An Unexpectedly Powerful Ally
Seongjun charged straight at the yakuza. Two of them rushed him with daggers raised. He dropped low, dodging one blade before driving his knife deep into the other man’s abdomen. Then he shoved the wounded attacker backward, sending them both crashing to the floor, and fired his pistol at a third yakuza who was about to strike him.
When another yakuza took aim at him, one of Seongjun’s subordinates gunned the man down. Seongjun rose to his feet and unleashed a storm of bullets at the remaining enemies. Just then, his slide locked back—his magazine was empty. He glanced at the pistol with its slide stuck open.
In that brief window, he evaded a yakuza slashing at him with a dagger and smashed the man’s face with the gun’s muzzle. Then he swung the empty pistol, deflecting another attacker’s blade that came from his side. After parrying the strike, Seongjun buried his knife in the man’s stomach, stepped forward, and drove his right elbow into the yakuza’s face.
Twisting his body sideways, he struck yet another yakuza in the face with the pistol’s barrel. Damn it… How many of our guys are left…?
Seongjun caught his breath and scanned the room. His subordinates had been whittled down until only four remained. Haneda… You really came prepared to kill us all.
He continued dodging the incoming attacks, using his empty pistol and knife to strike and drop the yakuza one by one. Eventually he fell back, reloaded his pistol, and engaged the yakuza in a fierce gunfight.
Meanwhile, Shinichi watched Seongjun—who had only sustained minor injuries—continue cutting down his men. He couldn’t help but feel impressed. (He really is something. That’s the kind of combat ability you’d expect from the action leader of the Gangryonghoe.)
A short while later, Jaehyuk, Chan, and Byeong-sik burst inside. They slashed at the yakuza with knives or fired pistols as they fought their way toward Seongjun.
“Representative Ha Seongjun!! Are you all right?!”
At Chan’s shout, Seongjun glanced over, shot the yakuza who had been aiming at him, and yelled back.
“What the hell?! Why are you guys here?!”
“We were nearby and got the support request!”
Jaehyuk dodged a dagger swung by one yakuza and put a bullet in the man’s stomach. When another came at him with a wakizashi, he evaded the slash and shot the attacker in the face. He then aimed at the remaining yakuza, but his pistol clicked empty.
He closed the distance so they couldn’t easily aim at him, then tore into the knife-wielding yakuza, brutally carving up their chests and stomachs.
“(Die, you son of a bitch!!)” one yakuza screamed, swinging a dagger at him.
Jaehyuk stepped back and used the man behind him as a shield, slamming him into the wall. At the same time, he smashed the back of the yakuza’s head with his own and drove his knife—held in a reverse grip—into the man’s side.
He ducked under more attacks, snatched a dropped Tokarev pistol with his left hand, and opened fire. As the yakuza faltered, he tossed the Tokarev aside, grabbed one of them by the collar, and yanked him close. He drove a heavy punch into the man’s liver, then used the incapacitated yakuza as a human shield while he reloaded his Glock.
Once the reload was complete, Jaehyuk kicked the human shield away and gunned down the remaining yakuza.
“Escort the representative!! Hurry!!”
While continuing to drop yakuza, Jaehyuk shouted at the Gangryonghoe men. They formed up around Seongjun and fell back toward Jaehyuk and the other undercover agents.
Shinichi, who had been firing his CZ SP-01 at the Gangryonghoe members, saw what was happening and gave an order to his subordinate.
The subordinate made a call. Inside one of the two vans parked on the street outside, Kuroba Itsuki answered.
Itsuki hung up, drew his H&K P30, pulled the slide back slightly to check the chamber, and gave orders to his men.
Itsuki and the other yakuza climbed out of one of the vans and stormed into the Japanese restaurant.
<Not long after Park Jaehyuk went in, the yakuza from that van followed. They’re trying to block both the front and rear to cut off any escape route. The fact that only one van’s occupants moved means… they’re probably holding the other group in reserve in case more reinforcements are needed.>
Robert, watching the front of Aotsuki Japanese Restaurant through binoculars from inside his car, came to that conclusion.
Even as he thought that, Robert recalled the desperate look on Alina’s face when she had begged him to protect Jaehyuk. Considering the debt he owed her, he found it difficult to refuse her request.
<Can’t be helped. As long as I don’t get caught by the authorities.>
Robert slipped on Kevlar anti-stab gloves, got out of the car, and approached the second van where the yakuza were still waiting. He knocked on the window and spoke in Korean.
“Excuse me. You can’t park here.”
One of the yakuza cracked the window and answered in irritated Korean.
“We’ll be leaving soon. Just wait a minute.”
“Parking here will get you a fine. Please move your vehicle.”
“Just five minutes.”
Robert stepped back a few paces and reached for his phone as if he were about to call the police. Seeing this, the yakuza started to get out to stop him.
“(Hey!! What the fu—!!!)”
The moment the van door opened, Robert dropped his phone and swiftly dove inside. The startled yakuza tried to close the door, but it was already too late.
Once Robert was inside, the van rocked violently amid chaotic noise. After the shaking stopped, the door opened and a blood-soaked Robert stepped out. Holding a Gerber MK2 knife covered in crimson, he picked up his phone, pocketed it, and walked into the restaurant.
Damn it… Why are there so many of them?!
At that moment, Jaehyuk was carving a path through the yakuza to create an escape route. The scene was filled with nothing but gunshots and agonized screams. It was a living hell, with bloodied corpses strewn everywhere.
By now, only Seongjun, Jaehyuk, Chan, and Byeong-sik remained on the Gangryonghoe side. Seongjun reloaded his Beretta 92FS and asked Chan beside him.
“Did you call for support?”
“I did just now. They said it’ll take about twenty minutes to get here.”
“That’s fucking late, you piece of shit!!”
Right then, the yakuza led by Itsuki burst inside. Jaehyuk’s face twisted in disgust at the sight.
What the fuck… There’s more?!
He fired at the yakuza again, then holstered his pistol to conserve ammo and fought with his knife.
Itsuki charged at him, swinging a Fairbairn-Sykes dagger. Jaehyuk barely dodged, but the blade still grazed his cheek.
Shit…!!
Itsuki pressed the attack, relentlessly driving Jaehyuk back. Jaehyuk tried to counter, but Itsuki easily blocked every strike and kept pushing him.
His movements are no joke. It’s almost like…
The image of Ju Taeyeol flashed through his mind—the man who had killed him and his comrades in his previous life. Rage surged through Jaehyuk, and he swung his knife at Itsuki with even greater ferocity.
(Every single movement is filled with emotion. It’s as if I killed his parents. In a fight like this, you need to stay calm…)
Just as Itsuki blocked another strike and tried to stab Jaehyuk in the lung, Jaehyuk twisted his body, flipped his knife into a reverse grip, and slashed at Itsuki’s arm. Itsuki pulled his arm back to avoid it.
Jaehyuk followed up with a right elbow aimed at Itsuki’s face. Itsuki bent his right arm to block. Then he dropped the knife from his right hand, caught it with his left, and switched to a regular grip.
With the knife now in his left hand, Itsuki immediately thrust at Jaehyuk’s side. Jaehyuk deflected the wrist with his left hand, leaned back, and kicked off the floor with his right foot, launching himself toward the wall on the left to dodge.
When Itsuki switched the knife back to his right hand and closed in, Jaehyuk flipped his own knife into a regular grip and slashed at Itsuki’s throat. Itsuki leaned backward to evade.
(His movements are unnecessarily large. Is he a rookie who only recently picked up a blade?)
Thinking that, Itsuki reset his stance and charged again.
(If his movements are that big… I need to close the distance…?!)
The instant Jaehyuk flipped his knife back into a reverse grip, Itsuki sensed something was wrong and tried to create distance. But Jaehyuk closed the gap instantly, shoved him, knocked the hand holding the knife aside with his left hand, and drove a knee toward Itsuki’s abdomen.
Itsuki barely blocked the knee with his left hand. In that opening, Jaehyuk slammed his right elbow into the exposed left temple with brutal speed and power.
A loud crack rang out. Itsuki’s head snapped from the impact. By the time he regained his senses, Jaehyuk’s blade was already inches from his throat.
(Oh no!! Get it together…!!)
Itsuki barely recovered, grabbed Jaehyuk’s wrist, and slammed his own back against the wall to break free. At the same time, he delivered a powerful front kick to Jaehyuk’s stomach, sending him flying backward into the wall. Jaehyuk quickly regained his footing and faced off against him again.
Itsuki felt a stinging pain on the left side of his neck. He touched it with his left hand and saw a bit of blood on his fingers. The realization that he would have died if he had been even a fraction slower sent a chill down his spine. He glared at Jaehyuk, who was staring back at him.
(I almost died so pathetically. If I die here, things will get complicated…)
Having decided against continuing the fight with Jaehyuk, Itsuki slipped away into the crowd of other yakuza and disappeared from sight.
Jaehyuk tried to chase after him, but the other yakuza blocked his path, forcing him to give up.
Damn it… I was one second away from slitting his throat!!
Jaehyuk continued fighting, swinging his knife, throwing punches, and using kicks against the yakuza. During the chaos he picked up a pistol from the floor and fired at them. Several yakuza fell in the gunfight, but Jaehyuk also took damage as bullets grazed his shoulder, neck, and thigh.
The situation is getting worse by the second!! I need to call for more backup and get out of here…!!
Just then, the restaurant door opened again. This time, a masked Robert Han walked in.
Seeing the massive man—standing over 190 centimeters tall with incredibly broad shoulders—Seongjun asked Chan in confusion.
“Who the hell is that? One of the yakuza?”
“We don’t know either. Should we shoot him?”
“Let’s wait and see for now. Don’t engage.”
After saying that, Seongjun looked at Robert, who was quietly observing the bloodbath, and said, “He doesn’t seem to be with the yakuza. If he were, it would be strange for him to just stand there without helping his own side.”
As Seongjun said, Robert was silently watching the gruesome battlefield, as if trying to figure out who was who.
A yakuza charged at him with a wakizashi. Robert dodged the slash, deflected the blade with his gloved hand, and delivered an uppercut to the man’s chin. The force was so tremendous that a loud crack echoed as the yakuza was launched nearly thirty centimeters into the air before crashing unconscious to the floor.
Robert then drew a SIG P320 X-Full from his side holster—equipped with a Trijicon RMR red dot, suppressor, Magwell, and 21-round magazine—and opened fire on the yakuza.
“(Guhk!!)”
“(Mmph…!!)”
“(Kk—!!)”
His shots were incredibly precise, striking only the brainstem of each yakuza. Robert calmly aimed and fired exclusively at the enemy, dodging or blocking any close-range attacks. Then, using his overwhelming strength and speed, he finished them off instantly with punches and kicks.
The yakuza were thrown into disarray by the sudden appearance of such a skilled fighter. Seongjun and Jaehyuk were equally stunned.
What the hell is he? That strength, those techniques, and marksmanship on top of it… Where did a monster like him come from??
Wow… With shooting skills like that, he might be on par with Jeonghan or even better.
Itsuki and the other yakuza poured bullets at Robert, but he used his comrades’ bodies and the walls for cover, preventing any significant damage.
(Even though it looks like we hit him, there’s no visible damage. Is he wearing body armor?)
Itsuki thought as he reloaded. Taking advantage of the yakuza’s hesitation, Robert shouted in Korean.
“If you’re with the Gangryonghoe, get out of here now!! Hurry!!”
Seongjun immediately yelled at Jaehyuk, Chan, and Byeong-sik.
“Let’s go!! Move!!”
They fought their way out, securing an escape route, while Robert provided covering fire to help them withdraw.
Shinichi ground his teeth in fury at losing Seongjun. He aimed his pistol at the back of Seongjun’s head, but Jaehyuk’s bullet grazed the right side of his eye.
“(Kgh!!)”
In the end, Shinichi failed to stop them. As the Gangryonghoe survivors passed Robert and exited through the door, he pulled several objects from his coat and dropped them one by one on the floor.
They clattered loudly and began spewing thick white smoke. Itsuki panicked and covered his nose and mouth with his left arm.
(What the—?! Smoke grenades?!)
The survivors, including Seongjun, escaped the restaurant. Jaehyuk glanced back with a suspicious look.
Who was that? Just who…?
“Park Jaehyuk!! What are you doing?! Get in the car, quick!!”
“Yes! Coming!!”
The four of them climbed into the vehicle and successfully fled the scene.