Ayaka’s Blood Art appeared to resemble Arisu’s, but somehow Kazuichi could tell that there was something different about it, just slightly different. Then again, it was possible that Ayaka possessed the Synthesis Blood Art, which was supposedly his type.

Back to the incident, there were at least a dozen Hybrids sent by Hinokami to harass Kazuichi’s group. Then again, it was obvious that he’s got more Hybrids in his possession, so sending a dozen or so of his guards wouldn’t hurt him in the long run at all— or so that’s what he thought.

As it turned out, Hinokami was one of the most careless stronghold leaders out there. At surface level, he just thought that harassing Kazuichi and the others would discourage them from the auction and make them kneel to his prideful self... but what he didn’t know was that he was risking far more than he had initially assumed.

What he didn’t know was that displaying an act of childishness might force the other stronghold leaders to team up and destroy his stronghold. Because of the little scuffles here and there between their strongholds, they were all way past their boiling point and their patience was running thin.

If they saw an opportunity, or a chance to destroy one of their rivals altogether, then they would seize it without sparing another thought. And right now, what Hinokami was doing was nothing short of careless and full of disregard to both his position as a stronghold leader, and to the lives of his subordinates who were being sacrificed due to his ignorance.

Attacking someone who ignored him was a sign of weakness and thoughtlessness— or so that’s what the other stronghold leaders saw when he explicitly ordered his subordinates to harass a four-person group. Now they were only waiting for another catalyst/reason to show up so they could prove a point that attacking the North Yamanashi Stronghold is worth it.

And that reason relied solely on the outcome of the harassment.

One of the stronghold leaders who was debating whether to destroy the North Yamanashi Stronghold or not decided to get some fresh air as well, hoping to witness the confrontation that would happen the moment two parties collided. He witnessed one of the Hybrids stepping on the bowl of rice, and even for him, it was way below the belt.

If he was the one to experience such disgrace, he’d have given the Hybrid in question everything he could to make him suffer. Stepping on food is unforgivable, and stepping on rice is a level above that unforgiving aspect.

The moment Ayaka made a move, the Hybrid who went through great lengths to offend them received a painless death. In a blink of an eye, Ayaka had turned the Hybrid into minced meat, and the other Hybrids in the vicinity backed away a little bit, caught off-guard by how powerful Ayaka was.

They estimated that Ayaka was probably stronger than their Stronghold Leader, and now they started thinking twice about their decisions. If their group ganged up on Ayaka, they knew that they’d win, no question.

However, another powerful Hybrid was present, and it was none other than the guy whom their master wanted to greatly offend— Takemi Kazuichi.

In terms of numbers, they have the advantage on their side. However, that tangible thing could easily be overlooked since Ayaka and Kazuichi were forces to be reckoned with.

Using his Blood Art, Kazuichi also jumped in front of the Hybrids, extending his hand at Tris and telling her to stick close to Shig. That way, if things were to escalate to the point where the Hybrids would target them, Ayaka and he could protect them together.

"Mm." Tris nodded her head, as she grabbed Shig by the collar and dragged him out of there. She was well aware of how dirty a fight could get, especially when its Hybrids they were talking about.

On their way out of there, one of the Hybrids actually got too ahead of himself and he charged at Shig and Tris. Meanwhile, Kazuichi watched the Hybrid for a split second since he could tell that he had no regard for his life or something along those lines. Clearly, jumping at the uninfected of the group was not the best move here, since Ayaka and Kazuichi could easily intercept them.

And intercept them they did. Before the Hybrid could take another step, Kazuichi grabbed him by the neck. He still wondered why the Hybrid would do that. ’He really wanted to die, huh... but why?’ Kazuichi asked himself.

Unbeknownst to him, the Hybrid was just on a bout of desperation since he knew that they don’t stand a chance against Ayaka and Kazuichi. Judging from their Blood Arts, the Hybrids could tell that they were at least one rank higher than them, and one of them was foolish enough to break formation and desperately get the uninfected before anything else.

Then again, Kazuichi didn’t have the time to ask the question why he really wanted to die since Ayaka immediately cut his head off, set a bucket on the ground, and pulled on the Hybrids’ leg to hang him upside down. Ayaka literally drained him of his blood in front of everyone.

"Who’s next?" Ayaka asked. She didn’t wait for a response though and instantly charged at the group with her blade-like arms swinging madly all over the place.

Just one look, and Kazuichi knew that he didn’t have to step in. Ayaka single-handedly decapitated everyone and turned them into mince meat. And as for those that tried to take a step closer, she left them intact and grabbed them by the leg, draining them of their blood on the bucket that she procured somewhere.

"What you did was unforgivable. Apologize to all the rice in the world and suffer death." Ayaka gritted her teeth in seething anger. Even though she had already defeated everyone, she was still not satisfied. She wanted to tear someone to pieces— an adverse effect of the Blood Art.

That’s when her eyes caught Kazuichi, and she glared at him with her bloodshot eyes.

"Oh no..." Kazuichi let out just when Ayaka jumped on him like a feral animal.