Mado Kasuka was a woman with a profound fascination for the existence of Ghouls.
Her knowledge of Ghouls surpassed that of most investigators, rivaling that of a dedicated researcher who had spent their entire career studying them.
Her husband, Kureo, had once suggested that she would be better suited as a researcher than an investigator, but she had flatly refused, arguing that researchers spent their time dissecting dead Ghouls. This eccentric streak of hers often left Kureo bewildered.
Regardless, drawing from the vast mental database she had cultivated, she searched for a specific term: cannibalism.
*Cannibalism. The act of a Ghoul consuming another Ghoul.*
The concentration of RC cells in a Ghoul's body is abnormally high compared to that of a human. Consequently, when a Ghoul consumes another of its kind, the body triggers a rejection reaction.
The repulsive taste and the accompanying nausea are simply the brain's instinctive mechanism to prevent the excessive intake of RC cells.
If one ignores these warnings and continues to consume large quantities, the brain begins to deform, and the rejection reaction evolves into a state of madness.
RC cells are the source of a Ghoul's power, including the [Kagune].
In moderate amounts, they strengthen the Ghoul and serve as fuel.
However, excessive consumption triggers rapid growth while simultaneously shattering the Ghoul's mind.
That had been the case for the many Ghouls Kasuka encountered today.
And now, it was the case for the girl standing before her.
"Heh-heh-heh... hahahaha!"
Because she had been shrouded in a blanket and her voice was severely raspy, Kasuka had assumed she was simply a small-framed Ghoul.
But the half-exposed face beneath the fabric revealed a youth that went beyond mere adolescence.
She was a girl who had not yet reached adulthood. While Kasuka had instinctively known she was female, she had assumed the girl was at least close to her own age.
In reality, she was only slightly older than Kasuka's own daughter.
The girl was laughing, her eyes fixed on empty space.
No matter how she looked at her, the girl was clearly not sane.
*The side effects of cannibalism... but this is too strange.*
While madness was a common byproduct of cannibalism, it never manifested this instantaneously.
It might be different if she had been practicing it consistently over time, but based on how Eto had fought until moments ago, there had been no such signs.
Kasuka's gaze shifted to the back of Eto's head.
Perhaps because she had gained fuel by devouring a Ghoul's corpse, her wounds had already closed, leaving only blackened, dried blood behind.
Those were the wounds Kasuka had inflicted when she believed Eto was fleeing.
That strike had landed perfectly.
Normally, Eto should have lost consciousness immediately. Instead, she had clung to the last shred of her sanity and chewed on the corpse before her.
Surely, Eto hadn't eaten with this specific outcome in mind.
Her original plan was likely to replenish her depleted energy and then counter Kasuka.
The problem was that her consciousness had become too muddled to resist the madness brought on by cannibalism.
Kasuka's blow had stripped away Eto's awareness and her mental fortitude. If that had caused the madness—which should have taken much longer to manifest—to erupt instantly...
"...Don't tell me I was the one who pulled the trigger?"
Flash.
From her half-hidden face, Eto's eyes snapped toward Kasuka.
Her pupils contracted and dilated with an erratic intensity that was utterly abnormal. Seeing her own reflection in those eyes, Kasuka nodded in realization.
"So it was my fault. Sorry."
Kasuka readily admitted her mistake and offered a casual apology, and then—
KWA-GA-GA-GA-BOOOOM!!
Eto lunged at her, sending shards of stone flying in every direction.
There was no resentment toward Kasuka, nor was there anger.
There was only a beastly instinct, designating every moving object in her sight as prey to be hunted.
***
The corpses of butchered Ghouls were strewn everywhere.
It had been a sound strategy to deliberately wound my hand and lure the Ghouls in with the scent of blood to keep Arima Kishou occupied.
The problem was that these bastards, having lived underground and starved for human flesh, had gathered in far greater numbers than necessary.
By a rough estimate, there were about fifty of them.
Having that many Ghouls swarming in the cramped confines of a sewer was oppressive. Where the hell did they all come from?
Even with a monster of a human by my side, I wondered if this many were too dangerous... but as it turned out, my worries were pointless. The Ghouls were defeated in an instant.
Actually, "defeated" was too mild. "Unilaterally massacred" was more accurate.
As Arima dove into the horde and swung his sword, he didn't look like a valiant general from a novel or a legendary hero.
He looked like a machine.
He seemed like a machine simply repeating the act of killing, following a program hardwired into his body.
Watching him filled me with a strange sense of dread, and it reaffirmed that I had made the right choice in keeping him away from Eto.
Thud! Thud!
Once the frenzy of the slaughter subsided, Arima walked among the bodies, stabbing each one individually.
When I asked why he was doing that, he replied that he was checking if any of them were still alive.
This, despite the fact that every single corpse had been decapitated.
"Don't Ghouls usually die when their heads are cut off?"
"There are occasionally Ghouls that do not."
"..."
*What kind of Ghoul does that?*
At least among the Ghouls I've seen, none of them were Gundam-like freaks capable of fighting without a head.
I have to be on high alert just facing a low-level Ghoul; if something like that actually existed, it would be a living nightmare.
As I thought this, I looked down at my feet.
The area was littered with the corpses of Ghouls who had ignored Arima to charge at me, only to have their heads severed by a sword flying in from behind.
Regardless of whether he viewed me as a suspect, he was faithfully fulfilling his role as my protector.
Then again, there probably isn't anyone more suspicious than me. Yet he carries me along without asking a single question.
Is this further proof of his lack of social tact?
*...No.*
I dismissed my own theory.
While Arima's behavior could be explained by a simple lack of tact... a lingering unease in my heart demanded a different answer.
This wasn't just clumsiness.
*...A distortion?*
Yes. I felt a strange distortion in Arima's actions.
It was subtle, but enough to leave me feeling unsettled.
The fact that he could slaughter a pack of Ghouls single-handedly already made me question his sanity, but beyond that, there was something warped about him.
What was it?
Seeking the identity of that distortion, I watched Arima.
His back, as he continued to stab the corpses, seemed blurred and opaque, like a dense fog that refused to be penetrated.
Drip...
That was when something fell on my shoulder.
At first, I thought it was a leak from the pipes overhead. But upon checking, it wasn't a drop of water—it was a piece of stone.
I reflexively looked up and froze.
Multiple gazes were peering down at us from the shadows of the ceiling.
*Enji!? Kaya!? And the other underlings!!*
I nearly cried out in surprise but desperately clamped my mouth shut. The slaughter-machine standing right next to me could not find out they were here.
Instead, I mouthed a message to them.
*What are you doing up there?!*
*What about you!*
Enji and Kaya mouthed back.
Their eyes flickered toward Arima, who was still engrossed in his confirmation kills. Come to think of it, those two had nearly been killed by him before.
They had likely followed the scent of my blood, just like the other mindless Ghouls.
Finding a scene of mass slaughter and seeing me standing with the perpetrator, it was only natural they would be bewildered.
But their appearance left me just as rattled.
*Weren't they supposed to have joined up with Eto?*
If Eto had joined them as planned, she would have informed them of my situation. In that case, they wouldn't have approached so recklessly.
Yet they had come to me, and Eto was nowhere to be seen among the Ghouls on the ceiling.
That meant something had happened to her.
The memory of Eto's loud shouting from a moment ago returned, amplifying my anxiety.
It hadn't been a scream, but there had to be a reason she shouted loud enough to shake the entire sewer.
*What on earth happened?!*
***
As Eto lunged at Kasuka, she no longer employed any of the finesse that came with her speed.
It was pure physical collision.
Like a beast that had lost all reason, she charged straight at Kasuka. It was a simple attack, but by pouring all her speed into a direct assault, the pressure was overwhelming.
Even a seasoned investigator might have instinctively recoiled or fled, but Kasuka instead stepped forward, launching herself toward Eto.
*My curiosity ended up driving you to become a monster.*
Ducking to avoid fingers that slashed like the talons of a raptor, Kasuka dove into Eto's reach, her blade leading the way.
*As a small token of my apology, I'll end your life without pain.*
A flash of light sparked between them as Kasuka's rapier shot toward Eto's forehead.
At this range, there was no dodging. The tip of the rapier was poised to pierce Eto's brow, penetrate the brain, and exit through the medulla.
In that instant—
Whoosh!!
Eto vanished.
Completely, leaving behind nothing but a sharp gust of wind.
"...?!"
Having lost its target, the rapier pierced only empty air.
Simultaneously, Kasuka saw a spray of blood erupt in her peripheral vision. It was near her right shoulder, the arm she had used to thrust the rapier.
A chunk of flesh, along with her clothing, had been ripped away from her shoulder.
*She accelerated... even further from that speed?*
CRAAAAACK!!!
A moment later, a thunderous sound erupted behind her.
Kasuka spun around quickly and aimed her Quinque, but the expected attack never came.
Eto, unable to control her momentum, had slammed into the wall with such force that a third of her body was embedded in the concrete.
"Grrr...!! *Chomp, chomp...*"
As if displeased with the wall, Eto kicked it to free herself. Blood stained her lips, and a shred of white fabric was stuck to her mouth.
Kasuka knew immediately that it was a piece of her own clothing.
"You... ate me."
Kasuka muttered, touching the wound on her shoulder. The injury wasn't deep, but the psychological shock was severe.
She was used to fighting Ghouls, but she was not used to being eaten by them.
Rumble!!
Eto tore through the wall, pulling the rest of her body free.
With her head tilted at a grotesque angle, she locked her trembling, unstable eyes onto Kasuka.
Saliva dripped from her split lips.
It was hard to believe this was the same child who, until moments ago, had shown no desire to kill her. Now, she didn't just radiate killing intent—she openly displayed a ravenous appetite.
She was just like any other Ghoul, perhaps even more so.
It was a vivid demonstration of how cannibalism could drive a Ghoul to madness.
Suddenly, Eto looked away from Kasuka and stared into the air.
"...Too narrow."
"What?"
Kasuka blinked, hearing the girl's mutterings.
Eto was looking at the cramped space they were in—a corridor less than ten meters wide, flanked by massive walls.
Clearly dissatisfied, Eto's face twisted into a deep scowl.
"Too narrow! Too narrow! Too narrow! Too narrow! Too narrow!! It's too narrow to flyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Eto screamed, venting a rage that seemed directed at the world itself.
Her form blurred into a dark red streak as she took flight.
From wall to wall, wall to floor, floor to pipe, and pipe back to wall.
Eto's afterimages spread like red threads throughout the area, and wherever those threads touched, the environment shattered as if struck by bombs.
KWA-GA-GA-GA-GA-BOOOOM!!!!
"Tch!"
Kasuka groaned, using her rapier and dagger to deflect the debris raining down from all sides.
There was no logic to Eto's actions now. It was a mindless rampage driven by raw emotion.
She wasn't specifically targeting Kasuka; she was simply destroying everything in her vicinity. Yet, this made the situation even more frustrating.
A Ghoul Investigator is trained to fight Ghouls, not to match their raw physical capabilities. While she had heard of a few investigators with monstrous strength, Kasuka was not one of them.
The landslide of stone and metal fragments was an agonizing nuisance.
She could deflect the larger chunks, but the smaller pebbles pelted her body, steadily accumulating damage.
"I'm going to get buried alive at this rate!"
Kasuka shouted, the rubble already piling up above her ankles.
Chill!!
Suddenly, the explosions ceased. At the same time, a piercing chill enveloped Kasuka's entire body.
She knew this feeling all too well. It was the premonition of death she had encountered countless times in her battles with Ghouls.
Kasuka looked up.
Without a sound or a trace of presence, Eto was diving straight down, her enormous wings flapping. She looked like a giant owl descending to snatch its prey.
Kasuka tried to dodge, but she couldn't. The accumulated rubble had pinned her movements.
*Don't tell me she planned this...?!*
*Was she not lost to madness after all!?*
Before she could even process the thought, Eto's strike crashed down from the sky.
BOOOOM!!!!!!
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