The night was as black as ink, with thick, dark clouds swallowing the moonlight whole. The streets of Higashi-Yukigaya 3-chome were now occupied only by CCG armored vehicles, heavily armed personnel, a field commander, and rescue teams on standby in the rear.

The streetlights on either side of the road cast a dim, yellow glow in the oppressive air. A few moths blindly battered themselves against the lampshades, making soft "thump, thump" sounds. All the shops along the street were dark, their display windows reflecting the faint light from the streetlamps. All staff and customers had been quietly evacuated by the CCG.

An indescribable tension hung in the air, like the calm before a storm.

"Ting-a-ling—!"

A customer, full and satisfied, walked out of the restaurant. The next moment, he saw the heavily armed CCG personnel who had surrounded the place, not even ten meters away. He froze, his mind buzzing.

'What's going on?'

'Did I break some divine law just by having a meal?'

He saw someone across the street waving at him. After a moment's hesitation, the customer cautiously walked over. He was immediately surrounded by several people pointing guns at him. He instinctively raised his hands, sweat beading on his forehead. "Wh-what's going on?" he stammered. "I haven't done anything illegal..."

"We are investigators from the CCG," First Class Investigator Misato Gori, leader of the first squad in the "Tatara" extermination operation, interrupted, holding her Quinque, an Ukaku-type named "Emelio." "According to reliable intelligence, there is a very dangerous ghoul inside the restaurant. To ensure no one slips through the cracks, everyone coming out of the restaurant must be inspected. Please cooperate."

"A ghoul?" The customer, still at gunpoint, was startled again. He had been in the same restaurant as one of those terrifying monsters? He might have even been secretly eyed as a potential meal... The thought sent a chill down his spine. Realizing the gravity of the situation, he quickly said, "I'll cooperate!" He was then led to the rear to pass through an RC scan gate.

...

A shop a short distance from the restaurant had been commandeered as a temporary command post.

The director of the CCG and the commander of this operation, Yoshitoki Washuu, stared at the restaurant on the terminal screen. He couldn't help but recall Kureo Mado's later report: 'The Culinary Sage's glowing cuisine can possibly be consumed by ghouls... At the very least, Tatara seemed to be enjoying it immensely!'

Yoshitoki crossed his arms, his eyes gleaming with an unsteady light. 'Is it really possible?'

'...Is it delicious?'

The Washuu clan, the leaders of the CCG, were, in fact, ghouls themselves. Yoshitoki remained skeptical until he could verify it himself, but that didn't stop him from wanting to try it.

'If it's true...' He began to consider how he could bring Ryohei Tanaka under his control. Although Kureo's report suggested this "Culinary Sage" was no simple man, he was supremely confident in his family's power. They had the CCG on the surface and the V organization in the shadows. Even someone as powerful as Kuzen Yoshimura was just a dog they had once kept.

...

Meanwhile, Kuzen Yoshimura and his daughter, Eto Yoshimura—or as she was known here, Eto, one of the three leaders of Aogiri Tree—stood on the rooftop of a tall building, looking down at the cleared-out streets of Higashi-Yukigaya.

"One minute until closing time..." Eto, her petite 151cm frame wrapped tightly in white bandages under a loose red cloak, looked down at her phone. "It's our turn to enter the stage... Father."

"Yes... According to the plan, we get him away from that street first..." Kuzen exhaled. "I hope we don't anger the Culinary Sage."

If they had never seen the light, they could have endured the darkness. But now that the light had broken through the cracks, the darkness had become tyranny.

The father and daughter transformed into their Kakuja forms and sped towards the restaurant.

At the same time, inside the restaurant—

"We're... we're surrounded!"

A ghoul who had just finished his meal was holding a takeaway bag. Normally, takeaways weren't allowed, but near closing time, if there were leftovers, they would be sold to the last wave of customers. It was an unwritten rule of the restaurant.

He should have been heading home happily, but the moment he opened the door, the ghoul saw the street filled with CCG agents. He froze in terror, then stumbled back inside, trembling.

"Nani!?" The other ghouls who had come with him were shocked. They held their breath and peered through the glass door and windows. When they saw the situation outside, their hearts sank, and they broke out in a cold sweat. Their panicked gazes all turned to the Mados. They had, of course, recognized the father and daughter as investigators. Had their disguises been seen through all along?

The clueless humans also gasped when they saw the scene outside, their faces filled with astonishment.

"What... what's happening? Why are we surrounded by so many people with guns?"

"Who's in trouble?"

"Those look like CCG investigators..."

"Should we take some hostages? Negotiate with them? If not, at least we can take a few down with us!" one of the ghouls suggested frantically.

The surrounding humans were terrified by the suggestion. They all stared at him and then scrambled away.

"Heh... cornered rats, are you?" Kureo Mado sneered, stepping in front of the crowd with his daughter and activating their Quinques.

"Don't start trouble in my restaurant. I'll blacklist all of you, you hear me?" Ryohei Tanaka said, narrowing his eyes at the tense group. He was starting to get annoyed, not just with the ghouls who were about to snap, but also with the CCG outside. After all, the ghouls in his restaurant just wanted a meal. Scaring them back inside like this was just causing unnecessary trouble.

"...My sincerest apologies." Tatara took off his sunglasses and put on his red mask. He walked calmly through the crowd. As he passed Ryohei, he paused, turned, and bowed. "The people outside are likely here for me. I will do my best to lead them away, but... I'm afraid this will still affect you. I am very sorry." Tatara was rational. He knew who not to mess with and understood that he had brought a great deal of trouble to Ryohei and the others tonight. So, he apologized without hesitation.

"If you know what's good for you, tell the people outside to meet me somewhere else," Tatara said, his gaze shifting to Kureo Mado, his eyes glowing crimson. "I'll see if I can't burn you all to ashes."

The humans behind the Mados gasped in horror, covering their mouths, too scared to make a sound.

'So it's because of you?' The other ghouls who had been caught up in this glared at Tatara, but they didn't dare say anything or even look at him for too long. The sheer scale of the operation outside was a clear indicator of who they were dealing with.

"Lucoa..." Ryohei turned to the goddess, who had appeared beside him at some point. He crossed one arm and pinched his chin with the other hand. "I think we need to show our strength once in a while. It could save us a lot of trouble, don't you think?"

"Mmm, what do you have in mind, Tanaka-kun?" Lucoa lifted her left eyelid and looked down at him with a smile.

"Help me move them somewhere else. Give them a new battlefield... can you do that?"

"A trivial matter."

With a sharp snap of her fingers, Lucoa acted. Within the entire area of Higashi-Yukigaya 3-chome, every ghoul investigator, all their vehicles and equipment, and every single ghoul—except for the few unlucky ones still inside the restaurant—were instantly teleported to another location.

The humans and ghouls inside the restaurant stared in disbelief as Tatara and the Mados suddenly vanished. Their eyes widened, and their mouths hung open, utterly dumbfounded.

But no one was more shocked than the ones who had been teleported.

~~~

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