At the very moment when the crimson execution blade was about to sever Yukinori Shinohara's neck—
RUMBLE—!!!
A thunderous explosion far louder than every clash in the depths of Cochlea combined suddenly erupted from above.
The sound resembled the collapse of the sky itself.
It came from the very top of the prison.
Gate Zero.
The sudden shockwave rippled through the entire underground structure.
The floor trembled violently.
Metal structures groaned.
Ren's massive scarlet execution blade paused for an almost imperceptible instant.
The tremor disrupted the momentum of the killing strike.
At the same time—
Shinohara lost his balance due to the violent quake.
His armored body staggered sideways.
The crimson blade sliced past the side of his armor.
SHRRAAANG—!
Sparks exploded.
A deep scar appeared across the surface of the Arata armor, but the lethal blow missed its mark.
Cochlea — Temporary Control Room
"What happened?!"
The deputy warden nearly fell from his chair.
His face turned deathly pale.
His glasses slid halfway down his nose.
The monitor displaying Gate Zero flashed with the highest level of crimson alerts.
"Sir!"
A technician pointed at the screen.
His voice trembled uncontrollably.
"It's… it's coming!"
"Gate Zero… it's—"
Under the horrified gaze of everyone still fighting inside the prison—
The massive reinforced gate—
Constructed from heavy quinque steel—
Was torn apart.
Not opened.
Not destroyed.
Torn apart.
The alloy walls dozens of meters thick around it were ripped open like fragile paper.
Then—
A colossal shadow descended from the breach.
BOOM!!!
The creature landed in the center of the battlefield.
The ground shook violently.
A shockwave exploded outward.
Both ghouls and investigators near the landing point were thrown away like fallen leaves.
A monstrous roar followed.
ROOOOOAR—!!!
The creature that had arrived was none other than—
Eto Yoshimura
In her terrifying One-Eyed Owl kakuja form.
The effect was immediate.
Carnage reacted first.
The symbiote inside Ren ignited instantly.
Scarlet biomass erupted from his body like a tidal wave of blood.
It condensed rapidly.
Forming an enormous monstrous silhouette.
A giant crimson figure rose from the ground.
Its entire body writhing with living red matter.
Carnage roared.
ROOOOAR—!!!
The two colossal monsters faced each other.
Carnage leaned forward slightly.
Its massive mouth opened wide.
Rows of pale teeth gleamed.
Its white eyes locked onto the One-Eyed Owl.
Tentacles and claws spread around its body.
Ready to attack.
Meanwhile—
Shinohara struggled to his feet.
Retreating cautiously.
His mind struggled to process the scene before him.
Nearby—
Arata Kirishima stepped protectively in front of his son.
His expression had turned grim.
The pressure from the two monsters was overwhelming.
Both investigators and ghouls stopped fighting.
The battlefield fell silent.
Everyone watched the confrontation.
Then—
Something unexpected happened.
The One-Eyed Owl shifted its gaze.
For a brief moment—
It ignored Carnage entirely.
Its gaze locked onto Ayato Kirishima.
Without warning—
It moved.
A gigantic kagune arm shot forward.
So fast it blurred the air.
It did not attack Carnage.
It did not strike Arata.
Instead—
It grabbed Ayato.
"What—?!"
Ayato barely managed a shocked cry.
The enormous claw seized him effortlessly.
"AYATO!!!"
Arata lunged forward.
But another tentacle casually swept him aside.
The One-Eyed Owl leapt into the air.
Carrying Ayato like a small doll.
Its enormous body shot upward through the breach in the ceiling.
Disappearing into the night sky.
At the same moment—
All members of Aogiri Tree began retreating.
Like a tide suddenly receding.
They disengaged from combat instantly.
Each ghoul rushed toward their predetermined escape routes.
Carnage froze.
Clearly surprised by the sudden retreat.
Its attack that had been ready to launch halted mid-motion.
Instead—
It threw its head back.
And roared in frustration.
The One-Eyed Owl had already vanished.
Shinohara stood frozen.
Even he had not expected the enemy commander to withdraw so abruptly.
Within seconds—
The battlefield emptied.
Only a few frightened investigators remained.
Some ghoul prisoners who had failed to escape.
The massive crimson monster.
And Arata Kirishima lying on the ground in shock.
Carnage growled inside Ren's mind.
[…It just left…?]
Ren responded calmly.
"Otherwise what?"
"You can't fly."
"You can't catch it."
Carnage raged.
[DAMN IT!!]
It needed compensation.
It needed prey.
Its gaze shifted.
Toward the ghoul prisoners who had failed to escape.
Perfect substitutes.
Suddenly—
Carnage's massive back erupted with countless scarlet tentacles.
Each as thick as a human arm.
They shot forward faster than the eye could follow.
Like a storm of crimson spears.
PFFFT! PFFFT! PFFFT!
Each tentacle pierced a fleeing ghoul instantly.
Bodies were lifted into the air.
Blood sprayed like fountains.
Then—
The tips of the tentacles opened.
Revealing grotesque circular mouths.
They latched onto the ghouls' kagune sacs.
Tearing.
Ripping.
Extracting.
Screams filled the chamber.
The pain of having a kagune sac forcibly removed alive was unimaginable.
The bodies twisted violently.
Blood soaked the metal floor.
One by one—
Their kagune sacs were pulled free.
The crimson tentacles devoured them greedily.
Under the cold lights of Cochlea—
The extracted kagune sacs gleamed darkly.
Wrapped in blood and mucus.
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