Chapter 24: A Glimpse into the Abyss
"Ahem... Miss Irimi, stop joking with ."
Touka Kirishima's face turned slightly red, a clear sign that Irimi Kaya's words had hit their mark.
"Oh? So little Touka is quite self-aware, after all," Irimi teased with a knowing smile.
"Enough already," Touka muttered in exasperation.
If Irimi hadn't brought up the subject, she wouldn't have even thought about romance in the first place.
To be honest... she didn't know what kind of guy she would even like.
She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.
Now wasn't the ti for this.
There were custors to serve.
---
The next day, Kanzaki Ryoma headed out early to the Ghoul Investigator Training Academy in the 1st Ward.
He didn't have a morning class, but arriving early wouldn't hurt.
Since he had ti, Ryoma wandered around the Academy grounds to familiarize himself with the place.
As he strolled through a small wooded area, a peculiar sight caught his attention.
In the distance, he spotted two figures.
One was a short-haired girl with tan skin and delicate features—Toru Mutsuki.
Even though she kept her hair short and wrapped her chest to appear masculine, Ryoma knew the truth—she was a girl.
The other was a scarred, balding man with a twisted expression—Tokage Gomasa.
His left cheek was horribly disfigured, a permanent reminder of his past encounter with "Gecko" Yakumo Oomori.
Ironically, he had been the one who tortured Yakumo first, but in the end, Yakumo got his revenge and left Gomasa permanently scarred and deford.
Ryoma observed carefully.
Mutsuki was squatting on the ground, her hands busy with sothing.
Gomasa stood beside her, watching intently.
Ryoma took a step closer—then froze.
A dead kitten lay at Mutsuki's feet.
Its tongue had been severed.
Blood dripped from the small body, staining Mutsuki's hands.
She was collecting it.
A habit of hers.
Ryoma narrowed his eyes.
This was the infamous cat tongue collection—a disturbing quirk of Mutsuki's that she had carried since childhood.
Gomasa watched in silence.
Then, he spoke.
"...What are you doing there?"
Mutsuki ignored him, continuing to ticulously slice the kitten's tongue.
Gomasa stepped closer, looking over her shoulder.
He should have scolded her.
He should have reported her.
Instead—he said sothing far more disturbing.
"You need to be careful with your knife," he muttered. "Grease will make the blade dull. Cat tongues are surprisingly oily."
He didn't stop her.
He encouraged her.
For a mont, even Mutsuki looked surprised.
She had expected to be reprimanded.
Instead, she was given advice.
Just then—
A system prompt appeared in Ryoma's mind.
[Ding! A task has been activated. God-level choice unlocked!]
[Choice 1] – Ignore the situation and leave before being noticed. (Reward: 1 Fusion Point)
[Choice 2] – Make your presence known, letting both Mutsuki and Gomasa realize soone has seen them. (Reward: 10 Fusion Points)
[Choice 3] – Openly accuse Mutsuki, threatening to report her behavior to the Academy director. (Reward: 20 Fusion Points)
Ryoma didn't hesitate.
Option 1.
This was not sothing he wanted to be involved with.
Without making a sound, he turned around and left.
[Ding! You have completed Option 1. Reward: 1 Fusion Point.]
As he walked away, he had a sinking feeling.
Mutsuki's habit of killing animals was disturbing enough...
But the fact that Gomasa approved of it?
That was far worse.
And if this tiline followed the original story...
Suzuya Juuzou would be blad next.
---
According to today's schedule, the morning would be Quinque practice, and the afternoon would be combat training.
This was the mont Ryoma had been waiting for.
He entered the training grounds, where multiple storage boxes had been arranged in neat rows.
Each one contained a Quinque for student use.
However—
Sothing about the boxes seed off.
Could that many Quinques really fit inside?
When the lids were lifted, Ryoma understood why.
They were all daggers.
Each Quinque was identical in design—small, compact, and mass-produced.
The combat instructor stepped forward.
"These Quinques are all 'Hinoko 1/76' models," he explained.
"A standard B-rank Quinque."
Ryoma glanced at the weapon in his hand.
Hinoko 1/76...?
The instructor continued.
"As the na suggests, these were created from the sa kagune, divided into 76 identical daggers."
"Daggers are the easiest to mass-produce, making them ideal for first-ti users."
Ryoma nodded.
It made sense.
Larger, more specialized Quinques—like scythes, spears, or morphing weapons—couldn't be mass-produced.
Each one had to be crafted from a single kagune, making them far rarer.
That was why beginners were given standardized daggers—to familiarize themselves with Quinque combat before upgrading to sothing more advanced.
The instructor picked up a Quinque and turned to Ryoma.
"Trainee Kanzaki," he called out.
Ryoma looked up.
"You're first. Let's see how well you handle it."
---
Ryoma stepped forward, gripping the Hinoko 1/76 in his hand.
As soon as his fingers wrapped around the hilt—
A faint pulse ran through the weapon.
It was subtle, but he could feel it.
The remnants of the ghoul it ca from still lingered inside.
A dead kagune... yet still alive in so way.
Ryoma took a deep breath, shifting into a combat stance.
The instructor watched closely.
"Whenever you're ready," he said.
Ryoma tightened his grip.
Then—he moved.
His first Quinque training had officially begun.
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