After the fall of the main control center, the remaining personnel of Cochlea had been forced to relocate.
Now dozens of staff members crowded inside a cramped emergency command room.
The air was suffocating with tension.
Red alarms flashed constantly across the surveillance monitors.
"Still no contact?!"
A middle-aged man wearing glasses slammed his hand against the console.
Cold sweat covered his forehead.
He was the acting deputy warden.
After Warden Misaka Kinshi had been killed earlier by Tatara, command of the facility had fallen onto his shoulders.
An impossible responsibility.
His eyes darted frantically across the monitors.
Each screen displayed a different section of the prison.
Gunfire.
Explosions.
Dead investigators.
Escaped ghouls.
"Report!" a communications officer shouted.
"We have received a response from Kishou Arima!"
The deputy warden rushed toward the console.
"Immediately inform him that Cochlea is under a large-scale assault by Aogiri Tree!"
"We require emergency support!"
The operator swallowed nervously.
"…Special Investigator Arima reports he is currently engaged in an extermination operation in the 24th Ward underground labyrinth."
"He cannot disengage immediately."
"Reinforcement will take time."
The deputy warden's face went pale.
Their strongest investigator was unavailable.
Then—
Another monitor suddenly lit up.
"Report!"
"Special Investigator Shinohara has arrived!"
"He is currently engaged in combat with a high-level ghoul on the lowest level!"
The deputy warden's eyes widened with relief.
He rushed toward the corresponding screen.
The image stabilized.
A massive armored figure stood at the center of the battlefield.
Clad in reinforced quinque armor.
Holding an enormous blade.
Yukinori Shinohara.
One of the seven Special Class investigators.
Known throughout the CCG as the "Unyielding Shinohara."
His armor—
Arata Prototype Armor (β-type)—
had been constructed using kagune material harvested from powerful ghouls.
It drastically enhanced both defense and physical strength.
"Excellent…"
The deputy warden finally exhaled.
"With Special Investigator Shinohara present…"
"The lowest level will hold."
But before he could finish—
Another voice screamed from the monitoring station.
"Emergency report!"
"Aogiri Tree intruder detected in Sector A-3!"
The deputy warden froze.
His heart nearly stopped.
Sector A-3.
That sector housed "Shin."
One of the CCG's most valuable experimental resources.
"Where are the guards?!" he shouted.
"Deploy reinforcements immediately!"
The operator's voice trembled.
"…The guards… are all dead."
The deputy warden's face twisted in disbelief.
"What?!"
"How many intruders?!"
The operator stared at the footage.
His voice cracked.
"…One."
"Only one."
The room fell silent.
"One…?"
The deputy warden forced himself to stay calm.
"It doesn't matter."
"He can't open Shin's containment chamber."
"That door is reinforced quinque steel—"
Another voice interrupted.
"Report!"
"Shin's cell has been opened!"
The deputy warden spun around violently.
"That's impossible!"
"How could he breach the door?!"
The operator pointed at the screen.
"…He didn't use brute force."
The blurry footage displayed a crimson-robed figure.
Thin scarlet tendrils extended from his fingertips.
They connected directly into the iris-scanner interface.
Seconds later—
The containment gate opened.
Moments after that—
The same figure reappeared.
Supporting a weakened man.
Arata Kirishima.
The deputy warden's blood ran cold.
"Shin… is being taken away…"
He slammed both fists onto the console.
"Contact Special Investigator Shinohara immediately!"
"Tell him to abandon his current target!"
"He must intercept them at the A-3 passage!"
"Shin must not leave Cochlea!"
The operator suddenly hesitated.
"…Sir."
"The target is not heading for the exit."
"What?"
"They are moving deeper into the lowest level…"
"…toward Special Investigator Shinohara."
Cochlea — Lowest Level
The vast underground chamber echoed with violent impacts.
Metal clashed against kagune.
Shockwaves rippled through the steel floor.
Ayato Kirishima darted across the battlefield like a streak of dark lightning.
His ukaku kagune unleashed a storm of feather-like projectiles.
But none of them penetrated the armor before him.
Sparks burst harmlessly against the black surface.
"Damn it…"
Ayato growled.
"That stupid shell…"
Opposite him—
Shinohara advanced slowly.
Like an unstoppable fortress.
Each step shook the ground.
His massive quinque—
Oniyamada No.1—
swept through the air with crushing force.
Ayato barely avoided the strike.
The blade carved a deep groove into the floor.
"It's over."
Shinohara's calm voice echoed through his helmet.
He spotted an opening.
Suddenly—
His massive body accelerated.
In a burst of explosive speed—
He closed the distance instantly.
Oniyamada No.1 descended toward Ayato's head.
A fatal blow.
Ayato's pupils shrank.
His kagune moved instinctively—
But it was too slow.
Then—
A voice echoed from the edge of the battlefield.
"Stop."
Shinohara's blade did not halt.
It continued downward.
Half a meter from Ayato's head—
BOOM!!!
Scarlet tendrils erupted from the shadows.
Thick as steel cables.
Moving faster than the eye could follow.
One of them struck the side of Shinohara's blade.
CLANG—!!!
The impact exploded like thunder.
A violent shockwave tore through the chamber.
Shinohara's arm went numb instantly.
Even with the reinforcement of Arata armor—
The force felt like being struck by a speeding truck.
His attack veered sideways.
BOOM!!!
The blade slammed into the ground beside Ayato.
Cracking the alloy floor.
Debris scattered everywhere.
At the same time—
Several tendrils wrapped around Ayato's body.
Dragging him backward.
Creating distance between him and Shinohara.
The crimson tendrils slowly retracted.
Two figures emerged through the smoke and blood.
One of them supported a weakened man.
Ren Kiryu.
His crimson robe fluttered slightly in the turbulent air.
Beside him—
Barely standing—
Was Arata Kirishima.
Shinohara steadied his stance.
Then lifted his head sharply.
When he saw the man being supported—
His pupils contracted violently.
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