Haruto''s vision blurred with every impact, but he forced himself to focus, drawing on every ounce of his remaining strength and training.


    Blood filled his mouth, the metallic taste lingering as his jaw clenched tight.


    The urge to retaliate, to give Daiki back every punch with even greater force, roared inside him—a voice urging him to be the monster Daiki wanted to see.


    But then, Jin''s words echoed in his mind, steady and unyielding: "Be worse than your enemy, be crazier."


    Haruto''s lips curved into a bloody grin as a chuckle escaped him. Hisughter, raw and defiant, cut through the heavy silence between them.


    "You must not be paying attention, Daiki," he sneered, spitting blood right onto Daiki''s face.


    For a moment, Daiki froze, his expression hardening as he wiped the blood from his cheek, smirking through narrowed eyes.


    "So that''s how you want to y, huh? Let''s see how ''changed'' and ''durable'' you really are."


    Daiki''s weight bore down on Haruto, pinning him against the hard floor as a relentless barrage of punches rained down.


    Haruto''s head snapped back with each blow, a dull, throbbing ache spreading from his jaw to the back of his skull.


    His vision blurred with red, his body screaming under the onught. The floor beneath him felt like it might shatter with every hit as Daiki''s fists drove into his face, chest, and shoulders, each impact rattling his bones.


    ''Hold on, Haruto. This isn''t worse than seeing your sister in pain. I must hold on.'' he thought to himself, trying to stay conscious.


    Haruto could barely breathe. He tasted blood—thick, metallic, coating his tongue and flooding his mouth.


    His pulse hammered in his ears, drowning out everything but the sound of Daiki''s sadisticughter and the crunch of fists meeting flesh.


    ''I only need to find an opening to counterattack.''


    Daiki''s eyes gleamed with sick pleasure as he leaned closer, twisting his knuckles into Haruto''s cheekbone just to savor the grunt of pain it wrung out of him.


    "Come on, Haruto! I thought you were tougher than this!" Daiki taunted, his voice a sneer.


    "Is this all the fire you''ve got?"


    Without waiting for a response, he gripped Haruto''s cor, hauling him upright with a brutal yank.


    Before Haruto could regain his bnce, Daiki mmed his head back against the wall with a sickening thud.


    Stars exploded in Haruto''s vision, his skull reverberating with the impact. But Daiki didn''t stop there.


    He pulled Haruto forward, only to drive him back again, and again, each m of his head into the concrete wall sending splinters of agony through his body.


    Blood sttered with each blow, smearing across the wall in jagged red lines. The room spun, and Haruto could barely hold onto the ground beneath him.


    But somewhere beneath the pain, beneath the haze of red clouding his mind, something raw and fierce burned inside him.


    A memory surfaced—a whisper of Jin''s voice in his mind, calm and unwavering: "Be worse than your enemy. Be crazier."


    Augh, low and broken, bubbled out of Haruto''s bloody mouth, catching Daiki off guard.


    Through the blood and pain, Haruto grinned, his teeth smeared red. "Is that all you''ve got?"


    "Come here and destroy me if you can, don''t you hate my eyes?"


    Daikiughed harder than him. This was the first time seeing someone as ''crazy'' as him.


    "Oh, you''ll regret that."


    Haruto seized his chance. Summoning every ounce of strength left in him, he twisted his body, bracing his hands against Daiki''s chest and shoving him back with a force that surprised them both.


    Daiki stumbled, momentarily thrown off bnce, giving Haruto just enough time to push himself up, breathing heavily as he steadied himself on shaky legs.


    Haruto''s body screamed in protest, his vision still clouded, but he ignored the pain. With a snarl, heunched himself at Daiki, fists raised, his movements driven by a fierce determination.


    He didn''t hold back. His first punch connected with Daiki''s jaw, a solid, punishing hit that sent Daiki reeling back.


    In one swift, explosive motion, he swung his arm forward, slipping the knuckle buster onto his hand and driving it into Daiki''s gut with all the force he could muster.


    Daiki gasped, stumbling back as the unexpected blow knocked the air from his lungs.


    Haruto didn''t waste a second. Adrenaline surged through him, flooding his veins with raw energy as he sprang to his feet, pressing his advantage.


    With a swift motion, he smashed his knuckle-buster-d fist into Daiki''s jaw, the metal biting into flesh, sending Daiki reeling.


    Blood sttered across the floor as Daiki''s lip split open, his previous smugness now reced by stunned disbelief.


    Haruto stepped closer, relentless. He felt no mercy, no hesitation as he struck again, the knuckle buster connecting with Daiki''s ribs in a solid, sickening crack.


    "This is for my sister," he growled, his voice low and full of venom, each word punctuated by another brutal punch.


    Daiki grunted, the sound cut off as Haruto''s fist drove into his stomach, doubling him over.


    Before Daiki could even react, Haruto brought his fist down in a savage uppercut, sending him crashing to the floor.


    "You think you''re untouchable?" Haruto''s voice was dark, cold, as he looked down at Daiki, who struggled to get to his knees, wheezing.


    "You think no one can bring you down?" He grabbed Daiki by the cor, hauling him upright, only to m him back against the wall.


    With the knuckle buster pressed against Daiki''s cheek, Haruto drove his fist forward, feeling the sick satisfaction of bone cracking beneath metal.


    Daiki''s face was a bloody mess, his once-arrogant sneer now twisted into a grimace of pain.


    He attempted to swing back, but Haruto was quicker, dodging with an agility that belied his battered condition.


    In a single, fluid motion, Haruto nted his foot behind Daiki''s, tripping him and forcing him down onto his knees.


    Without hesitation, Haruto drove his knuckle-bustered fist into Daiki''s shoulder, a vicious blow that sent him sprawling to the ground, gasping.


    "You want to see how much I''ve changed?" Haruto''s voice was a low, dangerous murmur as he loomed over Daiki. "Here''s what that looks like."


    With that, Haruto unleashed a final, punishing strike, the knuckle connecting with Daiki''s jaw in a hit that echoed through the empty space, reverberating with the force of his fury.


    Daiki slumped to the ground, his breaths shallow, his body battered and broken. Haruto stood over him, chest heaving, blood dripping from his knuckles, a calm satisfaction settling over him.


    Daiki''s cocky arrogance gave way to something Haruto hadn''t expected.


    There was no anger in Daiki''s eyes, no trace of fear—only a twisted, satisfied grin spreading across his bloodied face, as if he were savoring every moment of the fight.


    Slowly, with a stagger, Daiki pulled himself to his feet, brushing the dust from his shirt.


    He ran his fingers through his long hair, slicking it back, then rolled his neck, a series of unsettling cracks echoing in the silence.


    His gaze locked onto Haruto with a fierce, almost manic intensity.


    "Ren! Bring me my gorgeous bat," Daiki shouted, his voice a sharpmand that reverberated through the alley.


    "On it, boss!" came the reply.


    Ren, who had been watching from above, tossed something down. Itnded on the ground with a heavy thud—a bat, wound in barbed wire, its surface stained with dried blood.


    Daiki picked it up with a wicked grin, his fingers running along the coarse, brutal weapon. "Did you think this was over?"


    Heughed, twirling the bat in his hand. "This isn''t finished until one of us is down for good—or dead."