Kitae Kim walked towards the kings with a blank face. His sunken black eyes showed no emotion. His body towered over the kings.
"Chungcheon, Daegu, Ansan and Suwon... Four kings... Coming to Korea, I thought it'd be a long while before I had some fun. But I seem to be lucky."
Jichang's pupils dilated. He immediately launched an attack. His hand blade cut through the air in a horizontal arc aimed at Kitae's throat.
Kitae caught the attack with his palm. Jichang's hand blade seemed to almost dig into Kitae's palm, but the force wasn't enough.
Kitae shoved Jichang backward. Jichang landed on his feet and immediately closed the distance again with a downward hand blade aimed at the crown of Kitae's skull. Kitae raised his forearm and blocked. Jichang followed with a rapid combination of strikes. His hands blurred as they cut through the space between them.
Kitae absorbed two strikes on his arms and twisted away from the third. The fourth caught him across the jaw. His head turned slightly from the force. Blood appeared at the corner of his mouth where the inside of his cheek split against his teeth.
Jichang stepped back and reset his stance. His breathing remained controlled, but his forearms ached from the blocking exchanges. He couldn't help but think that this monster had gotten stronger.
Kitae touched the blood on his lip with one finger and looked at it without interest. He wiped it on his jeans and returned his gaze to Jichang. His expression hadn't changed.
"All these years and you didn't improve at all," Kitae said. "You're still just the White Viper from years ago. It's not quite tasty."
Jichang didn't stop. He immediately rushed again.
Jichang slashed down vertically. Kitae stepped back at the last moment. Jichang's hand blade struck the asphalt and the street shattered beneath the impact. Chunks of pavement flew upward and cracks spiderwebbed across the surface.
Jichang brought his hand up in a vertical slash from below. Kitae's eyes widened slightly. He raised his palm to intercept the strike. The edge of Jichang's hand dug into Kitae's palm and blood welled up around the point of contact. The skin split and red ran down Kitae's wrist.
Kitae pushed Jichang's hand away and stepped back. He looked at his bleeding palm and flexed his fingers. Blood dripped onto the cracked pavement between them.
"It seems you have tried to improve, but it's useless even if you train both sides of your hand," Kitae said.
Taesoo Ma stepped forward. His body moved with surprising speed as he closed the distance to Kitae. His right fist cocked back, and every muscle in his body tensed at once.
"It seems you're so arrogant that you've forgotten that there are more of us!"
His legs drove upward, his core twisted, his back and shoulders rotated, and both arms channeled the force into his right fist. The strike shot forward with enough speed that the air around it compressed and created a visible distortion.
Kitae's eyes widened. He raised both arms to guard, but the technique was already in motion. The fist crashed through his defense and connected with his chest. The sound was like a hammer striking meat. Kitae's feet left the ground and he flew backward through the air.
His body slammed into the black sedan. The entire side of the car crumpled inward from the impact. Metal shrieked and glass exploded outward in a shower of fragments. The vehicle's frame buckled and the wheels on the opposite side lifted off the ground before slamming back down.
Kitae lay in the wreckage with his back against the destroyed door. A small amount of blood ran from his mouth.
Isu Jo stood beside the car with his mouth slightly open. He quickly closed it and his face returned to its neutral expression, but he did not call out to Kitae or move to help him.
Taesoo Ma lowered his fist and rolled his shoulder. His breathing had deepened and sweat beaded on his forehead. The muscles in his right arm trembled slightly from the exertion. He planted his feet and waited to see if Kitae would get back up. The technique put enormous strain on the body. Taesoo could not use it many more times without risking serious injury.
Kitae pushed himself away from the ruined car. His sunken black eyes focused on Taesoo Ma, and a smile spread across his blood-stained face.
"Now that's more like it," Kitae said. His voice came out rough. "I was starting to think this would be boring."
He took a step forward and looked down. Seokdu Wang had grabbed him by the collar. The grip was firm and the distance between them had closed to nothing.
Kitae's expression flattened. "But what are you trying to do?"
Seokdu's neck muscles tensed and his spine flexed forward. His legs drove upward and his scarred forehead shot toward Kitae's face.
"This should end it."
His forehead met Kitae's face. The collision sent a shockwave through Seokdu's skull and down his spine. Pain exploded across his forehead. His vision blurred and his grip on Kitae's collar loosened.
Kitae's face had not moved. The skin around his nose and cheekbones showed slight bruising. No blood appeared and no bones shifted beneath the surface.
Kitae grabbed Seokdu's wrist and yanked it off his collar. His other hand drove forward in a straight punch that caught Seokdu in the chest. The force lifted Seokdu off his feet and sent him flying backward through the air. His body crashed into the Rolls Royce with enough impact to cave in the passenger side door. Metal crumpled and glass shattered across the street. Seokdu slumped against the wreckage and did not immediately rise.
Gongseob Ji stared at the scene. His hands unclenched and his jaw tightened. Taesoo Ma's breathing deepened and his muscles tensed in preparation for another exchange.
Jichang looked at Kitae. His pupils contracted and his stance shifted slightly. The amount of punishment Kitae had to withstand from Taesoo Ma's strike was enough to knock out any opponent, but it barely did anything against Kitae. Seokdu's headbutt could break through nearly any defense. Kitae took it directly and showed no damage. No concussion, no broken bones, nothing at all. The monster from that time seemed to have become even more monstrous.
Kitae rolled his neck and the vertebrae popped. He looked at the four kings with the same blank expression he had worn since stepping out of the car.
"Is that all?" he asked.
---
Seongji stood before the law firm. He had come here on Jichang's instructions. There was a high chance that if the Red Paper was handed to the authorities, it might backfire. They needed someone who could help them.
Even though the Red Paper was solid evidence that was enough to prove Charles Choi's guilt, they would still need to find a way to get Baki out of jail. That was why he came to the expert.
As he approached the entrance, a security guard stopped him. Seeing the blood-covered Seongji, the security guard was highly alert.
He shouted. "Hey! Who are you? What do you want? Leave! Or else I will take action."
Seongji looked at the guard plainly. He knew this was a simple guard who was earning his livelihood. But the situation didn't allow him to explain anything.
Before the guard could even react, Seongji moved behind him and chopped his neck, knocking the guard unconscious.
He entered inside. The law firm was mostly empty. It was already night time. Everyone had already left, but the person he was looking for should still be here.
He slowly climbed to the second floor. He immediately noticed light coming from a slightly opened door.
He approached the office and knocked on the door.
A sharp female voice came from inside.
"Enter."
Seongji pushed the door and entered the office. He immediately noticed a man standing upright behind the woman. The man had black hair, sharp eyebrows and a pronounced jawline.
Though Seongji couldn't recognize the person, he certainly felt that this was no ordinary man.
The man was Nam Woocheol, a member of ARES.
Seongji turned his attention to the woman. She was busy looking into some documents. She looked up at Seongji. Seeing him, her eyes narrowed.
"What are you doing here?"