Uesugi Ryu gripped the handle of the short dagger with one hand, flipped midair, and landed steadily against the high wall beside him.
At this moment, he was like a vicious leopard coiled and ready to strike, his entire body emanating a chilling aura.
His legs suddenly exploded with force, the muscles in his lower legs tightening in an instant. The powerful rebound launched him straight toward Yoshimura Eto.
The strong wind blew through his blood-soaked, disheveled black hair, and his bright eyes radiated intense battle intent.
That originally handsome face twisted slightly from excitement, revealing a trace of ferocity.
Combined with the blood-red, terrifying armor covering his body, he looked like a demon clawing its way out of the depths of hell, gruesome and horrifying, enough to send chills down anyone's spine.
With a sharp tearing sound, a straight streak tore through the sky like a meteor.
Yoshimura Eto, charging forward, had no time to react. The sudden impact disrupted her momentum completely.
Her entire body slid to the side uncontrollably, like a wild dog kicked hard mid-run.
At the same time, Uesugi Ryu's nearly two-meter-long greatsword thrust upward from below, stabbing deep into Yoshimura Eto's chest.
The sharp blade sliced through flesh effortlessly and plunged deep into her body.
Uesugi Ryu pressed his palm against the end of the hilt and pushed down without mercy. As his arm muscles trembled, the sensation of slicing into something soft traveled up his hand.
A smile appeared on his face, it seemed he had hit Yoshimura Eto's real body.
Immediately after, he increased Blood Frenzy's output as a surge of crimson energy invaded Yoshimura Eto's body.
With continued pressure, the blade pierced clean through her chest.
The crescent-shaped blade burst out from the other side of her body, trailing a splash of blood.
Yoshimura Eto let out a painful and rage-filled roar, loud enough to shake the skies. Drool involuntarily spattered from the corner of her kakuja mouth.
A violent glint flashed through her eyes as the two sword-shaped kagune on her arms lunged at Uesugi Ryu like venomous snakes.
Yet, faced with this ferocious attack, Uesugi Ryu did not retreat.
A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes and without hesitation, he released the hilt and stomped on it with full force.
The force of the kick drove the blade forward, causing it to tear deeper through the surrounding flesh.
Like a high-speed spinning cutter, the sword ripped through nearly a third of Yoshimura Eto's chest.
Blood poured from the wound like a burst dam, instantly soaking the ground in red.
Uesugi Ryu dared not hesitate. His figure flickered as he activated Instant Step, trying to dodge the incoming attack.
But he was still a step too slow. Yoshimura Eto's razor-sharp kagune pierced his armor and carved a long, deep gash across his abdomen.
He grunted, unable to worry about the injury for now.
With a fierce pull, the violet-black metallic threads wrapped around the greatsword snapped taut, letting out a crisp "zheng zheng" sound.
With the tension, the sword was rapidly pulled back into Uesugi Ryu's hands.
Before he could regain his footing, Yoshimura Eto suddenly spun and hurled her two massive kagune arms at him.
Uesugi Ryu quickly raised the sword in front of him and a muffled crash rang out as his entire body was sent flying.
His shoes scraped violently against the ground, producing a shrill screech and even some blue smoke.
Blood dripped from his abdomen, trailing along the path of his retreat. Uesugi Ryu took a deep breath, panting hard.
The massive impact left his arms slightly numb while the deep, narrow wound in his abdomen throbbed with pain.
The armor's defense had held up well, and Uesugi Ryu's physique was strong. He hadn't taken a critical hit.
The damaged side of the Arata armor was quickly writhing and regenerating, sealing the punctured area.
Mado Akira swung her whip-like Quinque and sliced down an Aogiri Tree ghoul. Then, looking toward Uesugi Ryu with worry, her brow furrowed slightly.
The Aogiri Tree ghouls in this area had nearly all been slaughtered. Only a few still resisted in vain.
"Trading injuries? I'm not afraid of that either." Uesugi Ryu let out a cold laugh.
A soft glow shimmered from the ring on his left hand.
The wound on his abdomen was rapidly closing, scabbing over. The pain dulled, and the torn muscles from overexertion slowly began to heal.
[HP: 171/203]
[Debuff: Bleeding (lose 11 HP per minute)]
He had lost nearly 30 HP from those two blows. The ring restored 12 HP per minute, the injury would be gone in three minutes at most.
"This lunatic!"
"But it hurts like hell! What the hell is that red energy!?"
Yoshimura Eto's eyes flickered with horror.
She didn't understand what had gotten into Uesugi Ryu, choosing to attack at such great personal risk.
She didn't remember having any actual grudge with this guy.
That last strike had hit her true body, sharp pain still radiated from her upper thigh.
Her slender right leg had nearly been sliced in two. After sprouting a new kagune to cover the wound, Yoshimura Eto stared intently at Uesugi Ryu and let out a cold laugh.
Though she was seriously injured, she was still a ghoul. Even if her regeneration slowed, it wasn't fatal.
Uesugi Ryu, on the other hand, had taken a real wound.
An abdominal injury would undoubtedly affect his speed.
Whether he was a half-human or something else, one thing was clear, his threat level had dropped significantly.
Yoshimura Eto fired a barrage of sharp, spike-shaped kagune toward Uesugi Ryu, while her slightly swaying form slowly advanced toward him.
Uesugi Ryu twisted his long sword, forming an impenetrable curtain of blades.
A series of crisp clangs rang out as all of the spikes were shattered by the sword.
Once the pain in his abdomen no longer impeded his strength, he stomped forward and charged at Yoshimura Eto once again.
The long, thin tongue from her kakuja mouth flicked about erratically. Her eyes radiated intense killing intent.
At this moment, both of them had only one goal:
To kill the other.