[Location: Island of Death]
The night felt eerily calm. A soft wind drifted through the open space, gently brushing against the leaves of the towering trees. Fragments of moonlight slipped through the dense canopy above, scattering pale silver light across the island and giving the darkness a cold, peaceful stillness.
BOOOOM!
A deafening explosion shattered the silence.
Dust erupted violently into the air, spreading outward in a massive wave that shook the surrounding trees. Thick clouds swallowed the area, turning the atmosphere suffocating as loose dirt and broken leaves spiraled through the night.
As the dust slowly settled, a figure emerged from within it.
Hayuka.
His body trembled violently, barely able to endure the brutal hits he had taken from Hikaru. His legs had gone numb from the impact, muscles screaming in agony. Unable to keep himself standing any longer, Hayuka dropped to one knee, his breathing shallow and ragged as cold sweat rolled down his face.
"His strength is insane…"
The thought echoed inside Hayuka's mind as he forced his eyes forward.
From the darkness of the jungle, a figure slowly stepped into the moonlight.
It was Hikaru.
His movements were calm, steady, almost unnaturally composed. Both hands remained tucked casually inside his pockets as he walked toward Hayuka without hesitation. Moonlight slid across his silver eyes, cold and unreadable, while his face showed no trace of fear, tension, or exhaustion.
Only silence.
Each step he took felt heavy enough to crush the atmosphere itself.
Hayuka gritted his teeth and forced himself back onto his feet, though his legs shook beneath him. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth despite the pain coursing through his body.
"You sure got some deadly strength," Hayuka said, wiping blood from the edge of his lips, "but that's not enough for me to get defeated."
The wind howled softly between them as the jungle fell silent once again, as if the entire island itself was holding its breath.
Before Hikaru could even process what was happening, Hayuka was already in front of him.
His fist shot forward with terrifying speed, aimed directly at Hikaru's face, powerful enough to crush bone.
BAAAAM!
The impact exploded outward with a violent shockwave, sending sand and loose dirt spiraling into the air. Nearby trees trembled as the force rippled across the island.
Yet Hikaru didn't even flinch.
He blocked the punch by crossing his arms in front of him like a shield, his feet digging slightly into the ground beneath the overwhelming force. The air around them trembled, but Hikaru's expression remained cold and unreadable.
But before Hikaru could launch a counterattack—
Hayuka vanished.
In the next instant, he appeared behind Hikaru.
His hand grabbed Hikaru by the collar, twisting his body violently before hurling him across the battlefield.
WHOOOSH!
Hikaru's body skidded uncontrollably through dirt and sand, carving a long trail across the ground as dust burst around him. Loose stones scattered from the force while dry leaves spiraled through the air.
At the last moment, Hikaru planted his feet hard enough to steady himself, stopping his momentum.
Silence followed.
Hayuka slowly lifted his head.
Something about his expression had changed.
The smile on his face widened,as though he knew something Hikaru didn't.
"Why don't you try moving your hands?"
Hayuka asked softly.
Hikaru's expression remained calm at first.
Then—
Something felt wrong.
A faint stiffness crept through his arms.
His eyes widened slightly in confusion as he looked down at his hands.
"Why can't I move my hands…? What happened?"
The thought cut sharply through Hikaru's mind. Confusion flickered across his usually emotionless face. For someone like him, that punch shouldn't have been strong enough to cause this.
Not even close.
A cold breeze swept through the battlefield as tension thickened in the air.
Then Hayuka burst into laughter.
"Haahahaha! Come on… try to move them!" he said, his voice echoing unnaturally through the jungle.
The sound of his laughter felt wrong—distorted, almost inhuman—as moonlight gleamed across his widened grin.
Hayuka continued, his grin widening with twisted pride.
"You can't move them, right? Do you know why?" he said, tapping his own arm lightly.
"Let me tell you. My hands are plated with special metals beneath the skin. Every time I hit someone, those plates charge up. And when that charge transfers from body to body…" His smile stretched further. "It disrupts the neurons."
He let out a low laugh.
"And that's enough to make the so-called former strongest hitman unable to use his hands."
Before Hayuka could continue any further—
Hikaru was suddenly standing directly in front of him.
No sound.
No warning.
Just there.
His silver eyes stared straight into Hayuka's.
Cold.
Empty.
The stare alone sent a violent chill crawling down Hayuka's spine. His instincts screamed danger before his mind could even react.
Without hesitation, Hayuka unleashed a barrage of punches.
"WHAT'S WITH THAT CREEPY STARE?!" he roared, fists tearing through the air. "You think you can kill me?! THEN COME ON! DON'T SHOW ME THAT FACE AGAIN—DIE, YOU SHITHEAD!"
Punch after punch exploded forward with terrifying speed, creating bursts of wind.
But not a single hit landed.
Hikaru moved like flowing water.
His body slipped past every strike with impossible precision, ducking and weaving through the storm of punches by the smallest margins imaginable. Hayuka's fists passed inches from Hikaru's face, close enough to disturb his hair, yet Hikaru remained completely calm.
That calmness terrified Hayuka even more.
His expression twisted into rage.
Veins bulged across his arms as he increased his speed further, fists becoming nothing more than blurred afterimages in the moonlight.
Then—
Hikaru twisted his body sharply.
BAAM!
A brutal roundhouse kick slammed directly into Hayuka's stomach.
The impact exploded through the forest.
Hayuka's body shot backward like a cannonball, crashing through multiple trees as wood splintered violently upon contact. Trunks cracked apart one after another while birds scattered into the night sky.
He finally slammed against the ground, rolling across dirt and broken branches before stopping.
Pain surged violently through his body.
Hayuka coughed—
Then suddenly vomited blood across the ground.
"What… is that kick…?"
His breathing became uneven as dizziness overtook him.
"My head… everything's spinning…"
He forced himself to stand, but his legs wobbled beneath him. His vision blurred heavily, the world around him twisting and fading in and out of focus.
Through the haze, he saw a lone figure slowly approaching.
Hikaru.
Steady.
Silent.
Unstoppable.
"You are not worthy of my time," Hikaru said coldly.
Voossh!
Hikaru vanished.
SMASH!
Hayuka's eyes widened.
He couldn't even understand what had happened.
It split apart.
His body tore into two halves before collapsing onto the blood-soaked ground. Warm blood spread rapidly beneath him as the life slowly drained from his fading eyes.
His thoughts were shutting down.
Darkness crept over his vision.
Only one weak sentence escaped his mouth, trembling and broken.
"D–Did h-he… use his hands like a whip… to hit me… just because he couldn't p-punch…?"
Asmall smile appeared across Hayuka's face.
"Huh… really smart move…"
The smile faded.
And with it—
His life ended.
The forest fell silent once again.
Hikaru had already begun walking away....when suddenly his steps slowed.
His vision getting blurred.
The world around him started spinning violently.
A sharp pain surged through his arms.
Hikaru pulled back his sleeves slightly, revealing blood running down both of his hands, dripping slowly from his fingertips.
"Damn… what kind of weird hits did he actually land on me…?"
His voice sounded heavier now.
The poison-like numbness spreading through his body became unbearable.
A moment later, Hikaru's legs gave out beneath him.
Thud.
His unconscious body collapsed onto the cold ground beneath the pale moonlight as the wind continued to whisper through the trees of the Island of Death.
Minutes later, Sayuri arrived.
This time, however, she was completely soaked in blood.
Dark stains covered her clothes, dripping slowly from her fingertips onto the dirt beneath her feet. Strands of hair clung to her face as the cold night wind brushed past her, yet her expression remained emotionless—cold enough to make the surrounding silence feel heavier.
The gentle, shy and scared personality she had shown before was gone.
Completely gone.
Her eyes slowly fell upon Hikaru's unconscious body lying on the ground beneath the pale moonlight.
Sayuri walked toward him without urgency, her footsteps soft against the dirt and scattered leaves. Broken trees surrounded the battlefield, and the metallic scent of blood still lingered heavily in the air.
She stopped beside him and looked down quietly.
"Didn't expect you to be this weak," Sayuri said coldly.
The words felt strange coming from her.
Not because of what she said—
But because the tone, the expression, even the way she carried herself now felt like an entirely different person.
There was no response.
Hikaru remained unconscious, his body motionless as blood slowly dripped from his damaged hands.
Sayuri clicked her tongue softly in annoyance before bending down and grabbing Hikaru by the collar with one hand.
Then she started walking.
One hand remained casually tucked inside her pocket while the other dragged Hikaru mercilessly across the ground. His body scraped through dirt, sand, and broken branches as she moved deeper into the darkness of the island without slowing her pace.
The moonlight followed behind them faintly, casting long shadows through the trees while the forest stayed unnaturally silent around Sayuri, as if even the island itself had gone quiet in her presence.