The person speaking stood at the entrance of the shop, backlit, their face obscured.
But the oppressive feeling, like an invisible knife, instantly cut through the warm atmosphere inside the shop.
Shirou, Uta, and Ah Bao almost simultaneously looked up, their gazes sweeping over the crowd to land on the symbol above that figure's head—
A red skull.
Raid Faction.
The air solidified for a second.
Everyone's eyes turned towards the entrance.
A man wearing black tights and martial arts pants stood there, lean and powerful, with clearly defined muscles.
He had striking Red Hair (having completed his first evolution) and golden pupils that gleamed with a Beast-like light under the lamps, exuding an extremely aggressive and oppressive aura.
The moment he spoke, a clear symbol appeared above his head in the visions of Shirou, Ah Bao, and Uta almost simultaneously—a hideous red skull radiating an ominous aura.
[Raid Faction].
Shirou's pupils constricted sharply. He instinctively, and subtly, turned his body halfway, shielding Yuna and Boss Guan Gu behind the counter.
Magic Circuits pulsed with a faint, imperceptible burning sensation beneath his skin, ready to turn imagination into reality at any moment.
"They've appeared! The Dragon Warrior's enemies!"
Ah Bao's reaction was the most direct. The smile on his honest panda face vanished instantly. He put down his half-eaten baozi, his corpulent body sinking slightly, and spread his paws, adopting the Kung Fu Panda's opening stance.
The steady, mountain-like aura of a Guardian of the Valley of Peace instantly replaced his foodie's clumsiness.
Uta, by the counter, tensed her body. She didn't move, didn't even turn around, but in her heterochromatic eyes, the power of the Uta Uta no Mi was quietly surging.
The White Scales symbol flickered above her head, the most direct sign of a neutral party's vigilance in the face of danger.
The man, who was Garou, paid no attention. He stepped into the shop, ignoring the ordinary diners who were intimidated by his aura and silent with fear. His golden eyes scanned the symbols above the trio's heads with interest.
A green shield, floating above the panda's head.
Another white scale, above the red-haired chef's head.
And one more white scale, belonging to the heterochromatic girl with headphones.
"Two neutral factions, one Guardian Faction." Garou's lips curled into a wild, maniacal smile.
"Interesting, very interesting."
He nonchalantly pulled out a chair and sat down, resting his arms on the table, leaning forward like a wolf that had locked onto its prey.
"Just a few minutes ago, I was fighting with an annoying old man," Garou began, talking to himself, a hint of mockery and excitement in his voice.
"It was a great fight, my bones were almost all broken (in reality, Bang had almost annihilated him), but in the blink of an eye, I ended up in this damn place. All my injuries were healed, and I got a noisy'System' too."
He paused, his gaze moving back and forth between Shirou and Ah Bao.
"I originally thought switching Worlds would be boring, but I never expected this—" He stuck out his tongue and licked his lips.
"The System said there are all sorts of 'players' here. It told me I could treat you as new prey."
Garou's eyes grew fervent.
"This World is practically a hunting ground tailor-made for me! I want to know just how strong you so-called 'players' are compared to the S-Rank heroes I've fought before!"
Before his words even finished, a pure malice and fighting intent swept through the entire sushi shop.
The customers in the shop didn't dare breathe, and Boss Guan Gu's face turned pale with fright. He tightly clutched his daughter's arm and whispered, "Yuna—is this a movie? A new special effects actor?"
Yuna shook her head. She could feel that it wasn't acting. The white-haired man's eyes were serious.
"No matter who you are," Shirou said coldly, breaking the suffocating silence.
"This is a restaurant, not your hunting ground. If you want to fight, take it outside."
Shirou's cold "get out" was like a needle, puncturing the tense silence.
The chopsticks in the hand of a diner closest to the door clattered to the floor.
Like a startled rabbit, he sprang from his seat, forgot to pay, and stumbled towards the exit.
This action seemed to be a signal.
"Ah—!"
A scream tore through the air.
Immediately after, the entire sushi shop erupted into chaos. The customers, as if waking from a dream, were filled with terror. The sound of chairs being knocked over, the crisp crash of cups and plates shattering, women's screams, and men's curses mixed together.
They frantically pushed their way out, no one wanting to be caught in this bizarre standoff that looked like a gang fight.
"Please, everyone, calm down! Evacuate in an orderly fashion—"
Jusaburo Sekiya instinctively tried to maintain order, but his voice was instantly drowned out by the chaotic crowd. A customer, in their panic, bumped into him, making him stumble backward, only to be caught by Yuna.
"Dad! Be careful!"
Garou stood still, watching the chaos with interest. Far from being impatient, his smile only widened.
The panic of ordinary people was, to him, merely clutter to be cleared away before a meal.
He liked this feeling; when absolute power descended, all pretense of order would crumble.
In less than half a minute, the once lively shop became empty, leaving behind only a mess and five people in a standoff.
The evening breeze poured in through the open door, catching a napkin, making it swirl in the air, then gently fall.
"Much quieter."
Garou stretched his neck, producing a series of cracking sounds. In his golden pupils, fighting intent burned undisguised, like two golden flames.
"Now, no one will disturb us."
His body sank slightly, the bulging contours of his muscles becoming more apparent under his tight suit, making him resemble a fully drawn bow.
Shirou's right hand hung beneath the counter, his movements unseen, but the air in that small space seemed to grow hot.
Uta remained seated, motionless, but in the depths of her heterochromatic eyes, light like musical notes flowed, and from her headphones came an increasingly urgent rhythm that only she could hear.
A great battle was about to erupt.
Just a second before Garou was about to push off the ground, a massive figure moved.
"Thump!"
With a dull thud, Ah Bao's corpulent body moved with unexpected speed, stepping between Garou and the counter in a single stride, like a furry wall, shielding everyone behind him.
The lazy demeanor of a foodie was completely gone from his honest face, replaced by a steady, mountain-like solemnity.
He positioned his paws one in front of the other, adopting a defensive stance.
"Hey!" Ah Bao's voice was loud and firm.
"If you want to fight, I'll fight you!"
Garou's forward momentum abruptly halted. He looked at the panda suddenly blocking his way, first startled, then let out a sneer: "Huh? Just you? A fat panda who gets winded just by walking?"
"I'm not fat!" Ah Bao instinctively retorted, puffing out his belly.
"This is—this is the robust physique of a martial artist!"
He took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to argue about his weight, and continued, "But! We can't fight here!"
He extended a furry paw, pointing at the messy shop around them.
"This is the boss's shop. If we break the tables and chairs, the boss will be heartbroken. And,".
He paused, his tone tinged with genuine regret.
"The onigiri and sushi here are delicious. If the kitchen gets destroyed, we won't be able to eat them anymore."
This reason was so simple it was almost laughable, and the mockery on Garou's face deepened. He was about to open his mouth to ridicule the panda's naivety when his gaze inadvertently swept past Ah Bao's broad shoulders.
He saw it.
Behind the panda, the little girl named Yuna was clutching her father's sleeve tightly, her small face pale, her body trembling slightly with fear.
The middle-aged man who owned the shop was shielding his daughter in his arms, clearly terrified himself, yet still glaring at him with bloodshot eyes, putting on a brave but inwardly weak front.
That wasn't a hero, nor a martial artist, but just an ordinary father wanting to protect his daughter.
The fanaticism and killing intent in Garou's eyes subtly receded a fraction at that moment.
He remembered the child who always followed him, calling him "Uncle."
He hunted heroes to subvert the hypocritical justice decided by the "majority," to create an absolutely fair World where the weak would no longer be bullied.
He sought the ultimate "evil," but his "evil" never targeted defenseless weaklings and children.
Harming innocent ordinary people—that was the despicable behavior of the Monster Association.