Ch.89Double Dragon of Emoshita (2)

“Who did you forget? This… not calling me. How disappointing.”

Sasith leaned against the wall as he stood up.

“SASIIIIIIITH!!!!”

I immediately let out a cheer.

“I called him. After all, the more people we have, the better.”

Umi said with a smile.

From what I heard, Umi had contacted Sasith about 15 minutes ago just in case. And Sasith had come running right away.

“But… Sasith. Why didn’t you just come inside? Were you standing against the wall like a puppy that needs to pee?”

Umi asked, seemingly unable to understand.

“Yeah. Your legs must be tired.”

Eri agreed sympathetically.

“Kuk…. that’s….”

Sasith’s face suddenly turned red.

“ENOUGH!!!!”

I immediately snapped at the two of them.

“You just don’t understand a man’s romantic ideals!!!”

When you’re about to head into a lonely battle thinking ‘this guy probably won’t come’… and then he joins with a line like ‘You didn’t forget about me, did you?’ That feeling!!! It’s irresistible!!!

Have some sympathy for how hard Sasith worked to create this scene!

“Sasith…. but this is dangerous, fighting gangsters. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

However, I was genuinely concerned about Sasith. I asked him again to make sure.

“It’s not that different from what I usually do.”

Sasith said as he drew his sword.

“We’re hunting rotten monsters.”

Sasith delivered his prepared line.

“SASIIIIIIITH!!!!”

I was immediately overcome with excitement.

Sasith’s skill at nailing the cool concept has improved!!! This line was honestly awesome!! Really!!

“Let’s go then.”

Sasith said.

“Yeah!!”

We all immediately started walking.

——-

“Sobutaku. Where are the Dead Angels anyway?”

I asked Sobu.

“Those guys… they’re trying to devour this peaceful city of Emoshita after crossing all of Kanto. They’ve already occupied the abandoned factory complex and are forcibly merging with other gangs one by one.”

Sobu made a statement that sounded grand in scale.

I was about to say “They’re just thugs after all…” but stopped myself. I didn’t want to break the serious mood of the situation.

“Abandoned factory complex… were you guys planning to just barge in there recklessly?”

I asked.

“Well… because they have hostages.”

Sobutaku said.

“Let’s say you barge in. Do you think they’ll leave the hostages unharmed?”

I questioned that point.

“Ugh… that’s.”

Sobutaku was immediately at a loss for words. This kid… is really simple-minded, huh?

“Then what should we do, big bro?”

Sobutaku was completely treating me as his big brother. I told him not to do that several times, but he had no intention of listening. I was half giving up at this point.

“We need to take hostages too. If we torture them a bit in front of their friends, they’ll get scared and ask for a hostage exchange, don’t you think?”

I said nonchalantly.

“Wow… Shota. Your mindset is really…”

Eri looked at me with disgusted eyes.

“Your thinking is so different from normal people…”

Umi also spoke with a repulsed expression. But… it kind of makes me angry hearing that from Umi? She’s not exactly a normal person either, to be honest.

“A hostage exchange… setting aside the moral implications, it’s not a bad plan.”

At least Sasith took my side.

Anyway, we headed to the Breakers’ meeting place.

“It’s completely wrecked.”

I muttered.

The entire base, including the motorcycles, was destroyed.

“Sobu!!! These people are…”

Other biker gang members encountered our group.

“Sis?!! You shouldn’t be here!! That bastard Taka is searching all over Emoshita looking for you!!”

One of the bikers shouted.

“Don’t worry. I’m going to fight. Together with everyone.”

Taiga said with a smile.

“………”

They seemed unfamiliar with this change in Taiga.

“Sis… used to shoulder everything alone.”

“Sis has changed.”

All the bikers started whispering among themselves. However, they seemed happy about the change.

“Hmph… it must be big bro who changed her. How can we not support this?”

Sobutaku sniffed and created a heartwarming atmosphere.

“So, help me too. Entrust your lives to me.”

Taiga looked at her biker comrades with friendship in her eyes.

“Of course, Sis!!”

“Gladly!!!!”

All the bikers cheered.

Good. The atmosphere was warm, but… our numbers were few. There were only 8 Breakers members who were in decent shape. They were truly an elite few. Even counting our group, we were still small in number.

Somehow they were planning to fight with just this many people. If I hadn’t been here, the Breakers would have been completely wiped out.

“Then let’s go capture some hostages.”

I said as I stood up.

“We’ll help too!!!”

The bikers rose enthusiastically.

“No. If too many of us go, we’ll be spotted. I’ll bring back a few guys myself.”

I said.

“Shota. Will you be okay?”

Eri and Umi, who weren’t used to this kind of thing, seemed worried about me.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. There’s something I want to test too.”

I said as I fastened the demon sword Tomato to my waist.

———-

Perhaps due to my firm attitude, everyone allowed me to go to the enemy’s stronghold in the abandoned factory complex.

The abandoned factory complex in Emoshita was actually built with plans for a large industrial park.

It was a place that held the history of Japan’s bubble economy. They say back then, they tried to construct large buildings on any available piece of land.

However, as everyone knows, the bubble economy didn’t last long. The real estate bubble burst, and all that remained was this ruin. They could have demolished it, but without the money to do so, it was just abandoned.

While it might be popular among ruin enthusiasts, it was just an ugly abandoned site. The city was having trouble because it was being used as a gathering place for delinquents.

“There’s a ton of them…..”

I muttered as I looked toward the abandoned factory.

An enormous number of bikers were stationed there. All of them were armed with wooden clubs or metal pipes.

It was impossible to think this was a scene from a peaceful city. What is this, post-apocalypse? I wanted to make that sarcastic remark.

Well… I’ll just take about three guys to match the numbers. I thought as I drew my sword.

During the video call, three guys had been unluckily captured. The numbers needed to match for a prisoner exchange to work.

Step-!

Stealth action wasn’t my style. I walked straight out with my sword drawn.

I wanted to test a technique related to non-lethal subjugation.

“W-what? Who’s that guy…?”

“Is he from the Breakers?”

“Get lost.”

The bikers immediately became wary of me. I would have been cautious too if a man walking toward me had drawn a sword.

However, I ignored them and continued walking.

“This isn’t good. This bastard.”

All the bikers immediately swung their weapons. Not even using their fists first, they went straight for weapons, showing their ferocity.

However, their movements were crude.

Clang!!!

I blocked the incoming weapons with my sword. Even though five of them rushed at me, my body didn’t move an inch from its defensive stance.

“………?!!”

Sensing the difference in strength, their expressions immediately hardened.

Swoosh-!!!

Right after that, I deflected their weapons and delivered a sword strike.

Whoosh-!!

The sword strike barely grazed the necks of the nearby bikers.

“…………?!!”

The bikers became dumbstruck and touched their necks. They had “mistakenly” thought they had been cut.

I created the illusion of their necks being cut by emitting a sharp killing intent. The sword strike merely grazed their necks, but the killing intent was real. I swung the sword with the force as if I would cut their necks.

The bikers’ relief at not being cut was short-lived.

Thud-!! Clatter-!!

The bikers showed the whites of their eyes and collapsed. They fainted before they could even call for their comrades.

“The experiment is a success, I guess.”

Subduing enemies with killing intent was possible even at my current level. It was a simple technique that momentarily made the enemy feel the fear of death, causing temporary shock.

‘Saito Kanado… used something similar.’

During sparring, he would deliberately emit killing intent, feinting attacks while stepping.

I roughly copied that and tried it during sparring. If Kanado could use it, there was no reason I couldn’t.

Anyway, I dragged the guys sprawled on the ground like baggage.

———–

“Big bro… how did you capture them?”

Sobutaku looked at the hostages I had brought with a confused tone. Moreover, they all had their eyes rolled back and were foaming at the mouth.

“Hey!! This one wet himself!! Gross!!”

Umi pointed at one of them, giggling.

“Better not to know.”

I answered vaguely.

“As expected of big bro… you’re amazing.”

The admiring gazes from all the bikers were becoming uncomfortable.

“Alright, kids. Let’s beat them up good. Sobutaku, get ready for the video call.”

I immediately ordered everyone.

“Yes!!!!”

They seemed to have been waiting for just those words, as they immediately started a group beating.

“I-I don’t want to know…”

Eri, clearly uncomfortable with this, tightly closed her eyes.

“I feel like we’re getting involved in increasingly illegal activities.”

Sasith also seemed to have some resistance to this.

“Really… it’s fortunate Shota grew up properly. If he had ever stepped into crime, he would have become a truly terrifying person.”

Umi nodded as she spoke.

Hey. Why are you all like this? We have no choice, right? They were the ones who acted ungentlemanly first.

Thwack-!! Thud-!! Whack-!!!

The Breakers’ grudge against the Dead Angels seemed stronger than I thought, as they all worked together to thoroughly beat the hostages.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaah!!!!”

The pitiful screams of the guys who had just regained consciousness could be heard.

Hmm. Sounds good.

——–

Sobutaku immediately made a video call for the hostage exchange.

He adjusted the camera to show the bloodied Dead Angels members.

“Oh, Sobutaku. Finally, Natsukawa Taiga… Huh? W-what…!!”

Taka’s surprised expression was visible through the screen.

“We’ve got your guys here.”

Sobutaku said with a smile.

“Honestly, neither of us wants to see blood spilled over our members, right? Let’s exchange your guys for our guys. And then have a proper fight.”

Sobutaku said with a smile.

“You bastard…”

Taka clicked his tongue in frustration. He probably never thought their guys would get kidnapped suddenly.

After a moment of silence, Taka spoke.

“Fine!! Let’s exchange!!! Happy?!!”

Taka shouted in anger.

With this, we’ve overcome one big hurdle. I unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.