In an underground casino in the Kanto region of the Island Nation.
Suzuki Xiaya was sitting on a burly man's back, a metal baseball bat in hand. "You should've paid back the money sooner! You had to make me come after you, you bastard. I'll kill you!"
"Yes, yes... I'm sorry, big brother! I promise I won't fall behind again. I promise, I promise!"
"Get lost!"
Suzuki Xiaya stood up and tapped the metal baseball bat a few times. The men immediately fled the room in terror. Afterward, Suzuki Xiaya set the bat aside and sat on the desk, looking at a ten-year-old child sitting quietly nearby.
"Brat, did you see that clearly? When someone refuses to repay a debt, you have to beat them half to death! Once you beat them until they're in pain and scared, they'll be willing to pay up! Basically, these people aren't unable to repay—they just don't want to."
"Why?" the child asked curiously.
"They'll do anything when they're taking it in, but when you ask them to spit it back out, they refuse to die. What else could it be? One word: greed!" Suzuki Xiaya picked at his ear. "You've been following me to collect debts for almost two months now. Next time, you do it while I watch. If you can't get the money back, you don't get to eat! Did you hear me?"
"Oh."
Looking at the bear of a child, Suzuki Xiaya couldn't tell whether he had taken any of it to heart. He rubbed his brow... but just then, the room suddenly darkened, as if the power had gone out.
Suzuki Xiaya wasn't afraid of the sudden darkness. Neither was the child sitting in the corner, because the child had always been told not to open his eyes casually—but