A Person Beyond Human

Q Dalang abruptly changed the subject and narrowed his eyes at Higashi Kōichi. "You seem to know a lot about where those people came from. Why don't you tell us?"

"Baku Madarame and Akagi Shigeru." Yagyou was not surprised by the question and answered calmly. "Those are the names of two of them. They're also known as [Usogui] and [Man of the Divine Realm]."

"...?"

Q Dalang froze for a moment. "It's... those two?"

Everything made sense now.

He didn't recognize their faces, but who in the underworld hadn't heard those two nicknames?

[Usogui] Baku Madarame—at fifteen, he had crushed Kakerou's members in the blink of an eye. Possessing godlike intelligence and the ruthlessness of a devil, he was known as "the strongest gambler in Kakerou's history"!

[Man of the Divine Realm] Akagi Shigeru—he was much older than Baku Madarame and had made a name for himself even earlier. Rumor had it that he had appeared in the underground mahjong world at thirteen as a once-in-a-generation genius. Over the years, he had defeated countless masters without ever losing!

"Hahaha, what luck! I'm so lucky!"

"Both of them are famous, so it's no wonder you think so highly of them, Mr. Yagyou..."

Q Dalang laughed until he was out of breath.

"Never mind [Man of the Divine Realm] for now. The important one is [Usogui]—that legendary gambler vanished for years, and now he's my opponent tonight?!"

"Haha, they say [Usogui] was the closest anyone had come to becoming Kakerou's leader back then. If I can beat that [Usogui]—if I can beat him..."

Swish!

Q Dalang swung his Shakujo hard, smashing the human skull on the floor to pieces.

"As long as I win, I'll be the man who surpassed [Usogui]!!"

"Then, sooner or later, I'll reach the top of Kakerou and take control of an organization with national-level 'power' and 'military force'!!!"

"Now that I know all this, I'm done playing around—kill! I'll kill them myself!"

Twenty minutes had passed since the gamble began.

The situation on the building's sixth floor, where Shiraki Uke and the other three were, had already become clear: all four mercenaries had been incapacitated.

The most badly injured had been kicked in the back of the head by Shiraki Uke, leaving a dent in his skull. Whether he was alive or dead was unknown;

The tall mercenary's groin had burst open and was bleeding, while his face had caved in, a fist mark clearly visible;

The relatively short one's cervical spine had probably been broken by a kick, leaving his lower body paralyzed. He had gasped for breath as he struggled, only to be choked unconscious by the smoke;

The three of them were beyond miserable. By comparison, even death would have been more comfortable.

But even Takaomi Kaji, an ordinary person, could not feel the slightest sympathy for them.

Evil men who killed for pleasure should have been punished long ago!

The last mercenary, the one with slicked-back hair, had known he was outmatched and closed his eyes to play dead. But Shiraki Uke had discovered him and hauled him off the floor.

There were still many traps in the stairwell from the fifth floor down to the first. An obedient guide to scout ahead would save them a great deal of trouble.

The four stripped the mercenaries of their equipment, took what they could use, then threatened the slick-haired mercenary into scouting ahead as they descended from the sixth floor to the fifth.

The gamble had begun on the fifth floor, and Q Dalang and the Masked Man were still there. With Kure Fusui's earlier warning as well, it was no place to linger.

Strangely, there was no sign of activity on the fifth floor, and Q Dalang did not come out to stop them.

They continued downward, breaking through the wire traps in their path on the way to the fourth floor below.

Meanwhile, on the fifth floor, in the office.

Q Dalang felt around the wall for a moment, then pressed a button, raising the concealing wall panel to reveal a wall of LCD monitors behind it.

The surveillance system had yet to be activated, and the screens were pitch-black.

"I have to win this gamble no matter what. Looks like it's time for 'that guy' to make an appearance..."

Q Dalang walked over to the Masked Man, took out a syringe, and drew a small amount of saline solution into it.

Standing nearby, Yagyou noticed something amusing—

The Masked Man hadn't been perfectly still for no reason. He had fallen asleep standing there, and faint snores could be heard.

Once he was ready, Q Dalang patted the Masked Man on the shoulder.

"Hey! Maruk, wake up! Time to change shifts!"

Strangely, Q Dalang called the man "Maruk" this time, rather than "Lodem" as he had before.

Roused by Q Dalang's urging, the Masked Man slowly opened his eyes and looked around blankly.

"Huh? Ah, ah..."

He was clearly dazed from sleep.

Yagyou couldn't help chuckling under his breath, while Q Dalang looked quite helpless.

"This 'Maruk' isn't very bright. He's no help at all. It's the other one I want..."

With that, Q Dalang jabbed the needle straight at the Masked Man.

"Get up, Lodem! It's time for your favorite hunt!"

"..."

Yagyou watched this happen and couldn't help wondering why Q Dalang was doing it.

But immediately afterward, Yagyou suddenly narrowed his eyes.

Oh?

Yagyou noticed that the Masked Man wasn't simply holding his hands behind his back. His thumbs were locked together behind him with Thumb Cuffs.

They were metal restraints made specifically for prisoners, far sturdier than handcuffs. By locking below the thumb joints, they restricted the fingers' dexterity and ability to grip.

When the needle pierced the Masked Man's skin, his entire demeanor abruptly changed. His eyes trembled rapidly, and his teeth ground together.

His hands, restrained behind his back by the Thumb Cuffs, suddenly began to strain as well. Veins bulged on both arms as he pulled hard enough to deform the metal cuffs.

"Kill... kill..."

The Masked Man muttered, growling like a beast—or even a demon.

"Kill!"

Crack!

With a roar, he tore the metal Thumb Cuffs completely apart. The Masked Man's arms were free again, and he couldn't stop muttering under his breath.

Q Dalang looked especially pleased.

He placed a portable camera beside the Masked Man's ear and said with a smile, "All right, Lodem, I've put a Camcorder and Transceiver on you. You need to do as I say..."

Q Dalang was still smiling, but his face looked utterly distorted from any angle.

He said softly, "Now, go kill everyone in this building."

"..."

Boom!

The office's wooden door was torn to pieces.

The Masked Man—Lodem—burst through it at tremendous speed, a sharp dagger in hand. Moving on all fours, he slammed into the concrete wall outside.

Crack!

Lodem dug his five fingers deep into the concrete wall, crouching vertically against it like "Spider-Man" in a gravity-defying pose!

Chapter 27: A Person Beyond Human

On the fifth floor of the building, in Q Dalang's office.

The area outside the door was already a mess.

The Masked Man called "Lodem" held a knife in his left hand, the five fingers of his right hand dug into the wall. His whole body was half-crouched against the side wall, his muscular frame supported by a single hand.

"Huff... huff..."

Lodem panted heavily, waves of hot breath pouring from the breathing hole in his mask.

His utterly abnormal posture revealed an inhuman violence and aggression, making even the well-traveled Yagyou take a few extra looks.

"Haha, you're in good shape..."

Seeing the change in Yagyou's expression, Q Dalang was quite pleased with himself. He urged Lodem on from the doorway. "First, go to the sixth floor and hunt down those three useless fools!"

"Hey, wait!"

An urgent shout came over Q Dalang's communication channel.

The speaker was one of the three mercenaries on the sixth floor—the relatively short one whose cervical spine Shiraki Uke had broken with a kick, and who had then been choked unconscious.

He had just woken up and heard Q Dalang's words through his earpiece. Ignoring his numb lower body, he hurriedly tried to stop him.

"Old man, that's not what we agreed on!"

The mere thought of "Lodem" sent the short mercenary into a panic. "There's no need for 'it' to get involved yet. Anyway, I'll find a way to kill them, so make that thing stop!"

"You're a hopeless fool!" Q Dalang's expression darkened. "You've already been beaten into that miserable state, and you still have the gall to bargain with me..."

The short mercenary hurriedly protested, "Don't be ridiculous! They're extremely cautious and haven't left a single opening! And you saw how strong that man was. He's practically superhuman!"

"That's why..."

Q Dalang grinned slyly. "I've given you an extra man. You'd better thank me!"