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Chapter 185
Chapter 185
Chapter 185
Luckily, Ryuji said he’d come here right away.
As expected of the protagonist, not hesitating to rush to such a dangerous place. Honestly, I was a bit moved.
“Are you talking about that Sakamoto Ryuji from your class?”
“How does the Vice President know him?”
“I saw his physical examination records before. That Ryuji is the top in physical abilities among the second years, excluding you. If you’re asking for his help, he must not be an ordinary person.”
“He’s an ordinary person, just a bit strong.”
“In the industry, we don’t call such people ordinary.”
“Let’s leave it at that.”
But this isn’t the important thing right now.
“It will take at least ten minutes for Ryuji to get here from downtown Kyoto. In the meantime, let’s think about how to avoid those forces. It’s already 11:10.”“Wouldn’t it be better to stay hidden?”
“That won’t last long. We still have to go up nine more floors.”
Currently, using the elevator is not an option, so we need to keep that in mind.
“How about this then?”
“What is it?”
“We’ll keep fighting our way up like we are now, but if it becomes impossible, we’ll split up. While I buy time, you head to the 21st floor alone.”
“So, we’re sticking to the original plan?”
“The infiltration route is still intact, so there’s no need to change the plan. The 20th floor will have more security personnel due to the guests.”
“Alright, let’s go with that.”
Having rested enough, we decided to move again.
We still had a long way to go.
“I’ll take the lead this time.”
“Take it easy. If you kill anyone, it’ll be a headache later.”
“I usually follow a no-kill policy.”
I answered as I snapped the neck of a passing security guard.
“They’re here! The intruders are here!”
“Waaah!”
“Overwhelm them with numbers!”
No matter how many we took down, security guards kept coming out endlessly.
At this point, it felt like they were automatically respawning from somewhere.
“Kim Yu-seong! Duck!”
I instinctively ducked at the Vice President’s shout, and a sharp needle whizzed past my head.
“Aaaargh!”
Wow, that must hurt.
The Vice President, wielding long needles as his secret weapon, swung them like claws. Anyone with a fear of needles would be trembling.
No matter how muscular a martial artist is, they can’t withstand being pierced by needles.
Except for someone with an abnormally tough body like mine, each of the Vice President’s strikes would feel threatening.
Thud!
“What floor are we on now?”
“We’re on the 15th floor now. Five more to go.”
“It won’t be long.”
“Let’s hope so.”
I dusted off my hands and headed up to the next landing.
“That’s far enough, kids.”
It was at that moment.
A familiar voice was heard.
“…Master.”
Waiting for us on the 16th floor was Koga Izumo, a female ninja and the master of the Vice President and Minami.
Originally dressed in a suit, she now wore a high-leg suit combined with ninja-style fishnet stockings and armor.
Honestly, I didn’t know where to look.
Senior Fuma and this Koga Izumo… are female ninjas’ battle outfits usually this revealing?
The person in question acted nonchalantly, so I couldn’t point it out.
“You can’t go any further. You know why, right?”
“No matter how much you’re my master, I can’t obey that.”
“Shinji, think carefully. What you’re doing is not only disgracing the young lady but also the reputation of the Saionji family. How do you plan to handle the aftermath?”
“My loyalty lies not with the Saionji family but with the young lady alone. On the day I first met her, I swore to serve her for life. Who can blame a retainer for sacrificing himself for his lord’s happiness?”
“You stubborn fool…”
Thinking further conversation was pointless, Koga Izumo muttered and put on a gauntlet engraved with an eight-headed snake.
“It seems we’ll have to have a long talk.”
“I’ve been looking forward to this, Master.”
The Vice President said that and aimed the steel needles in his hands at his master, Koga Izumo.
“Kim Yu-seong, I’ll handle this. You go ahead.”
“Will you be okay, Vice President?”
“If she’s the master I know, she won’t kill me. Don’t worry, just go.”
“…Good luck.”
I nodded slightly to the Vice President and then ran up the stairs to the upper floor.
“That kid, Kim Yu-seong, right? He’ll probably die. By that Hattori kid.”
“Pfft.”
Hearing his master’s words, Akagi Shinjiro couldn’t help but chuckle.
“You’re laughing?”
“No, I didn’t mean to mock you, Master. It’s just funny hearing that Kim Yu-seong will die.”
“…So what?”
Looking at his master’s dissatisfied face, Akagi Shinjiro declared.
“Kim Yu-seong is by far the strongest person I’ve ever met. I can’t even imagine him losing.”
“Shinji, I don’t understand why you rate him so highly. He’s just a 17-year-old high school student. He can’t beat Hattori Hanzo, who was raised as a weapon from birth.”
“You never know until you try.”
“…You’ve become quite the talker. You even dare to talk back to your master.”
“I’ve always been cheeky, haven’t I? When I was young, you often disciplined me with ‘stories.’”
“Not much different from now.”
“No, it won’t be as easy as you think.”
Akagi Shinjiro said that, glared at his master, Koga Izumo, and simultaneously swung the steel needles in his hands.
???!
As the nearly 30 cm long steel needles pierced his bare skin, Koga Izumo involuntarily frowned at the terrible sound.
“Self-harm in this situation?”
Cough!
“It’s not self-harm. I just pierced the ‘meridians’ of my body.”
Coughing up blood, Akagi Shinjiro said that and pulled out the ‘needles’ stuck in his body.
Amazingly, not a single drop of blood flowed from the holes in his clothes.
It was a secret card even his master, Koga Izumo, didn’t know about. He had prepared it for five years.
“In the past, when I was training under you, Master, I realized I didn’t have as much talent as Minami, so I decided to devote everything to martial arts.”
Shinjiro said that and threw off his suit jacket.
“So I pushed my body to the limit. To protect the one and only young lady and never lose to anyone again.”
The white dress shirt he wore underneath was stretched tight by his muscles.
“But a body too big hinders daily life. So, I compressed it myself. My overly large muscles.”
Rip! Tear!
The dress shirt couldn’t withstand the rapidly swelling muscles and began to tear apart.
Akagi Shinjiro, whose slim physique swelled nearly threefold in an instant, tore off the now useless dress shirt with one hand and shouted.
“Here I come, Master!”
17th floor.
18th floor.
With each floor I climbed, numerous security guards awaited me.
Of course, it was harder to face them alone than with two people.
At first, my body was energetic, but now it felt like I was floundering in water.
In many ways, I had reached my physical limit.
But I couldn’t stop.
To save the President and keep my promise to the Vice President.
Even if my mouth tasted bitter, I kept pushing forward.
And finally, the 19th floor.
Waiting for me there was Hattori Ayame, whom I had met on the first floor.
“Regrettable, Kim. To meet you again in this situation.”
Still in her glamorous party dress, she stood alone on the 19th-floor floor.
Chirp, chirp!
Chosuke, the sparrow on her shoulder, chirped lightly, recognizing me.
Hattori slightly lifted the hem of her dress.
Revealing a garter belt with several shurikens attached.
Taking one out and spinning it in her hand, Hattori pointed the blade at me.
“You can’t go any further. If you try, I’ll attack you.”
I swallowed and asked her.
“Do we really have to do this? I don’t want to hurt you.”
Hattori gave a bitter smile and said.
“You’re foolishly kind. Saying that sincerely in this situation.”
But…
“I can’t let you go. Trust is very important for ninjas. If I let you go because of personal feelings, the entire clan’s trust will drop.”
“…So, you have something you can’t give up on either.”
“That’s right.”
“Then there’s no other way.”
I’ll have to leave it to someone else.
“What?”
Ding!
At that moment, the elevator she had her back to stopped at the perfect timing.
Hattori turned around in surprise.
Soon, the firmly closed iron doors opened to the sides, and the person inside slowly walked out.
Of course, the person was the strongest support I had called for.
“From now on, it’s my time.”
Ryuji, having given control of his body to Mahes, muttered that as he ignited flames in both hands.