Paecheon stood up slowly as his skin darkened into a deep, bruised purple. The steam rising from his body carried the metallic scent of burning copper.
His eyes were no longer bloodshot but glowed with a dull, sickly light. He shifted his stance, keeping his hands low and his weight perfectly balanced as he watched Kitae's every movement.
"I have not tasted this much of my own blood in nearly a decade."
Paecheon glided forward without making a sound on the wet floor. He didn't rush in. Instead, he waited for Kitae to swing a heavy right hand and slipped under the arc of the punch.
He drove his palm into Kitae's liver with the force of a battering ram. The impact caused the water remaining in the hot spring to ripple violently.
BOOM!
Kitae didn't fly back. He absorbed the blow and grabbed Paecheon's shoulder, but Paecheon rotated his torso and escaped the grip before the fingers could sink into his flesh.
Kitae's laughter died down and a heavy, suffocating pressure began to radiate from his body. The air grew thick and cold, making it feel as though the very oxygen had turned into lead.
Paecheon felt a shiver run down his spine as the aura of despair washed over him. Kitae looked less like a man and more like an impending natural disaster.
Kitae stepped forward with heavy footsteps. He swung a backhand that Paecheon barely managed to block with both forearms.
WHACK!
Paecheon was skidded across the room, his feet carving deep grooves into the stone. He realized his physical transformation wasn't enough to bridge the gap in raw power.
Kitae was moving faster now. He appeared in front of Paecheon and landed a punch that sent a shockwave through the entire bathhouse. The remaining marble pillars began to develop long, jagged cracks.
CRACK!
Paecheon realized that the monster in front of him was growing stronger with every second. He reached behind a nearby pile of rubble and pulled out a long, heavy box.
He shattered it and took out the Hwarang sword. The blade hummed with a hungry vibration. Paecheon took a deep breath.
His heart rate slowed and the chaos of the room seemed to fade into a dull hum. He lowered his center of gravity.
"You should have killed me when you had the chance, boy."
Kitae roared and lunged with a punch. Paecheon's eyes sharpened.
SWISH!
The blade moved in a vertical arc that was almost too fast to follow. It sliced through Kitae's red shirt and left a deep, bleeding gash across his chest.
Kitae didn't stop. He tried to grab the blade with his bare hands, but Paecheon vanished.
Dozens of afterimages surrounded the brawler. Each one delivered a lightning-fast slash that carved into Kitae's arms and legs.
SHING!
Blood sprayed against the walls as Paecheon moved with impossible speed. He swung the Hwarang sword with a massive horizontal stroke that didn't just target Kitae.
The edge of the blade sent out a pressurized wave of air that sliced through the solid concrete wall behind his opponent. The entire upper floor of the bathhouse began to tilt and slide off its foundation.
RUMBLE!
Kitae stood in the center of the destruction with a dozen mortal wounds. He was covered in his own blood, yet the grin on his face remained as wide as ever.
He ignored the pain and caught the Hwarang sword mid-swing between his palms.
SQUEAL!
Paecheon gasped as Kitae's grip tightened on the steel. He tried to pull the sword back, but Kitae was a fixed point in the universe.
"Is this your toy? It's sharp... but you're still weak!"
Kitae delivered a headbutt that carried the weight of the entire building. The impact shattered the purple aura around Paecheon and sent the sword flying into the shadows.
THWACK!
Paecheon fell to his knees as the Black Blood Transformation flickered and died. His skin returned to its normal pale hue and he coughed up a thick, dark glob of blood.
Kitae stood over him and looked like a demon rising from the pits of hell. He didn't raise his fist to finish the job. He just announced.
"The alligator is dead."
Kitae wiped a trail of blood from his jaw and turned to Yujae.
"Listen well! There is no more Dark Crocodile Society from this day on!"
---
Present ~~~
Daniel sat in the dark cell, recalling Yujae's words. He wondered what the man intended to do. There was definitely something going on that he was unable to understand.
Finding answers required getting out of the cell. Escaping this place was an impossible task for anyone else, but not for Daniel.
Daniel laid down on the hard ground and closed his eyes, forcing himself to fall asleep.
---
At Speed's base, Daniel suddenly opened his eyes. Boknam stood beside him and blew a pink bubble with his gum.
"Dude, why did you fall asleep so suddenly?"
Daniel stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes. He needed an excuse that wouldn't sound suspicious.
"I was tired from traveling."
Boknam shrugged and turned toward the door.
"Anyway, Jaegyeon Na has returned. He wants to see you."
Daniel suppressed his thoughts about the other world. He decided to check out the current situation before inquiring about Yujae. He followed Boknam outside into the main yard where Jaegyeon stood with Sung and Roy.
Boknam called out to get their attention.
"Daniel is awake."
Jaegyeon Na and the others turned to face him.
"So the sleeping beauty is finally up?"
Daniel did not answer. He honestly did not know how to respond to the joke. Jaegyeon shook his head and smiled before suddenly shifting his weight into a fighting stance.
"Daniel Park, I personally witnessed your strength in Busan. But there was something I could not verify at that time. I would like to verify that now."
Daniel did not have time to understand the request. Before he could even react, Jaegyeon Na launched himself forward.
Jaegyeon's lead leg whipped upward in a high arc. Daniel leaned his head back, feeling the wind from the kick graze his nose.
WHISH!
Daniel didn't wait for a second strike. He pressed his fingers together, turning his hand into a blade, mimicking Jichang's style, and swung a chop toward Jaegyeon's neck.
Jaegyeon didn't retreat. He spun his body, using the Overturning Void Technique to catch Daniel's wrist. He pivoted on his heel and redirected the momentum of the chop back into Daniel's own ribs.
THUD!
Daniel slid back several feet, his boots carving lines in the dirt. He realized immediately that basic strikes wouldn't work against the King of Incheon.
Daniel shifted his stance and dug his toes into the ground. He took a deep breath, his aura shifting as he began to imitate Gun Park's Kyokushin Karate.
He lunged forward and unleashed a heavy straight punch. Jaegyeon attempted to parry, but the sheer pressure of the strike forced him to hop backward.
Daniel followed up with a low, bone-crushing kick. Jaegyeon lifted his leg just in time, the two shins colliding with a sound like a metal pipe hitting a stone.
CLANG!
"Not bad, Daniel!"
Jaegyeon began to move in a blur, his feet barely touching the ground. He circled Daniel, delivering a barrage of mid-level kicks.
Daniel blocked the first three with his forearms, but the fourth kick snuck through and clipped his shoulder. The force sent a jolt of pain down his arm.
Daniel countered by grabbing Jaegyeon's ankle mid-air. He tried to slam Jaegyeon into the ground, but Jaegyeon used the momentum to perform a mid-air twist. He landed a heel strike directly on Daniel's forehead.
THWACK!
Daniel's head snapped back, but he didn't fall. He gripped Jaegyeon's shirt and delivered a brutal knee to the chest. Jaegyeon coughed as the air left his lungs, but he managed to shove Daniel away.
The spectators watched in silence. Sung and Roy looked on with wide eyes as Daniel forced the King of Incheon to actually work for a victory.
Jaegyeon's eyes lit up with a terrifying excitement. He stood perfectly still for a fraction of a second before surging forward.
This was the Death Kick. His leg became a literal blur, moving with such extreme speed that it seemed to vanish from sight.
Daniel tried to cross his arms in a guard, but the kick bypassed his defense entirely. The foot whistled past Daniel's ear, missing his temple by less than an inch.
Jaegyeon purposely pulled the strike at the final moment. The concentrated force traveled past Daniel and exploded against the massive concrete wall of the base.
CRASH!
The wall crumbled instantly as if a demolition crew had triggered an explosive. A massive hole appeared in the structure, sending a cloud of white dust into the air.
Jaegyeon lowered his leg and took a relaxed breath, his playful demeanor returning.
"You recognize this, right? I used a mild version of it in Busan against Jinrang. You blocked it at that time."
Daniel looked at the gaping hole in the wall, then at his own trembling hands.
"This is... exactly the same move. Why is the difference in power so big?"
Jaegyeon Na approached him and patted his shoulder.
"This is a unique skill. It can only be learned after you surpass your limits. But just as I had thought, you have not done so yet."
He looked at the wreckage and then back at Daniel's eyes.
"I created this skill because I couldn't find my path. But I believe that you, Daniel Park, have the necessary talent to find your own path. Only when talent and experience come together can one find their unique path. You have the opportunity to be a greater fighter then me."