"Lantern Ghost!"
"Mist!"
A dense fog surged forward, swiftly engulfing the bald middle-aged man.
"What—?!"
Before he could react, a shadow had already appeared behind him.
Raiken's fist struck with brutal force, crashing down onto the bald man's head. There was no time to dodge—no time to even register the attack.
Boom!
The impact landed. Without hesitation, Raiken grabbed a nearby baseball bat and brought it down hard on the man's skull.
A sickening silence followed.
When the fog dissipated, all that remained was a headless corpse sprawled across the ground.
Kaizen turned back toward Roy and the skinny middle-aged man beside him.
"Roy, finish him."
"Yes."
Roy stepped forward, drawing his blade. With a swift thrust, the sword pierced straight into the man's heart. He twitched violently before falling still, his life snuffed out in seconds.
Not long after, Kaizen returned to Heavens Arena.
Without hesitation, he made his way to AKA's base—the floor that housed the last remaining core member of the organization.
This entire floor belonged to that individual. As its owner, he had the right to modify the terrain, ensuring that any battle fought here would be on his terms.
Kaizen reached the door and rang the bell.
Inside, the pale-faced young man watching the surveillance monitor tensed as Kaizen's figure appeared on screen.
"..."
Kaizen's presence here meant that the other two core members of AKA had already been eliminated.
"So that's how confident you are?" he muttered. "Walking straight into my territory? You really think you can just kill me on my own floor without facing any consequences? Who do you think you are?"
His eyes narrowed. "You must think your strength is leagues above mine... but let me tell you something—I'm not weak. Out of the three core members of AKA, I'm the strongest!"
With a cold snort, the pale-faced youth pressed a switch. The door unlocked.
Kaizen stepped inside.
The young man stood in the center of the room, eyes locked onto Kaizen's.
Kaizen met his gaze calmly. "Since you let me in willingly, I assume you're ready to fight. But before that, I have a few questions."
His voice remained even. "There's still almost a year before I qualify to challenge the Floor Master. So why the rush? Did you really think I'd pick one of you to challenge? Aren't you worried someone else might take your spot before I even get the chance?"
Silence.
Kaizen continued, "Or was this whole attack based on a tiny possibility? Not just against me, but against others too?"
Then, his eyes sharpened. "Oh, right—one more thing. Juliana's death… does it have anything to do with you?"
A flicker of unease passed over the pale-faced youth's expression.
Kaizen's eyes narrowed further. "So it was you."
"Did she go to Taris because of you?"
"What's your connection to Taris?"
At first, Kaizen had assumed this was just a fight for power within Heavens Arena. But the way the young man reacted to Juliana's name told him there was more to this than just the Floor Master position.
Still, it didn't seem like these people truly understood his strength. If they did, they wouldn't have resorted to such a crude assassination attempt.
That meant someone else was pulling the strings.
These so-called "core members" were nothing but pawns.
Or… perhaps even their puppet masters didn't know the full extent of his abilities?
It was possible.
After all, there had only been two major battles where he revealed his true strength—one against the giant monster in the deep sea, and another against the wounded Ito Xius in Kolosim. Very few people had witnessed either.
"I don't know what you're talking about," the pale-faced youth finally replied. "We do this to everyone. If we succeed, we benefit. If we fail, we lose nothing. It's just bad luck that you caught on."
Kaizen smirked. "The more you explain, the more certain I am that I'm right."
He took a step forward. "I can't let you die so easily."
"I need to wring out every last bit of information from you."
The pale-faced youth's expression darkened.
In the next instant, he moved.
With a sudden burst of speed, he lunged at Kaizen. A white ribbon shot out, wrapping around Kaizen's body.
"Akutagawa Ryunosuke!"
A shadow materialized—a dark, clawed figure that slashed through the ribbon with ease.
"Tch—!" The pale-faced youth scowled.
A massive bowl appeared in his hands. He hurled it above Kaizen's head, and the bowl expanded to over ten meters wide before slamming down, trapping Kaizen inside.
Boom!
The pale-faced youth smirked.
Then—
Snap!
A sharp clap echoed through the room.
Kaizen's figure suddenly appeared outside the overturned bowl.
The pale-faced youth, on the other hand, was now inside the very trap he had set.
"Wh—?!"
His vision went dark for a moment as he realized what had happened. His expression twisted into panic.
"Lantern Ghost!"
"Mist!"
A thick fog filled the air once more.
At the same time, Kaizen flicked his wrist.
"Whoosh!"
A Nen-infused needle shot toward the pale-faced youth.
"Gah—!"
The needle struck its target dead-on.
This wasn't just any poison—it was the venom of the Crystal Feather Bone. Even with the youth's physical endurance, he wouldn't be able to withstand it.
Gritting his teeth, the pale-faced youth quickly pulled out a pill and swallowed it, trying to stave off the effects. He leaped back, escaping the fog's reach.
Raiken appeared behind him.
"You're not going anywhere."
The pale-faced youth sneered and sent his white ribbon flying toward Raiken.
But just as he moved—
Suddenly—
His body staggered.
His aura drained in an instant—half of it vanishing as if stolen away.
His face twisted in shock. "W-what the hell?!"
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