Gukja stood his ground without hesitation. Choyun tensed his shoulders. The two lunged at each other at the same time.
The first blow was brutal.
Pah!
A fist straight to the cheekbone. The sound of the impact was excruciating. The crack came next. And the blood, almost at the same time.
Gukja took half a step back, but counterattacked.
An elbow to the neck. Choyun blocked it with his forearm, stepping back a little.
Choyun turned. He kicked. His heel grazed Gukja's jaw. The next blow landed: a low kick to the knee, which made him stumble.
But Gukja didn't fall. He landed a deep hook to the stomach, with his whole body behind it.
Choyun spat out saliva mixed with blood. His face was disfigured. He grabbed him by the shirt and slammed him against a column.
The wall cracked immediately, sending dust falling.
They separated. They went back inside.
Gukja rammed his forehead into Choyun's nose. The crack was clear.
Choyun staggered backward, blinded by blood. But he wiped it away with the back of his arm, growled like a wounded animal, and lunged again.
He slammed him into a rusty metal table. The legs bent. Gukja was underneath. Choyun was on top, unleashing a flurry of punches.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
"Die!" Choyun shouted as he tried to bite off his shoulder.
But the fifth one didn't go in.
Gukja grabbed him by the neck with one bloody hand. With the other, he punched him in the mouth. Then another. And another.
"Die!" Gukja shouted, digging his thumb into the wound on his side.
Choyun fell to the side, breathing heavily. His lips were split and his cheek was swollen like a balloon.
His right eye was almost closed.
He staggered to his feet. Gukja did too. Blood ran down from his forehead, covering his face to his chin.
They collided again.
A kick from Gukja split a rusty machine in two.
This time it wasn't punches.
It was ramming. Bodies crashing furiously. One against the other. Against the floor and walls.
The building began to groan.
A beam rumbled above. A piece of concrete fell to the floor with a crash.
Gukja kicked him in the waist. Choyun responded with a headbutt to the temple.
They rolled on the floor, scratching each other, hitting each other with their elbows, knees, whatever they could get their hands on.
It was a dirty, painful fight. Desperate and very close.
The walls were stained. The floor was cracked. There were teeth on the floor. Blood formed puddles.
Gukja slammed him against a pillar. Choyun grabbed his shirt and dragged him along with him.
Both were panting. They staggered. But neither fell.
Until, finally, they did.
Two exhausted bodies. Sunk among the rubble.
The dust settled.
And then... footsteps were heard.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Slow, elegant, and steady.
Someone was clapping. Their shadow appeared at the edge of the hallway.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The moonlight outlined his silhouette. Calm and upright. Not a single stain on his clothes.
And he was smiling.
Not out of courtesy.
He was smiling like someone who had been watching from the beginning... knowing that everything would turn out as planned.
Gukja, with his lips bursting and his body on the verge of collapse, barely lifted his head.
"Who...?"
Choyun, on the other hand, recognized him instantly.
His face, swollen and covered in blood, twisted.
It wasn't fear that crossed his gaze.
It was defeat.
Suhyeon stopped in front of him. He looked at him for a few seconds. Then... he lowered one knee.
A bow.
But it was not one of respect, nor of recognition.
It was silent mockery, as if to say, "You gave it your all, and it wasn't enough."
"Choyun... I congratulate you. You held out longer than I thought you would. Longer than most would have held out... loser."
Suhyeon slowly stood up, elegantly brushing the dust off his sleeve.
"But that doesn't change anything."
Choyun clenched his teeth. His body trembled, barely held together by sheer rage.
"Suhyeon... damn you..."
Suhyeon looked down at him. His shadow covered almost all of Choyun's body.
"You never had a chance of defeating me."
And then he smiled. A faint curve, without any warmth.
The moonlight illuminated half of his face. The other half was lost in shadow.
"I didn't even have to fight you!"
Something inside Choyun broke.
"SUHYEON!" he shouted with the last of his strength. He took a clumsy step forward. He wanted to lunge at him.
But he didn't make it.
Suhyeon moved in the blink of an eye.
His fist struck Choyun's face. The ground cracked. A fissure spread beneath his feet.
And Choyun collapsed. Without a cry... he was knocked unconscious with a single punch.
Falling to the concrete. Like a dead weight.
[System – Choyun]: You have failed a main mission.
[System – Choyun]: You automatically lose the system and all your progress.
[Suhyeon Kim]
Height: 188 cm
Weight: 81 kg
Strength: SX
Speed: SX
Potential: SSS
Intelligence: S+
Endurance: SX
Suhyeon exhaled. Not a drop of sweat. Not a stain on his clothes.
He adjusted his shirt collar with his fingertips and slowly turned to face the others.
[System]: You have used a diaper on your allies.
[System]: All your allies are recovering.
"Everyone has evolved as I expected... especially Gukja, who has awakened the UI. Interesting. I'll have to talk to him about that later," he thought.
As he watched his right hand rise with renewed strength, along with the rest of his executives.
The dust was still suspended in the air. The blood still smelled like hot metal throughout the room.
And just then—
Beep.
A private message.
Suhyeon turned his wrist slightly, shaking the dust off the knuckle with which he had knocked out Choyun.
He was in no hurry.
He calmly took his cell phone out of his coat's inside pocket.
A single notification on the screen.
Contact: Inspector Yang.
"Operation complete."
"Twelve executives in custody. Five more surrendered when surrounded."
"A couple tried to escape. They're in surgery now, but alive."
"And you? Did you have fun?"
Suhyeon smiled. Barely a line on his lips.
Another message arrived before he could reply.
"When we meet, I want you to buy me a few drinks."
"Nothing cheap. Maybe a couple of bottles of Cheongju Gyodong Daechung 1932... or something even more embarrassingly expensive."
"After all, this already seems like a tradition."
Suhyeon put away his cell phone with that smile of his: calm, elegant, without revealing whether it was mockery, respect... or both.
His footsteps echoed as he walked out among the rubble, leaving Choyun unconscious on the broken floor.
Two days later.
[Scene change]: Gangbuk Main School – 3:00 p.m.
The atmosphere was not festive.
But it was respectful.
Like when someone enters a room and does not need to be announced. Because everyone already knows who is in charge.
On the roof of the main building, under the dull sky of the newly conquered city, a small but determined circle gathered: loyal executives, silent allies, and a few trusted subordinates.
Everyone was standing. No one dared to sit down first.
In front of them was a low table, without excess. Simple trays, freshly opened Hwayo 41 soju: imported, expensive, and sober. A luxury that did not need ostentation.
From there, you could see all of Gangbuk. Damaged streets, disorderly roofs, and buildings still bearing the scars of days gone by.
And at the top, waving in an almost ceremonial wind, was Suhyeon's emblem: a solitary black pike embroidered on a white background.
Meanwhile, you could hear the glasses being filled. The faint murmur of a new order settling in.
Until Jaeha, the same man who had once challenged him with youthful arrogance, raised his glass.
"To the fall of Choyun... and to the new owner of this area."
All eyes turned to Suhyeon.
He did not respond immediately. He was standing. No throne, no chair. Just him. And that was enough.
"This was not just a victory," he finally said, with the calmness of someone who had already won before the battle began.
The silence grew thicker and more attentive.
"It was a complete humiliation for Choyun."
Some looked down. Others nodded silently. Gukja, bandaged, with a smile twisted by pain, helped himself without asking permission.
"So what now, boss... aren't you going to drink?" he asked, raising his glass with a raised eyebrow.
Suhyeon looked at him. And then... he picked up his own glass.
"Just for today, let's celebrate," he said, his voice cutting through the air, "and prepare for what's coming."
He didn't need to raise his voice. Because every word fell like a sacred stone on his executives.
He looked at them one by one. And in each gaze he deposited something more than approval.
He gave them meaning.
He gave them belonging.
He gave them purpose.
Then it was Jaeha who started.
A firm voice, without shame.
"Long live Gangbuk, long live Suhyeon!"
And behind him, like thunder finally breaking free, they all followed in unison:
"Long live Gangbuk, long live Suhyeon!!!"
The voices broke the sky. The echo reverberated between the concrete buildings. It was not a political cry. Nor was it a forced oath.
It was devotion... it was gratitude for having survived... it was faith in something greater than themselves.
Suhyeon, without needing to smile, raised his glass and drank in silence.
And for a very brief second... everything else disappeared.
All that remained was the sound of the wind, the emblem waving high above, and the certainty that this was only the first of many conquests to come.
---
Author's note:
With the upcoming chapter 30, we will officially conclude Volume 1 "The Ascension of Fuda Yaburi."
It has been a brutal, intense journey full of evolution—not only for Suhyeon, but for everyone who has crossed his path.
Thank you for following this story this far. What's coming next... is even darker, bigger, and much more personal.
Let me know in the comments what you thought of this first volume.
Your opinions, theories, and critiques will help me greatly to improve for the second volume.
After uploading Chapter 30 (tomorrow), I will take a week to thoroughly plan what comes next.
Get ready.
The real war is just beginning..