Everyone had gone mad—truly mad.
Not only the Ghouls, but even the Investigators were on the verge of losing their minds.
Almost at the same time Aogiri attacked Cochlea, the surrounding CCG branches also came under assault. Of course, these attacks weren't as overwhelming as the 11th Ward incident. Each branch was hit by only twenty or thirty Ghouls. They weren't strong—but after the previous disaster, none of the branches dared risk another collapse, so each was forced to leave behind some Investigators to defend their posts.
In the end, only the 21st and 22nd Wards—closest to the 23rd—arrived immediately. The 20th Ward, Lancer's branch, arrived a bit later. The 19th Ward was temporarily blocked by a group of Ghouls on the way.
Aogiri had deployed every Ghoul they could muster for this operation.
But none of that mattered to Lancer. Not now. His task was the enemy in front of him.
The Ghouls who appeared in Cochlea to attack Aogiri clearly came prepared. Their cloaks hid their builds, hiding their gender as well. And since "Rabbit" was unmistakably Kirishima Touka, the identities of the other four weren't hard to guess. One more stood at the very back, not speaking or moving—but Lancer knew that presence. That was their anchor: Yoshimura.
Two S-rated, three SS-rated—instantly the battlefield tilted into a one-sided slaughter. And yet—they weren't killing. Meanwhile Aogiri fought like demons, which maintained a strange equilibrium.
"Kill you! I'll kill you!! Anyone who stops me from avenging aniki—DIE!! AAAAAHHH!!"
Naki was the most deranged among them. Completely insane. His right shoulder had been pierced by Lancer, his body riddled with wounds from Touka's Ukaku. Yet the blood-soaked Ghoul still howled, swinging his Koukaku like a wounded beast and hurling himself at Touka again and again.
Touka didn't clash head-on. Using her speed, she drew him in circles, clearly intending to drain him with blood loss before landing a decisive blow.
The moment the roaring Naki staggered, Touka's eyes lit up behind her mask. Her fleeing steps suddenly shifted—her right foot pivoted sharply, and she launched herself toward him, faster than she'd been running.
Ukaku had the highest burst power among the four Kagune types, but its attacks weren't concentrated. Great for area destruction, terrible for single-target lethality. So Touka didn't bother with ranged attacks. She aimed to smash her wing directly into him at close range. But—
"Naki-aniki!!" ×2
No one expected it: the two huge men who hadn't revealed Kagune earlier—mistaken for humans—suddenly sprang up and lunged together to restrain Touka. She froze for an instant, then unleashed her Kagune without hesitation.
Dada—dada—dada—!
Her wing fired a barrage of crystals at the pair, but not a single shot struck. Behind them, two Bikaku suddenly unfolded, blocking everything.
Then the two attackers hurled their Kagune toward her.
Touka was forced to leap back, shaken by the unexpected ambush. They had never shown Kagune before—how were they manifesting it now? When she landed and looked again, she froze.
The two were kneeling.
"Guge!!"
"Gagi!!"
Compared to her, Naki reacted even more violently—because no one understood the brothers' condition better than he did.
Normally, Ghouls gather RC cells into a Kagune outside the body. That's how the organ works.
But Guge and Gagi… were different.
Where their Kagune extended, their flesh was torn open—raw, bloody. Their Kagune had forced themselves out from inside their bodies.
Already wounded, now bleeding heavily, their faces beneath their masks were ghostly pale. Even raising an arm was impossible. Remaining on hands and knees instead of collapsing fully was already their limit.
"Naki… aniki… please… let us call you that… one last time…"
"Jason… aniki is gone… please… stand strong…"
"Stop it! Don't talk!"
Naki pressed both hands over their wounds, face twisting into something monstrous. The tears he had held back now streamed uncontrollably.
Touka made no move to watch this sad scene. She tried to take advantage of their distraction—but the remaining white suits moved into formation, protecting Naki tightly. Touka found no opening. As for the other four from Anteiku?
Nishio Nishiki was busy holding his own line. The other three clearly intended this to be Touka's "field training"—so they didn't interfere. With Yoshimura behind them, they could afford it. But precisely because of that…
…Naki's side received a "chance."
A chance that he would have given anything to avoid.
"Please… let us finish."
"We two brothers… are trash among Ghouls… no Kagune… worthless… When our parents were… killed by the Doves…"
"…We would have starved… if you hadn't shared your food… with us, Naki-aniki…"
"So…"
"Please…"
"Eat us!! Let our bodies be of use to you!! It's the last thing we can do—please, live on!!" ×2
"Guge!! Gagi!!"
Naki cried their names again and again. But both brothers—unable to use their Kagune properly due to their condition—had already lost too much blood. What they'd spoken just now was their final burst of strength. They no longer responded. When Naki shook them, they collapsed fully.
Staring at the pool of blood spreading under them, Naki froze. Even the tears in his eyes seemed to forget to fall…
"Guge!! Gagi!!"
With a beast-like howl, he did something no one—not Lancer, not Touka—could have predicted.
He bent down and bit into his brothers' Kakuhou.
Splurt—!
Crunch—!!
With sickening sounds, Naki rose unsteadily, his face smeared in blood. Anyone would have thought he had gone fully mad. Eating your own comrades on the battlefield wasn't just abnormal—it was beyond even a Ghoul's twisted logic.
But—
"AAAAAHHH!!"
With a roar, he dropped to his knees, then rolled violently in the spreading pool of blood.
Then—
"BANG!!"
His right fist slammed into the metal floor, denting it deeply. His body was changing.
His blue Koukaku began to pulse—then multiply, spreading across his body in writhing growths…
A terrible premonition surged through everyone present.
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