"Hiss—" He Xi Qian Yu rubbed his burning cheekbone, wincing and sucking in a cold breath.
"You knew this would happen," he complained internally, "Why didn't you stop her?"
"...Sorry..." A hint of barely suppressed schadenfreude laced Slaughter's voice, "...I thought you...enjoyed it..."
"Enjoy your Ma…" He Xi Qian Yu cursed inwardly.
Dong Xiang's punch landed squarely on his cheekbone.
He wasn't unable to dodge; he merely wanted to test the limits of his body, which had been strengthened by the symbiote.
The fact proved that even with symbiote enhancement, a normal human body, in terms of pure strength, still struggled to directly contend with a Ghoul.
However, the feedback from Slaughter's increased strength was also visible; at least he wasn't sent flying by Dong Xiang's punch.
Of course, if he were fully possessed, that would be another matter.
…
"This is the place." Dong Xiang's clear, cold voice interrupted He Xi Qian Yu's mental communication with Slaughter.
Before them was the outline of a Gothic church. The heavy doors were tightly shut, and the sounds of intense fighting and collisions were clearly audible, seeping through the cracks in the door.
Without looking, He Xi Qian Yu knew who was getting beaten inside.
"...Four people..." Slaughter sensed precisely, "...One…is almost done for..."
"The door is locked," Dong Xiang said in a deep voice.
Before her words even finished, her left eye was already stained crimson, and half of a beautiful, blood-crystal-like Ukaku suddenly unfurled behind her. Shard-like Kagune shot out like bullets, slamming fiercely into the heavy door panels, scattering dazzling sparks.
The door remained unmoving.
Dong Xiang's eyes sharpened, her Ukaku trembled slightly, and her Kagune reformed.
"Let me." He Xi Qian Yu's hand gently rested on her forearm.
Almost simultaneously, two thick, dark-red tentacles, like predatory pythons, shot out from behind him with a piercing shriek that tore through the air, brutally piercing the heavy steel door.
The tentacles exerted force violently in both directions—
"Boom—Crack!"
The entire heavy steel door was forcibly torn, twisted, and finally ripped off and flung aside.
Dong Xiang took in this scene, and an indescribable, complex emotion welled up deep within her, mixed with astonishment at this power and… a hint of envy.
She clenched her palm.
If only she had possessed such power back then…
"What are you thinking?" He Xi Qian Yu's voice pulled her back from her brief reverie.
"Nothing," Dong Xiang quickly shook her head, suppressing her surging emotions, "Let's go."
Seeing her reluctance to speak further, He Xi Qian Yu didn't press, nodding and following her.
…
Stepping into the church's central hall, the sounds of fighting were deafening. He Xi Qian Yu casually put on the mask he had pre-ordered from Mr. Uta.
The central hall was dimly lit, with only a few pale moonlight rays piercing through the stained-glass windows, mixing with the faint flickering candlelight from the candelabras.
His good brother, Nishio Nishiki, lay dying in the center of a shattered wooden table. His injuries had not yet healed, and now he had been brutally beaten by Yue Shan Xi, his life force as weak as a flickering candle in the wind.
At the farthest altar, Nishino Kimi was tightly bound by ropes.
In the center of the church, a battle—or rather, a one-sided crushing—was underway. Kaneki Ken's every desperate attack was elegantly and effortlessly neutralized by Yue Shan Xi, who then returned it with even more viciousness.
The chasm in their strength left Kaneki Ken scarred and disheveled, while Yue Shan Xi's luxurious suit merely had a few specks of dust.
With a dull thud, Yue Shan Xi kicked Kaneki Ken hard in the abdomen. The young man flew backward like a broken sack, slamming heavily into a cold stone pillar, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
Only then did Yue Shan Xi calmly turn around, his crimson Ghoul eye gleaming in the gloom, precisely fixing on the two people at the entrance.
"Oh my, oh my," his lips curved upward in pleasure, "Two more uninvited guests. Miss Dong Xiang, and… this mysterious masked gentleman?"
Several crimson tentacles silently emerged from behind He Xi Qian Yu, poised to strike. Just as he was about to act, his wrist was tightly clasped by Dong Xiang's cool fingers.
"?" He Xi Qian Yu looked at her in confusion.
In his opinion, directly going up and beating that pervert into submission was the optimal solution.
"Leave it to me." Dong Xiang's voice was not loud, but in her usually indifferent eyes, there was now a clear, almost pleading light.
He Xi Qian Yu paused slightly, and the tentacles behind him quietly retracted.
He didn't understand, but he respected her wishes.
"...What's wrong with her?..." Slaughter's voice was filled with confusion.
He Xi Qian Yu didn't respond, his gaze tightly following Dong Xiang as she charged towards Yue Shan Xi like an arrow released from a bow, while he himself quickly walked towards Nishio Nishiki.
His good brother lay in a pool of blood and wood chips, his face ashen, his chest rising and falling so faintly it was barely visible.
He looked a little dead.
"Qianyu…" Nishio Nishiki barely managed to open his swollen eyelids, recognizing him by his familiar voice and figure, and squeezed out a few words with a faint breath, "Save… Kimi…"
"Don't worry," He Xi Qian Yu crouched down, gently pressing his trembling shoulder, "She's fine, you'll both be fine."
Upon receiving this promise, Nishio Nishiki's taut nerves seemed to snap instantly. His head tilted, and he completely lost consciousness.
"Holy crap!"
He Xi Qian Yu's heart tightened, and he immediately reached for his neck—a faint pulse was still beating.
He sighed in relief; thankfully, he was just severely injured and unconscious.
Turning his gaze to the battlefield in the center of the church, he found that Kaneki Ken had somehow struggled to his feet and rejoined the fight.
With Dong Xiang's sharp Ukaku and Kaneki Ken's assistance, Yue Shan Xi, who had initially been elegant and at ease, seemed to start showing a hint of… sluggishness in his movements?
He Xi Qian Yu suddenly had the illusion that the two could win.
However, just as that thought arose, a sudden change occurred.
Yue Shan Xi deftly dodged a crystal feather from Dong Xiang, elegantly wiping a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth that Kaneki Ken had desperately managed to inflict. As Kaneki Ken charged forward again with a resolute roar, a cruel glint flashed in Yue Shan Xi's eyes, and his right arm became a blurred afterimage—
Pfft!
His right arm pierced Kaneki Ken's abdomen.
"Cough—!" Kaneki Ken's body suddenly arched, blood gushed from his mouth like a spring, and he slumped weakly.
Yue Shan Xi withdrew his arm, licking the warm blood clinging to his fingertips. His pupils suddenly dilated in the gloom, and a fanatical ecstasy appeared on his face, followed by a burst of hysterical laughter: "Delicious! Truly a delicacy beyond compare! Even more perfect than I imagined!"
His face twisted with excitement, then a joyful smile appeared; his face twisted with extreme excitement, yet the next second it solidified into a smile so joyful it sent chills down one's spine.
Kagune gradually coiled around his right arm, forming a spiral-shaped blue Koukaku, pointing directly at Dong Xiang, who had just landed.
Dong Xiang reacted extremely quickly, her Ukaku vibrating, and as she retreated, several sharp blood crystals shot out.
But Yue Shan Xi was faster.
His figure approached like a ghost, his left arm effortlessly deflecting the incoming blood crystals, while his Koukaku-covered right arm, to Dong Xiang's horror, effortlessly pierced her slender waist and abdomen.
"Ugh!" The intense pain instantly robbed Dong Xiang of her strength and voice.
"How unfortunate," Yue Shan Xi looked down at Dong Xiang, an elegant smile playing on his lips, "Your part ends here, Miss Kirishima."
He violently flung his arm, and Dong Xiang's body, trailing spurting blood, slammed heavily onto the cold ground, blood rapidly spreading beneath her, staining the mottled stone slabs.