Uta's face and body were instantly pierced by multiple daggers. He collapsed and lay motionless.
Simply put—he was playing dead. He had no intention of fighting Suzuya.
"Kyaaa, run!"
Roma and the fat clown fled without looking back, abandoning Uta where he lay.
The Clowns' style was all about entertainment—having them host this auction meant it was never going to be an ordinary event.
Simultaneously, multiple hooded figures who'd been lurking in the shadows rushed the stage.
They were the Madam Organization's bodyguards, responsible for protecting the Madams present and maintaining auction order.
Suzuya seemed to have an endless supply of daggers, hurling many toward the ghoul audience as well.
"AAAHHH—!"
"Doves are crashing the party!"
Screams filled the venue as most ghouls began fleeing in all directions.
The black-clad bodyguards were quickly killed or wounded by Suzuya—they were no match for him.
Big Madam remained in her seat, sunglasses fixed on Suzuya, showing no intention of fleeing.
"Ahh... little Juuzou..."
Meanwhile, Suzuya pressed the concealed transmitter in his chest accessory.
With a ding, the investigators positioned outside the venue immediately sprang into action.
"Signal received from First Class Suzuya—prepare to breach!"
"Attention all units. Restating mission objectives: Primary—eliminate auction ghouls, especially Big Madam. Secondary—rescue civilians. Numerous kidnapped civilians are being held as merchandise in the venue. Their safety takes priority. Please exercise appropriate judgment based on actual conditions. Operation... commence."
Commander Akira restated the mission objectives to all units.
Nearby, Matsuri was somewhat displeased with these objectives but didn't voice it—he was wary of Akira's status, given her relationship with Byakuya...
Matsuri's dissatisfaction stemmed from concerns about the operation's success.
In his view, even if human lives were paramount, the primary target remained Big Madam.
If too many personnel were allocated to protecting and rescuing civilians, potentially letting the target escape, then this "Auction Suppression Operation" could be considered a failure.
Matsuri wanted to advance to Special Class as quickly as possible. This was his first major command operation since returning to Japan—its significance was considerable.
...
Soon, investigators outside had surrounded the entire venue.
The main combat personnel breached directly while others stood by outside, catching anyone who slipped through.
Suzuya was now facing Big Madam—she was virtually the only one who hadn't fled from the audience section.
"Madam? Hurry, this way!"
The remaining bodyguards urgently called to her.
But Big Madam didn't budge, staring dazedly at Suzuya. "Little Juuzou..."
"Mama..."
Suzuya couldn't help murmuring.
Elsewhere, the trafficker escorting Mutsuki to the reception area had also noticed something strange.
"Attention, ghouls inside the venue—you are surrounded! Surrender immediately or be killed on sight!"
Just then, CCG loudspeakers blared throughout the entire auction building.
The trafficker understood what was happening and immediately panicked.
Seizing his distraction, Mutsuki—now considerably calmer—fought back immediately. They drew a concealed dagger and stabbed his neck. The dagger techniques learned from Suzuya proved useful—the attack was precise and swift.
"Aagh!"
The trafficker screamed, then was tripped and knocked to the ground by Mutsuki.
Unable to guarantee a kill, Mutsuki fled after knocking him down, hoping to rendezvous with the breaching investigators.
But before they'd gotten far, they nearly collided with the taxi driver at a corner.
"You're—?!"
Mutsuki tried the same trick, immediately attacking with their dagger.
But this taxi driver was rated A+ by CCG—quite formidable. And this wasn't a situation where he was distracted...
In fact, he'd come specifically for Mutsuki, so he easily blocked the dagger attack.
He then tackled Mutsuki to the ground. In the struggle for the dagger, he accidentally tore some of Mutsuki's clothing, nearly exposing the tightly-wrapped chest bindings.
Though he didn't see the bindings, the taxi driver saw the gruesome scars on Mutsuki's body. His eyes went wide.
This ghoul had developed a peculiar obsession due to past trauma—necrophilia.
He was fascinated by female torsos. Every woman he'd attacked had been decapitated and had her limbs removed. The common thread among his victims: they all had scars.
This was the A+-rated ghoul "Torso"—real name Saeki Karao.
"Hsssh... hsssh...!"
Saeki Karao became intensely excited. He'd instantly become obsessed with the scarred Mutsuki.
Initially, he'd only been interested in Mutsuki's appearance. Now he was completely captivated by the scars on their body.
"Come... come with me, I'll protect you..."
Saeki Karao panted heavily with excitement, eyes wide open.
"..."
Mutsuki found his appearance terrifying—especially knowing he was a ghoul. They couldn't possibly trust him.
But he was too strong. Pinned to the ground, Mutsuki couldn't move, couldn't escape.
In the original story, it was Saeki Karao who had kidnapped Mutsuki, severed their limbs, and wanted to marry them—causing Mutsuki to unconsciously awaken their dark side...
Young Saeki Karao had been forcibly isolated from human society by his father. Only in his youth did he once sneak out—that time, he met a cute human girl.
They shared similar circumstances. The girl was also restricted from going out freely. As their feelings grew, Saeki Karao, who often snuck out to chat with her, resolved to get his driver's license so he could drive her away from her family's constraints.
Then one day... Saeki Karao's secret outings were discovered by his father. When he arrived at his meeting spot with the girl, he found her already dismembered by his father. His father even praised his "hunting technique," assuming he'd been cultivating the girl as prey, and offered him a share of the body to eat...
Mentally shattered, Saeki Karao killed his father with his own hands. He became psychologically disturbed ever since, obsessed with human body parts...
Humans with hands and feet made him unable to trust them. So he would sever his targets' limbs. And believing those female "lovers" couldn't accept him—that they'd look at him with disgust and hurl abuse—he would remove their heads.
Of course, he intended to do the same to Mutsuki...
Someone... save me...
Cold sweat poured from Mutsuki as terror consumed them.
...
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