Magami Kenta and Warren Chae stood face to face. Tension boiled between them. Just then, Neko called out.
"Kenta, handle them."
Kenta looked up at Neko and nodded. He immediately threw a punch at Warren. Warren blocked it with his palm, but the sheer impact made him stagger backward. Warren was surprised by the amount of strength Kenta held in his small body.
Kenta had a very small frame, but at that moment, the sheer amount of aura he was emanating made Warren take him seriously.
Kenta took a fighting stance. His pinky finger was missing.
The tension between Warren and Kenta was at a boiling point. Just as they were about to clash, Neko called out to Kenta once again. "Kenta."
Kenta suddenly turned his back on Warren and raised his hand in defeat. Warren was mildly surprised. "What? You're giving up?"
Little Daniel was also surprised. "Are they planning something?"
Neko announced, "You've waited for this for a long time! It's time for the final game! Will we finally get ourselves a winner from this circus?! A total of 5 remaining participants! They will be rewarded if they win!"
The crowd cheered, "YEAAAHHHH!"
Neko continued, "THE FINAL GAME IS CATCH A GOD! ALRIGHT THEN—GOD—PLEASE ENTER!"
Sinu Han slowly entered in style.
Warren asked Sally, "He's the guy who got a head bump from you?"
Sally nodded. "Hmph... So it's nothing."
Vin Jin and Zack Lee slowly walked forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with Warren. Zack asked little Daniel, "So, what's the trick for the final game?"
Little Daniel answered, "...Just hang in."
Vin Jin frowned. "What? What do you—"
A punch nearly connected with Vin Jin's face. Vin Jin tilted his head slightly at the last moment, but the fist grazed his cheek, drawing blood.
Neko explained the rules. "In order to win Catch a God, you have to work together to take down the God! It might sound easy, but know this! THE COMBAT GOD HAS NEVER LOST!"
Sinu Han took his coat off. "I was wondering who you guys were. So you're friends of the lady who gave me a head bump. You guys made it to the last game. But I know you're the bad guys." Saying this, he punched at Zack.
Zack was already badly damaged from his previous fight, so he couldn't dodge the attack. He doubled over.
"Don't hate me. I'm just protecting this place," Sinu said as he threw a back kick at Warren. Warren raised his arms and blocked it.
Zack's body was swaying, and his expression was dark. "We should start trying. We just need to win, even if it means playing dirty."
Warren took his stance. "That's good. We just need to clear this game, right? Let's try this without any tricks for now."
Vin Jin wiped the blood from his cheek and grinned. "You fuckers stay back. It's not good to gang up. I'll fight him by myself."
Seeing the trio, Sinu Han started to have a panic attack. Blurred images of certain guys flashed through his mind, but he couldn't remember anything clearly.
Vin Jin, Warren, and Zack jumped at Sinu. Sinu muttered, "Sorry. I'm sorry, Neko. My condition isn't good. I can't put up a show. I think I'll need to end this quick."
Vin Jin, Warren, and Zack didn't even know what hit them—they were sent flying back. A barrage of attacks fell on them, but they couldn't even see it. Warren and Vin Jin were somehow able to withstand the attacks with their strong physiques, but Zack Lee was completely beaten.
Neko commented, "AMAZ—! AMAZING!! THE GOD OF COMBAT IS CORNERING THEM! THE PARTICIPANTS AREN'T ABLE TO DO ANYTHING! THIS IS INDEED THE POWER OF THE GOD OF COMBAT! WHO CAN TAKE HIM DOWN?!"
On the other hand, Sally was apologizing with a frying pan in her hand—which only God knows where it came from. Before her lay little Daniel, knocked out with a bump on his head. "I-I did nothing wrong! You asked me to do that! I just asked for the solution to end the game. I knocked him out like I was asked to!"
Back at the fight, Sinu Han finally stopped his flurry of attacks. A tall masked figure entered the arena. Everyone asked, "Daniel?"
The masked figure took off his mask. It was Jake Kim. Sinu was stunned to see him. Jake asked, "Hyung, what are you doing here...?"
Sweat began to form on Sinu's face. He asked, "Uh... So... Who are you?"
Jake was shocked for a moment, then sighed. "You're still the same. What kind of joke is that? It's me, Jake. Stop joking around and..."
Sinu interrupted, "No. They said that Jake died though?" Tears fell from Sinu's eyes. "What is this?" He clutched his head and bent over. Jake approached him. "Who the hell told you... I died?"
Neko suddenly announced, "Oh no! We will be ending the circus for today! I'm sorry, but we will be closing the stage! VIPs, please make your exit."
The VIPs were about to create a ruckus, but Nomen approached them and led them out. Big Daniel appeared on the stage. "We're starting to take down the 2A."
As Nomen led the VIPs out into the hallway, they continued creating a ruckus. But Warren approached them from behind. The VIPs hid behind Nomen.
"Heuk!"
"Why is a participant here?"
"A criminal is walking around!"
"Do something!"
Nomen's lackeys rushed at Warren. "President! We'll take care of him! While you get the VIPs out..."
But Nomen stopped them. "No. I'll leave the VIPs to you guys. You can't win against that guy."
Saying that, Nomen slowly took off his mask. "I shouldn't let my family get hurt for nothing. And moreover, it would be a good excuse for me to tell her after taking that guy down!"
Kuroda Ryuhei, the leader of the Japanese biker gang Kagiroi and one of the executives of the 2A, smiled and loosened his tie. "Let's get started!"
---
Zack Lee stood among several bodies. Blood had painted the ground in a brutal display. "You're here? I beat up all your underlings because they tried to attack me when I was searching for you. I can't let someone go who tried to interrupt my fight. Let's fight, kiddo yakuza."
The badly beaten underlings slowly got up.
"You... you're here."
"We don't have any excuses."
They bowed their heads to the ground. "OYABUN!!"
Magami took out a lighter as he turned to Zack. "...You again." He lit the cigarette in his mouth. "So annoying."
Zack couldn't understand Japanese. "What are you saying? Anyway, nice to meet you. I'm a traditional boxer." Though Zack said this, he had chain mail wrapped around his hand behind his back.
Elsewhere, Vin Jin stood in front of a washroom. "Damn, had to hold my shit for all this time 'cause there were none in the arena. But how do I return now? This place all looks the same."
Suddenly, he noticed a large figure passing by. He tapped the guy on the back. "Excuse me. Can you tell me where the exit is?"
Hyottoko turned back and leaned toward Vin Jin, examining him strangely. Then he pointed to the exit. Vin Jin thanked him and was about to leave when Hyottoko grabbed him and threw him against a wall. He was smashed into it.
Vin Jin slowly stood up and cracked his neck. "Now that you've done it, let me show you how deep the hell hole goes."
---
Baki had just returned home after two days. He threw his jacket on the sofa and lay down. Johan was at the hospital with his mother.
The house seemed empty, but Baki guessed that Seongji must be out working. Just then, Sujin entered the apartment through the main door. She greeted Baki.
"Welcome, hyung! How was work?"
Baki nodded. "Yeah. It was good. Are your studies going well?"
Sujin nodded. Then she was about to say something but stopped. Baki noticed and asked, "What happened? Do you want to say something?"
Sujin nodded. "Hyung, Vin Jin has been missing since yesterday. I just met with Eli and found out that Warren and Sally are missing too. They went missing around the same time. I haven't informed Seongji-hyung yet. Eli seemed to want to go search for them, but I stopped him because it feels too dangerous."
Baki scratched his head. "Did they say anything before leaving?"
Sujin nodded. "Before leaving, Vin Jin said he was going to meet his friend Daniel. But since then, he hasn't answered his calls."
Hearing the name Daniel, Baki recognized who she meant. As far as he knew, there were two Daniels, but he wasn't quite sure which one Vin Jin had gone to meet. Baki grabbed his jacket and stood up again. "I'll go search for them. Don't worry—Vin and Warren are strong. Sally is safe with them."
---
Tom Lee stood nearly naked except for his underwear, his hair down, before Mandeok—who was badly bruised with blood staining his clothes—and Yuseong.
Tom Lee laughed as he reminisced about Gun and Goo. "This reminds me of the old days when I fought with those little kids. Looks like I have to find out if you guys are around their level or not. Shall we star..."
Eugene interrupted Tom Lee and approached him. "Mr. Tom Lee. You passed the test."
Tom Lee grabbed Eugene's throat, but Eugene continued. "After looking at your skills, I feel like it'd be a waste to lose you."
Tom Lee picked him up by his throat. "What did you say? Are you out of your mind? What are you...?"
Eugene interrupted, "It would be too troublesome if you do this. I know where that person is."
Tom Lee was surprised. "...What?"
Eugene smiled and continued, "0 Gen, Garpyong's Fist, action leader, Jinyoung Park." Hearing him, Tom Lee's face twisted. Eugene continued, "Isn't he the person you've been trying to find your entire life? Isn't that one of the reasons you created the White Tiger Job Centre? To find that person, right?"
Tom Lee carefully put Eugene down. "You're not upset with me, right? Don't be like that and talk slowly to me. You said you know where that guy is? I'll do anything for you..." Tom Lee knelt in front of Eugene.
Eugene looked down at him. "What I want is simple. Come to the Workers. Currently, the Workers have suffered a loss in strength after losing Sinu. If the White Tiger Job Centre fills that gap, the Workers would be much stronger. That's why I'm thinking of trading through Jinyoung Park. I want the White Tiger Job Centre to work under me—"
Just as he said this, his body suddenly shot like a bullet and slammed headfirst into a wall. Everyone was shocked.
A voice echoed, "Old man, you're not going to accept his offer, right? I didn't join White Tiger Job Centre to work under a scheming bastard."
Baki spoke as he approached Tom Lee. Yuseong and Mandeok rushed at Baki. Baki didn't even turn to them. He kept looking at Tom Lee, who seemed to be in shock.
Just as Mandeok and Yuseong closed in on Baki, both of them shot back and slammed against the wall.
Tom Lee stood up and leaned toward Baki. His eyes were bloodshot, his face contorted with anger.
The tension between Baki and Tom Lee was suffocating, until Tom Lee backed down. He waved his hand. For the first time, Tom Lee called out Baki's name. "Baki... This is a personal matter. I'll talk to you later."
Baki looked at Tom Lee for a moment and shrugged. "Old man, I don't know what history you have with this Jinyoung guy, but I didn't join White Tiger Job Centre to work under a twig."
With that, Baki left. On his way out, he met Sally and Warren, who was carrying Zack on his shoulder. Just a little further, they saw Vin Jin stuffing tissue paper into the mouth of the unconscious Hyottoko. Seeing Baki, he abruptly stood up.
"Huh? Baki-hyung? What are you doing here?" Vin Jin asked as he approached them.
Baki smiled. "That's what I should be asking. You guys have been missing since yesterday with no contact. I'll let you fill in the details once we return."
As they were all leaving, Sally suddenly asked, "Did you guys see Daniel?"
Vin Jin shook his head. "Nah. Didn't you knock him unconscious?"
Sally was a little flustered hearing Vin Jin, but Warren came to her rescue. "That's because little Daniel told her to do that. Though I don't understand why he would do that. But I saw Jerry Kwon carrying him away."
Sally nodded, but for some reason, she couldn't shake off the feeling that they were leaving someone behind.