At the same time, Byakuya had no idea that CCG was planning to hold a funeral for him.
He hadn't even considered the possibility — after all, the Washuu Clan had already declared him dead.
So after dropping off Furuta and Rize in the 6th Ward under Shachi's care, he leisurely allocated some of his stat points.
At the same time, he focused on restoring his stamina, ocular power, and RC cells.
All to fully prepare for the final battle.
[Current Attribute Points: 1550]
[Physical Strength +55]
[RC Cell Count+950]
[Attribute Points -1500]
As usual, Byakuya kept a few spare points for emergencies.
Before he even realized it, he had accumulated a staggering amount over time.
With this boost, both his physical strength and rc cell count had nearly doubled.
[Physical Strength: 120]
[RC Cell Count: 500 (+2000)]
Now, his RC reserves should be enough to use both Kamui with relative freedom.
—
Meanwhile, the letters sent by CCG found their way to the publishing house representing the author "Sen Takatsuki"
From there, the letters were forwarded to her most recent listed address—the coffee shop in the 20th Ward.
At that moment, Eto was sitting in the shop, casually reading while sipping her coffee— until she was suddenly handed something unexpected.
The one delivering the letters was a young female ghoul investigator from CCG.
"Miss Takatsuki, these are the things Investigator Byakuya left behind for you..."
The investigator spoke solemnly as she handed over the letters.
"...What is this?"
Eto hadn't fully grasped the situation yet.
But the tone and expression of the investigator immediately gave her a bad feeling.
"Investigator Byakuya... he... he was killed. These were his final belongings for you..."
The investigator hesitated, but eventually forced out the words.
"I see..."
Eto took the letters with an eerily calm expression.
Each one was individually sealed—but all of them were addressed to her.
"Also, tomorrow we'll be holding a funeral for him. If it's convenient, we hope you can attend..."
"And... my condolences."
With those words, the investigator turned and left.
She was relieved that Byakuya's "next of kin" was handling the news so calmly—her biggest fear had been dealing with an emotional outburst. That would've made things even harder for her.
Yoshimura and the other café staff had overheard the conversation, and their expressions ranged from sorrowful to grim, to outright disbelief.
None of them knew the truth about Byakuya and the Washuu Clan — they simply assumed he had been killed during a CCG mission.
But who could possibly be strong enough to take him down?
Could it have been the One-Eyed King or the One-Eyed Owl of Aogiri Tree?
Given that Byakuya had effortlessly overpowered both Uta and Yomo, they could only think of those two SSS-rated ghouls as possible culprits.
Of course, none of them—aside from Yoshimura—knew the truth.
That Byakuya and Eto were the One-Eyed King and the One-Eyed Owl respectively.
Even Yoshimura only knew Eto's identity — he had no idea where the "King" had come from.
Luckily, Mayu and Touka were upstairs playing, so they hadn't overheard the devastating news.
"Eto..."
Yoshimura walked over with concern in his eyes.
He could already guess what had happened.
Having fought Byakuya before, he knew that the only real threat to him was the V.
Given Byakuya's identity and the conversation they once had, everything clicked into place…
Eto, however, remained expressionless.
She quietly tore open one of the envelopes and pulled out a letter.
[Wishing 'Dear Kafka' great sales]
[To Sen Takatsuki]
———
[The publishing process is going smoothly, so just focus on your writing]
[To Sen Takatsuki]
———
[...]
One glance at the handwriting and the casual phrasing, and Eto could tell that Byakuya had written these letters with zero seriousness—just a bunch of throwaway comments.
He was probably just humoring CCG's bureaucratic nonsense.
After all, what mission could possibly be a real threat to him?
And yet…
Every single letter was addressed to her.
After reading them, Eto slipped the letters back into their envelopes.
Her expression remained neutral—but deep in her eyes, a storm of hatred and cold-blooded murder brewed.
She had long abandoned the need to show weakness—there was no point.
Action spoke louder than grief.
"What an idiot..."
She muttered under her breath, her voice filled with complicated emotions.
Why did he have to handle everything alone?
Why couldn't he have told her?
If she had been there, maybe things wouldn't have ended this way.
For the first time in a long time, Eto felt numb.
Her mother, her adoptive father, and now the person she... cared for—all of them had been killed by the Washuu Clan.
If she didn't avenge them, she could never live with herself.
Yoshimura watched Eto's calm exterior, but he knew she wouldn't let this go.
And sure enough, Eto suddenly stood up.
She placed her book down, covering the letters beneath it.
"I have something to take care of."
Her voice was flat, devoid of hesitation.
But Yoshimura knew exactly what she meant.
"I'll go with you."
His expression darkened.
"No need. This is my own battle to fight."
Eto smiled—but it was a forced smile.
She had no intention of dragging anyone else into this.
Not even Aogiri Tree.
She wasn't going to let them die for her vendetta.
All she wanted was to kill.
Kill as many Washuu as she could—to slake her thirst for vengeance.
Without another word, Eto walked out of the café.
"..."
Yoshimura watched her leave, his heart weighed down by a bad feeling.
"Take care of the café while I'm gone."
Leaving those words behind, he quickly changed his outfit and left as well.