"Too bad, I thought it was another treasure chest." Su Xiao lightly tapped the ground with the long knife in his hand, his bare upper body stained with large patches of blood. That was the blood of the beautiful Rishi, whom he had previously wounded in the abdomen, causing a significant amount of blood to spill.
"Et, hold him off," a deep voice came from Dodo Ryo. Among the Qing Tong trees, he was one of the few who knew the true identity of Takatsuki Izumi.
"You guys take Rishi and go first."
Takatsuki Izumi stared at Su Xiao, her expression very serious.
Dodo Ryo frowned. "Is it really necessary?"
"It is necessary. This human is nothing but a monster."
Takatsuki Izumi took off her top, revealing her body wrapped in bandages, clearly ready to fight Su Xiao.
"Understood, let's go, Ayato, Noro."
Dodo Ryo no longer hesitated. With Ayato Kurogane present, Takatsuki Izumi couldn't reveal her true form.
As for Noro, he also understood Takatsuki Izumi's identity; he was her adoptive father.
"Hey, are we just going to run away like this? This guy just killed a gecko!" Ayato Kurogane, in immense pain, was very unhappy since Su Xiao had almost killed him earlier.
Dodo Ryo remained silent, merely watching Ayato Kurogane. Feeling uncomfortable under Dodo Ryo's gaze, Ayato Kurogane finally snorted and turned his head away.
"Crash."
The sound of shattering glass caught everyone's attention. It turned out that Rishi, having recovered somewhat, chose to escape through the window.
This place was over ten meters high from the ground, and Rishi had no choice but to jump.
If caught by the Qing Tong tree, she wouldn’t die, but her fate wouldn’t be good. If caught by Su Xiao, she would definitely die, so Rishi chose to jump.
"Bang."
A loud noise came from below, followed by the sound of a car alarm blaring.
Su Xiao ignored the others and quickly ran to the window, just in time to see the ragged Rishi fleeing.
Rishi had taken a hard fall but managed to escape quite far, quickly disappearing into a dark alley.
She got away. The prey had escaped.
The smile on Su Xiao's face gradually faded, and he gripped the hilt of his knife, the Dragon Slaying Flash, tightly, making a cracking sound.
"It seems like we’ve really angered this guy," Ayato Kurogane said, feeling a chill run down his spine and instinctively stepping back, but the intense pain in his leg made him break out in a cold sweat.
Su Xiao coldly looked at the others, veins bulging on his forehead.
Even if he couldn't kill Rishi, getting her Hezi would definitely bring great rewards.
But with the Qing Tong tree coming out to stir things up, the benefits he had were now 'jumping out the window.'
"She escaped, so you will take her place, Ayato!"
As soon as Su Xiao said Ayato's name, the faces of the three present changed, while only Ayato looked confused, hearing that name for the first time.
"Take the others and go."
Takatsuki Izumi's voice was cold, no longer the childish tone from before.
Noro's Hezi surged, and the sharp tips gripped Ayato Kurogane.
"Noro, what are you doing? Let me go!"
Ayato Kurogane struggled a few times, but the difference in strength was too great, and he couldn't break free.
Noro leaped out of the window that Rishi had broken, seemingly to chase after her.
"Do you need help?" Dodo Ryo asked, somewhat wary of Su Xiao's strength. After all, this was the first time he had seen such a powerful pure human.
Ghouls have a very keen sense of smell, even surpassing most animals.
From the scent on Su Xiao, Dodo Ryo could tell that he was a pure human, and the purity surprised him.
Ordinary humans in the ghoul world usually have a small amount of Rc cells in their bodies. Ghouls can tell if someone is human or ghoul based on the concentration of Rc cells.
But Su Xiao had no trace of Rc cells at all, not even a hint.
"I don’t need it. You go after Rishi; she’s very important to me. Among the selected targets, she is the most 'excellent.'"
After Ayato Kurogane was forcibly taken away, Takatsuki Izumi no longer hid her true voice.
"CCG is coming soon; my subordinates can't hold them off for long. Let’s finish this quickly."
Dodo Ryo jumped out of the window, leaving only Su Xiao and Takatsuki Izumi in the room.
"Who exactly are you, and how do you know my real name?"
Although Takatsuki Izumi was already 25 years old, she was petite, only about 1.5 meters tall.
Her Hezi began to stir, and as the one-eyed king, she had ten Hezi within her.
With the emergence of the Hezi, the bandages wrapped around Takatsuki Izumi loosened a bit.
"Shiroya."
Su Xiao answered simply, leaving Takatsuki Izumi stunned.
"What?"
Su Xiao didn’t say anything else. His muscles slightly bulged as he prepared for battle.
A large number of Hezi appeared around Takatsuki Izumi, wrapping her up. The blood-red Hezi surged, and soon, Su Xiao could no longer see her true form.
What appeared before Su Xiao was a monster at least 2.5 meters tall, with two pale claws on the ground. It looked like flowers blooming on its back, a mass of sharp spikes that gathered together, offering both strong defense and attack.
At this moment, Takatsuki Izumi was no longer an ordinary ghoul; she had transformed into a Hezha.
Hezha are different from ordinary ghouls. Their creation is extremely brutal, requiring the consumption of a large number of other ghouls before becoming one.
Takatsuki Izumi didn’t even know how many powerful ghouls she had devoured to achieve her current form.
"Ha~."
In her Hezha form, Takatsuki Izumi opened her wide mouth and exhaled a cloud of red mist.
"Hahaha, I've never seen such a pure human. You should be very delicious."
Takatsuki Izumi's personality had changed drastically, her tone somewhat crazed.
The mental state of a Hezha is generally unstable. With a large amount of Rc cells flooding their body, the already extremely violent Rc cells affect the ghoul's brain.
Although Takatsuki Izumi could control her emotions well, her personality had become much more wild.
Su Xiao became alert. If the pressure Takatsuki Izumi had given him before was a 5, it was now at least a 13.
Taking a deep breath, Su Xiao calmed down. He couldn't let anger cloud his judgment during a fight.
"She has become much stronger, and her personality has changed quite a bit."
Su Xiao didn’t rush in directly but sidestepped and began to circle around Takatsuki Izumi.
Every time he moved a distance away, Takatsuki Izumi would turn her body to keep facing him.
Su Xiao pretended to charge forward, and Takatsuki Izumi raised her claws, ready to strike.
But Su Xiao didn’t actually charge in; instead, he suddenly stopped and feigned an attack before continuing to wait for an opportunity.
Takatsuki Izumi began to grow impatient, letting out a roar with her gaping mouth before pouncing at Su Xiao on all fours.
In her Hezha form, Takatsuki Izumi's speed wasn’t particularly fast, but her momentum was overwhelming, like an armored vehicle.
A strong wind rushed at Su Xiao.
As she reached Su Xiao, she stood up, one pale claw reaching for him, aiming for his head.
Su Xiao tilted his body, the claw grazed past his ear, the accompanying wind ruffling his black hair.
Just as Su Xiao dodged Takatsuki Izumi's claw, the Hezi on her shoulder, sharp as a sword, slashed at him.
With no way to avoid it, Su Xiao chose to counterattack.
Gripping his knife with both hands, Su Xiao struck at Takatsuki Izumi's Hezi.
"Boom."
A loud noise erupted as the tiles beneath them shattered, dust swirling around.
The immense force transmitted through the knife made Su Xiao's expression change, but what happened next surprised him.
The blue light on the Dragon Slaying Flash flickered, and the special energy converted from the Qing Steel Shadow surged into Takatsuki Izumi's body.
Takatsuki Izumi let out a shriek and instinctively stepped back.
Su Xiao seized this opportunity, raising his knife and severing one of Takatsuki Izumi's claws.
With her supporting claw cut off, Takatsuki Izumi's body toppled to the side.
Su Xiao struck again, this time hitting her back, shattering a large amount of Hezi, turning it into countless fragments.
The shining red Hezi shards looked particularly beautiful in mid-air.
Severely injured, Takatsuki Izumi was furious. Enduring the burning pain from the Rc cells in her body, she used her remaining claw to reach for Su Xiao's abdomen.
Su Xiao quickly leaped back but was a moment too late. Several deep claw marks appeared on his abdomen, blood dripping onto the ground.
His reaction had been quick; otherwise, this claw could have ripped his intestines out.
"Ha, ha~."
Takatsuki Izumi supported herself with one hand, feeling that this man named Shiroya was sharp and agile.
She couldn’t continue fighting. The sudden pain in her body had put her at a disadvantage.
Takatsuki Izumi quickly ran toward the window, and Su Xiao wouldn’t let her go easily. Covering his injured abdomen with his left hand, he followed closely with his knife in his right hand.
Takatsuki Izumi leaped into the air, jumping out of the building.
Su Xiao stopped, standing by the window with his blade, coldly watching Takatsuki Izumi.
In mid-air, Takatsuki Izumi turned her head, and the Hezi on her head opened a gap, revealing the lower half of her pale face.
For some reason, Takatsuki Izumi actually smiled at Su Xiao.
Su Xiao didn’t jump down. Although his strength and agility were high, his stamina wasn’t. Jumping down from such a height would likely result in leg injuries, even if he didn’t die.
Today, too many ghouls had come to the Qing Tong tree, and the terrain was unfavorable for Su Xiao. He couldn’t keep Takatsuki Izumi.
Just as Su Xiao was about to give up and leave, he noticed a man in a suit holding a metal box standing not far away.
The suited man had his mouth slightly open, staring blankly at him.
"Yamori Kanato?"
Su Xiao had just chased and attacked the one-eyed king, and Yamori Kanato happened to witness it.
This left Yamori Kanato somewhat stunned.
(End of Chapter)