Chapter 254: Punishing the Recovery
"He—he's gone?!"
Fusui Kure stared intensely at the tactical monitors. She frantically adjusted
the audio levels and shouted into her headset, "Yamashita-san! Did Gaia escape?
Or is the camera feed glitching?!"
"N-no, it's neither—!"
Kazuo Yamashita stammered into his mic, his voice trembling. "Gaia has vanished!
He's really nowhere to be found!!"
Whether inside the building or watching the perimeter screens, everyone's eyes
were glued to the scene. Ren Shiroki had dropped into a high-alert defensive
posture, his head turning as he searched the darkness, yet he too could find no
trace of his opponent.
The next second—Zip!
A blurred silhouette flickered past Ren, moving with the ethereal grace of a
ghost. Before Ren could even register the trajectory, the figure had merged back
into the shadows of the soot-filled hallway.
Mitsunari Tokugawa stared, his jaw hanging open. He turned to the Kure
Patriarch. "Erio! What is this?!"
"It's camouflage," Erio Kure replied, his brow deeply furrowed. "Gaia is using
the blood and sweat on his skin to act as an adhesive. He's coated himself in
the black ash of the explosion, effectively painting himself into the background
of the wreckage. He has literally merged with the warzone!"
Tokugawa blinked. "Camouflage of that level? He's basically invisible!!"
Inside the building, the shock was even greater.
Even Ohma Tokita, who had survived the lawless streets of The Inside, widened
his eyes. He was stunned by the sheer effectiveness of Gaia's Environmental
Tactics.
"In the middle of the dust and smoke... you can't see him at all? How the hell
is he hiding that well?!"
Zip!
Amidst their hesitation, a heavy combat boot swept through the darkness,
catching Ren square in the side.
THUD!
Ren was kicked off-balance. He gritted his teeth against the pain, stumbling
several steps before managing to steady himself. A massive, angry welt began to
form on his waist.
In a state where he couldn't defend and had no visual cue to prepare for the
impact, the lethality of the strikes increased exponentially. To a fighter, this
was basic math. And with Gaia's perfect camouflage, he could deliver these "free
hits" whenever he pleased.
"Here I come~!"
Gaia's voice drifted through the hallway, appearing to come from everywhere at
once.
Ren raised his forearms in a high guard, protecting his face while dropping his
weight. His pupils darted around, trying to track the source of the sound.
Suddenly, a palm shot out from the void behind him, the palm-root driving into
Ren's shoulder blades.
BANG!
Ren took the hit, his teeth clattering from the shock. He didn't break his form;
he focused on rapid-fire adjustment, resetting his center of gravity while
maintaining his guard.
The next few seconds were a nightmare.
Bang! Slap! Thud!
One strike after another rained down on Ren. While Gaia wasn't landing clean
hits on the vitals, he was racking up damage—opening fresh cuts and creating
deep bruises.
The terrifying part was that, to an outsider, it looked like Ren was being
beaten by a ghost. He was reeling and cowering under the assault, yet there was
no one in front of him!
Watching this, Sikorsky felt a cold dread settle in his stomach. He had assumed
Ren and Gaia were just having a "friendly spar" after the night's main event. He
never expected to see a technique this horrific.
"What is Gaia hiding for?!" Sikorsky growled, his pride as a brawler offended.
"Why won't he fight like a man, face-to-face?!"
BANG!
A heavy punch slammed into Ren's crossed forearms.
The moment the strike landed, a rhythmic tap-tap of footsteps echoed through the
hall. Gaia, his skin mottled gray and black from the ash, suddenly materialized.
He retreated several paces to a safe distance, his eyes glowing with an eerie
light in the darkness.
"Fight like a man? You have quite a mouth on you, convict," Gaia panted lightly,
his gaze shifting to Sikorsky. "Mr. Sikorsky, what do you think Ren and I are
doing right now?"
Sikorsky remained silent. Gaia answered his own question.
"It is Combat."
"We are currently in a state of 'Battle,' not 'Martial Arts'!"
Gaia dropped his weight, his arms hanging low. "Survival. It is a competition
for the right to exist, where Ren Shiroki and I have wagered everything."
"Therefore, the use of camouflage isn't 'cowardly.' It is a mandatory tactical
action taken to ensure survival in a lethal environment!"
That final sentence left Sikorsky speechless. He noticed that despite the
barrage of "invisible" hits, Ren's defensive posture hadn't crumbled. He hadn't
panicked.
In other words... Ren Shiroki had already accepted the logic of this "Battle."
Gaia stepped forward, closing the distance to Ren once more.
"Hmph. As I thought. Aside from that first kick, none of my attacks managed to
cause any significant damage. Your persistence is truly terrifying."
Zip!
Gaia launched a high-roundhouse kick. His boot kicked up a fresh cloud of soot
from the floor, and his silhouette seemed to dissolve back into the haze
instantly. His voice began to drift through the room again.
"Let me see the limits of your 'Soul Combat'..."
Whoosh!
A heavy punch slammed into Ren's forearm, but the block was perfect. It was
followed by a low-level sweep aimed at Ren's right ankle, but Ren simply tensed
his muscle and tanked the hit, his stance remaining unshakeable.
"HA!"
Gaia roared, his fists and feet falling like a tropical rainstorm. He struck Ren
repeatedly, the sound of impacts echoing in a rapid thud-thud-thud that grew
faster with every breath.
But the actual damage being dealt was negligible.
As the flurry continued, Ren began to read the patterns. He used micro-movements
to shift his weight, absorbing the impacts on his densest muscles and parrying
the rest. Gaia realized his suppressive fire was losing its effectiveness. He
made a decisive tactical shift.
"Playing defense won't save you! I'll just take your eyes!"
He extended two fingers, aiming for the gap between Ren's arms and his face. He
intended to drive his fingers straight into Ren's eyes.
Zip!
The nearly invisible fingers darted forward. They found their mark, striking
Ren's right eye.
But in that exact millisecond, Ren's right arm snapped inward. He clamped his
bicep against his chest, trapping Gaia's arm in a vice-like grip!
Ren tilted his head back. His right eye was bloodshot from the strike, making
his expression look truly demonic.
"Even an invisible man... can be caught the moment he makes contact!"
Whoosh!
Ren seized Gaia's forearm with both hands. He twisted his shoulders, utilizing
the core mechanics of the Muay Thai clinch to shake Gaia's center of gravity. He
yanked the petite soldier downward and drove a rising knee upward.
[SAGAT'S TIGER KNEE]!
BANG!
The knee smashed into Gaia's face. Blood sprayed from the soldier's nose as
several teeth were knocked loose. The force of the impact launched Gaia
vertically, his head colliding with the ceiling.
CRUNCH!
"GUUGH—!"
Gaia let out a sharp cry as the impact rattled his internal organs. As he began
to fall, Ren coiled to follow up.
In that heartbeat, Gaia's adrenaline spiked to a fresh high. Veins throbbed on
his legs as he drove his feet into the ceiling, the plaster cracking under the
force. He used the counter-pressure to launch himself downward, altering his
falling trajectory.
Zip!
The moment his feet touched the carpet, Gaia retreated. He launched a low sweep
to kick up a fresh screen of ash, disappearing into his camouflage state once
more.
But this time, he didn't try to close for a vital strike. He used the cover of
his invisibility to launch a relentless barrage of Ash Missiles.
BOOM!
A concentrated ball of gravel and ash was hurled at Ren's chest.
Gaia was now operating at 100% tactical efficiency. He constantly shifted his
position after every throw, using the soot to mask his movements and prevent Ren
from closing the distance.
The spectators watched in awe.
He's gone again! I can't see him!
No matter how hard they stared at the monitors, they couldn't find the "Origin
Point" of the attacks. Ren was trapped, forced to endure a constant bombardment
of projectiles.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ren was pelted by the missiles, blood staining his skin. He slowly dropped into
a crouch, looking as though he were finally being broken. His silhouette was
gradually being swallowed by the rising dust.
Inside Ren's mind, the [ENGINE] was screaming. The ink-wash lines swirled in the
haze, creating waves in the soot. The phantom of Cammy White flickered through
the chaos.
Facing this "Environmental Firepower," Ren maintained his defense while his mind
began to synthesize a solution.
[You're finally starting to look like a real soldier!]
Cammy's voice echoed in his head, offering a final lesson.
[To beat a hidden enemy, you must track the Lag. Precisely capture the recovery
frames after their attack to launch your counter. Force the transition from
defense to offense.]
[Use the lag of his motion to confirm your target. We call this... the [FRAME
PUNISH]!]
"Thanks for the tip... Sensei!"
Ren bared his teeth, his mouth full of grit. He coiled his power to the absolute
limit in his crouch.
"MISSION START—!!"
Ren drove his palm into the floor. At the exact microsecond Gaia's next missile
hit his guard, Ren twisted his hips and core, his legs whipping around in a
high-velocity spinning kick.
He used the torque to launch his entire body forward in a low-altitude aerial
charge.
[CAMMY'S SPIRAL ARROW]!
WHOOSH!
In an instant, Ren's boots slammed into Gaia's stomach. The "invisible" soldier
was launched backward into the wall with a thunderous BOOM.
"Gwah—!"
Gaia retched a spray of blood as he bounced off the masonry. His camouflage was
shattered; he was a visible, bloodied target. Ren didn't give him a heartbeat to
reset. He lunged forward, his hands seizing Gaia's shoulders. His killing intent
was so dense it seemed to thicken the air around them.
The observers stared at the screens, stunned.
Tokugawa gasped. "How?! How did he find him?!"
Erio Kure rubbed his chin, a glimmer of respect in his eyes. "The logic is
simple, but the execution is impossible. He caught Gaia in his recovery frames."
"Compared to a punch or a kick, the 'Lag' from throwing a heavy projectile is
massive. You have to wind up and follow through with the whole arm. Ren didn't
look for the body; he looked for the Motion."
"By punishing the throw, he caught the man." Erio gave a low, amused chuckle.
"Fusui's choice in men is... interesting. To maintain that level of alertness
under suppressive fire... he's a beast."
Ren's fingers dug into Gaia's shoulders, pinning the elite soldier. Both men
were drenched in blood and soot. They took a synchronized, heavy breath.
"Phew..."
The next second, Gaia snarled, trying to launch a side-kick.
Zip!
The kick missed.
Ren had already leaped. Using Gaia's shoulders as a fulcrum, he vaulted his
entire mass upward. He performed a mid-air handstand on the soldier's shoulders,
his core twisting with violent force.
WHIRL!
Gaia's balance was deleted. His body followed the arc of Ren's rotation,
spinning around.
The maneuver resulted in Gaia standing with his back to Ren, while Ren—still
supported by the soldier's shoulders—performed a mid-air drop.
"HYAH!!"
Ren descended from the front, his body tracing a semi-circle in the air before
slamming his mass into Gaia's back.
BANG!
Ren arched his body, his feet pinning Gaia's knees to the floor to force a
collapse. As they hit the carpet, Ren's arms snaked forward, locking around
Gaia's neck in a deep rear-naked choke. He applied high-pressure torque to the
carotid arteries.
Ultimate Secret Art: [CAMMY'S KILLER BEE SPIN]!
Gaia's eyes rolled back. White foam began to leak from his mouth as his body
went limp. The Deity of the Earth fell silent.
(End of Chapter)
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