Night fell, and the bright moon hung high in the sky. In District 14, at the center of the West Street area, this place was notorious throughout Tokyo. Whenever night came, it became a small gathering spot for ghouls.
The ghouls here were all violent types, and their goal was simple: to kill each other and feast upon their remains, hoping to stand out among the many ordinary ghouls. In the world of ghouls, status was determined by strength.
It was around 8:30 PM. Shadows flitted along the sides of the street, and most ghouls were already getting restless. A man and a woman walked down the street, showing no signs of hiding compared to the sneaky ghouls around them.
“Second Class Bai Ye, is this really okay?” True Hu Xiao, carrying a suitcase and dressed in a black uniform, nervously scanned the surroundings.
“Ha~,” Su Xiao yawned. “It’s fine. We’ll act according to the ‘plan’ soon.”
Unlike the tense True Hu Xiao, Su Xiao looked completely relaxed.
“Second Class Bai Ye, I’ve always had a question.”
“Hmm?”
“Where’s your Quinque? We might have to fight some ghouls soon…”
Su Xiao didn’t have a Quinque. Instead of that, he preferred to use the “Dragon Slashing Flash.”
“I don’t need a Quinque.”
Hearing this, True Hu Xiao suddenly stopped, looking confused at Su Xiao.
“No Quinque?”
Her voice rose in disbelief, clearly questioning her life choices.
“We’ve arrived. Xiao, you just stand here.”
Su Xiao patted True Hu Xiao’s shoulder, then dashed forward a few steps and jumped onto the roof of a two-story building, disappearing into the night.
“Bai Ye~! Second Class?”
True Hu Xiao almost dropped her Quinque as she realized Su Xiao’s plan.
Now, she had become the bait. As a Second Class Investigator, True Hu Xiao could at most drive away B to A grade ghouls. If she encountered an A grade ghoul, she might not stand a chance.
True Hu Xiao felt like she had been stripped bare and thrown into a freezing wilderness. Just as she was about to run, several pairs of blood-red eyes appeared in the darkness around her.
One, two, three… a total of seven ghouls.
She was doomed. If Su Xiao didn’t save her, she was definitely dead.
True Hu Xiao pressed a button on her suitcase, and her Quinque appeared. It was a weapon somewhat like a whip, named Amaz.
“Ghoul Investigator!”
“How did a Investigator end up here?”
“Just kill her. It’s not time to feast yet; I haven’t had a Investigator yet.”
For some reason, the ghouls around her didn’t seem to be fighting amongst themselves. It looked like there was a specific time for their feasting.
It seemed that the situation in the West Street area wasn’t just a spontaneous gathering of ghouls. There appeared to be some force maintaining order; otherwise, these ghouls wouldn’t wait until nine to start killing each other.
This must be some kind of selection process. After standing out among the ghouls, that ghoul could join a certain group.
“Let’s go. This woman isn’t strong; she doesn’t feel too dangerous.”
More and more ghouls gathered, going from a few to over a dozen.
True Hu Xiao felt cold all over; now she had no chance to escape.
“Looks like it’s working well.”
Su Xiao’s voice came from the rooftop nearby.
Hearing Su Xiao’s voice, True Hu Xiao let out a long sigh of relief. Still, she felt uncertain. With so many ghouls, could this new CCG investigator really handle them? Although she heard he was strong.
“Who are you?”
“Another ghoul investigator?”
The dozen or so ghouls surrounding True Hu Xiao eyed Su Xiao warily.
Su Xiao gave off a completely different vibe from True Hu Xiao; it was like he was a natural enemy.
Holding the unsheathed “Dragon Slashing Flash,” Su Xiao jumped down from the several-meter-high rooftop and landed smoothly.
“Fourteen of them; should be done in about five minutes.”
Su Xiao walked slowly towards the ghouls, then picked up speed until he was running.
Two clever ghouls immediately sensed something was off and turned to flee, while the remaining twelve faced Su Xiao head-on.
Ten tentacles and tails lunged at Su Xiao.
In that instant, Su Xiao was almost engulfed by the tentacles.
Seeing this, True Hu Xiao gasped and charged at an A grade ghoul with her Quinque.
This was the best she could do. Even with an A grade ghoul, she might not be able to handle it.
The dark red tentacles wrapped around Su Xiao, and the bright blade glimmered in the night.
Su Xiao activated “Blue Steel Shadow,” consuming mana at a rate of 2 points per minute.
The ten tentacles were instantly severed, turning into red mist that dissipated in the air.
The ghouls whose tentacles were cut let out a scream, looking at Su Xiao with fear.
Su Xiao quickly rushed to an A grade ghoul, leaving a faint blue line in the air with “Dragon Slashing Flash.”
A head flew into the air.
In just one exchange, that ghoul was swiftly killed by Su Xiao, clean and efficient.
Su Xiao didn’t stop his rapid advance, shifting his footwork and charging at a nearby ghoul.
Perhaps the death of its companion was too sudden; this ghoul froze in place.
After a second of hesitation, it turned to run.
“Foolish.”
Su Xiao’s dark eyes seemed to shine.
Running away in battle and turning your back to the enemy was undoubtedly the dumbest move, equivalent to asking for death.
“Pfft.”
“Dragon Slashing Flash” pierced through the heart of that ghoul. Su Xiao gripped the hilt of his sword, and with his strength, he easily lifted that ghoul and then threw it hard at another fleeing ghoul.
With a thud, that ghoul rolled away like a tumbleweed.
As that ghoul tried to get up, a bright blade flashed in its line of sight.
First came a buzzing in its ears, then it felt the world spin.
The last memory of that ghoul was of a headless body gushing blood and a man standing under the moonlight, holding a sharp blade like a grim reaper.
Out of the twelve ghouls, except for the one True Hu Xiao was engaged with, there were still eleven left.
In less than 20 seconds of fighting, the eleven ghouls were reduced to eight.
The remaining eight ghouls now only had one thought: to escape, to get away from this man who seemed like a grim reaper.
“It’s impossible! How can such a strong human appear in the feasting area? Does that organization really not care?”
One ghoul roared in anger before turning to flee.
Su Xiao’s agility was at 13 points, on par with his strength, which was already above average in the not-so-strong world of ghouls.
What made Su Xiao strong wasn’t just his extraordinary attributes, but his swordsmanship and combat skills.
Of course, the effect of the Shadow of Annihilation couldn’t be ignored either.
But the Shadow of Annihilation only had one combat skill right now; he hadn’t had enough time to showcase the true power of this profession.
As the slaughter began, Su Xiao dashed through the street, occasionally killing a ghoul.
The sounds of painful wails and pleas for mercy filled the air.
The ghouls weren’t stupid; they all scattered to escape.
In the end, out of the eight ghouls, Su Xiao left six behind, while two lucky ones managed to escape.
At this moment, True Hu Xiao was still locked in a fierce battle with the A grade ghoul, who was almost in tears. He wasn’t afraid of True Hu Xiao but terrified of the man who resembled a grim reaper.
True Hu Xiao was fully focused on the fight, feeling immense pressure from the A grade ghoul. She had no time to check the situation around her.
She was still too inexperienced; being aware of her surroundings during battle was essential, or she could easily be ambushed.
“Please, please let me go.”
The sudden plea from the ghoul stunned True Hu Xiao. How could he start begging when he had the upper hand? The battle paused momentarily.
At that moment, True Hu Xiao finally saw the situation around her.
Su Xiao was sitting on the bodies of two ghouls, smoking a cigarette, with blood still dripping from his long knife.
True Hu Xiao’s eyes widened in shock. She had taken down one ghoul, while he had already killed the rest.
“That one over there, if you dare run, I’ll chop you into a human stick.”
Su Xiao looked at the last remaining ghoul. A new bait had appeared; after all, using subordinates as bait wasn’t ideal.
The end of the chapter.