Rio…?"
Riko stared at his friend lying there, helpless.
Rage surged through him. He charged and threw a powerful hook at the thug. The attack missed as the man dodged, and Riko's fist instead smashed into the wall behind him.
"That hurt like hell… I punched a wall instead?!" he growled.
Riko's body felt like concrete. He stepped forward again without hesitation, grabbed the thug's head, and slammed it into the wall until it cracked and blood dripped down.
"One Finished.."
Riko crouched beside Rio. Rio was still breathing, but his eyes were empty. Not angry, not afraid. It was like his mind was stuck somewhere else.
"What is that sound…?" Rio whispered inside his own head. "What is that, Riko…?" Without King's Sense, his old fear crawled back up.
"Even if I wake up… what can I even do? If I die, I'll just accept it…" Rio thought, his body trembling without resistance. Deep down, he had already surrendered to whatever would happen.
"Big brother!!!"
Rani's scream pierced the fog in his mind like lightning.
Rio froze.
"Even now… I can hear my sister…"
Then he realized something important.
"Huh? Didn't I come here to save her? So why am I the one scared like this…?"
He remembered the old man's words.
"No matter how weak he is, he still has you."
Rio swallowed. "You're right, old man… she has me."
For the first time, Rio understood he hadn't come here as a coward. Not as the weak student who always gave up. He came as a brother. Even with fear clinging to him, he chose to stand against it.
"How do I wake up…?" he whispered, trapped in the empty space beneath his consciousness.
He took a long breath.
"I have to accept it. I accept that I'm weak. I accept that I'm a coward. I have to accept it."
Rio smiled faintly in his mind. His emotions returned to normal.
"I'm back? …I got too emotional earlier."
Finally, Rio became himself again. "King's Sense didn't disappear… it was just buried under emotion, huh?"
In that inner silence, he closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. When he opened them again, the dark space cracked and vanished.
He felt his fingers move. Then his arm followed.
"This… I can move again," he muttered.
His breathing steadied. King's Sense reignited, calm, cold, clear.
Rio lifted his head. His empty gaze turned sharp.
Riko, who had just taken down two more thugs, looked at him. "Took you long enough." They smiled like usual.
"Did I miss the party?" Rio whispered.
He stood beside Riko, facing the last thug and the two girls, Rani and her friend. Rio felt slightly suspicious of the friend.
Riko cracked his fingers, ready to charge again even though he was breathing hard. Rio wiped the blood from his cheek and brushed his hair back. His calm, cold aura returned.
He raised his hand and pointed at his sister.
"Hey, old man," he said flatly. "You should put my sister down."
Then he glanced at the woman beside the thug. "And you. Stay away from my sister after this."
She laughed mockingly. "Haha, is he serious or just stupid? Look, Peter, these kids are threatening us."
The thug finally stood up. Much bigger than the others. This was Peter.
His muscles were dense, shoulders broad, eyes dangerous. Riko exhaled.
"I've got a bad feeling…"
Rani cried. "Big brother… please go…!"
Peter grabbed Rani's hair and lifted her slightly. "Your sister's noisy. Mind if I throw her away?" he sneered, trying to provoke Rio.
Rio only smiled. Too calm.
"You're threatening me? That's funny," he replied softly.
Riko let out a breath of relief. "He's smiling again…"
Rio always smiled before a fight.
Peter laughed harshly. "You're not even moving? If I throw her now, she might die. Want to see your sister die in front of you?!"
Rio lifted his chin. "Your name's Peter, right? You want to throw her? Go ahead."
Then he added flatly, "A grown man provoking school kids… aren't you embarrassed of that mustache?"
That hit Peter's ego harder than any punch.
"Cocky brat!"
Peter lifted Rani high and threw her backward. "I'm still a second-year student!! DIE!" he shouted like he was tossing trash.
In an instant, Rio vanished.
He reappeared behind Peter and caught Rani before she hit the floor. The movement was so smooth the air seemed to shake.
Rani cried in his arms. Rio gently stroked her head. "It's okay… it's okay…"
Peter stepped back. For the first time, he was wary.
"How did he move? I didn't even see him… That speed rivals mine…"
His anger exploded. He jumped and kicked at Rio's head with terrifying speed.
"RIO!!" Riko shouted.
Rio, still holding Rani, dodged effortlessly.
"I learned a new technique," Rio thought casually as the wall behind them exploded from the kick.
He set Rani down and pushed her toward Riko. "Take my sister outside. Go for a walk. This will… take a little time."
He then glanced at the hole in the wall and smiled faintly.
"I was wrong. Not a little time. A lot."
His eyes turned cold, focused, dangerous.
Peter finally realized. The one standing before him wasn't just a "school kid." This was someone worth fighting.
"I'll get serious!" Peter roared and charged.
His kick smashed into Rio's face, sending him flying through a wall. Debris crashed down. Blood flowed from Rio's nose and lips.
"What was that…? For someone that big, he's fast. Even King's Sense read it late… That hurt like hell."
Through the dust, Peter's massive silhouette stepped forward.
Rio stood again.
Peter smirked. "You are fast."
Rio spun and kicked at Peter's head.
Thud.
Peter blocked it with one hand.
"Is that all?"
Rio vanished again.
"What?!" Peter gasped.
Rio appeared at his blind spot and slammed a hook into the back of Peter's head.
Peter staggered forward, holding his head. "That speed again… what the hell…"
The fight truly began. Punches, kicks, counters. Each exchange shook the room. Onlookers gasped.
"Who is that kid…?"
"He's almost matching Peter…"
Meanwhile outside, Rani walked beside Riko, still crying. "Is big brother okay…?"
Riko patted her shoulder. "Relax. I trust him."
Back inside, Peter grabbed Rio's face in a crushing grip.
"Got you!!"
Rio flipped his body upward, escaped midair, landed on his hands, and swung both legs like hammers into Peter's chest.
Peter staggered back, breath exploding from his lungs.
Rio rushed forward again, faster than before. He jumped high and delivered a full-force double kick to Peter's face.
The impact blasted Peter through the wall.
The room froze.
Dust fell like rain.
Rio stood in the rubble, chest rising and falling fast, but his eyes burned with new certainty. Each movement made him stronger, as if his body was learning the fight and adapting in real time.
The battle was far from over. But now, Rio had truly stepped onto the battlefield.