Chapter 462: What Does It Mean to Be a Real Man
Chapter 462: What Does It Mean to Be a Real Man
“I’m back.”
Four simple words pierced through the dark storm clouds like sunlight.
They eased the tension gripping Kanzaki Rin and Asaka Akihime’s hearts.
Kanzaki Rin had been under tremendous pressure since Isis appeared, especially with Kamikawa Takumi and Sato Hayato still missing and their life and death uncertain. Yet she’d forced herself to hide it. Fang Cheng’s return washed away her accumulated stress.
Asaka Akihime flew straight to the rooftop without hesitation. Standing before Fang Cheng, she exclaimed, “Cheng-kun! You’re finally here!”
Had she not been wearing the bulky solo combat system, she might’ve thrown herself into his arms.
Fang Cheng scanned her for injuries. “Akihime, everyone okay?”
She shook her head. A few scratches from the earlier crash-landing meant nothing.
Fang Cheng leaped down from the rooftop, landing before Kanzaki Rin.
Though her face showed no visible relief, her calmness returned. “You’ve heard?” she said flatly.
His return to Mechanical City made hiding Isis’s arrival impossible.
He nodded. Upon arriving, he’d immediately gone to the attacked Government Building after getting the message.
Too late. Isis and Kamikawa Takumi were already gone. Minamoto Karei had told him about the Blood Queen’s assault.
He’d ordered Qingxue to escort Minamoto Karei’s group to the underground shelter before searching the city for Kanzaki Rin and Asaka Akihime.
“Then why stay?” Kanzaki Rin stepped forward, voice rising. “Waiting to die?”
Fang Cheng remained unfazed. “What happens to you if I flee?”
“We’ll find safety once you’re gone!”
She grabbed his wrist, attempting to drag him away. No time for debates—she just needed him far from this doomed place.
He stood rooted. “Wrong. My absence signs your death warrants. You’re hostages to control me.”
“I know!” she snapped, whirling around. Her hands clutched his shoulders as her voice cracked. “But must I watch you throw your life away? Please… just go.”
Fang Cheng embraced her. “Living means nothing if you’re dead,” he murmured against her ear.
She shut her eyes, pain twisting her features. She’d known he’d refuse to abandon them. Yet staying meant Isis would kill him—a trap with no escape. Her desperate plan crumbled before his resolve.
Asaka Akihime watched silently, fighting Ye Yuqing’s attempts to seize body control. She wisely stayed quiet.
The golden glow still shimmered above Fang Cheng’s head. From cracks in the Ground beneath his fist, two blood shadows slithered outward, merging into human form nearby.
“You again?”
Fang Cheng gazed at the alluring Eve and instantly recognized her. Back in Iyaya’s paradise, Isis’s doppelganger had summoned Eve to help him pass the divine beauty test. He never imagined meeting her again here.
Eve stood rigidly straight with hands clasped at her waist. “Forgive me,” she said softly, “I don’t recall our meeting.”
Fang Cheng understood from her blank reaction – she likely remembered nothing from paradise. Perhaps they were entirely separate beings.
“The Queen won’t kill your friends and family,” Eve continued, “as long as you stay.”
Fang Cheng’s face darkened. “Tell Isis I’ll disappear forever if she kills Kamikawa Takumi. Let her gamble on finding me again worldwide.”
Eve froze momentarily, eyes glazing over. After few seconds, she blinked back to awareness. “The Queen promises not to claim Kamikawa Takumi’s Life… for now.”
That “for now” meant his brother-in-law would die instantly if he fled. Fang Cheng’s chest tightened. He and Kamikawa had been evenly matched during their recent sparring.
He turned to Kanzaki Rin and Asaka Akihime. “Hayato’s wounds are healed. Minamoto Karei and Kujo Yuri took him to shelter. Join them.”
Neither woman moved. Kanzaki Rin kept her head down, fingers digging into Fang Cheng’s arm – uncharacteristically emotional. This might be their final farewell.
“Wait for me,” Fang Cheng insisted, gently prying her hands loose.
“Cheng-kun!” Asaka Akihime tore off her solo combat system and kissed him deeply before everyone. The kiss lasted sixty seconds, Kanzaki Rin staring at the ground, Eve waiting patiently.
Foreheads touching, Asaka Akihime whispered, “I’ll be waiting at home.” Her simple resolve: if he died, she’d follow.
“Yuqing wants to speak,” she added.
Ye Yuqing took body control and whispered in his ear: “I won’t block your romance anymore. I love you too. Come back or I’ll never forgive you – not in this life or next.”
“For that promise, I’ll survive.” Fang Cheng kissed her cheek and walked toward Eve.
Watching him leave, Ye Yuqing felt her heart shredding. Inside their shared mind, Asaka Akihime wept silently.
They all sensed that Fang Cheng was truly in grave danger this time.
“Lead the way.”
Fang Cheng stood before Eve.
Eve nodded, morphing into a blood shadow that streaked toward a distant direction.
Fang Cheng put on his Blood Combat Suit and soared into the air to follow.
His final glance back revealed Ye Yuqing with red-rimmed eyes still waving, while Kanzaki Rin kept her head lowered.
Fang Cheng’s gaze lingered on them briefly before he turned away.
As a blood shadow, Eve zipped through clustered buildings at blistering speed.
Fang Cheng trailed closely, strategizing how to confront the looming threat.
Isis wasn’t invincible—had he known her arrival timeline, he could’ve lured the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to restrain her.
Even unprepared, escaping remained an option if combat proved unwinnable.
The true problem lay in her abrupt assault, leaving no time for defenses while exposing his friends and family.
This was likely Isis’s scheme—using Kanzaki Rin and others as leverage to trap Fang Cheng in direct confrontation.
“Troublesome woman,” he muttered, recalling how Isis and the Horsemen vanished after clashing in Hawaii.
He’d relaxed too soon, never expecting her to appear directly in Hokkaido.
Yet Fang Cheng wasn’t helpless.
Life Remaining: 502
Mother’s middle finger could shatter even Uehara Takashi’s Vector Control.
With Iyaya as hidden insurance, he refused to believe she’d let him die.
Assessing these advantages, his resolve hardened—even in defeat, he’d make Isis pay dearly.
A figure vaulting across rooftops against their path caught his attention.
Squinting, Fang Cheng recognized the nine-tailed fox.
The fox spirit stiffened upon spotting him airborne, clearly surprised he hadn’t fled.
They passed without acknowledgement.
Watching Fang Cheng recede, the nine-tailed fox calculated his slim survival odds.
No pity stirred her heart—among Mechanical City’s residents, she only cared about the Killing Stone within Kanzaki Rin, while Fang Cheng’s power threatened her plans.
His death by Isis’s hand, preferably mutual annihilation, would clear her path to the artifact.
“Die well, boy,” she smirked, waving mockingly. “I’ll tend to Kanzaki Rin.”
Humming, she bounded away in the opposite direction.
……
In a corner of the city, Kamikawa Takumi lay bleeding on the rooftop, his wounds more severe than Sato Hayato’s. The shattered remains of his pen lay nearby.
Though battered, he remained fully conscious, his gaze locked on Isis standing in the stairwell.
Too strong!
Only through direct combat had Kamikawa Takumi understood the true terror of disaster-level monsters. His earlier confidence about luring Isis away in Tokyo now seemed laughably naive.
Discovered and cornered, he couldn’t resist or escape. Isis had played with him like a cat toying with a mouse, using his suffering for entertainment.
Never since becoming an ace had he experienced such utter humiliation and helplessness.
Noticing his stare, Isis glanced down with cold indifference. “You’re fortunate. I won’t kill you.”
Kamikawa Takumi stayed silent. He knew only one reason spared him – Fang Cheng’s return.
This might be their final meeting. Not that he doubted Fang Cheng, but Isis’ overwhelming despair crushed all hope.
Minutes later, a blood shadow scaled the building and coalesced into human form.
“Queen, he’s here.”
Eve bowed slightly to Isis, who ignored the subordinate to focus on the approaching figure.
Fang Cheng’s eyes met Isis’. This marked their first true reunion since Tokyo – their encounter in paradise didn’t count, being merely with her doppelganger.
Isis smiled mildly. “You came.”
Her tone and expression suggested old friends reuniting.
“Damn right I did.”
Fang Cheng’s eyes traveled from Isis’ flawless features to her nostrils. “As the man who plugged your twin holes, I’m here to end this.”
“What?!”
The seemingly lifeless Kamikawa Takumi jerked his head up in shock. His disbelieving eyes darted between them.
He’d been battered for mere teasing, yet Isis showed no reaction to Fang Cheng’s blatant sexual harassment. Could this be true? Had Isis come not for conquest, but to confront a lover?
The injured man’s mind spun romantic dramas worthy of a million words. Even through his pain, he managed to raise a trembling thumbs-up.
Fang Cheng nodded at the gesture. Don’t worry, big brother. I’ll win this.
Isis remembered their nasal encounter clearly, though time had transformed her anger into faint amusement.
“You purged my gift.” Her ruby eyes glinted with interest as she studied him. “Remarkable. No wonder I can’t read you.”
Few had ever resisted her mental probing. This uniqueness had made Fang Cheng worth cultivating – her planted power meant to nurture growth.
Can’t read me? Fang Cheng’s mind flashed to his System. If even Iyaya hadn’t mentioned it while reading his thoughts, the System must be shielding him.
“This city’s no battleground.” Fang Cheng gestured at the streets below. Nozawa Ritsu was evacuating crowds under Kanzaki Rin’s orders, but moving thousands took time.
Isis floated upward. “Agreed. I’ve grown fond of this reborn city.”
She chose a random direction and soared away, Fang Cheng following into the crimson twilight.