Tenebrous Wolf-Chapter 22: Settling Old Scores

Wh... W-What was that just now?

Shin Fujita's thoughts reeled in shock as a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.

He couldn't move, frozen in place. It was as if he had witnessed something truly incomprehensible.

Perhaps his mind was rejecting reality that Klaus had just sent one of his bodyguards flying with a single punch. It was understandable. After all, how many people could casually launch a grown man into the air with raw strength alone? Even professional boxers, with their insane striking power, couldn't pull off something like that.

By all logic, such a thing should have been impossible.

Of course, things were different for Ascendants and those who had installed cybernetic implants. But Shin refused to entertain the idea that Klaus was an Awakened.

There was simply no way.

Trash like him couldn't suddenly transform into a lion overnight.

If awakening was that easy, then everyone would have abilities.

The only plausible conclusion was that Klaus had somehow scraped together enough eddies to buy an implant. Yeah... that had to be it. There was no other explanation.

As I thought, there's no way. An orphan like him couldn't have become a king.

With that thought, Shin Fujita's body relaxed slightly, the tension slowly draining from his frame.

Meanwhile, Klaus continued glaring at the remaining three gangsters.

He had no time to waste on these idiots.

In two weeks, he would enter Ascension Academy and challenge his first Shadow World.

His schedule was already packed, so he barely had time to prepare for the Shadow Realm, let alone deal with some bottom-feeding gangsters.

That's why he had decided to take care of any loose ends now, before heading to the academy.

However, the men scoffed at his attitude, as if they couldn't comprehend his confidence at all.

"Huh? Did he really lose his damn mind?"

"What? Pay? Compensation? Who the fuck does he think he is?"

"Dumbass. Looks like we need to retrain him."

"Fucking idiot. A gutter rat who knows how to grovel shouldn't start acting tough."

The men shouted as they charged toward him.

To them, Klaus Martinez was nothing more than a useful little chick with just enough brains to be convenient.

But right now, he had burned his only lifeline with his own hands.

Even so, Klaus remained unfazed. This was well within his expectations.

They probably thought they were about to teach him a lesson and remind him of his place.

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How disappointing. How could they be utterly simpleminded? Don't they understand the situation? Klaus thought. It was a clear that they didn't understand anything, otherwise, they would have used a gun instead of charging towards him like idiots.

"Since you guys came to me on your own, you shouldn't be complaining, right?" would flow better.

Saying that taunt, Klaus uppercutted one of them in the chin causing him to fly into the air like a launching dragon.

His completely white eyes screamed that he was knocked out.

"Ugh!"

Following that, Klaus grabbed the next man by his head and slammed the man's face into his knee before landing two punches on said face.

Crack!

There was no scream or sound apart from his nose being crushed.

They simply could not follow his movements and ended up getting annihilated before they could throw a single punch.

In an instant, the two burly bodyguards collapsed upon being hit.

"Wh... Ack... How?"

Shin Fujita, seeing all his bodyguards absolutely obliterated, staggered back in shock, his gaze locking onto Klaus.

If it weren't for his visual implants, he wouldn't have even been able to register what had just happened.

The scene was simply that absurd.

Even if he wanted to deny it, there was no way to ignore the truth unfolding before him. A person with cybernetic implants wouldn't be capable of this, unless they were using military-grade cyberware.

Even if Klaus had somehow gotten lucky, there was no way he had the eddies to purchase something of that caliber. Even acquiring it was nearly impossible.

There was only one conclusion.

"Y-You... a-awakened?"

"Well, yeah... Wasn't that obvious when I punched the first guy? By the way, I held back, so he should only have a broken nose. At least, I think so. Maybe a minor concussion."

"C-Crazy... This is c-crazy!"

Klaus Martinez, an orphan barely scraping by through high school, had awakened.

And now, he stood at the threshold of becoming a king in this new world.

Then what about someone like him? Had all his struggles been for nothing? Why didn't he awaken and yet, Klaus did? It was completely unfair and unreasonable.

"!!"

Something snapped inside Shin's head. It was as if something had reached its breaking point. Of course, this was his sanity.

He gritted his teeth like a rabid dog.

"You bastard! You're dead!"

With that enraged shout, he pulled out his hidden Ironfang M9 and fired without hesitating, consumed by his anger and resentment.

Klaus merely laughed in a relaxed manner as he effortlessly dodged and closed the distance.

His body felt lighter than ever. His agility and vision had drastically improved to the point that bullets appeared to crawl through the air in slow motion, allowing him to slip past them with ease.

A few quick steps—

And he was already upon Shin.

Before the man could fire another shot, Klaus grabbed his wrist and applied just the right amount of force.

A sickening crack echoed through the alley as Shin's arm bent in a way it was never meant to.

Like snapping a twig.

"GGYAAAHHH!!" Accompanied by the grotesque sound of breaking bone, Shin screamed into the night. His grip on the pistol loosened, sending it clattering onto the pavement.

"Ugh, ugh, you bastard!"

Klaus smiled as Shin Fujita screamed like a dying pig with a broken arm. Unsatisfied, he raised his other fist and slammed a punch straight into his face.

Pow! At that solid hit, Shin Fujita stopped screaming and only groaned. But he didn't stop with one punch.

He drew his fist back and gave him another passionate punch.

That was punch was for working him like damn slave.

Pow!

That one was for the time he ordered his lackeys to beat him for refusing an unreasonable order.

Pow!

That one was for when he insulted his dead parents and origins.

Pow! Pow! Pow!

Klaus landed punches again and again while recalling all the times he was bullied and wronged by this person. He made sure to hold back, just enough so that Shin would feel every ounce of pain.

Of course, he couldn't kill him. But that didn't mean he couldn't utterly ruin his face.

Speaking of ruining faces, he was doing a damn good job at it.

Klaus drew his bloodied fist back and drove it into Shin's right cheek, the already swollen bruise darkening even further.

Then, a heavy punch to the middle of his face—

Blood gushed from both his mouth and broken nose at the same time.

Shin's head slumped forward slightly, his swollen lips trembling, his body swaying. Klaus frowned.

Did he just pass out?

He punched him again. A forced wake-up call.

Shin Fujita drowsily looked up, his hugely swollen, blackened right eye was puffy and protruding like a balloon was sealed shut, his cheeks red and distorted. His partially swollen left eye seemed to be pleading for mercy.

That only pissed Klaus off more.

He remembered the time he was beaten to an inch of his life. The time he begged them to stop, only for Shin to laugh and tell his men to keep going since he was making noise. That day, Klaus had walked away with broken bones, a shattered face, and nothing but hatred in his heart.

As he promised, he was here to settle the score.

Pow!

A punch straight to his temple, Shin's vision flashed white.

Pow!

Another to his jaw and blood splattered as a handful of his teeth flew out from his swollen mouth.

Pow! Pow! Pow!

Without stopping, Klaus continued to wail on Shin's face mercilessly. Since he had never received any kindness from this bastard, he had no reason to be gentle.

At some point, Shin Fujita lost all strength in his legs and collapsed to his knees. He could only endure Klaus' punches like a good boy.

Forget fighting back, after countless blows and with his swollen mouth, he couldn't even scream. All he could do was silently take the punishment.

"Oof... Oof..." Receiving yet another punch, Shin Fujita let out a strange noise and nearly blacked out again. But before he could slip away, Klaus delivered another brutal punch, snapping him back to reality.

Currently, his face was all messed up. He looked like a grotesque caricature, his right eye swollen shut like an overripe fruit, his nose a crooked mess, and his lips split and bleeding. Bruises and cuts marred every inch of his battered face, making him nearly unrecognizable.

Truly, this was a face even a mother wouldn't recognize. It was so bad that Klaus almost felt like a cheap bully.

That was the only reason he stopped punching.

Hmm. Maybe I went too far. I should've just incapacitated him like the others. Surely, I won't be charged for assault, right?

Klaus sighed and stared at Shin Fujita's ruined face. For some reason, just looking at him irritated him.

So, with one last punch to the face, he finally let go of Shin's arm.

Thud!

Like a broken string, Shin Fujita fell back and collapsed onto the pavement. One glance was enough to tell that he was completely knocked out.

Klaus scanned the area and confirmed that all four gangsters were unconscious. The bodyguards weren't too badly injured, just a few broken bones here and there. However, the same couldn't be said for Shin Fujita. Klaus had made sure of that.

If the poor guy had treated him even a little better in the past, he wouldn't have ended up in such a pitiful state.

I guess that's just misfortune for you, he thought.

Fortunately, he had already called an ambulance the moment he arrived. Based on his calculations, it wouldn't be long before they showed up. That meant he still had time to leave the scene before they arrived.

Before I go, let's see what they're packing. Since they're knocked out, I can't exactly threaten them to hand over their money since they won't be foolish enough to carry cash at hand. Tch. That was a serious miscalculation.

Klaus scratched the back of his head in annoyance.

Then, he sighed.

What was the point of thinking about that now? What was done was done. Besides, it wasn't like these guys were waking up anytime soon.

His gaze landed on an Ironfang M9 lying on the ground. He picked it up, examining the semi-automatic pistol with its black grip and distinct muzzle brake featuring slanted cuts. A closer look confirmed that the brake was designed to reduce recoil.

The pistol seemed like a variant of the one used by the military and MaxTech as a sidearm. Klaus couldn't help but wonder how a lowly gangster like Shin Fujita had managed to get his hands on something like this.

Not bad. Although I've already purchased the necessary equipment to challenge the Shadow Realm, having a sidearm wouldn't hurt. At the very least, it could serve as a distraction in case I need to make a quick getaway.

With that thought, Klaus tucked the firearm beneath his hoodie.

Then, without wasting time, he began searching the bodies of the unconscious men one by one, carefully erasing any evidence of his presence or anything that could be traced back to him.

As expected, he didn't find any money on them. On the bright side, he did find extra ammunition for the Ironfang M9 tucked inside Shin's suit.

But he couldn't just leave it at that. Out of pure spite, or maybe just pettiness, Klaus decided to strip them completely naked, undergarments included.

That was when he made a discovery that nearly made him gag.

Shin Fujita was wearing panties. Not just any panties, but ones with green stripes and a cute teddy bear design.

Klaus's eyebrow twitched. This pervert was wearing something like this?

He almost punched him again out of sheer disgust, but then a brilliant idea struck him. A mischievous grin spread across his face.

Pulling out his smartphone, Klaus took a few pictures of the naked men.

With his mission complete, he took one last glance at them before calmly fleeing the scene.