Without needing Byakuya's help, Touka had already forcibly broken open the nutrient tank imprisoning Arata.
"Dad!"
Touka immediately embraced Arata as he emerged from the tank.
But Arata was still unconscious. He had been imprisoned here for too many years—it would definitely take time for him to recover.
"Touka, let's leave first."
Byakuya placed a hand gently on Touka's shoulder from behind.
Then his left Rinnegan switched to the left Kamui eye. He opened a space-time portal before them and transported himself, Touka, and her father into the Kamui dimension.
From there, they seamlessly transferred back to the second floor of the coffee shop.
[Ding! The host has rescued Arata Kirishima. Reward: 100 Fusion Points!]
By the time the investigators dispatched from CCG Headquarters reached the basement, Byakuya and Touka had long since vanished.
Along with them, the most important experimental subject—the SS-rated "Corpse Collector"—had also disappeared...
This was a heavy blow to the CCG. Without the Corpse Collector to provide kakuhou, the kakuja Quinque "New Proto" could no longer be developed. Even production of the older models would have to cease.
This series of kakuja Quinque was extremely important to the CCG. During the Owl Suppression Operation, if Shinohara and Kuroiwa hadn't worn their kakuja Quinque to hold back the Non-Killing Owl's assault, whether they could have defeated him would have been questionable.
CCG Headquarters immediately issued orders to lock down all of Ward 1 and conduct extremely thorough inspections. No matter what, they had to find whoever had taken the Corpse Collector.
Little did they know, the two who had taken him had long since left Ward 1. No one could have imagined they possessed the ability to teleport through space...
...
Back on the second floor of the coffee shop.
Touka gently laid her father on the sofa.
His appearance hadn't changed much from all those years ago—just somewhat more weathered. Touka still remembered this face very clearly.
Short deep-blue hair, the same color as Touka and Ayato's, with gentle and handsome features.
The Kirishima Family.
When Touka and Ayato were still very young, their parents Arata and Hikari had both been weak ghouls.
To gain the strength to protect her children, Hikari had begun extensive cannibalization and even hunting humans—since predation and cannibalism were the only two ways for ghouls to rapidly grow stronger.
After being designated an S+-rated ghoul by the CCG, Hikari had been hunted down by a team led by Arima.
His wife's death had left Arata filled with self-blame, for he had been too weak at the time to protect her.
Even so, Arata had never sought revenge. He only wanted to protect Touka and Ayato—seeking vengeance against the CCG would have been extremely unwise.
To become stronger, he too had walked the path of cannibalization, eventually becoming a kakuja.
But he had never preyed on humans. Instead, like Anteiku, he had specifically sought out human corpses—hence his alias, the "Corpse Collector."
However... Arata had ultimately been betrayed by a neighbor. At that time, Shinohara had still been Kureo Mado's subordinate. The two of them had captured Arata alive and brought him back to the CCG.
The key point was that Arata had always valued his relationships with his neighbors. Even though he couldn't eat the food they brought as a ghoul, he would force himself to eat it anyway—just like Yoshimura in his later years, he had been very kind to humans. And yet...
It was precisely because of this incident that both Touka and Ayato had developed an instinctive hatred toward humans...
"Dad should still be able to wake up, right?"
Touka sat beside the sofa, watching her father with eyes full of complex emotions.
"He definitely will."
Byakuya said.
With the powerful vitality of a kakuja, even such imprisonment wouldn't be fatal.
But whether there would be any lasting effects was hard to say...
Byakuya had just been recalling the Kirishima family's past. Throughout that entire ordeal, it was difficult to say who was right and who was wrong.
The neighbor had suspected the Kirishima family were ghouls and, fearing for their own safety, had reported them...
Arata had cannibalized other ghouls to become stronger and protect his children—and he had never harmed a human.
Kureo Mado and Shinohara had simply apprehended a confirmed ghoul target.
None of the parties involved could be judged as right or wrong.
One could only say that it was this world that was wrong...
Since Yoshimura and Yomo had both gone out, and the other staff were working downstairs, only Byakuya and the others were on the second floor.
"I'll go get some carrion. Getting some nourishment should help him recover faster."
Byakuya said.
"Mm, thank you..."
Touka said softly.
Shortly after Byakuya left the break room, Touka couldn't hold back anymore and began crying over Arata's body.
Beyond tears of joy, she was releasing the grievances she'd held for so many years.
Having lost her parents at a young age, she'd had to care for her even younger brother while living in constant fear. She couldn't trust any human and was terrified of encountering investigators.
No one knew how she had endured those days...
It wasn't until she received the Manager's help, and her uncle also came to work at Anteiku, that things had finally begun to improve.
"Touka...?"
But unexpectedly, at that moment, Touka suddenly heard a hoarse, weak voice.
She jerked her head up. Arata had already opened his eyes, awakening from his unconscious state.
However, Arata still couldn't move—his body remained weak and powerless.
The researchers at the CCG Laboratory Building had regularly injected him with RC suppressant to ensure he had no strength to escape from the nutrient tank.
Combined with years of life support through the tank, he was essentially severely malnourished.
"Dad, you're awake..."
Touka said in disbelief.
"I..."
Arata had thought he was dreaming, until Touka called him "Dad."
And the Touka before him looked both familiar and unfamiliar—Arata's memories of Touka were frozen from many years ago. Now Touka had grown so much...
Arata couldn't find words for a moment, not only because of his years of imprisonment, but also because he couldn't believe he was actually seeing Touka again.
After so many years of captivity, his memories were fragmented. He couldn't adjust to this all at once...
...
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