Arata stands between Touka and the investigators. Although his lower face isn't visible due to the scarf, his crimson eyes express coldness.
Yamamoto observes him for a moment before speaking with a mocking tone.
"Yours? Now this brat is the property of a younger brat? Today's youth becomes more and more ridiculous."
Then he turns toward his subordinates.
"Play with him for a while. Children need fun, don't they? So fulfill that wish before killing him."
Is it because Yamamoto distrusts this new ghoul a bit? He sends his men to fight against him instead of attacking himself.
Some of the investigators hesitate for a moment looking at the boy in front of them, but quickly prepare to attack since they're direct words from a Special Class Investigator.
One of them shouts with conviction.
"All ghouls must be eradicated without exception!"
The investigators charge simultaneously from both sides.
Arata doesn't move from his position. In fact, he doesn't even blink.
And the moment they enter his range...
—Splash!
The blood that had come out of the novice investigator's exploded arm starts moving.
Arata's eyes shine faintly with crimson light while he says with a flat voice.
"This blood smells unpleasant. Let me give it better use."
The blood rises in the air. They have the form of thin threads that then twist and instantly harden into thin, sharp blades.
—Shing!
The blood blades shoot like projectiles toward two investigators running from the right.
One manages to raise his quinque to block at the last second.
—Clang!
But the other isn't so lucky.
—Slash!
His neck is cut cleanly like butter, and his head separates from the body completely.
—Plashhhh!
Blood spurts forcefully like a fountain from the neck while the headless body runs a few more meters by inertia.
Arata moves his fingers, and all the blood coming out of the headless body also rises floating toward him.
The investigators witnessing this strange and incomprehensible supernatural scene stop attacking and look with disbelief.
"W-What the hell is this...?!"
Accompanied by a trembling voice, those words sound among the investigators.
Arata takes a step forward unhurriedly, and the blood follows him, clustering around him.
—Shink! Shink! Shink!
Several blades shoot out in different directions.
The way they fly is precise and deadly since in the next second, an investigator is pierced in the chest, falling to his knees while blood spurts from his mouth. Another who was faster to react only loses an eye, screaming in agony.
There are some who die instantly and others who are gravely wounded.
Touka's garden becomes completely chaotic in a matter of seconds.
Speaking of Touka, she observes everything from the ground where she's lying.
Her eyes open slightly while she looks at the back of the boy standing in front of her.
Somehow his hair changed from ashen gray color to deep black. He doesn't have the usual silly look, nor a silly expression when he mocks her.
But she realizes by his unique scent.
That he is...
"Arata..."
She doesn't understand what she's seeing.
But this isn't a ghoul.
An investigator puts force in his legs and desperately jumps backward, dodging by centimeters a blood blade while screaming with panic.
"What the hell is wrong with this kid?! Retreat—!"
—Slash!
The blood that was dodged and is behind, transforms into threads that whip like a snake's tail. The investigator's throat is brutally opened before finishing pronouncing his words.
The smell of blood is now strong and heavy, especially the air around Arata.
Because every time one dies, all their blood is extracted and added to the floating collection. The bodies on the ground look like dried mummies.
Yamamoto finally comes out of shock and takes a step forward.
—Boom!
His foot breaks the ground under the force, and with an expressionless face his presence changes the environment making it heavier.
"That's enough."
The blood blades that were heading toward another terrified investigator...
—Crash!
Are destroyed by a direct hit from Yamamoto's armored arm.
The blood splashes in all directions but doesn't manage to penetrate the quinque armor.
Arata slightly turns his head toward him and his crimson eyes meet the investigator's.
Yamamoto smiles slightly with satisfaction.
"So it was you. The one who killed a fellow investigator... No, now many others have fallen."
His voice is no longer mocking or relaxed.
"You're responsible for all this. Then you must die here."
Arata looks at him silently and a slight curve in his lips.
Yamamoto flexes his armored arm.
"It's quite an interesting ability you have. Though it's completely useless against me."
—Fwooon!
He disappears from his position with explosive speed.
Arata slightly tilts his head to one side.
—Booom!
Yamamoto's fist passes whistling through where his head was an instant ago. The pressurized air destroys the tree behind.
The floating blood moves instantly and surrounds the armored fist. The blood that is liquid now seems to solidify, trapping it there forcefully.
Arata flexes his own arm, and taking a firm step forward approaches Yamamoto before launching a direct punch.
He feels his hand come into contact with the hard armor, and it doesn't break under the impact. But by the brute force behind the blow, Yamamoto is thrown backward at vertiginous speed.
—Clang!
He goes through multiple layers of walls like paper and gets stuck in the wall on the other side.
But...
—Crack!
Instantly he comes out of there freeing himself.
Arata sees Yamamoto appear before him in a second, using the blade attached to his armor to cut him.
He surrounds his fist with a dense layer of hardened blood and pushes his fist forward.
—Boom!
The impact between a fist and a sword produces an enormous explosion sound that shakes the entire neighborhood.
Both are pushed backward several meters by the force of the clash.
Arata's feet slide across the ground leaving marks before stopping.
He looks at his right arm, where he sees his fingers along with the bones of his forearm completely broke under the impact.
—Bzzzt!
Small tendrils of electricity run through his flesh.
His entire wound regenerates in the blink of an eye.
"I see..."
Yamamoto is quite strong. He'd even say Yamamoto's comparable to the vampire he fought.
Well, a Special Class Investigator can face S Rank ghouls without problems, and the strongest can face SS or even SSS.
Yamamoto at that moment closes the distance between them with a jump and sends a kick toward his torso.
Arata retreats, managing to dodge it by centimeters. On the other hand, Yamamoto immediately recovers before sliding his blade.
The blade cuts the air in front of his chest while Arata leans backward.
The floating blood in the air attacks Yamamoto from multiple angles.
—Shing! Shing! Shing!
Yamamoto doesn't dodge any attack.
—Clang! Clang! Clang!
All the blades bounce uselessly against his armor without causing visible damage.
"Is that all you have?"
Arata narrows his eyes.
The blood stops directly attacking the armor.
Instead, it starts moving along the ground, sliding silently toward Yamamoto's shadow.
Yamamoto frowns with suspicion.
"...?"
—Shink!
Blood spines similar to spears shoot out from the ground upward.
Yamamoto violently spins his body.
—Crash!
He destroys several with his brute force. However...
—Crack!
Several blood spears hit the same point, causing a part of the armor to crack.
Yamamoto looks at his stomach. He has a fist-sized crack.
Smiling with appreciation, he raises his head.
"...You're not so weak after all. No, you're quite strong for your age. How old are you? Twelve? Maybe less..."
He pauses, and his expression becomes completely serious.
"Without doubt if you're given enough time, you'll be another walking catastrophe that will destroy entire cities."
Arata observes him silently while his crimson eyes show no emotion.
Behind him, Touka had already moved away crawling from the combat zone to not be caught in the crossfire.
At the same time, she doesn't lower her guard, staying alert in case any surviving investigator tries to kill her while she's vulnerable.
"!!!"
And it was at that moment she saw two investigators launching toward her with activated quinques.
From the investigators' point of view, this girl is quite important to that monster.
If they manage to capture or kill her, then...
Touka can't do much in her weakened state, so she gets into a defensive position. She could have escaped if she wanted while attention was completely on Arata.
But she would never abandon him.
Even if she knows Arata might lose against the Special Class Investigator.
While she lets out a sigh and prepares to endure as best she can, the two men's heads are cut cleanly.
The blood ropes that had risen without warning to behead seemed to carry with them Arata's anger and protective instinct.
Didn't he recently say no one has the right to touch Touka?
Yamamoto shouts furiously toward the others.
"Idiots! Don't move if you don't want to die!"
"..."
Touka looks at Arata surprised.
Despite him not looking in her direction, somehow he seems capable of seeing her perfectly.
That's thanks to the three All-Seeing Eyes that are hidden around the area. One is hidden in the crown of a nearby tree, another near the broken window, and another very high in the sky that sees everything happening like a satellite.
That's why Arata, who sees the scenes in his mind through those eyes like a screen with different simultaneous frames, can know exactly when someone tries to harm Touka.
Arata's cold eyes turn toward Yamamoto.
"It's a bit late for orders."
Yamamoto seems to instantly realize his intention, and his eyes express panic.
"Run from here now!"
The investigators react immediately and run desperately. The one with the Lion's Shield trusts his defensive quinque and deploys it before him. Three other investigators quickly hide behind the shield.
At the same moment, all the accumulated blood rises again. In the form of thin but incredibly sharp threads, they produce terrifying sounds of air being cut.
—Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing!
Heads are thrown in the air, spinning magnificently while blood paints the green grass red.
The Lion's Shield is split in two halves, and the investigators behind have the lower and upper halves of their bodies cleanly separated.
All the investigators present have died in a matter of seconds.
The garden is now an absolute slaughterhouse.
"You...! Damn demon!"
Yamamoto screams with rage and prepares to attack with all his strength.
And then...
Both disappear at the same time in blurs of movement.
×××
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