Minoru Kageno and Sora Kageno were university students, both eighteen years old.
Nishino Akane had also reached the age of eighteen.
For the following week, Sora and Minoru acted like total strangers at school, blending into the background as “mob” characters.
After classes, however, the two trained their bodies relentlessly.
At night, they hunted down and beat the biker gangs.
Though the bikers were no match for them, they remained stubborn, continuing to loiter in the area every day.
Now, however, the moment they spotted Minoru or Sora, they would bolt instantly.
To protect themselves, they had all started wearing high-quality, heavy-duty helmets.
Still, there were always two or three “lucky” ones who got caught by Minoru and Sora and received a thorough thrashing.
During this period, Sora spent his class time reading books that had nothing to do with his studies—books like Andersen’s Fairy Tales, texts on economics, and concepts for electronic product development.
As a member of the Kageno family, Sora naturally knew how to play the piano as well.
One evening, Sora and Minoru stayed at school until dark, as was their custom.
Minoru played the piano while Sora sat nearby, engrossed in his books.
At the school gates, Nishino Akane was frantically making calls on her phone, but no one was picking up.
Ten minutes prior, Akane’s driver had been involved in a minor collision with another vehicle.
It was entirely the other driver’s fault, but when the driver tried to discuss the accident, the other party simply punched him.
After calling for a long time without success, Akane looked at the darkening sky.
It was late; perhaps her driver had run into an emergency and couldn’t come.
She decided to walk home alone.
As soon as Akane left the school gates, Minoru’s piano music stopped.
The two cousins exchanged a look, left the music room, and locked the door.
“The night is coming…
Darkness shall soon shroud the earth!” Minoru declared.
“The strongest beneath the black veil, the ‘Stylish Hoodlum Slayers,’ are about to make their entrance!” Sora added.
To be honest, Sora felt like he was cringing hard enough to dig out a three-bedroom apartment with his toes.
It was incredibly “Chunibyo,” but he had to do it.
Only by staying perfectly in sync with Minoru could he ensure they would reincarnate together.
The two headed toward their homes, keeping about two hundred meters behind Akane.
Eventually, Akane turned into a narrow, secluded alley.
As she walked, an eerie wind blew past.
Akane instinctively felt someone behind her.
She spun around, but there was nothing there.
“I’m just scaring myself…” she whispered.
But as she turned back, she slammed into a broad, muscular chest.
“I-I’m sorry!
I didn’t see you there!” Akane stammered, stumbling back a few steps.
The man before her was tall and heavily built.
“You’re Akane Nishino, aren’t you?” Hearing those words, memories of being kidnapped as a child suddenly flooded back.
Without hesitation, she turned and bolted.
The brute didn’t even move.
Instead, a black van suddenly swerved toward Akane.
She looked at the blinding headlights in despair.
The van drifted to a halt, blocking her path.
A man who looked like a common thug slid open the door and stepped out.
He looked at Akane with a lewd, disgusting smile and lunged toward her.
“No…
stop…
H-HELP!” Akane tried to scream, but before she could make a sound, the thug pressed a handkerchief laced with an anesthetic over her mouth.
Within seconds, her consciousness blurred, and she went limp.
In the final second before she blacked out, Akane saw two figures at the end of the road—two harmless-looking students.
When Akane woke up, she was inside a warehouse.
The thug was leering at her with a sickening grin.
“The text message has been sent.
Once the money is in our account, we’ll let you go,” the large man said.
The thug, however, kept staring at Akane.
“Before we let her go, let me have some fun first!” “Idiot ruled by his lower half,” the big man muttered with disdain, though he didn’t stop him.
He knew his partner’s strength.
“It’s late and quiet…
the perfect time for something wonderful!
Hehehe!” The thug began to tear at Akane’s clothes.
Outside the warehouse, Minoru and Sora had arrived.
They had changed their clothes, disguising their identities in full black outfits.
Minoru climbed onto the skylight.
Akane, struggling on the ground, looked up and saw a figure through the glass; she stopped resisting.
With a crash, Minoru kicked through the skylight, dropping five meters straight down into the warehouse amidst a shower of glass.
The noise startled the thug, halting his movements.
All three people in the warehouse stared at Minoru in shock.
“Who the hell are you?!” the thug shouted.
Falling from a five-meter height like that was insane.
“The Stylish Hoodlum Slayer.” “I don’t care who you are!
Die!” The thug pulled out a handgun.
Before he could pull the trigger, a throwing knife buried itself into the back of his hand.
He screamed in pain, dropping the gun.
He scrambled to pick it up, but Minoru gave him no chance.
He closed the distance with terrifying speed.
“Too much wasted movement.
Your reactions are too slow.” Minoru buried a fist into the thug’s stomach.
The man doubled over, dazed.
As he tried to get up, Minoru brought his foot down hard on the man’s face.
Blood splattered, and the thug went unconscious immediately.
“Not bad!
Stylish Hoodlum Slayer!” The big man drew his own gun, aimed it at Minoru—and then tossed it aside.
“It’s been a long time since I left the military and found an opponent who excites me!
I hope you can entertain me!” “I’ve also wanted to fight a soldier,” Minoru replied.
The man lunged with a combat knife, and the two began a fierce exchange.
“Only slaughter makes me feel alive!
Welcome to this mad world!” the soldier roared, his blade moving faster and faster.
Minoru parried with his crowbar, looking for an opening.
“I’ve found that the crowbar is quite an excellent tool.
It’s sturdy, functions like a baton, and you can even fool the police with it.” Minoru spoke even as he fought, eventually disarming the soldier.
“I’ve discovered the potential of the crowbar.
By using the hooked end to strike, you can concentrate all your force into a single point to unleash massive power!” Minoru shifted his grip.
*CRACK!* The crowbar slammed into the soldier’s hand.
What followed was a one-sided beatdown.
Strike after strike landed, sending blood flying.
Meanwhile, Sora had walked up to the unconscious thug.
He picked up the two handguns and began unloading all the bullets.
Then, he moved over and untied Akane’s ropes.
Akane was dazed, staring at them in a trance.
By then, Minoru had finished his fight.
The soldier lay unconscious in a pool of his own blood.
“Be more careful on your way home next time,” Minoru said simply.
By the time Akane snapped out of it, both figures had vanished.
“Thank you…
Stylish Hoodlum Slayer,” Akane whispered into the empty warehouse.