CHAPTER 118: THE BATTLE ROYALE
The intruder, Seishu Akoya, had likely entered the maintenance tunnel through a high-security access hatch.
His equipment was top-of-the-line: full tactical ballistic plating, a high-impact riot shield, and a heavy-duty stun baton. It was the highest-grade "Suppression Loadout" available to the Metropolitan Police Department's Riot Squad.
Normal citizens would only know about this gear from rumors or news reports. Even Nozomi and the others only knew of its existence because Ichika Iori had complained about the weight of the armor during training.
"Akoya Seishu of Wakasa Life? That guy is a high-ranking officer, isn't he?"
Nozomi whispered, her eyes wide with confusion. "Did he target Billy Greco back at the gym? Is he here to make a formal arrest?"
Hana Mitani looked even more concerned. "A helper would be nice, but did you hear him? He said 'You lot.' He's looking at Ren-kun as a criminal, too!"
The three friends shared a worried look.
Just then, the woman in the kimono—Shunsuka Hiyama—walked up to them with silent, ghostly steps. The trio jumped, startled by her sudden presence.
Nozomi blinked. "Akoya's employer?"
"A pleasure, Soul Combat Hub associates," Hiyama said with a shallow nod. Her voice was flat, devoid of emotion.
"To Seishu, 'Evil' is an intolerable germ. Whether it is a murderer or someone who harbors them, even the smallest sprout of sin must be extinguished. That includes the families and associates of the guilty."
"Currently, Seishu has entered his 'Execution State.' Even I cannot interfere now. No one can stop him."
"Both the Caracal and the Soul are now targets of the Executioner."
Hiyama let out a weary sigh and looked at the three women.
"Therefore... you should leave while you still can."
"Wait—oi!"
Nozomi was baffled. "What do you mean 'leave now'? What about Ren-kun?"
"Are you having trouble understanding?" Hiyama spared Nozomi a cold, sidelong glance before scanning Hana and An. "To Seishu, the owner of a grey-market fight circuit, an underground doctor, and a Yakuza Patriarch... you are all targets for 'Justice.'"
"The Caracal and the Soul are not opponents that can be neutralized easily. Seishu will likely lose control. He will fight until he is dead or they are. If you don't want to be caught in his 'Purge,' you should vanish from his sight. Is that clear?"
Hiyama didn't wait for an answer. She turned her gaze back toward the floor of the tunnel.
The armored giant stood between Ren and Billy, forming a tense triangle. Each man was several meters apart, the air between them thick with a lethal static.
Akoya's voice rumbled through his helmet. "There are several cold cases in Shinjuku. Reports of victims lured to a 'Tower' and slaughtered. The cases stopped recently, but the perpetrator was never found."
"Furthermore, you are in frequent contact with an assassin of the Kure Clan."
"Ren Shiroki of the Soul Combat Hub."
"You are not my primary objective tonight, but 'Justice' does not negotiate with the tainted!"
Akoya pivoted his neck, his helmet's visor locking onto Billy.
"And you."
"Billy Greco. IDEAL has committed unforgivable crimes on sovereign soil. I am here to carry out your terminal sentence!"
A massive man in bulletproof armor, holding a shield that could stop a rifle round and a baton that hummed with electricity—the "Pressure" of the word EXECUTION coming from such a man was astronomical.
A normal person would have lost control of their bowels on the spot.
But then—
SLAP!
Ren Shiroki slammed a palm against the concrete wall.
It wasn't a gesture of anger. He was laughing. Ren doubled over, clutching his stomach as he erupted into a fit of genuine, manic joy.
"Nice! Nice! Simply perfect!"
"I had a feeling tonight was going to be 'Loud'!"
Ren wiped a tear of mirth from his eye and looked at Akoya. "Hey, Officer. That gear looks heavy. I've been wondering... what does it feel like when I punch through it?"
Akoya's expression darkened behind his visor. A thick vein throbbed on his forehead.
He could tell Ren wasn't taunting him. He wasn't posturing. He was asking a sincere technical question.
And that was exactly why he had to die.
That uncontrollable "Battle-Spirit"—that hunger for the struggle—was the very seed of "Evil." Akoya would not permit its existence in his city.
Beside them, Billy Greco ground his teeth, his eyes flickering with irritation.
"Talking about 'Crimes'? Making me work overtime is the real crime here," Billy hissed.
"To pay for your insolence, you're both going to lose. And then you're going to DIE in a lot of pain."
Billy splayed his arms, extending both middle fingers toward Ren and Akoya. He let out a raspy, guttural whisper.
"YOU ARE ENDING FOR..."
"C'MON EVERYBODY!"
Outside the tunnel, Nozomi, Hana, and An watched with held breaths.
The atmosphere was impossible. In that tunnel, there were no allies. There was only the "Self" and two "Enemies."
A 1v1v1 Battle Royale.
Even Hiyama frowned, her internal clock struggling to parse the variables. She specialized in rhythmic analysis, but the breathing patterns of the three monsters in the tunnel were approaching "Non-Human" levels. The "Rhythm" was too chaotic to decode.
She couldn't predict who would walk out of that hole.
"OK!" Billy snapped his fingers, glancing at Ren. "Ready?"
Almost simultaneously, the Soul and the Caracal turned their heads toward the man in the "Middle." Their bodies moved in a blur of synchronized aggression.
ZIP! WHOOSH!
Billy launched a low-line kick while Ren fired a horizontal hook. A pincer attack from the left and right.
"!?!"
Akoya slammed his riot shield into the concrete floor, the metal edge catching Billy's kick. Simultaneously, he swung his baton toward Ren's neck, but Ren back-dashed, the weapon whistling through empty air.
Billy's kick was blocked, but he didn't reset. He used the shield as a pivot point, spinning his other leg around to catch Akoya in the back of the knee, forcing the armored giant to dip for a micro-second.
Ren didn't miss the window. He lunged into the pocket and launched a rising uppercut that caught the underside of Akoya's reinforced helmet.
[RYU: SHORYUKEN]!
BOOM!
The helmet was jerked upward, the straps snapping under the force of the strike. Akoya's reaction was instantaneous; he charged forward with his shield, the "Might" of the impact forcing Billy and Ren to scramble back, resetting the triangle.
CLANG-CLATTER!
Only then did the helmet hit the floor, skidding across the tunnel.
Akoya's cheek was grazed, and a thin trickle of blood leaked from his nose. His expression hadn't changed. He looked like a machine that had just lost a redundant part.
"I see. A logical decision," Akoya said, licking the blood from his lip.
"You've realized that your individual 'Might' cannot overcome Justice. You've formed a temporary pact to remove the greatest threat. It matters not."
"Justice is eternal. I will execute you both together!"
Billy let out a jagged, mocking laugh. "Hah? What kind of fairy tale are you reading? We aren't 'teaming up' because we're scared of you. We're just annoyed that you're the only one without a scratch. It's an aesthetic error. I wanted to fix your face."
"You feel the same, right, Mr. Soul?"
Ren blinked, then shook his head with a grin.
"Not really. I wasn't thinking that deep."
Ren held up two fingers. "One: I've never hit a Riot Cop before, and my hand was itching to see what the vibration felt like through that shield."
"And two..."
Ren's eyes sparkled with a terrifying clarity.
"I have a feeling that as a 'Martial Artist,' you're actually much stronger without all that 'Protective Gear' holding you back."
"..."
Billy Greco froze. He realized then that the man nicknamed [SOUL] possessed a very specific "Abnormality."
It wasn't the logic of a gambler, a killer, or a CEO. It was a pure, predatory battle-spirit. Ren Shiroki couldn't be calculated through "Profit" or "Positioning." He couldn't be broken by psychological warfare.
Because he was Indeterminate.
Akoya's gaze shifted back to Billy.
Whether it was Ren's "Seed of Sin" or Billy's "Manifest Evil," neither could be permitted to exist.
The three monsters stood in a circle, each holding a different truth.
Danger. Radicalism. Chaos.
Akoya and Billy remained silent.
Only Ren Shiroki laughed. He wiped the blood from his face and settled into his stance, his voice full of a sincere, terrifying warmth.
"Fighting you two in a hole like this... it feels magnificent!"
☆☆☆
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