Toru put his phone back into his pocket.
Getting separated from the Yukinoshita sisters in the crowd was also beyond his expectations. He could only blame the sheer number of people. Everyone had been pushing and shoving to escape, making it easy to get separated.
However, after confirming through his phone that Yukino and Haruno were safe, Toru finally felt relieved.
The sound of fire trucks could already be heard outside. The fire would slowly be brought under control. Now, they just needed to wait patiently for the firefighters to extinguish the flames and start the rescue.
But just then—
"Help!"
"Murder! People are being killed downstairs!"
"Run, everyone run!"
...
Panicked screams echoed throughout the building, the chaotic noise making it hard to understand what was happening.
Some people who saw others frantically running past were confused.
Murder? People dead? Could it be they died in the fire?
Toru's expression darkened. Looking toward the opposite corridor, he spotted a few familiar figures—Conan and his friends.
Genta, Ayumi, and Mitsuhiko were running while crying loudly, their breaths ragged, clearly exhausted. It was obvious they wouldn't be able to run much farther.
Conan trailed behind, panting, gritting his teeth as he cursed internally. The body of a child was just too weak. His stamina had dropped significantly.
Seeing many people frozen in confusion, Conan shouted in urgency, "There's a group of maniacs behind us killing anyone they see! Run!"
Unfortunately, no one took him seriously. He was just a first-grader, after all. Most thought he was joking.
"Little guy, don't say things like that. I know the fire must have scared you, but you can't joke about something like this."
Conan was furious. But the very next second, someone proved he wasn't joking.
A thin, dark-skinned man appeared, grinning bloodthirstily. The claw blade in his hand slashed across the neck of the man who had just spoken.
That middle-aged man, likely in his forties, looked terrified as he clutched his sliced windpipe, blood spurting between his fingers. Moments later, he collapsed from lack of oxygen and blood loss, completely lifeless.
"Ahhhhhh!"
After a moment of stunned silence, the crowd erupted into screams. The people who had stayed still moments ago now fled in terror, just like those who had shouted and run earlier.
"What are you doing?! Run!"
Conan also noticed Toru standing there motionless and shouted at him in panic.
Even though he disliked Toru for deceiving Ran, Conan couldn't just watch someone die.
Seeing Toru not moving, he yelled again.
Toru stared at the thin man with the claw blade and a bloodthirsty grin, eyeing the weapon.
"Claw blade?"
This kind of weapon wasn't common. It was mostly used in parts of Southeast Asia, shaped like a tiger's claw.
Seeing that Toru wasn't running, the man tilted his neck, grinned, and lunged at him like a monkey. His speed was faster than expected.
Swish—
The blade sliced through the air. Toru stepped back, dodging the strike by a hair.
Missing the first attack didn't faze the man. He shrieked strangely and swung the blade repeatedly at Toru.
But Toru seemed to see every trajectory clearly. With a slight tilt of his head or shift of his body, he dodged each attack, like a scene out of The Matrix.
The man finally froze.
Toru, on the other hand, got the answer he was looking for.
"Traditional martial arts from Luzon? Looks like these guys are trained."
With that, Toru stepped forward and threw a straight punch at the man's chest.
The man reacted quickly, raising the claw blade to target Toru's tendons.
But Toru changed his move mid-attack, switching the punch into a blade-hand strike.
His strike was sharper than a surgical scalpel, harder than steel. With one clean motion, he severed the claw blade in the man's hand.
As the blade flew into the air, the man was stunned.
That brief moment of shock created a fatal opening.
"Hah!"
With a low shout, Toru's left hand morphed into a tiger claw. Like a beast unleashed, he lunged forward. A loud bang echoed through the air. He struck the man's chest with such force that the shockwave was audible.
Crack—
The sound of ribs shattering echoed clearly, even reaching Conan's ears.
To Conan's stunned eyes, he saw Toru strike once with his claw and send the attacker flying. The man crashed into the wall behind, leaving cracks in the surface. He slid down slowly, his eyes empty.
Dead. Just like that?
Killing a person with one strike, breaking bones in an instant—it felt unreal to Conan.
Human bones weren't that fragile. Yet Toru's claw made him wonder if even a real tiger would lose in a brawl against him.
Was this guy... even human?
Conan was stunned. His suspicion about Toru's identity grew deeper.
If this guy was really part of the Black Organization, then his strength was on par with a Kamen Rider.
Conan had seen how powerful Ran was. A few grown men weren't her match.
But Ran, no matter how strong, was still within human limits. There were people even stronger than her in the national karate tournaments.
But this Toru... he was beyond human.
"So... so cool!"
"Kamen Rider! Big bro, you're definitely Kamen Rider!"
...
Ayumi, Genta, and the others didn't understand the true weight behind Toru's attack. All they saw was him defeating the scary bad guy in one blow. They were ecstatic.
Ahhhhh!
The screams upstairs continued. Judging by the noise, the attackers were well-organized and still hunting people.
Toru glanced at Conan and the children.
"Conan, take them and hide."
With that, his expression turned grim. He sprinted upstairs.
He didn't like noisy kids, that was true. But he wasn't so heartless as to let children get hurt in front of him.
"Conan, do you know that big brother? How does he know your name?"
As soon as Toru left, Ayumi and the others surrounded Conan, eyes sparkling.
"Ahaha, that's Fujiwara-nii, Ran's friend. I met him last time."
"Alright, let's listen to Fujiwara-nii and go hide."
He shielded the kids from seeing the corpse behind them.
Maybe Genta and the others thought the man had fainted, but Conan, who had seen countless corpses, knew very well—he was already dead.
Right now, Genta and the others admired Toru immensely. Once Conan used his name, they nodded immediately.
After settling them, Conan slipped away quietly and ran upstairs.
Just who is Fujiwara Toru?
His whole body trembled with a mix of excitement and fear.
Toru, now on the upper floors, took out a pistol from his waistband. But there were too many civilians around. Firing the weapon could easily lead to ricochets or accidental injuries.
It wouldn't matter if he hit anyone else, but if he hurt the Yukinoshita sisters, that would be a problem.
He put the gun away.
"Sister!"
Even in the noisy chaos, with bodies packed wall to wall, Toru clearly heard Yukino's panicked scream.
He locked onto the direction and, like a martial arts expert, launched off the wall, soaring high into the air. From above, he spotted them immediately.
His expression turned cold. He stepped on the shoulders of others and launched himself straight toward the Yukinoshita sisters.
...
"Boss, too many people. We can't find the target!"
One of the attackers stood in front of his leader, speaking softly in their native tongue.
The boss, still slowly sharpening his knife, nodded slightly. His cold gaze swept the crowd.
"Boss, even if the police here are useless, if we wait too long, we won't be able to escape."
"We have to find the target, eliminate them, and escape using the fire as cover!"
Just as he finished, his sharp eyes spotted Yukino and lit up.
"Boss, over there!"
The boss's gaze sharpened. He moved swiftly, darting toward Yukino.
Ever since this group had made it to this floor, they had already cut down over a dozen people. The Yukinoshita sisters had seen it all.
Yukino had tears at the corners of her eyes. Her face was pale, and her legs were stiff with fear. She didn't even know how to run.
Haruno, though frightened, was still more composed. As a university student, she had never seen anything like this either.
But she still managed to hold herself together. Fighting her fear, she grabbed Yukino's arm and shouted, "Yukino, come on!"
Yukino could only nod dumbly, letting herself be dragged along.
But that one movement caught the attackers' attention.
Haruno barely saw a blur before a figure appeared in front of them.
He was ordinary in appearance, but his eyes made both sisters freeze.
It felt like they were meat on a chopping block.
Those were the eyes of someone who had killed dozens, not with guns, but with blades.
The kind of killing intent that comes from slashing people to death was very different from pulling a trigger.
The aura alone made the sisters' minds go blank. Their nerves felt like they might collapse at any moment.
The leader locked eyes on Yukino. Confirming the target, he raised his claw blade and lunged for her neck.
Killing a weak woman like this was no different from killing a chicken.
"Ahhhhh!"
Yukino screamed in panic. Haruno gritted her teeth and threw her arms wide to shield her.
She was the older sister. She had to protect her little sister.
Haruno shut her eyes tight, but the expected pain never came.
She quickly opened her eyes and saw Toru standing in front of her, blocking the claw blade with his left arm.
"Fujiwara-kun!"
Seeing the blade lodged in his arm, Haruno's eyes filled with tears. She thought Toru had taken a serious hit for them.
But only the attacker's expression changed.
His right hand couldn't pull the blade out of Toru's arm.
He's controlling the muscles in his arm to trap the blade?
The leader immediately released the weapon and slashed with the blade in his left hand at Toru's neck.
Toru raised the claw blade in his right hand—taken from an attacker he killed earlier—and met the strike head-on.
Their blades clashed, sparks flying.
Toru blocked the blow and instantly shifted from defense to offense. His claw blade slashed over twenty times in a flash.
The attacker backed up, barely blocking the barrage with equally fast movements.
Downstairs, the fire still roared. Upstairs, the crowd screamed. But within this chaotic, narrow space, the two exchanged over twenty moves in the blink of an eye.
He's skilled.
Toru judged instantly.
This man had strong technique. His blade work was refined.
But—
No matter how good he is, he's not better than me.
Toru's moves changed again, his strikes becoming even faster. His speed and reflexes had already surpassed human limits.
With one slash, he severed the tendons in the man's left hand. The blade dropped as the attacker cried out in pain and stumbled backward.
His guard was down. Toru seized the opening.
Swish, swish, swish.
He slashed over ten times in a second. Blood sprayed, flesh flying. Over ten deep wounds, each cutting to the bone, split open across the man's chest.
In the next instant, Toru swung upward.
The curved claw blade, like a meat hook in a freezer, pierced straight through the man's jaw.
Toru raised his right hand high.
The corpse hung from his blade.
(To be continued.)