"Eliminate them? Don’t tell me you’re planning to go kill people again. My father only just got your wanted notice revoked."
Sayaka Katahara did not look pleased by Luke’s words, and Kanoh Agito frowned as well.
Kanoh Agito often made such exaggerated expressions that he looked like a villain, but at heart, he was a person with a proper moral compass. What he despised most was people using power to bully the weak and wield violence recklessly.
After waking up yesterday, he had heard that Luke was a wanted criminal who had killed quite a few people and been sentenced to death. He had been somewhat surprised, because his instincts as a martial artist told him Luke did not seem like some deranged serial killer.
Anyone who had crossed hands with him would know it. Kanoh believed Luke was an exceptional martial artist, a man with convictions. He could not possibly slaughter innocents without reason.
But now, Luke apparently intended to go kill again.
"This is difficult to explain. Do you know about the Worm?"
After giving it some thought, Luke could only make something up. He still needed Katahara Metsudo and the Kure Clan’s resources to gather intelligence in this world, so he had to give them a reasonable explanation for his hunt.
Besides, it was not entirely a lie. Setsuna did have some connection to the Worm. Though he would come to his senses later in the original story and become a Worm hunter, for now he was merely a puppet being used by Tiger Niko.
Luke did not particularly like Setsuna, but he would not kill the man simply because he found him unpleasant. Now, however, this was tied to his mission. There was no turning back.
He was determined to obtain the Origin Seed. Even if Shen Wulong stood in his way, Luke would kill him.
"The Worm!?"
Sayaka Katahara cried out, while Kanoh Agito’s expression turned grave.
When Kanoh was young, Tiger Niko had abducted him for the Gu ritual experiment. The Worm had also aided in that affair. His life had nearly been ruined, so naturally he harbored a deep hatred for both the Worm and Tiger Niko.
"I suspect the Worm is planning something big soon. Worm agents have infiltrated the people taking part in Kengan matches."
Luke spoke with a solemn expression. "Don’t ask why I’m hunting the Worm. I have my reasons."
With that, he walked straight out of the dojo, leaving the two behind with only his back.
Yeah, Luke knew his acting and bullshitting skills were not particularly good. He would just leave the rest for those two to imagine on their own.
Kanoh watched Luke’s departing figure. "So he was killing the Worm... In that case, could the Snakehead and his group that Mr. Luke killed before have been Worm members too?"
Sayaka Katahara froze. That possibility had never occurred to her before, but she was a good judge of character. She had never believed Luke was a deranged killer, someone with a compulsion to kill for pleasure.
Then were there reasons behind Luke’s previous crimes?
Thinking about it carefully, with his abilities, how could he possibly have been caught by the police?
According to her investigation, when the police arrived, Luke had surrendered without resistance. He had not clashed with them at all.
Looking at it that way, perhaps Luke truly had not slaughtered innocent people.
But then what about his killing the president of Towa Communications? Had President Takada already been corrupted by the Worm? Had the Worm already infiltrated the upper ranks of the Kengan Association!?
At that thought, Sayaka’s gaze became grave. She felt that she needed to speak with her father.
…………
The summer night breeze swept over the restless city and brushed through the man’s hair, bringing a trace of coolness.
In bustling Tokyo beneath the night sky, Luke stood on a rooftop and yawned.
He had no idea that his few offhand words would stir up enormous waves within the Kengan Association. Right now, he had a more important task.
In an alley below, Kure fled for his life. He was a Level 6 Explorer with impressive physical abilities, but tonight, he had encountered a monster.
He had not wanted to run into someplace so deserted, but the monster had ambushed him on the street and forced him into the alley.
"Damn it, I only just earned my qualification as a Kengan fighter! How can I die here, in a place like this... killed by a freak like you!?"
At last, Kure was backed into a dead end. He panted, his eyes filled with the resolve to fight to the death.
He knew he had run into the person who had been hunting Explorers recently. Escape was probably impossible, but even if he died, he would not let the other man have it easy.
He drew a shield with his right hand. Behind it, his left hand gripped a specialized high-explosive grenade purchased from Endspace.
"Ohma... You’re the one who killed Ohma, aren’t you?"
Kiryu Setsuna stepped out from the shadows, his arms hanging at his sides. Tears streamed down his face, and his expression was twisted.
Then, his swaying body accelerated. Though he was crazed, the footwork of the Koei Style was flawless. Enhanced by Blink, he rapidly closed the distance to the Explorer.
Boom—
Under the Explorer’s shocked gaze, his shield warped beneath spiraling force, then burst apart into countless fragments.
The next instant, Setsuna’s high kick arrived. In the moment Kure froze, the high-explosive grenade in his hand was kicked into the air. He had not even managed to pull the pin.
Bang—
Another Rakshasa’s Palm sent the Explorer staggering backward with grievous injuries. The contact between their bodies triggered a prompt, leaving his face even more stunned.
Blood spilled from his mouth as he stared at Setsuna and muttered, "It’s you... It’s you... Hahahaha..."
He broke into mad laughter. That behavior left Setsuna somewhat puzzled. He stopped attacking, tilting his head as he studied the man.
"Fuck your mother... How the hell is anyone supposed to complete this mission!?"
He cursed furiously. The Kengan world had always been one of the most brutal mission worlds at the first tier, because the stated difficulty of this fighting world did not match its actual difficulty.
Endspace’s Level 7 difficulty rating was mainly determined by attribute standards, but the martial artists here often possessed combat proficiencies far beyond those of first-tier Explorers.
Simply put, even a Level 10 Explorer probably could not conquer this Level 7 world. Against Shen Wulong and his absurd techniques, they would likely be utterly crushed.
And the man before him, the Beautiful Beast, Kiryu Setsuna, had already been an extraordinarily gifted martial artist. Now that he had obtained the Origin Seed and his attributes had surged, who could possibly steal the seed from him?
Making a bunch of Explorers below Level 7 steal the seed from a freak whose attributes were no weaker than theirs and who possessed Master-Level combat proficiency? Was this a joke?
"A mission? Is your mission to kill Ohma?"
Kiryu Setsuna tilted his head as he asked Kure, killing intent surging from him.
Kure’s face was bitter. There was no way he could beat Kiryu Setsuna. His combat proficiency was merely ordinary Level 10, two entire ranks below his opponent’s. Even if his overall attributes were another five points higher, he probably could only escape.
Once technique reached a certain level, it truly could use four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds. The ratio of effective damage they could deal in battle was simply different.
He would have great difficulty hitting Kiryu Setsuna, who had already predicted his attacks. Yet Kiryu Setsuna could use extreme skill to injure someone like him, whose attributes were higher.
In his despair, Kure suddenly remembered something. Word that someone was hunting Explorers had spread through the public channel over the past few days. This afternoon, an ID called Prison Demon had posted in the public channel that anyone attacked could send him their coordinates and call for help.
The moment he encountered Setsuna, Kure had sent out his coordinates. He just did not know whether the other person would come. And even if he did, could any Explorer really defeat a monster like Kiryu Setsuna?
As Setsuna drew closer step by step, Kure gritted his teeth and shouted with all his strength, "Boss, are you there? I’ll pay you—save me!"
The cry rose from the ground to the heavens, like a prayer to a god.
Then a night owl descended from the sky. His black trench coat billowed like outspread wings, and he held a black blade like Death’s scythe.
Under the moonlight, the man’s invisible aura made Kiryu Setsuna instinctively retreat half a step. The corner of Luke’s mouth rose slightly as he glanced sideways at Kure.
"What’s your Life Source?"
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