Akira Mado initially did not know what was happening, but when she carried her Quinque and rushed towards the core area, she finally realized what had happened. A group of blood-red monsters were fighting the stationed Investigators, and there were also many corpses of civilians and ordinary Investigators nearby. The Investigator squad, which was left with only four people, also seemed precarious.
But just as she prepared to step forward to help, those monsters discovered her presence in advance, and one of them turned around and rushed towards her directly.
"Snap~"
Akira Mado, holding the whip handle with one hand and grabbing the whip body with the other, originally intended to block the opponent's attack, but her expression changed the moment the two sides crossed, because she found that she couldn't resist at all.
"Bang!!"
The fist forcefully smashed a small crater into the ground, and Akira Mado stared ahead with an ugly expression.
If she hadn't let go and shifted her body sideways in time just now, she would probably have been hit directly in the chest, right? And looking at the condition of the ground, she roughly knew what the outcome of being hit in the chest would be.
"First Class Mado! Although these monsters don't have Kagune, their physical capabilities and reaction speed are even stronger than Ghouls. Please be careful!"
Perhaps recognizing Akira Mado's identity, one of the middle-aged male Investigators loudly reminded her, but before he could finish speaking, he was targeted by the enemy again and had to dodge.
If the most terrifying thing about Ghouls was the diversity of their Kagune. Theoretically, no two Ghouls' Kagune are completely identical. This means there is no reference sample when facing an opponent, which tests the Investigators' ability to adapt on the spot, but the characteristics of these 'Dragon Remnants' were extremely similar.
Tough bodies, immense strength, and decent sensory abilities despite lacking eyes and ears…
More crucially, these guys were not afraid of death at all, fighting completely with a strategy of trading injuries, which was simply disgusting.
After her whip was almost grabbed by the opponent, Akira Mado had no choice but to change her combat strategy. After all, once her Quinque was grabbed by the opponent, she would probably truly be powerless to resist.
She switched the whip handle, and a rapier appeared on the other side. Undoubtedly, she intended to abandon the ineffective mid-range combat style and switch to close combat. In the few rounds of fighting just now, she had barely understood the opponent's strength, and she was somewhat confident in dealing with such an opponent.
But just at this moment —
"Whoosh~ Whoosh~ Whoosh~"
A sound of air being cut through suddenly came from behind her. Several Ukaku, like ice crystals, attacked Akira Mado's back. This sudden attack made her hurriedly turn around to block, but when she turned around, she saw a relatively small 'Dragon Remnant' whose right hand was pinned to the ground, and the opponent was only less than three meters away from her.
Due to paying attention to her back, the 'Dragon Remnant' in front of Akira Mado also found an opportunity. It rushed straight towards Akira Mado like a battle tank. With its arms spread open, it seemed to want to hug Akira Mado and then forcefully crush her in half.
But just at this moment, another surprised shout came.
"Watch out!"
Four huge Kagune descended from the sky, forcefully restraining the four limbs of that 'Dragon Remnant', and although Akira Mado froze for a moment, she instinctively stabbed the opponent's head with the rapier in her hand. However, what was unbelievable was that even with its head pierced, this 'Dragon Remnant' did not die immediately. Instead, it struggled violently. Akira Mado decisively pulled out the rapier and then beheaded it with one swing.
And it was not just Akira Mado who had Ghouls helping her. Ghouls also appeared around the other Investigators. They swung their Kagune to restrain, interfere, or even directly eliminate the 'Dragon Remnants' that were besieging the Investigators.
Although less than ten Ghouls appeared, the remaining four 'Dragon Remnants' were still instantly eliminated. It should be noted that the squad had previously sacrificed eight members to eliminate five 'Dragon Remnants' that appeared.
It was only at this time that she realized that the Ghoul who helped her was somewhat familiar.
"Hinami Fueguchi?"
Akira Mado had specifically investigated Ryouko Fueguchi because she was interested in Lancer 'aesthetics' back then. The conclusion she reached was that although the opponent was a Ghoul, her personality was very much like the traditional Yamato Nadeshiko of Neon, belonging to the type of mature woman who could give men a sense of security. During this period, she inevitably noticed Hinami Fueguchi, as Hinami Fueguchi was Ryouko Fueguchi's daughter.
Although Akira Mado did not study the opponent's personality much, as she thought Lancer wouldn't make a move on a middle school girl, she was deeply impressed by the opponent's Kagune. The two types of Kagune inherited from her parents gave her a versatile attacking style.
And Hinami Fueguchi, wearing a mask on the other side, froze when she heard Akira Mado's shout, and then took off her mask.
"Ms. Mado, long time no see."
The Fueguchi mother and daughter were under monitored residence, and Akira Mado, as an executor, had visited their house several times to inspect (and observe Ryouko Fueguchi on the side), so the two sides were actually acquainted, but Hinami Fueguchi felt that Akira Mado was full of pressure at this time.
Because Lancer had left before, Akira Mado actually didn't pay too much attention to her, or rather, she knew that caring was meaningless, but now that Lancer had returned, she found that the formerly flat-chested middle school girl seemed to have grown into a voluptuous high school girl after three years, and she herself was already 24 years old…
Akira Mado fell into a momentary daze due to her age, but fortunately, she did not forget that she was currently on a battlefield.
"Why are you here?"
Although Akira Mado did not genuinely interrogate her, her cold expression and the subtle 'hostility' made Hinami Fueguchi feel somewhat uncomfortable.
But just at this moment, a tall figure blocked in front of Hinami Fueguchi.
"The Owl?!"
Akira Mado immediately retreated and pointed her rapier at the opponent, gripping the hilt with both hands, almost the instant the opponent appeared.
But Yoshimura seemed completely unfazed by Akira Mado's hostility, or rather, he had already mentally prepared himself when he made the decision to go to Rushima Island.
"First Class Mado, there is no need to be too vigilant. Our appearance this time is not to cause you trouble, or rather, we are here to help you."
"?"
Seeing Akira Mado's reaction, Yoshimura was stunned instead.
"Don't you know?"
"Know what?"
"Monsters like these have appeared all over Tokyo."
"!!!"
Yoshimura's words made everyone present widen their eyes.
No one expected Nimura Furuta to be so insane as to spread the 'Dragon Virus' throughout Tokyo, but strangely, according to Yoshimura, the number of 'Dragon Remnants' that appeared in other areas was very limited. What exactly was Nimura Furuta thinking?