Just at this critical moment—
Rumble, rumble, rumble—!!!
A colossal roar, far more terrifying than all the battle sounds combined on the lower levels of Kukulia, as if the sky itself was collapsing, suddenly erupted from above everyone's heads—from Kukulia's Gate 0.
He Xi Qian Yu's fatal beheading blade, under this sudden thunderous sound, experienced an extremely subtle delay in its movement.
Shinohara Yukinori also lost his balance due to the violent tremor, falling heavily backward and to the side. The lethal crimson blade whistled past the edge of "Kirishima Arata," leaving a trail of dazzling sparks and a deep gash.
Kukulia, Temporary Control Room
"What's going on?!" The Deputy Warden was so shaken by the sudden thunderous sound that he nearly fell off his chair, his face ashen, his glasses slipping to the tip of his nose.
The area on the screen representing Gate 0 was furiously flashing a deep red, top-level alert.
"Sir!" A monitor operator's voice was distorted by fear. He pointed at the monitoring screen for Gate 0, babbling incoherently, "It's…it's the One-Eyed Owl! It…it's here! Gate 0…it…"
…
Under the horrified gazes of all the remaining combatants, Gate 0, which had just been closed and was cast from heavy Kouink steel, along with dozens of meters of thick alloy walls around it, was torn open, crumpled, and lifted upward by an unimaginable brute force, like fragile paper toys. A colossal breach was violently ripped open.
From the massive torn hole, a colossal figure, with the might to crush everything, descended with a thunderous roar into the center of the battlefield on Kukulia's lowest level.
Thump!!!
The ground trembled violently.
Centered on the One-Eyed Owl's landing spot, rubble and smoke exploded in a ring, blowing away Ghouls and Search Officers who were slightly closer like fallen leaves.
"Roar—!!!"
An inhuman roar erupted from the One-Eyed Owl's mouth.
Slaughter's reaction was the most direct. After the One-Eyed Owl's arrival, the instinct of the symbiotic entity residing within He Xi Qian Yu was directly ignited.
Countless crimson substances, reeking of blood, surged out of his body like a breached sea of blood, condensing and shaping at an astonishing speed.
In an instant, a terrifying outline covered in crimson slime rose from the ground, emitting an aura of brutality no less intense than that of the One-Eyed Owl.
"Roar—!!!" A sharper, more frantic roar erupted from Slaughter's mouth.
Slaughter's enormous head turned towards the One-Eyed Owl, its terrifying, massive mouth, filled with pale, sharp teeth, opened to a chilling arc, letting out a battle-ready hiss. Its pale eyes locked onto the opponent.
Its massive body leaned slightly forward, countless crimson tentacles and claws poised at its sides, ready to strike.
Shinohara Yukinori seized the opportunity to struggle to his feet, quickly retreating to a relatively safe distance, watching the standoff before him, which far exceeded his comprehension, in shock.
Kirishima Arata tightly shielded Ayato, who was still somewhat dazed, his eyes filled with unprecedented solemnity.
The entire battlefield, whether Ghouls or Search Officers, trembled under these two oppressive forces, and the fighting almost completely ceased.
Just amidst this suffocating standoff—the One-Eyed Owl's crimson eye seemed to shift its gaze for an extremely brief moment.
Its gaze seemed to pass over the poised Slaughter, accurately locking onto Wu Dao Xiangdu, who was protected behind Kirishima Arata.
There was no warning, no words.
Just as Slaughter thought the opponent was about to launch an attack, and power gathered within its body—
Whoosh!!!
One of the One-Eyed Owl's enormous Kagune arms shot out with a speed beyond visual perception.
It did not attack Slaughter, nor did it pay attention to Kirishima Arata, who was close at hand, but instead grabbed the unsuspecting Wu Dao Xiangdu.
"Wh—…?! " Ayato only managed a short gasp of surprise before he was firmly clutched by the enormous Kagune claw.
"Ayato!!!" Kirishima Arata roared, lunging forward, but was brutally swept aside by the gust of wind generated by another tentacle casually waved by the One-Eyed Owl.
The One-Eyed Owl's massive body suddenly soared into the air. It clutched the struggling Ayato, as if holding a small doll, and shot skyward with astonishing speed, completely disproportionate to its size, towards the massive breach it had torn in the ceiling upon its arrival.
And all the Bronze Tree members on the battlefield, the moment the One-Eyed Owl flew away, swiftly disengaged from combat like a tide, rushing without hesitation towards their various pre-set retreat routes.
Slaughter's massive crimson body stiffened for a moment, seemingly taken aback by this sudden turn of events.
Its poised attack was forcibly held back, and it could only look up and let out an angry roar, watching helplessly as the One-Eyed Owl, clutching Ayato, disappeared into the dust of the breach in the ceiling.
Shinohara Yukinori was also stunned. He had completely unexpected that the One-Eyed Owl's target would be to abduct a cadre, and that it would retreat so decisively.
The entire lower-level battlefield was instantly left with only the shaken CCG Search Officers, the Ghouls who had not yet managed to evacuate, the crimson giant shadow radiating an aura of fury, and Kirishima Arata, who was swept to the ground and utterly distraught.
"It just…left?" Slaughter's voice, full of savagery and dissatisfaction, resounded.
"What else?" He Xi Qian Yu replied in his consciousness, with a hint of schadenfreude in his tone, "You can't fly, you can't catch up to it."
"Damn it!"
He needed to vent, he needed compensation!
Slaughter's angry gaze instantly locked onto the Ghoul prisoners on the battlefield who had not yet managed to escape.
These were ready-made "snacks."
Buzz—!
From Slaughter's massive back, countless crimson tentacles, as thick as bowls, shot out like wildly dancing vines with a speed imperceptible to the naked eye. Like deadly javelins, they instantly impaled every Ghoul who had not yet managed to escape.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The dull thuds of tentacles piercing flesh merged into a single sound. The Ghouls didn't even have time to scream before their bodies were lifted off the ground by immense force. Their chests and abdomens were mercilessly pierced by the crimson tentacles, and blood splattered like fountains.
Even more terrifying, as the tentacles pierced through, their tips split open like blooming flowers, revealing internal wriggling suction cup mouthparts. They greedily latched onto the Ghouls' Kakuhou locations, frantically tearing and extracting.
"Ergh ah ah ah—!" A series of shrill screams erupted, the pain of Kakuhou being ripped alive from their bodies and devoured.
The Ghouls' bodies convulsed and twisted violently on the tentacles, their clothing and skin on their backs ripped open, and their Kakuhou, the source of their power, were forcibly torn out by the crimson tentacles.
The Kakuhou, covered in slime and blood, shimmered with an eerie light under Kukulia's lights.