Hoito Roma thought she had successfully escaped.
Just as she was secretly celebrating-a tall, slender figure dressed in black suddenly blocked her path.
The "Dove" emblem on his chestplate marked him as a Ghoul Investigator.
But Roma wasn't concerned; she had already memorized the faces of Cochlea's Warden and the Associate Special-Class Investigators around.
Yet this black-clad investigator was completely unfamiliar.
Meaning he was probably a low-ranking nobody not worth any of her attention.
Roma planned to continue along the walls of the corridor to evade pursuit.
Though the Quinque in the investigator's hand looked rather intimidating, she didn't recognize it.
After all, when Roma had been captured by Yoshitoki Washuu, Yoshimura Kuzen hadn't even become a Cleaner for V yet.
In fact-Washuu Yoshitoki wasn't even Bureau Chief at the time.
It had been quite a while, at least 15 to 20 years ago.
Meanwhile; Uchiha Byakuya had confirmed Roma's identity by her appearance.
She seemed youthful with a gentle demeanor and a soft, innocent face.
At first glance she looked no older than twenty.
But in reality-her true age was already around forty.
During the original story's timeline; she had even reached her fifties yet showed no signs of aging.
Byakuya calmly raised his Quinque; he had already predicted Roma's escape trajectory.
With a single flick, he launched a storm of razor-sharp projectiles from Owl's feathered blades.
This was an ukaku Quinque.
Naturally; it could fire projectiles just like Yoshimura Kuzen's original kagune.
"What?!"
Roma's expression twisted in shock.
A strong sense of danger suddenly gripped her.
She desperately tried to dodge but she was a fraction of a second too slow.
Shhk!
Her side was riddled with a barrage of feathered blades.
Each strike carried immense power, forcing sharp waves of agony to seize her body.
Her balance faltered and she plummeted from the wall, crashing onto the floor in pain.
As she struggled to get up, she appeared to have lost the ability to fight.
Byakuya slowly approached.
Just as he reached Roma's side; her abdomen suddenly ripped open.
Several tentacle-like kagune burst out, lunging straight for Byakuya.
At the same time; Roma's eyes snapped open.
Her once innocent-looking gaze had completely transformed, turning manic as her eyes turned into a pair of crimson kakugan.
Her lips curled upward.
She was certain her trap had succeeded.
But Byakuya had already seen through her deception.
He knew all too well; Hoito Roma loved using these kinds of sneaky, dirty tactics to kill her prey.
With a calm step back, his upper body leaned away in a graceful arch.
The tentacle-shaped kagune missed his face by a hair's breadth.
They sliced past his forehead, only brushing against the tips of his bangs.
Byakuya remained unfazed, he spoke cooly:
"That won't work."
"Tch-"
Roma clicked her tongue.
"What a troublesome little bastard."
She had finally realized that this investigator wasn't ordinary.
He was probably a Special-Class Investigator.
With Aogiri Tree cutting off her escape route and this black-clad man blocking her path forward, Roma was trapped.
She had no choice now.
Fighting was inevitable.
Tch-
Such a waste of her time.
Hoito Roma's entire body suddenly burst into a wave of shifting kagune, completely enveloping her in an armored cocoon.
And then it transformed into a monstrous creature.
The Kakuja Form:
"The Dodgy Mother."
Her grotesque kakuja was a massive, twisted being with multiple thick kagune arms that she used to crawl forward.
Her entire body was covered in dismembered human legs, growing chaotically in every direction.
And yet her own head and arms still protruded from the forehead of the monstrous kakuja shell.
It was a sight straight out of a nightmare.
"AOOHHHH!!"
Hoito Roma's Kakuja form let out a furious roar.
Her gaping maw revealed rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth.
Frankly speaking-this was, without a doubt, the ugliest and most grotesque Kakuja form Byakuya had ever seen.
"Your Kakuja is seriously hideous."
Byakuya offered a sincere suggestion.
"Next time, try evolving into something that looks better."
High-tier Kakuja ghouls could alter their forms to a certain extent.
Roma shouldn't be an exception.
"Tch-"
Roma scoffed, clearly unimpressed.
"You just don't appreciate art, kid."
Byakuya couldn't be bothered to continue the conversation.
With 'Owl' in hand, he charged forward.
The "Dodgy Mother" was massive, but it lacked the key speed and agility of Yoshimura Kuzen and Yoshimura Eto.
Its attack patterns were also extremely simple; it relied entirely on brute force and sheer size.
For Byakuya who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan; this type of opponent was nothing more than a training dummy.
Hoito Roma was already a weaker SSS-rated ghoul.
After years of confinement in Cochlea and being forced to eat rotten human flesh; Her power had severely declined.
At that moment, Byakuya silently split apart Owl.
One fragment of the Quinque sank into the ground, going completely unnoticed by Roma.
Even if she had noticed, her reaction speed wouldn't have saved her.
SHTNK!!
CRACK-!!
In the very next second, the hidden blade beneath Roma burst through the stone floor beneath her.
The attack pierced straight through the "Dodgy Mother's" body.
Then, like a shotgun blast, the Quinque's internal blades detonated directly inside of her.
The explosive impact shredded her insides to a critical degree.
"GAAAHH!!"
Roma screamed in pain.
Before she could even react-Byakuya lunged forward.
With one firm grip; he ripped Hoito Roma right out from the forehead of her Kakuja.
Roma's battered and bloodied body was forcibly dragged out.
This time; she wasn't "playing dead."
She was truly, genuinely on the verge of death.
[Ding! The Host has defeated the SSS-Grade Ghoul "The Dodgy Mother."]
[Reward: +100 Attribute Points!]
Behind him; Donato Porpora had been watching the entire fight with pure amusement.
He had remained silent the whole time and had made no attempt to interfere.
After all; he knew that Hoito Roma was the First-Generation 'King' of the Clowns.
But Roma had no idea who he was.
By the time Donato joined the Clowns and became the Third-Generation King; Roma had already been imprisoned in Cochlea.
Now, watching her defeat; he felt even more certain that his earlier decision had been correct.
If he had chosen to oppose this black-clad investigator; his fate wouldn't have been much better than Roma's.
Byakuya waved over a random First-Class Investigator.
"Watch over her, when this is over; lock her back in her cell."
"Yes, Sir- Special-Class Uchiha!"
The investigator nodded sternly.
Byakuya then headed deeper into Cochlea's underground passageways; pretending to be in pursuit of the escaping ghouls.
Donato followed him silently.
Shortly after Byakuya left-
CRASH!!!
A massive figure smashed through the ceiling of Cochlea.
It landed directly beside the First-Class Investigator.
The entire floor shook violently from the impact.
The investigator was thrown to the ground, his mind completely blank.
And then he looked up.
He saw it; the One-Eyed Owl.
His face quickly turned deathly pale.
The SSS-Class Ghoul "One-Eyed Owl" was supposed to be in the 13th Ward.
Why.. was she here?!
Eto briefly glanced at the terrified investigator.
Then, she calmly looked away; choosing to ignore him completely.
She had no interest in killing him.
Because; Deep down, she instinctively hesitated.
Subconsciously, she cared about how Byakuya would feel about such an action.