CHAPTER 25: COMBAT ALL-IN!
Abandoned Building. 6th Floor.
The tear gas was a thick, suffocating wall of grey, filling the deep corridor.
The four mercenaries stood frozen. They clutched their submachine guns, their faces hidden behind gas masks and thermal-imaging lenses. They didn't move a muscle.
They knew. They were certain that a "Presence" had stepped into their midst.
But because they were wearing specialized tactical gear, their field of vision was tunneled. They couldn't see the intruder unless they turned their entire heads.
And the mercenaries knew something else: the moment they turned to look, that would be the "Intruder's" opening to strike.
It was the feeling of being stared down by a predator...
For the first time in their lives, these executioners, who killed for sport, were tasting the hellish sensation of being the "Prey."
But... is it actually possible?
Even a world-class martial artist, standing in a cloud of chemical tear gas—unable to breathe, unable to open his eyes—could he really launch a lethal strike in this state?!
"..."
Ren Shiroki's eyes were squeezed shut. He held his breath, focusing every ounce of his spirit. The world was pitch black.
The moment the smoke had surged forward, he had used the blind spots of the thermal goggles to dash into the center of the squad, memorizing their positions as he moved.
He had seconds.
No matter how much he had trained his body, he couldn't overwrite human physiology—not yet. His eyes were burning; the gas was beginning to sting his skin. If he took even one shallow breath, he'd be incapacitated by coughing fits.
The next few seconds were his "All-In." A high-stakes gamble where the stake was his life.
Can I do it?
Blinded and suffocating, can I take down four professional killers through pure intuition?
Ren's brain hit a state of hyper-activity. His consciousness spiraled into Overdrive. Time stretched until the darkness turned into flowing ink, swirling to form the phantom of Ryu.
Shing! Shing! Shing!
Ryu was moving—punching, kicking, pivoting. Every motion was clean, absolute, and imbued with the "Will" of the fist.
What is Strength?
Since Ryu was a child, he had trained under his master. He had wandered the world, seeking the strong, encountering a thousand souls. The sensation of every clash remained etched into Ryu's knuckles.
Ryu had fought "Evil." He had challenged syndicates that threatened the world. He had even fought the darkness within himself, taking years to conquer his own shadows.
Finally, Ryu had achieved a "Satisfactory Strike."
But he was still a seeker. He was still walking the path, searching for the ultimate answer to "What is Strength?"
THOOM!
Ryu unleashed a final kick—slow, heavy, and resonant—striking Ren's chest.
Now!
Facing these "Evil" men who killed for pleasure, Ren followed his instinct. He allowed his soul and body to reach their absolute limit, pouring everything he had into a single, satisfactory strike!
Ren moved.
The instant he began his motion, the four mercenaries reacted. They spun around, some raising their muzzles to fire, others bracing with their gunstocks in a desperate attempt to block.
If they could survive this one "All-In"—if they could just last until Ren's next breath—the victory would be theirs.
WHOOSH!
Ren's left foot slammed into the concrete. He launched himself into the air, using his spine as a high-tension axis. His hips snapped counter-clockwise, and his right leg whipped out in a four-point circular rotation, carrying his entire momentum into a whirlwind of violence.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
[RYU: DRAGON TORNADO KICK!]
Almost simultaneously, all four mercenaries were struck in the head by the lightning-fast kicks.
The first man was hit in the back of the skull and dropped like a sack of bricks, out cold. The other three had their gas masks and thermal goggles shattered; shards of plastic, blood, and teeth sprayed into the hallway.
"Hah... huff! Cough! GAH!"
The three mercs instinctively gasped for air, inhaling a lungful of the concentrated tear gas. They doubled over, hacking and retching, unable to stand.
The only one who avoided a total knockout was the lead mercenary. He managed to cover his nose with his sleeve, his eyes streaming with tears as he leveled his gun with one hand at Ren.
"You... goddamn... DIE!"
Ren didn't wait for him to finish. He lunged forward with a mid-level front-kick aimed squarely between the merc's legs.
THUD!
The sound of the impact was followed by a sickening, wet "pop."
"..."
The giant mercenary's eyes rolled back into his head, and foam began to leak from his lips.
Ren followed through, his "Drive Impact" fueling a final punch.
BOOM!
The heavy strike slammed into the mercenary's face, driving his head into the concrete floor with such force that the man's features caved in. Ren's knuckles were coated in a thick, dark crimson.
All four mercenaries were neutralized. Ren finally stopped, his lungs burning. His face was a dark, purplish red from lack of oxygen.
But he couldn't hide his exhilaration.
Ryu was a Grandmaster. To receive his "Approval" meant that Ren had finally, truly, stepped through the gates of the warrior's path.
"Quick! Clear the air!"
Further down the hall, Baku saw the fight was over and signaled to Kaji and Akagi. The three of them began smashing the remaining windows, allowing the fresh night air to rush in and disperse the gas.
Ren finally took a deep breath—and immediately doubled over, coughing.
Before he could recover, a voice crackled in his earpiece.
{ Wow, Ren-chin! There was so much smoke on the sixth floor! You took care of them all? Great! I'll help you clear the air! }
Ren's face went pale. He tried to speak, but he was still coughing too hard to get the words out.
Wait! Don't—
Zip—Zip—Zip—Zip!
Fusui Kure began firing. The sound of suppressed bullets hitting glass echoed through the entire sixth floor. Tink-shatter! Tink-shatter! Every single windowpane in the hallway was systematically destroyed.
With the glass gone, a powerful cross-breeze swept the floor, and the tear gas vanished in seconds.
"..."
It should have been a good thing. But Ren looked devastated.
Baku and the others walked over, looking at the "Winner" with confusion.
"Ren-chin, your friend is incredible!"
Baku grinned, stepping over a fallen mercenary. "Why the long face? We just won the 'All-In'!"
"...Yeah," Ren muttered, his voice hollow. "It's just... this 'Support Contract' is billed per bullet. One 'Support Shot' costs one million yen. That little window-cleaning session she just did? That was a ten-million-yen magazine dump."
Baku: "..."
Baku: "Hahaha!"
Baku's laugh was genuine and filled with amusement. A genius like the "Lie Eater" could see through it immediately. If this were a strictly professional relationship, a Kure wouldn't play a joke like that.
The "Sniper" and the "Man of Absolute Might" were closer than they let on.
"Hehe! Well, regardless, the results are perfect! Let's see if we can wake one of these mercs up. They might be able to tell us where the rest of the traps are..."
Baku began to plot their next move.
Nearby Building Rooftop.
Fusui Kure was giggling into her mic.
"Don't worry, Ren-chin! I told you I'd give you a discount. I'll only charge you ten million for the 'Ventilation Service.' I'll even let you put it on a tab!"
"Haha... thanks a lot," Ren replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Joke aside, Fusui was a professional. Even with the mercenaries down, she didn't relax. Her black-and-white eyes remained glued to the sniper scope, scanning the Kujo Building for any flicker of movement.
Suddenly, her expression shifted.
A strange, heavy "Presence" began to manifest. It was a sense of wrongness that drew Fusui's gaze away from the sixth floor and locked it onto the fifth—where Q-Taro's office was.
"Ren-chin, something's wrong..."
Fusui whispered into the comms. "On the fifth floor... there's 'Something' else in there with the old man."
5th Floor. Office.
Q-Taro sat in his chair, leaning his forehead against the head of his cane. A manic, toothy grin split his face. A string of saliva escaped his lips as a raspy, gutteral whisper escaped his throat.
"The idiots were all slaughtered? Good... hehe..."
His smile twisted further as he glanced over his shoulder at the massive, silent figure in the shadows.
"Rodem. Haha... my dear Rodem! It's finally time for you to go out and kill again..."