Arthur didn't give Kai time to adjust back. He slammed a sharp jab at Kai's ribs, forcing him to release Maya's leg. Kai stepped back a bit—blocked the punch with his forearm, but the punch was strong enough to send the shockwaves to his bones. Kai's expression finally turned serious for the first time in this whole interaction.

"Stay out of this," Kai muttered.

"Not a chance in a million years." Arthur's tone didn't waver for even a second.

He glanced over his shoulder towards Maya, who was already pushing herself up. "Maya, protect Ryan," Arthur ordered. "Don't let him get hit once again; he's not on that level to protect himself."

Maya wiped up a drop of blood from her lip and gave a quick nod. "Got it."

Arthur turned back to Kai. His shoulders rolled slightly, his guard rose as he took his stance, and in that single motion, his entire presence shifted. Calm became sharp; stillness turned dangerous.

Kai's lips curled into a big smirk. "So it's like that, huh?"

He slid into his stance—Kyokushin Karate, compact and centered, fists up, elbows tight, body perfectly aligned. The form was clean, honed, and deadly.

Arthur raised his own—classical boxing guard, elbows tucked in slightly, chin a bit down, eyes locked straight ahead.

The tension suddenly rose inside the hall.

Kai struck first—a front kick (Mae Geri) aimed straight at Arthur's ribs. Arthur shifted sideways, his elbow deflecting the kick, then countered back with a one-two combo—jab and cross came straight towards Kai. The first of them missed, but the second connected with Kai's shoulder.

Kai stepped back, twisting into a spinning back kick (Ushiro Geri) that sliced through the air. Arthur ducked low, moving a bit closer to Kai, and answered it with a left body hook that made a solid, heavy sound on impact.

"Shi—" Kai hissed through his teeth, rubbing his ribs slightly.

Arthur didn't wait for him to recover. He dashed forward, a series of quick punches—jab, cross, hook, and uppercut—each one of them landing faster than the last one. Kai blocked, parried it, and slipped through some of it, through the barrage of attacks like a ghost.

Maya stood in front of Ryan, fists clenched slightly. "They're monsters," she muttered under her breath as her eyes scanned the whole fight clearly.

Ryan nodded slowly, eyes wide as he failed to keep track of their fight. "Arthur's not even breaking a sweat..."

Arthur's movements were clean and mechanical. Every hit from Kai met with a counter—every kick got answered by a shift, a redirection. The room echoed with their strikes, each one sounding heavier than the last.

Kai ducked low, threw a low kick that smacked against Arthur's thigh, then immediately followed with a knife-hand strike (Shuto Uchi) towards his jaw. Arthur blocked it, then pivoted back, throwing a straight right that grazed Kai's cheek a bit and then sent back a spray of sweat into the air.

The two of them stepped back at the same time. Kai was breathing hard as they both glanced at each other.

Kai smirked as his voice came out flat. "Still sharp as ever."

Arthur didn't say anything. Kai lunged again—his movements were so fast that his body was blurring—step-in punch, side kick, spinning hook. Arthur moved with him, countering and parrying every move of his.

Then he landed a clean cross-counter, right to Kai's chest. The impact shook the floor.

Kai staggered backwards a bit as his breathing got a bit ragged; his smirk was gone now. His shoulders rose and fell as sweat rolled down his temple to his neck. Arthur, on the other hand, stood completely fine like nothing happened—calm and focused; there was not even a single hint of fatigue in his stance.

Maya whispered. "Arthur... isn't a human."

Ryan stared at Arthur as his voice came out low. "Arthur can do this all... day."

Kai exhaled slowly, lowering his stance. "You've gotten far stronger than the last time we faced off," he admitted. "But this isn't over."

Arthur's eyes narrowed a bit. "Then finish what you have started."

Kai shook his head. "Not today."

He pulled off one glove of his and flexed his fingers, squeezing his fists and unsqueezing them slowly. "Tell your friend to stay out of our way, Arthur. Next time, I won't hold back," he said as he looked at Ryan.

He turned and began walking toward the exit. The sound of his shoes against the floor echoed a bit in the hall as he took each step.

When he finally left the gym hall, silence fell across the gym. Only the hum of gym lights remained.

Arthur stood still for a long time, eyes on the door, before finally lowering his guard. He turned toward Ryan, whose breathing was still shaky.

"Are you okay?" Arthur asked quietly.

Ryan nodded, though his knees felt weak. "Y-yeah. I am fine; don't worry about it, Arthur."

Maya walked over, still rubbing her leg where Kai had caught her. "Arthur," she said, her voice steady despite the bruises forming on her skin. "We need to talk. About all of this, I want to know, too, what is going on."

Arthur looked at her for a moment; that unreadable expression of his was back on his face once again—then he said, voice low yet firm. "Yeah," he said. "We will."

He started walking towards the exit, leaving behind the quiet hum of the lights and the faint scent of sweat and adrenaline.

Ryan stood there, staring at the floor, as his heart was still pounding from the event that just occurred. He looked at Maya, then at the empty doorway where Kai had stood before.

For the first time, he realized something terrifying.

He wasn't just caught in some school rivalry anymore.This was real. There were gangs. Supplies. Crews. And now—people who wanted him dead.

The system's faint chime broke through the silence one last time.

[Quest Updated: Survive the Consequences.]

[Next Objective: Prepare for retaliation.]

Ryan stared at the glowing text before it faded. His throat felt dry. "Arthur…" he whispered, but Arthur was already gone.

Maya's voice broke the silence. "Ryan… What did you get yourself into?"

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