Click! Click! Click! Click!
The sound of camera shutters could be heard from all around.
It even seemed like someone was already filming a video.
To be honest, even someone who knew nothing could feel that something huge was happening.
The air around those two people was incredibly heavy.
To a normal person who couldn’t see qi, it would appear as if the space around them was warping.
“It’s been a while, Ivan. Has it been almost 10 years?”
“Yeah, it’s been a while. Fuma Kotaro. You’ve certainly grown more radiant since the last time I saw you.”
It was a sarcastic remark, mocking his shabby appearance, but Fuma Kotaro nodded as if he believed Ivan was sincerely complimenting him.
“I’ve been living as a hermit in the mountains for 10 years, so it’s only natural.”“…You’ve been hiding for the past 10 years, so why have you suddenly shown up now?”
Then Fuma Kotaro glanced at me and spoke meaningfully.
“I have personal matters to take care of. Once I’m done, I’ll return to the mountains, so don’t worry too much about it.”
Wait a minute. That means you’re drawing all the attention to me.
But it was already like spilled water—there was no going back.
Ivan’s gaze turned towards me, who was standing behind him.
“Kim Yu-seong…? Why are you here?”
“Uh, well, you see, it’s kind of…”
“This guy is my successor.”
Fuma Kotaro cut me off, pointing at me, as if to say he wouldn’t allow any excuses.
“Successor?”
Ivan’s eyes gleamed as if he had just heard something amusing.
“When I saw you last, you were hanging around with Fuma’s daughter. Did things get… serious in the meantime?”
“Well, it’s a bit complicated if I were to explain…”
I was about to clarify the misunderstanding, but Fuma Kotaro interrupted.
“Rather than that, shouldn’t we move? It looks like a lot of people are watching.”
“Hmm? Ah, you’re right.”
As if noticing the gathered crowd for the first time, Ivan took out his phone and made a call.
Soon, gasps could be heard from all around.
“What the?! Why did my phone suddenly stop working?!”
“This is crazy! I just bought it two months ago!”
It was likely that, just like last time, an EMP had been triggered around us.
Talk about fast action.
“Follow me, Fuma Kotaro. I won’t allow you to escape.”
“Hmm. Even after all this time, you’re still as forceful as ever, Ivan.”
“Nonsense.”
Ivan, dismissing Fuma Kotaro’s easygoing nature in a single word, took him in the passenger seat of his sports car and drove off.
After the two of them left, the disinterested crowd began to disperse, and Rika, who had watched the entire fight with a nervous expression, cautiously approached me.
“Ryu-chan, what exactly just happened?”
…It seemed like I was going to get home late today.
Instead of heading to the subway station, we changed our destination and went into a nearby fast food restaurant.
Rika and I ordered some fries and sat in a quiet corner on the second floor.
After hesitating for a moment, I spoke.
“Rika, did you know that there’s something called the underworld?”
“…The underworld?”
I nodded and spoke.
“It’s a world completely separate from the one normal people live in. It’s a place where people like hitmen, ninjas, samurai, and martial artists—people you’d only find in manga—actually exist.”
Rika listened to me and laughed as if she couldn’t believe it.
“Ryu-chan, you’re not being serious, are you? No matter how much I like manga, I’m not falling for such a lie.”
“……”
When I stayed silent and looked at her seriously, Rika, who had been half-doubting me, swallowed and asked again.
“Is it real?”
“It’s real.”
To be honest, if Fuma Kotaro, Senior Fuma’s father, hadn’t suddenly attacked, I wouldn’t be explaining things like this.
But since we had already fought, and I had no excuse left, I had no choice but to reveal the truth like this.
Rika, who seemed to be in denial of reality, ran her hands over her face after hearing my confirmation.
Well, if a close friend suddenly asked me about the underworld out of nowhere, I would probably feel exhausted too.
Wanting to be considerate of Rika, I was about to tell her she could head home for the day…
“That’s amazing!”
But her reaction was completely different from what I expected.
“Huh?”
“You’re saying that a world people have only imagined actually exists! So, do ghosts or yokai exist too?!”
“Huh? Uh, yeah.”
I couldn’t keep up with the flow of the conversation and ended up stammering.
I thought Rika would be confused, not thrilled.
“Awesome! Next time, you have to show me!”
“No, those kinds of things aren’t something you can see just because you want to…”
“Then, that long-haired guy and Sasha’s father we saw earlier—are they connected to the underworld, too? Hurry and tell me!”
Hearing Rika’s barrage of questions, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Even though I was talking about something serious, seeing Rika so excited left me feeling a bit deflated.
‘Well, I guess it’s a good thing.’
I decided to think positively and continued explaining the underworld to Rika.
The place Ivan took Fuma Kotaro to after their brief drive in the sports car was the East Star Association mansion.
“Thanks for the car, Tojo.”
“I’m glad it helped.”
After returning the car key, Ivan sat down with Fuma Kotaro on the cushions, and Tojo Naoto greeted them both with a polite bow.
Ivan Romanov and Fuma Kotaro.
They were figures so renowned in the underworld that there wasn’t anyone who didn’t know their names.
The Seven Powers.
They were the absolute apex, with only seven such individuals in the world.
Tojo Naoto, who had been an avid fan of GOF (God of Fist), felt overwhelmed meeting the two legends who had dominated the prime era of the 1st to 4th GOF tournaments.
No matter how powerful a Yakuza leader he was in eastern Japan, he paled in comparison to the reputations of these two.
Fuma Kotaro, who had been half-dragged to the East Star Association mansion by Ivan, sat down on the cushion and asked.
“So, what’s the reason you dragged me all the way here, Ivan?”
Ivan wrinkled his nose and spoke.
“You’re asking an obvious question, Fuma Kotaro. Of course, it’s to settle the score.”
“What? Why do something like that?”
“Because you beat me and then disappeared.”
Fuma Kotaro waved his hand dismissively and replied.
“Don’t talk nonsense. My prime has long passed. If we fought now, I couldn’t even last 100 rounds before losing to you.”
“Yet you fought pretty well against Kim Yu-seong.”
“Huh? How do you know I fought him?”
“When I arrived, Kim Yu-seong’s qi was all over the place, unlike you, who seemed perfectly fine, as if nothing had happened.”
“Hmm—well, if that’s the reason, then I guess it can’t be helped.”
Acknowledging it calmly, Fuma Kotaro half-closed his eyes and asked Ivan.
“Why are you so determined to fight me? I only beat you by sheer luck.”
“Don’t belittle the technique you created by calling it luck. Or are you saying I’m the kind of person who would lose to luck?”
“That’s… not it.”
Just as Ivan acknowledged Fuma Kotaro as a rival, Fuma Kotaro also respected Ivan’s skill.
“So fight me again, Fuma Kotaro. And this time, I’ll wipe away the humiliation of my past defeat.”
Hearing Ivan’s words, Fuma Kotaro scratched his chin with his fingers and spoke.
“Well, I can understand how you feel, but…”
“Honestly, though, I don’t feel like fighting right now… So how about this? Instead of fighting me, you can fight my successor, Kim Yu-seong.”
“What…?”
“I tested him earlier, and even though he’s self-taught, he handled Hayate so perfectly it was hard to believe. With a bit of training, he’d easily surpass my prime. Wouldn’t defeating someone like him be more satisfying than beating someone like me, who’s grown weaker over the years?”
“Are you trying to avoid the fight, Fuma Kotaro?”
“I’m not like you, Ivan. I’m not the type to risk my life over fights. The only reason I kept participating in GOF was to increase my market value.”
“…Disappointing. To think I once considered someone like you my rival.”
“It’s an honor to hear you thought of me that way.”
Ivan, who had been glaring at Fuma Kotaro with narrowed eyes, sighed softly and stood up.
“Well, fine. I was planning on fighting Kim Yu-seong again anyway. I’ll make sure you clearly see Hayate, which you’re so proud of, get completely destroyed.”
One of Kim Yu-seong’s strengths was his durability.
During their last fight, Ivan had experienced Kim Yu-seong’s extraordinary defense firsthand, so he had implanted nanomachines into his body in preparation.
To fight on equal footing with Kim Yu-seong, that is.
Crack!
As he clenched his fist, the nanomachines inside his body responded, hardening his skin.
“With the hands of this God of Destruction.”
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