Boom.
The Aogiri Tree base tilted further, now on the verge of collapse. The load-bearing walls on the lower levels had been blown apart, causing the whole building to gradually lean like a dying tree.
On the rooftop...
Kaneki Ken's kagune extended from his back—four tentacle-like appendages that looked familiar to Su Xiao. They were identical to Rize Kamishiro's kagune.
Su Xiao took a deep breath, charging forward, keeping one hand pressed against his injured abdomen. Kaneki rushed toward him as well, his kagune whipping around, attacking Su Xiao from four directions.
In a flash of steel, Su Xiao's blade sliced through two of the kagune, and he deftly dodged between the remaining two, closing the distance between him and Kaneki.
Instinctively, Kaneki raised his arms to block the blade with his bare flesh—a futile gesture in the face of such lethal skill.
Despite his recent power-up, Kaneki's close combat skills were still lacking. Just changing his hair color didn't make him a competent fighter. At least, not compared to Su Xiao.
The long blade sliced through the air, and Kaneki felt a brief flash of white light in his vision, followed by a numbness in his arms.
Both of Kaneki's forearms were severed cleanly, the cuts smooth.
Though his arms were cut off, Kaneki only winced slightly—this level of pain was nothing compared to the tortures he had endured.
Su Xiao's attack didn't stop there. He followed up with a powerful kick to Kaneki's abdomen, sending him flying backward, vomiting bile as he went. While Kaneki was airborne, Su Xiao managed to land several deep slashes across his body.
In just a few exchanges, Kaneki had been thoroughly beaten: both arms severed, and his body crisscrossed with deep wounds.
"Bang."
Kaneki landed hard, rolling several times before coming to a stop.
Su Xiao stood where he was, his breathing steady, though the pool of blood at his feet continued to grow.
His wounds, particularly in the abdomen and shoulder, were worsening.
He needed to finish this quickly.
Ignoring the pain, Su Xiao rushed toward the fallen Kaneki again. Kaneki was lying on the ground, his arms already regenerating, and the gashes across his body were closing rapidly.
Su Xiao had no intention of waiting for his enemy to heal. He raised his sword high, aiming for a finishing blow.
"Not so fast!"
A kagune shot toward Su Xiao, but its user wasn't very skilled, and the attack lacked precision. Su Xiao dodged easily, though the muscles in his abdomen suddenly spasmed, slowing his movement.
"Bang!"
Nishio Nishiki's kagune landed a hit on Su Xiao's back, opening a fresh wound. Even Nishiki himself seemed shocked at the success of his attack.
Seeing the blood at Su Xiao's feet, Nishiki adjusted his glasses and sneered.
"Black Reaper, huh? Looks like you're pretty badly hurt."
Under normal circumstances, Nishiki wouldn't stand a chance against Su Xiao. But with Su Xiao wounded, Nishiki now saw an opportunity.
Nishiki charged at Su Xiao, his kagune awkwardly thrusting forward.
Su Xiao easily dodged the attack, stepping to the side, but Nishiki followed up with a barrage of punches.
Frustrated by how all his blows missed, Nishiki let out a grunt of annoyance.
After dodging Nishiki's attacks, Su Xiao tightened his grip on his sword, took a deep breath, and his eyes gleamed with cold resolve.
A faint blue arc of electricity appeared along the blade of his sword. Pressing down on the wound in his abdomen to steady himself, Su Xiao mustered the strength for a final burst of power.
The blade sang as it sliced through the air.
"Zing."
A thin white line of light flashed as Su Xiao's sword severed Nishiki's hand cleanly.
Nishiki stared at his severed hand in disbelief, too shocked to fully comprehend what had just happened.
"Senpai!"
Kaneki, who had just finished regenerating, rushed over to help Nishiki. But he was too late.
Su Xiao's second strike came down.
The blade sliced through flesh and bone, and Nishiki suddenly felt the world spin around him. His ears rang, and then everything went black.
With a dull thud, Nishiki's body hit the ground. Despite being seriously wounded, Su Xiao had killed Nishiki in two strikes.
"Nishiki!"
Touka Kirishima, who had been lying on the ground, was frozen in shock. She had developed a bond with Nishiki over time, and his sudden death hit her hard.
"Senpai!"
Kaneki's voice was low, his head hanging down.
"Again… again, someone important to me has been taken away… I won't forgive you."
Kaneki's shoulders began to shake, and saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth. Su Xiao suspected the torture Kaneki had endured had left him mentally unstable—he certainly didn't seem entirely sane.
Kaneki cracked his knuckles, muttering to himself.
"I'll kill you."
As Kaneki continued to mutter under his breath, Su Xiao was already moving toward him. Time was running out—he was losing too much blood.
Every second mattered. Su Xiao needed to end this quickly.
Despite his injuries, he still had enough strength left for one last push. And his opponent was the main character of this world—Kaneki Ken. Su Xiao wanted to see what kind of reward he might earn for killing someone like Kaneki.
In derivative worlds, killing certain key enemies often yielded generous rewards. For instance, when he had killed a king in the One Piece world—a man who was otherwise weak—Su Xiao had received valuable items due to the king's status.
As he charged toward Kaneki, Su Xiao noticed Kaneki's unhinged expression, making him even more cautious.
"What's one thousand minus seven?"
Kaneki suddenly looked up, staring directly at Su Xiao.
But instead of answering, Su Xiao slashed at him with his blade.
One thousand minus seven equals one slash!
Su Xiao's full-force strike tore open a massive wound across Kaneki's chest, exposing the inner organs. Su Xiao even caught a glimpse of Kaneki's still-beating heart.
Kaneki spat out a mouthful of blood from the deep gash.
Su Xiao remained silent. Normally, he would taunt his enemies during battle, but this time was different. He was gravely injured and needed to finish this fight swiftly.
After severely injuring Kaneki, Su Xiao didn't stop. He followed up with a series of rapid strikes.
"Slash, slash…"
Each strike opened new, deep wounds on Kaneki's chest and throat, targeting vital areas.
As blood continued to pour from Su Xiao's wounds, his vision began to blur, and his strikes grew weaker.
Despite these devastating injuries, Kaneki didn't collapse. In fact, he lunged toward Su Xiao, aiming a punch at his face.
Though Kaneki's combat skills had improved, Su Xiao easily parried the punch with his blade, slicing off several of Kaneki's fingers in the process.
Kaneki's inexperience in battle was clear, but his regenerative abilities were absurdly strong. As long as his head wasn't cut off, he could keep fighting.
Kaneki's kagune now wrapped protectively around his neck, ensuring that Su Xiao couldn't decapitate him. Nishiki's death had taught him a valuable lesson.
Kaneki may have looked like he was in a psychotic rage, but he still had enough sense to protect his weak points.
On the rooftop, an odd scene unfolded. Su Xiao, severely wounded but still wielding his sword with deadly precision, was pummeling Kaneki. But Su Xiao's face grew paler with each passing moment.
Now, it was a race against time to see which would happen first: Kaneki being sliced to pieces, or Su Xiao collapsing from blood loss.
(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.