The threat of death always followed a Ghoul.
Back when he had no strength, when he couldn’t eat and lay dying on the floor of an alleyway, he felt death winding around him slowly, like ivy.
When he was hunted by Ghoul Investigators, death took the form of a hound, relentlessly pursuing him, seeking to sink its teeth into his throat.
The day he first clashed with Kuzen, death appeared as a wall, or perhaps a giant whale.
He knew the entity had no intent to harm him, but he also knew that if it wished, it could crush him to death with overwhelming force.
And now, Koma Enji had encountered a new form of death.
It was simply pure white.
Like a thick, blinding fog.
He could not touch it, nor could he find a way out. By the time he regained his senses, it had already crept up in silence, swallowing everything around him.
He lashed out with his fist in a desperate struggle. That was all.
No matter how he screamed or flailed, the fog only scattered for a moment before settling back into place.
Then, that fog became a shapeless blade and pierced Enji’s side.
“Cough!!”
Enji spat blood and looked down at his flank.
The dark red Quinque longsword, which had appeared as fog, was buried deep in his side.
Holding the hilt was a boy dressed in a spotless school uniform rather than a white coat. In the eyes that gazed at Enji with such indifference, there wasn't even a trace of the usual killing intent.
He killed simply because there was a target to be cut down. There was no further thought. It was a sight that seemed too pure, yet far too terrifying.
Shrrk!
The moment Enji tried to counterattack by driving down his elbow, Arima had already completed his next move.
The Quinque lodged in Enji’s body was yanked out in a crescent arc, tearing through the skin of his abdomen. Intestines caught on the blade's edge spilled out of his belly.
He managed to prevent a total collapse of his organs by bracing them with his muscles, but unable to escape the damage, Enji staggered for a moment.
Naturally, Arima did not miss that opening.
As if planned from the start, without changing the sword’s direction or speed, he spun in a wide rotation and brought the blade down toward Enji’s neck.
Clang!!
At that dramatic instant, Kaya intervened, knocking the tip of the blade away. With her interference, Enji felt the fog of death that had been pressing in on him recede for a moment.
They had deliberately dragged in the Kakuja monster, and even Hitokawa—who was aiming for the back of the monster's head—specifically to disrupt Arima’s spacing.
“GRAAAAH!!”
“You monster bastard!! Your hide is disgustingly thick!!”
KRAKAKAK!
The Quinque blade dug in, but the Kagune armor was so dense that it failed to deal serious damage.
The monster, which had been chasing Kaya, rolled its eyes and glared at Hitokawa for slicing into its flesh.
Then, it swung a log-thick arm at him as he fell to the side after cutting across its back.
“……!!”
With no room to dodge in midair, Hitokawa crossed his twin Quinque blades. Just before he took the monster’s blow head-on, Arima cut in.
Thud!!
“KAAAH!!”
The longsword Arima threw pierced one of the monster’s eyes clean through.
He yanked Hitokawa back by the nape of his neck, pulling him out of the monster’s attack range, and just before retreating, he kicked the longsword lodged in the monster’s eye with the tip of his foot.
Spinning through the air, the sword landed precisely above Arima’s head as he touched down on a pipe. Catching it, Arima asked Hitokawa, “Are you all right?”
“……I could have blocked that attack even without your help.”
“I see.”
He said that, but if he had actually taken that blow, something in his body would have snapped. It was merely a grumble born of pride, wounded by being saved by a child.
Despite Hitokawa’s curt tone, Arima nodded calmly.
Put kindly, he was broad-minded; put less kindly, he simply didn't care what anyone thought of him.
With the monster blinded in one eye and Arima and Hitokawa having pulled back, there was a brief window to catch their breath. Kaya used that moment to speak.
“Hey, monkey. You still alive?”
“Tch... I almost died. I'm a complete mess...”
Enji muttered while forcing his spilled intestines back into his belly. If not for Kaya’s help, he would have been decapitated and parted ways with the world then and there.
Kaya narrowed her eyes, watching Arima.
Most of the wounds they had suffered had been inflicted by that boy. And yet, his breathing hadn't faltered once.
In a chaotic brawl where Ghouls and humans were tangled together, Arima’s presence was far too alien.
“That damn Investigator and that Kakuja monster are the only reason we’ve held out this long. If it had been one-on-one, we’d have been dead already.”
To them, Hitokawa and Arima seemed to have only just met. Their timing and coordination were completely off. Furthermore, because the Kakuja monster kept charging blindly, Arima was avoiding direct confrontation, likely because the beast was too durable to kill in a single blow.
These two factors combined to make Arima’s attacks—which should have flowed like interlocking gears—grind and stutter.
Ironically, the presence of Hitokawa and the Kakuja monster was prolonging Enji and Kaya’s lives.
But they had reached their limit. Their injuries were deep, and their stamina was spent.
If Arima continued his assault, they would not survive.
“At the very least, I’d like to get those two out of here...”
“......”
Kaya knew exactly who Enji meant by “those two.”
Takaki Koma and his daughter, Eto.
They had drawn a line, claiming they would only dip one foot into this world, but they were the ones who had reached out to help. Now, they had been dragged deep into the abyss and could not escape.
If they stayed, it was obvious they would be lumped in with the others and wiped out.
Even if the Investigators realized they weren't allies, there was no happy ending to be found.
A human protecting Ghouls and the Ghoul child he was raising—would a group dedicated to the extermination of Ghouls ever understand them?
The sewers were surrounded by Investigators, and Ghouls fleeing for their lives were scattered throughout like landmines.
Their own situation was hopeless, but the other side must be feeling a similar desperation.
“......Huh?”
Looking down without thinking, Kaya let out a blank sound.
She had expected Koma to have his head bowed in despair, but instead, he was looking up at them.
His face was hidden by a monkey mask, but the eyes visible through the gaps were not those of a broken man.
Rather, there was resolve. A burning light—the look of someone who intended to act.
“What is it? ...Huh?”
Enji followed Kaya’s gaze and made the same confused sound.
He didn't notice the look in Koma's eyes, but he spotted something strange at Koma’s feet.
A cross marked in blood.
It was a vivid symbol drawn with a significant amount of blood. Wondering where he had found it, Enji and Kaya noticed the severed limbs Arima had cut off lying right beside Koma.
After confirming they were watching, Koma thumped his own chest.
Trust me.
Then he pointed to the X he had drawn.
This area here.
He clenched his fist and made a forceful downward smashing motion.
Smash it apart!
Koma’s gestures were clear.
They had no idea why Koma was sending this message or what he was aiming for.
But to those on the verge of breaking, Koma’s unwavering eyes and that heat were like a lamp in the dark, something to cling to.
“I don’t know what he’s thinking, but he looks so desperate. Should we listen?” Kaya asked lightly.
Enji grinned. “Well, it’s either this or die trying.”
With a silent agreement, the two of them hurled themselves downward. Hitokawa was startled by their sudden movement.
“......! Are they trying to run?”
“......”
Arima tried to pursue them, but the enraged charge of the Kakuja monster stopped him. As if in revenge for the eye he had lost, the monster clasped both hands together and brought them down like a massive hammer.
“KYAAAH!!”
BOOOOM!!!!
Ignoring the explosive roar behind them, Enji and Kaya dropped onto the X Koma had marked.
As Enji wrapped his Bikaku around his fist, he shouted, “How big does the hole need to be!?”
“As big as possible! Big enough for all your subordinates to get through!”
“That’s going to be tough. I should’ve taken in fewer subordinates.”
After grumbling for a moment, Kaya also drew out her Ukaku, fixing its shape and thrusting it forward like a spear.
Enji and Kaya’s strikes fell onto the X simultaneously.
BOOOOM!!!!!
“Hm...?”
“What is that!?”
At the deafening blast and vibration, the Ghouls and Investigators locked in battle all turned their attention toward the noise.
The center of the chamber had caved in, revealing a hole large enough for a crowd of Ghouls to rush through. What lay beneath was hidden by thick darkness.
With dust billowing up from the floor, Koma shouted to the Ghouls, “Everyone, jump into the hole!!”
“What?”
“Why all of a sudden...?”
The Ghouls, unsure whether Koma was an outsider or an ally, panicked. But they could not ignore the voices of their leaders that followed.
“Get the injured and jump into the hole!”
“Those who can still fight, buy time until the injured are clear!”
No one dared disobey.
Those who still had strength stepped forward to hold off the Investigators, while the severely wounded were dragged by their comrades toward the hole.
Katsura, one of Enji’s subordinates, came running with several people slung over his shoulders and asked, “Boss! What’s under the hole?”
“I don’t know.”
“Huh?”
“That guy probably does.”
Enji pointed toward Koma, who was tying Eto tightly to himself with strips of torn clothing.
Katsura looked baffled. “No, you’re telling us to trust some random guy and jump into a hole when we don’t even know where it leads?”
“Trust him. He looks the part, but he’s reliable.”
“But he’s just a human! His experience with danger can't possibly compare to ours! Boss, you should be the one leading us out...”
Katsura’s words were logical, but Enji thought differently.
Ghouls were, in a sense, lions. Every day was a struggle for survival in a world of predator and prey, facing countless enemies.
Humans, by contrast, were rabbits. In strength and build, they were inferior. All they could do was avoid the strong and live quietly.
And yet, there was a rabbit living right in the middle of a pride of lions. That was Koma.
A rabbit without fangs or claws must put in a desperate, agonizing effort to overcome even the smallest danger. That struggle is far greater than that of a lion born to the jungle.
Enji and Kaya decided to bet on the experience he had gained by surviving such hardships.
“......!”
Sensing a shift in the air, they looked up. They saw Hitokawa and Arima striking at the Kakuja Ghoul’s shoulders.
Hitokawa’s Quinque had cut halfway through the shoulder before stopping against bone, but Arima had somehow completely severed the monster’s rock-hard shoulder.
The Ghoul staggered back, and Arima’s gaze snapped toward them. He had realized they were attempting to flee through the hole.
“Damn it! Enough complaining—get in there already! Staying here is just asking to be slaughtered!”
Thud!
“Ghk?!!”
Unaware that the reaper had already set his sights on them, Enji kicked a hesitating subordinate and looked back at Kaya.
After confirming the last injured Ghoul had jumped, she nodded to Enji.
“Good! Leave the Investigators alone! Focus on escaping!”
At her word, the remaining Ghouls rushed toward the hole.
The Investigators chased them, but the Ghouls were faster, throwing themselves into the opening.
Just as Enji, Kaya, Koma, and Eto were about to leap—
Bang!!
As if refusing to let them go, Arima’s figure shot forward like an arrow, kicking off the Kakuja monster’s back.
Enji and Kaya’s eyes widened in horror as they saw where that eerie longsword—no different from a reaper’s scythe—was headed.
““Danger!!””
The blade was aimed directly at Koma.
Koma, who had already leaned his upper body toward the hole, heard the shout and looked back. He saw the boy descending in a straight line toward him with an expression of utter indifference.
As Arima drew the Quinque back to swing, the orders he had received echoed in his mind.
If there is a Ghoul giving orders to Maen and Kuroinu, eliminate him first.
The order had been given with Kuzen in mind.
The command assumed that any Ghoul directing Enji and Kaya during the operation was surely Kuzen, hiding his identity as an ordinary Ghoul.
Enji and Kaya’s obedience to Koma had inadvertently made him the target.
Unaware of this, Enji and Kaya threw themselves forward, desperate to save Koma’s life.
But Koma was trapped in Arima’s range before they could reach him.
The moment Arima brought the Quinque down toward Koma’s head to execute the order—
Clang!!
With a metallic ring, the Quinque was knocked away.
The rebound forced the distance between Arima and Koma back apart.
Behind Koma’s back, Kagune wings had burst forth.
Eto, awakening at the perfect moment, had shielded Koma from the reaper’s killing blow.
“......”
After colliding with the Kagune, Arima felt a numbing sensation in his hand, and a flicker of surprise crossed his face. For a brief moment, he met Eto’s burning eyes through her mask.
Whoosh!
While he was still in midair, Eto drove a kick into his chest. Arima, unable to recover his Quinque in time after his arm had been knocked away, pulled the hilt of the longsword in front of his chest to block the strike.
Thud!!
The two collisions in the blink of an eye created a powerful rebound, lifting both Arima and Koma into the air.
Arima landed on the floor a short distance away, while Koma and Eto fell completely into the hole. Enji and Kaya jumped in after them.
“......”
After they vanished from sight, Arima looked down at his hand.
He stared at the lingering numbness in his palm for a long while.
***
“Gah!! What was that just now!? I almost died, didn't I!?”
As I fell into the darkness, I screamed, recalling the events of the last few seconds.
It had happened so fast that I was slow to process it, but I realized I had escaped death by a hair’s breadth.
“We’re not out yet! They’ll be after us any second!”
“Like you said, we fell into the hole! What do we do now!?”
“Ah! First, hold your breath! It won’t be good for your health if you breathe this in!”
““......Breathe what in?””
Enji and Kaya asked with blank expressions. Right after that—
Splash!
A grand splash was followed by the sound of tiny bubbles tickling my ears.
My soaked clothes and the weight of Eto on my back pressed down heavily, but I somehow managed to break the surface.
“Puhah!”
As I emerged, the voices of Ghouls echoed from all around.
“Boss! You made it!”
“Sis! But where is this? I can tell it’s a deep pool of water, but it’s sealed off on all sides.”
“Sealed off?”
At that, Kaya, who had also surfaced, turned to look at me. Her eyes were asking if this was actually the escape route.
It was only natural that the other Ghouls looked at me with suspicion; we had fled from Investigators only to end up in a sealed body of water where it was hard to even move.
I knew I had to explain quickly, or things would turn ugly. Not because of me, but because Eto would react to the unfriendly looks and cause a scene.
She had regained some consciousness, but she still couldn't distinguish people properly, and I could hear her low growling. The atmosphere was turning sour.
“This is a reservoir tank. Rainwater from the whole city collects here. Luckily, it happened to be right under the chamber we were in.”
“Luckily? Why? If it’s sealed off, how do we get out?”
“Because it’s a reservoir, obviously. It only opens on rainy days. When the floodgates open, the water drains all at once. We just have to ride that current out.”
“Really? Drains all at once... ...what?”
Kaya, repeating my words, asked again as if she had misheard.
The other Ghouls' expressions shifted as they began to understand. Their faces were twisting with fear.
Gugugung...!!
As if confirming their ominous thoughts, the water’s surface trembled and a loud rumble rolled through the tank.
It was the sound of the floodgates opening. In the previously still water, a current began to form.
At first, the flow was as slow as a turtle's crawl, but before long, it accelerated to the pace of a walking human.
Even I had to admit this was an extreme method.
There was enough water here to hide the bottom from sight. What happens when you open the floodgates in a place like that?
With an awkward smile, I looked at the eyes now fixed on me and said, “Well, let’s see if we survive this.”
“You crazy bas—”
Whatever one of the Ghouls muttered was cut short.
The fast-moving current had already become a raging torrent.
KWA-GA-GA-GA-GA-GA-BOOOOM!!!!
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