A sudden shout rips through the chaos.
Apex Predator member: "GUYS—THAT'S NO. 8 OF THE APEX PREDATORS! RENJI! THEY CALL HIM THE BLAZE!"
The battlefield shifts.
The crowd instinctively parts as a tall figure steps forward. His presence alone warps the air — heat ripples shimmer, distorting the street as though it's caught in a furnace. Every step he takes makes the ground feel heavier, hotter. His sharp, predatory eyes lock onto the hooded figure.
Renji: "Guess I've been given a good opponent after all."
???: "…Tch. Idiot."
The tension spikes like a blade pressed to the throat.
All around them, RDX and Apex Predators clash in brutal skirmishes — fists breaking bones, shouts cutting the night — yet slowly, RDX begins to gain the upper hand. Their No. 2 moves like a reaper, cutting through enemies with merciless precision. Panic flickers among the Apex as they scramble to hold their ground.
But now, every whisper carries weight:
If No. 8 — The Blaze — falls here, the Apex Predators will suffer the biggest humiliation in years.
Renji cracks his neck, his face calm, unfazed.
Renji: "Boss sent me to clean this mess up."
Suddenly, one RDX member, blinded by adrenaline, dashes at him with a wild straight punch.
Renji barely glances his way.
His hand snatches the fist mid-air — SNAP — and in the same motion, a brutal counter-cross detonates against the man's jaw.
CRACK—THUD!
The body collapses lifelessly to the asphalt like a sack of bricks.
For a single heartbeat, the entire battlefield freezes.
No one dares breathe.
???: "…Fine. Let's do this."
The two warriors face each other.
Their eyes lock — sharp, unblinking. The pressure between them floods the street, suffocating, thick enough to choke on. Even veteran fighters on both sides falter, legs trembling under the sheer weight of aura.
Renji's flames blaze hotter, licking the night air, crashing violently against the hooded figure's cold, crushing intensity. Heat versus void. Fire versus silence. Predator versus shadow.
Narration:
If Renji falls here… the Apex Predators lose more than a fight. They lose their fearsome name.
Both men step forward — one radiating fire, the other an abyss.
And the street itself braces for an explosion.
Chapter 7 – End.