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Chapter 97: Flame
Dropping their transformations, Tsuna and Shakti finally revealed their true identities.
"Y-You're… from the War Game!?"
Terry had watched the broadcast of the clash between the Apollo and Hestia Familias. He recognized the boy instantly. This was the mastermind who had used illusions to toy with the Apollo members, inciting betrayals and orchestrating an unprecedented upset.
"M-Mr. Sawada!! What are you doing here!?" Ryuu gasped.
"Undercover investigation. We needed proof of his crimes," Tsuna explained.
"An undercover investigation!? This is a jurisdiction-free zone! Even the Guild can't intervene here! Do you honestly think you can arrest me!?" Terry spat.
"You just ordered the murder of innocent people because you were sore over losing a game. I don't care if this is an extraterritorial zone—once word of this gets out, we have more than enough grounds to lock you up. Especially with a room full of witnesses," Tsuna countered coldly.
"You're… Ankusha!?"
Terry was furious at Tsuna's words, but the moment he saw Shakti pull off her red wig to reveal her true face, the remaining fight drained out of him. He realized exactly how thoroughly he'd been cornered. The bodyguards were equally stunned. None of them had expected a Level 5 adventurer to be standing in the room. Realizing the overwhelmingly poor odds, they hesitated.
While the guards were frozen in shock, Shakti and Ryuu moved in. Using only bare-handed martial arts, they knocked the remaining thugs out in the blink of an eye.
"Everyone who cooperated with Terry is equally guilty," Shakti announced, glaring at the dealer and the wealthy guests. "You assisted in his cheating and implicated innocent women in your crimes. Don't think you're walking out of here."
Realizing there was no escape, Terry's accomplices slumped in their chairs, completely broken.
"Faust!! Lolo!! It's all or nothing! Use them! I'll deal with the fallout later!!" Terry screamed at the Human and Catperson bodyguards standing nearest to him.
Desperate to avoid prison, the two men reached into their coats, pulled out ornate rings, and shoved them onto their right hands.
"Aaah… AAAAAAHHHHH!!"
The moment the rings slipped onto their fingers, red and blue flames violently erupted from their bodies.
"W-What is that!?" Syr cried.
"Flames are coming out of them…!?" Ryuu gasped.
"Is that… a Cursed Weapon!?" Shakti shouted, bracing herself.
Cursed Weapons were terrifying artifacts that granted immense power in exchange for a heavy toll, usually a severe Status degradation or catastrophic drain on stamina.
Impossible…! But out of everyone in the room, Tsuna was the most horrified. He recognized exactly what this was. The energy pouring out of the two men wasn't magic—it was the Dying Will Flame.
"Where did you get those rings!?" Tsuna roared.
"Mr. Sawada!?" Ryuu flinched.
It was the first time Ryuu or Shakti had ever seen Tsuna lose his cool so completely. But Faust and Lolo couldn't answer. Driven mad by the agony of the forced ignition, they drooled and shrieked, launching themselves forward with terrifying speed.
"Ghk—!?"
"I-Impossible…!?"
Tsuna blurred forward, burying his fists deep into both of their stomachs simultaneously. Their bodies folded cleanly in half, and their eyes rolled back as they lost consciousness instantly. Terry stared in utter disbelief. Those two were his strongest fighters, yet they had been put down in a single second. Seeing their best men get utterly flattened, the rest of the bodyguards lost whatever will to fight they had left.
"Tch!!"
Desperate, Terry lunged toward Anna. With Faust and Lolo out of the picture, his only remaining option was to take a hostage and force his way out. Anna squeezed her eyes shut, terrified by the bloodshot madness in the dwarf's eyes.
"Gah!!"
"Eh…?"
But Terry's hands never reached her. Anna opened her eyes to see Tsuna standing between them, his hand clamped in an iron grip around Terry's right wrist.
"It's over," Tsuna told Terry coldly.
M-My body!? The flame on Tsuna's forehead shifted from indigo to brilliant blue. Rain flames poured from his grip into Terry's wrist, washing over his entire body. The Rain attribute's Tranquility locked Terry's muscles completely. He strained frantically, but his body refused to move an inch.
"Are you hurt?" Tsuna asked, turning to Anna.
"N-No…!!"
"What the!?"
Tsuna was just checking to make sure she was okay, but Anna's face flushed bright red, and she stared at him with utterly enchanted eyes. Ryuu looked on, completely shell-shocked by the sudden romantic tension.
"It's over for you," Tsuna told Terry coldly.
"H-Help me…!!"
"You have a lot of nerve begging for help after dragging all these innocent women into your mess."
"P-Please!! If you let me go, I'll give you whatever you want!!"
"You said it yourself. You devour anyone who's arrogant, blinded by greed, or driven by a naive sense of justice. Did you really think I'd believe a word out of your mouth?"
"T-That was just a figure of speech…"
"Is that so?" Tsuna murmured, turning to the women huddled in the room. "He claims he's innocent… Is it true?"
Tsuna asked the victims directly. Not a single one spoke up to defend Terry. They simply stared at him with cold, hard silence.
"Just as I thought. Your word means nothing. You're going to jail to pay for what you've done."
"DAMN IIIIITTTTTTT!!"
Realizing he was completely and utterly out of options, Terry could only shriek in despair.
"Remember this, you bastards!! I'll get my revenge on all of you someday!! You'd better sleep with one eye open!!"
Driven into a corner, Terry's eyes grew bloodshot, his sadistic nature boiling over. Even though he was completely paralyzed, the sheer venom in his voice made everyone in the room shudder.
Everyone except Syr.
She walked slowly and calmly toward him.
"You're using your flames to keep him paralyzed, right?" Syr asked.
"Y-Yeah…"
"I have a little something I want to say to this man. Excuse me for a moment."
"H-Hey!!"
Ignoring Tsuna's warning, Syr leaned in close to Terry's ear. She whispered something so quietly that only he could hear it.
"Aaaah…!?"
In an instant, the blood drained entirely from Terry's face. Despite the paralyzing effects of the Rain flames, his head began to twitch and violently shake in pure, unadulterated terror. Syr pulled back, smiling as if nothing had happened.
"I'm finished now. I've said what I needed to say."
"W-What did you say to him…?" Tsuna asked, unnerved.
"Would you like to know?" Syr teased.
"N-No… never mind…"
Syr's mysterious, knowing smile was enough to make Tsuna back off immediately. He had no desire to know what could instantly shatter a man who had just been screaming bloody murder.
Shortly after, Shakti rallied her Familia members and officially arrested Terry and all of his accomplices. They were to be hauled back to the Ganesha Familia's headquarters.
"Wait, Shakti," Tsuna called out.
"What is it?"
"I need to ask him something. Give me a minute."
"Understood."
Shakti granted his request. Tsuna turned to Terry, who was now bound in thick ropes and still trembling uncontrollably from whatever Syr had whispered to him.
"Those rings the two guards used earlier," Tsuna demanded. "Where did you get them?"
"A… A female merchant gave them to me… S-She said they were prototypes…" Terry stammered, his voice vibrating with fear.
"What was her name?"
"I-I don't know… The only thing I know is that I met her in Rakia…"
"..."
Seeing the sheer terror in Terry's eyes, Tsuna knew the man wasn't lying.
"That's all… Take him away."
"Understood."
Realizing he wouldn't get any more useful information, Tsuna stepped back. The Ganesha Familia dragged Terry out of the room.
Just as I feared. Someone from our world is here… somewhere in this world….....
Elsewhere.
"Just a little longer… Just a little longer until I can bring you back…"
A human man with unkempt black hair rubbed his cheek affectionately against a pitch-black coffin. A sickening, obsessive smile twisted his features.
"Could you stop that? It's genuinely gross to watch," a voice sighed.
Sitting casually on a nearby tree branch was a woman with long silver hair. A ring glinted on her right hand. She looked down at the man as if he were literal garbage.
"More importantly, are you certain this will work?" the man asked, ignoring her disgust.
"Who knows. We won't find out until we actually try it."
"It has to work. Without her resurrection, the destruction of Orario is impossible."
"I'll ask you the same thing. Even if she does come back, can you really destroy Orario?"
"I can. As long as I have her, it's a certainty. After all, she is my Goddess of Victory."
…Is this really going to work? the woman wondered silently.
Seeing the man's fanatical devotion to this dead woman filled her with nothing but doubt.
Well, whatever. I couldn't care less if Orario falls or not. I just want to have fun playing with my creations. Uninterested in the man's grand ambitions, the woman looked up at the night sky, filled with a million brilliant stars.
Besides, those annoying keepers of the law aren't around in this world. I'm going to take my time and enjoy this to the fullest......
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