Chapter 147: Real Man (3)
“Pfft! Hah! Ahahahaha!!!”
The sound of his clear laughter rang out in the basement that was brightened by dim lights.
“Wow, you really knew about it all?”
Sakaki’s eyes shone with interest while looking at Ohjin. Despite all of his plans going down the drain, his attitude was completely laid-back.
‘Either he’s not right in the head, or he still has more hidden cards prepared.’
There was also the possibility that it was both.
Ohjin calmly looked at Sakaki and Koshiro.
“…Koshiro, is that true?”
“…”
“I asked if it was true.”
Sakak coldly looked down at Koshiro, who was weeping with his head dropped.
“I’m sorry… Oyabun.”
“…”
Sakaki’s tightly clenched fists trembled, and he exhaled a deep breath as he slowly closed his eyes.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
Koshiro repeatedly apologized like a broken machine while tears continued to drip down his face.
“Shouldn’t you give him mercy if he’s apologizing like that? Just like you did to me.”
Sosuke laughed joyfully while taunting Sakaki.
“Kurosaki Sosuke.”
The thick veins in Sakaki’s forehead popped up as he pulled in his hand that was holding Sosuke’s collar, and he then violently swung his fist.
His fist containing an intangible shockwave hit the middle of Sosuke’s forehead dead-on.
Splash!!—
A sound that didn’t seem like it was from punching a human’s face but rather a puddle of water rang out.
Sosuke’s face caved into the shape of a fist and slowly returned to its original appearance as if time was flowing in reverse.
‘What is he, T-1000?’
Ohjin chuckled as he looked at Sosuke’s body turn into water like a liquid monster.
It would have normally been impossible to turn his body into liquid form like that because of the handcuffs that restrict the flow of mana, however…
‘Koshiro probably released them.’
The one who’d taken Sosuke to the basement was Koshiro in the first place. With his younger sister captured as a hostage, there was no way he would properly tie him up.
“Hahaha! Those kinds of attacks don’t work on me.”
Sosuke cackled while twisting his body.
Gurgle—
His body that’d turned into liquid form slid out of Sakaki’s hand.
“You dare!” shouted Sakaki as he raised his fist once again.
His fist was held back like he was pulling the string of a bow.
The stigma of Taurus emitted intense light as shockwaves started to condense in his fist.
If Sosuke could absorb the shock by turning his body into water, Sakaki simply had to have enough power to completely obliterate the water itself.
Swoosh!!—
His fist containing condensed shockwaves swung at Sosuke.
At that moment, Koshiro, who was sitting down, suddenly got up and stood in front of Sosuke. He crossed his arms into the shape of a cross and created a shield of blue light over his arms.
“Kuh?!”
With an expression of shock on his face, Sakaki tried to stop his fist, but he couldn’t stop a fist that was already on the verge of impact.
Baaaaaang!!—
Simultaneous with the loud sound of an explosion, Koshiro’s body skidded back.
“Cough!”
The shield was miserably destroyed while blood started to leak out of the gaps of his mouth.
“Huh, you protected me? That was so cool that I just might fall for you.”
“Shut… up!”
Koshiro furiously stared at Sosuke, who was making provoking remarks.
“Hmm? Should you be saying those kinds of arrogant words?”
Sosuke laughed slightly and slowly raised his hand.
“The poison in your little sister will run wild with the slight movement of one of my fingers here, you know?”
“Th-That’s!”
Koshiro’s face became dyed in white from fear.
“N-No!! Please, anything but that!!!”
He quickly got down on his knees and held onto Sosuke’s pants.
“I wonder~ What should I do? Should I start by spreading the poison around her waist and make her disabled? Or maybe spread it near her face and make it so that she can’t walk around with her face exposed for the rest of her life?”
“I-I did everything you told me to!!! N-No! Please, anything but my little sister…”
“Hahahaha!!”
It appeared that Sosuke found the way Koshiro begged amusing, as he clutched his belly and uncontrollably laughed.
“…Koshiro.”
Sakaki looked down at Koshiro, who was bowing his head down under Sosuke’s feet, with a stiff expression.
His clenched fists trembled.
When he was about to take a step forward as his patience reached its limit—
“What a bunch of bullshit.”
—Ohjin moved first and sprinted at Sosuke.
His tremendous acceleration speed made it seem like his body was stretching out, and a trail of blue lightning blazed in his wake.
Ohjin took a steel rod out of his belt while approaching Sosuke and surged mana into it.
Whirr! Clack!—
The steel rod gave off light and turned into a spear once it received the mana.
Swoosh!!—
The tip of the spear was swung with clean movements and pierced through Sosuke’s solar plexus.
However…
Splash!—
Once again, Sosuke’s body turned into water as the spear pierced through him and caused no damage.
“Didn’t I say those kinds of attacks are useless?”
“Is that right?”
Ohjin smirked and sent lightning down the spear.
He imagined a lightning rod in his head.
Like gathering lightning striking down from the sky, blue lightning started to form at the tip of the spear that was piercing through Sosuke’s body.
‘Blue Lightning.’
Blue lightning exploded in the shape of a fan and severely spread through Sosuke’s body as it was in liquid form.
Bzzzzzzzzzt!!—
“Kugh!!”
Sosuke’s expression distorted.
He groaned and urgently stepped back to escape the range of the lightning.
“Goddammit…!”
It appeared that the pain that came from the lightning was rather intense, as Sosuke stared at Ohjin with an enraged expression.
“I’ll be the one to face him, so you should hold Koshiro back.”
“However…”
“Your attacks won’t work on him, anyway.”
“…”
Sakaki looked at Sosuke, whose entire body had turned into a liquid, and dropped his head.
“I understand.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll vaporize that slime bastard so that there’s no trace of him remaining.”
Ha-eun’s eyes shone fiercely as she stood next to Ohjin.
After barely escaping out of the lightning’s range, the edges of Sosuke’s lips rose as he laughed slyly.
“But do you really have the time to be fighting with me here?”
“What?”
“It’s about time for it to start.”
“…For what to start?” Ha-eun asked as she was staring at Sosuke with disgust in her eyes.
Sosuke whistled and answered shortly.
“The massacre.”
“…What?”
Ha-eun’s shoulders flinched from the answer that reeked of blood.
“I ordered my subordinates to standby at the ‘digestion facilities’ and indiscriminately attack every person nearby if you guys didn’t arrive on time.”
“Y-You crazy son of a bitch!!”
Ha-eun shouted with a shocked expression and quickly took out her phone.
She couldn’t read Japanese, but could see the broadcast of Osaka in flames on the news in real time.
“The number of casualties will get out of hand if you don’t deal with it quickly, you know?”
Sosuke grated their nerves and cackled.
‘So this is the hidden card he had prepared.’
Ohjin clicked his tongue and looked at Ha-eun’s phone to see the state of Osaka.
He wondered why Sosuke had been so relaxed despite his plans getting exposed, and it turned out that he had such a move prepared.
“Ohjin, this is…”
Ha-eun looked at her phone with a big frown.
—Osaka engulfed in flames.
The way the Awakeners of Hippocampus were indiscriminately attacking people was clearly broadcasted through the intensely shaking camera.
“Those sons of bitches…!”
Ha-eun clenched her fists tight and trembled out of anger.
Unlike Ohjin, who didn’t really care whether other people died or not, she had a good-natured heart. It was hard for her to maintain her composure while looking at thousands of people getting massacred.
“Ha-eun, take the members of Kuroushi and deal with those bastards.”
“But…”
“I’m more than enough to take care of him.”
Ohjin looked at Sosuke and lightly grasped his spear.
There was a high probability that Sosuke had more hidden cards prepared, based on his leisurely attitude, however…
‘That doesn’t mean I can sit still in this situation.’
There was one conclusion he could come to after fighting with numerous Awakeners of Hippocampus until then:
‘Those bastards can’t beat me.’
Ohjin smirked at Sosuke and slightly pushed Ha-eun as she was hesitating.
“Hurry up and go, Ha-eun.”
“…You can really deal with him alone, right?”
“Have you ever seen me lie?”
“Too many fucking times.”
“Aha… Anyways, I’m not lying this time, so don’t worry.”
“Ugh. Don’t you dare get beat up after saying that. I won’t let you rest in peace.”
Ha-eun turned around and quickly ran out of the basement.
“Follow her,” Sakaki said with a stiff expression to his clan members that were awaiting his orders.
Once Ha-eun and the clan members of Kuroushi left the basement, there were only Sakaki, Koshiro, and Ohjin remaining.
* * *
* * *
“Ehh, you’re going to face me alone?”
Sosuke looked at Ohjin with ridicule.
His solar plexus that was pierced by the spear melted and regenerated back into its original form.
“Have you lost it just because you landed a single successful attack?”
“I don’t think those are the words that should come from someone who whined after getting hit.”
“Hah, you’re really on your high horse just because lightning attacks work.”
Sosuke clicked his tongue in a provoking manner.
“But oh no, how should I break this to you?”
The stigma of Hippocampus engraved on his left chest started to emit light.
Once the surface of his left arm that was cut off started to wiggle, a whole new left arm was created.
Bubble, bubble—
Bubbles started to rise in his body with the sound of boiling water.
Particles so small that they couldn’t be seen by the naked eye mixed with the bubbles and excreted out of his body.
“Don’t you know that lightning doesn’t flow through pure water?”
Tap!—
Sosuke made his move and sprinted to Ohjin.
Ohjin swung his spear low and aimed for Sosuke’s knees.
With the sound of splashing water, the spear went through his body.
‘Lightning Charge.’
Bzzzzzzzt!!—
Ohjin used Lightning Charge at the exact time when the spear was passing through Sosuke’s knee, but the blue lightning didn’t travel through his body and gradually disappeared in vain.
“I told you it wouldn’t work, dumbass!”
Sosuke laughed and struck down using his arms in the shape of an X as they turned into the shape of two sharp scythes.
“…”
Ohjin activated the ‘Stigma of Clepsydra’ with a calm expression.
The world suddenly moved in slow motion.
Ohjin confirmed where Sosuke’s attack was heading in advance and avoided his attacks with minimal movements.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swish!—
“Eek!”
The attacks futilely split apart the air.
Ohjin narrowly avoided all of Sosuke’s attacks with not even a 3cm gap between him and the attacks.
It was like watching a pro boxing athlete mocking and avoiding the attacks of an amatuer.
Swoosh! Swish! Swoosh!—
“Y-You fucker!!”
Sosuke swore out of frustration while swinging his arms.
Even if he wasn’t specialized for close-range combat, anger soared up when he couldn’t even graze Ohjin’s clothes.
“Goddammit!”
Sosuke created distance and spread his arms wide. His entire body started to boil again, and spherical droplets of water exited his body.
Ohjin smiled and looked at Sosuke, who had egg-like droplets gushing out of his body.
“Come to think of it, don’t male seahorses give birth?”
“Are you pregnant?”
