Allen slowly walked towards Dorian. With each step he took, Dorian's body trembled. He struggled to get up, but found that three of his ribs were broken, and he was suffering from severe internal bleeding.
"Wait... we can talk..." Dorian's voice trembled with fear.
Allen stopped, tossing the lighter in his hand. The flame drew a red line in the air.
"Boom!"
"Ah—!" Dorian's shrill scream echoed through the dojo. Flames instantly engulfed his entire body. He frantically slapped at the flames on him, rolling and struggling on the ground.
"Please... please let me go!" Dorian's voice was distorted by the intense pain, and his skin quickly swelled with dense red blisters under the high temperature.
Moments later, the flames extinguished, leaving only thick white smoke. Doppo Orochi couldn't help but laugh at the scene.
"Allen-kun, I didn't expect you, at such a young age, to already distinguish between martial arts and actual combat." A hint of admiration flashed in Doppo's eyes; he grew fonder of this new Shinshinkai member with each passing moment.
He had initially thought the young man in front of him would be soft-hearted, but he turned out to be so decisive and ruthless. This was the very belief that Doppo Orochi's actual combat karate should embody.
Allen nodded. He turned and returned to his seat, picking up his teacup and taking a sip, as if everything that had just happened had nothing to do with him.
Allen was annoyed by the death row inmates now; he just wanted to go home and sleep. Why did Mitsunari Tokugawa insist on holding this ridiculous meeting at night? Didn't he know he had school tomorrow?
"So, what do we do with the roasted human flesh now?" Doppo Orochi looked at Dorian, who was still emitting white mist, his eyes dazed, occasionally making "ah ah" sounds.
"Call an ambulance," Mitsunari Tokugawa said, shaking his head with some disappointment as he looked at Dorian, who had already lost his combat ability.
"His condition is quite critical," Gouki Shibukawa nodded, preparing to call an ambulance to send Dorian to the hospital.
"Hmph!" Just as everyone was about to call an ambulance to take Dorian away, Kaiou Retsu sensed something was wrong. He snorted coldly and stomped his foot towards Dorian's face.
"Looks like playing dead failed, huh?" Dorian pushed himself up with both hands, using the momentum to do a backflip and evade Kaiou Retsu's attack.
He then exhaled white mist, filling the entire room with thick white smoke.
"Refreshing! As refreshing as a cigar!" Dorian's face showed a sinister smile, then he assumed a fighting stance, looking at Kaiou Retsu and Doppo Orochi.
Everyone was shocked by this scene, not expecting Dorian to still be alive and kicking after being burned.
"Alright, is my opponent Retsu? Or Doppo?" Dorian cunningly invited Kaiou Retsu and Doppo Orochi to a fight.
If he invited Allen, he would surely die. But if he invited one of Kaiou Retsu or Doppo Orochi, he would still have a chance to survive.
Such powerful martial artists would surely not interfere in a duel between two individuals. Then Dorian could fight and retreat, escaping from here.
"I'll take him. I still have a score to settle," Doppo Orochi said with a smile, touching his left arm, which was missing a hand.
Dorian grinned; this was exactly the outcome he wanted.
As long as he wasn't up against that monstrous young man, he had a chance to escape.
"Mr. Doppo, it seems our fate has not yet ended," Dorian licked his chapped lips, his gaze falling on Doppo Orochi's missing left hand.
"Last time I only took one of your hands, this time..."
"Shut up," Doppo Orochi's voice was cold. Last time, when Doppo Orochi and Kaiou Retsu confronted Dorian in the night market, his wrist was severed by Dorian's steel wire and he hadn't had a chance to reattach it yet.
Just then, Allen silently moved towards the door. Dorian's heart sank slightly when he noticed Allen's movement, and his expression became serious.
It seemed that if he wanted to escape, he could only use the grenade hidden in his abdomen.
The others also thought Allen was trying to block Dorian's retreat, and their estimation of Allen's abilities increased again.
Many talented martial artists in the Underground Arena had fallen to their enemies because of soft-heartedness. A talented martial artist like Allen, who was ruthless and spoke little, was truly rare.
But only Allen himself knew that Dorian would soon pull a grenade out of his mouth and blow the place up. If he didn't stand far enough away, his clothes might get blown off, which wouldn't be good.
Encountering such a thing twice in one day was quite unlucky. Allen sighed silently, preparing to dodge the explosion at any moment.
"Mr. Doppo, please be careful of his steel wire," Kaiou Retsu reminded in a low voice.
Doppo Orochi nodded slightly, his right arm muscles tensing as he assumed a karate starting stance.
Dorian toyed with the almost invisible steel wire in his hand, a smirk on his lips.
"This time, I won't let you escape," Doppo Orochi had barely finished speaking when he lunged forward like a fierce tiger!
Dorian quickly retreated, the inconspicuous steel wire cutting through the air. The two moved rapidly within the dojo, waiting for the other to reveal a weakness, then delivering a fatal blow!
After several rounds, Dorian grew anxious. He had to conserve more energy for the upcoming escape.
Allen stood by the door, his eyes fixed on Dorian's every move. Suddenly, he noticed Dorian's Adam's apple bobbing unnaturally.
"Watch out!" Allen shouted.
Almost simultaneously, Dorian suddenly opened his mouth, and a green object flew out.
Allen, already prepared, grabbed Mitsunari Tokugawa's kimono and threw him out of the dojo, then made a large leap and landed steadily.
Seeing that Mitsunari Tokugawa had only gotten a mouthful of dirt and was otherwise fine, Allen turned and left the dojo. He was going home to sleep.
"Boom!"
After Allen threw him, the grenade exploded in the center of the dojo. The shockwave lifted the tatami mats, flames splattered, and a scorching blast swept through everything. Dorian took the opportunity to escape through the ceiling.
Doppo Orochi and the others also hastily evacuated... "Woo—! Woo—!" Piercing siren sounds cut through the night.
Outside the Aikido dojo, several fire trucks and police cars arrived with wailing sirens.
Officers from the Tokyo Police Department were questioning Mitsunari Tokugawa.
"Mr. Tokugawa, how did you manage to dodge the grenade explosion at such close range?"
"Oh, someone threw this old man out," Mitsunari Tokugawa seemed a bit dazed. Having lived this long, it was his first time experiencing such a flying sensation.
"By the time I reacted, I was already more than ten meters away."
"I see," the police officer quickly jotted down the information in his notebook.
"What about the others, including the culprit?"
"That's what this old man wants to ask. By the time I reacted, everyone was gone," Mitsunari Tokugawa spread his hands, a helpless look on his face.
Now, his mind was filled with that young man. He hadn't expected him to become so strong after only a few days. If he could also become a martial artist in his Underground Arena, and undergo the training there, how strong would he become? What a blessing that would be!