There were ten of them.
Ten armed subordinates.
And Kito's team stood surrounded in the dead center of the empty street.
For one second—
both sides stared.
Then everything exploded.
"YOU BASTARDS!"
Shina was the first to move.
Driven purely by rage, she lunged straight at Sima.
Sima met her head on.
No weapon.
Bare hands.
Their fists collided.
Shina twisted, delivering a sharp elbow.
Sima blocked and retaliated with a kick aimed at the ribs.
Shina activated her ability instantly—
absorbing the incoming force and redirecting it.
BOOM.
Sima slid back slightly.
Shina pressed harder.
Punch.
Kick.
Palm strike.
No hesitation.
Every attack carried Rin's name behind it.
But—
after only a minute—
Shina felt it.
Her body was getting heavier.
Her breathing rougher.
Her arms weaker.
Her eyes widened.
What...?
Sima smiled faintly.
Nearby—
Daniel was locked in brutal close combat with Ryzan.
Daniel hardened his entire body.
His fists became like iron.
He drove punch after punch into Ryzan without mercy.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
Ryzan staggered.
Daniel grabbed his head—
and slammed it violently into the stone floor.
CRACK.
The ground fractured.
For a second Daniel thought he had won.
Then—
Ryzan's hand grabbed Daniel's wrist.
Daniel's eyes widened.
Ryzan slowly stood back up.
Blood ran down his forehead.
His lips curled.
His arms bulged grotesquely, swelling to twice their size.
"Nice hit."
He swung.
Daniel barely crossed his arms in time.
BOOOOM.
Daniel was sent crashing through a wall.
At the center—
Kito was fighting three men alone.
His eyes had gone dark.
No fear.
No caution.
Only murderous intent.
He moved like a beast.
A kick to the chest.
An elbow to the jaw.
One enemy dropped.
Another stumbled.
The third barely blocked in time.
Kito was overwhelming them.
Each strike was savage.
Each movement screamed one thing—
You killed Rin.
One man tried to stab from behind.
Kito caught the blade barehanded and drove his knee into the man's face.
Blood splattered.
Kito didn't stop.
He looked less like a human now—
and more like revenge wearing flesh.
On the right flank—
Alex was battling a lean man dressed in gray.
Then suddenly—
he vanished.
Alex spun.
Invisible.
"Damn it!"
A blade cut across her shoulder.
She hissed and jumped back.
Another strike—
from the left.
She blocked with the Rodium Arm.
CLANG.
But she couldn't see him.
He moved like an assassin.
Silent.
Patient.
Cutting from blind spots.
Alex fired an energy blast wildly.
BOOM.
It destroyed a wall—
but hit nothing.
The invisible man's voice echoed mockingly.
"Too slow."
A kick slammed into Alex's spine and threw her forward.
All across the battlefield—
the same thing was happening.
They were fighting.
They were holding.
On the far side of the battlefield—
Sam was locked in combat with the violet-haired hunter.
CLANG.
Sam's single dagger met the hunter's curved blade.
Sparks flew.
The violet-haired man moved with terrifying sharpness.
Every slash was clean.
Efficient.
Meant to kill.
Sam ducked under one horizontal strike and stabbed upward.
The hunter twisted his body just enough to avoid it and answered with a kick to Sam's chest.
THUD.
Sam slid backward.
He gritted his teeth and rushed again.
Dagger flashing.
The hunter blocked.
Countered.
Slashed.
Sam barely bent sideways in time as the blade sliced a few strands of hair.
This was not a normal subordinate.
This man was on another level.
Sam tightened his grip.
His instincts screamed at him—
one mistake and he dies.
Meanwhile, Shina had just knocked Sima unconscious.
She stood panting, Daniel's charm glowing faintly in her hand.
Poison resistance stabilized her body.
She looked around quickly.
The battlefield was still chaos.
Daniel and Ryzan were still smashing each other apart.
Alex was bleeding but still exchanging attacks with the invisible assassin.
Kito was cutting through his opponents like a man possessed.
But Sam—
Sam was losing ground.
Shina's eyes widened.
"Sam!"
CLANG.
Sam blocked another strike.
His arm shook violently.
The violet-haired hunter suddenly disappeared from his sight.
Sam's pupils shrank.
Too fast.
Before he could turn—
SLASH.
A deep cut opened across Sam's back.
"AGH!"
Sam stumbled forward.
The hunter appeared behind him expressionless.
He swung again.
Sam turned and barely blocked with his dagger.
But the force sent him crashing to one knee.
The hunter looked down at him.
Cold.
Silent.
Then he spoke for the first time.
"You are slower than the white-haired one."
Sam froze.
White-haired.
Rin.
The hunter continued.
"At least he had killing intent in his eyes when he fell."
Sam's face twisted in rage.
"You—!"
Sam lunged recklessly.
The hunter sighed.
One clean motion.
CLANG.
Sam's dagger was knocked away.
His weapon spun across the street.
Sam's eyes widened.
The violet-haired hunter raised his sword.
Straight toward Sam's neck.