Chapter 144: A Brief Rest (Patreon)

His eyes snapped open — and Tokita Ohma's gaze burned with a wild, blood-red frenzy.

His heart pounded at a rate far beyond any normal human's, the thudding from his chest ringing through the rest area like a war drum being beaten in a frenzy.

At first, Tokita Ohma seemed dazed, unsure of what was happening to him. But the moment he noticed Yang standing nearby, he sprang up off the ground, his eyes blazing with wild fighting spirit as he stared at Yang.

"I'll kill you!!!"

With a roar, Tokita Ohma completely ignored the grinding crunch of bone shifting in his broken right arm, thrusting it forward — muscles coiling like knotted rope, fingers clenched like hammers, wrapped in dark crimson blood-energy — straight at Yang's chest.

It was obvious: the speed behind this outburst from Tokita Ohma now was faster, more savage, than anything he'd thrown in the ring before.

Niko Style Secret Technique: Possessing Spirit (lit. "Borrowed God").

More commonly called the Advance, its principle was simple: accelerate the heartbeat to boost the body's available energy.

Once triggered, it drastically boosted the user's offensive power, destructive force, and speed. Its creator had drawn inspiration from the Kure clan's Removal — and though overuse could shatter the user's sanity, the sheer power it granted meant that while active, the body was freed from the brain's own safety limiters, every muscle firing at full output in a way that bordered on self-destruction.

Facing Tokita Ohma's sudden assault, Yang — who'd been ready for it — didn't so much as flinch, merely turning his body slightly to the side.

The movement was tiny, just enough to slip past the edge of Ohma's berserk punch. Then his right fist shot out, wreathed in searing flame, and slammed straight into Ohma's cheek.

The blow snapped Ohma's head down toward the ground, but the mad blood-red hadn't faded from his eyes yet.

He roared, thrashing with everything he had, trying to grab hold of Yang's collar.

But at that instant, the Golden Flame wreathing Yang's right fist sank into Ohma's skull, passing through bone and membrane alike, reaching straight into the tangle of nerves seized by madness.

The next moment, Ohma's body went rigid.

Under the Golden Flame's searing heat, every muscle in his body slowly went slack, his racing heartbeat began to slow, and his swollen veins gradually contracted — revealing the dull, once-again-lucid eyes beneath.

Feeling Ohma's gaze on him, Yang tipped his chin up. "Got some spirit in you, huh? How's the body feeling?"

"...Better. Much better." Ohma answered, then glanced around at the scene. After a brief silence, he looked up. "I... lost?"

Hearing this, Yamashita Kazuo beside him tensed, reaching out a hand. "No, Ohma-kun, we already know about your memories—"

Before Yamashita could finish, Yang cut him off. "Yeah, you lost."

As he spoke, Yang rolled his shoulders. "I came over here to wake you up. Now, it's time for my second-round match."

At that, Nogi Hideki raised an eyebrow in surprise. "So soon? I thought the chairman's privilege let you push it back as late as this afternoon. Are you sure you don't want to rest a while longer? ...Sekibayashi Jun isn't just some ordinary fighter."

Only Katahara Sayaka had known Yang was speaking of his next fight — practically everyone else hadn't been present to hear it.

Ordinarily, Nogi Hideki would have kept his distance from Yang.

Even accounting for the Kengan Association's peculiar deference toward powerful fighters, he wouldn't normally go so far as to speak up and offer help unprompted like this.

But Yang was different. His background was simply too mysterious...

As a family with centuries of history behind it, the Nogi family was, of course, no stranger to assassins. In fact, plenty of companies within the Kengan Association maintained close ties to assassin clans, ensuring that every generation of their bloodline had powerful fighters to protect them.

Yang... if he remembered correctly, hailed from Hong Kong, in the Tang Empire? The previous era's Asian fighting world... this definitely warranted a proper investigation.

Even as he mulled it over, Nogi Hideki, businessman that he was, never forgot his own trade — and so the look he gave Yang was full of goodwill.

Unaware of the many thoughts churning through Nogi Hideki's head, Yang paid no mind at all to the goodwill of this financial titan, saying with a couldn't-care-less expression: "It's nothing important. More to the point..."

He turned his gaze to Tokita Ohma nearby, saying at an unhurried pace: "You should be able to feel the changes in your body by now. If you want to recover quickly, come find me — you can ask Katahara Sayaka for the address."

At this, Tokita Ohma said nothing, only staring at Yang for a long moment, as though trying to carve him into memory.

Though he'd only just woken, it had been long enough for Tokita Ohma to sort through the situation and untangle his thoughts.

Especially as the flame of life reactivated his brain — still incomplete, but enough for Tokita Ohma to be certain of one thing: Yang was absolutely not the one who'd killed Niko...

The reason was simple — through the intent carried in the fist that had sent him flying, Tokita Ohma could tell with certainty that Yang was not the kind of vile man who'd use words to wound a child.

Not until Yang turned to leave did he finally speak up. "Why... are you willing to help me?"

"Because you're a decent guy," Yang said evenly.

"Even with your memories fractured and your martial arts incomplete, I could feel your resolve — the willingness to lay your life down for victory...

I love fighting. I love the thrill of a real battle. But right now, you're too weak — you can't give me an ounce of satisfaction. So hurry up and heal. Don't keep me waiting too long."

At that, Tokita Ohma nodded without a word.

Only after Yang had walked away did he try, with great effort, to pull himself up off the ground.

"Ohma-kun!" Seeing him move, Yamashita Kazuo rushed over in alarm.

"Ohma-kun! You're not healed yet! You need to rest properly!"

"No need for that. My body's doing great right now." Hearing Yamashita's words, Tokita Ohma shook his head, watching Yang's retreating back. His mind drifted back to their first meeting, and the intensely aggressive, masculine aura that had radiated from every inch of the man.

An absolute overlord. An absolute powerhouse. An absolute male...

Feeling these thoughts rise up almost the instant he perceived them, Tokita Ohma said in a low voice:

"I need to see with my own eyes how he answers this."

Hearing this, Yamashita's face remained clouded with confusion.

Off to the side, watching the two of them, Nogi Hideki stroked his chin with obvious interest.

Right when Nogi Hideki had nearly given up on Tokita Ohma as his "flagbearer," Yamashita Kazuo had suddenly burst out with a presence beyond the ordinary — in fact, in that instant, he'd given tangible shape to a kind of will that even many powerful martial artists could never manifest.

But now, he'd reverted right back into that same corporate drone worn smooth by the daily grind...

Was it because of martial arts? What a word — one that could make the weak fierce and the brave fearless...

Mulling this over, Nogi Hideki said, "Let's go take a look together... Who knows, Yang might end up being our competitor before long."

Hearing this, Yamashita, though still filled with doubts, was cowed by Nogi Hideki's status as president of the Nogi Group. In the end, he nodded and followed after Tokita Ohma and the others toward the arena.

As word spread that Yang's Kengan match against Sekibayashi Jun was about to begin, the audience — many of whom had already been preparing to leave and return for the afternoon match — fell into a brief, stunned silence.

And after that brief silence, the whole place erupted.

Even Iori Ichika, mid-gulp of an energy drink, choked and coughed several times in a row.

"Wasn't it supposed to be pushed to the afternoon? What do you mean it's starting right now? It's barely been half an hour, hasn't it?!" Iori Ichika said, her face full of disbelief. "Damn it, this Kengan Association is so shady!"

They said nothing, but Tenma Nozomi and Hana Mitani — who'd only recently met Yang and were watching a Kengan match for the first time — both wore looks of clear agreement.

Fighting was, after all, extremely draining.

Even an ordinary person, locked in a real fight, would burn through their body's energy within minutes, pushing their muscles into overload and exhaustion — needing time to rest and cool down before they could exert force again.

And in a clash between martial artists on Yang's level, the strain that ki placed on the muscles — and the recovery it demanded — far exceeded anything a normal person experienced. Often a single punch or kick could burn through the energy equivalent of an ordinary person's whole meal, even a whole day's worth.

Sure, half an hour was enough time to recover most of it... but only most. Enough to bring back a portion of one's fighting strength at best.

"And his opponent is Sekibayashi Jun." With her deep knowledge of the world of professional wrestling, Tenma Nozomi couldn't help but grumble:

"Just seeing a wrestler standing at the very top of professional wrestling show up at an underground fighting venue like the Kengan Association was shocking enough on its own... Going into a fight against him without proper recovery — even if this is about targeting the owner, do they have to make it this obvious?!"

Beside her, Hana Mitani said nothing but nodded along repeatedly, clearly agreeing that Tenma Nozomi had a point.

"Ha, rookies, through and through." Overhearing the small-fry trio's chatter, Juri Han beside them couldn't help but let out a laugh.

Tenma Nozomi and Hana Mitani weren't well acquainted with Juri Han — they only knew she was close with the big boss, Yang — so they had no idea how to respond. Iori Ichika, who'd long since become good friends with Juri Han, however, said with a face full of annoyance:

"Hey, you stinking delinquent, if you know something, spit it out! Quit hiding it!"

At that, Juri Han didn't take offense — after all, before meeting Yang, Iori Ichika had helped her handle plenty of trouble, and it was thanks to Iori Ichika that Juri Han had a safe place to rest in Old City at all.

"This is most likely something Yang requested himself," Juri Han said, propping her chin on one hand with a couldn't-care-less expression.

"That's just how he is. Outside of fighting, training, and getting laid, his life's a straight line between the same three points. Something like this — he's probably just found an opponent he actually likes the taste of, so he can't wait."

At that, Tenma Nozomi and the others nodded thoughtfully.

But then, as if realizing something, they stared at Juri Han in horror. "Wait, something weird just slipped in there."

"Did it? Nothing weird about it, it's just daily life. Living with him, I don't see anything off about it," Juri Han shrugged.

She genuinely didn't think it was a big deal — as someone born a Demon Orb, Juri Han had, under her parents' guidance, gone through a period of innocence and warmth as a child. But that sadistic streak of hers came from the same innate malice.

At least, in Juri Han's view, indulging without restraint, in a fit of hysterical abandon, after every day's training was a perfectly good way to unwind.

Kure Karura nodded along, seeing nothing wrong with it either. Kure Fusui felt a little embarrassed, but with Karura shielding her, it didn't draw attention. Chun-Li, on the other hand, couldn't help but turn her head slightly aside, a thick wave of exasperation showing in her eyes.

Just as the group was chatting away, a party of people approached from one side.

A glance revealed it was none other than Tokita Ohma, Nogi Hideki, and the rest of their group.

Seeing them, Chun-Li asked curiously, "Is there something you all need here?"

Having just watched Ohma's fight with Yang end, the women could still recognize him easily.

What surprised them, though, was that he'd nearly been beaten to death by Yang just moments ago, yet now Tokita Ohma looked... as though he'd already recovered most of the way?

It had to be the healing effect, right?

Having witnessed the miracle of the healing effect countless times firsthand, Chun-Li, Kure Karura, and the others all knew perfectly well that, given the extent of Ohma's injuries, Yang was the only one on-site who could plausibly have healed him this fast.

Hearing Chun-Li's question, Yamashita Kazuo scratched his head sheepishly and said:

"Well, Yang-san here is the one who healed Ohma-kun. We wanted to thank him in person, but he's already gone up to fight, so we're planning to wait here until the match ends to thank him properly!"

"I see. Go ahead, then." At that, Chun-Li nodded. Not knowing Ohma and the others well, she didn't press further, planning to sort things out once Yang returned.

Just as everyone continued their idle chatter, Katahara Sayaka, dressed in a fiery red skirt, soon returned to the center of the arena once more, her eyes blazing with a heat like burning flame.

"As baffling and hard to believe as it may be, we've confirmed it multiple times — this is indeed a request made personally by the fighter, Dahao Yang! Everyone, take your positions and get ready to welcome the two fighters about to enter!"