Become Light

Staring at the knife-hand stopped right in front of his nose, Kenta trembled, feeling a warm stream slowly spread through his lower half.

"Eww!"

Baicang backed away two steps in disgust, distancing himself from the yellow liquid flowing out around Kenta's feet.

"Seeing how spineless you are, I guess you didn't bring him."

Before Kenta could recover from his fright, he saw Baicang dash toward the bushes beside the road.

"Aah!" A scream rang out.

A figure rolled out of the bushes and hit the ground. His face was swollen like a pig's head, making it hard to tell whether he was a monster or something else.

But Kenta spotted the tuft of red hair on top of that piglike face and asked uncertainly, "Mountain Chicken?"

"Dammit, you got me killed!"

The pig-faced "monster" was none other than Kenta's sworn rival, Mountain Chicken, the leader of another biker gang.

Mountain Chicken had recently noticed that Kenta no longer came to fight or race him every day. Instead, he was asking around about other gangs, leaving Mountain Chicken terribly lonely.

He suspected that Kenta had been coerced into becoming a police informant. That was a dangerous road to go down!

Although he and Kenta didn't get along, and their gangs often fought, all that fighting had built a bond between them. He still had to compete with Kenta for the title of New District Racing King. How could he watch Kenta waste himself like this?

So he had decided to secretly follow Kenta alone and find out what was going on.

And the result...

"You know him?" Baicang planted a foot on Mountain Chicken's piglike face and turned toward Kenta.

Seeing Mountain Chicken's pleading gaze, Kenta hesitated, then nodded.

What a good brother!

Baicang had noticed Mountain Chicken crouching in the bushes as soon as he reached the intersection. At first, he had thought Kenta had stationed him there for an ambush, but sending just one person was seriously underestimating him.

One little test had made Kenta piss himself. And this guy called himself a gang boss.

"What are you doing skulking alone in the bushes by the road? Don't tell me you came here to take a shit."

Baicang removed his foot from Mountain Chicken's chest and watched him keep signaling to Kenta with his eyes.

Noticing Baicang's icy stare, Mountain Chicken hurriedly said, "#&-*^@..."

Baicang: "..."

He drove a vicious kick into Mountain Chicken's stomach and snapped, "Speak like a human!"

Seeing Mountain Chicken almost foam at the mouth from the kick, Kenta hurriedly translated, repeating what Mountain Chicken had said for Baicang.

How the hell did you understand that?

Watching Kenta get up and help Mountain Chicken to his feet, Baicang could only describe the pair as Crouching Dragon and Young Phoenix. One couldn't write, the other couldn't talk. A perfect match!

Then he used his superpower on Mountain Chicken and tossed the candy at their feet. Baicang was about to leave when Kenta stopped him.

"Um, sir, I've told you everything I know about this area. I really can't do anything about other places. Could you..."

Kenta's voice grew quieter and quieter.

Baicang slowly turned and stared at Kenta's bowed head.

True, that's a problem. What should I do?

Wait, that's not my problem. What the hell am I thinking about it for?

"Figure it out yourself. Expand your influence or whatever. All I want is information. Don't try getting clever with me."

"I know everything about you, including the things you care about. Even if you don't care about yourself, think about them."

The icy words from beneath Baicang's mask made Kenta feel as though he had plunged into an abyss.

That devil! How did he know?!

Baicang gave Kenta and the trembling Mountain Chicken beside him a long look, then vanished into the night sky.

"Damn it!"

Kenta dropped to his knees and furiously pounded the ground to vent his anger. Beside him, Mountain Chicken cursed too. "That son of a-"

Before he could finish, Baicang returned and sent him flying with a kick, leaving him motionless on the ground.

"From now on, we'll meet once a week. Don't worry. I upgraded the formula for the candy you ate today. You'll be fine."

Grabbing Kenta by the back of his collar, he hauled him up and patted his shoulder. "There are perks to working for me. From now on, whenever I clean out a place, you'll take over its turf. You'll definitely become the Underworld King. I believe in you."

"Remember, don't do anything I don't like. Watch what you do from now on. Understand?"

Kenta didn't dare speak. He nodded repeatedly until Baicang vanished again.

Only after waiting a good while without Baicang reappearing did Kenta dare check on Mountain Chicken, who still lay motionless on the ground.

"Mountain Chicken! Are you okay?"

Kenta hurried to Mountain Chicken's side to check his good buddy's injuries.

"Has that monster left?" Mountain Chicken cracked his eyes open, not daring to get up for fear that Baicang would return. Only when Kenta nodded did he slowly sit up, his face defiant as he opened his mouth to curse.

Kenta immediately covered his mouth and shook his head frantically. "What if he hasn't left yet? Do you have a death wish?"

"Why's your hand smell like piss?"

Watching this from atop a distant streetlight, Baicang nodded in satisfaction.

As for the threats he had just made to Kenta...

He had no time to investigate all that nonsense. It had all been a bluff to scare Kenta.

The information Kenta provided was pretty useful, but that was about it. Having him or not made little difference; without him, things would just be slightly more troublesome. Still, he needed to be kept in line. He hadn't even realized someone was following him. Baicang couldn't let him stir up trouble next time and drag him into it.

Taking out the list of tonight's lucky winners, Baicang was already rubbing his hands in anticipation.

"I have an announcement. I'm invincible!"

Last night, after thoroughly punishing the little groups spreading delinquency and corruption through society, Baicang had confiscated all their ill-gotten money.

There had been no annoying phone call from Mizuki in the morning, either. He had slept until eight before getting up. Life simply couldn't get any better.

When he saw his newly refreshed superpower after waking up, Baicang couldn't help laughing aloud.

Child of Light: Become light, young man!

"Is it finally my turn to strike it rich?! Hahahaha!"

Baicang laughed with wild abandon. Fortunately, Runo had already gone to school, or she would definitely have thought her brother had lost his mind.

But his excitement didn't last long. Baicang soon remembered the bizarre effects of his previous superpowers, and half his enthusiasm instantly chilled.

But the previous ones at least had some explanation. This time, it only says to become light. What if?

After thinking it over, Baicang decided to find a deserted spot and test its effects first. He called Mizuki to tell her something urgent had come up and he wouldn't be coming today, then climbed onto his motorcycle and rode toward the outskirts of the city.

Mount Ohara stood on the border between A City and Y City. Animal-like monsters often appeared there, leaving the entire mountain range largely deserted.

Even avid hikers and anglers who loved fishing in the wild stayed away.

Splat! He crushed an arm-length centipede underfoot, and the splattering slime nearly hit Baicang's pants.

"Ugh, it burst! That's disgusting!"

Baicang hurriedly scraped his shoe back and forth across the ground, wiping off the green liquid.

Actually, he didn't have to come this far. Any deserted spot would have done for his transformation, but Baicang still held on to a sliver of hope.

What if I really become a giant of light? Transforming in the city would draw too much attention. It'd be trouble if someone spotted me. Only deep in the mountains like this can I feel safe.

He scanned the surrounding woods and found no wild animals or monsters hiding nearby. Once he had confirmed it was safe...

Baicang slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then snapped them open.

"Transform!"