Daniel didn't rush in.
He stood still and watched Jaegyeon Na carefully.
"Zack, Vin Jin, seal off both sides," he said. "Vasco, hold the front."
Zack glanced at him. "Who do you think you're giving orders to?"
"If you want to win, listen."
Zack clicked his tongue, but his feet were already moving.
The three of them spread out and pressed in from three directions. Jaegyeon Na swept his eyes across their positions and shifted right, trying to open a gap. Zack's footwork instantly matched him, closing off the right angle.
Jaegyeon Na switched left.
Vin Jin was already there.
Jaegyeon Na pushed backward.
Vasco pressed forward from the front with a knee strike, cutting off his retreat.
Jaegyeon Na stopped, dropped his weight and chose to meet it directly, his elbow knocking Vasco's knee off course. He sent a kick back toward Vasco's ribs.
Vasco pressed down on the kick with his forearm, stopping it from landing clean, but was still shoved back a step.
That was when Daniel came in.
Not a hand blade. A low liver punch, dropping his stance, pivoting on his back foot, heel rising as he rotated his hip and drove his fist upward from beneath at an angle.
Yamazaki-Style Kyokushin Liver Punch.
Jaegyeon Na's body sank and shifted just enough to move the angle away, but the punch still caught him in the side of the waist.
Jaegyeon Na sucked in a breath, as his body folded.
'That punch...' he thought as he stepped back. 'If that had landed clean, I'd already be on the ground.'
He looked at Daniel again. 'How many styles does this guy actually have?'
Daniel came forward again, and this time his style changed. His footwork became lighter, his kicking rhythm and angles shifted.
Taekwondo.
A spinning kick swept toward the side of Jaegyeon Na's head. Jaegyeon Na raised his arm and blocked it, but Daniel's foot pushed off Jaegyeon Na's forearm and redirected, sending his other foot into his ribs.
Jaegyeon Na jumped back a step.
Vin Jin grabbed him from behind.
"Daniel!"
Daniel was already there, hand blade raised vertically and dropping straight toward Jaegyeon Na's collarbone.
Jaegyeon Na threw his head back and let it pass. The hand blade hit the floor and split the concrete open.
Jaegyeon Na exploded with force and wrenched free of Vin Jin's hold, then sent a side kick into Daniel's stomach and pushed him back two steps.
He stood still and looked at all four of them.
'Second generation,' the voice in his head shifted. 'You really did grow up.'
---
Jaegyeon Na's legs moved again, and they were faster.
His figure wove between all four of them, each kick heavier than the last. Zack's footwork dodged two, but the third caught him square on the shoulder and sent him spinning. Vasco pushed forward and took a roundhouse kick on his forearm, the impact numbing his arm to the bone, but he didn't retreat. He stepped into it and drove his body into Jaegyeon Na like a wall.
Jaegyeon Na took a step back to get around him.
Vin Jin lunged, dropped low, and wrapped both arms around Jaegyeon Na's waist, lifting him off the ground.
Jaegyeon Na thrashed, driving both elbows down into Vin Jin's back.
Vin Jin held.
"Let go!"
Thud.
Vin Jin slammed Jaegyeon Na into the ground. The whole floor shook.
The arena was silent.
Jaegyeon Na lay face down. He moved his hands and slowly pushed his upper body off the ground. His hair was loose. There was a tear running along the shoulder seam of his shirt.
He sat on the floor and didn't stand right away.
His phone buzzed in his pocket.
He looked at it, then brought it to his ear.
"..."
"I can't do it."
On the other end, James Lee's voice was as calm as ever. "Can't do it? King of Incheon, are you joking? Because of a few second-generation kids?"
Jaegyeon Na said nothing.
"Stop performing," James said. "When did you start needing to fake being knocked down?"
Jaegyeon Na looked at the ring of deep red finger marks pressed into his wrist, and let out a quiet laugh. "James, you haven't fought them. You don't get it."
"Oh?"
"Second generation isn't what it used to be," Jaegyeon Na said.
James was silent for a moment. His tone didn't change. "So what you're telling me is, you can't bring Jinrang and Daniel Park to me?"
Jaegyeon Na didn't answer right away.
James continued. "You know my terms. If you can't deliver, then Incheon's situation is no longer my concern."
Jaegyeon Na closed his eyes and exhaled. "...Then I'll just have to fight until I can't anymore."
A quiet laugh came from the other end of the line. "There's no need for that."
Jaegyeon Na paused.
"You've done enough today," James said. "I keep my word. Incheon will be handled. You can go." He paused. "But before you do, would you mind letting me have a word with Jinrang?"
Jaegyeon Na got to his feet and walked over to Jinrang, holding the phone out. "He wants to talk to you."
Jinrang looked at him for a moment, then took the phone.
"Jinrang," James Lee's voice came through the speaker. "I hear you've been out."
"I heard you came to Busan," Jinrang said. "While I was here."
"I did," James said, a faint note of regret in his voice. "A shame I couldn't meet you. Truly."
"That's your loss," Jinrang said. "I thought it was just fine."
"Ha." James laughed once. "I just have one question. Busan. When are you handing it over?"
Everyone in the arena looked at Jinrang.
Daniel, Vin Jin, Zack, Vasco, Jaegyeon Na, Sang Baek. No one made a sound.
Jinrang was quiet for a moment. Then he spoke.
"I'll hand it over."
Every expression in the arena changed at once.
Daniel's brow tightened. Zack's eyes went wide. Vasco stared at Jinrang like he couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Even Jaegyeon Na raised his head.
"The moment you give back everything you've done to Jinrang Gang," Jinrang said. "Every single thing. Once you've returned all of it to me, Busan is yours."
He closed his hand around the phone and squeezed.
The phone cracked and fell apart in pieces through his fingers.
Nobody spoke.
Jinrang dropped the fragments, raised his head and looked at Daniel. "Say what you came to say."
Daniel stepped forward. "Jinrang-ssi, based on what Jaegyeon Na and James Lee just said, I think you can see clearly enough. I'm not on James Lee's side."
Jinrang nodded.
"What I have to tell you is urgent."
Jinrang glanced over at Sang Baek and Jungseok. "The business between us and Daniel's group is settled." He turned back to Daniel. "Go ahead."
Daniel had already told him about the missing Kings. Now he said the rest.
"Kitae Kim is coming to Busan. He's coming to take it."
Before anyone could respond, two sounds broke through the silence from somewhere at the back of the arena.
Thud. Thud.
Everyone turned.
Do Jaegwang and Song Hashik lay on the ground, their bodies lifeless.