Ryūji stared at Izumi, while Izumi returned his gaze. Ryūji stopped his stance and said, "Let's end this battle. It's been boring for me since I killed your partner." Izumi responded to Ryūji, saying, "Why should the battle end if I'm already giving it my all?" Ryūji took a deep breath, looking up at the sky filled with countless stars, then looked back down and said, "Look, I'm exhausted. I feel like I've been chugging booze all night. I need to go to the penthouse and get a good night's sleep... or is it morning? Well, I don't know."
Ignoring his complaints, Izumi launched a powerful kick at Ryūji, but he managed to block it. He whispered, "Whoa, her kick feels stronger than a nuclear fission."
Izumi approached from behind Ryūji, attempting to catch him off guard, but he remained unfazed. He whispered to himself, "Her power and speed are increasing exponentially." Despite Izumi relentlessly delivering a barrage of kicks to Ryūji's torso, it seemed that her power and speed had not yet reached the level he had attained. It appeared as if her attacks were having no effect on him.
Izumi took a few steps back from Ryūji, pointing at him and exclaimed, "Why can't I hurt you or even faze you at all? This doesn't make sense!" Ryūji casually lifted his arm and scratched the back of his neck, replying, "The power difference is significant, but keep trying and see if you can daze me or not."
Growing even angrier, Izumi unleashed a relentless barrage of consecutive kicks. She threw 100 kicks, then 1,000 kicks, but when she finally stopped, she was shocked and flabbergasted. All the smoke that had surrounded Ryūji dispersed, revealing him completely unharmed and unaffected.
With a smirk on his face, Izumi couldn't comprehend what had just happened. She stammered, "But how? I used all my kicks to end you." Ryūji, still smirking, closed his eyes and calmly stated, "You surpassed the brink of light itself, and yet the heavens burned it down to a mere stream... You were weak, Izumi!"
As fear consumed her, Izumi screamed out, pointing at Ryūji, "You're a demon, a monster!" Ryūji looked up briefly, then lowered his gaze, responding calmly, "Is that so?" Before Izumi could even react, Ryūji swiftly grabbed her arm from behind and uttered, "You can't do anything now. You can either run away or face violation."
Izumi demanded, "Let go of my hand, you disgusting monster!" Ryūji complied, releasing his grip on her. As Izumi fell to the ground, she shouted, "Of course, you're just a demon who has raped over a billion women across the world..."
Ryūji was taken aback by her accusation, but a smirk slowly formed on his face. He let out a laugh, finding her statement amusing.
As Izumi hastily ran off, a gust of wind blew Ryūji's gray hair over his eyes. He turned around and muttered, "There can be more monsters in this world or outside... I can see it for sure." With that thought in his mind, Ryūji began walking back towards the city.
As he arrived, he witnessed the aftermath of the destruction caused by the fight he had engaged in. However, to his surprise, he also noticed several saints helping the injured and tending to the affected people. Despite the chaos, Ryūji remained unfazed and started searching for his white cloak.
To his dismay, he couldn't find it anywhere. But then he noticed a saint unknowingly holding onto the cloak. Taking advantage of the situation, Ryūji swiftly grabbed it from the saint's possession without them even realizing it was gone. He muttered, "What? Where did that cloak go?" and calmly walked away from the scene, escaping their notice.
Ryūji donned his white cloak and covered his head with a hoodie as he made his way to the penthouse. Upon reaching the room, he opened the door and found Akudama slightly awake. Ryūji removed his hoodie and asked, "What's the matter, master?"
Akudama, whispering in a tired voice, replied, "I heard a loud noise while I was sleeping, but as soon as you showed up... I was about to fall back asleep."
Ryūji remarked, "Impressive hearing from such a distance." Akudama nodded and dozed off again. Ryūji approached his own bed, tossing down his white cloak and removing his shoes before lying down to rest.
****In the early morning, Izumi returned to the place where she and her partner had been defeated by Ryūji. The leader of their group was taken aback by Izumi's tattered and ruined outfit. Concerned, the leader asked, "What happened? Where is your captain? Did you manage to kill Ryūji and Akudama?"
Izumi bowed down and replied, "We failed. Ebiru was killed by Ryūji, and I was defeated by him as well. As for Akudama, he wasn't present on the battlefield. It was just Ebiru and me against Ryūji."
The leader was shocked by this response and started to question his own assumptions. He thought, "There's no way... How could Ebiru be taken down so easily? Wasn't Ryūji weaker than Ebiru in terms of fighting ability? Perhaps I've been mistaken."
The leader addressed Izumi, saying, "Well, thank you for your efforts. You worked hard and did your best. We will continue our pursuit of Kazue."
The leader responded calmly to Izumi's surprise, saying, "Yes, I am. It would be nearly impossible for even those two demons to defeat the four Kaminko. I can't even fathom them overcoming the Kaminko's power. The odds are stacked against them."
Izumi was taken aback by the leader's confidence in the Kaminko's strength. She realized the magnitude of the challenge they would face, and a sense of doubt crept into her mind.
As Izumi left the room, the leader was left alone with a heavy sense of fear and doubt. Looking down, the leader contemplated their own thoughts and whispered, "Am I being manipulated?"***