Seeing Kang's challenging gaze, the red samurai let out a small hmph and stepped into the center of the death circle.
Kang smiled. With this, his goal for today was complete. The moment that samurai walked into this arena, there was simply no way out for him anymore.
The red samurai appeared to be a far more formidable opponent than Skull. His left arm and right leg were augmented, and the ancient-style yet practical armor on his body added to his presence. Not to mention his katana. It wasn't a vibro blade or any kind of high-tech weapon, just a very sharp sword. That told Kang everything he needed to know about this man. He was confident in his swordsmanship.
"Liu Kang, huh? Listen, my name is..."
Kang cut him off before he could finish his sentence.
"Shut it. I have no need for your name!"
The red samurai's face flushed with anger. His hand gripped the katana so tightly that it trembled, almost like a vibro blade itself.
"Oi oi, that was insulting, omae. You have a right to despise this bakayarou, but refusing to hear your opponent's name before a duel is not an honorable act!"
Kenzo clearly didn't like Kang's attitude.
"My apologies. However, there is no honor in this fight, nor in this man," Kang replied politely, his voice cold as ice.
"What did you say, teme?"
The red samurai shouted, unable to contain his anger any longer.
"Your eyes," Kang said calmly. "When you looked at my sister, they weren't the eyes of lust."
That stunned the red samurai. Kang continued.
"Well, not that I would know what eyes of lust look like. But I do recognize yours. It was something else, something I'm very familiar with."
Kang paused, every eye in the place fixed on him. Then he spoke slowly, emphasizing each word.
"Killing intent," Kang hissed. "You're no honorable samurai... just a damn assassin."
The whole place erupted at Kang's revelation.
"W-what... stop with your slandering, coward!" The red samurai stammered, panic clear in his voice.
"You didn't want my sister as a woman, you wanted her dead. The only reasonable explanation is that you're a hired killer, with killing my sister as your mission."
Kang shifted into his stance, steady and cold.
"So here's my offer. Tell me who hired you, and I'll give you an honorable death."
The red samurai remained frozen, no answer coming.
"No need for that. I already know who it is." Kenzo said, looking at the red samurai with contempt. "It was that zaibatsu sarariman, right? The one you met exactly one day before the breeder came down here."
The red samurai went pale, staring at Kenzo in disbelief.
"I'm the fragging fuku-banchou, what makes you think you could do these dirty jobs without me knowing, bakayarou? The moment you said you were coming to this meeting, banchou gave you the death sentence. I only came to confirm your motive and carry out his order."
Kenzo glanced at Kang and snickered.
"Guess I won't have to do that anymore. Thanks in advance, omae."
"You're welcome" Kang nodded. The Senka sounded like they had honor after all, maybe it was their bushido or something.
The red samurai had stopped trying to defend his name. He simply accepted his fate and took his stance, both hands gripping the sword raised overhead, eyes locked on Kang.
The overhead stance, huh. Kang knew a bit about kendo. That stance was pure aggression, a final strike meant for a do-or-die attack. Makes sense, since there was no way back for him now.
Too bad for him, Kang had no intention of granting him that kind of warrior's death. He wanted this to be an overwhelming defeat, something that would crush every lingering dirty thoughts toward Xiao Yun.
With that in mind, Kang dropped his stance entirely and stood upright, relaxed, as if taking a morning stroll. Slowly, he began walking toward the red samurai, Qi gathering in his right hand.
"What the hell is that guy doing?"
"That drek's got a death wish!"
"Frag, he's lost it!"
The crowd murmured in disbelief. Kenzo frowned. Not even he would dare to approach a samurai in that stance unguarded. Was this guy overconfident or just insane?
The red samurai's eyes gleamed. At this range, with his opponent wide open, he could end it in one swing. He brought the blade down with everything he had, a roar tearing from his throat. The slash was so fast it left afterimages in the air.
Swish.
It wasn't the sound of slicing flesh that followed, but a soft whoosh.
Every eyes in the pit widened. The sword had stopped right in front of Kang's face, caught between two of his fingers.
Kang had simply lifted his right hand and pinched the blade mid-swing.
Kenzo's jaw dropped. That was shirahadori, the art of catching a blade barehanded. But doing it with one hand, and only two fingers? Impossible. Not even a fully chromed fighter could pull that off. He had to tell the banchou about this monster.
The red samurai froze in disbelief as Kang's fingers tightened.
Clink.
The katana snapped in two as if it were cheap plastic instead of forged metal.
The samurai stumbled backward, fear flooding his eyes, but Kang kept advancing.
"S-stop! Don't come any closer, you... you monster!"
He lunged out with his augmented leg, a hidden blade springing from his knee in a desperate counter. Kang sidestepped effortlessly, caught the cybernetic foot with one hand, and gripped the man's thigh with the other.
"This thing looks dangerous. Here, let me remove it for you."
With a sickening crack and tear, Kang ripped the augmented leg clean off. The red samurai's scream echoed through the junkyard. The onlookers flinched, several of them grabbing their own limbs instinctively. Most were augmented themselves, they could imagine that pain. They looked at Kang with fear in their eyes. This man wasn't just a swag, he was a swag with a screw loose in his head and that made him ten times more dangerous.
The red samurai stumbled to the ground, his body twitching uncontrollably under the effects of cybershock, unable to move an inch. Kang didn't stop. He glanced at the man's left augmented arm.
"Oh, this one too. Who knows what's hidden in there? Let's remove it just to be sure~"
Another wrenching noise. Another scream.
Lesbie shut her eyes, trembling. What the frag was wrong with this man? Just minutes ago, she'd joked about wanting to "have a piece" of his sister... and now, watching this, she felt cold terror crawl up her spine. What if he wasn't done after this?
Kang looked around in satisfaction. The message he wanted to send was clear enough, he guessed. He bent down and picked up the broken katana. Then without hurry, he walked toward the sprawling mess that used to be the red samurai, his steps calm and deliberate, each one echoing in the dead silence of the junkyard.
Grabbing him by the hair, Kang yanked his head up.
"S-spare... me..." the samurai gasped, his voice wet with blood and leaking oil.
"Nope~" Kang said lightly.
With a single swing, Kang severed the man's head with his own blade.
Blood spurted out like a fountain, painting Kang from head to toe while screams of the gangsters filled the pit. He didn't flinch or move away on purpose. The more gruesome the sight, the stronger the fear—and that was exactly what Kang wanted.
Kang drop the broken blade and wiped off the blood dripping on his face. He then try to give out his friendliest smile, at least that's what he thought. The fact that his other hand was still holding the severed head of the red samurai didn't help, either.
"Next?" Kang asked, looking around.
Lesbie fell to the ground and landed on her butt.