I woke up feeling a little masochistic today. So hit me with your power stones!
With 100 power stones, there will be a bonus chapter
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This is the first time I'm facing many ghouls at once.
Well, not that many. Just three now that I killed two. But still, for a CCG investigator they would undoubtedly be considered lethal, or at least for investigators who aren't very skilled yet. After all, these ghouls themselves don't reach A rank.
They're common ghouls. Probably B rank.
But still, they could tear apart novice investigators without any problem.
The three remaining ghouls realize they can't escape and are frozen in place, eyes wide open seeing my Rinkaku tentacles writhing behind me.
"N-No way..."
"A ghoul with two kagunes? How is that possible?!"
"A Chimera!"
Their faces look uglie than someone who just ate shit. It's funny seeing them this way.
From the frequencies they emit, they seem even more desperate to escape since I feel fear emanating from them. But as I said before, I won't give them that privilege because they are my fertilizer.
Two of my tentacles suddenly elongate and pass over the ghouls' heads before embedding themselves deep into the tunnel ceiling.
The ghouls are confused and exchange glances, seeming to wonder if I missed and my aim is that bad.
"W-What...?"
I smile under my oni mask and withdraw the two tentacles.
—Crack! Crash! Boooom!
Large chunks of ceiling fall heavily and the tunnel rumbles with the impact while enormous rocks completely block the way they came from. Dust rises and fills the air, making the dark environment turn gray and hazy.
The ghouls suddenly realize what I've done.
"F-fuck!"
"He trapped us!"
"If we want to escape, the only thing we can do is face him and kill him!"
They sharpen their gazes and their eyes shine with determination before bringing out their own kagunes.
—Splash! Splash! Splash!
I quickly slide my eyes over them and analyze what type of users they are. One has a bikaku materialized in form of a tail. Another has a koukaku that resembles an enormous crimson shield sprouting from his shoulder. And the last has a rinkaku, which takes the form of several tentacles.
The one I killed before had ukaku.
Heh... Taking that into account, then these were organized forming a team of the four types of standard kagune users. Ukaku for long-range attacks, koukaku for defense and tank, bikaku for balance and versatility, and rinkaku for close-range attack and regeneration.
Actually, it could be considered a pretty functional team, but the ukaku's already dead so they're left without a complete team.
My gaze stops briefly on the Rinkaku user. Generally those of this type regenerate fast and if you give them time they can start breaking the combat rhythm. Taking that into account, he's the one who must die first.
One of the ghouls steps forward. The Koukaku one wielding a heavy shield.
"Come on! We can take him if we work together!"
Though this type of user tends to be slow due to the weight of their kagune, they are the backbone of the team since they can defend, cover, and block routes to allow their teammates to attack without worrying about being flanked. As long as they are alive, the battle will continue, but since they don't have much attack power, they won't kill the enemy quickly.
Unlike the other types of kagunes, the bikaku kagune user doesn't excel at anything since it's not the strongest or the fastest, however for many it's the most stable since it's balanced and very versatile.
Since I've already fought against these types of users many times during this time, I've accumulated a lot of information about their strong points and weak points. If I were a normal or even experienced CCG investigator who found himself in this situation, I'd sweat with worry and maybe would have died.
But I'm not one. I'm a predator and they are prey.
As expected, the ghoul with Rinkaku attacks first and his tentacles launch toward me.
—Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
He has fewer tentacles than me and they don't seem to have black scales that make them hard much less electricity running along his kagune. After all, electricity is something I obtained thanks to consuming a quinque.
I look at the direction of the tentacle pointing at my heart and it seems to move in slow motion from my perspective, since my improved perception makes everything look slower. Without retreating, one of my own tentacles intercepts the attack.
—Clang!
Our kagunes clash and the ghoul's eyes shine for a moment.
"Now!"
He uses his other tentacle that point at my neck and my stomach, but at that moment the flesh of the enemy's tentacle that's connected with mine begins to swell and deform grotesquely before opening.
—Splash! Splash! Splash!
Then mouths appear along the organ, dozens of mouths full of sharp teeth biting each other and devouring the kagune from within.
—Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!
The ghoul seeing what's happening to his kagune releases a shriek and soon emits screams of pain.
"W-Nani?!"
"AAAAAAHHH! M-MY KAGUNE! MY KAGUNE!"
The mouths devour his tentacle quickly.
He probably won't bother now that his kagune is being eaten, however I know this will make the mouths eat the kakuhou eventually, which I can't allow since I need that kakuhou intact.
So I emit the frequency from my brain and manipulate the mouths to leave the kagune and go for the main body. The mouths obey and crawl from the tentacle toward the ghoul's torso before appearing on his chest, on his arms, on his stomach, all biting him from within.
"Gyaaaaah!"
His screams of a pig being sacrificed are pleasant to my ears.
"One down."
I say while the rinkaku ghoul collapses on the floor and his body writhes in agony while the mouths devour him.
The bikaku user seizes that instant and launches from the side with his tail pointing directly at my neck.
—Whoooosh!
Moving fast from a blind spot. For him it's probably his best attack, but for me, who has sharp senses, his movement is predictable. I turn my torso enough to dodge it and his tail passes centimeters from my neck.
—Swoosh!
At the same time, another of my tentacles covered with lightning shoots out with electricity sparking along its length before piercing the ghoul's right chest.
—Clissshhh! Booom!
I pin him against the tunnel wall and the impact makes ceilings and floors tremble.
"Gha...!"
Blood spurts from his mouth while his eyes open enormously, and when my tentacle leaves his chest there's a large hole through which I can see the wall behind. But as a ghoul, he has great vitality and is still alive.
"Two down."
The koukaku kagune user roars.
"Damn bastard!"
He advances toward me while his shield hardens even more until the surface becomes shiny and crystalline. He probably thinks his defense makes him untouchable and that he can withstand anything I throw at him. It's possible he also knows he can't escape and the only thing he can do is attack, even if he knows he doesn't have enough strength to defeat me.
I must say he's brave, and at the same time stupid.
Rinkaku user at that moment has an unrecognizable body, flesh bitten from inside with holes everywhere and blood covering the floor. I cancel the ability cause I don't want them to eat his heart or his Kakuhou.
With him dead, I walk forward while my steps echo in the tunnel.
—Tap... tap... tap...
Smiling, a tentacle extends from my back and moves slowly. The koukaku user thinks my attack is coming for him and prepares to block it while raising his shield.
"You won't touch me!"
However, my tentacle dodges him and passes over his shield before going straight to the bikaku user who's kneeling by the wall.
—Fwoosh! Splash!
It enters through his open mouth and the ghoul can't even scream while the tentacle pierces his throat and exits through the nape.
—Squelch!
Blood and pieces of flesh splash before I withdraw my tentacle and the kneeling ghoul's body falls forward.
I look at the one remaining, the koukaku user, and mock him.
"Only you're left. How do you want to die? Have your own flesh devour you? Decapitated? Dismembered? Or do you prefer I eat you alive? I give you the privilege of choosing."
The ghoul's expression is dark and at the same time pale since fear is finally catching up to him and his shield trembles slightly. Then he fakes a smile that's pathetic.
"W-Wait... wait..."
He raises a hand.
"C-Can you let me go? I can... I can exchange it for information you want!"
I bring a hand to my chin as if considering it, and from under my oni mask I put on a smile.
"Information I want, huh..."
Seeing that I'm suddenly interested, the ghoul recovers some joy.
"Y-Yes! Whatever you want! I can tell you about territories, or, or, or about powerful ghouls, about—!"
"Then..."
I interrupt his desperate babbling.
"What am I?"
The ghoul is stunned.
"W-What...?"
"What am I?"
I ask again with a calm voice.
The ghoul blinks.
"A-A ghoul... right?"
He responds with his head tilted, as if it were obvious.
I shake my head slowly.
"Wrong."
In an instant I disappear from where I am using my explosive speed and my body becomes blurred before appearing next to the ghoul so fast he can't even react. His eyes barely have time to open when my fingers transform, the nails elongate and harden becoming sharp.
—Scruush!
The koukaku that should be impenetrable I pierce effortlessly before penetrating his chest. My fingers close around something pulsating, hot and wet.
"Gh... gha..."
Mr. ghoul makes a weak sound while blood spurts from his mouth, and I rip his heart from his chest.
Blood drips from it while it still beats in my hand. The ghoul collapses, his shield vanishes and his body falls into the foul-smelling puddle.
I look at the heart in my hand.
"I'm something much better than a ghoul."
I murmur to myself before bringing it to my mouth and biting.
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20 advanced chapters on Pa-treon.
pa-treon.com/OlwinMoriarty