The Manager stood still, as if he were deep in thought.
In reality, he was contemplating whether to retreat or not. The Manager's goal was clear: to cover for Touka Kirishima and others, ensuring Kaneki's successful rescue.
"Boom!"
A loud noise echoed nearby. The Manager glanced to the side, vaguely seeing someone engaged in battle.
"That kind of kagune... is it Kaneki?"
A smile appeared beneath the Manager's ghoul mask. Kaneki had successfully escaped, meaning his objective was achieved.
"Now's my chance."
Su Xiao's figure flashed, darting toward the Manager. The Manager had lost focus for just a moment, but it was enough for Su Xiao to seize the opening.
His long blade slashed with incredible speed, forcing the Manager to retreat step after step.
"Not good."
Su Xiao's fierce strikes made the Manager wary. That brief lapse in attention had put him at a disadvantage.
A cold glint flashed toward the Manager's forehead. Though the blade hadn't reached him yet, the Manager could already feel a stinging pain in his eyes.
He couldn't afford to let this strike land, or it would be the end. The Manager quickly raised his arms to block.
"Shk!"
The kagune covering the Manager's arms was already badly damaged, and it couldn't withstand Su Xiao's Dragon Flash any longer. The blade pierced through one of the Manager's forearms, cutting through both the kagune and bone.
Su Xiao gripped the sword with one hand while the other pressed against the hilt, driving the Dragon Flash into the ground.
"Ding."
The majority of the blade sank into the concrete, pinning the Manager's arm to the ground.
Su Xiao immediately followed up with a powerful sidekick, striking the Manager's face.
A crisp cracking sound echoed as the kagune mask on the Manager's face shattered into fine cracks.
In combat, Su Xiao didn't rely solely on his sword. His entire body was a weapon. The long blade was his main means of offense, but his arms and legs also became deadly tools when needed.
The force of the kick sent the Manager reeling. With one arm pinned to the ground by the Dragon Flash, the impact concentrated tremendous pressure on his face.
Additionally, the Manager's arm bones developed a long fracture, temporarily rendering that limb unusable.
Even after delivering the kick, Su Xiao didn't let up. He yanked the Dragon Flash free and slashed at the Manager's throat.
The Manager was startled. If that blow connected, even if it didn't kill him, he'd lose his ability to fight.
He desperately freed his pinned arm and stepped back, but his retreat was too slow to match Su Xiao's blade.
Just as the blade was about to reach his throat, the Manager tilted his head back and leaped up. The blade that had been aimed at his throat instead slashed across his collarbone.
Dragon Flash sliced through the Manager's defenses effortlessly. Clearly, the kagune covering his body wasn't as durable as the one on his arms.
Blood gushed from the wound, and the Manager winced in pain.
But the Manager was a seasoned fighter. As he sustained the injury, he simultaneously swung his arm toward Su Xiao.
This strike was devastating. The Manager had decided to go all out, intending to cleave Su Xiao in two.
Su Xiao swiftly positioned Dragon Flash in front of him, gripping the hilt with one hand and bracing the back of the blade with the other.
"Clang!"
The immense force transferred through the blade, bending Su Xiao's body slightly under the pressure. The ground beneath him cracked, forming a spiderweb of fractures around his feet.
Using the force from the Manager's powerful attack, Su Xiao retreated several steps, only regaining his footing after some distance. His arms trembled from the sheer impact.
That strike had been too heavy. Su Xiao estimated that the Manager's strength was at least 15 points or higher, possibly much higher.
From the start of their fight, less than five minutes had passed, and both combatants had sustained injuries.
The Manager's kagune armor was riddled with scars, and his body had suffered injuries to his arm and collarbone.
Given the Manager's ghoul physiology, these injuries weren't too severe.
Su Xiao, on the other hand, had expended significant energy, and his arms were numb, needing time to recover.
While Su Xiao had no external wounds, as a human, any injury to a vital area would severely impact his combat abilities.
The Manager silently observed Su Xiao as blood slowly seeped back into his body and his wounds began healing rapidly.
"Zzzz."
The sound of metal being corroded echoed as wisps of blue smoke rose from the surface of Dragon Flash.
Su Xiao immediately tore off a piece of cloth and wiped the blood from his blade.
In less than two seconds, the Manager's blood had already corroded 4 points of Dragon Flash's durability. There was something unusual about the Manager's blood.
Although the exact reason wasn't clear, it was certain that the Manager's blood had a corrosive effect on Su Xiao's weapon.
After his arms recovered somewhat, Su Xiao charged back into the fray with the Manager.
Blades flashed continuously as Su Xiao's long sword formed a nearly impenetrable web of attacks, keeping the Manager both on the defensive and preventing any counterattacks.
Nearby, Amon watched the entire scene unfold, reduced to nothing more than a spectator.
…
On a distant steel suspension bridge, Eto Yoshimura, her entire body wrapped in bandages, sat on the edge of the bridge, her legs swinging in the air.
"It's about time."
Eto gazed toward the Aogiri Tree stronghold, her altered voice echoing with a strange, hollow tone.
"Yes, it is."
Tatara, standing behind Eto, pulled out a detonator.
"The evacuation should be complete. Let's begin."
Without hesitation, Tatara pressed the detonator.
"Boom."
A muffled explosion reverberated through the Aogiri Tree base, sending thick smoke billowing into the sky. The entire structure tilted slightly.
After the explosion, the stronghold fell eerily silent, with only a swarm of startled crows taking flight in a panic.
"Why didn't the base collapse? Was there not enough explosives?"
Eto stood up, her strange accent disappearing as her voice returned to normal.
"Click, click..."
Tatara pressed the detonator several more times, but there was no further response.
"The explosives were dismantled. Only two of the most concealed points detonated."
Tatara's eyes burned with fury. This had been his plan, and now it had failed.
"Those suspicious individuals did warn that the plan might fail. Could it be their fault?"
Eto began to suspect the ghoul faction contractors.
The contractors within the ghoul faction had been completing their tasks at a slower pace, so they hadn't earned Eto's trust, nor did they hold much influence within Aogiri Tree.
Su Xiao, however, was different. As a temporary member of the Zero Squad, invited by Marude Itsuki as a formidable asset, Su Xiao's words carried weight.
"No, those guys were killing CCG members even more zealously than we were. They went out every night looking for lone CCG investigators."
Tatara said, "I've had people watching them. They never had a chance to leak any information."
Hearing Tatara's explanation, Eto remained silent, though there was still a hint of resentment in her eyes.
"That damned guy... the one I most wanted to smash to pieces... I guess I'll have to wait for another chance."
With that, Eto turned and left, Tatara following closely behind.
…
Back on the rooftop of the Aogiri Tree base.
Su Xiao sat down on the rooftop, a long gash running across his abdomen, and a thumb-sized hole in his shoulder.
The Manager had escaped, fleeing after sustaining serious injuries.
Just moments before, the entire building had suddenly tilted, disrupting Su Xiao's ferocious offensive and giving the Manager the opportunity to land a critical blow.
Su Xiao's fighting style relied on precision and technique, while the Manager relied on his formidable defense and strength. So, when the terrain shifted so drastically, Su Xiao had suffered significantly.
Although the Manager had escaped, he had "left behind" something. Lying next to Su Xiao was a half-meter-long kagune—cut from the Manager's back.
This was one of the Manager's unique kagune sacs: a feathered kagune.
(End of Chapter)
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Translator's Note :- I am Not that familiar with a lot of the fictional worlds mentioned in the story. So if I make a mistake naming something please correct me by writing a paragraph comment on the mistake. Thank you.