A mess of tangled green hair hung loosely behind her back.
Takatsuki Sen casually reached into her pocket and fished around for a moment before pulling out a key.
Two crows stood silently atop a tall building nearby, watching her quietly.
One of them flapped its wings and flew off in a specific direction.
Takatsuki Sen turned her head and glanced back. Seeing it was just a crow, she didn't pay much attention.
She inserted the key into the keyhole. With a soft click, a long-sealed door slowly creaked open.
As the door gradually swung wide, a wave of musty air hit her face. Tiny particles of dust danced in the sunlight streaming in from the window.
Takatsuki Sen quickly raised her hand to cover her mouth and nose, gently waving at the floating dust around her.
Seeing the dusty state of the room, she frowned slightly, a trace of melancholy and annoyance appearing in her expression.
"Ah, I haven't been back in such a long time. Looks like it's time for a proper, thorough cleaning."
With that, she stepped into the room, and the door behind her slowly closed again.
Takatsuki Sen walked straight across the dust-covered floor, leaving behind a faint trail of footprints.
Mid-step, her foot suddenly stumbled. She winced, pressing her hand to the area just below her abdomen, near the base of her thigh.
"So painful... that bastard!"
Her face twisted with barely concealed fury, and her crimson kakugan surged into her eyes.
The injury inflicted by Uesugi Ryu was not easily healed.
Blood Frenzy, as his proficiency and mana quality increased, had become more and more troublesome. It wasn't something that could be solved by simply cutting off the injured area.
If it were that simple, Blood Frenzy wouldn't deserve its C-rank classification.
The energy of Blood Frenzy seeped into every cell through the wound, and was extremely difficult to purge.
The wound on her thigh hadn't been decisively amputated by Yoshimura Eto at the time, mainly because of its awkward location, and frankly, she needed that leg.
Losing a leg, even with her regenerative ability, would take time to recover from fully.
Because it wasn't dealt with in time, the energy of Blood Frenzy had spread into the surrounding tissues.
After having two kakuhou cut out of her, Takatsuki Sen's regenerative ability had dropped significantly.
After her rampage and cannibalism in the 24th Ward, she had focused on repairing those two kakuhou first.
Although the flesh around her thigh had now regrown, waves of searing pain still came intermittently, as if a parasitic worm gnawed at her bones.
She collapsed into the sofa. Her delicate face had turned completely pale, as white as paper.
This kind of pain was unlike normal wounds. It was as though a thousand ants were gnawing at her marrow. It wasn't sharp, but it dragged on endlessly.
Even someone like Takatsuki Sen, long accustomed to pain, found it hard to bear.
Still, over time, the pain had begun to lessen.
Each flare-up was actually her RC cells working to erode and dissolve the energy left behind by Uesugi Ryu.
She took a deep breath and shook her head slightly.
"I've still got a signing event this afternoon... I really couldn't get out of it this time."
"Well, I'll just take it as a chance to get some fresh air... and show my face."
...
"Yoshimura Eto has resurfaced. Looks like she has a signing event today. It's been a while, I do miss her."
Uesugi Ryu stood leisurely by the window, gazing out at the city.
In his hand was a bit of rice, which he used to feed a crow that had come to deliver intel.
He had to admit, Yoshimura Eto really was a priceless treasure. Her kakuhou was worth a fortune.
Uesugi Ryu almost couldn't bring himself to kill her.
He'd cut out her kakuhou, and she'd just gone back to the 24th Ward, gorged herself, and grown a new one.
That effectively made Yoshimura Eto a self-regenerating energy mine, one that never ran dry.
He curled his lips and suddenly thought of a commercial jingle.
"Yoshimura Eto doesn't produce energy points... she just transports them."
A world where only 24th Ward ghouls get hurt had been achieved!
He was just joking, of course. Heading to the 24th Ward to slaughter was another viable method, just not quite as efficient as harvesting Eto's kakuhou.
After a brief moment of amusement, Uesugi Ryu snapped out of it. The rice in his hand had already been eaten clean by the crow.
He patted the little creature on the head with a slight smile, then placed a small package beside it.
"Alright. Take this back for your companions. Don't hog it all for yourself."
The crow tilted its head as if it understood. It blinked at Uesugi Ryu, then nodded gently.
Then, it grasped the package with its talons and flew off.
"Food produced by Wine-Sack Rice-Bag gives a significant boost to small creatures. This little guy's movements are clearly much more agile than before."
Uesugi Ryu closed the window, deep in thought.
This item, Wine-Sack Rice-Bag, lived up to its status as a C-rank rare item. It was the kind of asset that could sustain an entire faction.
As for whether ghouls could eat it, he hadn't tried, though probably yes.
But with such low production, he wasn't about to waste it on ghouls.
"Mephisto, come here."
Uesugi Ryu beckoned to Mephisto, who was sprawled lifelessly to the side.
Mephisto sluggishly shuffled over, yawning with a sleepy expression.
Uesugi Ryu scooped it up in one go, cradling it in his arms as he opened the System Panel to draw prizes.
Mephisto was instantly jolted awake, staring at him in surprise.
"Bro Ryu, I ain't into guys, even if you're my master."
"We're both taken men, don't do this to me."
Uesugi Ryu, thoroughly annoyed, grabbed the squirming Mephisto and held him tighter.
"Shut it. I'm about to do a draw and need to leech off your luck stat. Don't flatter yourself."
In Japan, crows were considered symbols of good luck.
Back when Mephisto had first been bound to him, it had granted him a permanent +1 to Luck.
Holding him during a draw might boost the odds of scoring something good.
The moment Mephisto opened its mouth, a faint rotten stench drifted out.
Uesugi Ryu immediately grimaced in disgust.
"What the hell did you eat last night?"
Mephisto rolled its eyes and answered calmly.
"Sour herring."
Uesugi Ryu fell silent.
Then he hit the draw button, and flung Mephisto straight onto the couch.
Mephisto glared at him in wounded indignation. So this was the treatment he got after being used?
---
[Congratulations, Host has acquired the following rewards:]
[E-rank Skill: Flash Technique]
[E-rank Skill: Hand-to-Hand Combat Mastery]
[E-rank Skill: Hand of God (Kazuma Limited Edition)]
[C-rank Rare Item: Soul of the Broken Dragon]
[Complete Collector's Set: "Sora Kurama's Sky Collection"]
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C-rank Rare Item: Soul of the Broken Dragon
Description: A fragmented soul shard of a black dragon (a fragment of a fragment). You may attempt to devour it???
(Warning: Not recommended for users with Intelligence under 15. Forced consumption may cause irreversible damage to mental state!!!)
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E-rank Skill: Flash Technique
Skill Effect: Consumes 4–12 mana to release a blinding flash of light. Inflicts a blind status on enemies. Within the illuminated area, deals magic damage equal to user's Intelligence × 0.6 to all evil-aligned entities.
(Example: 11 × 0.6 = 6.6)
Description: The iron fist of idealism. The range of "evil" is determined subjectively by the user.
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E-rank Skill: Hand-to-Hand Combat Mastery
Description: You are a bonafide master in the art of close-quarters combat.
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E-rank Skill: Hand of God (Kazuma Limited Edition)
Skill Effect: Consumes 3–6 mana. Steals the target's underwear with 100% success rate.
Originally a basic skill of the Thief class, enhanced by the "God of Madness" into a conceptual-level ability.
Special Effect: Bonus effectiveness against females.
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