Chapter 7 - Yoshimura Kuzen
The café's tidy tables, chairs, and supplies lay scattered, a chaotic mess reflecting the tense atmosphere.
A tall blond man, nicknamed Gecko, stood with scale-like kagune extending from his back. Beside him, a figure in a black robe wore a white mask with a grinning pattern.
Two others in blue robes sported masks marked with an "X." Facing them were several figures in café uniforms, led by Kirishima Touka.
"This isn't a request—it's a demand. Join our organization," Gecko said, grinning.
"Impossible!" Touka snapped, eyeing them warily.
After school, she'd come to work at Anteiku Café, a haven for ghouls who ate human food and lived as ordinary people, avoiding conflict. Tonight, however, predatory ghouls—those who craved human flesh—disrupted their peace. They'd barged in, demanding allegiance to their group.
"We're not like you," Touka said, her voice cold. "Leave before this escalates."
"That won't do," Gecko replied, his scales clearing debris from the bar. "You've no choice. Join, or die."
"Asshole!" Touka and her allies gritted their teeth.
A burly ghoul roared, his kagune ripping through his shirt as he lunged. Its claws, vibrant and sharp, matched or surpassed Gecko's strength. But two black-robed figures behind Gecko unveiled weapons resembling lightsabers—spears of light, radiant with fallen angel power.
The burly ghoul froze, stunned. In that moment, Gecko's scales sent him crashing back. Touka and her allies gaped at the weapons, disbelief etched on their faces.
"Those…" Touka stammered.
"Never seen them?" Gecko sneered. "This is the fallen angels' gift to us."
"You're working with fallen angels?" Touka's shock deepened.
Ghouls weren't tied to mythology, but they knew the tensions among devils, angels, and fallen angels. Kuoh Town was devil territory, and wielding fallen angel power here risked war. The devils' leniency—allowing Anteiku's ghouls to live quietly—was a fragile privilege. Collaborating with fallen angels crossed a dangerous line.
Touka and her companions sought only peace, not entanglement in a mythological conflict where they'd be mere cannon fodder.
"Cooperation?" Gecko laughed. "Weak races like us need strong allies to thrive. The fallen angels promised us a world where ghouls rule, with humans as livestock. We'll feast freely!"
His intoxicated expression revealed his craving for a life of unrestrained carnage, unlike Anteiku's discreet scavenging or body theft.
"We're ghouls, but we have dignity," Touka retorted. "We won't butcher humans in broad daylight."
"Crazy? You're the crazy ones, clinging to a dull existence," Gecko scoffed. "Call your manager. I know he's Yoshimura Kuzen, an SSS-class ghoul. If he joins, every ghoul in Kuoh Town will follow."
Yoshimura's prestige could bolster their ranks for war. The fallen angels valued his unique physiology, believing his kagune genes could mass-produce one-eyed ghouls rivaling mid-class devils.
An elderly man emerged from the kitchen—Yoshimura Kuzen, his eyes narrowed but calm, exuding quiet strength. Even Gecko flinched at his presence.
"Leave," Yoshimura said. "We won't join your conflict."
His feather-like kagune enveloped him like armor, bird-like and radiant, with blade-like extensions on his hands. Though his kagune was formidable, the fallen angels' spears of light—mythological power—posed an uncertain threat.
The battle erupted. Yoshimura targeted Gecko, his feathered blades slicing downward. Gecko parried with his spear of light, tearing the kagune's edge. A masked ghoul ambushed, but Yoshimura severed his waist. The ghoul's wounds reconnected instantly, and his spear pierced Yoshimura's side, drawing blood.
"Manager!" Touka cried, moving to help, but the other robed figures blocked her.
At that moment, a bell jingled. The café door swung open.
All eyes turned to the entrance. In the moonlit corridor, a figure emerged, half-illuminated. As clouds parted, silver moonlight faded, and the café's lights revealed Evan, darkness seeming to retreat with his steps.
His timely arrival halted the fight, searing the scene into everyone's minds.
"Who's this?" a robed ghoul muttered.
"Just some ordinary guy," another said.
"Perfect. I'm hungry after this," a third growled. "I'll take him."
"Evan?!" Touka gasped, recognizing her classmate's radiant presence, like the sun.
"He's your classmate?" Yoshimura said, concern flickering. "This complicates things. We may not be able to protect him."
Evan ignored them, striding toward the hostile ghouls, their kagune bared. A glance told him the situation. The spears of light in their hands sparked surprise—fallen angel power, unmistakable.
"You're in my way," a black-robed ghoul snarled, lunging at Evan, his kagune slashing like a blade. "I'll eat you first!"
Touka moved to intervene but was too slow.
Clang!
A metallic ring echoed. Evan caught the kagune between his fingers, unfazed.
Years of training, amplified by his system, had forged him into a powerhouse. In the Campione! world, he'd rivaled Great Knights in months. With magic and cursed energy mastered, his physique shrugged off ghoul attacks like tickles.
"What… happened?" Touka whispered, stunned.
How could a human withstand a ghoul's strike, let alone react? She knew Evan excelled in sports, but this defied logic.
An athletic prodigy? she wondered.
Evan acted. Grabbing the ghoul's head, he unleashed a surge of cursed energy through his palm. The ghoul's head ignited, skin, flesh, and brain incinerated in seconds. Even a ghoul's regeneration couldn't recover from such destruction.
"Brother!" another black-robed ghoul screamed, his composure shattering as he watched his kin burn.