The dark forest concealed the two figures as moonlight struggled to filter through the dense branches. Shadows played on the mossy ground, and the night resonated with the familiar sounds of rustling leaves and distant owl hoots.
'A corpse... I remember this,' he said, eyes fixed on a corpse laying on the ground.
A tall, muscular man stood nearby, his white trench coat draped over his imposing figure. With a neutral tone, he said, 'Put that corpse in here,' pointing to a large sack he had dropped.
Unfazed, Akira casually picked up the corpse, wearing an indifferent expression. He mused, 'He wouldn't mind if I take a treat, will he?' and tore a few fingers from the lifeless body. 'Not bad.'
The eerie sound of chewing reverberated through the forest, creating a disturbing atmosphere. Yomo briefly glanced at Kaneki before shifting his gaze away. To him, akira's act of munching on those fingers like a snack was as mundane as witnessing a fellow human drinking coffee – an unsurprising act.
'Though it's a bit strange that he overcame his fear this quickly,' Yomo thought as he observed Akira putting the corpse into the bag.
Breaking the silence, Yomo instructed, 'Let's go, Kaneki-san.'
They returned to the car, traveling through the mountains in complete silence. Yomo, not the talkative type didn't say a word, and Akira, was already preoccupied with his thoughts.
'The energy in my body is slowly disappearing...' He examined his body carefully, realizing that the vitality that once filled him was almost entirely consumed. Despite the impressive changes he underwent, he couldn't ignore the draining sensation.
'I'm almost six feet long, my muscles developed rapidly—even though it's not comparable to my previous life, it's crazy! It's like I've been training for years.'
Akira felt genuine happiness about his remarkable improvement. The transformation was profound, and all of it occurred in just one day. Even his kagune had become unbelievably sharp and tough.
'I think my strength is on par with Kaneki when he fought Jason fo the first time, maybe in the torture room, maybe even stronger.'
What Akira didn't know was that perhaps the mysterious energy in his body was the catalyst for his insane evolution and the rapid increase in RC cells within such a short span. Where did it come from? What was it? How was it driving this unprecedented change? These questions formed a mystery that might never be answered.
"I think I might nee-"
"Booooooooooooooooom."
Before he could finish his thought, something flung their car into the air.
"Be careful!!" Yomo stunned, said to Kaneki before he jumped from the window.
"What the hell!! I'm fucking flyiiiiing," he screamed as his mind entered an overdrive state. Four bloody tentacles emerged from his back, tearing the roof of the car into shreds.
"Kaaaaakkhkh!!"
The screeching sound of the car was heard, and Akira jumped a dozen meters in the air as he avoided being dragged down the cliff. He used his kagune to slow his descent as he looked in front of him.
His eyes locked into dozens of men in black formal attire stood, wearing crow masks, they execuded an eerie and mysterious vibe.
'Wait...wait, wait, isn't that the organization that killed Kuzen's wife? Bloody hell, and what is even this!! This wasn't in the original story.'
Akira thought as he cursed in his mind.
'Why would they even appear here? Is this the butterfly effect? But I don't think I did anything signicant that could alter the plot to this degree'
He landed on the ground and was immediately surrounded by more than a dozen. He sucked in a cold breath as he looked at Yomo's situation, only to find out that the majority of the assassins were targeting him.
One after another, countless kagunes materialized in the air, making Akira flinch as he controlled his kagune into spear-like weapons. Other than the deadly tips, countless thorns emerged throughout the tentacles.
Suddenly, the oppressive tension was broken by the sound of countless projectiles piercing through the air. Multiple kagune aimed at him as a mass of jagged blades shot towards him with unbelievable speed, piercing the air.
"foosh...foosh...foosh...foosh"
Akira's eyes glowed as he responded with an agile dance, effortlessly dodging the lethal tendrils. Swiftly the man in black suits attacked him.
The road echoed with the metallic clash of kagune meeting kagune, the sound resonating through the silence of the night, as he parried and dodged the attacks of multiple ghouls.
"Bam! Bam..."
Akira blocked one of the attacks, while his other kagune dug a hole in the face of the crow-masked man as he fell to the ground. Using this opportunity, more than four attacks headed towards him.
"Damn it," he muttered before successfully blocking most of the attacks, but one of the strikes slipped through, hitting him in the chest.He was sent flying into the air, his tentacles instinctively dug into the ground and his body was supported by his long tentacles, hovering in the air.
"Cough, cough..."
Akira's eyes blazed with fury, he felt deep hatred as he looked at the culprits sprinting at him. Briefly glancing at Yomo, he saw that he was in a much worse situation than him—his hand torn, and his body fraught with wounds as he desperately blocked the countless attacks headed towards him.
Seeing this, something inside him snapped. His hatred grew, not only towards the men in black suits but towards the ruthlessness of the world,
He felt exhausted emotionally at the unfairness of fate.
" I only been here for a day, and this is already happening"
He said, his menacing eyes no longer held that hopeful look, and the despair deeply hidden in his soul resurfaced. It was wrath that couldn't be described.
He no longer felt agitated as he calmly looked at the situation. One of the ghouls was already less than a meter in front of him.
"Trash," he muttered before his tentacles moved with unbelievable speed, more than ten times their previous speed as they pierced his throat.
His kagune moved in the air, his tentacles getting faster and faster as they pierced, sliced, sometimes forming a sword, other times forming a huge hammer. He slaughtered and slaughtered, like the grim reaper; he moved swiftly; wherever he passed, corpses fell.
"What the hell is this!?" one of the black-suited men finally uttered, terror consuming his mind before his head rolled to the ground.
Another one looked at this, taking a step back, his voice quivering with uncertainty as he said.
' Our intel was wrong!!'
The air hung heavy with the metallic tang of blood, an overwhelming scent that reeked of death. Puddles of crimson pooled in the uneven cracks of the concrete.
Clearly intimidated, fewer ghouls came to attack him, thus the malevolent view in front of him was cleared. what was presented before him was dozens of ghouls, their lifeless bodies sprawled across the cold ground, their bodies unrecognizable, as their blood flowed endlessly on the ground.
Akira looked at this, counting silently, '1, 2, 3... 23, good.' Strangely, he felt a bit satisfied after seeing this; his hand was holding a head as he thought, 'I can't fight them head-on anymore; most of the remaining ones are A-level monsters.'
After evading another wave of the deathly projectiles, he suddenly jumped and ran into the forest, vanishing in an instant.
Akira's initial plan was to fight head-on and massacre this group of ghouls, but he was stunned at their prowess. They were all B or A-level ghouls, maybe even S-level. If he was surrounded, he would be dead for sure, and it's not like he also didn't feel tired; his body had countless wounds that were still regenerating. As for Yomo, he simply didn't have the choice to even think about him.
Seeing this, the man in black suits hesitated if they should follow him or not.
" CHASE!!, YOU FILTHY BASTARDS " A man most likely one of their leaders shouted in fury.
Being scolded, their hesitation vanished as they quickly followed.