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Sugimoto Kenya was expecting to see Su-hyeun’s crumpled expression, so understandably, his mood took a turn for the worse. According to what the Korean said, it wasn’t him tailing the target, but being led by the nose to this place instead.

“You insolent peninsula punk....”

Murderous light burned within Kenya’s eyes. But then, his eyes abruptly caught the sword in Su-hyeun’s hand.

<<Hold up. A sword?>>

Su-hyeun caught Kenya’s blade with a bare hand. Considering that fact, the Japanese thought that his opponent’s fighting style must’ve been similar to a brawler.

A hand-to-hand close-quarter combat style utilizing special skills — without that explanation, stopping his blade with bare hands didn’t make any sort of sense at all.

“Are you messing with me?” Kenya spat out.

“Messing with you?”

“You better drop any plans to swing around that toy of yours and come at me with all you got. Otherwise, your wrists will go flying in the blink of an eye.”

Sugimoto Kenya’s pride was higher than anyone’s.

Only by completely defeating the fully-committed Su-hyeun would his wounded pride be restored. So, he didn’t want to see his opponent’s combat strength fall because the fool decided to waste time with an unfamiliar weapon.

Unfortunately for him, his words came across as nonsensical gibberish from Su-hyeun’s perspective.

“A toy? What are you even...?” He then belatedly realized what Kenya meant and stopped his sentence midway. His head faltered while he tried desperately to rein in his laughter. “Keuk. Hmph....”

“...Why are you laughing?”

“Actually. I was kinda feeling sorry for making you think that I was messing with you.”

It seemed that Kenya viewed his opponent not going all out as a sign of disrespect. If true, then Su-hyeun could only apologize here because the stuff that happened earlier really was him “messing around.”

“What rubbish are you...?”

“I’m not a brawler but a swordsman. Actually, I can use several other weapons beside swords like spears and such, but the truth is, I rarely use my bare hands.” While saying that, Su-hyeun raised his left hand, the one that didn’t hold the sword. “As for messing with you, well, it’s not this guy, but this guy over here.”

The act of him using his bare hands was him messing around.

Of course, Su-hyeun wasn’t thinking of messing around when using his hands to confront Wang Wu and Sugimoto Kenya. No, it’s just Kenya perceiving it that way.

Not a brawler, but a swordsman. Kenya’s eyes trembled upon hearing that. The inside of his head became messy, as well.

<<No, wait. He’s tricking me.>>

Enemies that confused their opponents through sophistry always existed.

<<That punk definitely used his hands when he first appeared. The sword around his waist is there to deceive his enemies. He’s probably planning to make me focus on his sword and attack my blind spot in the meantime.>>

Having organized his thoughts in his own way, Kenya grew comparatively calmer than before.

<<That won’t work on me, you little punk.>>

For the time being, he should pretend to be falling for the trick.

Sugimoto Kenya’s glare was locked on Su-hyeun’s neck. Making a ruckus had to be avoided, so he was planning to slice the fool’s head off in one smooth stroke.

Cut his target down in one swing.

<<There are no eyewitnesses and no CCTV cameras around here, too.>>

The selected location couldn’t be more perfect.

Fwoooosh—

Kenya’s figure flashed behind Su-hyeun in the blink of an eye. And while looking at the latter’s back remaining still, the former grew sure of his victory.

<<I got h—>>

THUD!

In an instant, his view became pitch-black.

The inside of Kenya’s brain was in a spinning mess. He nearly fainted from the impact force coming from his head.

<<Uh...?>>

What just happened?

He tried to raise his head but couldn’t as something was pressing down on him.

“Now that surprised me.”

That voice, it...belonged to Su-hyeun.

“Was that the body flicker technique? I had no idea that you possessed a space movement-related skill, even if it’s only for a short distance. No wonder you were so full of confidence.”

Kenya was shocked by Su-hyeun’s voice coming from above his head. The skill he kept as a hidden ace up his sleeve was now exposed by his opponent. Not just its effect, but even its name, too.

<<But, how...?>>

No, the issue was not with how that man knew. It actually had to do with how he countered the body flicker technique in the first place. Kenya always believed that his skill could not be dodged or defended against.

BOOM!

Kenya’s head slammed into the ground, accompanied by the pain harsh enough for him to nearly pass out. Su-hyeun had mercilessly smashed the Japanese’s head straight into the ground.

“Kkeuk!! Kkeuhhh...”

Kenya’s head, driven hard into the ground, sunk deeper and deeper. Despite gasping out a pained moan, he struggled hard in order to escape from Su-hyeun’s grip.

<<W-what kind of strength is this?>>

Unfortunately for him, it was all for naught. His head didn’t budge no matter how hard he tried to raise it. From the very start, the difference in their physical strengths was far too great.

<<In that case...>>

Somehow Kenya had managed to hold on to his sword until then, and he began gripping it even tighter.

“Just now, you were aiming for my neck from the looks of things...”

The moment Sugimoto Kenya heard Su-hyeun’s voice, he swung the sword in that direction as hard as he could. Since he was flat on his face on the ground, there wasn’t much power behind the swing itself, but rather unexpectedly, the attack was still quite threatening in its own way.

That must’ve been the reason why Su-hyeun didn’t seem to react properly in time. Kenya thought that he finally managed to cut the Korean’s head off.

But then...

<<Huh?>>

No cutting sensation was transmitted to his hand.

“What are you doing?”

Su-hyeun yanked Kenya’s head from the dirt and raised it up. Only then did the Japanese get to confirm the condition of his sword.

“M-my Dragon Rending Sword?”

This was the favored weapon of none other than Sugimoto Kenya himself. Not only its cutting edge, but even its durability was the best among the finest katanas available.

It was the weapon that he never stopped using ever since becoming an A-Rank, right up until now. But such a brilliant sword, the Dragon Rending Sword, had been broken in half.

<<No, could it be...back then?>>

Their fight lasted for only one breath.

Sure, Kenya did rush in too rashly. But still, to think that Su-hyeun not only had enough time to break the Dragon Rending Sword, but also to grab the Japanese man’s head and suppress him, too.

The hardest part to accept for him was that the Dragon Rending Sword had been broken in half so easily.

“As for messing with you, well, it’s not this guy, but this guy over here.”

Su-hyeun said those words while waving around the hand that blocked the Dragon Rending Sword. Sugimoto Kenya believed that he was being tricked, but that was wrong.

<<T-this guy, he’s the real deal!>>

Su-hyeun looked at the broken Dragon Rending Sword and spoke. “Why didn’t you look after your weapon better? I know a highly-skilled blacksmith, so should I introduce you to him?”

Kenya’s eyes shook powerfully at Su-hyeun’s mocking tone of voice.

Only a moron would fail to notice the flow of the current situation. As long as Su-hyeun wanted to, Sugimoto Kenya’s head would go flying away.

“It-it’s my loss,” said Kenya.

“I know that already.”

“I-I apologize. As you can see, my personality is a bit...”

“You were busy swinging a sword around, trying to cut my head off in one hit, but after eating some dirt, you’re now groveling like a dog, is it?” Su-hyeun murmured before shaking his head. “Nope. Rejected.”

“W-what was that?”

He then held the sword in reverse and promptly stabbed Kenya squarely in the Japanese’s unprotected throat.

“If you were planning to kill someone, then you should’ve been at least prepared to die yourself.”

“Kkeok, kkeook...”

“No witnesses, no CCTV cameras.”

Su-hyeun dropped Kenya’s head and stood up from his spot.

“Perfect, isn’t it?”

Act 8

Hak-joon arrived first at the lodging. The first thing he did was to turn on the TV and lay down on the couch.

Lee Ju-ho returned not too long after that, his meeting with the Reaper Guild having come to an end. He bought some takeout on his way back and started placing them on the dining table.

“Where is Su-hyeun?” he asked.

“I think he’s gone out to take care of something.”

“You think? If he’s gone somewhere, then he’s gone somewhere, so what’s up with ‘I think?’”

“I dunno. He just rushed somewhere without saying anything, you see?” Hak-joon got up from the couch and walked over to the dining table. He then picked up a cookie and began munching on it before abruptly turning his head. “Ah, there he is.”

“Where?”

Lee Ju-ho followed after the younger man’s gaze. A short while later, the front door clunked, and Su-hyeun walked in.

Hak-joon greeted Su-hyeun. “Welcome back.”

The latter replied. “You came back sooner than I thought.”

“Well, it was kinda weird going around alone, and since I didn’t know where I should meet up with you, I thought might as well just come back to the lodging and wait here. Thankfully, this place is near the airport so finding it wasn’t too hard.”

The way he spoke while munching on the snacks, he didn’t seem ticked off at all. Su-hyeun had been feeling a bit apologetic until then, so he now could breathe a sigh of relief and walk over to the dining table.

Meanwhile, Lee Ju-ho was busy alternating his gaze between Su-hyeun and Hak-joon before grandly shaking his head.

<<It’s like I’m looking at folks from another universe.>>

Just how and when did Hak-joon notice Su-hyeun’s approach?

Lee Ju-ho knew there was a substantial difference between the ranks A and S, but after confirming that someone he thought of as his peer, Hak-joon, had stepped onto a realm above his, he couldn’t help but feel strange.

Su-hyeun had skipped out on his meal earlier, so he quickly began filling his empty stomach with the burger and other food Lee Ju-ho bought.

It was then that Lee Ju-ho looked at the state of Su-hyeun’s clothes and asked a question. “By the way, what’s wrong with your shirt?”

“My shirt? ...Ah.” Su-hyeun discovered that his T-shirt was sliced open around his chest area, and quickly made his reply. “It’s nothing much.”

It seemed that Sugimoto Kenya’s sword managed to ever so slightly slice the tips of his clothing. His skin wasn’t harmed in the slightest, and the Japanese’s sword strike came in really sharply, so Su-hyeun had failed to notice it until now.

“Did you fight someone?”

“No way,” Su-hyeun smirked and replied while shoving the rest of the burger in his mouth. “Wasn’t even a fight.”

“Hmm...”

Lee Ju-ho didn’t pry any further, realizing that Su-hyeun wasn’t keen on talking about it.

As their mealtime drew to a close, Su-hyeun asked a question. “Did you meet with the Reaper Guild?”

“Yeah. Their vice guild master came.”

“What about Park Ji-yeon?”

“Doesn’t look like she’s interested in participating. Apparently, she hasn’t even come back from the Tower yet.”

“Well, I guess that makes sense.”

Su-hyeun didn’t really remember who participated in the Ranking Wars during his previous lifetime. But he was sure about Park Ji-yeon not caring much about the competition. From the start, she didn’t seem confident enough about achieving a good result in the Ranking Wars.

“So the preliminaries start from tomorrow, right?”

“That’s right. I checked, and it’ll start at two in the afternoon.”

Hak-joon, who was watching TV, suddenly got interested and approached the other two as the topics related to the Ranking Wars were discussed. “I heard that the preliminaries will be mission-based. Has any information been released to the public on what kind of mission it will be?”

“No, nothing in particular.”

“What about the main competition?”

“I heard that it’ll be a fight to the end, but not sure how the winner will be decided. Gordon Rohan simply said that he’d seek out a fair method that will satisfy everyone involved.”

“Meaning we don’t know anything.”

“Still, there should be plenty of things to look forward to. It seems that quite a few devices for the spectator safety have been installed, as well. Of course...” Lee Ju-ho alternated his gaze between Su-hyeun and Hak-joon before continuing on. “...there is no safety net for the participants.”

One of the competition rules stated that murder was against regulations. However, that was merely one of the pretexts required to hold a competition of this nature. Safety precautions to enforce that rule didn’t even exist.

Lee Ju-ho’s concern was this one thing. “Su-hyeun, I’m sure you will be fine, but... Hak-joon? You gotta be very careful, okay? It’s quite likely that you’re the weakest participant currently in the competition.”

“Don’t worry, I know. My goal is to somehow pass the preliminaries, after all.”

“With your personality, you’ll really do that?”

“What about you, Su-hyeun? It’s obviously the overall victory, right?”

Hak-joon didn’t seem too keen on being subjected to Lee Ju-ho’s nagging, so he quickly changed the subject and asked Su-hyeun.

The latter was almost done with his meal by then. He nodded his head while wiping his mouth. “I wouldn’t have participated if that wasn’t the case.”

“That makes sense with you. In that case, let me see...I guess the biggest hurdle will be Gordon Rohan, then.”

“I wonder about that.”

Su-hyeun recalled Gordon Rohan’s face, the one he ran into on the Gordon Tower’s 200th floor. There was little doubt that that the American was an exceptional man, a fact not just him but the entire world acknowledged to be true.

However...

“It can very well be someone else.”

In the previous life, he wasn’t really interested in the Ranking Wars nor did he invest much in the meaning of one’s rankings, but despite all that, he still clearly remembered this one thing.

<<The eventual winner of the Ranking Wars was not Gordon Rohan.>>

Without a doubt, awakeners comparable to Gordon Rohan definitely existed out there. However, what made the whole world clamor noisily back then had little to do with the American failing to win the competition.

The Ranking Wars.

This massive event initiated by Gordon Rohan became the trigger, the turning point, that dragged several hidden recluses currently slumbering away out into the open.