บท 14: Underground Labyrinth
Repel the One-Eyed Owl?
Starting out with such a tough quest...
Although Byakuya's goal on this mission was indeed to prevent the One-Eyed Owl from killing Kasuka Mado, he only planned to rescue her, not engage in a fight with the Owl.
But now, given the circumstances, he planned to at least attempt a battle with the One-Eyed Owl.
…
24th Ward
This place isn't exactly an official area. Technically speaking, 24th Ward is a massive underground labyrinth excavated by ghouls, sprawling beneath much of Tokyo.
The depth of 24th Ward is immeasurable, it's rumored that deep within it lies the central nest of a vast number of ghouls.
It's not a place where normal humans can survive, and the CCG couldn't possibly establish a branch here like in other areas.
All the CCG can do is dispatch search squads to investigate this mysterious maze.
Though the CCG has found multiple entrances to 24th Ward, only the one on the edge of 23rd Ward has sufficient intelligence.
The search squads have entered the underground maze of 24th Ward multiple times through this entrance, mapping a certain depth, so they generally avoid using the other entrances to reduce the risk of ambushes due to insufficient information.
Byakuya's search squad has now entered 24th Ward.
"Everyone, be extra vigilant of your surroundings, ghouls could appear at any moment" Captain Marude warned as he led the squard forward.
The group nodded solemnly, each well aware of the danger here and unwilling to take any risks with their lives.
Byakuya was no exception. By nature, he was cautious and wasn't going to let his power make him overconfident.
While he observed his surroundings, he also noted the maze's walls.
If he remembered correctly, these walls were actually made from kagune—the same material used to make quinques.
The difference was that while quinques were developed by the CCG, the maze walls were a kind of "technology" developed by the ghouls.
The two technologies shared little in common, making it difficult for the CCG to penetrate the maze walls, significantly hindering their investigative work in 24th Ward. The search squads couldn't afford to waste energy breaking down walls, so they had to explore the maze cautiously, step by step.
Just then, Byakuya spotted a figure ahead, crouched on the ground, seemingly gnawing on something.
Clearly, it was a ghoul.
At this point, no one else had noticed it but him.
A moment later, as they drew closer, Captain Marude suddenly realized and ordered, "Stop!"
At his command, everyone instantly halted.
"Prepare for combat" Marude said in a low voice.
The ghoul, startled by the commotion, immediately abandoned the corpse it had been feeding on and darted deeper into the maze, shouting, "The 'Doves' are here! More doves have entered!"
"Bad luck—barely inside, and we're already facing a battle…" Marude sighed.
In 24th Ward, encountering a ghoul usually means the likelihood of facing a swarm of them.
This was why previous search teams in 24th Ward suffered such high casualty rates.
It was inevitable—24th Ward was a ghoul nest and sooner or later, they would encounter ghouls.
"For now, hold your ground and wait for my command" Marude ordered, staring intently into the depths of the maze.
The rest waited silently for his signal, gripping their quinque briefcases tightly, the tension so high they could hear their own heartbeats.
Besides Marude, the calmest ones were Kasuka and Byakuya, followed by Kureo.
As expected, a dozen ghouls emerged from the maze's depths moments later.
"They're here! Everyone, ready your quinques!" Marude shouted.
The team quickly unlocked their cases with biometric identification, equipping their unique quinques.
Each quinque had a distinct shape, as they were crafted from kagune, once part of unique ghouls...
Byakuya remained positioned in the middle-rear of the squad due to his lower investigator rank. He wasn't in the front lines like Marude or Kasuka.
In mere seconds, the ghouls charged with such force that they almost broke through the squad's formation.
One ghoul aimed straight for Byakuya, clearly marking him as a target.
"Watch out, Byakuya!" Kureo warned him immediately.
Since Byakuya was a newcomer both to the CCG and the squad team, Kureo was looking out for him.
In the original storyline, Kureo had always been protective of his colleagues, especially his junior partner, Koutarou Amon, although he bore deep hatred and cruelty toward ghouls.
Byakuya sidestepped the ghoul's attack, then countered by piercing its neck with his quinque, 'Eric'.
While higher-level ghouls had extreme regenerative abilities, making neck injuries non-fatal, this particular ghoul was clearly low-level, succumbing after only a few struggles.
[Ding! The host defeated a "B Rated Ghoul" and earned 3 attribute points!]
Sure enough, it was just a B rated ghoul—easily defeated.
"Thank you for the warning, Senior" Byakuya replied graciously, even though he could predict the ghoul's moves without the warning. He still chose to acknowledge Kureo's good intentions.
"Impressive…" Kureo remarked, clearly impressed by Byakuya's combat skills.
'That kind of talent… indeed, it must come from that place…'
For a moment, he was lost in thought but quickly refocused on handling the other ghouls.
In the end, they survived this bloody battle without casualties.
Some were injured, but there were no fatalities.
With Special Class Marude and Associate Special Class Kasuka present, these low-level ghouls weren't much of a challenge.
In the fight, Byakuya managed to defeat three B rated ghouls, gaining 9 attribute points in total.
"We'll rest here for now" Marude announced.
"Injured squad members, tend to your wounds quickly so we can continue forward"
As Byakuya sat on a large rock to rest, Kureo sat beside him.
"Your performance was impressive, Investigator Byakuya. It's a shame you're only equipped with a B rated quinque. When we get back, I'll help you apply for an A rated quinque."
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