"Hey, brat. You said you came here for a martial arts exchange. Isn’t this perfect?"
Raian Kure’s 188-centimeter frame was clearly taller than Luke’s. Looking down at him, his face brimming with provocation, he said, "I’m the strongest one here. I’ll be the one to kill you."
Facing Raian’s undisguised killing intent, Luke grinned. "I’d heard about the Kure Clan’s demons, but you really are bloodthirsty. I said I only came for a martial arts exchange. I have no intention of killing anyone."
"Huh?"
Raian cocked his head, his black eyes looking at Luke as if he were an idiot. "What’s the point of sparring if you want a deeper exchange? Of course we have to go all out and fight to the death!"
Watching the two men before her, Fusui Kure felt things beginning to head in the worst possible direction. Just as anxiety gripped her, the corner of her eye caught sight of a savior.
At the top of the old stone steps stood a thin old man, his hands clasped behind his back as he smiled at the two beneath the torii gate. He was Erioh Kure, head of the Kure Clan.
"Isn’t this interesting? A guest has come from afar. Raian, give him a proper welcome."
The old man’s words made Fusui’s heart plunge into an icy abyss.
She wanted to tell the clan head that Luke was extremely dangerous. A spar would be one thing, but letting someone like Raian "exchange martial arts" with Luke would definitely get someone killed.
It would be fine if Luke died, but what if Raian was the one who died?
"Heh. It’s rare for me and the old man to agree. This is my first time seeing someone with the guts to come here for a martial arts exchange."
Raian kept his hands in his pockets and thrust his face forward. "How could I let this pass without giving him a proper slaughter?"
"I have to admit it."
Luke looked at Raian’s arrogant face from up close. "You’re even more conceited than I imagined. Conceited to the point of being brainless."
Veins immediately bulged on Raian’s forehead, his killing intent surging wildly. "You’ve got guts, brat. Are you already desperate to be reincarnated?"
Luke shook his head. "What I mean is, if I wanted to kill you, you’d already have died dozens of times. You still haven’t realized what you’re facing."
In his fury, Raian did not even wait to go to the Kure Clan’s usual training grounds. He raised a hand, about to make his move.
But someone was faster. Luke stepped back, drove power through his waist, and thrust out a palm. It struck Raian in the chest and launched him upward, sending him flying all the way to the top of the steps, beside Erioh Kure.
Raian steadied himself in shock and looked down. A red palm print had been left over his heart. Beside him, Erioh narrowed his eyes even further.
"I held back to give you a chance to use Removal..."
Luke slowly withdrew his stance. He glanced at the torii gate overhead and the surrounding buildings. "Don’t you have a more suitable place than this?"
"Hahaha! You’re an interesting kid, Raian!"
Erioh shouted, stopping Raian from charging down to fight. "Take our honored guest to the training ground. And you, calm down. Use everything you’ve learned. Don’t disgrace me."
Raian looked thoroughly displeased, but under Erioh’s gaze, he ultimately backed down. He made a throat-slitting gesture at Luke. "Come on. Let’s go to the execution ground."
Luke followed the grim-faced Fusui up the steps. As he passed Erioh, he spoke with a hint of sentiment. "So this is the First Fang of Metsudo? Time truly spares no one. I’d love to have seen you in your prime."
Erioh’s expression shifted slightly. Then the wrinkled skin on his face twitched, as though he were smiling. "Kid, it seems you know quite a lot about us. But even now, killing you would not be difficult for this old man."
Luke grinned. "I came here to meet fellow martial artists. I’d also like to see just how formidable the Kure Clan’s assassination arts are at their peak."
"Young man, get past Raian first."
Erioh spoke with narrowed eyes, not a trace of killing intent showing.
Luke said no more and followed Raian. Before long, they reached the Kure Clan’s dojo, where quite a crowd had already gathered. Apparently, they had heard he would be fighting Raian and were deeply curious about this outsider.
Once Erioh entered, the many Kure Clan members made way and gave the old man the best seat to watch the match.
"He’s strong. Is this guy Luke really just a murderous stowaway?"
Hollis Kure, known as the Ogre Weeping Child, frowned. He was one of the Kure Clan’s top fighters, and one look from this close was enough for him to know that Luke was no ordinary man. He was likely a master of ancient Eastern martial arts.
"Raian, I permit you to use our clan’s secret technique. Use your full strength."
Erioh spoke, effectively declaring the beginning of the fight.
Raian stuck out his tongue and sneered at Luke. "Brat, I’ll tear off all four of your limbs and make you regret not taking the chance you had."
Luke sighed and looked at Erioh. "Why not come yourself instead? Your clan’s genius seems rather overrated. Even now, he hasn’t noticed the key issue."
Erioh seemed somewhat angered as well, feeling that Raian had embarrassed him. He roared, "Idiot! Use Removal already! Your opponent has given you another few seconds by holding back!"
With his seasoned eye, he could naturally see that Luke was an anomaly.
Though Luke did not look as large as Raian, nor were his muscles freakishly swollen, his strength was absolutely abnormal. At the very least, it likely surpassed the power of many Kure Clan members after using Removal.
Even with his talent for one hundred percent Removal, Raian’s physical strength after activating the secret technique might only be slightly greater than Luke’s.
Therefore, Luke had not been bluffing before. His first strike could have killed Raian, but he had held back because he wanted to try fighting Raian at his peak.
"Shut up! You’re loud as hell!"
Raian roared. As his anger rose, his skin rapidly turned purplish-black. Bulging veins crawled over his body, their patterns resembling lightning.
As Removal activated, Raian’s aura rose and his desire for slaughter swelled. In this form, he truly looked like a demon.
Feeling the change in Raian’s strength, Luke finally showed interest. "That’s more like it. Now you’re worth beating down."
He had noticed it as soon as he entered this world: people here generally had weak perception. Even without any ability that revealed attributes, he could roughly sense the difference in an opponent’s strength.
But Raian clearly lacked that talent. He had strutted around arrogantly in front of Luke earlier, yet Luke estimated that Raian’s total attributes had only been somewhere in the teens at the time. Even after using Removal, Raian’s overall attributes were only barely one step above his own.
"Hah? Once I tear you apart, you won’t be saying that!"
Raian spread his legs, drew both elbows back, and his back muscles bulged high. He could no longer suppress his killing intent.
He would rush forward, crush this man, tear this man apart, listen to his screams, and make him understand who the strongest truly was!
With a creak from the wooden floorboards, Raian shot forward at extreme speed and instantly arrived before Luke.
His legs staggered one before the other as his body twisted forward. Power surged from his waist. One fist shot toward Luke’s abdomen, the other toward his face—the Kure Family Tradition: Mountain Breaker!
Yet Raian Kure’s two punches failed to land. Luke raised both hands as palms, one upward and one downward, and brushed them apart to either side.
He redirected the tide of force outward. As Raian’s fists slid past on either side of him, Luke suddenly jumped and drove his knee into Raian’s jaw.
The tremendous force snapped Raian’s entire body backward. Teeth and blood sprayed through the air, while the impact traveled through his bones and into his brain. Even Raian, with his exceptional bloodline and one hundred percent Removal, could not withstand it. He briefly lost consciousness.
Luke’s attack did not stop. He stepped forward and, while Raian hung in the air in a concussed daze, threw a punch into his chest, sending him flying backward.
Boom—
Raian slammed into the dojo wall, cracks spreading across its surface. His eyes rolled white as he slid down the wall and dropped to his knees on the floor.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register