Slide.
He brushed aside the torn fabric and examined the wound.
A slight sting. Red liquid clung to his fingers.
He brought it close to his eyes. It felt like it had been a long time since he had seen his own blood.
A bead of blood gathered at the tip of his finger and fell. Beyond it, he looked at his opponent.
He saw the Ghoul who had wounded him.
A Ghoul whose entire body, including her face, was draped in a blanket. Three strands of Kagune writhed behind her back.
Looking at her, he muttered as if in regret.
"I suppose I was too greedy..."
He admitted his mistake. He had let his eagerness get the better of him, acting far too hastily.
In the next instant, a thin line was drawn across the blanket covering Eto's head.
Then, as if it had been designed to do so, the blanket split and slid away to both sides.
"I overdid it."
From within the blanket he had sliced through at the cost of that overexertion, the face of a startled girl emerged. She looked two or three years younger than him.
He had endured the risk of injury just to see that face. Though it had only resulted in a tiny scratch.
Arima gazed at the girl with a calm, detached expression.
Finally, he could face the true form of the opponent he had only vaguely envisioned until now.
One eye was that of an ordinary human. The other was unmistakably the crimson eye of a Ghoul.
Arima's eyes narrowed at the sight.
***
Eto reflexively covered her face as the blanket was sliced open and fell away. But her reaction was too slow.
Her Kakugan was exposed.
The other Ghouls, their backs turned, only saw the blanket fall. Katsura, who had retreated with Koma, could only see one Kakugan from his angle, so she hadn't been discovered by them.
But Arima, standing directly in front of her, was different.
He had seen Eto's single red eye clearly. As proof, his expression shifted into something entirely different from before.
The emotion etched there was a mixture of interest and the certainty that his hypothesis had been correct.
"I've been curious for a long time."
"...?"
Arima readjusted his grip on his sword and stepped forward.
"What exactly is the difference between you and us?"
Us...?
She had no idea what he was talking about. Nor did she have the time to ponder it.
In the next heartbeat, Arima's figure shot toward her like an arrow.
CLANG!!
She blocked the incoming blade with a single Kagune. The sharp edge dug deep, looking as if it would slice right through, but Eto did not simply stand there.
Twisting the Kagune like a braided rope, she managed to snare the blade. Immediately, she extended two more Kagune over her head and slammed them down upon Arima.
Rather than retreating, Arima pressed even further into her space.
He swung the Quinque, still entangled with the Kagune, upward to intercept the descending strike.
BOOM!
The two falling Kagune struck the obstacle and bounced away like rubber, failing to reach Arima.
He had blocked the strike, but in doing so, with his Quinque and both arms raised high, his torso was left wide open.
Eto's leg lashed out at him like a whip.
Had it landed, the force would have been more than enough to shatter Arima's ribs and crush his body. There was no time for him to dodge.
But Arima's next move was utterly unexpected.
GRAB!
"...?!"
With one hand, he snatched Eto's ankle right out of the air, despite its terrifying momentum.
The fact that he caught it was shocking enough, but the sheer grip strength of his fingers digging into her flesh was even more horrifying.
Arima twisted his body, using the momentum of Eto's own attack to redirect the force. Adding his own strength to the pivot, he hurled her—Kagune and all—straight into the wall.
KWA-BOOM!!
Her body slammed into the gray wall, leaving a web of cracks.
More than the impact, the lingering pain in her captured ankle left her shaken.
What was that strength?!
It was blatantly unnatural.
&p>Not only had he thrown her entire body, but deep, bruised handprints were left on her ankle. A Ghoul's body had actually taken damage.
She had heard that some Ghoul Investigators could achieve monstrous strength comparable to a Ghoul through relentless training. Was he one of them?
Dash!!
The moment he threw her and ripped his Quinque free, Arima launched himself at her again.
The pointed tip of the Quinque flew toward her as if to pierce her skull. Eto erupted from the wall, using her Kagune like a booster to slide across the floor.
She slipped beneath Arima's feet as he lunged, then snapped her body back like a spring. In a flash, she seized the blind spot behind the man who had been charging at her.
FWOOSH!!
Eto's leg shot toward Arima, and simultaneously, the flames of her Kagune exploded outward.
The fire enveloping her flying form made her look like a crimson spear.
Sensing the overwhelming pressure from behind, Arima didn't even turn his head; he simply kicked off the wall Eto had previously occupied.
Performing a mid-air flip, Arima evaded the kick. A stray gust of the heat-laced storm singed a few strands of his hair.
"...!!"
She thought she had him, only to have her position stolen back in an instant.
Eto tried to abort the attack, but her body had already gained too much acceleration to control. As she had felt before, her own output had become too powerful.
KWA-GA-BOOM!!!
Eto was slammed into the wall once again.
Arima, having landed, shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
His blade aimed for her heart, and her Kagune spewed fire in a desperate clash.
KWA-BOOOOOOM!!!
The wall could not withstand the successive impacts and shattered explosively.
The force sent Eto and Arima tumbling together through the breach. Gravity took hold, and they plummeted.
Beyond the broken wall, there was no floor—only the distant sound of underground water rushing below. As they fell, Arima's Quinque pierced through Eto's right shoulder.
Having dodged the Kagune's flames with his signature reflexes, Arima had found his mark. In retaliation, Eto twisted her body and lashed out with her claws.
It was a surprise strike from point-blank range, but Arima simply arched his back, slipping past the attack with ease.
"...!"
However, the slight flinch in his expression revealed he hadn't escaped entirely.
One of Eto's fingers, which had seemed to miss, had hooked onto his waist belt.
Like a fish caught on a hook, she yanked Arima toward her.
Arima's body was drawn down by Eto's pull. In that moment, Eto clenched her other hand into a fist.
And struck.
THUD!!
A heavy impact rang out. But it wasn't the sound of her fist hitting home.
It was the sound of Arima's kick slamming into Eto's face first. The shock jolted her body, causing her fist to slip harmlessly between Arima's neck and shoulder.
Using Eto's head as a stepping stone, Arima kicked off her to rip the Quinque from her shoulder. Simultaneously, the finger gripping his belt slipped away.
Spinning in mid-air, Arima swung his blade with the full force of his momentum. A flash of steel streaked through the air, aimed precisely at Eto's neck.
CLANG!!!
A desperately summoned Kagune blocked the strike just in time.
The collision flung Arima back toward the wall, where he stopped himself by driving the Quinque into the stone. Eto, however, plunged into the underground waterway below.
SPLASH!
Bracing himself with the Quinque and his feet, Arima looked down at the rushing water.
Given the current, it wouldn't have been strange if she had been swept away. But Arima was certain she remained.
From the darkness of the churning, impurity-filled water, a sharp killing intent seeped upward. Though invisible to him, Eto was staring intently at Arima.
Even for Arima, an underwater battle in the dark against a Ghoul was a risky prospect.
Especially against a Ghoul with a long-range Ukaku; his position on the wall was far from safe.
"Come."
Arima muttered, seemingly curious to see how she would utilize the terrain to her advantage.
***
What kind of monster is he?
Holding her breath, Eto sank to the bottom, digging her fingers into the ground to keep herself from floating. She looked upward.
The murky water and darkness were a nuisance, but her Ghoul vision clearly captured Arima clinging to the wall.
He was watching the water, his breathing perfectly steady.
Despite reacting to every single one of Eto's full-power attacks, he didn't seem tired at all.
She had sensed he was dangerous from the start, but that fact remained unchanged even now that she had grown stronger.
In fact, now that they had clashed directly, the inhumanity of his strength was even more apparent.
While observing him, Eto touched her ankle.
Since it wasn't a wound from a Quinque, it had almost healed, but the pain from his grip had been undeniably real.
What is he?
She knew she held the advantage in this terrain. But instead of attacking immediately, Eto decided to use this brief respite to analyze him.
Trying to win without knowing your opponent is as unstable and dangerous as running with your eyes closed.
She closed her eyes and sank into thought.
In the silence of the flowing water, she pieced together everything she had observed—his words, his actions, his presence.
That school uniform. He isn't wearing it just for a concept. He's definitely around my age, maybe slightly older. He's too young to be a Ghoul Investigator. Yet he possesses the strength to slaughter Ghouls with ease. It's not just reflexes or athleticism. His entire body is honed like a seasoned weapon. Can 'genius' alone explain this level of power?
When Arima first appeared, his target was clearly the group consisting of Enji and Kaya.
But just before Eto arrived, he had ignored the other fleeing Ghouls to obsessively pursue Koma. His objective had shifted.
When did it change? When they escaped through the hole in the sewer? Or when Koma acted as bait?
...No. Neither.
The target was me.
It happened the moment they first clashed.
Arima had sensed something from Eto and shifted his focus.
That was why he had chased Eto and Koma instead of the others, and why things had escalated to this point.
All to face her.
But why?
Exterminating the Ghoul group was his official, public duty. But this felt personal.
Why change the target? What was it about Eto that attracted such a monster?
—I've been curious for a long time.
She recalled his words.
—What exactly is the difference between you and us?
She didn't know who "us" referred to, but Arima certainly included himself in that group.
Arima wanted to know the difference between them.
And if there was a difference, did that imply there was also a commonality?
A common point between Eto and Arima. What could it be?
"...!!"
Bubble!
Startled by her own conclusion, she let out a breath. Bubbles of various sizes danced before her eyes and vanished.
It was impossible. There was no way. Above all, Arima didn't have "that," did he?
But a second thought immediately refuted the first.
What am I saying? I am the living proof that it's possible.
It sounded absurd, but it wasn't impossible. And if that were true, Arima's inexplicable behavior finally made sense.
"..."
After a moment of hesitation, Eto floated toward the surface.
Though she could have maintained her advantage, she chose to leave the water and return to land.
&p>Arima, still clinging to the wall, watched her with a look of confusion.
Had she given up, or was this another scheme?
Once on land, Eto shook her head to flick off the water and looked up at him.
"You too?"
Her eyes wavered slightly, reflecting her inner turmoil.
Her single Kakugan, the symbol of her identity, locked onto Arima.
"Are you a half-breed too? A hybrid of human and Ghoul?"
"...!"
The ordinary human eye, devoid of a Kakugan, trembled for a fleeting second.
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