Dimensional Kaguya Ōtsutsuki

The sky was dark, with heavy clouds obscuring the sun, as if ink was spreading across the heavens. The oppressive atmosphere was suffocating, and icy rain fell steadily from above, splashing into puddles and scattering droplets like tiny flowers.

South of the CCG headquarters lay a vast field filled with gravestones. Some of the stones were weathered and eroded, their inscriptions difficult to discern, while others appeared newer, their surfaces still smooth and legible.

This field was a cemetery, a solemn place that had borne witness to countless burials over the decades, the result of the relentless battle between ghouls and investigators. Many lives had been lost, and the rows of gravestones were a testament to their sacrifice.

Figures stood silently in the field, their expressions somber and respectful as they bowed to the gravestones.

During the battle to defend Cochlea, the CCG had suffered devastating losses. Many investigators had perished, and few returned alive. Following this, the violent counterattack by Aogiri Tree had caught the CCG off guard, causing even more casualties due to their negligence.

"Damn it!" Itsuki Marude growled, punching a tree trunk with his fist. "Those damned beasts!"

"Don't be too upset," Yukinori Shinohara said as he walked over, placing a hand on Marude's shoulder. He spoke softly, "They sacrificed themselves to protect everyone. It's something to be proud of. What we need to do now is not to grieve but to carry on their unfinished work."

"I don't need you to tell me that," Marude replied, exhaling deeply. He unclenched his fist and said, "Let the investigators know there will be a meeting shortly."

"Understood." Shinohara nodded.

"Ah, isn't that Itsuki Marude?" A cheerful voice broke the solemn atmosphere. A white-haired youth, wearing hairpins that gave him a girlish appearance, widened his eyes in surprise. "What brings you here?"

Shinohara turned, smiling as he greeted him. "Juuzou."

The boy standing before them was Juuzou Suzuya. Given his personality, it was unusual for him to come to such a solemn place. He had little concept of death—or perhaps it was more accurate to say he was entirely detached from it.

"Well, since you're all here, of course, I had to come too," Juuzou said in a drawn-out tone, grinning mischievously. "But there's really nothing fun about this place. I don't get why you're all so interested in the dead."

If anyone else had said something like that, Shinohara would have lost his temper. But coming from this child, he let it slide.

"Death is a frightening thing, especially for those who still have unfinished wishes," Shinohara said with a soft smile. "Do you have any wishes, Juuzou?"

"Wishes?" Juuzou tilted his head, tapping his chin with a finger as he thought for a moment. Then he grinned widely. "I guess… dismemberment?"

"Dismemberment?" Shinohara froze for a moment, startled.

"Yeah! Cutting people into little pieces," Juuzou said excitedly, gesturing with his fingers. "Then using their blood to draw pictures on the ground—it's super fun!"

"R-Right," Shinohara replied with a forced smile, cold sweat running down his forehead.

What kind of subordinate is this? he thought. This kid is seriously dangerous.

"Well, in any case," Shinohara said, patting Juuzou on the shoulder with a smile. "Just don't die. If you were to die, it would cause me a lot of trouble."

Juuzou blinked, seeming to not fully grasp what Shinohara meant.

At that moment, a piercing alarm abruptly blared through the air.

"Damn it!" Shinohara's pupils contracted. The sound of this alarm meant only one thing: the CCG base was under large-scale ghoul attack.

Could the base have been attacked?

This was the CCG base—how could ghouls possibly infiltrate it? Such a scenario seemed utterly implausible.

"Juuzou," Shinohara called out as he turned around, "stay close to me and—"

Before he could finish, Juuzou Suzuya had already dashed ahead of him, like an arrow released from a bowstring, charging forward at full speed.

At the same time, atop a high-rise building outside the base.

"Are you certain Rize is inside?" A white-haired man wearing a mask gazed into the distance and asked, "Eto?"

"According to the intel, yes," replied the girl wrapped in bandages. "But, Tatara-san, are we really going to attack?"

"Rize is crucial to us; we can't let her fall into the hands of the CCG," Tatara said. "During the assault, it's likely someone will try to stop us. Arima Kishou might even be there. That part will be up to you, Eto."

"Don't worry. Leave that to me," the bandaged girl replied, her voice light as she adjusted her hood.

As soon as she finished speaking, she leapt from the rooftop. Using the walls as footholds, she propelled herself downward in several swift, calculated jumps, vanishing into the rain-drenched mist.

Meanwhile, Kaguya walked along a desolate street, holding her hand over her head to shield herself from the relentless autumn rain.

"Seriously, when will this rain ever stop?"

As she was currently in her human disguise, Kaguya couldn't use her abilities to deflect the rain without drawing unnecessary attention. It would be far too conspicuous for someone to remain completely dry in the middle of a downpour.

Originally, Kaguya had planned to buy an umbrella. However, upon inquiring, she discovered that even the cheapest umbrella cost over 1,000 yen. She glanced at the lone 100-yen coin in her palm and decided against it.

As Kaguya considered using genjutsu to "borrow" some money, a piercing alarm suddenly echoed from the distance, startling a flock of birds in the park.

She paused, momentarily stunned. The sound of the alarm came from the direction of the CCG base.

Could the CCG base really be under attack?

The thought struck Kaguya as absurd. After all, the 20th Ward wasn't exactly weak, and there were rumors that reinforcements had arrived from CCG Headquarters. It didn't make sense for ghouls to cause trouble in a fortified base, especially since the base didn't have anything they would want.

Wait.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Kaguya's mind.

What if the CCG base did have something they wanted, and the ghouls weren't acting without purpose?

With this realization, Kaguya's eyes lit up. Without hesitation, she turned and sprinted toward the CCG base.

She had only one thought in her mind: "This is going to be interesting."

A figure sprinted down the street, moving like a gust of wind. With a few quick leaps, they covered a distance of over ten meters. If they hadn't been trying to avoid drawing attention, they could have moved even faster.

She wore a small black jacket over a white top, paired with black suspenders. A pleated black skirt flowed over her lower half, with a single black stocking accentuating her left leg. Holding a crystalline longsword and dressed in a matching crystalline outfit.

The street was eerily deserted, not a soul in sight. The shops lining the road were all tightly shut, their doors locked, creating a stark contrast to the usual hustle and bustle. The stillness wasn't just due to the persistent autumn rain but also the piercing alarm blaring from the CCG base. The shrill warning echoed through the sky, heightening the already tense atmosphere.

Although the 20th Ward was relatively stable, recent incidents had put everyone on edge. The increased presence of ghouls, coupled with the fall of Cochlea in the 23rd Ward, had made residents far more cautious.

Before Kaguya could reach the CCG base, the faint sounds of intense fighting reached her ears. From the outskirts of the base, a brilliant scarlet kagune shot into the sky like a pillar of blood.

Kaguya froze, staring blankly at the crimson spectacle in the distance. After a moment, she muttered, "Wow, that's a lot of blood. Looks like someone's having a bad period."

Wait. This wasn't the time to focus on such things.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Kaguya quickened her pace, sprinting toward the source of the kagune. A kagune that powerful was rare—it had to belong to one of Aogiri Tree's elites. Whoever was foolish enough to fight such a powerful foe was probably in pieces by now.

When she arrived, her eyelid twitched involuntarily. Why did it have to be this idiot?

The person being kicked around like a ragdoll was none other than Seidou Takizawa, the same guy who had confessed to her before.

There were also about ten other investigators present. Judging by their feeble attempts to fight, they were nothing more than cannon fodder. One by one, they were struck down by a single sweep of the enemy's kagune. Clearly, these weaklings had a death wish, challenging an opponent so far out of their league.

But what caught Kaguya's attention was the enemy.

Her eyes widened slightly, blinking as she tried to place the oddly familiar figure.

The individual was tall, likely around 190 centimeters, and wore a large cloak with a comical wide-mouthed mask. While the mask might have seemed ridiculous at first glance, what came next was far from funny.

Scarlet kagune tentacles erupted from his body, moving like lightning as they lashed out at the investigators.

Pssh! Pssh! Pssh!

Blood sprayed everywhere.

The tentacles pierced through the investigators' chests as easily as a hot knife through butter. They were impaled and hoisted into the air like kebabs. However, unlike kebabs, these emitted a thick, metallic stench of blood. Kaguya couldn't help but wonder: if they were roasted over a fire, would they take longer to cook?

Wait. Why was she thinking about something so strange?

Am I really just a foodie? she thought to herself.

The masked ghoul continued his onslaught with relentless ferocity, ignoring the investigators' futile attempts to resist. He seemed almost amused by their struggles, his movements methodical yet cruel, as though he were playing with his prey. For a moment, Kaguya couldn't understand why he felt so familiar—where had she seen him before?

Then, it hit her.

This guy was none other than Noro from Aogiri Tree.

The identity of this figure wasn't simple. He had a deep connection with Eto, a relationship that wasn't as straightforward as it seemed. Years ago, Noro had directly disobeyed Eto's orders and ruthlessly eliminated an individual she had specifically ordered to be spared.

This also tied into another secret—Eto's peculiar health condition. Only one person understood the full truth behind it, and that person was Noro.

At this moment, the investigators were facing a complete defeat. Or rather, it was nearly a total massacre. Scattered across the area were corpses and heavily wounded investigators on the brink of death, writhing in pain and groaning weakly.

Noro steadily advanced toward the few remaining investigators. Along the way, whenever he encountered someone still alive, his crimson kagune would shoot out like lightning, piercing their bodies in an instant. He made sure to strike them again to silence their groans permanently.

"Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer!"

Takizawa retreated frantically, his legs weak and trembling. His hands, frozen with fear, could barely grip his gun, let alone aim it.

Noro ignored the cries and warnings, continuing to walk toward him. His light steps echoed in Takizawa's ears like thunder, hammering against his heart.

"If you take another step, I'll shoot!" Takizawa shouted, his voice filled with false bravado as his trembling finger rested on the trigger.

In his panicked gaze, Noro moved closer, step by step. Suddenly, from beneath his cloak, a crimson kagune shot forward, lashing out at Takizawa with blinding speed.

Bang!

A sharp gunshot echoed across the street.

Takizawa's eyes widened in horror. His shot had hit Noro, but it had no effect whatsoever.

In a blur of motion, Noro appeared in front of him. With a single sweeping movement, Noro's massive hand clamped onto Takizawa's head and lifted him into the air. At the same time, crimson spikes extended from his kagune, aimed directly at Takizawa's heart.

In the next moment, Takizawa would be impaled, turned into yet another "kebab," just like the others.

"Hey, hey, is it really necessary to get so serious with a small fry like that?"

A clear and melodious voice rang out suddenly from a distance.

"Hmm?"

Noro turned his head toward the voice, his wooden expression completely devoid of emotion. He stared blankly at Kaguya in the distance, his gaze as lifeless as a puppet's.

When Takizawa saw Kaguya, his eyes lit up with hope. But then, as if realizing something, his expression shifted dramatically. He began struggling desperately, his voice hoarse as he shouted, "Run! Get out of here! This guy is really strong—if you don't leave now, it'll be too late!"

Ignoring Takizawa's warning, Kaguya stepped forward, smiling. "If you don't mind, how about sparring with me instead?"

Her calm voice contrasted starkly with the chaos around her. She walked leisurely toward Noro, her crystalline longsword at her side. With a flick of her thumb, the blade slipped slightly out of its sheath, its dazzling, cold light reflecting off the rain. The blade was none other than Liuli.

Without saying a word, Noro swung his arm, flinging Takizawa aside like a ragdoll. "Boom!" The investigator crashed heavily into a nearby wall. His eyes bulged from the impact, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. From the looks of it, even if he wasn't dead, he was on the verge of losing half his life.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon: 

Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven