After hanging up the phone, Amano Hiro casually turned on the TV. The screen was flooded with reports about the "Dragon,"
but they were all more or less the same. Empty reassurances meant to calm the public, without any real information.
Several invited "experts" were passionately analyzing the situation on screen, speaking with complete confidence.
It all sounded convincing, but Amano Hiro knew after listening for a moment that it was complete nonsense.
He glanced at the time and decided to take a shower first.
He had just come out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel, when he heard the lock turn.
Rize pushed the door open and walked in.
Amano Hiro's eyes lit up. Tossing the towel aside, he rushed over in a single stride.
Before Rize could even speak, he wrapped an arm around her waist, lifted her up, turned around, and headed straight for the bedroom.
"Oh my, Hiro, wait a second."
Rize laughed as she lightly pushed against him in his arms, though she made no real attempt to resist.
...
Who knew how much time had passed before the heavy rain gradually came to an end. The clouds parted, revealing a night sky filled with stars.
Amano Hiro comfortably held the rosy-faced Rize in his arms and casually asked, "When did you and Touka become so close?"
Rize's voice was still sweet and lazy as she snuggled closer into his embrace.
"Recently... she came to ask me some questions about romance. I thought it was pretty interesting, so we ended up chatting quite a bit."
After hearing Rize's explanation, Amano Hiro understood.
It looked like things between Touka and Kaneki Ken had progressed quite a bit.
With the Dragon disaster causing Kamii University to suspend classes,
the two of them had been spending much more time together.
Their relationship had advanced rapidly, to the point that Touka had already started asking people for love advice.
"I see."
Amano Hiro smiled, thinking there was nothing wrong with that.
"If those two end up together, that wouldn't be bad."
But Kaneki Ken, what about your best buddy, Nagachika Hideyoshi? You two-timing scumbag.
...
Early the next morning, Amano Hiro headed to TSC Headquarters.
Although the two sides were now cooperating, most investigators still felt uneasy whenever they saw him.
Whenever possible, they would simply take a detour around him.
Marude Itsuki nodded at him as a greeting.
Amano Hiro got straight to the point.
"Has anyone on the front lines noticed any changes in the Dragon Orphans?"
"Changes?"
Marude Itsuki was taken aback.
"They've evolved," Amano Hiro said directly. "Yesterday I ran into one with an eye on its face. It knew how to hide too. It was obviously smarter than the previous ones."
This information was no trivial matter.
If these evolved individuals became more common, both the difficulty and danger of searching for the Dragon's core would rise dramatically.
Marude Itsuki's expression hardened. Not daring to waste any time, he immediately connected to the front-line communications.
"Attention, all units. Evolved Dragon Orphans have been confirmed.
Their distinguishing feature is a single eye on the face. They possess higher intelligence and improved concealment abilities. Exercise extreme caution during searches and beware of ambushes."
At the front lines, deep within the ruins.
A mixed squad had just received the transmission.
After ending the call, the investigator captain leading the team immediately warned both his subordinates and the nearby Aogiri Tree members.
"You all heard that, right? The monsters have been upgraded. Keep your eyes open."
One Aogiri Tree member crouching atop a broken wall let out a dismissive snort.
"You're scared already?"
The captain ignored the taunt and continued with the task at hand.
There had been plenty of friction like this lately, and he had learned to focus only on what mattered.
The very next second.
Whoosh! Splurt!
A crimson figure burst out from a blind spot in the shadows with incredible speed.
Its claw flashed coldly as it instantly pierced straight through the chest of an investigator who was in the middle of working!
"Wha...!"
Everyone's expressions changed drastically.
No one had expected the attack to be so well hidden or so fast.
"Damn it!"
The captain's eyes nearly split with rage as he swung his quinque at the monster's head!
But the Dragon Orphan with its grotesque single eye reacted astonishingly quickly.
It ducked low and darted aside, nimbly avoiding the attack.
The other team members hurried over to check on their comrade's injuries.
But his heart had been completely pierced.
There was no saving him.
Only then did everyone get a clear look at the attacker.
That solitary crimson eye was exactly the evolved form described in the transmission.
"Captain! Behind you!"
One of the team members suddenly shouted.
Another one-eyed Dragon Orphan had somehow circled around behind the captain, its claw thrusting straight toward his back!
The Aogiri Tree member who had mocked them only moments ago reacted with remarkable speed.
His kagune shot out from behind his shoulder, barely managing to deflect the fatal strike.
The captain broke out in a cold sweat and looked back.
"Th... Thanks!"
The Aogiri Tree member did not even turn around.
His kagune continued sweeping back and forth vigilantly as his voice grew serious.
"Tsk. Forget the thanks. Contact headquarters now."
He paused, his tone grave.
"We're surrounded."
As if to confirm his words, from the shadows among the broken walls,
several more Dragon Orphans with the same one-eyed appearance slowly emerged.
Their crimson eyes glowed coldly in the dim light as they gradually surrounded the squad.
Not long after Marude Itsuki's warning had been sent out, emergency transmissions began pouring in one after another from multiple front-line squads.
More than one team had encountered those evolved individuals with eyes.
The situation was even worse than expected.
He immediately began reallocating personnel and dispatching reinforcements to every reported location.
Standing nearby and listening to the chaotic reports coming through the communicator, Amano Hiro had a good idea of what was happening.
These things were evolving faster than he had imagined.
Yesterday he had encountered only one.
Today, numerous squads had already run into them.
It was probably connected to the Dragon itself.
It was not that the existing Dragon Orphans had evolved.
Rather, each new generation of Dragon Orphans produced afterward would become progressively stronger.
Looking at it that way, it really was time to deal with the Dragon at its source.
Amano Hiro recalled the information from his memories.
According to the original course of events,
this thing would continue causing trouble for years, leaving behind endless Dragon Orphans that could never be completely exterminated.
Now, however, it had already produced enough monsters, and they had grown sufficiently powerful.
Those threats should be enough to serve as the catalyst that would force humans and ghouls to truly stand together.
With that thought, he stopped hesitating.
Having made up his mind, Amano Hiro stood up and walked straight out of the TSC command center without looking back.
He needed to inform Eto and the others first.
...
Inside Aogiri Tree's temporary base, aside from a few executives overseeing the front lines, practically everyone else was present.
Amano Hiro did not beat around the bush. The moment he walked in, he said,
"It's time to deal with the Dragon. With these Dragon Orphans acting as the catalyst, we can slowly continue advancing cooperation between humans and ghouls afterward."
Hearing that, Eto tilted her head.
"Now? The core still hasn't been found. Forcing it probably won't be easy."
Amano Hiro smiled and revealed something that left everyone present stunned.
"I've already found the core."
"What?!"
Eto's eyes widened in genuine surprise.
"You found it? When?"
In truth, back when he had helped "awaken" the Dragon, Amano Hiro had secretly left behind a backup plan.
He had quietly embedded a tiny fragment of Slaughter's symbiote inside the core.
With that unique connection, locating the core's position was effortless for him.
Beside him, Rize gently tugged on his sleeve, concern visible in her eyes.
"Hiro, if you do this... will there be any danger?"
Amano Hiro clasped her hand in return and gave it a reassuring pat.
"Don't worry. With me here, nothing will go wrong."