Martial Arts Worlds-Chapter 866: Strongest - Part 13

[00:00]

The clock struck zero, and antidote gas filled the Sanctuary, and Michael, Isaac, and Samuel got cured of poison.

"Oh, yeah!"

Samuel cheered.

It was already getting quite painful because of the poison, and thus, with the poison now gone from their system, they felt a wave of relief wash over them.

'Why aren't you killing them, Kiernan?'

Bael spoke inside his mind.

After Erik died, Kiernan just went to sit down at the corner and wasn't doing anything even though there was only them left.

'Just be silent.'

Kiernan thought.

…

In the control room.

"I can't believe that Erik died…"

The people inside the control room whispered as they thought it was certain that Erik was going to win.

However.

He didn't only lose to Kiernan, but also got destroyed by Michael, so their attention was all on them.

"…"

The man behind the Devil's Ritual looked intensely at Kiernan—his eyes were shining—and he smiled creepily.

"Can we make sure in any way that what Kiernan said was actually true? If he had actually killed all those people he mentioned, doesn't it mean that he is the Grim Reaper?"

The man asked.

When they heard the name "Grim Reaper," eerie silence fell over the control room, as that name was very infamous.

In the underworld, for many years now, there have been several rumors about the "Grim Reaper," who was actually the reason for so many strong people disappearing.

The names Kiernan mentioned were not nearly everyone that he killed—he just mentioned the first ones that came to his mind.

He had actually killed hundreds of equally strong powerhouses that used to be big names in the underworld.

So, of course, with so many great fighters disappearing, it made everyone curious about what happened to all of them.

It wasn't all that common for some people to disappear and die—there were, after all, so many strong individuals hiding in the shadows.

However.

It was unprecedented for so many to disappear without a word!

They might've finally found the person responsible for all those deaths—the Grim Reaper, Kiernan Hunter!

"Find everything we got on this Kiernan Hunter!"

The man shouted.

Everyone got busy and started looking through all the available information, and honestly, there wasn't much.

He lived off the grid.

They even went through the Dark Web, and there they found something more—new information that they didn't have before.

"I found five different reports of him being listed in hospital records. Five different hospitals in five different countries.

"Berlin… Seoul… Moscow… Tokyo… and Cairo…"

One of the people said.

"And?"

The man crossed his arms.

"Do you know the Monster of Berlin, Leon Kriegswolf?"

The person asked.

"Yes, I know of him. I think he has been dead for a while. Wasn't he the man in control of Berlin's Underworld?"

The man said.

"Yes… He happened to die around the time when Kiernan was there."

The person said.

"Hmm… Coincidence? I don't think so. We can safely assume that Kiernan killed him, which is very interesting."

The man said with a smile.

Leon Kriegswolf was a monster who single-handedly choked everybody who opposed him and took control of all of Berlin's underground gangs.

Nobody dared to oppose him.

The police were helpless. The streets were in chaos. And because of him alone, Berlin became one of the most dangerous cities in the world.

"What about the Cult Leader of Seoul, Kang Hyun-jun?"

The person asked.

"The leader of Korea's largest cult that was responsible for several murders, kidnappings, and terrorist attacks? Yeah, the name rings a bell."

The man said.

"One day, police got a call that the infamous Kang Family's compound was on fire and completely burned to the ground.

"They found remains of Kang Hyun-jun and the members of his murder cult. It was said to be accidental.

"Kiernan happened to be in Seoul during that day. He was in Seoul's Main Hospital for a slight burn wound…"

The person looked at his boss, whose smile kept growing.

"I see…"

The man grinned.

"Kang Hyun-jun was also a very formidable fighter. He was one of Korea's Five Strongest Stars—the title given to five masters of Taekwondo, Hapkido, Ssireum, Kumdo, and Taekkyeon."

The person said, and then moved to the next one.

"And then there's Moscow, but I believe that is the location where Kiernan killed Russia's Elite Killing Squad. He was in the hospital for a broken finger."

The person said.

"A broken finger? Hahahaha!"

The man burst into laughter, as it sounded like a very good joke.

"You mean that Russia's strongest squad of killers only managed to break one of his fingers? Holy shit!"

"It does seem to be the case."

The person said.

"Arashiyama Daigo of Tokyo. During his time of death, he was imprisoned in Tokyo's Maximum Security Facility.

"He was there for multiple charges of murder, assault, and drug trafficking. Actually… hundreds of charges of murder.

"The most infamous killer in all of Japan's history, and thus, they gave him the death penalty, but… Arashiyama Daigo refused to die. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"They tried hanging him. It failed. They tried injecting him with lethal substances. It failed. They tried every method imaginable, but nothing could kill Arashiyama Daigo.

"Thus… the Japanese government decided to hire someone that was capable of killing him, and from what I can find… they called that guy Assassin Zero."

The person said.

"Assassin Zero is Kiernan Hunter? Does that mean he has some kind of connection to Japan if that's the case?"

The man asked.

"It might be the case. Somehow, Japan's Government knew of Kiernan Hunter's existence, and they sent him to kill Arashiyama Daigo."

The person said.

"Well, did he?"

The man asked.

"It looks like it was a hard battle. Kiernan was hospitalized for several weeks. But yes, the news reported that Arashiyama Daigo was successfully executed.

"The public had become quite angry that they failed to execute him for so long, so there were a lot of news reports of his perishment."

The person said.

"What about Cairo? What did he do there?"

The man asked.

"…It sounds like a fan-fiction, I am going to be brutally honest. I don't think this is real and is probably just a bullshit story."

The person said.

"Tell me."

The man said.

"Apparently the Door of Hell opened in Cairo. The eyewitness says that demons walked out of the door, and the sky turned blood red.

"They even saw the Gods of Egypt come alive… and something about the army of Anubis marching through the streets.

"Egypt's army responded with the full force of their army. They failed. And the eyewitness reports talk about some guy who just came there and closed the Door of Hell.

"They also say that guy killed those demons, et cetera."

The person said.

"Hmm…"

The man frowned.

"This can't be real. Surely something like this would've been reported worldwide if that was the case. I think there is a proper explanation for this."

The person said.

"I don't know, but I would love to have a talk with this Kiernan Hunter guy…"

The man said with a smirk.

He didn't care about losing Erik anymore because, to him, Kiernan Hunter was a hundred times more intriguing!

"This Michael guy also seems very strong."

The person said.

"I'll take whoever is the strongest, but I would really love to have Kiernan. I'd like to hear everything that has happened from his own mouth."

The man said with a smile.

…

The hours went by, and the first night of the Devil's Ritual arrived, and the Sanctuary had turned quiet.

The corpses were still lying around, waiting to be disposed of.

"…"

Kiernan sat with his knees up to his chest, and he just looked at what everybody was doing.

Michael had been tossing the corpses to the corner to rot away.

Samuel and Isaac were talking with each other, and it didn't seem like they were plotting because they were laughing and chatting.

However.

Kiernan could tell that their eyes seemed ingenuine, and they were occasionally throwing glances at him and Michael.

'They are just acting like they're having normal joyous conversation, but I know they're plotting our deaths.'

Kiernan thought.

'You can just go and kill all of them. What's the point of waiting? Kill them!'

Bael shouted.

'Shut up already…'

Kiernan thought.

In that moment, the lights flickered and the room went dark.

"Huh? What's up? Why did the lights go off?"

"Malfunction?"

Samuel and Isaac wondered.

"GOOD NIGHT!"

In that moment, a voice sounded from the speakers.

It surprised Samuel and Isaac, and they looked at each other, and they seemed very serious for a moment.

"With darkness… it'll be easier…"

Samuel whispered.

"…Should we… do it?"

"Let's wait for them to fall asleep first…"

They were whispered very quietly.

'Haha. It does look like the tournament's organizers don't want this to last any longer, so they're rushing to the end now.

'With the lights off, someone will soon make their first move, and I bet my soul that it will be Samuel and Isaac.'

Kiernan lay down on his side and "closed" his eyes and looked as if he had fallen asleep suddenly.

Samuel and Isaac saw that, and their eyes narrowed, but they saw that Michael was still moving about, so they decided to be patient.