Chapter 287: 287: Surging Undercurrents!

The next second, with a deafening boom, a figure burst out of the cloud of dust.

“The fight’s only just getting started!”

Ivan leapt forward with a vicious grin.

His body, exposed beneath the sunlight, suddenly twisted and expanded as countless streams of thick, oil-like liquid poured from his flesh.

The black substance gathered over his head, his blade-shaped arms, his chest, and then spread across his entire body.

At the same time, the bones, blood vessels, and other tissues inside him underwent violent changes.

In the blink of an eye, Ivan came crashing down onto the open ground in front of Sen Takatsuki.

Bang!

The earth caved beneath him, forming a massive crater.

Ivan straightened his back.

He now stood nearly three meters tall, his entire body covered in thick, vicious-looking armor.

Looking closely, the surface was packed with countless tiny bone spikes, dense as the fine down on a penguin.

A dark red glow could be seen beneath them, like magma under cracked volcanic rock.

Faint light leaked through the armor while terrifying heat radiated outward.

“One-Eyed Owl, if you can survive three moves against me, I’ll count it as your win!”

Two streams of white-hot steam escaped from the corners of Ivan’s split mouth and curled upward like twin dragons.

“I love crushing the confidence of arrogant bastards!”

Sen Takatsuki fired the four crimson kagune on her shoulders straight at Ivan.

They moved so fast that afterimages remained hanging in the air.

With Ivan’s visual processing, he could clearly track the path of a fired bullet.

The fact that her attacks could leave afterimages in his vision meant their speed was far beyond that.

But what Sen Takatsuki had not expected was for Ivan to make no attempt to dodge.

Instead, he raised both arms and brought them down toward her.

Boom!

The blades tore through the air and slammed into Sen Takatsuki’s chest.

Her skin, harder than steel, might as well have been paper in front of Ivan’s weapons.

She was launched backward like a cannon shell and smashed through three or four buildings in a row.

The force thrown off by the impact carved deep trenches into the ground and nearby structures.

Some buildings were even split cleanly in half.

Ivan felt the power generated by the three engine-hearts beating inside his body at the same time, and a satisfied expression appeared on his face.

He looked down at the dent in his chest.

It had been left behind by Sen Takatsuki’s kagune.

But the damage was shallow.

Almost nothing more than a thin layer of bone spikes had been destroyed.

The mutated cells from Burning Wings, combined with the Rc cells from this world, had given Ivan defensive strength that was no weaker than his superhuman skin.

“That was only one move. Don’t tell me you’re already done.”

Ivan strode forward, his heavy steps crushing the rubble beneath his feet.

He stopped in front of Sen Takatsuki.

The massive One-Eyed Owl was leaning crookedly against the ruins of a building.

The four kagune extending from her shoulders hung limply at her sides.

Worse, through the X-shaped wound across her chest, the severed bones inside were clearly visible.

The injury looked horrific.

“You want to keep going?” Ivan asked.

The only answer he received was an enraged roar.

Driven by fury, the One-Eyed Owl transformed again.

A mouth opened where her central eye had been.

Meanwhile, crimson kakugan appeared inside the six slits that had previously lined her head.

The muscles in her neck bulged and elongated, while the two horn-like structures on her head curved downward, making her look like some warped dragon.

The kagune on either side of her body also fully transformed into clawed arms.

Ivan watched as the torn flesh across the One-Eyed Owl’s wounds pulled itself back together.

The bleeding stopped.

“This is my strongest form.”

The One-Eyed Owl let out a savage roar.

“Now I’m going to eat you piece by piece.”

Whoosh!

She vanished from Ivan’s sight.

By the time he found her again, she was clinging to the side of a high-rise building.

Her head was shoved inside through a broken section of the structure.

She was devouring humans inside to replenish her strength.

Wee Woo Wee Woo Wee Woo!!!

Warning sirens began blaring nearby.

Then a deep male voice came through the public broadcast system.

“Attention, all residents near Inoue Tower in Ward 20. A highly dangerous ghoul is currently attacking the building. Please protect yourselves and remain calm. Police and CCG investigators are on their way. Follow evacuation instructions and leave the area in an orderly manner…”

“This is getting annoying.”

Without supersonic flight or telekinesis, Ivan could only use the most straightforward method to reach the One-Eyed Owl.

Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Every time Ivan vanished from where he stood, a crater appeared beneath his feet.

Boom!

Two tentacles burst from his back and stabbed directly into the side of the building.

Using them as anchors, Ivan launched himself high into the air.

Simple and brutal.

But effective.

Ivan was closing the distance between himself and the One-Eyed Owl at an astonishing speed.

And his appearance had already sent shock through countless factions watching the situation unfold on television.

…

Anteiku.

Yoshimura stared at Ivan on the television screen and unconsciously frowned.

The coffee cup in his hand slowly began to crack.

Fine fractures spread across its surface.

Crack!

The cup suddenly shattered.

The sound immediately drew the attention of everyone working in the café.

When they followed Yoshimura’s gaze toward the television, they froze.

“That’s the leader of Aogiri Tree… the One-Eyed Owl?”

Touka’s visible left pupil widened slightly.

“But who the hell is that monster chasing her?”

No one in the café answered.

Kaneki, standing nearby, was even more shaken.

There was actually a ghoul that strong?

“I need to go out for a while.”

Yoshimura turned toward Touka and the others.

“Take care of the customers while I’m gone.”

“Manager…”

Worry appeared on Touka’s face.

She tried to stop him.

But Yoshimura’s back looked firm and unwavering.

No matter who the other person was, he was going to save his daughter.

Just like he had ten years ago.

…

Ward 24.

The place known as the most chaotic district in Tokyo.

Countless ghouls stared in disbelief as the nightmare that had haunted them for years was now being hunted down by another monster.

Their jaws practically hit the floor.

“There’s actually a ghoul strong enough to chase the One-Eyed Owl?”

One ghoul muttered to himself.

“My God. I have to be seeing things.”

Compared to every other ward, life in Ward 24 was brutally unforgiving.

Ghouls died here every day.

Cannibalism was nothing unusual.

And it was in this environment that Sen Takatsuki had fought her way upward with her own two hands, one step at a time, until she reached the top of Aogiri Tree and became the strongest ghoul in the eyes of countless others.

“Who the hell is that guy?” one ghoul asked his companion.

“No idea.”

The other ghoul stared at the television.

“But there’s one thing we can be pretty sure about.”

“What?”

“His appearance is going to turn this whole world upside down.”

He paused.

“Maybe… we’re about to enter an entirely new era.”