The command post fell deathly silent. Every investigator was stunned—including Deputy Commander Marude.
A kakuja dozens of meters tall that could slice through a building with one sword—they'd never imagined facing such an enemy!!
"Director... wh-what do we do...?"
An investigator beside Yoshitoki asked, at a complete loss.
"You're asking me... I also..."
Yoshitoki was questioning his entire existence.
The moment the dozens-of-meters kakuja appeared, he understood they'd completely lost this operation.
But he couldn't comprehend it. He truly couldn't comprehend it. Those mysterious ghouls that appeared completely unexpectedly—especially this dozens-of-meters kakuja—where had they come from?!
The Washuu clan could essentially be called the most powerful ghoul family. Yet today, unknown ghouls far beyond their understanding had appeared, shattering his entire worldview.
...
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