Meanwhile, at the entrance of the 11th Ward.
"It's been so long already… do you think Hayashi might have run into trouble?" Seeing that Hayashi still hadn't come out, Nashiro and Kurona anxiously paced back and forth, their eyes filled with worry.
Hayashi wasn't just their idol — he was their emotional anchor. The thought of him possibly facing danger inside tore at their hearts.
"Don't worry, Hayashi will be fine" Akira comforted them, gently patting their shoulders.
"Do you really think Hayashi will walk out safe and sound?" The twins lifted their tear-brimmed eyes, full of hope.
"This…" Akira faltered, suddenly at a loss for words.
She wanted to reassure them that Hayashi would walk out unharmed. But considering he was up against the most powerful ghoul — an SSS-rated, the One-Eyed Owl — she couldn't bring herself to say it.
Even if Hayashi could casually crush S-rated ghouls, SSS was on a completely different level. Even believing in his strength, she wasn't sure if he could come back alive.
For all she knew, he could already have been devoured by the Owl. Akira shook her head, casting the thought aside.
"He'll win!"
"Hayashi said it himself—he's invincible!"
Hearing that, Akira ruffled the sisters' hair. For once, the usually stern and cold woman allowed a rare, gentle smile to slip through.
"…Oh? It seems we've got company." Ihei's soft murmur carried an edge of excitement.
At some point, a group of Aogiri Tree members had gathered on the rooftop. Not too many, but still a good twenty or thirty of them.
"Tatara said not to let them escape."
"Kill them all—no survivors!"
With the order given, Aogiri's members leapt from the rooftop.
Akira's sword-whip unfurled as she shielded Nashiro and Kurona.
"Well, well. Aogiri sure knows how to roll out the welcome mat" Ihei twirled her blade with a playful glint in her eyes.
She had long been itching for carnage but hadn't had a chance to unleash herself until now. Finally, she could let loose.
"If you're so eager, then allow me to respond in kind."
Her elegant figure slipped gracefully into the crowd, blade flashing.Heads and limbs rolled wherever she passed.
"Die, you damn doves!" One of the ghouls tried to ambush her from behind.
But just as his strike was about to land, Ihei leapt lightly backward, evading with ease.
"Attacking from behind? That won't do. I hate it when people stand behind me." Her eyes narrowed, lips curling into a sweet, chilling smile — and with one swift motion, she severed his head.
Elsewhere, Akira's agility allowed her to cut down several ghouls in mere moments.
Even Nashiro and Kurona didn't falter. They looked fragile because they leaned on Hayashi, but together, the twins fought with precision.
Back-to-back, their teamwork left no openings. Any ghoul that came close was instantly crippled, unable to put up a fight.
Before long, the team wiped out all the Aogiri members surrounding them.
But just as they began to relax, another dozen ghouls appeared on the rooftop.
"Still more?" Everyone except Ihei was breathing heavily from the previous fight.
"Don't let them leave alive!"
"Don't be afraid—eat them!"
The rooftop horde leapt down.
CRASH!
The sound of shattering glass echoed. From the second-floor window, a small figure suddenly leapt out.
Everyone — ghouls and investigators alike — turned at once.
Bathed in sunlight, Suzuya's beautiful, doll-like face came into view. Only now, it was smeared with blood, making it all the more unnerving.
"Good afternoon, everyone~" With a playful smile, Suzuya pulled ten throwing knives from his coat.Dozens more glimmered within its inner lining.
"That's…"
"How is he here?!"
Fear swept across the ghouls' faces. Many instinctively took a step back.
But Suzuya strolled through them, flicking knives with practiced precision. Most of the ghouls fell before they could even finish their screams, heads pierced clean through.
"Sorry I'm late—I got lost~" He smiled sweetly, retrieving his bloodstained blades that sparkled ominously in the sun.
"Suzuya, where the hell did you run off to?" The twins hurried to him, relief mixing with frustration.
"I was walking and got separated… then I got lost." Suzuya tilted his head innocently, still smiling.
"Then how did you end up here?" Akira's eyes narrowed in confusion.
"Well, since I was lost, I thought I might as well kill some ghouls. But after a while, they just started running away from me for no reason. So, I chased them… and chased them… until I ended up here~"
Suzuya scratched his head, radiating naïve sunshine.
Everyone around him fell silent.…That was a thing you could do?
Truly, no two people were alike.
At that moment, Hayashi finally walked out from the street corner.
"Hayashi!" Nashiro and Kurona's eyes lit up the instant they saw him. They ran forward and hugged him tightly, only relaxing after confirming he was unharmed.
"You didn't get hurt, right?" Hayashi ruffled their hair, his gaze flicking to the corpses littering the ground.
"No, just ordinary ghouls—no executives." Ihei shook her head, then glanced toward Suzuya.
"And most of these were his doing."
Hayashi turned to look. Catching his gaze, Suzuya beamed brightly.
"Where did you get those Quinques?" Hayashi's eyes fell on the throwing knives in his hands.
He was sure third-class investigators weren't supposed to be issued Quinques.
"I stole them." Suzuya answered with a straight face, no hesitation.
"…." Hayashi fell silent. That… tracked perfectly with his character.
"I've collected all the documents from the branch. They're here." Hayashi handed over a briefcase.
"You… you already went into the 11th Ward branch?" Akira blinked in surprise.
"Yeah, I just went in and got them." Hayashi replied casually, as if it were nothing.
"And your battle with the One-Eyed Owl?" That was the question everyone wanted to know most.
"What happened?"
Hayashi met their curious eyes, nodded, then spoke slowly:
"We fought. She was stronger than I expected. We were evenly matched, clashing for a long time without a clear victor. In the end, I only managed to win by the narrowest of margins."
He nodded seriously, face calm.
…A narrow victory? Barely scraped by?
They looked at him — clothes bloodstained, but otherwise completely unscathed.
"I see…" Akira nodded, not particularly shocked.
At this point, nothing surprised her anymore. She'd already seen him do the impossible, like dragging a plane down from the sky with his bare hands.
The others shared the same resigned acceptance. By now, they'd grown used to it.
"Then let's head back and report." Hayashi glanced once more toward the 11th Ward.
A long talk under the night sky, huh? He had a feeling… the next time he met Eto, it would be quite the evening.