Chapter 62: 1:50
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 62: 1:50
Sakagami Maou flinched at the sight of the mysterious figure who appeared from the darkness.
The man was like a pillar.
His face was hidden by a khaki-colored hoodie, but one glance was enough to tell he possessed an incredible physique.
Moreover, his very presence seemed to change the air inside the building.
He was, quite literally, on a different level.
Wiping away the sweat that was unknowingly trickling down his chin, Maou muttered.
"That bastard Goto… I can't believe he was hiding an ace like this up his sleeve."
As if only just noticing him, Goto Kazuya, who had been in the middle of a brawl with his own former subordinates, cried out in a startled voice.
"Hyung-nim?!"
A man that Goto Kazuya himself would call Hyung-nim.
The only name that came to mind was a former leader of the Byakkiyakou.
Specifically, the first-generation leader, the one known as the Prodigy of the Heisei era.
"Mishima Ryohei… The return of a living legend."
"Who's that?"
But the hooded man tilted his head, refuting Maou's grand assumption.
"Hmph, then who the hell are you!"
As a belated wave of embarrassment washed over him, Maou asked with a flushed face. The hooded man scratched his head as if troubled, then pointed at Goto Kazuya, who was locked in a fierce fight with Mito.
"For now, let's just say I know that guy."
The moment he heard that, Maou twisted his lips into a smirk.
"To dare side with Kazu in this situation, you must have some serious guts. Fine! I admire your spirit, so I'll make you an offer. Ditch Goto and come work for me. I'll give you the spot at my right hand when I unify Tokyo and become the strongest biker gang."
Hearing this, Mito, who was in the middle of fighting Goto, shouted.
"Hey! That's not what you said!"
Maou roared back indignantly.
"Shut up! In the Devil Riders, my word is law and justice!"
Goto Kazuya yelled.
"Hyung-nim! Don't fall for his sweet talk! That bastard is a villain who'll do anything to achieve his ambitions! Even if you help him, he'll surely cast you aside later!"
"Everyone on the sidelines, shut your mouths! I'm talking to this man right now!"
Dismissing them with a wave, Sakagami Maou extended his right arm toward the man who was still silently listening to his proposal.
"Well? What are you waiting for! Stand with me! And become one of the strongest in Tokyo!"
Finally, the man, who had remained silent since his first words, spoke.
"How ridiculous."
"…What?"
"Your mental age is still stuck in middle school."
The hooded man declared as he took a step forward.
Thud—
"What will you do once you become the 'strongest' you speak of?"
"Power and authority will be mine! And I can make all the weaklings kneel before me!"
Thud—
"Even so, from an adult's perspective, it's nothing more than children playing house. They're turning a blind eye now because the scale is small, but if you unify Tokyo like you say and your numbers grow from hundreds to thousands, do you think the authorities will just stand by?"
"When that time comes, we'll just crush anyone who gets in our way!"
Thud—
The man let out a small laugh.
Then, with cold eyes, he asked Sakagami Maou.
"Are you foolish enough to think you can beat an opponent with a gun using your bare hands?"
"Urk…"
He was at a loss for words.
Thud—
It was true. Motorcycles, wooden swords, and steel pipes were no match for a single police handgun.
In the end, no matter how much they struggled, they would be caught.
That was the nature of a fight between adults and children.
Thud—!!
Having closed the distance, the pillar-like man now stood right in front of Sakagami Maou.
"Let all these guys go, right now. And I'm taking Goto with me. We have a prior engagement."
Hearing this, Sakagami Maou, in a last-ditch effort to protect his pride, forced an arrogant smile and asked.
"And if I say no?"
The man slowly raised his head and looked around.
The Devil Riders.
An elite corps personally assembled by the overwhelmingly charismatic Sakagami Maou.
Except for their leader, who sported a shaggy cut, forty-nine bikers with matching mohawks were listening intently to their conversation.
"If you say no,"
The man said, rubbing his neck as if annoyed.
"I suppose I'll have to resort to force?"
Those words became a signal.
Announcing the beginning of an unfair execution, 50 against 1.
*
"Hya-ha! Time to disinfect the filth!"
"You idiot! You think you can take on this many people by yourself?!"
I calmly watched the dozens of bikes circling chaotically around me.
It was like a joint attack formation from an old wuxia novel.
Despite the chaotic movement, not a single one of them collided, maintaining a constant distance as they spun around me.
It was a level of precision and skill that could only be achieved if they did nothing but practice this all day.
Maybe they should have joined a circus instead of a biker gang.
Thinking what a waste of talent it was, I boldly took a step forward.
"Where do you think you're going!"
A chain whip flew at me as if out of nowhere.
Instead of dodging, I trusted the strength of the muscles I had built and extended my left arm.
Crack!
The heavy chain struck my forearm, but it was more bearable than I expected.
Before the chain could be pulled back, I wrapped it around my left arm and yanked it toward me.
The biker holding the chain lost his balance and was lifted clean off his bike.
"Hold on tight! It's not my fault if you let go!"
I shouted, then began to spin my body, using centrifugal force.
The biker holding the chain became a human bludgeon, unable to touch the ground as he began to strike his own comrades.
Like falling dominoes, the bikes toppled one after another.
And just like that, the joint attack formation of the forty-nine mohawks was broken.
"No way! He's swinging a person around with one hand!"
"Is that guy they call the Fighting Demon's Hyung-nim a monster?!"
Having created a makeshift barricade with the fallen bikes, I gently set down the mohawk I had been using as a weapon.
Perhaps from being spun around so much, he immediately collapsed to the ground and began to vomit.
I could consider him out of commission.
Standing in the center of the circular arena formed by the graveyard of bikes, I beckoned to the remaining able-bodied Devil Riders.
"Whoever wants to die first, step up."
The Devil Riders hesitated, unwilling to recklessly cross the barrier of bikes.
In a situation like this, guts and courage are what matter most.
For me, who had fought on equal footing with professionally trained, ex-military Russians, this fight felt like nothing.
Finally, deciding they couldn't waste any more time, the bravest of the mohawks took the lead and climbed over the wall.
I was already prepared. I closed the distance in an instant and threw a jab.
It was a technique I had learned by watching Sasha's bodyguard, Boris, fight. It was an efficient way to take down enemies in a limited amount of time.
The mohawk, struck squarely in the face, stumbled back with a bloody nose, and the next customer immediately took his place.
This time, there were three of them.
Without panicking, I moved backward to evade, broke the wooden club, and struck the wrist of the one with the hard-to-block steel pipe, making him drop it.
With their weapons gone, I finished by landing a jab on each of the bewildered men.
I grabbed the collars of the ones who were about to crack their heads open after being knocked out in a single blow and threw them at the others who were stealthily approaching from behind.
They instinctively tried to catch their falling comrades, and I used that opening to slip into their blind spot and hit them with a surprise lariat.
"Keuk!"
My arm, trained to its limit, was like steel. When the light collision occurred, it was the mohawks, not me, who were sent flying back helplessly.
After eight of them were taken down in an instant, the Devil Riders began to stir.
Seeing this, their leader, Sakagami Maou, screamed his head off.
"You idiots! In the end, that 'Hyung-nim' is still human! There's a limit to how many he can fight at once! Overwhelm him with numbers!"
As if emboldened, the mohawks exchanged glances and then surged over the wall at the same time.
The circular arena was now clearly over capacity.
As I pondered how to escape the slowly closing circle of mohawks, a scream suddenly erupted from behind me.
"Kuaaaargh!"
"Hyung-nim!"
It was Goto, blood streaming down his head. In his left hand, he held the collar of Mito, who was now a bloody mess, and in his right, he swung a wooden sword.
It seemed to be a trophy from his victory over Mito.
"Use this!"
I thought the appearance of a supporter at such a perfect time was a development straight out of a manga.
Then again, since this was a manga world, maybe this was how it was supposed to be.
Catching the wooden sword that flew in a clean arc with one hand, I glanced back and said.
"Thanks, Goto."
Goto's black special uniform, embroidered with all sorts of words in gold thread, fluttered as he turned his back.
Then, he cheered me on with a voice full of firm resolve.
"You must win."
Hearing his words, I shifted my grip on the wooden sword from one hand to two.