Rain poured over the rooftops of Tokyo as Max appeared on top of a tall building overlooking the city.
Neon lights reflected across wet streets far below while distant sirens echoed through the night.
Max slowly looked around.
"…Ah."
He shoved his hands into his coat pockets.
"Tokyo Ghoul."
The atmosphere alone made it obvious.
Dark.
Heavy.
Hungry.
He could practically feel the fear hidden beneath the city.
Max exhaled slowly.
"Well, this is different."
He stretched slightly while standing at the edge of the roof.
"Magic barely exists here…"
He smiled faintly.
"So I won't use it."
Honestly, he welcomed the restriction.
It had been a while since he relied mostly on physical ability instead of overwhelming supernatural power.
"I should brush up on my hand-to-hand skills anyway."
Rain rolled down his face as he closed his eyes briefly.
"But first…"
A faint grin appeared.
"…I want a Kagune."
He activated his Universal Sense.
His awareness spread across the city like invisible threads.
Humans.
Ghouls.
Investigators.
Fear.
Violence.
Death.
Then—
There.
A Ghoul dying nearby.
Max vanished from the rooftop.
A few moments later—
He stood in a narrow alley filled with blood.
A Ghoul investigator had already left the scene.
The corpse lying nearby was fresh.
Recently killed.
Max crouched beside it.
"Sorry about this."
He placed a hand on the body.
Then activated Beelzebub.
The corpse dissolved instantly into dark energy and was absorbed into Max's body.
At the same time—
Raphael activated automatically.
Raphael:
"Analyzing biological structure."
"Optimizing integration."
Pain surged through Max's spine.
Then—
Several Kagune burst from his back simultaneously.
Ukaku.
Koukaku.
Rinkaku.
Bikaku.
All at once.
Max blinked.
"…Oh."
That wasn't supposed to happen.
The Kagune shifted again, reshaping fluidly into different forms.
Blades.
Tentacles.
Wings.
Armor.
Max stared at them in fascination.
"Raphael…"
Raphael:
"Optimization successful. User may freely combine and alter all Kagune types."
Max whistled softly.
"…That's broken."
Voices suddenly echoed nearby.
Human investigators approaching.
Max immediately vanished back onto the rooftops before they arrived.
Later—
Max stood atop another building testing his new abilities.
The Kagune moved almost instinctively now.
Fast.
Violent.
Adaptive.
Honestly?
He loved it.
Then suddenly—
Roo appeared beside him holding a cup of coffee.
Max didn't even react anymore.
"…You know," he said while reshaping his Kagune into wings, "normal people knock first."
Roo smiled innocently.
"I came to apologize."
Max stopped immediately.
"…That's suspicious."
Roo ignored him and handed him a cup of coffee too.
"I tried sending you back to your old universe as a gift."
Max accepted the coffee cautiously.
"…And?"
"I forgot about the leftover ashes from the power you borrowed earlier."
Max slowly lowered the cup.
"…Of course you did."
Roo shrugged.
"It interfered with the dimensional transfer."
Max sighed deeply.
"How many more universes do I have to go through before I finally get home?"
Roo thought for a moment.
"One or two more."
Max groaned.
"But," she added quickly, "only about a day will pass overall."
That at least made things better.
Max took a sip of the coffee.
"…Good."
He shifted partially into a Ghoul form while thinking.
Red eyes.
Sharper nails.
Kagune flexing behind him.
Then he looked toward Roo suspiciously.
"Why are you here before the disaster this time?"
"You usually wait until after things explode to apologize."
Roo grinned.
"Well…"
"I negotiated with Brother God."
Max nearly dropped the coffee.
"…You negotiated?"
"You never negotiate."
Roo looked extremely proud of herself.
"I had a brilliant idea involving Angel Dust."
Max's expression darkened instantly.
"Don't."
"If you hurt him—"
"Relax," Roo interrupted. "I didn't hurt him."
She casually drank from her own cup.
"Through negotiations, all I could really offer was a wish contract."
Max narrowed his eyes.
"…What did you do?"
Roo smiled brightly.
"He's probably female by now."
Silence.
Rain continued falling.
Max stared at her blankly.
"…How."
"Why."
Roo shrugged.
"It's not like he was using the male parts anyway."
Max covered his face with one hand.
"Oh my god."
"And," Roo added cheerfully, "I borrowed and modified one of your harem contracts."
Max immediately looked horrified.
"You WHAT?"
"The loyalty aspects were tricky," Roo admitted. "So I made a few modifications."
She leaned closer teasingly.
"You now get an exclusive hole—"
"I DID NOT NEED TO KNOW THAT."
Roo burst out laughing.
Max looked physically exhausted.
"…I can't undo that without hurting him, can I?"
"Nope."
Max sighed heavily.
"And he's still under Valentino."
Roo suddenly looked more serious.
"Actually…"
"I do have good news."
Max looked up cautiously.
"After the Vees are dealt with…"
Her eyes glowed slightly.
"You're allowed to kill them."
Max blinked.
"…Allowed?"
"There'll be a mark only you can see."
"A sign that they're no longer protected by narrative stability."
Max slowly processed that.
Then smiled.
A very dangerous smile.
"…Good."
Roo stood up.
"Well, I should go."
She stretched casually.
"Have fun in Tokyo."
Then vanished instantly.
Leaving Max alone again beneath the rain.
He stared out across the city lights silently for a moment.
Then his Kagune slowly spread behind him once more.
"…One or two more universes…"
He sighed.
"Fine."
Then he leapt from the rooftop into the darkness below.