CHAPTER 127: BLOODLETTING
Edogawa District. Underground Parking Garage.
The portable octagon sat in the center of the concrete floor, surrounded by a crowd of nearly two hundred. On Ren Shiroki's side of the ring, a small cluster of friends and "Monsters" had gathered.
There was Fusui Kure, lounging against a pillar; Nozomi Tenma, observing with her analytical vision; and Cosmo Imai, the genius prodigy who had come to study Ren's form.
Standing beside them was Heihachi Furumi, the Chairman of Furumi Pharmaceuticals. But the person drawing the most attention wasn't the CEO—it was the man standing directly behind him.
He was a powerfully built middle-aged man with short-cropped blonde hair and a rugged beard. He wore a simple tracksuit, but the "Might" radiating from him was palpable.
Takeshi Wakatsuki. The "Wild Tiger."
Nozomi felt a strange sensation looking at him. Even though he wasn't particularly huge, he gave off a visual "Weight" that made him seem like he was made of solid lead. He was one of the Association's legendary pillars.
Tap... tap... tap...
Rhythmic footsteps echoed from the service tunnel.
"HE'S HERE...!"
Under the glare of the construction lamps, the Executioner appeared. Seishu Akoya walked alone, wearing his white gi and black belt. His physique was a block of industrial steel, every muscle defined and rigid.
There were still faint traces of burns on his forearms and hands from the encounter with Dorian, but the skin was closed and he moved without a hint of pain.
Akoya's icy gaze swept over Ren, then lingered on the group behind him. For a micro-second, his eyes met Cosmo's. The young prodigy felt a sudden, primal chill run down his spine.
"That guy," Cosmo whispered, his voice trembling. "He didn't come here to 'Match' today. He came here with Killing Intent."
"You feel it too, Cosmo?"
Wakatsuki responded, his voice a low, somber rumble. "Akoya is a veteran. Usually, his style is the epitome of the 'Shield'—a clinical, defensive counter-striker. But tonight... he's different."
Cosmo frowned. "Is it a grudge against Ren-senpai?"
Wakatsuki shook his head. "Akoya's madness doesn't work that way. He's the kind of extremist who would 'Execute' a teenager for stealing a bicycle. He sees Ren-kun as a 'Germ' of the underworld. That's all the reason he needs."
"In other words... don't look at this as a Kengan Match. Ren-kun is stepping into a cage with a man who has decided he is a National Threat."
In the ring, Ren finished his warm-up. He turned to face Akoya, a bright, friendly grin on his face.
"Akoya-bro! I've been looking forward to this. I bet you have too, right?"
Ren wiped a smear of sweat from his forehead. "To be honest, that imaging session I had earlier? My masters beat the hell out of me just to get me ready for your 'Shield.' I'm still a bit sore!"
Akoya's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"
Ren's grin widened. "I'm saying... I'm going to beat you. And I'm going to beat the rest of the guys from the tunnel, too!"
Akoya's pupils dilated. His knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists. The veins in his neck began to throb with a suppressed rage.
The Referee sensed the atmosphere was about to explode. He hurriedly waved the two men to their starting positions.
As Akoya turned his back to walk to his corner, Nozomi caught a glimpse of something. Her superhuman dynamic vision locked onto Akoya's left ear. Inside the canal was a microscopic piece of hardware—a specialized wireless receiver.
"Cheating...!"
Nozomi gasped. She raised her hand to shout an objection to the Referee, but a hand caught her wrist.
Fusui Kure shook her head, gesturing toward the ring.
Ren Shiroki was looking back at them. He had seen Nozomi's reaction. He raised a finger to his lips in a casual "Shhh" gesture.
Ren's message was clear: Don't bother.
"What does it matter?" Ren thought, his eyes sparkling with a terrifying clarity. "In a fight for your soul, people use everything they have. If he needs an earpiece, let him have it. If he brought a bomb, I'd still hit him."
"The 'Truth' of the fist doesn't care about the rules."
Ren turned back to face the center, his back leaning against the wooden railing. He gave his friends one more wink before settling his weight.
REN SHIROKI. 187cm, 99kg.
SEISHU AKOYA. 191cm, 114kg.
[SOUL] VS. [THE EXECUTIONER].
"Fighters ready?"
The Referee dropped his hand with a sharp bark. "START!!"
Akoya immediately dropped into a low crouch. He raised his left fist vertically, his forearm becoming a rigid, impenetrable wall of bone and muscle. His right hand stayed chambered at his waist, ready to fire like a loaded spring.
Taiho-jutsu: The Aegis Guard.
Facing the "Iron Fortress," Ren Shiroki chose the only logical response.
The Spear.
ZIP!
Ren exploded forward into a high-speed sliding dash. He closed the gap in a heartbeat, leading with a palm-strike aimed at Akoya's center.
[JAMIE: SWAGGER STEP]!
THWACK!
Akoya shifted his left forearm by a fraction of an inch, meeting the strike at a precise tangent that deflected the energy into the floor.
But the palm was only a distraction.
Ren's rhythm shifted instantly. He launched a high-line spinning roundhouse kick, his heel whistling toward Akoya's temple.
The movement was a blur. The Referee couldn't even track the leg.
But Akoya Seishu didn't blink.
BAM!
Akoya rotated his left arm, meeting Ren's ankle with his forearm. He absorbed the "Might" of the kick without his posture shifting a single millimeter. Taking advantage of the frame-data delay as Ren's leg retracted, Akoya fired his right straight.
BOOM!
The iron fist slammed into Ren's face. Even though Ren leaned his head back to roll with the impact, the sheer weight of the blow caused his nose to rupture. Tears and blood sprayed into the air.
"Ugh...!"
Ren skidded back three paces, resetting his distance.
Akoya settled back into his Aegis Guard, his voice a cold snort. "Foolish. Justice cannot be breached by circus tricks."
"How...?" Nozomi whispered, her eyes wide. "He parried every link in the chain?!"
"It's the Reaction Time," Wakatsuki explained.
"I've seen the reports. Akoya's neurological response time is 75 milliseconds. The human limit is usually 100 to 150. He lives in a world that is moving 30% slower than ours."
"Combine those reflexes with a stance designed by the Riot Squad to endure a mob... and he becomes an unbreakable wall. Standard combinations are useless against him."
Ren wiped the blood from his lip. "I see. I should have waited for you to attack and played the counter-game... but honestly? That sounds boring."
WHOOSH!
Ren lunged again, but his form was different. He didn't use a dash; he used a high-tension sprint.
[DRIVE RUSH]!
This time, Ren didn't throw a punch. He thrust his left hand forward, fingers splayed, reaching for Akoya's collar.
Akoya rotated his forearm to parry the grab, but Ren's hand shifted mid-flight. He caught Akoya's wrist and yanked it violently to the side, physically pulling the "Shield" out of alignment.
Guard Break!
"!?"
Akoya tried to fire a counter-right, but with his left arm pulled off-center, his torque was ruined. For a single frame, the Iron Fortress had a crack.
Ren fired his right fist. It buried itself in the side of Akoya's face.
THUD!
Akoya's head snapped to the side. His left cheek was bruised instantly, and a trail of blood leaked from his nose. But his eyes remained dead and focused.
He gripped his right fist and swung it toward his own left shoulder, the arc passing directly through Ren's extended right arm.
SHING!
The jagged bone of Akoya's knuckles didn't just hit; it Sanded. He dragged his fist across the skin of Ren's forearm, the friction slicing through the flesh like a serrated blade.
It was Akoya's signature torture move: The Ripper.
SQUELCH!
In an instant, a six-inch vertical laceration opened on Ren's arm. Blood geysered from the wound, painting the ring in a spray of crimson.
Ren Shiroki was bleeding out.
☆☆☆
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