"Father…"
Seeing Tsuneyoshi's headless corpse collapse, Yoshitoki Washuu faltered mid-retreat, stunned.
As a former CCG Bureau Chief, he naturally saw through it—the V organization wasn't putting in full effort!
There were traitors among the branch families!
The next moment, special gunfire laced with electricity rang out. He felt searing pain rip through his neck and legs, then darkness blurred his vision. His movements slowed, until finally he felt a chilling cold. Eyes wide, he stared down at the jet-black spearpoint thrust clean through his chest.
Puh-puh—
The detached thorn-blade shredded his chest cavity.
"Not a bad plan. You must have monitored me for quite some time. But tell me—did you really think I wouldn't conceal my hand? This large-caliber electromagnetic revolver is designed precisely to pierce the Rc-hardened epidermis of ghouls."
From behind, her voice came coolly, muffled through the sharp-edged 'V'-shaped Quinque mask.
Blood mixed with bits of viscera bubbled from his lips. Yoshitoki Washuu croaked hoarsely:
"Accountability… resignation… abolishing hereditary rule… all just pretense… You knew long ago… Washuu were ghouls… When… when were we exposed…"
Before his last words finished—
Shhhk!
Vela pulled the spear free in a diagonal slash. His head flew skyward.
Blood fountained, hot liquid spattering across [Arata-Ayato-α]. The living Quinque armor writhed, vein-like vessels pulsating as crimson Kagune patterns surged alive.
It was ecstatic. It was hungry.
This was the most exquisite feast of cannibalism.
Exhilaration!
"Ho."
Vela's brows arched.
She could feel the Quinque's exhilaration, its sense of fullness—far stronger than when it had bathed in Nimura Furuta's blood.
Was it because the Washuu main family's pure-blood ghoul lineage was so primal?
Through [Resident Evil]'s extraction tech—using [Cyberpunk]'s black braindance methods to harvest fresh brain matter from Furuta's severed head—she had already uncovered much of the Washuu family's secrets.
The Washuu originated from the Middle East.
And the earliest recorded ghouls also appeared in the Middle East, before spreading worldwide.
The first One-Eyed King of the 24th Ward had been a Washuu—the "One-Eyed Ghoul."
As for the so-called "Dragon"—according to the intel Furuta had known—the previous Dragon was a Washuu who hated his own clan. By devouring countless pure-blood kin, he transformed into the Dragon.
The "Binge Eater" Rize Kamishiro was also of the Washuu family, a pure-blood ghoul. Originally intended to be used as breeding stock to produce the next generation, Furuta—unable to bear his childhood friend's cruel fate—secretly released her.
That had set off everything.
Kaneki Ken's eventual rise as the One-Eyed King, his transformation into the Dragon, was only possible because he inherited Rize's Kakuhou and organs—gaining the purest Washuu bloodline.
Piecing this together, Vela now had the framework for a ghoul Kakuhou production chain.
Donors were critical.
"Rize, hm…"
Deep in thought, her movements grew faster.
"Let's try this. Overload."
Her lips curved.
She drove the Quinque's claw-blade into Yoshitoki Washuu's still-living flesh.
Swinging her black lance, she swatted aside several V enforcers who rushed her, slicing them apart as the weapon drank deeply.
Whoosh—!
[Arata-Ayato-α] roared into full overdrive. Bathed in Washuu pure-blood, backlash was nearly nonexistent. Crimson Ukaku wings blazed wide, and in an instant, a storm of crystallized Kagune spikes filled the hall.
Shhh-shhh-shhh!
Light flared, steel clashed.
The terrifying crystalline storm tore through the ceiling, shredded the walls, exposed the gray rebar of the concrete structure. Chunks of masonry rained down, shredding the V operatives and their weapons.
The crushing pressure on Shinohara and the other Special Classes instantly lifted.
Then—they saw Vela unleash speed beyond all before. She shot up like a cannon shell.
In a blur, she streaked past a V enforcer who had barely escaped the storm. Before he even realized, the world spun—
Thud!
His body slammed into the wall, caving it in with spiderweb cracks, the impact no different from being hit by a truck.
Twisting midair, she vaulted from wall to wall, wings flaring for double-jumps, accelerating through the ruined hall with breathtaking agility.
Spin, parry, cleave, thrust—
In Vela's hands, [Black Abyss IV] struck with alternating styles: sometimes heavy and forceful, thunderous and overwhelming; other times light as a feather, graceful as a phoenix, flowing like a dragon. Every move linked seamlessly, executed with precision and elegance.
The V enforcers were strong—most equivalent to S-rated ghouls. But no more than that.
Slash, crack, rip— Within seconds, five or six of them were flung aside in pieces.
Scarlet light clung to the matte-black armor as Vela darted and struck. Shinohara Yukinori's eyes widened in shock. This was not human combat—her style resembled an SSS-class Owl. No—lighter, swifter, even more deadly than the Owl!
"Tsuneyoshi Washuu and Yoshitoki Washuu have fallen. You all, withdraw."
Clearing her field of view, Vela relayed to Marude's group.
Her gaze shifted toward the second floor balcony. The rash loyalists who had charged blindly for the Washuu main family were already dead. The remaining V operatives lingered with a detached air, as though indifferent.
"Your masters are dead, your kin are dead—and you just stand there watching?"
Her voice cut sharp. "Leader of V—Kaiko."
A raspy, low laugh answered.
From the shadows, Kaiko stepped out.
His features were almost identical to the other half-human operatives, clad in the same black uniform and hat. The only difference—while the others wore bowties, he wore a necktie. In his hand, a black-gold Quinque case.
"…The Washuu bloodline was too great a burden. Perhaps I should thank you, esteemed Commissioner."
Removing his hat with elegant manners, Kaiko spoke: "As a branch member, to annihilate the main family with my own hands… better to let an outsider do it. If you hadn't acted today, I might have acted myself in a few days. It was rare for the Washuu to summon us to their ancestral home…"
"So, you intend to surrender?"
Vela cut off his speech.
"My kind, surrender? Even our North American brethren cannot easily escape the curse of our fate."
His tone dipped, then he raised his hand.
"But now, a grand road lies before us. I formally invite you, Commissioner Russell—join us. Together, we can break free of this cursed destiny. Surely you do not wish to wither and die in the prime of your youth?"
Beneath her mask, Vela's lips curved in a smile.
Asymmetry of information.
He thought she was half-human.
Half-humans—those born with ghoul blood yet lacking Kakuhou, able to eat normal food, stronger than ordinary humans but with shortened lifespans.
His "grand road" could only mean this: using the pure-blood donor Rize Kamishiro to trigger mass cannibalism among Washuu, birthing a new Dragon, then consuming the ghoul virus to transcend mortality.
"No interest."
Her soft laugh carried disappointment as she turned her back on him.
Unseen, she watched the cracks in the walls, the broken windows. CRc gas was already seeping in.
"You don't even have Kagune or Kakuhou. Killing you hardly excites me."
"But your precious donor Rize does interest me. As do the hidden facilities of the Sunlit Garden, the stashes in your V safehouses. And I don't share."
Kaiko's expression darkened.
"Who told you this?!"
"Nimura Furuta."
"That worthless fool!"
Eyes blank-white, he snarled: "If you insist on seeking death… kill them all! I'll hold her off! Move the Rize donor immediately! Our lifespans depend on it—we cannot let the American devils take her!"
He slammed the release on his black-gold Quinque case.
Zzt!
At the same time, the true V assault surged toward the retreating Special Class investigators.
"Ui-boy, get back!"
Mougan Tanakamaru shoved the smallest of them—Ui Koori—aside. Gunfire rang out. With a grunt, Tanakamaru staggered, blood spraying from a fresh wound.
"What a sorry sight, Ui-boy. I think we should have brought our Quinques… Watch out, Lady Aura!"
Before the words had finished—Boom!
Vela slammed down hard, a whip-kick snapping out. The V enforcer lunging for Kiyoko Aura twisted midair like a bent lobster, blood and Kagune fragments scattering as his body spun and crashed through the wall. The breach widened, letting in the noise from outside.
Crash! She flung another enemy out, breaking the gap open further.
Then she grabbed Marude Itsuki by the collar and tossed him out first.
"Out you go, Marude."
"Ah—wait… Russell…"
The Acting Bureau Chief could not be allowed to fall here—he was her political leverage!
"Withdraw."
Holding [Black Abyss IV] as rearguard, Vela blocked before Aura and the others. Her crimson-purple Ukaku wings unfurled like a phoenix, bristling with crystal spikes that locked the V operatives in place. She didn't even look back.
To protect them, she was forced to restrain herself somewhat.
But it didn't matter. There was no better way to earn loyalty than saving lives—and no deeper severance than spilling blood.
The 24th Ward was still in Tokyo. Vela would be in Japan for some time.
"…Thank you."
Aura and Ui nodded gravely.
Though shaken by the revelation—the Washuu family, founders of the CCG and leaders of Japan's anti-ghoul operations for over a century, were pure-blood ghouls—their composure as Special Class investigators remained intact.
Because this mission had been about confronting their former superiors, and as local CCG loyalists, Aura, Tanakamaru, Ui and others who had little direct history with Vela did not want to provoke her further. Believing their purpose was merely to witness her abolish Washuu hereditary rule, they had not even brought their main Quinques.
Better not to stay and add to the chaos.
"You all, withdraw too."
Vela ordered Shinohara, Kuroiwa, and the other five weary investigators.
"Be careful."
Shinohara gave one look at the troops outside the estate, then nodded and pulled back without hesitation.
The first one Vela had tossed out, Marude, was already being carried away by waiting CCG investigators.
Shhh-shhh-shhh!
A hail of Kagune projectiles streaked toward Vela.
Clang-clang-clang! Her black lance whirled, impenetrable. Ukaku shards shattered or deflected off her guard.
Thump. Thump.
Kaiko stepped forward slowly, hefting a massive serrated white greatsword easily as tall as himself.
Clack-clack. His Ukaku shifted automatically from ranged to melee form.
An SSS-class Kakuja Quinque—[Owl]!
Vela's eyes narrowed.
Dual form—ranged and melee. She liked that.
"You'll regret this," Kaiko said darkly. "What I cannot obtain, neither shall you."
"Is that so? How long do you think you can stall me?"
Vela straightened, lance in hand, crouching low. One step—crack!
The mosaic tiles under her boot split apart.
Ding!
Steel clashed, sparks bursting high. Her armored boots sank deep into the stone floor, forcing Kaiko's body into a bow under the sheer force.
A veteran half-human older even than Arima. An SSS-class Quinque wielder. Not bad.
But could he withstand five "Vela's" worth of power?
"At last, I've drawn you out. Be grateful—I'll make you famous. As the world watches this live broadcast, you'll serve as the prime example of a half-human, half-ghoul."
With a sudden surge of strength, Vela twisted waist and shoulders, her [Black Abyss IV] striking not like a lance but like a war hammer, a massive axe, smashing toward Kaiko's serrated blade.
"You dare treat me as one of your kind? You are not worthy."
Whoosh!
Air shrieked around the strike, wind howling.
Kaiko braced his jagged greatsword to block—BOOM!
The explosion of force hurled him backward. His feet left the ground, body crashing through furniture, smashing shelves to splinters before slamming—
Crash!
The force of the jet-black thorned lance sent him crashing through the outer wall, slamming into the uneven garden lawn. Dirt and grass flew in sprays like a plowed field.
Vela followed close behind. Her armored boots, glowing faintly red, sank three inches into the soil, leaving deep impressions in the lush greenery as stone edging shattered and burst apart.
She stomped down on [Owl]—crack!—bones in his arm snapped audibly.
Driving [Black Abyss IV] into the ground, she swung it like a brutal, off-form golf club. The black shaft tore through the air, smashing into Kaiko's waist. His dislocated fingers lost their grip, and with a whoosh, he was flung away.
Boom!
The heavy exterior wall crumbled under impact, a jagged rebar spike punching through his abdomen. Flesh burst open like a split flower, blood pouring out in torrents. His scream was chilling, but Vela only shook her head.
"Look over there."
She pointed beyond the inner courtyard, toward the fence gate more than 250 meters away.
"…What is that…"
Kaiko struggled to see. His failing half-human eyesight blurred—but beyond, there were military trucks, clusters of soldiers in camouflage—and… artillery?
"Fire!"
Bang—!
With a deep metallic blast, the M777 howitzer's barrel spewed flame. Dust and dead leaves were blown into the air by the shockwave. The 155mm recoil shook the gun's heavy stabilizers, sending cracks through the asphalt and concrete curb beneath.
BOOOOOM—!
The deafening explosion blossomed into a fireball. Even a half-human's flesh ignited instantly in the searing heat.
Sand and stone rained down in a storm. Slowly, the smoke began to clear.
Weighing the SSS-class Kakuja Quinque [Owl] in her hand, Vela stepped beyond the estate wall and gestured forward.
"Begin."
"Yes, ma'am!" ×N.
US soldiers surged into the Washuu ancestral home, beginning a full sweep and purge.
At the same time, using the cannon blast from Ward 1's Washuu estate as a signal, Tokyo's 23 wards erupted into action. Military, police, and special forces moved simultaneously—
Every marked building, every target location—
Joint enforcement. Kick down doors. Hunt the ghouls.
—
—
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven