"Hm, hm~"
Suzuya Juuzou looked at the kakuhou by his feet with clear delight. It had been taken off Tatara.
"Mr. Flamethrower's kakuhou... it should be able to breathe fire too, right? Just thinking about it is exciting~"
The thought of having another interesting Quinque to play with made Suzuya Juuzou hum unconsciously.
"Juuzou, you alright?"
Shinohara Yukinori walked over to Suzuya Juuzou and asked with some concern.
This time, it had still been him and Suzuya Juuzou facing Tatara, except Hoji Kousuke had joined them as well.
Against the combined assault of the three, Tatara had been beaten into a miserable state, and in the end, Suzuya Juuzou had even cut off both of his arms.
"I'm fine, Shinohara-san. But what is that?"
Suzuya Juuzou shook his head, then pointed ahead with his right hand.
"Gaaah! Oooh! Oooh! Oooh!"
A massive flesh monster with its jaws wide open was rooted in the middle of the street. Between its huge teeth were sticky blood and countless severed limbs.
Thick, enormous kagune writhed wildly, blocking the CCG from pursuing the remaining members of Aogiri Tree.
This was the terrifying creature Noro had become. Or rather, this was his true form.
"Higher mind~~~"
Along with Mougan Tanakamaru's shout, the massive cannon-type Quinque in his hands, Higher Mind, burst with dazzling blue light.
In an instant, a chilling blue shockwave fired out, rushing straight toward the flesh monster ahead.
At the same time, the Hollow wrapped around Hoji Kousuke's arm launched spiraling orange crystal projectiles.
The crystals spun rapidly through the air like burning meteors, carrying intense heat as they shot toward the target.
The golden Quinque coiled around Hachikawa Chuu's arm suddenly sprouted countless bright yellow kagune spikes.
They interwove densely, covering the sky as they descended upon the immobile flesh monster.
For a moment, a storm of bullets and shells poured down, bombarding the monster that had become a living target.
A deafening explosion erupted.
Thick smoke engulfed the battlefield.
Blazing flames surged into the sky, lighting up the dark night like daylight.
Even Noro, with his incredible regenerative ability, could not withstand such relentless attacks.
His massive body quickly broke apart amid the explosions and flames.
In the end, he was blasted into disgusting chunks of flesh scattered across the ground.
Hachikawa Chuu cursed when he saw it.
"Disgusting thing. What a nuisance."
Though his mouth was still foul as ever, he looked noticeably more relaxed.
Having successfully killed his enemy Black Dog Irimi Kaya, his mood was excellent.
Mougan Tanakamaru tugged lightly at his flowing mustache, snorting out two streams of hot air.
Looking at Hachikawa Chuu, he said with emotion,
"Boy, don't be so irritable."
"With this broken body, putting on a splendid fireworks show for the CCG's complete victory is not bad at all."
Hachikawa Chuu ignored him. Being foul-mouthed was just a habit.
Shinohara Yukinori scratched his head. He did not know how to answer Suzuya Juuzou's question.
"Sorry, I don't know either."
Seeing that the giant kagune monster had been dealt with, he finally let out a long breath.
He pressed his earpiece and reported to command.
"This is Shinohara. Most of the remaining Aogiri Tree members have been driven off. Executive Tatara escaped. That's all."
......
In a high-rise building not far from the 20th Ward, a vague humanoid figure stood.
He had no limbs and looked extremely miserable. It was Kaneki Ken.
Steel rods pierced through his mutilated body. Snow fell onto his white hair.
The cold wind at such height froze the tears on his face into ice. Fine frost coated his soft white hair, turning it into something like an ice sculpture.
Kaneki Ken stared blankly at the towering flames three kilometers away.
Anteiku was finished. He had witnessed it with his own eyes.
His limbs had stopped bleeding, and some flesh had begun to regrow.
Kaneki Ken knew that if he moved the newly formed rinkaku on his back, he could break free from this humiliating crucifix-like frame.
But he did not want to move. He just remained there, blankly.
The sharp pain from his severed limbs could not compare to the twisting agony in his chest, from that human heart.
Blood suddenly seeped from his kakugan, staining his vision a deeper crimson.
But in an instant, the blood froze in the cold wind, clinging messily to his face.
After Uesugi Ryu had cut off his limbs, Mephisto had sent two subordinate crows to rescue him.
Out of sheer mischief, it had hung Kaneki Ken at this high vantage point, where the entire battlefield could be seen.
Two ravens perched on the steel beams, sharpening their beaks. Their pitch-black eyes seemed capable of devouring everything.
"So this is the way out you gave me..."
When Uesugi Ryu severed his limbs, he had also cut away Kaneki's dignity as both a human and a ghoul.
Frozen tears left icy trails across his cheeks. Kaneki Ken no longer knew who he should hate.
Uesugi Ryu was not wrong. He himself was not wrong either. Then who was?
Rapid footsteps approached.
Kirishima Touka arrived, looking around anxiously for Kaneki Ken.
"Caw. Caw."
The cries of the crows guided her.
The two ravens flapped their wings and flew deeper into the building.
Kirishima Touka followed the sound, and the moment she saw him, her expression froze in shock.
Her gaze locked onto the figure hanging in midair. Kaneki Ken.
Without hesitation, she climbed up the nearby steel framework.
Carefully, she took him down from the dangerous height.
The moment his body touched her arms, a piercing cold spread through her entire body.
Kaneki Ken's temperature was terrifyingly low, like an ice sculpture.
Kirishima Touka looked down at him, her eyes full of worry.
"What happened, Kaneki? How did it end up like this?"
Hearing her familiar voice, a faint glimmer returned to Kaneki Ken's lifeless eyes.
He struggled to raise his head and spoke weakly.
"Touka-chan..."
Yomo Renji, who had been watching silently from the shadows, observed everything.
His gaze followed the two ravens as they flew away, thoughts turning in his mind.
After confirming that this was not some trap or ambush, he finally reached up and removed his hood.
Then he stepped out of the shadows.
"Touka, take Ken back first."
Yomo Renji walked over and spoke calmly.