"Because the game… has only just begun." With those words, Hayashi grabbed Nishio by the collar and yanked him up from the ground. "Let me show you what real power actually looks like."
The moment he heard that, Nishio froze in place, his eyes filled with confusion. He had not even finished processing what had just happened. He still could not understand how he had clearly been on the brink of death moments ago, yet now, not only was he alive, but he was fully restored, nearly back at his peak.
As a ghoul, he possessed rapid regeneration and recovery. Even so, he had been utterly incapable of saving himself from death. But the white-haired boy before him—clearly a human—had healed him instantly. Something that should have been impossible in reality had just happened right in front of him.
Thinking of this, Nishio subconsciously lifted his head. As he looked at the gentle and handsome face before him, every cell in his body began to tremble uncontrollably. However, when despair completely filled his heart, the urge to fight back with everything he had could no longer be restrained.
"I do not care who you are. Today, I will eat you no matter what!" A green kagune burst forth from his back, while his crimson ghoul eyes burned with defiance and fury. Rather than being toyed with and waiting for death, he would gamble everything.
With a furious roar, Nishio lunged forward, his kagune crashing down at the same time. "It seems you still have not understood the gap between us," Hayashi sighed helplessly.
In the next instant, flesh and blood flew everywhere as the ground shattered violently. Before Nishio even realized what had happened, he felt his body being torn apart once again. And then, just as suddenly, his body returned to normal. The pain vanished completely. After being ripped apart and restored again and again, countless times beyond counting, everything finally stopped.
"Do you understand the difference between us now?" Hayashi grabbed him by the hair and pulled him up from the ground, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth. Nishio lifted his head, his eyes empty and unfocused; he had clearly given up struggling.
"This should be enough, right?" Seeing this, Hayashi nodded in satisfaction.
The system task only required him to teach Nishio a lesson. Logically speaking, a casual beating would have sufficed. But now, he wanted to see if over-completing the task might yield a higher-tier reward. With that thought, a trace of anticipation rose in his heart. Just then, a cold gust of wind swept in from behind. Sensing something instinctively, Hayashi stepped back.
The next second, a powerful kick swept down from above. Smack. A crisp impact echoed as dust rose from the ground. When the dust settled, the first thing that appeared was a pair of long, beautiful legs. They were not only long, but perfectly straight—from an aesthetic standpoint, they were flawless, like a work of art.
Then, the hooded figure landed lightly and stood upright. "Another one?" Feeling the cold aura, Hayashi's lips curved slightly. He had just been feeling bored; now someone else had arrived at the perfect time. Hopefully, this one would be more interesting.
But for some reason, the figure before him felt strangely familiar. As the dust completely dispersed, Touka's cold and beautiful face came fully into view.
"Touka?" The smile on Hayashi's face froze. Why was Touka here? Countless possibilities flashed through his mind, but this was the one he had never expected.
"Hayashi, what are you doing here?" Touka stared at him coldly, a faint chill flickering in her eyes. Hearing that colder-than-usual tone, Hayashi immediately sensed trouble. It was very possible that she had seen everything. And if she really had, then this situation was bad. Very bad.
He had never deliberately hidden his strength, but he had never truly displayed it either. Now that Touka had seen all of this, it could easily lead to misunderstandings.
"Nothing much. I just happened to run into someone bullying another person. I could not stand it, so I stepped in." As he spoke, Hayashi pointed at Nishio, whom he was still holding.
"Really?" Touka frowned slightly, suspicion clear in her eyes.
"Absolutely. Why would I lie to you?" Hayashi nodded, his gaze looking clean and sincere.
"I know this guy. His name is Nishio Nishiki. He is a student at Kamii University." Touka walked over with her hands in her pockets as she spoke.
"And then?" As the icy beauty drew closer, Hayashi felt an increasingly bad premonition.
"Hayashi, do you think a human can defeat a ghoul?" Touka lifted her head slightly, a faint smile appearing in her cold eyes.
"How much did you see?" Hayashi rubbed his forehead helplessly. He had been hoping that maybe Touka had just arrived and missed most of it. Now, that hope was gone.
"All of it," Touka nodded calmly, her beautiful face expressionless.
In fact, she had seen everything. From the moment Hayashi entered the alley, Touka had already been there. At the time, after seeing the unnamed ghoul get his head kicked apart, she had been debating whether to step in and teach him a lesson. Before she could decide, Hayashi walked in.
When the conflict between the two began, Touka could no longer sit still. But just as she was about to jump down, she realized something was off. Hayashi was not injured at all. From beginning to end, he was completely at ease. On the other hand, Nishio grew angrier and more unhinged, eventually losing all rationality.
At first, Touka thought Hayashi was simply exceptionally good at dodging. Then she watched him instantly kill Nishio right in front of her. Not only that: he healed him. Killed him again. Healed him again. And killed him again.
This cycle repeated several times. Only then did she realize that Hayashi was not a powerless, ordinary human. He was something far beyond human—an existence capable of effortlessly crushing ghouls. She had already experienced the strange power surrounding Hayashi before, but seeing this level of monstrous combat ability with her own eyes still left her shaken.
Now, having recovered from the shock, Touka stared directly into the eyes of the white-haired boy before her. "You had better explain everything about what is going on with you. And you had better explain it clearly." Touka frowned, her voice icy.
"I understand," Hayashi swallowed instinctively. This was going to be troublesome.