1 The Incident

lifted the bright yellow crime scene tape over my head as I entered the grounds outside the CCG Laboratory Division building. I was immediately greeted by Nimura Furuta, who lead me to the side, where the main attraction was located:

"Thanks for coming in, Sasaki!"

"Cut to the chase, what's been going on?" I inquired

"Well... I believe the image speaks for itself," Nimura chuckled

It was then I saw the horrific crime scene, something I never expected to see in these areas: three bodies, three lifeless Ghoul Investigators, three young men killed in cold blood. Multiple stab wounds across their limbs, blood spilling and gushing. Oozing. One was savagely stabbed to death, making his face unrecognisable.

"Some people called in for backup as they saw a dark figure rampaging outside the building. You got here in good time. This is really nasty." Nimura informed me. I simply nodded and then proceeded to analyze the bloody mess left by this "dark figure". It was fairly obvious that a human could not kill three men in such a harsh manner, but the chances of a Ghoul to infiltrate in an establishment ran by the CCG were low.

"Any information on the victims?"

"We couldn't identify the poor bastards, except for this one..." Nimura showed me the badge of the unrecognisable victim, "First Class Investigator Kita Matsudaira."

I backed away from the corpses and turned around, adjusting my glasses, "Hm. What about this Dark Figure?"

"We received some valuable information from the witnesses and we also caught a few glimpses of him on camera," Furuta stated, smiling and closing his eyes

"Him?"

"They say Izumo Tsuki killed the Investigators with his special quinque and then wandered inside the building. There was a squad sent, but they never replied back. And after that, we got the reports--"

"And then you called me."

"Precisely!" Nimura said

Why would Izumo do something like this? If what Nimura said was true then it could've been anyone; after all, he did specify that he used the "special quinque". I rarely interacted with Izumo, mostly because I wasn't allowed to, no one was allowed to, but he wouldn't do anything like this without receiving orders from his superiors. It doesn't add up and there's only one way to uncover the truth.

"You seem to be caught in an argument inside your head, Sasaki," Nimura smirked, "sometimes I almost see a second self lurking beneath that surface."

I glared at him, "And you seem to be in a good mood despite the situation we're currently in."

"Oh, I'm sorry, it's just that... this isn't another day at the office."

"What do you mean?"

"I am saying that perhaps this case might be more serious than it looks, and it's piquing my interest."

"As if there wasn't enough going on already..." I sighed whilst walking towards the guarded entrance of the building. Nimura kept following me. His statement gave me a few concerns, it changed the air of this situation a little bit. I still can't cope with the fact that they suspect Izumo, I need to find him.

As I was walking towards the glass doors, my eyes began slipping in different directions. There were many First Class Investigators here and apparently, a lot workers managed to get out of the building unharmed. From what I overheard, it seems that Izumo caused a huge scandal after mercilessly injuring a couple of guards. Everyone got out very quickly afterwards, but there were more people on the upper floors. Surprisingly, Akira Mado was also outside, giving orders to a small group of armed Investigators. She often talked into a transceiver. I'm assuming she is trying to contact the squad Nimura mentioned earlier. Doesn't seem like she'll get anywhere like this. I need to hurry. I showed my badge to the Investigators that were guarding the entrance.

"Nimura, tell Akira that I will be heading inside the building," I ordered him

"All by yourself, Sasaki?" he asked, "That's bold, you know."

"I don't care," I replied, "and don't let her send any more Investigators."

He chuckled, "What a sick joke… Don't get yourself killed, Sasaki!"

I entered inside the building and turned around towards the exit. Nimura was already gone. The lights flickered on the inside, the alarms were still ringing. I instinctively pressed my hand to the handle of my suitcase, any disturbance could be dangerous, I had to be prepared. The entrance area was empty, there was nothing suspicious over there so I decided to go over to the next area. I walked through the ringing RC scan gate and then analysed the first floor of the building. The absence of the workers and crowds made it look bigger than ever, it was an odd liminal space. I stepped ever so slightly as I peered across the lab, there were rows upon rows of tables, equipment scattered all around, but no signs of Izumo whatsoever, he must've went deeper into the building. As I walked through the building I noticed a few bloodstains on the walls and the floor. The Investigators were quick to retrieve the bodies, I can't imagine what's on the other floors though... At this point it was midnight, the air of the situation was drastically changed yet again. I entered inside the elevator. Izumo and the Ghoul Investigator team had to be on the second floor. Yet again, I held the handle of the briefcase clenched in my fist as I waited inside the elevator, time passed very slowly and I could smell blood the more I advanced upwards. Looks like I was right. Finally, the metal doors opened, I stepped out quickly. It was quiet. I sauntered throughout the white corridor and after I took a turn to the left, I saw it: the source of putrid malice, a bloody scenery, a massacre. I layed upon a red, soaked floor, the limbs of these victims were exhibited up and down the corridor. I remained calm and collected, but the view was imprinted in my mind. Innocent people were killed, no signs of struggle or fighting back, they were slaughtered without any hesitation. They were just cadavers placed to be discovered, to strike terror into the hearts of the Investigators who came by. This cataclysm was emanating a battle hymn saying: "You better find me before I do it again."

"Shit..." I whispered

I rushed off to the next area of the building. The place where quinques were fabricated: The Manufacturing and Engineering Centre. This was a huge establishment. The metal doors which blocked the path during the security breach were destroyed, someone must've used force to open them. I squeezed through the gap and took a look around...

"...bodies everywhere - Izumo may still be here. I should be cautious."

Did Izumo really do this? This was the work of a monster. And what's the only thing that can defeat a monster? Another entity who shares that title...

All of this malice was built up in one spot. They are here and they are watching me from somewhere. Now. Right now. I'm prepared to face Izumo, perhaps even kill him if the situation calls for it... I won't hold back.

I activated my quinque immediately. My hands tightened up around the Yukimura's grip, although I don't think the Yukimura will come in handy in this situation. Everyone was already dead, but there was something more sinister going on in this particular place, I could feel it. The large quinque steel chunks being displayed in the room turned this into a whole different setting. I had heard a noise and I was ready to find out what had made that noise. I took a holding stance if a rapid slash was needed. Just as I approached the quinque steel chunk, I heard another noise, but it was as if a body crashed on the floor. This meant one thing. I took a turn to the right and saw a young woman lying on the floor, in her own blood.

"Help..." she tried to speak between coughs

"God damn it! You were part of the squadron weren't you?" I asked her while covering the wound on her stomach, "Where is the killer? Where is Izumo?"

The young Investigator was trying to point in a direction, but she could barely hold her arm up. She was pointing towards her dead teammates...

"Shit… Where is the culprit?" I asked her again, but she couldn't respond. Her eyes were dilated and she was slowly losing consciousness. I grabbed her transceiver and tried to contact Akira

"This is Special Class Investigator Sasaki Haise, does anyone copy?!" I asked loud and clear, yet no one responded, "Damn it, where are they when I need them?"

But a different voice answers, the girl's voice. Three words, "He's... Above you..."

And I know who it is before I even had the chance to look up.

"Ever get the feeling you're not alone in the room? You're not."

As I reach for my quinque I realise that it was actually Izumo who spoke earlier... This meant one thing: he was the culprit behind this massacre. I backed away from the young investigator while Izumo landed on the ground, leaning over her. The Arata was covering his entire body, evoking a much darker look, albeit with a more metallic shine to it. The jagged edges of his armor made him look very intimidating along with the red stripes covering different parts of the quinque which occasionally glowed before fading back out, only to pulse into existence again, but those weren't just for show. This quinque was unique, the arms of the suit consisted of armored gauntlets with claws and a reinforced mask was covering Izumo's face, although his long messy hair was out.

"Izumo, what is the meaning of this!?" I inquired loudly, however he did not respond. Instead, he slid one of his fingers on the girl's face as she was giving her last breath. There was something different about him, as if he wasn't his own person

"Take the Arata off. Now." I ordered him while taking a battle stance, "I won't ask again."

Izumo began running towards me with a murderous intent while I quickly summoned my kagune. I coiled all four rinkaku tentacles along the left side of my body, then dashed forward, spinning and using the gained momentum to unfurl the tentacles back around and bludgeoning Izumo in the process. He was thrown into a quinque steel cube, but it didn't seem like it did anything to him. I used the tendrils to leap into the air, performing a flip and slamming down with all four limbs, but Izumo managed to avoid it just in time. As I landed, Izumo approached and used his claw to stab me in the back, making my kagune to disperse. I tried to spin around and slash Izumo with the Yukimura, however he predicted that attack. His advanced capabilities put me at a small disadvantage, but even so I had more up my sleeve. Izumo backed away and then dashed forwards aiming for my neck. I grunted as my back slammed into the hard steel, Izumo's claws wrapped around my throat. I let go of my quinque in order to grab Izumo by his wrists; he was staring at me through his black visor. I tried to punch it but it was reinforced, I couldn't damage it, not one bit. After that, I proceeded to knee him in the abdomen multiple times, making Izumo loosen his hold a little bit and giving me the opening I needed. He stumbled backwards as I kicked him in the abdomen.

"You're strong for a one-eyed skinsuit." he mumbled

One-eyed skinsuit? This clearly wasn't the Izumo I knew, but I didn't wait. I summoned two tendrils and advanced towards him, slamming the red limbs into his shoulders. That didn't do anything except for making Izumo flinch. This Arata was made specifically to fight against rinkaku Ghouls. So the person I am fighting is an artificial one-eyed ghoul wearing an Arata efficient against the likes of me… Perhaps this will require more effort. I ripped the black coat off my body and summoned four more tentacles. All of them were pointed towards Izumo. He took a bizarre battle stance, he placed one hand on the ground and bowed one knee while the other leg was stretched. The metallic scales of the Arata retracted in the process, revealing a lot of gaps and then rearranging themselves back on Izumo's body. I dashed forward, cutting in with my kagune from the right side to the left side. Izumo executed two backward somersaults and avoided both of my attacks, and then proceeded to lung forwards. As he was trying to perform a slashing attack with both of his claws, I curled up the upper rinkaku tentacles toward my body in order to protect myself and then lashed them outwards pushing Izumo away. Without any hesitation I kept rushing with more attacks, I alternated between the six tendrils and tried to stab Izumo rapidly. The pressure did not stop, I insisted with a flurry of attacks, but he was avoiding every single one. At some point, he grabbed one of the limbs, pulled me towards him and then kicked me in the stomach. While having an opening, he proceeded to gash my face twice before I pinned him to the wall with one of my limbs. I grabbed his legs with my lower rinkaku tendrils and threw him across the room. Izumo managed to land on his feet and then jumped across the quinque steel lumbs, eventually appearing behind me. Suddenly, I felt an arm around my neck. Izumo threw me to the ground, and slammed his foot against my chest. I wrapped my tentacles around his leg and made sure he wouldn't be able to escape. After that, I began wildly stabbing Izumo with my kagune, finally pushing him away. But he was still on his feet. I stood up and tried to deliver a final blow with all of my tendrils, but he dashed towards me before I could even react. Izumo began digging his claws into my abdomen. He thrusted me back onto the ground and started punching me mercilessly until… something pulled him back. As I get up, I see Izumo fighting with someone else.

It was Nimura.

He held his large chainsaw quinque, Rotten Follower, in his arms and swinged it chaotically, trying to hit Izumo. When he got the chance, Nimura shoved the chainsaw in Izumo's right shoulder and tried to cut the Arata. Sparks flew everywhere and Izumo was stunned for a few seconds. He kicked Nimura in the groin and then grabbed the cutting chain with his left hand, greatly damaging the gauntlet in the process. Izumo used the other hand to grab the front handle and then hit Nimura in the face with the back of the Rotten Follower, whilst removing it from his shoulder. After that, he slammed the quinque against the ground.

"God damn it, Nimura!" I exclaimed

Izumo raised Nimura up by grabbing his throat and stared at him for a short period of time.

"Worry not! I was just the diversion, Sasaki." Nimura began laughing while his arms and legs flailed, "Now!"

And just as he said that, a bolt of lightning hit Izumo.