CHAPTER 175: BONE-BREAKING TIME~
[STRIKE AT THE APEX].
This was the absolute peak of what Ren Shiroki could achieve in his current
state—a total manual override of his unconscious mind. Every one of the 36
trillion cells in his body aligned behind a single, shared purpose to generate a
strike of "Pure Impact."
The resulting kinetic force utilized 100% of Ren's 101kg frame, granting him a
"Might" that far exceeded any athlete in his weight class.
To put it bluntly: the impact was far heavier than Speck had calculated.
"Cough... HACK!"
Speck let out a dry, ragged cough. He staggered back, his body reeling from the
shock. A single hit was manageable, but a second had begun to ache. Now? Ren was
delivering them in a high-speed sequence.
And every single one was aimed directly at Speck's face.
"Hah... huff..."
Speck's nose was twisted at a sickening angle. Several of his front teeth were
loose, and blood was geysering from his mouth and nose, splattering the concrete
in a chaotic pattern.
It took several long seconds for the giant to find his gear. He managed to plant
his feet, though his chest was still heaving with the effort of staying upright.
That strike... it's difficult.
It wasn't a "one-shot" kill, but it carried a terrifying weight. It was
impossible to guard effectively because the rhythm was too erratic. It just...
hit.
Speck looked up to see Ren Shiroki closing the distance again.
"Come on. Hit me back!"
Ren's footwork was a rhythmic bounce. His hands shifted constantly, opening and
closing in a blur that made Speck's eyes struggle to track the "Line."
"Hah... hah... HEI—YA!"
Speck's breathing turned into a desperate hiss. The pressure in his head was
mounting, and his vision was starting to blur with tears of pain. Unable to take
the psychological weight any longer, he launched a frantic, all-out barrage.
To Ren's eyes, the "Terror" was gone.
Like a parkour veteran who had run the same course a thousand times, Speck's
aggression was just another set of obstacles. No matter how complex the terrain,
the path to the finish was clear.
ZIP!
Ren raised his left leg, planting his boot squarely on Speck's descending right
fist. Using the giant's wrist as a high-tension springboard, he vaulted into the
air and rotated his torso, launching a horizontal hand-blade strike.
[RASHID: BEAK ASSAULT]!
BAM!
The strike caught Speck right in the eyes. Tears sprayed from his lids as his
eyes were forced shut. His vision was cut.
Next microsecond—
[STRIKE AT THE APEX]!
THOOM!!!
A heavy straight punch slammed into Speck's face. The bridge of his nose
collapsed inward, the cartilage and soft tissue crushed by the impact.
"WAAAAAAGGGH!"
Speck shrieked, his massive body launched backward. He tumbled across the plaza
before sliding into a crouch. He buried his head between his knees, waving his
hands frantically in a gesture of surrender.
"No... stop! I give up!"
Speck couldn't open his eyes. He was trembling from head to toe, blood leaking
from his face.
"Enough... stop the match..." he wheezed, his voice nasal and distorted from his
loose teeth.
As he spoke, Speck's rear hand slowly tightened. He had a handful of Gunpowder
hidden in the sleeve of his tracksuit—a trophy from his time at the police
precinct.
If Ren approached to finish him, Speck would slap the powder into the youth's
face and ignite it with a flint-strike from his pocket. It wouldn't kill Ren,
but the flash-burn would blind him permanently.
Come on, kid... just a little closer...
Speck waited in his mask of "Agony."
But to his shock, Ren didn't move. He stood ten feet away, patiently waiting for
the giant to catch his breath.
Ren watched until Speck's breathing stabilized. Then, he beckoned with a hand.
"Come on. The Apnea Rush isn't finished yet, is it?"
"!?!"
Speck blinked away the blood, his face a mask of total bewilderment. He couldn't
understand the logic. Ren was covered in bruises, his body a map of trauma...
and yet he was asking to be hit again?
Ren shrugged casually.
"I remember what you said to Cosmo and Marco," Ren said, helping the convict
recall his own words. "You asked them: 'You wanted to fight me, didn't you? What
does it matter what I want?!'—That was your rule."
"I think that's a great rule."
Ren's footwork became light and agile.
"Right now, I want to fight you. It doesn't matter if you want to fight me or
not."
"Get up. We're continuing!"
The declaration left Speck paralyzed with a feeling he hadn't felt in decades:
Fear.
Facing a man who wouldn't relax his guard, who wouldn't accept a surrender, and
who viewed the fight as an absolute struggle for existence... Speck felt like a
cornered animal.
Desperate, he whipped his right hand forward, spraying the gunpowder into the
air. His left hand struck the flint.
FWOOSH!
A brilliant, high-heat flash of orange fire erupted, a wall of flame meant to
consume Ren's vision.
But as the smoke cleared, Ren was already on the descent. He had launched a
high-line kick that acted as a fan, the wind-pressure from the "Might" of the
strike blowing the powder and the heat away before they could touch his skin.
"Doppo-oji-san has a move called the Mawashi-uke that can block anything," Ren
noted. "I don't have that kind of Karate yet... but kicking a pile of dust away?
That's child's play."
[DRIVE RUSH]!
Ren closed the gap. He fired a heavy straight into Speck's face, followed by a
rapid-fire combination.
[LUKE: TRIPLE IMPACT]!
BAP! BAP! BAM!
Speck's head was whipped back. Blood geysered from his nose as he was driven
toward the edge of the clearing. Behind him was the dark forest—terrain where he
would be completely at the mercy of Ren's parkour.
Speck was at a dead end. He let out a final, guttural roar and charged, swinging
his fists like falling anvils.
The Apnea Rush resumed.
But as his first two punches descended, they hit nothing.
Ren back-dashed a full meter, then slammed his foot into the concrete, his arms
pulling back for a terminal release.
[RASHID: EAGLE SPIKE]!
BOOM!
The kick caught Speck squarely in his braced guard. Ren used the recoil to
back-flip, his boots finding purchase on the ground before he leaped again.
[DRIVE IMPACT: EAGLE BLADE]!
Ren rotated mid-air, his right leg descending like a vertical scythe. It sliced
through Speck's guard and slammed into his shoulder.
Ren landed and didn't give the giant a frame to reset. He launched another Apex
Strike.
THOOM!!!
Speck's head was jerked upward. He hit a massive oak tree at the edge of the
clearing with a thunderous CRACK.
ZIP!
Ren followed up with a driving knee to the gut, forcing the giant to double
over, bringing his "dent-faced" head level with Ren's knuckles.
Speck tried to spray another mouthful of blood to blind Ren.
But Ren anticipated the move. He spun his body, letting the gore hit his back,
then used the rotational energy to power one last strike.
[STRIKE AT THE APEX]!!!
THOOM!!!
The repeated "Apex" strikes were draining Ren's neurological reserves, but he
refused to slow down. He followed up with his ultimate combination.
FINISHER—[LUKE: ERASER]!
BAP! BAP! BAM!!!
Each punch was heavier than the last. He hammered Speck's face until the giant's
skull was physically embedded into the bark of the tree.
Speck's body entered a state of terminal tremor. His eyes went vacant. He slid
down the trunk, collapsing into the dirt, his tongue lolling out of his
shattered mouth.
There was no applause. Only the two observers on the hill.
But this was Real Combat.
Ren stood over the convict, blood dripping from his lip, his breathing a wet,
metallic whistle. He raised his right fist into the air.
SHING!
A gunshot echoed from the trees—a celebratory shot from Fusui that grazed Ren's
shoulder as a "high-five."
"I won!" Ren roared, his voice cracking with exhaustion.
He stayed where he was. He didn't turn around. He didn't walk away. He was
waiting.
The Hillside.
Motobe Izo watched Fusui Kure's "celebratory fire" and sighed. "Youth these
days... they really go big, don't they?"
He looked at the convict. "If you've got a gun, you should put one in his skull
right now. A monster like that doesn't stay down."
Fusui giggled. "Don't worry, Oji-san. Ren-chin is smarter than he looks."
"Is he?" Motobe looked closer.
Two minutes later.
A heavy-set man in a suit scurried up the park path. It was an official Kengan
Referee. He'd received a high-priority ping that a Member was engaging a threat
in Shinjuku.
He stopped at the edge of the clearing, his jaw dropping at the carnage.
Ren Shiroki stood over the body of a man who looked like he'd been hit by a
train. Both were covered in blood.
"MATCH... MATCH IS DECIDED!" the Referee shouted, his voice shaky. "THE
WINNER—REN SHIROKI!"
Ren raised a hand in a weak greeting and started to walk toward the Referee.
The Referee prepared his tablet to register the "Street Brawl" result, but as he
looked up, his face went white.
Ren's back was turned. And behind him... the "corpse" of Speck was moving.
A trembling, blood-stained hand was slowly reaching for Ren's ankle.
"OI!" the Referee screamed. "BEHIND YOU!"
Ren didn't turn. He simply raised a finger to his lips. "Shhh."
Hoh? He knew?
Before Speck could close his fingers, the giant suddenly let out a strangled,
high-pitched scream.
He lunged to his feet, trying to throw a punch, but his right leg buckled
instantly.
CRACK.
Speck collapsed sideways, hitting the concrete with a wet thud.
"Eh... what?" Speck blinked, his vision clearing enough to see his own right
knee. It was bent backward at a gruesome, impossible angle.
When did that happen?!
TAP.
A gentle hand rested on Speck's shoulder.
He looked up to see a handsome man with pink hair and a jagged scar across his
face. The man was smiling—a wide, ecstatic, and deeply unsettling grin.
Mitsuyo Kureishi looked at Ren, his eyes asking for permission. Ren simply waved
a hand. "He's all yours, Senpai. I'm done."
"Heh... perfect."
Kureishi looked down at the death-row convict, his eyes crinkling into crescent
moons. His grin was wider and more terrifying than anything Speck had ever seen
in prison.
"Ren-kun won the match. And you said the rules were off-the-table now, didn't
you, Mr. Convict?"
"That means I can finally enjoy myself~!"
"It's BONE-BREAKING TIME!"
☆☆☆
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