Baaang!
The impact rang out, a sound that felt as if it had struck all the way down to the marrow.
The Ghouls stared, dumbstruck, as Koma drove his forehead straight into Arima's.
Among everyone gathered here, the weakest human had somehow tangled with the strongest being in the room—the one even they had been prepared to die fighting—and brought him down. It was a surreal sight.
Eto had helped. Arima had been psychologically shaken. A number of conditions had lined up to make it possible, but the one who had seized those variables and dragged the fight to this moment was that human alone.
Like a giant tree that had never once wavered finally toppling over, Eto, Arima, and Koma's bodies twisted together and crashed to the floor.
Thud!
For a moment, the thought that it was over flickered through the air—then, as if denying it, two shadows sprang back up.
It was Eto and Arima.
Before either had even caught their breath, the two rose and kept each other in check.
Koma did not get up.
Whether he had poured everything into that last blow or not, his body remained motionless.
"Hah... hah..."
Eto clamped one hand over the wound carved into her side by the Quinque. The blade had gone in deep enough that if she let go, it felt as if her organs might spill out.
But she could still fight. Her body still moved, and she still had enough energy left to fuel her Kagune.
Arima, on the other hand, looked terrible.
One arm was broken. The other hung loose, the joint torn out.
And yet he had a half-broken Quinque blade clenched in his mouth, as if he intended to keep fighting in that state. He must have recovered it during the brief moment he had been down.
But that was all. There was no way he could fight properly now.
At a glance, it looked like nothing more than the desperate thrashing of someone cornered.
"You..."
Still, Eto's expression remained hard.
The pressure around him was wrong.
Like an injured beast baring its fangs all the more viciously, a chilling aura coiled around Arima. Her instincts warned her that if she let her guard down and stepped in, she would die in an instant.
Koma could no longer fight. She would have to do something with the other Ghouls around her, even if it meant working together.
That was when, while Eto was tensing her body and calculating her next move, she heard Arima mutter, "...It hurts."
His speech was slurred because of the blade in his mouth, but Eto heard it clearly.
"It hurts. It's hot... My forehead... The forehead I was just hit on... It feels so hot, like it's burning."
His face was smeared with blood from the collision with Koma. The blood slid down past the corner of his eye, making him look strangely pitiful.
Through the blood running down his face, Arima glared at Eto—or rather, at Koma lying behind her.
"...What did you do to me?"
It had been nothing more than a headbutt.
The impact to the head must have been significant, but honestly, the injuries to both of Arima's arms that Eto had broken should have been far worse.
And yet Arima was feeling more pain in his head than in his limbs.
It made no sense. But the agony was undeniably real.
Watching him, Eto understood at once.
A 'wedge' had been driven in.
Not into his body, but into his mind.
Koma had planted a deep psychological wedge in Arima during this fight.
Arima didn't know what it was, and that uncertainty was throwing him into confusion. The psychology that had been impossible to read before was now laid bare.
Was this what it meant to feel kinship?
Eto let out a small laugh.
"So this is your first time too? Being scolded by an adult."
"...What are you talking about? I've experienced punishment plenty of times..."
"Not that. I mean being scolded not as a means to turn you into a killing machine, but out of pure concern."
"What..."
Arima looked genuinely bewildered, and Eto nodded as if she understood.
"I know that pain too. When my dad scolds me and punches me, it really hurts. Isn't that strange? I thought I'd gotten used to pain by now—after all, I've been through everything from having my skin torn off to being pierced through the abdomen. But when Dad gets angry, it always hurts like hell. Whether it's his bare hand or a hand holding a rock, it always hurts enough to make me cry."
Eto lowered her gaze.
On Koma's back, which had been motionless until now, a steady rise and fall appeared.
Having done what he came here to do, Koma's body had ceased all activity and slipped into a forced sleep for recovery.
"Human emotions are strange. You can't see them, can't hear them, can't touch them. And yet they definitely exist. Sometimes they're cold, sometimes warm, and they pass on to other people too. Anger and jealousy wound others. Trust and affection hold them up."
Just as Eto had trusted Koma to take the lead, his face—having entrusted the rest to her—was calm.
The trust reflected there was enough to stir some strength back into Eto's exhausted body.
"My dad, if you put it nicely, is passionate. If you put it badly, he's completely self-willed. If he decides something is necessary, he'll slam his emotions into anyone with full force. Sometimes it's so hot it feels like you'll get burned. You've felt it yourself, haven't you? Whether he's pitying you, getting angry for you, or worrying about you, it's all sincere."
"..."
Arima didn't understand.
He couldn't make sense of what Eto was saying.
He wasn't stupid enough to lack comprehension, and yet he still couldn't grasp the meaning of her words.
Only one thing remained: the words Koma had shouted at the end were still ringing in his ears like an echo.
His words, telling him not to kill if he didn't want to be killed.
"So that's why he's a natural enemy to people like us."
"...Our natural enemy?"
"Yeah."
As if there was nothing to ask back, Eto nodded calmly.
"People like us who are hopelessly bad at being alone."
"........."
Arima stayed silent, and Eto drew a tired breath.
Her side wound still refused to close properly, thanks to the Quinque.
Arima's injuries were more severe overall, but the reason he was the most frightening was that he still hadn't shown everything he had.
He was a bottomless abyss. A monster with no floor.
With Koma down, Eto alone could not be certain of victory.
But Arima's chances were even slimmer.
"Stop now. You've lost."
"..."
"Even if you cut my throat here, there's no way you're breaking through all these people and escaping."
That was right. They couldn't forget it.
There were Ghouls from both sides spread throughout this place, and they were protecting Koma and Eto.
The fatigue and damage from before had been recovered to some extent while the fight had paused.
Enji's severed arm had already returned. Kaya, too, had her leg back.
In Arima's current condition, he might be able to bring Eto down somehow, but whether he could also defeat the Ghouls waiting behind her was another matter entirely.
No, they wouldn't just stand by and watch Eto get beaten in the first place. They had already taken their stances, ready to rush in at any moment.
It was a dead end. And Arima had no right to blame anyone else for it.
He had been the one to reject support and come this far alone.
At that moment of utter crisis, Arima did only one thing.
"Huu..."
He steadied his breathing, lowered his stance, and prepared to fight.
Seeing that, Eto's brow twitched.
"You're still going to fight to the end?"
"..."
"Isn't what you wanted already what my dad gave you? He made you discover a self you didn't even know you had, the self you wanted to become aware of. He showed you the direction you wanted to move toward. Right now your odds are slim, and if you want to live there are other ways—like negotiating with us. And even then, you still insist on fighting?"
Eto's voice carried a trace of anger.
Arima answered with eyes even colder than before.
"This is the only way I know how to live."
"...Oh, is that so?"
That was enough.
As if she understood, Eto nodded, and Arima shot toward her like a flash of light.
His raised knee aimed for the wound in Eto's side, while a sharp sword strike flew toward her throat.
Eto did not dodge.
Even as his blow drove into her side as if to crush her organs, even as the blade skimmed a hair's breadth from her artery, she took it with her bare body and swung her fist.
Unlike before, it was a simple, brute-force strike—but apparently that was enough.
Paaak!!!
And just as Eto had expected, her fist buried itself in Arima's face.
His body, lifted by the recoil, felt strangely light. When she hurled him onto the concrete floor, Arima's body flew out like a scarecrow with its base snapped off.
Watching Arima lie still, Eto spoke in a voice tinged with bitterness.
"I can't even call you a coward. Forcing a child who's never walked alone to start walking by shoving him into the dark is cruel too."
***
"My God... We won."
"We actually won! We finally took down that little grim reaper!!"
"The biggest obstacle is gone! Now we can escape without worrying!"
The Ghouls, who had been watching the battle with even their breathing held back, erupted into cheers all at once.
How many times had they watched with their hearts in their throats? There had been more than a few moments when they wanted to rush out and help immediately.
But their leader had stopped them.
If they had rushed in carelessly, the trust-based coordination between Koma and Eto might have collapsed. And that judgment had apparently been correct.
After all, Koma and Eto alone had finally brought Arima down.
Just as a few Ghouls, unable to contain their joy, were about to approach the victors, Arima's body, bloodied and sprawled on the floor, twitched slightly.
One Ghoul spotted it and leaped back like a startled cat, putting distance between them.
"Gyaaah!! That thing's still alive?!"
"Isn't he seriously a monster?!"
"Quit making noise, you idiots!!"
Enji silenced the panicking underlings with a single shout, then walked over to Eto and Koma.
He had already known Arima was still alive. Eto's final strike had carried no killing intent at all.
Kaya, who had arrived before him, was already checking on Eto's condition as she sat there. Then she glared at Arima, who was still breathing, and spoke.
"If it's hard to finish him off, want me to do it for you?"
"No..."
Eto's hand covered Kaya's, stopping the claws that had begun to show with killing intent.
Noticing Eto's intention, Enji spoke to her in a placating tone.
"I don't know what kind of exchange you and that guy had, but he's too dangerous. If we leave him alive, he'll definitely become a problem."
They were the ones who had seen Arima's danger most closely.
There was no way they could leave him alive. They had lived in a world where if you didn't eliminate your enemy, you might be the one dead tomorrow.
And this chance to kill an enemy they could not possibly beat would never come again. Unless they were insane, why would they spare him?
But Eto shook her head firmly.
"I'm not sparing him because I pity him. If it were up to me, I'd erase the future trouble right here and now."
"Then why?"
"Because my dad would oppose it. If you want to kill him, convince my dad first."
Enji and Kaya turned their eyes to Koma, who was lying collapsed nearby.
He was still unconscious. What kind of convincing could they possibly do?
"Don't be ridiculous! Whether your dad opposes it or not doesn't matter! In this world, if you don't eliminate them, they might eliminate you!" Enji raised his voice in exasperation. Kaya, sharing the same thought, silently stared at Eto.
But Eto met them without changing her expression.
"Can you handle my dad's anger?"
"...What?"
"You saw it yourself, didn't you? You experienced it too. What happens when my dad decides to move seriously. This time it won't end with getting kicked out of the house or getting beaten up like that guy."
Enji and Kaya followed Eto's gaze to the fallen Arima, then recalled Koma's behavior up to now.
No matter how strong a Ghoul they were, no matter how many underlings they commanded, Koma had never even blinked.
He had stepped into their business, helped rescue the underlings trapped in the sewer, and single-handedly brought down Arima Kishou, a man with the power to carry out a mass slaughter.
And he even had Kuzen backing him.
If they killed Arima while he was still unconvinced?
Could Enji and Kaya really endure the deep rage Koma would feel then?
...Sweat beaded on them.
Two Ghouls were standing here, sweating coldly because they couldn't think of any way to handle a single human.
They seemed about to argue further, but deciding it was a waste of time, the two of them eventually stepped back.
"Tch. Fine, whatever. He's your prey, father and daughter. Do what you want."
"But I'm restraining him thoroughly for now. Even injured as he is, I still don't trust him at all. You're not going to stop me from doing that, are you?"
"Of course not."
And so Enji and Kaya began cleaning up the situation and preparing to escape, while Eto let out a long, exhausted sigh at the sight.
It had been a very long day.
It had started with Enji and Kaya arriving, and from there she had gone through one thing after another.
But that was over now. The obstacle blocking their path was gone, and all that remained was to go home.
"Let's go home now, Dad."
With a faint smile, Eto stroked the sleeping Koma's face.
...Then her expression hardened.
"...Dad?"
Koma was still asleep. But something was wrong.
As time passed, his breathing grew rougher. Sweat poured from his entire body, soaking his clothes, and the color of his face was turning bad.
Eto hurriedly pressed a hand to his forehead. It was burning hot.
"Dad! Wake up, Dad!"
She shook him in a panic, but there was no response.
Hearing Eto's voice, the others also noticed Koma's strange condition.
"What the hell!? What's wrong with this guy?!"
"What do you mean, what's wrong? He's a normal human, even if he's been naturally mixed in with us! He pushed himself too hard, so the backlash is hitting him all at once!! We need to get him to a hospital, now!!"
Enji hoisted Koma onto his back, and Kaya pulled out a map.
"A hospital! The nearest route out to the closest hospital is..."
"No hospital."
Just as they found a suitable one, a voice cut in.
Instantly, a stiff silence fell over the group. It was a familiar voice—one they could never forget, a nightmare of a voice.
All their gazes dropped at once.
And sure enough, Arima, now awake, was staring blankly at the Ghouls.
"You bastard! When did you come to...!!"
"Wait!"
Blocking Enji as he reflexively moved to attack Arima, Eto stepped in.
Then she looked at Arima and asked, "What do you mean, no hospital?"
"The timing is bad. 'A human with unexplained severe injuries was brought to a hospital on the day a large-scale Ghoul extermination operation took place.' A human like that would be highly likely to get caught by the information network of the 'organization' I belong to."
"The organization?"
Eto didn't know what organization Arima belonged to.
But for some reason, the moment she heard the word, something came to mind: the group in black clothes that had appeared dragging a Kakuja Ghoul with them.
"Especially lately, they seem to be on edge searching for some Ghoul they lost track of, so suspicious behavior would stand out immediately. If your identities are exposed to the organization, there'll be no more peace. Your everyday lives will turn into hell."
"That would be a big problem, but why are you telling us that? You, of all people?"
Kaya glared at Arima suspiciously.
But Arima ignored her completely and spoke only to Eto.
"Let's make a deal. I'll tell you a place where that man can be treated safely."