Chapter Forty: The Monster

Just as the two were facing off, poised to strike like wild beasts baring their fangs at each other, the blonde woman with glasses standing behind Ou Ma delivered a gentle karate chop to his head.

“Thud—”

“Ou Ma! I only got dragged into this dangerous mess because of you. If you’re looking for a fight, at least guarantee my safety!” Akiyama’s figure and attire were already rather suggestive, and with her arms crossed as she spoke, she exuded the aura of a cold, ascetic queen. Ou Ma, for one, was clearly taken with this act.

He wore an expression that said, “Woman, you’ve piqued my interest.”

But just then, two combatants from the arena charged toward Akiyama from different directions! A woman trapped amidst fighters was far too conspicuous. And the fact that Ou Ma was interacting with her meant he’d have to hold back to protect her. Fighters here weren’t just martial artists; they were hunting dogs used by company representatives to seize profits. How could they pass up such a chance to strike at an opponent’s weakness?

“You still have time to flirt during the prelims?”

“Let’s get an early win! Just die already!”

They shouted their clichéd lines with bravado. But before their fists could connect, two dull thuds echoed in quick succession. The two henchmen were struck by fists so swift they were nearly invisible, their faces contorted as they collapsed to the floor!

“Oh, I remember now—Miss Akiyama, you’re the one who helped me tidy up loose ends before, aren’t you?” Standing between the two fallen fighters was Hakudo Kyo, one hand in his pocket, the other casually at his side.

Ou Ma quietly shielded Kaede Akiyama behind him, his gaze locked intently on the young man before him.

That speed… I couldn’t even catch his movements just now!

If I use “that,” I’m confident I can keep up, but with Akiyama here…

Ou Ma suppressed a frown. If I make a move now, things could get complicated.

Hakudo Kyo seemed to sense Ou Ma’s wariness. The hand outside his pocket waved nonchalantly in front of him, and his handsome, youthful face broke into a light smile.

“No need to be so guarded, old man. I owe the lady behind you a favor—I won’t lay a finger on you two.”

“Huh?”

Kaede Akiyama was utterly astonished. She hadn’t expected that, even in such dim and chaotic circumstances, Hakudo Kyo had recognized her.

Ignoring her surprise, the youth continued, “Hmm… Just not attacking you doesn’t seem like proper thanks.” He stroked his chin, looking mildly troubled. “How about letting you two advance straight through the preliminaries?”

With a snap of his fingers, his plan was set!

Yet at the same moment, for reasons unknown—

Kaede Akiyama felt the blade-like killing intent emanating from the glass dome of the second floor surge even fiercer.

And on that second floor, Yamanoshita Kazuo, whose senses were several times sharper than Akiyama’s, was swallowing nervously, cold sweat pouring down his face as he stared blankly at the scene below, pretending to focus solely on the fighting.

But his eyes kept darting to—and swiftly away from—the violet-haired beauty beside him. He could no longer disguise the truth—

He was terrified of the “thing” next to him!

With his uncanny “Fist Eye” that could pierce the flow of battle, Yamanoshita swore: the stunning beauty at his side… was definitely a killer!

Her upturned lips, her reddened eyes…

Through the “Fist Eye,” her entire being seemed to reek of blood!

Why, in a formal tournament, was such a terrifying “thing” allowed to sit brazenly among the spectators?

Ou Ma, save me!

Meanwhile, Ou Ma, upon whom all of Yamanoshita’s hopes rested, was gritting his teeth and clenching his fists in anger.

“You little brat! You think you—”

“This isn’t about looking down on you, Ou Ma,” the youth interrupted, appearing right in front of him, barely an arm’s length away, his hand resting amiably on Ou Ma’s curly shoulder. “I’m just repaying a debt. You understand, don’t you?”

With that, the smiling youth turned and strode deeper into the fray.

Ou Ma’s pupils contracted as he stood motionless.

I didn’t even see him move. And… Ou Ma absently rubbed the shoulder where the boy’s hand had rested. That unnatural chill…

His fierce gaze flickered between the boy’s retreating back and Akiyama, but in the end, he remained by the blonde woman’s side.

For those still wrestling in the mire of battle—

A storm had arrived!

…

“What—what is that?!”

“No way! How could any company on the Death’s Call afford to hire a monster like that?!”

The “noble spectators” who had once gazed down from the safety of the heights upon the beasts tearing each other apart now shrieked like startled schoolgirls. Not even the futuristic stands seemed to offer a shred of safety.

For an irresistible force was rampaging across the entire first deck of the freighter!

No one had time or presence of mind for martial finesse. It was like the selection tournament at Royal Sakura Academy, when Ozu Toshio had run amok.

And the dozens of professional fighters blocking the smiling youth’s path now resembled those failed contenders who had been swept aside.

“Whoosh!”

The wind from a single punch drowned out the screams of its victim. The first to be struck was nearly two meters tall, his muscular form weighing at least a hundred kilos.

Yet even with such monstrous stats, he tumbled like a discarded bowling pin, crashing into and toppling five or six similarly burly fighters!

“All together now!”

“M-monster! None of us can take him alone!”

See? Even their words are as graceless as those failed contenders.

A few fighters stood apart, too proud to join the swarm. Faced with the chaos, they chose to abstain. Even the hot-blooded Ou Ma merely shielded Akiyama and watched the youth in shock.

The rest surged forward en masse.

The youth kept smiling, still with only one hand out of his pocket. But to the remaining fighters, this boy—who looked like a young lord out for a casual stroll—was as terrifying as a monster from a tokusatsu film!

They charged like a rugby scrum, hoping sheer numbers and mass could pin Hakudo Kyo to the deck.

Yet the youth merely raised an eyebrow and stopped moving, watching with interest as they piled onto him.

“Got him! I got him! Quick, everyone, pile on!”

“Grab his legs! Take him down and build a human wall!”

The tattooed fighter who first seized the youth’s body breathed a huge sigh of relief. It took immense courage to lead a charge against a monster—he’d been terrified of being sent flying by a single punch like the last guy.

But now, with his arms locked around the youth, the beast’s fate was sealed!

His thick arms wrapped tightly around the youth’s torso and arms from behind. The tattooed fighter was confident: if this boy’s joints were human, he wouldn’t be able to break free!

A wicked grin twisted his inked face as he squeezed harder.

Meanwhile, a mohawked fighter smartly grabbed the youth’s lower leg, aiming to topple him by breaking his base.

The two of them, and all the fighters piling on behind, felt certain—

They had this in the bag!