Takatsuki Sen did not know how she had been exposed, but she knew that since she was already exposed, there was no point in continuing to hide her identity. But before that...
"A CCG Investigator? You sure are bold~ Daring to challenge me all by yourself. Or have I been surrounded?"
Lancer didn't know if the opponent was genuinely trying to chat with him or if she was trying to extract information through conversation, but it didn't matter, because he had no intention of wasting words with her.
She pushed off the ground with her feet and jumped into mid-air, attempting a long-range strike on Lancer using the Kagune on her back, but she found that as soon as she appeared in mid-air, the man in the black bodysuit had already appeared beside her.
"Bang!!"
Accompanied by a huge roar, Lancer and the opponent crashed together into the adjacent abandoned building.
As the smoke and dust cleared, Takatsuki Sen was pinned to the wall, and Lancer was looking straight at her, gripping the Gáe Bolg in both hands.
"This unknown Investigator, if you look at me like that, I'll be shy~"
"This is the first time I've heard that monsters can be shy."
This was the first time Lancer spoke, but immediately, the Bloodlust in his body instantly erupted, directly tearing open the Kagune that was wrapped around his limbs.
If a normal Ghoul possesses one of the four types of Kagune (Bikaku, Rinkaku, Kokaku, or Ukaku), then as cannibalism progresses and they devour more and more Kakuhou, they will gradually acquire the abilities of other Kagune. The transitional phase is called a Half-Kakuja, and only when they can completely control all Kakuhou can they be called a 'Kakuja.'
And there was no doubt that Takatsuki Sen, known as the One-Eyed Owl, was a true Kakuja.
Lancer understanding of the 'plot' was that after the Anteiku raid, she snatched Yoshimura Kuzen's corpse from the strongest CCG Investigator. He had little knowledge of the Kakuja, who only had a full concept in the later stages, but—so what?
Not all battles in this world give people time to prepare. For Lancer, as long as there was a shred of hope for victory, there was no difference between 1% and 99%, because a battle only had victory or defeat.
If he didn't understand the enemy, he would learn during the fight!
After breaking free from the Kagune's restraint, Lancer lunged with his spear again, trying to completely pierce the Gáe Bolg further into the opponent's shoulder, but Takatsuki Sen, whose right eye had completely turned into a Kakugan, did not give Lancer this chance. It could even be said that she had completely underestimated Lancer strength before this.
'This man actually possesses strength that is in no way inferior to a Ghoul's. Who exactly is he? Is he a Ghoul as well? No, there is no Ghoul aura on his body...'
Although her facial expression was as calm as ever, her mind was constantly churning. She knew that even the CCG's strongest, Arima Kishou, had to rely on the powerful ability of his Quinque to suppress her, but the man in front of her was able to arm-wrestle with her just by relying on pure strength...
"I really want to taste you~"
Seeing the bloodthirsty smile on her face, Lancer suddenly twisted his long spear, and then solid ice began to spread from his right hand onto the spear.
"Oh? Is your strange long spear also a Quinque? Why don't I feel like it is? Could it be new technology from the CCG?"
Undoubtedly, this was the perception gap between worlds. Lancer was the only one who felt puzzled as he fought the enemy with 'ice,' because the worlds Lancer had been to before either had 'magic' or 'Quirks' (or 'Abilities'). But Lancer had no intention of explaining to her.
A massive forest of ice spears instantly erupted with Lancer as the center, but this ordinary ice rapidly shattered under the attack of the opponent's Kagune.
However, all of this was within Lancer plan. He merely needed them to buy him time.
Takatsuki Sen, who had a smile on her face just a moment ago, suddenly froze because her intuition told her that Lancer was extremely dangerous at this moment.
Although she was called the One-Eyed Owl, Takatsuki Sen had also gradually evolved from a weak state to her current self. During this period, she had repeatedly been close to death, and it was this Ghoul intuition, which was like that of a wild beast, that had saved her multiple times. This time, too, she chose to trust her intuition without hesitation.
"Boom!!!"
A huge roar suddenly erupted from the west side of the abandoned house, which already had a large hole, and then an even bigger opening was blasted in the wall. The CCG Investigators who were guarding the perimeter couldn't help but gulp.
"These monsters..."
He didn't know if he was referring to the opponent's destructive power being like that of a monster or purely calling them monsters, but whatever he was saying, he knew that the current battlefield was not one he could approach. He was extremely glad that the superiors had instructed them not to carelessly approach the battlefield when assigning the mission.
But just at this moment, a sound of braking came from behind them. The two partner Investigators quickly gripped their guns and pointed them behind them, but they relaxed when they saw the familiar CCG transport vehicle.
"Senior Investigator Koutarou Amon! First-Class Investigator Akira Mado!"
Koutarou Amon, dressed in combat gear, looked even more composed than he did over two years ago. If his previous composure was mostly due to his personality, then after more than two years of tempering, he had personally led teams to suppress several S-rank Ghouls, and there were many small-team operations. These experiences made his tall figure appear even more trustworthy.
"Hello, what's the situation now?"
Amon was more concerned about the current situation than exchanging pleasantries, as they had also heard the 'explosion' just now.
"The situation inside the building is unclear, but it should be two Ghouls fighting, as we saw them crash into this building from the ground far away."
Following the opponent's gesture, Amon estimated the distance between the two places to be at least 20 meters. It seemed the opponent's guess should be correct.
'But fighting a Ghoul in the Anteiku area, are they subordinates of the 'Owl'? This is troublesome...'
Amon couldn't help but glance at Akira Mado, who was standing beside him. Predictably, her already aloof expression had become even colder.
"Seal off the scene! The assault team, along with Investigator Mado and myself, will breach the building!"
"Yes!!" X N
With Amon's order, the Third-Class Investigators around them all opened their safety catches and rushed into the building, following behind Amon and Mado.
This abandoned building was only a dozen stories high, and the location of the battlefield was in the middle of the building. Amon and his team rushed into the battlefield in just over five minutes, but due to the smoke and fog covering the area, they did not immediately attack. Instead, under Amon's hand gestures, they raised their weapons and carefully watched their surroundings, until—
"Tsk! Your CCG support is quite fast."
Accompanied by a voice that sounded annoyed, a figure rushed out through a gap on the other side.
"Don't escape!! Open fire!!"
Although he didn't know who the fleeing person was, anyone who ran upon seeing the CCG was certainly not a teammate. Amon ordered them to open fire without hesitation, but his command caused the other person on the battlefield to be stunned for a moment.
"Amon?"
Amon, who was carefully holding up his Quinque in vigilance, was also stunned when he heard this voice, as he had not expected to hear this voice again after more than two years.
"Lancer?! Is that you?! Lancer!!"
Although it couldn't be said that Lancer left without a word, in reality, it wasn't much better than leaving without a word. Even now, Lancer status within the CCG was still marked as 'Missing,' and generally speaking, CCG Investigators marked as 'Missing' were those who had died from a Ghoul attack.
But even so, Amon had not fully let down his guard, for who knew if those Ghouls had set up a trap, knowing about Lancer, to ambush him?
However, when the smoke and dust completely cleared, and Lancer face, wearing a black bodysuit and holding a crimson spear, completely appeared before everyone, Amon couldn't help but sigh in relief.
That's right! It was definitely Lancer! He would never mistake him!
But just at this moment—
"Snap~!"
Accompanied by the sound of something cutting through the air, a whip was mercilessly lashed towards Lancer.
Only after the cyan whip was grasped in Lancer hand did he notice Akira Mado standing behind Koutarou Amon.
"Akira? What's wrong?"
"Don't call me that! You fake!"
"Fake?"
Lancer was now somewhat confused, seemingly unaware of what had happened.
"That's right! Lancer has been gone for two years! How could you look exactly the same as two years ago!"
With Akira Mado's reminder, Koutarou Amon on the other side also frowned. Two years had passed, and both he and Akira Mado had changed quite a bit. His physique had become stronger, and his defined muscles were visible even through his armor. Akira Mado's face was less youthful, and her figure had become more impressive. But the 'Lancer' in front of them, although his demeanor was also very different from before, seemed to have barely changed in appearance?
The atmosphere on the scene became tense again.
Faced with the accusation, Lancer was at a loss for how to explain. Although the time flow rate between the two sides might not be the same, Lancer had actually spent a longer period of time than they had, yet his appearance seemed to be fixed at the time he first arrived in this world.
His physique should have changed, after all, his physical fitness was more than double what it was before, but both Scáthach and Li Shuwen focused on training his coordination when teaching him. This meant that the explosiveness of his muscles might not be too BUG-like, but his flexibility and coordination were very strong. The end result was that his physique hadn't changed much either.
It gave people the feeling that he hadn't changed at all.
But how could he explain this? Should he tell them he wasn't a person from this world?
He didn't dare to speak carelessly before because of his strength, and he had to be cautious in everything he did. Now his strength was sufficient, but he realized that even if he told the truth, the other party probably wouldn't believe it, right?
How was he going to prove his identity? This was a problem, and a very important one at that...