"Vice, Mature, what exactly does Rugal want to do?"
On the way to the port, Aiden asked Mature and Vice, who were sitting in the front seats.
"Didn't we already tell you? We don't know either." Mature was driving and replied without even turning her head.
Vice, in the passenger seat, said, "But after watching your match yesterday, that guy never showed up again. He only showed up today after announcing the results, then called Mature and me and told us to bring you to see him."
"I see." Aiden furrowed his brows slightly, but didn't say anything more.
Rugal was just someone with average strength, a guy who couldn't even beat Kusanagi Kyo. No matter what schemes or tricks he pulled, he couldn't possibly pose a threat to Aiden.
After a while, seeing that it was still some distance from the port, Aiden spoke again, "By the way, did you ask Rugal about any news regarding NESTS?"
Vice turned her head to look at him and shrugged. "We did. He said he's never heard of it."
"Never heard of it? Isn't he a famous black-market dealer? His sources should be pretty well connected, right?"
"That's why I suspect he's lying. He doesn't trust Mature and me at all."
'That makes sense. If it weren't for Shermie and Goenitz vouching for you, I wouldn't have trusted you either… and even now, I still don't fully trust you…'
Letting out a sigh, Aiden said, "Looks like we can only ask him face to face. Once we see him later, I'll move right away."
"Then remember to hold back a bit. Don't beat him to death. He couldn't even withstand a single move from Boss Goenitz."
"I know my limits." Aiden nodded.
As they were speaking, not long after, they arrived at the port where Rugal's private aircraft carrier was docked.
Getting out of the car, Mature and Vice led Aiden up the gangway and into the interior of the carrier. With how familiar they were, they soon brought him to the door of what used to be the captain's quarters.
The remodeled captain's quarters were several times larger than a normal one, covering at least several hundred square meters. Otherwise, there would've been no way to fit so many of Rugal's "collections" inside.
However, possibly because something had been installed within the walls, Aiden tried using his perception ability, only to find that it couldn't penetrate at all. This made him marvel at how, as expected of a black-market dealer, Rugal's sense of caution was extremely high.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
At that moment, Mature gently knocked on the door.
"Mr. Rugal, we've brought the person."
As she spoke, Mature tilted her head slightly and gave Aiden a meaningful look.
Aiden nodded. Then he steadied his breathing and focused, waiting for the door to open, ready to rush in and take Rugal down in one move.
Very quickly, a deep male voice came from the speaker mounted on the door, "Come in!"
As the voice fell, the door opened from the inside.
The doorway was narrow, so the three of them could only enter one by one. Aiden rushed in first, with Mature and Vice close behind.
As he entered, Aiden noticed that the door to this captain's quarters was several times thicker than a normal carrier door, which caught his attention.
However, the most important thing right now was capturing Rugal, so he didn't dwell on it. His gaze went straight to the desk directly facing the doorway. Behind the desk was a boss chair with its back turned toward them.
But at this moment, Aiden didn't sense the presence of a fourth person in the room, only the three of them.
Aiden shouted immediately, "He's not here. This is a trap."
"As expected of this tournament's champion, you guessed it."
The low voice sounded again, but this time it came from all directions… the room had been fitted with a large number of speakers.
At the same time, there was a loud bang behind them.
Turning around, the three saw that the door had closed automatically. The wheel handle behind it began spinning on its own, and faintly, they could hear the sound of mechanical locks engaging and locking into place.
Vice rushed over right away, trying to turn the wheel back, but the moment her hand touched it, a powerful electric current repelled her hand.
Unwilling to give up, Vice tried a few more times, but the result was the same every time.
"Don't waste your effort, Miss Vice. The high-voltage electricity up there is enough to electrocuted hundreds of elephants… though I have to say, your physique is really impressive. You've been shocked so many times and you're still fine." Rugal's teasing voice rang out.
"Damn it, Rugal, you bastard…" Vice shook her numb, electrified hands and cursed at a camera mounted on the door.
But Rugal's voice came through calmly, "Of course I know I'm a bastard. If I weren't, how could I be dealing in arms trafficking?"
Rugal paused, then continued in a mocking tone, "But to be called a bastard by Miss Vice, one of the Hakkesshu, brutal and bloodthirsty, wielding the Orochi power of death, looks like I really am rotten to the core! Hahahahaha…"
By the end, Rugal burst into wild laughter.
Hearing Rugal's words, Vice and Mature froze for a moment. Then Vice asked coldly, "You actually know my identity?"
Rugal stopped laughing, his voice turning incomparably icy. "From the moment you approached me, I guessed who you were, the Vice who possesses the Orochi power of death, and the Mature who possesses the Orochi power of beasts."
"Later, someone else told me your true identities, and that's when I confirmed it."
"But really, your Hakkesshu must have reincarnated themselves stupid. Did you forget that Goenitz once gave me the power of Orochi? And wasn't the reason you approached me to observe what kind of changes would occur after I obtained Orochi's power?"
"Damn it…" Vice clenched her fists in frustration. Indeed, she had forgotten that those who possessed Orochi's power could sense one another.
More importantly, Goenitz had given Rugal only a single drop of Orochi's blood, so neither she nor Mature had ever regarded him as the same kind of being.
Unlike the easily angered Vice, Mature remained calm and asked, "You said someone told you about Vice and me. Who was it?"
Rugal gave a low chuckle. "Although you'll die here, sorry, but I don't feel like telling you."
"But…"
Rugal suddenly changed tone and continued coldly, "But I can tell you something else. Orochi is about to revive. Come to think of it, isn't that exactly what you want to see most? Now that I've told you, you should be able to die in peace shortly, right?"
"In peace… heh. Even if Orochi revives, the first ones to die will be you humans. He doesn't exactly have a good impression of humanity." Mature sneered.
"That, of course, I know. But we have our ways to deal with that problem. Sadly, you won't live to see it. Perhaps when you awaken in your next reincarnation, you'll get the chance." Rugal's voice became light and cheerful.
"By then, even if you've regained all your power, I won't need to use methods like this against you anymore. At that time, I'll use the true power of Orochi to send you back into reincarnation once again."
Hearing this, both Mature and Vice froze, and Aiden frowned as well… 'The true power of Orochi?'