The Ghoul Zone, a paranormal area.
Against the backdrop of modern civilization, this world is largely indistinguishable from human society.
However, among these humans, there are creatures called ghouls.
Ghouls, creatures that look almost identical to humans but require humans as food to survive.
This is because, apart from human flesh, all other foods are poisonous and difficult for ghouls to swallow. It is akin to humans eating putrid things; not only is it disgusting and unpalatable, but forcing oneself to eat it will also cause physical damage.
Humans' evaluation of ghouls is that they are monsters disguised as humans, as no one wants to be eaten.
Furthermore, in a certain sense, although ghouls eat people out of necessity, they do possess a monstrous side.
While ghouls appear no different from humans in their daily lives, they possess a unique organ called a kagune, used to store or absorb RC cells during consumption.
RC cells are also ghouls' most potent weapon, capable of releasing a weapon called a kagune from the kagune.
The more RC cells a ghoul possesses, the stronger they become, and ghouls can even absorb the RC cells of their own kind by consuming them.
On the human side, there are also specialized forces that hunt ghouls, known as Ghoul Investigators by humans, and commonly referred to as CCG by ghouls.
To combat ghouls, humans, in addition to their own training, extract the kagune from deceased ghouls to craft weapons, known as Quinque.
Ghouls devour humans, and humans hunt ghouls...
More than cruelty, it is a sense of helplessness.
A helplessness born of natural selection and the cycle of the food chain.
Ghouls do not wish to eat humans, but they cannot consume any other food.
Some ghouls try to endure, sustaining themselves with liquids, such as coffee.
However, such ghouls are rare.
Although ghouls' bodies are far superior to humans', prolonged starvation is also dangerous, so they occasionally excavate corpses from cemeteries to eat.
Of course, more ghouls choose to follow their instincts. Heaven has given them a reason to eat humans, so to survive, they naturally must consume human flesh.
Just as humans eat cattle, sheep, and pigs.
Some ghouls even treat humans as beings inferior to themselves in terms of biological structure.
However, ghouls are far fewer in number compared to humans, so while they hunt humans, the danger of being hunted is greater for ghouls.
Thus, some ghoul organizations, aimed at opposing the CCG, have emerged.
Aogiri Tree is one such organization, and it continues to expand.
Saving Byakuya is a part of Aogiri Tree's expansion plan.
The so-called "feeder" is the man in the suit Byakuya saw last night; he has committed over a dozen such acts within a month.
Such behavior has attracted the attention of the CCG and Aogiri Tree.
The CCG intends to eliminate this ferocious ghoul.
Aogiri Tree intends to recruit this ferocious ghoul as a member.
Thus, the scene at the hotel unfolded.
The CCG dispatched numerous Ghoul Investigators to the hotel to eliminate Byakuya, while Aogiri Tree dispatched a high-ranking member, Arima Kisho, to rescue Byakuya with his subordinates.
The only problem is...
Byakuya is not a "feeder"!
Having learned the rough details from Arima Kisho, Byakuya felt extremely frustrated.
Who did he offend?
But at this moment, there is someone more frustrated than Byakuya!
"This script is not going as planned!"
Li Jia Yi sat atop a building, watching the CCG clean up the mess below, his expression bewildered.
Li Jia Yi only wanted to lure Ghoul Investigators to deal with Byakuya. The first half of his plan went smoothly; the Ghoul Investigators did indeed arrive.
But the second half deviated from Li Jia Yi's plan. He never anticipated Aogiri Tree's appearance.
And Aogiri Tree...
Just happens to be Li Jia Yi's target!
Li Jia Yi would never want Byakuya to be associated with Aogiri Tree, but as it stands...
Byakuya seems to have already become involved with Aogiri Tree.
Meanwhile, Arima Kisho has brought Byakuya to Aogiri Tree's headquarters.
An abandoned factory!
Arima Kisho got out of the car and said, "We've arrived. Starting today, you are one of us."
Byakuya asked, "Are you so sure I will join Aogiri Tree?"
Arima Kisho sneered, "The CCG has their eyes on you. If you don't join us, you won't be able to move freely, and you'll be found by the CCG soon. What do you think your fate will be then? You can guess, can't you?"
Arima Kisho spoke as he walked into the factory.
"Of course, we at Aogiri Tree do not force any ghouls to join us," Arima Kisho added. "If you wish to leave, feel free to do so."
Byakuya shrugged and followed Arima Kisho into the abandoned factory.
Byakuya was now somewhat interested in this area.
Ghouls, Investigators?
Byakuya had some interest in both, but if forced to choose, his interest in ghouls was greater.
Such interest stemmed from what he could gain from them.
As things stood, the most valuable thing ghouls possessed was Quinque, but the core of Quinque was the ghoul's kagune, so the ultimate source remained ghouls.
As for the value of ghouls themselves...
Ghouls were the most valuable entities.
Byakuya was interested in both kagune and kakuja. From the information obtained from Arima Kisho, Byakuya deduced that becoming a ghoul would undoubtedly enhance physical attributes.
Ghouls' physical attributes were far superior to humans', and they possessed kagune as special weapons.
Byakuya did not rule out the possibility of becoming a ghoul. As long as it could enhance his physical attributes and increase his strength, Byakuya did not care if he became what humans called a monster.
But the current problem was that Byakuya felt that if his deduction was correct, becoming a ghoul would come at a great cost.
That cost was...
Inability to eat any food other than humans.
This side effect was quite significant.
Byakuya could no longer recall how many people he had killed in his past and present lives.
To survive on the world's battlefield, one must constantly grow stronger, and he had long grown numb to killing for the sake of becoming stronger.
If this world required killing to survive,
Byakuya did not mind dividing "people" into two categories.
The first category was himself.
The second category was everyone else.
For his own sake, Byakuya could kill all others.
However, eating humans...
This was something Byakuya could not accept. Regardless of anything else, as long as "humanity" still existed, this was an act that should not be committed.
...