After roaming around for a long while, Seongji still couldn't find Alexander and Jerry.
He had found a secret basement stair though. As he went down, he could hear some noise. Following it, he reached the entrance to a room.
What he found inside wasn't something he had expected. Vin Jin was lying on the floor defeated. There was the other kid named Zack who used to visit the convenience store Seongji worked at previously. Then there were a few other guys he couldn't recognize. All of them were knocked out.
Something flew past him suddenly and slammed against the wall. It was someone Seongji knew very well. Despite the big changes, Seongji could still recognize the person. Little Daniel. The fat, short boy who used to work part time with him at the convenience store.
Seongji immediately crouched down and called out. "Daniel, are you okay?"
Daniel was also knocked unconscious.
Seongji's ear twitched as he felt slow footsteps approaching him.
Seongji looked over. Another person Seongji had known for a while was standing there. Big Daniel, the tall, handsome student from J High. A close friend of Little Daniel.
Seongji couldn't understand what was happening. Did Big Daniel do all this?
Seongji stared at the figure approaching him. Daniel's face showed nothing. No recognition. No emotion. His eyes were blank and his movements were mechanical.
"Daniel, what happened here?" Seongji gestured at the unconscious bodies scattered around the room. "Why did you do this?"
Daniel lunged forward without warning.
Seongji's body reacted before his mind could process what was happening. He caught Daniel's wrist mid-strike, his six-fingered grip locking around the joint. The force behind the punch made Seongji's arm shake. Daniel pulled back immediately, twisting out of the hold with practiced efficiency.
"Daniel, stop!" Seongji stepped back with his hands raised. "It's me, Seongji. From the convenience store, remember?"
Daniel came at him again. This time he aimed low, driving his shoulder into Seongji's midsection. Seongji absorbed the impact and wrapped both arms around Daniel's torso, his fingers digging into Daniel's ribs. He squeezed and felt the bones bend under his grip.
Daniel didn't cry out. He slammed his palm into Seongji's jaw and snapped his head to the side. Another strike followed immediately and forced Seongji to release him.
Seongji shoved hard. Daniel slid backward across the floor but remained upright. His stance was already resetting.
"Something's wrong with you." Seongji's eyes glinted red. His muscles swelled as strength flooded through him. "I'll knock some sense into you."
He closed the distance in two steps and threw a right hook. Daniel's hand came up and deflected the blow inches from his face. Seongji followed with a left, then another right. Daniel blocked each one. His movements were economical and precise.
Seongji feinted high and drove his fist into Daniel's stomach. The impact would have dropped most fighters. Daniel's body bent slightly, then straightened. His counter-punch caught Seongji across the jaw.
Blood filled Seongji's mouth. He spat and realized that something was very wrong. How could someone this young match Seongji's strength? It was unbelievable.
Daniel pressed forward. His next punch came differently. The strike carried massive force, more concentrated than before, as if all of Daniel's power had been compressed into a single devastating blow. Seongji blocked it, but the impact drove him back three feet and made his forearms go numb.
"What was that?" Seongji shook out his arms. The power behind that punch was different from the others. It reminded him of Taesoo Ma, but how could Daniel use Taesoo Ma's move?
Daniel didn't answer. He came forward with the same type of strike, a heavy overwhelming punch that seemed designed to end fights in one hit. Seongji dodged instead of blocking. The punch cratered the concrete wall behind him.
Seongji grabbed for Daniel's extended arm, but Daniel's footwork shifted completely. He stepped to the side with precise boxing movement and repositioned himself at an angle that made Seongji's grab miss entirely. Before Seongji could adjust, Daniel's counter caught him in the ribs.
The punch used Seongji's own momentum against him and redirected the force of his failed grab into additional power. Seongji felt his ribs crack and had to create distance immediately.
"You're using different techniques." Seongji circled left. Daniel mirrored him with that same precise footwork and maintained perfect positioning. "Where did you learn all of this?"
Daniel attacked again. His movement pattern changed mid-approach. Instead of the boxing footwork, he suddenly accelerated with a spinning motion. The kick came faster than Seongji expected and caught him in the shoulder before he could fully block.
The rotational force behind the kick sent Seongji stumbling sideways. He'd seen kicks before, but the velocity was extreme. The spin generated momentum that made it almost impossible to track. The kick reminded him of Jaegyeon Na.
Seongji's eyes glinted blue. He rushed in with rapid strikes and tried to overwhelm Daniel before he could use another one of those techniques.
Daniel adapted immediately and matched Seongji's speed. His style shifted again mid-exchange. The technical precision vanished and was replaced by something raw and brutal. Daniel's strikes became savage and abandoned form entirely for pure physical dominance.
A wild haymaker caught Seongji across the temple. Another brutal strike slammed into his kidney. These weren't refined techniques but they carried terrifying power behind them, as if Daniel had stopped caring about proper form and was simply trying to break Seongji through sheer force. "Whose fighting style is this? This innate strength is different from a simple skill."
Seongji's eyes glinted red and met brutality with strength. They traded blows in close quarters. Each hit landed with bone-breaking force. Blood sprayed from Seongji's mouth. His vision blurred.
Daniel's fighting style switched again. The savage brutality disappeared and was replaced by those massive concentrated punches from earlier. One caught Seongji in the chest. He felt ribs crack from the impact. He stumbled backward and tried to create space.
Daniel closed the distance with that precise boxing footwork and positioned himself perfectly to land another counter. Seongji threw a desperate hook, but Daniel's positioning made the punch travel farther than it should have and weakened the impact. Daniel's counter caught Seongji clean on the jaw. This fighting style reminded him of Gongseob Ji.
Seongji was profoundly confused. How could one single person use so many fighting styles perfectly?
Seongji crashed into the wall. He pushed off it immediately. His eyes glinted blue as he burst forward with speed. Daniel matched his velocity within seconds. Their hands became blurs as they exchanged rapid strikes.
In the middle of the speed exchange, Daniel suddenly transitioned into a spinning kick. The rotation was blindingly fast. Seongji barely got his arms up in time. The impact still drove him back several feet.
"How many styles do you know?" Seongji's breathing was getting heavier. "You're switching between completely different techniques."
Daniel came forward again. This time his hand position changed into something Seongji recognized. His fingers straightened and pressed together. The edge of his palm led the strike.
The hand blade came at Seongji's neck. Seongji barely ducked under it and heard the wall behind him crack deeply from the force. He looked at the damage, then at Daniel's hand.
"That's Jichang Kwak's technique." Seongji's voice was quiet. "The hand blade. You even know that?"
Daniel attacked with the hand blade again. The edge of his palm cut through the air with precision. Seongji caught his wrist with both hands and stopped the chop inches from his collarbone. Daniel's other hand came around in an identical strike. Seongji had to release one hand to catch that wrist too.
They struggled in close. Daniel kept attempting the hand blade strikes and tried to slip past Seongji's defense. Seongji felt the edge of Daniel's hand graze his shoulder. His shirt tore from just that glancing contact. The skin underneath split open in a shallow cut.
Seongji used his weight to force Daniel backward and then swept his legs. Daniel hit the ground but immediately rolled away. He came up already transitioning into a different style. The hand blade technique was abandoned and replaced by that savage, brutal approach again.
Daniel rushed forward with wild strikes that had no technical refinement but carried enormous power. Seongji's eyes glinted green and hardened his body to absorb the impacts. The punches landed like sledgehammers against his reinforced muscles.
Seongji countered with his own powerful strike. His eyes blazed red. Daniel took the hit and kept coming. He seemed unfazed. His durability was extreme and shrugged off damage that would have dropped most fighters.
Daniel's style switched again mid-combination. The brutal strikes transitioned seamlessly into that precise boxing footwork. He circled around Seongji's guard and landed a perfect counter that used Seongji's own momentum against him.
Seongji's head snapped back. Before he could recover, Daniel hit him with one of those devastating concentrated punches, the kind that carried all his power in a single strike. Seongji's guard buckled. The punch drove into his chest and cracked more ribs.
Seongji stumbled backward. His breathing was labored. Daniel pursued with a spinning kick. The rotation generated velocity that made it nearly impossible to block properly. The kick caught Seongji in the side. He felt something tear.
"This is strange." Seongji coughed and tasted blood. "You don't seem like Daniel Park. You fight like a machine. What are you?"
Daniel came at him again. His hands formed the hand blade position. The chop came at Seongji's collarbone. Seongji twisted aside and the strike missed by inches. It left a deep gouge in the concrete wall.
Daniel immediately transitioned into the boxing footwork and repositioned himself before Seongji could counter. Another one of those massive concentrated punches came at Seongji's head. Seongji ducked under it and tried to grapple, but Daniel's movements became savage and brutal again. He broke free with raw physical force.
They clashed in the center of the room. Daniel matched Seongji's strength and speed. His durability even surpassed Seongji's. Daniel didn't seem to get tired at all.
Blood poured from cuts on Seongji's face and torso. His ribs were broken in multiple places. His shoulder was bruised deep purple. Every breath sent pain shooting through his chest.
Daniel had marks on his face and body. Blood came from his nose and cuts above his eye and on his cheek, but nothing slowed him down. His perfect body absorbed damage that would have crippled anyone else.
Seongji's legs trembled. His movements had slowed noticeably. Sweat and blood soaked through his torn shirt. He'd been fighting at maximum intensity for nearly ten minutes.
Daniel's breathing remained steady. His stance was still perfect. He showed no signs of fatigue at all.
"You're not getting tired." Seongji created space. His chest was heaving. "I wonder how Baki would feel if he found an opponent like you. He would be crazy happy I guess. A never tiring opponent with such strength and skill feels unreal."
Daniel closed the gap with that precise boxing footwork and positioned himself perfectly. Seongji threw desperate attacks, but Daniel matched him blow for blow. Daniel surpassed him.
Daniel's hand blade strike cut through his shirt and opened a deep gash across his chest.
Seongji slumped against the wall. His vision swam. His body was screaming at him to stop, that it couldn't take much more.
Daniel approached with mechanical precision and seamlessly transitioned between fighting styles. The hand blade. The concentrated devastating punches. The perfect counter-punching footwork. The spinning kicks. The savage brutal strikes. Each technique was executed flawlessly. No human could ever do that.
"Daniel, please." Seongji pushed off the wall. "I know you're still in there. Fight it."
Daniel's response was another combination that mixed multiple techniques. A hand blade strike came that Seongji barely avoided. A spinning kick caught him in the ribs. A concentrated punch drove the air from his lungs. Perfect boxing footwork positioned Daniel for a devastating counter. Savage brutal strikes crashed through Seongji's weakening guard.
Seongji grabbed Daniel's shirt and yanked him close, then drove his forehead forward. The headbutt connected with Daniel's face. Blood ran from Seongji's hairline where skin had split.
Daniel rocked back slightly. The cut above his eye was bleeding more freely, but he recovered almost instantly.
"Daniel!" Seongji grabbed his shoulders. "It's me! You have to stop!"
Daniel's knee came up into Seongji's stomach and drove the air from his lungs. His hand blade technique caught Seongji across the chest and deepened the existing wound. A concentrated punch slammed into his already-broken ribs.
Seongji collapsed to one knee and coughed up blood. His body refused to respond properly anymore. Every muscle felt like it was tearing apart.
Daniel stood over him and breathed steadily. His fighting style had cycled through at least five or six completely different techniques during their fight. Each one was executed with machine-like precision and adapted to match Seongji's masteries perfectly.
"I can't beat you." Seongji forced himself to stand. His legs were shaking. His body trembled from the strain. "But I'll give everything I have left."
He gathered every remaining ounce of strength into his right fist. All three masteries combined into his most devastating technique. Strength to multiply the impact. Speed to make it nearly unavoidable. Durability to reinforce his body against the recoil.
Seongji exploded forward. His Destructive Force punch was aimed directly at Daniel's center mass. This was Seongji's unique skill.
Daniel stepped in.
His loose footwork vanished. In the instant before his punch landed, his entire body locked—spine straight, shoulders set, every joint frozen in place. Gotaijutsu!
Both their punches connected. The shockwave of the collision hit the wall beside them. A section of concrete exploded outward in a shower of debris.
Seongji stumbled from the follow-through. He was completely off-balance. Daniel grabbed his extended arm and pulled him into a counter-punch that carried the same combined strength and speed Seongji had used. It was one of those massive concentrated strikes that could end a fight in a single hit.
The punch caught Seongji directly in the solar plexus and lifted him off his feet.
Seongji crashed to the ground several feet away and gasped for air. His body wouldn't respond anymore. Blood pooled beneath him from multiple wounds. His vision darkened at the edges.
Daniel stood over him. His clothes were torn and blood marked his face and torso from accumulated damage, but his stance remained perfect. His breathing was still steady. He showed no signs of fatigue whatsoever.
Seongji pushed himself up on shaking arms, but his strength gave out and he collapsed back down. "Whatever you are right now, Daniel's still in there. I know he is."
Daniel raised his fist for a finishing blow. It was one of those devastating concentrated punches that would end everything.
A figure darted from the shadows behind Daniel. Seongji saw the glint of a syringe in the dim light.
Daniel's body reacted instantly to the threat and spun with mechanical precision. The figure had timed their approach perfectly and moved while Daniel was committed to finishing Seongji.
The syringe plunged into Daniel's neck. The plunger depressed before Daniel could grab them.
Daniel's hand shot out and caught the figure by the throat. He lifted them off the ground. His grip tightened with enough strength to crush bone.
Something changed in Daniel's eyes. The blank emptiness flickered. His hand loosened. His legs gave out. His body wouldn't move. Daniel collapsed to the ground a few feet away.
The figure dropped from Daniel's released grip and gasped for air. "Damn it, punk! Go to sleep!"