The reason for such an outcome was just as Kael had said before. The fight had no highlights. Neither passionate nor sensual, the audience saw no bone-crunching blows, nor any torn clothing. Naturally, they cursed. "I paid to watch a fight, and you give me this?"
So, after the match ended, Tenma Nozomi was fired on the spot. Kael was surprised—his first time seeking her out, and he witnessed her dismissal. Wasn't this exactly the opening scene of STAR: Strike It Rich?
After being fired, Nozomi went to her childhood friends—Iori Ichika, the corrupt cop, and Mitani Hana, the small-time yakuza boss—to complain. Eventually, they formed the new underground fighting group… Valkyrie.
"Ms. Tenma." After her dismissal, Kael stopped her at the entrance of Losers Fight.
Nozomi looked up at him, a stranger. Already dejected from being fired, seeing an unfamiliar man block her way only made her more impatient.
"Move!" She glared at him, her face fierce.
To ordinary people, it was terrifying, but to Kael it was nothing.
"I have something to discuss with you, Ms. Tenma. Would you give me a moment?"
"No interest." Nozomi brushed past him.
"I can heal your retinal detachment," Kael said.
Nozomi froze, stopping in her tracks. She turned back. "Are you a doctor?"
"Not exactly," Kael shook his head.
The next instant, Nozomi moved—like an arrow loosed, like lightning. She closed in with astonishing speed, throwing a fierce jab at Kael's head. But just a centimeter from his nose, she stopped. The gust from her punch blew his hair.
"Next time you joke like that, I'll kill you." With that, she turned away.
She had truly struggled to restrain her killing intent, wanting to smash his face.
Kael smiled, chasing after her. "I may not be a doctor, but I can heal your retinal detachment. I can make you stronger, put you back in the ring."
Nozomi grew furious. She had already warned him, yet he still joked about her injury. This time, she didn't hold back—she kicked at his chin, vicious and merciless.
Kael saw the difference. Unlike her earlier test, this time she meant to hit him. But she was too inexperienced. He raised a single finger and blocked her strike.
Nozomi's eyes widened in disbelief. Her attack had been stopped by one finger. Impossible.
She withdrew her right leg, planted her left, and launched herself upward. In midair, she spun and kicked hard at Kael's chest. A spinning aerial kick—her full strength, enhanced by rotation. But Kael again blocked it with one finger, casually flicking her away.
Nozomi landed, slapped the ground, bounced back up, flipped several times, and landed firmly on her feet.
"You… what are you?"
"Someone who can heal you," Kael said.
Nozomi didn't believe him. "You're not a doctor. Fighting and healing are different."
"True, but I can do both," Kael replied.
She frowned. "Didn't you say you weren't a doctor?"
Kael laughed. "Doctors aren't the only ones who can heal."
Nozomi grew more confused, her tone harsher. "If not a doctor, then what? Are you mocking me?"
"Not at all."
Kael walked up to her. Though older, she was shorter—only 162 cm, a head below him. He looked down into her eyes. "Healing isn't limited to doctors. It could be yokai, gods, onmyoji, or cultivators."
Nozomi grew angrier. "Ridiculous. How could such things exist?"
Though skilled in fighting, she was still an ordinary person, unaware of the true world. She didn't know that beyond humans, many strange beings existed.
Kael smiled, flicked her forehead, and infused mana into her eyes. Suddenly, she saw the real world.
An eerie world filled with evil spirits. The more remote the place, the more of them appeared.
Kael drew out the Hundred Ghost Banner, shook it lightly, and nearby spirits were pulled in, sucked into it. Nozomi saw it clearly. She was stunned. She had just watched strange beings absorbed into a flag.
"What is that?"
"Human souls that have fallen, turned into evil spirits," Kael explained.
"Why can I see them now?"
"Because I infused mana into your eyes, temporarily opening them. When the mana fades, you won't see them anymore."
He smiled. "They won't harm you. You can ignore them."
Nozomi was silent, then asked: "So… you really can heal me?"
"Absolutely," Kael said firmly.
"What do I have to give in return?" Nozomi knew there was no free lunch.
This man surely had a hidden agenda. What did he want from her?
Her mind raced.