The moment Ren stepped out of Anteiku, the two ghouls who had been eyeing him like prey immediately rose from their seats.
There was no longer any reason to linger.
Their target had left the café.
Inside Anteiku, behind the counter, Yoshimura quietly observed the scene through the glass window.
His brows furrowed slightly.
A faint sigh escaped him.
If he wished to intervene, stopping those two ghouls would be effortless.
After all, Yoshimura was once known to the Commission of Counter Ghoul as the legendary SSS-rated ghoul "Owl."
But he did not move.
Even though Anteiku existed to help ghouls live peacefully, Yoshimura understood the harsh truth of their world.
Ghouls needed human flesh to survive.
He could guide them.
He could restrain unnecessary killing.
But he could not completely forbid them from hunting.
As long as violence did not occur inside Anteiku, it was not his place to interfere.
Ren was not the first human to unknowingly enter Anteiku.
Nor would he be the last.
This world was cruel.
Even someone like Yoshimura could not save everyone.
…
20th Ward — Street
The moment Ren burst out of the café, the faint sound of wooden wind chimes behind him had not even faded yet.
He ran.
Faster than he had ever run in his life.
The soles of his shoes screeched against the asphalt as he sprinted through the quiet streets of the 20th Ward.
But behind him—
Footsteps followed.
Slow.
Unhurried.
Like predators savoring the hunt.
No matter how fast he ran, those footsteps maintained a perfectly measured distance.
If escape were possible, no rational person would willingly confront a ghoul.
The difference between humans and ghouls was simply too great.
Even ignoring their predatory weapon—
Their kagune.
The bodies of ghouls were reinforced by RC cells, granting them strength, speed, and durability far beyond ordinary humans.
To a ghoul, a human was little more than fragile prey.
Even investigators of the CCG, armed with quinques—weapons created from ghoul kagune—had to exercise extreme caution when facing them.
For an unarmed civilian to kill a ghoul?
That was nothing more than fantasy.
And yet—
The only thing Ren possessed that might even slightly threaten them…
Was the lethal injection.
His chance of survival was terrifyingly small.
…
The two ghouls chasing him clearly realized he had already noticed them.
But instead of immediately attacking, they continued walking behind him leisurely.
Deliberately.
As if allowing him to believe he could escape.
"What a twisted sense of humor…"
Ren knew this kind of behavior well.
Predators enjoyed playing with their prey.
Giving them hope.
Only to crush it moments later.
Just like a cat toying with a dying mouse.
…
After sprinting across three intersections, Ren clenched his teeth and darted into a narrow alley.
His lungs burned.
His legs trembled.
He spun around abruptly and pulled a syringe gun from his pocket.
The cold metal against his palm steadied his nerves slightly.
He aimed directly toward the alley entrance.
Moonlight stretched two distorted shadows across the ground.
The ghouls had caught up.
"A White Dove?"
The burly ghoul paused slightly when he saw the weapon.
But the moment he recognized it for what it was, a hoarse laugh escaped him.
"With that?"
The thin ghoul grinned widely.
His kakugan—the ghoul's crimson predatory eye—flared open in the darkness.
Without hesitation, he lunged forward like an arrow released from a bow.
Pshh!
The lethal injection struck his chest.
"HISSS—!"
A piercing scream tore through the night.
The thin ghoul's body convulsed violently before collapsing onto the ground, writhing in agony.
"…It worked."
Ren knew exactly why the attack succeeded.
A ghoul's reflexes should have allowed him to dodge easily.
But the creature had underestimated him.
Before he could feel relieved—
The burly ghoul attacked.
His kakugan ignited.
From his lower back, two thick, tentacle-like kagune erupted violently.
They lashed forward toward Ren.
He barely managed to dodge.
At the last possible moment—
Pshh!
The second lethal injection struck the ghoul's neck.
The burly ghoul trembled violently.
His massive body swayed.
Then collapsed.
Ren exhaled deeply.
"Luckily… the lethal injection works on ghouls…"
But before he could relax—
His pupils suddenly shrank.
The thin ghoul who had taken the first injection…
Was standing up.
His movements were slower now.
But his kakugan burned even brighter.
Madness radiated from his expression.
A spiral-shaped, armor-like kagune had formed around his right arm.
"Ouch… kid…"
The ghoul's hoarse voice trembled with manic laughter.
Slowly.
Step by step.
He advanced toward Ren.
Seeing this, Ren raised the syringe gun again.
But he did not fire the final injection.
The moment he realized the first ghoul had survived—
He understood something.
He had overestimated the lethality of the injections.
And underestimated the physical resilience of ghouls.
Even if two injections killed one ghoul…
Would the third matter?
At best, both sides would die together.
And that assumed the last injection even landed.
Now that the ghoul was prepared, hitting him would be nearly impossible.
Worse still—
Behind him, the burly ghoul began to twitch.
Slowly.
Unsteadily.
He was getting back up.
Ren swallowed.
Only one injection remained.
"What do I do…"
His mind raced desperately for a way to survive.
Running was impossible.
Fighting was hopeless.
His escape route was already sealed.
…
"There's no other choice…"
"I have to gamble."
Slowly—
He raised the syringe gun.
Under the stunned gaze of the two ghouls—
He pressed the needle against his own carotid artery.
Even he didn't know whether this method would work.
If there had been any other option…
He would never have chosen this.
But he had none.
He had already done everything he could.
Yet the difference between humans and ghouls was like an unbridgeable abyss.
Those lethal injections that could easily kill a human…
Could only delay a ghoul for a few moments.
If he wanted to survive—
He could only bet everything on his final trump card.
"Heh heh…"
Seeing Ren aim the syringe at himself, the thin ghoul revealed a cruel grin.
In his eyes, the human had already given up.
Unable to escape.
Unable to fight.
Choosing suicide as his final act.
…
The ghoul slowly approached.
His kagune-covered arm tightened.
Ren knew—
This was his final chance.
Without hesitation—
He pushed the syringe in.
The lethal injection flowed directly into his body.
Instantly—
A wave of dizziness washed over him.
The world slowed.
He could clearly see the trajectory of the ghoul's kagune as it thrust toward him.
But his body refused to move.
The ghoul's kakugan glowed crimson.
He stepped forward.
Slowly raised his kagune—
And drove it directly into Ren's chest.
The sound of flesh being pierced echoed clearly in the narrow alley.
Blood splattered across the ghoul's twisted face.
Blood dripped from the corner of Ren's mouth.
Yet—
A strange smile appeared on his lips.
"You charlatan… die!"
Seeing that smile, the ghoul's rage intensified.
Just as he attempted to pull his kagune free—
He suddenly froze.
His kagune…
Wouldn't move.
Dark red viscous fluid poured from Ren's wound.
The liquid wrapped around the kagune like living tendrils.
Then—
It began creeping backward along the kagune itself.
Wherever it touched—
A chilling sizzling sound echoed through the alley.