Daniel Park woke up in a dim, stone cell. He looked around at the cold walls and realized the room was completely empty.
"How did I wake up here? Where is this place?"
He approached the iron bars and gripped them with both hands to look outside. The corridor was silent and smelled of damp earth and stale air.
"There is no point in trying to escape."
Yujae Seon approached the cell with his hands tucked behind his back. He smiled like a fox while the flickering torchlight cast long shadows across his face.
"Daniel Park... You are in the most fortified prison in all of Incheon. This is the Dark Crocodile Fort. There is no escape from here."
Daniel slammed his open palms against the bars and his eyes burned with anger.
"Yujae Seon, you backstabbing bitch!"
Yujae's expression flickered for a brief second before he regained his composure. He smoothed out the wrinkles in his blue shirt.
"To complete my goals, I will go to any extent."
Daniel clenched his teeth so hard that his jaw ached. He glared at the man through the iron obstacles.
"I know you are friends with Jake Kim, the son of Gapryong Kim. I heard that he has met with Speed. I want you to tell me everything you know about their plans."
"I won't help a bastard like you in any way!"
Yujae stepped closer until his face was inches from the bars and whispered into the cell.
"I am asking this for your sake and for the sake of Speed. Daniel Park... Try to understand me."
Daniel's mind shook as he tried to process the strange tone in the man's voice. He couldn't understand what Yujae meant by those words.
Yujae turned his back on the prisoner and began to walk away.
"Daniel Park... I will return soon. If you are still stubborn then, I won't have any choice but to show you Incheon's special hospitality."
Daniel stood there in silence while Yujae's previous words reeled in his mind. He looked at Yujae's retreating back and realized he didn't understand anything about this man.
Yujae stepped inside the lift and watched the floor numbers change. His mind drifted back to a different day and a much more dangerous one.
---
Flashback~~~
Yujae stood perfectly straight with his arms behind his back. The air in the room was thick with steam and the scent of expensive tobacco.
A gigantic, tan man was submerged in a hot spring while he smoked a thick cigar. He had multiple alligator-shaped scars on his face and one of his eyes was milky and blind.
"Yujae Seon... I keep giving you time. But you are failing my expectations."
Paecheon Jo spoke with a voice that was hoarse and deep. Yujae bowed low and kept his eyes on the tiled floor.
"I apologize. Dealing with the Speed Circle is not easy. They have a large underground pathway and escape every time we surround them."
Paecheon Jo nodded and blew a cloud of smoke toward the ceiling.
"Don't force me to take action."
Just then, the heavy doors burst open and a body flew across the room. Ryu crashed into a marble pillar and slumped to the floor in a heap.
A man even bigger than Paecheon Jo entered through the broken doorway. He wore a red shirt with white stripes and dragged Mugak inside by throat.
Both Paecheon Jo and Yujae narrowed their eyes at the intruder. Foam leaked from Mugak's mouth.
Paecheon stood up and climbed out of the water to reveal a body covered in corded muscle. He extended his hand toward Yujae while keeping his gaze locked on the intruder.
Yujae bowed and quickly handed him a clean towel. Paecheon Jo wrapped it around his waist and took a deep drag of his cigar.
"So... you are the one who dares to disturb the Great King's rest?
Kitae didn't answer with words. Instead, he threw Mugak at Paecheon Jo's feet like a piece of trash.
"He was the most devoted one among your subordinates. I wanted to kill him, but I thought it would be interesting if I killed him before your eyes."
Paecheon Jo's face twisted into a mask of pure rage.
""You insolent cur! How dare you lay your filthy hands upon the Great King!"
Kitae's expression didn't change as he stepped further into the room.
"Paecheon Jo... One of the Seven Ultimate Masters. The Immortal. The Black Alligator. One man has many titles."
Kitae's face twisted into a broad and terrifying smile.
"But none of those matter. I just wonder how alligator meat tastes."
Yujae Seon stepped forward with his fists clenched.
"I will handle him."
Paecheon Jo raised a massive arm to stop him.
"Back off, Yujae! Do not dare to step forth! This creature is not one for a mere subject to face. It has been many an age since this Great King has laid eyes upon such a wretched monster!"
He turned to Kitae and continued while smoke leaked from his nose.
"At last, the truth is laid bare! Now this Great King understands why Shingen failed to bring this wretched land to heel! But mark my words, beast! I am not Shingen Yamazaki! I am Paecheon Jo, the Absolute Master, the Sovereign of the Black Blood! I shall accomplish what the Tora Oni could not!"
Kitae laughed like a demon and the sound echoed off the damp walls.
"Hahaha! You will take over Korea? Save your skin first before blabbering nonsense."
Paecheon took a final drag of his cigar and flicked the burning ember toward the intruder's eyes. As Kitae swiped the sparks away, the massive man vanished from his spot.
"Know the weight of your insolence! Dark Crocodile Pierce!"
Paecheon lunged forward with his fingers clustered into a jagged spear. The strike aimed perfectly at Kitae's throat.
Kitae didn't flinch. He caught the piercing fingers in his open palm and squeezed.
CLANG!
The floor beneath Kitae's boots shattered as the shockwave traveled through his body and into the foundation. He leaned in close to Paecheon's face, his eyes wide and bloodshot.
"Is that it? The King's poke? It feels like a mosquito bite!"
Kitae squeezed until the bones in Paecheon's hand began to groan. Paecheon's eyes narrowed, but he did not pull away. He twisted his torso and slammed his shoulder into Kitae's chest.
"This King's body is a mountain that cannot be moved! Taste the Iron Mountain!"
WHAM!
The massive counter-strike sent Kitae skidding back across the wet tiles. Kitae didn't stop himself. He let his body hit the wall and laughed while he bounced back toward the center of the room.
"A mountain! I love climbing mountains! I love tearing them down even more!"
Kitae rushed back in with no technique at all. He swung a wild, overhead right.
Paecheon shifted his weight and rotated his lead hand to catch the blow. He attempted to shed the momentum and open Kitae up for a counter, but the sheer weight of the strike was too much to redirect. The fist smashed through his guard and connected with his forehead.
SPLAT!
The impact sent Paecheon crashing into a massive marble pillar. He stepped out of the debris with blood pouring down his face and a manic fire in his eyes.
"Aaaargh! You beast! To lay hands on the Great King's visage... I shall tear your soul from your ribs!"
Paecheon lunged with a long-strike palm technique. His hand hit Kitae's chest with an explosion of compressed air that sounded like a cannon.
BOOM!
Kitae was launched into the hot spring and sent a massive plume of scalding water toward the ceiling. He emerged from the steam almost immediately with his red shirt clinging to his skin.
"Hot! It's hot! It feels like home!"
Kitae grabbed a marble bench and ripped it from the floor. He swung the massive stone slab like it was a toy. Paecheon didn't dodge. He stood his ground and unleashed a rapid-fire sequence of finger-flicks that targeted the stress points of the stone.
CRACK!
The bench disintegrated into gravel before it could touch him. Paecheon glided forward on the wet floor. He drove a two-finger spear into the soft tissue of Kitae's throat. It didn't pierce deep.
GURGLE!
Kitae staggered, clutching his neck, but his grin didn't fade. He swung a wild, heavy hook. Paecheon leaned back just enough for the fist to graze his chin and countered with a devastating palm strike to Kitae's chin.
THWACK!
The force of the upward strike lifted Kitae off his feet. Paecheon followed up instantly. He threw a relentless barrage of open-hand strikes.
His hands moved in a blur of circular motions. One strike landed on Kitae's collarbone. Another drove into his solar plexus. A third strike, delivered with the base of his palm, sent Kitae skidding across the slippery tiles.
WHAM!
Kitae smashed into the edge of the bath, cracking the stone lip. He stood up and shook his head like a wet dog. He landed a flurry of raw, unrefined punches into Paecheon's gut.
"One for the King! Two for the King! Three for the King!"
Each hit produced a sound like a hammer hitting a drum. Paecheon's internal organs squeezed under the pressure. He caught a heavy hook with his forearm and drove his stiffened thumb into the nerve cluster in Kitae's armpit.
THUD!
Kitae's arm went limp for a second, but he simply used his other hand to grab Paecheon's hair. He delivered a devastating headbutt. The collision sounded like two boulders smashing together.
THWACK!
Paecheon's head snapped back and his nose exploded in a spray of red. He countered with a piercing strike to Kitae's shoulder that tore through muscle to reach the bone.
"Do you see now, mongrel?! You face the Absolute Master! Your primitive brawling cannot reach the heavens where this King resides!"
Kitae ignored the hole in his shoulder and threw a heavy straight. Paecheon used his defensive rotation to slip past the attempt and landed a massive back-strike.
WHAM!
The blow sent Kitae through a stone wall. The building groaned as he was buried under tons of rubble. For several seconds, only the sound of falling dust remained.
Suddenly, the debris exploded outward. Kitae emerged with a grin that reached from ear to ear and eyes wide with a terrifying, hollow madness.
"You're strong! You're really strong! I'm going to have so much fun ripping you apart!"
Kitae charged like a freight train and ignored a direct spear-hand to his chest. He caught Paecheon's wrist mid-strike and simply crushed it until the skin split open.
CRUNCH!
Paecheon let out a strangled cry as Kitae slammed a fist into his face. He countered by driving his free palm into the side of Kitae's neck, the shockwave rattling Kitae's brain.
BOOM!
Neither man backed down. They stood in the center of the ruined bathhouse and traded blows that would have killed a any other person.
Kitae gripped Paecheon's throat and lifted the mountain of a man off the ground with one hand. He drove his free fist into Paecheon's solar plexus with every ounce of his weight.
BOOM!
The shockwave of the blow traveled through Paecheon's back and blew out the entire rear wall of the bathhouse. Paecheon slumped to the floor with his breathing ragged and his body broken.
Kitae looked down at the fallen man and crouched down.
"Not a King. Just an alligator. And alligator tastes like chicken."
Paecheon coughed up blood, his face twisted into something extreme.
"You... wretched... demon... You think... this is the end of the Great King?"
Paecheon's blood began to boil and steam rose from his open wounds. His skin darkened into a deep, bruised purple as his blood vessels throbbed and expanded like writhing snakes.
"Observe! The Black Blood Transformation!"