The Ghoul's roar was like a tangible sound wave, instantly overwhelming all the clamor in the stands.
"Roar—!!!"
His response was a brief, fear-frozen silence, followed by an outburst of roars and screams.
"Ghoul... Ghoul!"
"Kill him!"
"Protect the guests!"
Most of the Ghouls had faces filled with terror and panic, while a few agile ones—like Yue Shan Xi—had already quietly retreated, surrounded by their escorts.
Several restaurant security Ghouls, those closest, instantly had their eyes turn crimson, their Kagugan wide with rage, and their Kou-kaku erupted from their arms, descending from the high stands with a sharp whoosh, their movements swift and ruthless, aiming directly at the enormous dark red monster in the center of the arena.
However, their speed was comically slow in the Ghoul's eyes.
He didn't even move his massive body; instead, the several scarlet tentacles wildly flailing behind him suddenly accelerated.
"Rip! Rip! Rip!"
The sound of flesh tearing was so dense it made one's teeth ache. Those few tentacles, with sharp barbs at their ends, pierced out at a speed beyond visual comprehension, penetrating their bodies and tearing off large chunks of flesh.
The three Ghoul security guards who charged at the front didn't even manage to utter half a scream before their bodies were instantly torn apart by the brutal force. Their Kou-kaku shattered, and severed limbs mixed with hot blood and fragments of internal organs splattered everywhere, raining down like blood on the terrified guests scrambling at the edge of the stands.
"Ahhhhh—!"
"Run... Run!"
The Ghouls who witnessed this bloody and terrifying scene up close had their courage, which had been supported by anger and superiority, instantly collapse, replaced by bone-deep fear. They screamed, pushed, and desperately retreated, trying to get away from this bloody Slaughterhouse.
But this was only the beginning.
The Ghoul's pale eyes swept across the chaotic stands; every Ghoul caught in his gaze felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave. His massive body moved, and with every step he took, the blood-soaked ground emitted a dull tremor.
"The feast... has begun..." His deep, hoarse voice was like a death knell ringing from hell.
He was no longer content with passive defense. The tentacles behind him, like steel whips, swung fiercely towards the nearest stand railing with a tearing shriek.
"Boom!!!"
The steel railing, built of fine steel, was like paper in the face of the terrifying power contained in the tentacles, instantly twisting and breaking.
The Ghouls standing in that section were caught off guard, screaming as they fell through the broken gap.
The Ghoul didn't even need to deliberately kill; his massive body was the most lethal weapon. He casually swung his arms, which had transformed into two giant blades, and each swing brought a bloody storm. The Ghouls who tried to resist with their Kagune, their Kou-kaku and Kou-kaku were as fragile as rotten wood before the symbiotic claws, and their bodies were easily cut and severed along with them.
A Ghoul wearing an elaborate feathered mask screamed and released a sharp Bikaku, stabbing it towards the Ghoul's back, but it was precisely entangled by a suddenly coiling tentacle, which then tightened.
"Crack!" The crisp sound of bones breaking was clearly audible.
The Ghoul didn't even turn his head; he violently flung the tentacle, throwing the Ghoul, along with his broken Bikaku, like a broken sack into the distant, crowded mass of people, immediately causing another wave of terrified trampling and screams.
"Run! Hurry and run!"
"Don't block the way!"
"What kind of monster is this?!"
Panic spread like a plague. The once elegant and noble Ghoul gentlemen and ladies were now making spectacles of themselves, their masks askew, their elaborate evening gowns stained with blood and dust. They pushed, cursed, and only wanted to escape this sudden nightmare. The narrow passage leading to the exit was instantly blocked, and desperate cries and sounds of trampling rose and fell.
Kaneki Ken was blocked by the Ghoul in a relatively safe position behind him. He was stiff all over, his face ashen, and his stomach churned.
The scene before him was a hundred times more gruesome than any battle he had ever experienced. This was no longer about hunting and being hunted; it was pure Slaughter. Watching those Ghoul nobles, who were usually high and mighty, being easily crushed like ants, seeing their proud Kagune so vulnerable before the Ghoul, Kaneki Ken's worldview was shaken like never before.
In this world, weakness itself was a sin.
"Pfft—!"
Another tentacle shot out like a javelin, piercing the head of a Ghoul attempting a sneak attack from the side. Dark red viscous fluid and blood flowed down the tentacle, greedily absorbed by the Ghoul, and at the same time, the red on his body became even deeper.
"Not enough... Not enough!" The Ghoul roared to the sky, his voice filled with a frenzied satisfaction and a deeper hunger.
His massive foot stepped over a still-twitching severed body, and the viscous blood plasma underfoot made an uncomfortable squelching sound. His gaze swept across the chaotic stands like a searchlight, looking for his next target. Finally, his pale eyes locked onto the higher, as-yet-unaffected areas. There, Ghouls of higher status and more delicious auras were gathered.
"More... Slaughter!" The Ghoul took heavy steps, ignoring the river of blood flowing beneath his feet and the scattered remains, and pressed towards the higher levels of the stands. In his wake, he left only broken walls and a scene of carnage dyed dark red.
His massive body leaned slightly forward, and the scarlet tentacles wildly flailing behind him were filled with destructive power.
He didn't choose to go up the stairs or through passages; that was too slow.
"Boom—!!!"
The ground beneath the Ghoul's feet instantly cracked and sank. His huge body shot up like a cannonball, tearing through the air with a shriek, and violently slammed into the elaborately decorated second-floor stand.
"Bang—!!!"
Wood splinters, metal fragments, and broken marble scattered like an explosion, and the entire second-floor stand was ripped open with a huge gap. The Ghoul nobles, who had been hesitant and uncertain, instantly had all their illusions shattered by this violent intrusion, their screams drowned out by the thunderous sound of the collapsing structure.
But this was far from over.
The Ghoul's arms suddenly deformed, transforming into two massive crescent axe blades that overlapped in front of him, then swung to the left and right. The axe blades extended into grotesque giant scythes as they swung, and wherever they passed, Ghouls were cut in half like stalks of wheat.
The Ghoul landed on the debris, the luxurious carpet beneath his feet now soaked in warm blood.
He looked around.
An elderly Ghoul, dressed in a meticulous tailcoat and wearing gold-rimmed glasses, seemingly of high status, tried to maintain his composure and release his Kou-kaku for defense, while sharply reprimanding: "Stop! You monster! Do you know whose territory this is? You..."
Seeing this scene, He Xi Qian Yu felt a cold sneer in his heart, while the Ghoul bared his massive, fanged mouth.
These guys... they're so pampered they've lost their minds.