There was no way Ronin would let Genthru escape.
So the moment his foot shifted, he was already charging toward him.
At the same time, the spell card in his hand changed from Holy Water to X-Ray, whose effect was to reveal all of a target challenger's designated-slot cards.
He needed to confirm whether the cards were in Genthru's possession first, then decide how to deal with him.
Genthru knew exactly what Ronin was trying to do, but right now, there was no way he could put away the Leave card in his hand. All he could do was let Ronin inspect him.
But that very action gave Ronin a strange feeling.
Because the distance between them was constantly shrinking, which meant the movement-type spell card in Genthru's hand had no chance of activating.
In that situation, shouldn't his choice have been a defensive spell card?
Or was it—
After X-Ray finished revealing the designated-slot cards in Genthru's binder, Ronin's thoughts turned, and he roughly guessed what Genthru was planning.
This guy still hadn't given up. He was still trying to plant a bomb on him.
Because Ronin hadn't seen a single card he needed in Genthru's designated slots. That meant Genthru had transferred the cards away in advance.
He was deliberately exposing that fact partly to preserve his life, and partly to get close to Ronin.
And what was the purpose of getting close?
If Ronin didn't already know what Genthru's ability was, he might really have fallen for it.
But Ronin also had one question. Even if Genthru really completed the first condition for Countdown—touching him and saying the keyword "Bomber"—if he couldn't create distance and fully explain his ability, the bomb still wouldn't activate.
Ronin thought this, but his movements didn't slow in the slightest.
He gave Genthru no chance to dodge. Susanoo appeared in an instant, and one massive hand reached out and seized Genthru directly.
"You picked the wrong target," Ronin said softly.
As Susanoo's enormous figure emerged, everyone who had been trying to attack Ronin with spell cards froze in shock.
Even ignoring the gigantic Susanoo itself, the intensity of the aura Ronin released in that instant alone made every Nen-using player present feel their hearts tremble.
This guy was a monster.
That thought filled everyone's mind.
The spell cards in their hands quickly changed from offensive types to movement types.
They wanted to run.
The last time they had cooperated with Ronin, they hadn't felt just how terrifying he was. But this time, every single one of them clearly understood that they and Ronin were not on the same level at all.
If they didn't flee, then what awaited them was likely having every card in their possession swept away.
But trying to escape now was already too late.
Ronin didn't even need to act himself. The three people who had arrived with him moved the moment he summoned Susanoo.
The effect of Shield of Faith still hadn't disappeared from these people. If they wanted to break away from Ronin, they first had to put distance between themselves and him.
And that distance was more than enough for Shizuku and the other two to keep every one of them there.
Genthru was horrified.
For one thing, Ronin's strength was nothing like what it had been when Genthru last saw him.
If a fight broke out, Genthru knew perfectly well that he would be killed by Ronin within a minute. In fact, he felt that even one minute was probably overestimating himself.
For another, the ability Ronin had suddenly used had instantly stripped away any possibility of touching Ronin's real body and planting a bomb on him.
A bitter smile appeared at the corner of Genthru's mouth.
"I lost."
"Then do you want to cooperate?" Ronin had no intention of killing Genthru.
Although he knew Genthru had most likely hidden the cards with his companions, Ronin had never met those two before. Finding them would take quite a bit of time.
In that case, it was better to cooperate directly with Genthru. After all, Ronin didn't care about the reward Battera had offered.
If he could spend money to save time, then it was worth it.
"Do I have any other choice?" Genthru wanted to push up his glasses, but his body was completely restrained in Susanoo's massive hand, and he couldn't raise his arm at all.
"Don't make it sound like I'm forcing you." Ronin laughed. "You're actually coming out ahead."
"How much?" Genthru wasn't the type who liked wasting words either.
"Two billion Jenny. Give me all the cards I'm missing," Ronin said, naming his price.
"Too little." Genthru was unwilling.
After all, Battera's reward for clearing the game was 50 billion Jenny. In Genthru's eyes, two billion was practically pocket change.
But the moment he said that, pain shot through his body.
Susanoo's hand had started tightening.
Ronin still wore that same faint smile. "I think it's plenty. What do you think?"
Genthru opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but suddenly heard the sound of bones breaking inside his body.
He's going to kill me.
That thought instantly filled Genthru's mind.
A mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips.
Ronin felt that offering two billion was already quite generous, since he was only trying to save some time.
But Genthru clearly hadn't understood the situation. In that case, Ronin didn't mind using him as bait to directly lure out his companions.
Maybe that way, he could even use Genthru as a hostage and save himself the two billion Jenny.
"Stop!"
Two figures landed near Ronin at the same time the moment Genthru coughed blood.
They were Genthru's companions, Sub and Bara.
One had a square face and close-cropped hair, while the other had short hair that fell to his shoulders.
When Ronin had read the manga, he had known that while the three Bombers were ruthless toward others, they were willing to risk their lives for their own companions.
So when Genthru tried to bargain, Ronin's choice was to force his companions to jump out on their own.
"Now there isn't even two billion anymore." Ronin didn't continue making Susanoo squeeze harder. "Hand over the cards, and I can let him go."
"Fine." Sub stepped forward first.
At this point, he and Bara had only one thought left: save Genthru.
As for clearing the game, they no longer held any hope.
The opponent was too strong.
The closer they got, the more they understood just how terrifying Susanoo truly was.
The trade went very smoothly. During the process, all the people who had surrounded Ronin and the others were also captured and brought over by Shizuku's group.
Ronin had no intention of killing Genthru and his two companions. And from the expressions on their faces, he could tell that the three of them had no intention of revenge either.
Beside him, Shizuku placed all the traded cards into the designated slots of her binder.
As the final card was inserted, an announcement instantly rang out across the game.