Seeking Him Among the Multitude

Narancia's figure was engulfed by light.

The light blast, powerful enough to shatter gold and jade, struck his back without reservation, its terrifying energy silently blooming amidst the dazzling light.

The skin and flesh were torn apart, and blood gushed out.

But what came out of Narancia's mouth was not a shrill cry of pain, but a trembling voice. "Go!"

Fugo's heart pounded.

He instinctively reached out to help Narancia, who was swaying in pain, but stopped himself in his tracks at the sight of Narancia's determined and urgent gaze.

"I'm leaving!"

Fugo clenched his Riot Games so tightly that his nails almost dug into his flesh.

He knew this was his last chance, the only chance Narancia had given him with her body.

Overwhelmed by indescribable emotions, Fugo withdrew his hands from supporting Narancia and turned to take a large step further away.

We've finally covered that short 20-meter distance.

Throughout the entire escape, not a single flare missed its mark and landed on the ground, nor did any new damaged terrain appear around Fugo.

He succeeded; he escaped the pursuit of the Tower of the Sun.

The instant Fugo escaped the 20-meter kill zone, the light gathered on the Sun Disc dimmed instantly.

Then, the light faded, the tower collapsed, and everything vanished.

And no new Sun Disc appeared beside Fugo.

"Narancia, we succeeded!"

Fugo turned around and spoke in a trembling, strained voice.

At that moment, Narancia was lying on the ground less than 2 meters behind him, barely alive.

But Fugo dared not approach or offer assistance, for he did not know the specific operating mechanism of the Tower of the Sun. He feared that if he stepped back into that 20-meter radius, the vanished tower would be rekindled.

He could only stand there and watch as his companion trembled and moaned in pain.

"No, it's nothing."

"Such injuries won't kill you."

"As long as we quickly eliminate that enemy hiding in the shadows, you and I can both return alive."

Narancia's pale, bloodless face still showed no fear.

He collapsed to the ground, gazing intently at Fugo with his unwavering eyes that had not faded in the slightest.

"Fugo".

"The battle ahead is now in your hands."

"."

Fugo remained silent, biting his lip and clenching his fists.

He never imagined that the homeless child he had picked up from the street a year ago would one day stand in his way.

This feeling was something he had never experienced even back in the mansion where he was born and raised; it was like being with real family.

For some reason, the fear that had always lingered in his heart disappeared.

This guy, who is not greedy for power or wealth, has no ideals, and doesn't like fighting, seems to have found the meaning of his journey through countless life-or-death situations.

"Um."

Fugo nodded solemnly.

Purple Haze slowly stood beside her master, her muscles gradually tensing silently.

"Leave it to me, Narancia."

Not far away, there is a supermarket on the street.

In front of the transparent floor-to-ceiling glass, a tall man in a bright gold suit stood quietly in front of the shelf by the window.

His sharp, cold gaze pierced through the glass and the night, silently locking onto Fugo and Narancia on the street.

Looking at Narancia, who was severely injured and lying on the ground after being hit by the light bullets, and Fugo, who had successfully "escaped" under Narancia's cover, a slightly mocking sneer appeared on his lips:

"Sacrifice yourself to free your comrades from the endless attacks of the Sun Disc."

"What a deep friendship!"

"What a pity. This is exactly what I wanted, isn't it?"

"Kino Azir, the master of the Sun Disc, said to himself in such a relaxed tone."

Indeed, Fugo's temporary escape did not cause him any loss.

On the contrary, he successfully caused Narancia to be seriously injured and weakened, thus completing half of the mission objective.

And what if Fugo manages to escape the pursuit for the time being?

The power of the Sun Disc still invisibly locks him in place.

Whenever Fugo passes by a place with "ruins," the Sun Disc will reappear beside him, causing everything that just happened to repeat itself.

It's important to know that in Rome, an ancient city that has undergone modernization for a long time and whose urban facilities are gradually aging, there are countless places with damaged roads and dilapidated buildings.

Kino doesn't even need to take action; he can simply wait for Fugo to walk around the old town a couple of times, and the Sun Disc will surely reappear.

"Hmph, what an easy battle."

He hid behind the supermarket's floor-to-ceiling windows, mingling among ordinary customers, smiling nonchalantly.

The Sun Disc is a remote, automated Stand. Once it locks onto a target through the user's vision, it will automatically begin its pursuit.

This means that Kino himself doesn't need to show up to command or appear in front of the enemy at all.

As long as he stays quietly in the shadows like this, he can watch his enemies die a painful death in endless pursuit.

For Kino, this kind of battle is absolutely safe.

"I only need to glance at them from afar to use my abilities; those two idiots didn't even notice I was there from the start."

"And when I blended into the crowd and hid in the supermarket, it became even less likely that they would pick me out from among so many ordinary people."

Kino said to himself with such confidence.

He watched from afar as Fugo stood helplessly in front of his seriously injured comrade on the street, and felt an immense sense of satisfaction.

Of course, Kino also looked forward to Fugo's embarrassing performance afterward.

Like a mischievous village child who sticks a delayed-action firecracker into cow dung, they hide far away, well hidden, and excitedly anticipate what misfortune will befall any passerby.

And just then...

"Gentlemen."

The supermarket clerk's polite greeting gently rang in Kino's ears:

"You've been looking at this bag of underwear for a minute now."

"Excuse me, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Um?"

Kino was suddenly jolted awake from his intense observation:

"Cough cough."

Somewhat embarrassed, he put the underwear box he had casually picked up to disguise it back on the shelf, then said with a straight face:

"No need for help, I can choose by myself."

Shouldn't we spend more time choosing what we wear?

"But," the saleswoman said meaningfully, "It looks like you've picked up women's underwear."

Kino's face stiffened.

Being interrupted like this at such a crucial moment in the performance made him quite impatient.

"What, is this any of your business?"

Did you know there are 56 ways to choose your gender?

"Is there anything wrong with me, a grown man, buying women's underwear?"

Kino's righteous and stern rebuke startled the meddlesome saleswoman, who retreated in fear.

Finally, the guy who had kept him from watching the show left.

Except for the customer standing a little further away from him, this little incident did not affect Kino at all.

He turned back with satisfaction, casting his gaze through the glass once more towards the distant street.

However.

"Gone?!"

Kino's pupils contracted, and his heart skipped a beat:

"No, Narancia is still lying on the ground, but Fugo is nowhere to be seen."

"This guy isn't going to save his companion? Could it be... he's planning to run away alone?"

Thinking of this, he smiled disdainfully again:

Running away is of course useless.

Being locked onto by an automatic stand with a range of several kilometers, there's no point in escaping.

In this old town with its dilapidated roads, the Sun Disc will be triggered by Fugo sooner or later.

Just as Kino was thinking this, the supermarket door was suddenly pushed open from the outside.

A blond young man, covered in dust, sweat, and with blood streaming from his left arm, walked into the supermarket amidst the horrified stares of passersby and customers.

His face was as cold as ice, but his eyes were as fiery as fire.

"Pannakoda Fugo?"

"How is this possible? How did he find his way here!"

Kino's heart skipped a beat.

His greatest skill is assassination and sneak attacks, but he is not good at facing enemies head-on.

He rarely encountered a situation like this, where the enemy got so close to his hiding place.

And now approaching is a terrifying enemy with a deadly virus and powerful close-combat abilities.

Based on the swiftness and skill that Fugo and Purple Haze displayed in dodging the light blasts, they are fully capable of tower diving and killing without taking damage while being attacked by the Sun Disc.

In other words, if Kino's true identity is exposed, Fugo is absolutely capable of killing him head-on here.

"This shouldn't be happening, this shouldn't be happening."

Kino tried his best to maintain a calm demeanor, making sure that Fugo, who had just walked into the supermarket, wouldn't notice anything amiss.

"Purple Haze has no ability to locate enemies, and Aerosmith can only detect carbon dioxide concentration."

"I blended in with the crowd quietly from the beginning, how could they have figured out that I was hiding in this supermarket?"

"That's impossible!"

"Could it be... could it be that he just walked in randomly?"

In the sudden surge of tension, Kino even had such absurd thoughts.

Surprisingly, Fugo actually confirmed this absurd idea:

"The guy who plays with plates—"

"I don't know who you are, what you look like, or even where you are hiding right now."

Suddenly, Fugo angrily shouted at everyone present in the supermarket.

Nearly twenty ordinary people, including customers and staff, were now looking at the strange young man who was bleeding profusely with puzzled and fearful expressions.

He just kept yelling like that, regardless of everything else:

"But, just think about it and you'll know:"

"Even a remote-controlled, automated avatar still needs to lock onto its target at close range using some means at the beginning."

"This means that you must have been nearby when the battle just started."

"And this battle has only lasted a minute from the start until now. You certainly didn't have time to leave in that short time—not only did you not leave, you probably thought you would be very safe hiding in the crowd, so you hid in a nearby shop and watched the show with glee."

Fugo paused slightly, then his voice suddenly turned icy cold:

"Am I right, you damn bastard?"

The surrounding guests were all confused but impressed, finding the young man's hysterical behavior somewhat frightening, so frightening that they felt they needed to call the police.

However, unlike the panicked ordinary people, Kino, whom Fugo considered a killer, was actually relieved by these words:

"Haha. What is it!"

"In the end, this guy just deduced that I was hiding in the crowd nearby."

"But there are so many people in this supermarket. How could that brute who only knows how to put out viruses possibly pick me out of the crowd?"

Thinking of this, Kino couldn't help but chuckle and feel relieved.

He assumed that Fugo had gone mad from the shock of his companion's serious injury, which was why he had randomly chosen a roadside shop to come and shout.

Do you think a few words could scare him into jumping out on his own?

How naive!

Kino was thinking this in his heart.

But Fugo, as if on the same wavelength, suddenly saw through his thoughts:

"You're right, I really can't pick you out of the crowd."

"But... do I need to look for it?"

"The only shops still open around here are a few that are convenient for blending in with the crowd, and they only have a few dozen people in total."

Purple Haze suddenly appeared behind Fugo, and a faint purple aura followed.

His eyes flashed with boundless killing intent, and his golden hair moved without wind, like a lion blinded by rage.

"Kill them all, and I won't need to search anymore."