Suzuya Juuzou hummed a little tune as he spun and flicked his wrist.
The three-stage scythe blades of Guren Requiem unfolded as lightly as folded paper, tearing through the air as they attacked the ghouls in front of him.
When the shadows of the ghouls leapt across the ground, the scythe blades precisely pinned into the three cracked tiles where they had been standing before jumping.
"Did you panic under our siege? Don't just throw away the only weapon you rely on so carelessly, brat!"
The black-haired ghoul sneered.
He used the kagune behind him to clamp down on the crimson blade, while his companion immediately rushed toward Suzuya Juuzou.
Suzuya Juuzou looked at the ghoul stepping on his blade and revealed a bright smile.
He lightly pressed the button on the handle, and the restrained scythe blade suddenly emitted a violent metallic buzzing sound.
A fierce blue flame burst out from the blade, and the black-haired ghoul's kakuja shell shattered instantly.
The sticky blue flames clung to his torso, and a piercing scream echoed through the air.
His regenerating flesh was continuously burned into carbon ash by the blue flames, and his blood vaporized into a mist the moment it spurted out.
The ground itself was scorched into a glass-like surface by the terrifying heat, and the air warped under the heatwaves.
"Nani! What! Fuck!"
A wave of heat surged from behind, and the ghoul charging forward froze for a moment upon hearing the agonized scream.
He gritted his teeth and continued rushing forward, roaring angrily.
"You bastard, I'll kill you!"
He charged in front of Suzuya Juuzou, black Rinkaku gathering together as it stabbed toward him.
"Hahaha, you two are really interesting."
"You're already kakuja, yet still as naive as children."
Suzuya Juuzou burst into laughter. The blue cable on the handle suddenly tightened, and he grabbed the handle and spun gracefully.
The blades rapidly returned, the three scythes tracing a perfect blue-red ring of fire in the air.
The blue flames erupting from the blades melted the hardened kakuja shell, and the sizzling sound of roasting flesh flashed by.
The sharp blades directly cut the ghoul in front of him in half at the waist, the upper half of the body falling to the ground in front of Suzuya Juuzou with a thud.
"How pitiful, sayonara."
Suzuya Juuzou retrieved the blades, and the end of the handle unfolded.
Blue flames sprayed from the end of the handle, roasting the ghoul in front of him into charred remains.
Suzuya Juuzou's new quinque had too large an area of effect and was not suitable for coordinated combat.
Shinohara Yukinori and Kuroiwa Iwao, who were watching nearby, showed looks of amazement.
The Washuu bloodline was extraordinarily strong. As long as the family members ate steadily, they could become powerful kakuja.
Although simple, this had a fatal flaw: their combat experience was too poor.
Compared to kakuja who had fought their way up from the bottom, they were not much of a threat.
Even so, Suzuya Juuzou being able to solo two SS-level kakuja was still astonishing.
Shinohara Yukinori let out a light sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his face.
"At this rate, our side is basically done with the extermination."
Kuroiwa Iwao looked at the two corpses that were about to be completely burned by the flames and sighed.
"But it's really astonishing."
"Anyone with the Washuu surname is basically a kakuja. Truly an incredible power."
"It's hard to imagine how many of their own kind the Washuu have devoured. What an ugly family."
Shinohara Yukinori pressed the earpiece on his left ear, and Mado Kureo's voice came through.
He nodded and said in a deep voice.
"Understood."
Then he called Suzuya Juuzou and the others and headed toward the inner residence of the Washuu estate.
The sun gradually disappeared beyond the horizon, and a slightly cool breeze passed by.
It was already nearing spring, and the temperature was much better than before.
Explosions, screams, and furious investigators rampaged through the ancient architectural complex.
Uesugi Ryu stood with his hands behind his back atop the command vehicle.
He looked at the words "world limit" on the system panel and showed a thoughtful expression.
"Newbie world limit?"
Thinking of something, his expression suddenly became complicated.
He thought to himself, "One special draw... it can't be a cross-world teleportation gate, right?"
Uesugi Ryu hadn't even begun enjoying his life with wife, child, and a warm home yet, and it might already be ending. Countless thoughts ran through his mind.
An investigator walked out from the command vehicle and looked up to report to Uesugi Ryu.
"Special-Class Uesugi, the remaining Washuu forces inside the residence have all been exterminated!"
"The ghouls in the secret passage have been intercepted by Special-Class Aura and Special-Class Tanakamaru. Special-Class Shinohara is leading the first squad there."
Uesugi Ryu, however, had no mind to care about the battle situation anymore. He simply nodded lightly to indicate he understood.
...
The blood-red sunset slanted through the shattered dome, reflecting a dark red glow off the quinque blades.
Kaiko's body, nailed onto the spikes of a quinque, gradually turned cold, while the panting of the Zero Squad rose and fell amid the smoke.
Arima Kishou was covered in blood, and a large tear had been cut across the chest of his coat.
Clearly, this master-disciple battle ended in Arima Kishou's victory. Kaiko had not inflicted even the slightest injury on him.
The corpses of V Organization members lay scattered all around.
The members of Squad Zero all showed exhaustion, each of them heavily injured.
Six against thirteen. Although they had some advantage in equipment, having to fight one against two was still extremely dangerous.
If Arima Kishou had not finished Kaiko in time and come to support them, Squad Zero would have been completely annihilated by the V Organization.
"Thank you, Hirako, Ui."
Arima Kishou looked at Hirako Take and Ui Koori, who were resting against the wall, and thanked them in a low voice.
The purpose of this battle was to preserve the right of half-humans to survive.
Hirako Take and Ui Koori were both pure humans and had no real need to participate in this battle.
A helpless smile appeared on Hirako Take's calm face. His injuries were not serious, and he said lightly.
"As a subordinate, this is what I should do."
Ui Koori exhaled a ring of smoke that gradually dissipated. The bloodstained Hope-brand cigarette flickered between his fingers.
There was a gruesome wound on his thigh, still continuously bleeding.
A strip of white cloth was tied around the root of his thigh, barely serving as an emergency measure to stop the bleeding.
Amid the drifting smoke, he asked somewhat doubtfully.
"Arima-san, will he keep his promise?"
He had two reasons for joining this battle.
First, Arima Kishou was a teacher he respected. Second, he did not want to see Ihei Hairu and the others of Squad Zero die.
Even after learning they were half-humans, Ui Koori still could not let go of that bond.
Arima Kishou fell silent for half a second at those words. His bloodstained fingers twitched slightly, and then he answered immediately.
"He will. Definitely."
He was not familiar with Uesugi Ryu, and the cooperation between them was actually fragile.
Arima Kishou had no other choice. He could only place his hope in Uesugi Ryu and choose to believe in his promise.
As a leader, making such a decision was indeed rash, and he himself felt uneasy.
Ihei Hairu's originally cute face was now completely covered in blood.
Her left arm was bent in an extremely unnatural angle, hanging limply at her side.
Faced with such severe injuries, Ihei Hairu seemed not to care at all.
Instead, her eyes held a hint of anticipation.
She raised her head and looked straight at Arima Kishou, asking weakly.
"Arima-san... did I help you?"
Arima Kishou said nothing.
He walked to Ihei Hairu, slowly crouched down, and gently placed his hand on her head.
"Everyone did very well. You've all worked hard. Thank you, every one of you."
Ihei Hairu was almost the core of this battle. The electric current released by T-human had effectively blocked the advance of the V Organization.
Ui Koori was steadily losing blood. As he looked at Ihei Hairu, his eyes were filled with worry and heartache.
But his battered body could no longer support even a single step. He could only watch her like this.
A large number of footsteps approached. Arima Kishou subconsciously tightened his grip on Owl, and Hirako Take's body tensed slightly.
Both of them turned their heads at the same time toward the direction of the sound.
A medical team dressed in white quickly approached, led by First-Class Investigator Fura Taishi.
A subtle change flashed across Arima Kishou's face, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"You really do know everything..."