He was a repulsive human.
Of all the people I had encountered in my life, I was certain I would never meet another soul as grating as this one. He was supposed to be a nobody—a convenient scapegoat to pin my hunting blunders on. But I had pulled the ultimate losing ticket.
This man refused to die quietly. He refused to even consider the concept of giving up.
In the police car, in the villa, in the alleyway... he had stared death in the face three times already. And each time, he had made a fool out of me and crawled back into the world of the living.
Persistent, persistent, persistent, persistent, persistent!
A mere human, a mere human, a mere human, a mere human!
Why won't you just be eaten? Why do you keep struggling? Why do you keep standing against me?! I am a Ghoul! I am a higher being, a predator designed to consume your kind!
So why won't you yield? Why do you still believe you can win!
It's disgusting! You're truly…! You're truly…!
"...You're truly a goddamn repulsive piece of trash!!!!!!!"
The enraged Ghoul lunged, his Koukaku spiraling around both arms, expanding in mass as he charged.
The Q Bullet. It was a weapon designed to level the playing field, but it was far from a decisive one. Aside from a Quinque, it was the only thing capable of dealing genuine damage to a Ghoul's iron-like flesh, but it lacked terminal stopping power. Because a Ghoul Investigator's Quinque was far more efficient, Q Bullets were usually only issued for emergency self-defense.
Unless the brain or the Kakuhou was struck, a Ghoul wouldn't die instantly. Even a shot to the heart was merely an agonizing wound that would eventually regenerate.
Knowing he only had to protect his upper torso and head, the Ghoul shielded his vitals with the Koukaku wrapped around his arms and barreled toward Koma like a maddened bull.
The distance was twenty meters.
As the Ghoul's feet left the pavement, Koma's pistol spat fire.
𝘉𝘢-𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘨―――――!!!!
"𝘒𝘩𝘩𝘩!!"
The frustrated groan came from Koma. The bullet missed entirely, whistling uselessly into the empty air. A firearm possesses far more recoil than an amateur would expect; for someone holding a gun for the first time, let alone with one arm shattered, accuracy was a fantasy.
'One shot gone!'
As the gun's original owner, the Ghoul knew exactly how many rounds were left. It was a six-shot revolver. One warning blank, two standard human rounds, and three Ghoul-tier Q Bullets. The Ghoul had already used the blank and the human rounds himself. Those wouldn't do much to him anyway; the only things to fear were the Q Bullets.
One had just been wasted. Only two remained.
He only had to survive two more shots.
The Ghoul's predatory leg strength closed the gap in a single breath. When the distance dropped below ten meters, Koma fired the second round.
𝘉𝘢-𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘨―――――!!!!
"𝘒𝘢𝘩!!"
This time, the scream belonged to the Ghoul.
With the distance closed, even an amateur like Koma could find his mark. While the Koukaku is the sturdiest of all Kagune, Koma wasn't aiming for a hidden vital. He was aiming for 기동력—mobility.
The Q Bullet tore a clean ventilation hole through the Ghoul's left knee. He lost his balance, his momentum threatening to send him tumbling face-first into the concrete.
But he didn't go down alone. They were only four or five meters apart now. It was a distance no human arm could reach, but a Ghoul had better tools.
The Koukaku wrapped around his right arm uncoiled, extending like a jagged lance directly toward Koma's chest.
𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩!!!
Koma threw his upper body back, the Kagune grazing his shirt in a deadly blur. He rolled to the side and leveled the pistol at the Ghoul, who had finally collapsed onto the ground.
By extending his Koukaku, the Ghoul had left his head completely exposed.
Koma's finger tightened on the trigger for the final, lethal shot.
𝘒𝘢-𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘮!!!
"...!?"
Another Koukaku erupted from the concrete floor.
It was the second Kagune from the Ghoul's other arm. The moment he had hit the ground, he had plunged it through the floorboards to the level below, only to have it burst upward beneath Koma's feet.
Koma avoided a direct hit, but it wasn't a victory. He bit his lip, staring at the pistol in his hand. White smoke drifted from the barrel. The shock of the ground attack had forced his hand, and the final bullet had been discharged into the ceiling.
The Ghoul's mocking laughter grated against Koma's ears.
"𝘒𝘶𝘬𝘶𝘬𝘶… You've spent your last bullet."
Limping on his mangled left leg, the Ghoul stood up. Two jagged strands of Koukaku writhed from his arms, flanking Koma like twin serpents.
"Let's end this tedious game of tag!!"
Just as he prepared to swing both Kagune to crush Koma into paste, Koma looked past him and screamed.
"Now, Eto!!"
"...?!!!"
A chill ran down the Ghoul's spine.
Right. In his obsession with the Q Bullets, he had momentarily forgotten the more dangerous predator in the room. He had thought her too injured to move, but… what if the human's attack was merely a distraction? What if the real strike was coming for his exposed back?
"𝘈𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘨𝘩!!!"
He wrenched his Koukaku back, swinging the massive tentacles in a desperate arc behind him.
𝘞𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘩!!!
But he hit only air. There was no impact. No weight.
"What…!"
He whipped his head around, but there was no attack. Eto had spent every ounce of her RC cells and stamina in the previous bout. She was barely dragging herself out of the wreckage of the wall, her back a map of agony. She wasn't in any condition to launch an assault.
"You tricked m—!!"
"What kind of parent wants their kid's hands covered in blood?!"
By the time he turned back, Koma had already closed the distance.
Koma's burning gaze pierced the Ghoul's eyes from point-blank range. Like a boxer throwing a desperate upper-cut, he swung his arm from low to high—but it wasn't a fist at the end of his reach. It was the pistol.
The barrel was jammed firmly under the Ghoul's chin.
"!!!"
In that instant, a realization struck the Ghoul.
The "first shot" Koma had "missed"... what if it wasn't a mistake? What if he had fired it on purpose?
If that first shot had been a standard human round, then the bullet currently resting in the chamber beneath the Ghoul's jaw was…!!
"W-Wait…!!!"
"Checkmate, you son of a bitch."
Koma's lips curled into a smirk as he squeezed the trigger.
𝘉𝘈-𝘉𝘈𝘈𝘈𝘈𝘈𝘈𝘈𝘈𝘕𝘎―――――――――!!!!!!!
The bullet tore through the Ghoul's jaw, shredded his brain, and erupted through the crown of his skull. A single, violent fountain of blood sprayed the ceiling before his body slumped to the floor.
"𝘏𝘢𝘩! 𝘏𝘢𝘩! 𝘏𝘢𝘩! 𝘏𝘢𝘩!"
𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘥!
I stared at the Ghoul's cooling corpse, trying to steady my breathing, before my own strength gave out and I collapsed beside him. I had dismantled plenty of bodies in my time, but I had never actually killed a living being.
The psychological weight of the act, combined with the explosive exhaustion of the day's trauma, made it nearly impossible to keep my eyes open.
'I have to deal with the body… find a hospital… reach Hitokawa…'
The list of things to do was overwhelming, but my body refused to cooperate. If I was going to prioritize, I had to check on Eto—
𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘣!!
"!?!!"
Suddenly, the scar on my right arm flared with a searing pain. There was only one reason for this sensation. I couldn't understand it.
Why? The Ghoul is dead. Why do I still feel a gaze looking at me like prey?
Was there another enemy left?
Driven by survival instinct, I forced my twitching arm to brace against the floor and pushed my upper body up. I looked around, searching for the source of the threat.
"…Eto."
"𝘎𝘳𝘳𝘳… 𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘩…!"
It was a sound like a wounded animal.
Eto was crawling toward me from the wreckage. But she was no longer the Eto I knew. Reason had vanished from her bloodshot eyes. Her mouth was torn wide in a predatory snarl, revealing rows of sharp teeth, and thick saliva dripped from her chin. Her claws dug into the concrete with a terrifying grip as she dragged herself forward, leaving a trail of blood from her mangled back.
The fight with the officer had left her with a horrific aftereffect.
The excessive use of her Kagune had plunged her into a "starvation state," and the massive wound on her back had triggered her primal Ghoul instincts. Eto was currently suffering from a void-like hunger while her body screamed for the nutrients needed to heal.
I knew the only way those two needs could be met simultaneously.
『To feed.』
She wasn't the daughter who called me "Daddy" anymore. She was a Ghoul, and I was her prey.
"…Whew. Mr. Kuzen. Raising a kid really is a lot of work."
I let out a long, weary sigh and thought of Mr. Kuzen, who was likely currently engaged in a bloody battle with that "Organization" somewhere else in the city.
In that time, Eto had reached my side.
If she lunged, she would tear me apart. I couldn't expect "restraint" from a starving child. So, I simply sighed again.
"Eto."
In my usual voice, I called her name.
I opened my arms wide.
"Come here."
Bite me if you want to bite.
Eat me if you must.
Even if you tear out my entrails and chew through my bones...
I will hold you and tell you that I love you.
Because that is the absolute minimum of "love" I can offer you.
"𝘎𝘳𝘳𝘳𝘳… 𝘈𝘈𝘈𝘈𝘈𝘈𝘈𝘈𝘈𝘈𝘈𝘈𝘏!!!!"
Did a shred of her consciousness understand my "permission"?
After a fleeting moment of hesitation, Eto bared her teeth and lunged.
𝘚𝘱𝘭𝘶𝘶𝘶𝘶𝘳𝘵!!!
A spray of crimson erupted.
And so, on the cold, grey floor, a warm, red flower began to bloom.