I Am a Heroic Spirit

Zhang Luo stood in front of Kamishiro Rize, looking down at her and said coldly, "You're quite brave. You dare to sit still after seeing me."

Kamishiro Rize adjusted her glasses and looked at Zhang Luo in confusion: "Little boy, you must have recognized the wrong person. I don't know you, and I'm also called Kamishiro Rize."

Zhang Luo's face darkened, and a magic book appeared silently in his hand.

"Hmph, you thought I wouldn't recognize you if you put on some clothes and glasses? Ohgami Rize, the one who caused chaos in Area 11. Or did you think I'd show mercy to a man-eating monster like you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, an invisible wind blade was released from Zhang Luo's hand and shot towards Kamishiro Rize.

Kamishiro Rize's face changed. She didn't expect Zhang Luo to take action in such a place. She immediately shot out a sword from behind her, breaking the wall behind her, and then quickly retreated.

After missing the attack, Zhang Luo immediately chased after him.

"Kaneki! Did you see that? That woman is a ghoul!"

Nagachika Hideyoshi, who had been paying attention to Kamishiro Rize, saw this scene and suddenly stood up, excitedly pressing Kaneki Ken and shouting loudly.

"It's a good thing you didn't go over and chat with me, otherwise I would have been eaten."

Kaneki Ken's face became panicked and relieved. If he had really mustered up the courage just now, he would probably have entered that woman's belly soon.

Chapter 53: Battle with the Antique Coffee Shop

At this moment, Kaneki Ken suddenly felt something was wrong. He looked around and saw that the expressions of the guests around him seemed wrong. It was not because they showed any strange expressions, but because they did not show any expression at all, as if they had already known that the woman who appeared just now was a zombie.

In an instant, Kaneki Ken suddenly woke up. The woman looked like a regular customer in this coffee shop. Could it be that no one in this coffee shop had doubted her identity for so long? There was only one reason, this coffee shop was run by a ghoul, and the customers inside were all ghouls except for himself and Yingliang.

Just as Kaneki Ken realized this, a customer in the coffee shop suddenly stood up and said loudly: "Hey, everyone, now that Kamishiro Rize has been exposed, we regular customers here can't hide anymore. How about we have a good meal now and then run away?"

"I agree. That guy tastes really good. If he wasn't here, I would have eaten him long ago." Another guest stood up, revealing bright red eyes, which were the symbol of the ghoul, the red eyes.

More and more guests stood up, revealing their bright red eyes, and revealed their identities to the horrified gazes of Kaneki Ken and Nagachika Eira.

Originally, Furuma Madoka, Irimi Kaya, Yoshimura Kousen, and 453 Kirishima Touka, who were supposed to stop them from taking action, had no intention of stopping their actions in this situation. Instead, they quickly left the coffee shop, prepared to go and help Kamishiro Rize, and then leave the stable area.

Just when Kaneki Ken and Nagachika Eira were surrounded by the hungry zombies and were about to be eaten, powerful light and heat filled the coffee shop.

In the sight of Kaneki Ken and Nagachika Hideyoshi, they saw a halo emitting golden light and extremely high temperature appearing where a ghoul had originally stood, and that ghoul had turned into ashes. Then, in the blink of an eye, the halo circled around the ghouls, and in the entire coffee shop, except for Kaneki Ken, Nagachika Hideyoshi and the halo, there was only a pile of ashes scattered on the ground.

The two of them stood there in a daze, watching the light wheel fly out of the coffee shop. It took them a while to react. They didn't dare to stay for a moment and ran out.

On the street outside the coffee shop, the appearance of five zombies caused pedestrians to flee in panic. However, in less than a minute, only Zhang Luo and five S-level or above zombies were left fighting on the streets in this area.

Originally, when fighting against Kamishiro Rize in a one-on-one duel, Zhang Luo relied on the flexible use of various ritual equipment to firmly suppress Kamishiro Rize in just half a minute. However, the arrival of Furuma Enji, Irimi Kaya, Yoshimura Kozen, and Kirishima Touka instantly put Zhang Luo at a disadvantage.

Zhang Luo stretched out his right hand to catch the Luger's Light Wheel that flew back from the coffee shop, then quickly raised it to block the kagune that was whipped by Kamishiro Rize. The fingertips of his other hand condensed a blood-colored magic bullet and shot it towards the attacking Furuma Yuaner from the right. At the same time that Kamishiro Rize's kagune was burned by Luger's Light Wheel, Zhang Luo kicked Luger's Light Wheel towards Yoshimura Kozen. Yoshimura Kozen, who had seen the power of Luger's Light Wheel, retracted his kagune and quickly dodged.

Zhang Luo blocked the attacks of the three people in just a breath, and had no time to deal with the attacking Kaya Irimi and Touka Kirishima. After taking a glance, Zhang Luo made a decision on the spot and faced the weaker Touka Kirishima, and narrowly avoided Kaya Irimi's attack.

"boom!!!"

Zhang Luo's figure crashed through the wall of the coffee shop like a diverging missile, rolled on the ground several times, and then staggered to his feet.

"Fortunately, I drew Steel Tempering and Tenacity before, otherwise I wouldn't be able to stand up." Zhang Luo said thankfully. If his defense hadn't been strengthened a lot, he would not only have bruises on his stomach, but would have been directly shot through.

At this time, Furuma Madoka, Irimi Kaya, Yoshimura Kousen, Kirishima Touka and Kamishiro Rize also walked in. They noticed that there was no wound on Zhang Luo's skin under his torn clothes except for dark blue marks. A hint of shock flashed in their eyes at the same time.

He is just a human being and has no protective gear, yet he was able to withstand Touka's attack head-on without being injured. How on earth did Kamishiro Rize provoke such a master?

"Even though we're working together, it's still good that you've caused me pain." Zhang Luo endured the pain in his stomach and sneered, "Feel proud, sir. Since I came into this world, apart from when I first started practicing spearmanship and used simple spearmanship to compete with my opponents, I've never suffered such a heavy blow."

"Really? I hope you can still boast like this when I eat you." Kamishiro Rize sneered. The combined strength of the five of them was enough to cause a big commotion at the CCG headquarters. She didn't believe that the man in front of her was really stronger than their combined strength. After all, a person of that level would never mess with a small character like her.

As she said this, Kamishiro Rize was about to take action, but Yoshimura Kousen on the side suddenly reached out to stop her.

"Sir, we have no intention of making an enemy of you. I wonder if there is any misunderstanding between you and Kamishiro. Can we mediate it?" Yoshimura Kousen asked with narrowed eyes. He had already seen the strength of the man in front of him. His attack method was strange and his weapon was powerful. Even if he could defeat him, at least two people on his side would die, and once CCG arrived, it would be disastrous.

Yoshimura Kousen, who was unwilling to have conflicts with humans, was even more unwilling to get involved after realizing this.

"There is no misunderstanding. My purpose is very clear, which is to kill this man-eating monster. Of course, you are also one of my targets." Seeing Fangcun Gongshan showing weakness, Zhang Luo still took advantage of the situation and said ruthlessly.

Rumi Kaya said angrily: "Man-eating monster! Do we want to eat people? Don't we want to eat food that normal people can eat? We just want to survive! What's wrong with that?!"

"My father always brought us to eat human corpses and ghouls for food, and never hurt anyone, but he was captured by a white pigeon! The store manager opened this cafe to help weak ghouls survive and prevent humans from being hunted by ghouls, but who cares about these things? You humans only know that we are ghouls and want to kill us. We want to live, what's wrong with that?"

Kirishima Touka's face was also filled with anger, and her eyes were filled with sadness. If someone who didn't know the details or was obsessed with lust would definitely feel pity, but Zhang Luo was unmoved.

In reality, Zhang Luo couldn't understand why so many people liked Kirishima Touka. In almost every Tokyo Ghoul fanfiction, the protagonist would always get Kirishima Touka. Hadn't they considered that, as a ghoul, Kirishima Touka feeds on humans, and that she'd eaten countless corpses and living people to kiss their lips? Hadn't they considered this? In any case, whenever Zhang Luo thought of this, he would consciously suppress his fondness for Kirishima Touka.

At this moment, Fangcun Gongshan suddenly said with a smile, "Sir, please stop joking. You clearly knew our identities before, but you didn't show any murderous intentions towards us. This shows that you have no hostility towards us."

Zhang Luo nodded, not denying what Fangcun Gongshan had noticed, and said, "Yes, I've known about the existence of the Antique Coffee Shop for a long time, and I also know who you are. I'm not a pedantic person either, so naturally I don't have any hostility towards you."

Furuma Madoka, Irimi Kaya, Kirishima Touka and Kamishiro Rize all showed surprised expressions, some not understanding what Zhang Luo meant.

Yoshimura Kousen felt a little confused and puzzled. He could see that Zhang Luo was not lying, but when they were fighting just now, every move of Zhang Luo was a killing move. He didn't think that Zhang Luo didn't see that the five of them, except Kamishiro Rize, had subconsciously held back.

Chapter 54: Survival and Death

"Don't you understand what I mean? Having no special hostility towards you does not conflict with killing you." Zhang Luo said calmly, but there was an inexplicable light in his eyes.

Fangcun Gongshan, who looked at Zhang Luo, quickly understood what Zhang Luo meant. He lowered his head and sighed heavily.

"I think I understand what you mean. You think that our lives are a complete torture. It's better to die than to live in pain."

The expressions of Furuma Madoka, Irimi Kaya, Kirishima Touka, and Kamishiro Rize were even more strange. Some of the people who attacked them in the past did so because of hatred, some because of racial conflicts, and some because of professional requirements. This was the first time that someone attacked them because they thought they would be better off dead than alive.

"Indeed," Zhang Luo nodded and said softly, "In my opinion, it's better for you to die and reincarnate than to continue living and harming others and yourselves. You must have had the urge to die in the past. You can't eat normal food, and you have to eat corpses every day. You can't get along with normal people, and you will always be a monster and an alien in people's eyes. Why do you still want to live?"

"If everyone had the same idea as you, then millions of people in this world would commit suicide every day because they are not satisfied with their lives," Kirishima Touka said coldly.

"That's right, why should we die? We eat human flesh just to survive. How could we commit suicide just because of your words?" Kamishiro Rize echoed loudly. If she wanted to die, she would have died when she became a ghoul. Since she is still alive now, it means that she has no intention of dying.

"It's not suicide, it's being killed by me." Zhang Luo glanced at the five people opposite him coldly. "I never thought of asking you to commit suicide, nor did I ever think of asking you to accept my idea. I am just telling you that I want to kill you for this reason. Whether you accept it or not, I will do it."

"Sir, you are so arrogant." Yoshimura Kousen sighed.

"That's because I have the qualifications to be arrogant." Zhang Luo said proudly.

"That's a shame. I don't intend to die before I've atoneed for my sins."

As he spoke, Yoshimura Kousan straightened up, and a magnificent aura emanated from him. This was the power of Yoshimura Kousan, the strongest SSS-level ghoul who single-handedly subdued all the ghouls in Anding District and transformed the entire Anding District.

"If that's your intention, I appreciate your intention, but I'm sorry. I'll do my best to survive."

"So are we."

The four people nearby also spoke firmly, waving their kagune in the air to show their will to survive.

Knowing that Zhang Luo was determined to kill them and that they would not be able to leave unless he was killed, the five of them launched their strongest attack together.

Zhang Luo closed his eyes, then exhaled forcefully, opened his eyes, and said firmly, "Very good, I will personally send you off. This is my arrogance, but also my mercy."

With a wave of his hand, Ruge's light wheel came flying from outside, spinning around Zhang Luo's body, blocking the powerful attack of the five ghouls. The sun's light and sun's flames on it would cause damage to the kagune every time they came into contact with it. But after all, he was facing five ghouls, the weakest of which were S-level, and Ruge's light wheel was just a three-star outfit. Although powerful, it was only at the level of an ordinary treasure. It did not have the ability to burn the opponent's kagune into ashes in a moment of contact, so the five opponents still had the ability to resist and continue to attack.

Zhang Luo, standing in the protective circle of Ruge's halo, took out the magic book, and the powerful magic power released powerful magic through the amplification of the magic book.

"Numbers. Forty, nine, thirty, seven. A total of eighty-six. Echo. Water, transform into a spirit snake, thrust like a sword."

A large amount of water flow rose in front of Zhang Luo. With Zhang Luo's spell, it turned into a high-pressure water column that forked like a nine-headed snake, brushing the ground and attacking Fangcun Gongshan's lower body.

Because the main SSS-level ghoul Yoshimura Kousen is the strongest obstacle, as long as he is defeated, the other four will be completely unable to stop him.

However, Yoshimura Kousen is worthy of being an SSS-level ghoul. He did not use his kagune at all, but just used his feet to defeat the water flow.

Zhang Luo did not hesitate at all. Seeing that the first attack was ineffective, he immediately recited the next magic spell.

"MTWOTFFTO (One of the five elements that built the world), IIGOIIOF (Great Flame of the Ancestors). IIBOL (The light of grace that nurtures life), ALLAOE (The light of judgment that punishes evil). IIMH (While bringing peace and happiness), AIIBOD (It also eliminates the misfortune of cold, darkness, and freezing). INF (Its name is Flame), IMS (Its function is Sword). ICR (Manifest), MMBGP (Gnaw my body and transform it into power)!"

A wave of flames suddenly emerged from the coffee shop, transforming into a gigantic demon with a pitch-black core like a human and flames rising from its body.

At the same time, Luger's light wheel, which was constantly colliding with the five people's kagune, quickly withdrew from the battlefield and flew into the hands of the giant demon. Suddenly, a violent heat wave with a temperature close to the surface of the sun, as high as 6,000 degrees Celsius, spread out violently in all directions, forcing Zhang Luo to use a technique to lower his body temperature.

Under the influence of this intense heat, the café's low-melting-point debris instantly turned red and softened, melting into a pool of bright red liquid that fell to the ground, leaving a small, irregular, dark mark. Then the walls and roof began to melt, and except for Yoshimura Kousen's kagune, everyone else's kagune also began to rapidly dissolve.

"The Witch Hunter King, Innocentius, means 'sure kill.' This magic is currently the most powerful I can use. Combined with Luger's Light Wheel, even weaker monsters, unless they are high-level, won't be able to defeat it." Zhang Luo said calmly, "It only lasts less than five minutes, and it drains all my magic power. So if you can hold out for five minutes, you have a chance of survival. Otherwise, leave your lives here, and I will perform a ritual to help you transcend."

As Zhang Luo finished speaking, the Witch Hunting Queen rushed out from in front of Zhang Luo as if she had received some order, and quickly launched an attack on the zombies.

End of Chapter 55

At this time, CCG had also received reports from ordinary citizens Kaneki Ken and Nagachika Hideyoshi. Based on the information obtained from the two, CCG immediately made a judgment.

The staff at that antique coffee shop were the SS-rank ghoul Mamaru, leader of the ghoul group "Monkey Mask." The SS-rank ghoul Black Dog, leader of the ghoul group "Black Doberman." The S-rank ghoul Rabbit, the S-rank ghoul Daiku, and the SSS-rank ghoul Owl, the unkillable ghoul. The man who single-handedly fought them all used Western magic similar to that of the demon-slayer Jinguji family's head.

Except for Daiku, all of these ghouls are high-level ghouls who have long disappeared from the public eye. However, they appeared together in a seemingly ordinary coffee shop. There must be something hidden.

After making this judgment, CCG headquarters immediately dispatched CCG's highest combat force, Arima Takashi, known as the "Undefeated Ghoul Investigator" and the "White Death", and ordered him to lead a large number of investigators to the Antique Cafe to encircle and kill.

Inside the antique coffee shop, there was no such place as the antique coffee shop at this time. In the flames of hunting the witch king, the entire coffee shop was melted, and a 05 layer of crystals appeared on the ground.

Looking at the zombies such as Yoshimura Kousen who were about to die in the attack of the Witch King, Zhang Luo lowered his head, opened the magic book in his hand, and began to chant the spell.

"Awesome god, Anubis, protector of souls, please heed our call, descend here, carve a sacred mark, bless the warriors here, and let them not fear death."

A black light emanated from the magic book, brushing across the body of the Witch Hunting King like an illusion, merging into the bodies of the five dying people opposite, and leaving a mark of protecting the dead on their souls.

After all, they were facing the divine flame of the sun. If they were not prepared, their souls would perish at the moment of death.

Three seconds later, the bodies of the five people were completely turned into ashes, and the Witch Hunting King, who had lost his enemies, was also dispersed by Zhang Luo.

"This is, our soul? We still have souls?"

Five invisible spirits appeared above the five piles of ashes. Kirishima Touka was surprised. She had originally thought that man-eating monsters couldn't have souls, just like the vampires in Western mythology...

"Yes, this is your soul. After all, you are just mutated humans, not cursed beings like vampires, so you naturally have souls." Zhang Luo explained, and his face showed his first smile since arriving at the antique coffee shop.

From an anime fan's perspective, Zhang Luo couldn't possibly dislike Kirishima Touka and the group at the Antique Cafe. But from a human perspective, ghouls, creatures that can only survive by eating humans, must die. From the perspective of a system owner, in order to obtain enough Saint Quartz to survive the evil hands of humanity, the achievement of killing enough ghouls must be completed.

So, when he arrived at the Antique Coffee Shop, Zhang Luo had been thinking about this problem, how to find a solution that would satisfy both parties. Finally, Zhang Luo came up with this idea: Kill them, let them get rid of their ghoul bodies, and survive as spirits.

"Is this your plan? Destroy our bodies and free us from our identity as ghouls." Furuma Madoka looked down at his body in disbelief. It was the first time he had seen such a thing as a soul. Although he knew about the existence of psychics and exorcists, he never believed in the existence of souls because he had no spiritual power and could not see evil spirits. Irimi Kaya, Kamishiro Rize, Kirishima Touka and the others had the same view. After all, although they were not human, the education they received made them subconsciously not believe in the existence of souls. Only the knowledgeable Yoshimura Kousen had a clear understanding of the soul.

"Isn't this great? Being able to get rid of the identity of a zombie and still maintain self-awareness and the ability to move freely should be the best outcome for you." Zhang Luo said without comment.

"Indeed, this is the best option for us," Yoshimura Kousen agreed, then shook his head. "But I don't think we can continue in this form forever. The Exorcist will not let go of any evil spirit in Tokyo."

Zhang Luo said, "You have two choices. First, I will perform a ritual for you, and you can enter the underworld to reincarnate. Second, the area around Karakura Town is the territory of the Soul Society. If you can make it there, the Shinigami there can send you to the Soul Society to survive."

Zhang Luo paused and continued, "If you want to enter the underworld, those who have committed heinous crimes will be dragged into hell to be punished. In the Karakura Town area, besides the Shinigami who maintain order among the dead, there are also evil spirits called Hollows that feed on souls. You must enter Soul Society before the Hollows find you, only then can you live a peaceful life."

Before the arrival of the CCG investigators, the five people each made their own choices. The coffee shop group planned to go to hell to receive the punishment they deserved for their past sins. Only Kirishima Touka was persuaded by Yoshimura Kozen to go to Karakura Town to start her life again. As for Kamishiro Rize, who was not interested in going to hell at all, she chose to leave with Kirishima Touka.

At this time, the CCG team had also arrived here and found Zhang Luo walking out from the center of a scorched land.

"Hello, please wait a moment. I am Arima Takashi, the ghoul investigator. Please cooperate with my work." The silver-haired middle-aged man blocked Zhang Luo's way and spoke to Zhang Luo with impeccable humility.

"I think you've already figured out the identities of the ghouls inside. As for their current location, that pile of ashes is it. My name is Zhang Luo. If you don't know their specific identities, ask your superiors." Zhang Luo took in the strongest ghoul investigator before him, spouting a series of words before walking around Arima Kisho and leaving. Having completely depleted his magic power in the previous battle, Zhang Luo had no time to waste here.

Arima Kisho moved his lips but didn't say anything. He also tried to stop Zhang Luo from leaving. Although his department had little connection with the spiritual industry and the inner world, he was still able to receive the news that the largest human force in the inner world, the Dark World, had a new senior official named Zhang Luo, codenamed Magician.

Chapter 56 Actions of all parties

On this side, Arima Takashi and the investigators were cleaning up the aftermath of Zhang Luo's battle at the ruins of the coffee shop. On the other side, Zhang Luo quickly returned to the hotel and locked himself in the room. He did not go out for a whole day and night, and spent all his time recovering his magic power and recuperating from the damage to his body caused by the exhaustion of magic power.

While Zhang Luo was recuperating, the CCG deliberately spread the news that the SS-level Ghoul Demon Ape, SS-level Ghoul Black Dog, S-level Ghoul Rabbit, S-level Ghoul Daiku, and SSS-level Ghoul Unkillable Owl had been killed a day earlier, leaving no trace of their bodies. While this boosted morale, it also caused some negative consequences.

The first negative impact was that the leader of the Aogiri Tree, the One-Eyed King, had stormed into CCG headquarters alone, killing half of the CCG's forces while Arima Takashi was away, and then stole the ashes that Arima Takashi had brought back from the ruins of the cafe. The second negative impact was that the deaths of the people in the cafe and the CCG's dominance completely enraged the ghouls who had been helped by the people in the cafe and who shared their ideals. Under the call of the One-Eyed King, the leader of the Aogiri Tree, more and more ghouls from all over Tokyo rushed to District 11, preparing for the ultimate showdown with the CCG.

For a time, the state apparatus was fully operational. The police and military fully cooperated with the CCG in preparing for war. The residents of District 11 were quickly evacuated one by one, temporarily housed in government-provided accommodations outside of District 11 to make room for the impending battle. By 4:00 PM the next day, the military had completely surrounded District 11. By then, District 11 was deserted, save for a large number of ghouls.

At a specially arranged entrance, nearly 500 CCG investigators, led by the strongest investigator, Arima Takashi, entered Area 11, accompanied by reporters arranged by the authorities.

The war is about to begin.

-

At the same time as the action began in District 11, the Countermeasures Office headquarters also held a meeting.

"According to recent investigations, Type A has killed over a hundred ghouls and over fifty sex workers. Furthermore, professional investigations have revealed that the bodies of those killed by Type A no longer possess souls. In other words, while killing the ghouls, Type A used a special ability to devour their souls. Research has shown that ghoul souls are often more powerful than those of ordinary humans, and Type A is likely gaining strength by devouring powerful souls. If this is the case, then we can be sure where Type A will appear: District 11, where the ghouls congregate."

Jinguji Ayame was holding something like a pointer and moving it on the screen behind her as she spoke, finally fixing it on the area displayed on the screen.

"There are currently hundreds of thousands of ghouls gathered in District 11. It's estimated that all of Tokyo's ghouls are here. If we allow Type-A to devour their souls, the consequences will be disastrous. Therefore, we must begin our action today."

Iwabata Koji raised his hand and asked loudly, "Captain, even if it's as you say, we don't have the ability to subdue a Type A. Do you have any reinforcements?"

Jinguji Ayame nodded and said calmly, "Don't worry about that. The Tsuchimikado family has already gone to Area 11 to set up a barrier that will surround the entire area. The power of the evil spirits within the barrier will be greatly weakened. In addition, the CCG will fully cooperate with your actions. The heads of the Ayaka, Tsuchimiya, and Isayama families have also brought their exorcists to support them. They are waiting in the reception room. This is your last chance. You must defeat Type A today. Do you understand?"

"clear!"

-

"The stage has been set, the actors are in place, and the audience is the entire world. This is the final opportunity to allow the heroic spirit to enter the sight of humanity."

Hundreds of meters above Area 11, Zhang Luo stood on Ruger's halo, looking down at Area 11 below, muttering to himself.

-