"Today's really been busy… but isn't this assassination method a bit excessive? Machine gun fire is one thing, but rockets and missiles too? Are the Japanese police all dead?!"
Ryuji couldn't help but complain, then glanced at the logs.
Very good, it's the United States markings.
It was obvious that these were people within DOATEC who didn't want Douglas's inheritance to fall into Helena's hands and instead wanted her dead.
They had bribed the U.S. military stationed here, planning to disguise everything as an accident afterward, completely disregarding the Japanese government.
"Well, looks like whether the Japanese police are 'dead' or not doesn't really matter. And as for the U.S. military not taking the Japanese government seriously, that's pretty normal."
Ryuji sat back down speechlessly, but the moment he did, countless killing intents suddenly appeared within his perception.
Closing his eyes, he traced their sources and found that they weren't just outside the hotel. Inside this very villa, there were also numerous sources of killing intent.
And those sources of these killing intents…
were none other than Helena's own bodyguards.
Clearly, her security team had also been bought off.
Worse, the killing intents overlapped and intertwined, it was obvious they didn't all belong to the same faction.
"Helena is quite unlucky."
Ryuji opened his eyes and muttered again.
At that moment, Helena emerged from the stairwell. Facing the wind on the rooftop, she brushed her hair aside and looked at Ryuji sitting there. She couldn't help but speak.
"Mr. Ryuji, there's no need to work so hard. There shouldn't be any problems here for now."
These hotels were located a U.S. military base, even guarded by U.S. soldiers. It was a place reserved for important Western figures. So, naturally there was no need to worry about soldiers causing trouble here.
Because of that, she believed there wouldn't be any danger for the time being; the real danger would come when they left.
"No. The problem has already arrived."
Ryuji reached out and grabbed the sword on his back.
He had no intention of using the Satsui no Hado or similar techniques to solve this, because that was too troublesome. When it came to killing, his sword was far more effective.
"What?"
Helena didn't understand what he meant but at that moment, she too heard the buzzing of helicopters.
"That's what I mean."
Ryuji drew his sword.
At the same time, the incoming helicopters launched their missiles at their location. Countless streaks of fire rushed toward the villa, and Helena's eyes widened, but it was too late to escape.
But Ryuji showed no fear.
He swung his greatsword and a violent gale formed a massive net, slicing every incoming missile into pieces. Before Helena's disbelieving eyes, they exploded midair, forming a river of fire across the sky.
"You thought they wouldn't try to kill you, Helena. But in this world, just because you don't fight for something doesn't mean you'll survive. To many people, your very existence is trouble and a threat."
Ryuji spun the greatsword in his hand, flames dancing around him like a raging dragon. As the flames dissipated and the helicopter pilots stared in shock, Ryuji swung his greatsword again.
"That's why I said what I said when you hired me!"
A fire dragon surged from his greatsword, rushing toward the helicopters amid curses and screams. In the next instant, the fire dragon pierced through them...
And they exploded in the sky, turning into burning wreckage that crashed into the villa's garden, right before Helena's horrified eyes.
"You can hire powerful martial artists like us for tens of millions but have you ever considered that others can also spend tens of millions to kill you and everything you have?"
Ryuji turned his head to look at Helena and asked the most important question.
Money alone wasn't enough.
Money must be protected by power.
And power must be secured by strength.
Violence is the one and only absolute force in this world.
Helena was already quite impressive as a martial artist. Even Mai would need a long fight to determine a winner against her. She was already a first-rate martial artist.
But that wasn't enough.
She still couldn't resist modern weaponry, so she still had to follow the rules of the human world.
"You think you can escape from this cruel world but that's impossible, Helena. You were born into privilege and when the privileged abandon their power, they get devoured. Without the strength protect yourself and allies to rely on, you can't even keep your mother alive. Unless…"
Ryuji turned around, looking at her amidst the blazing flames in the sky.
"You gain power yourself or rely on someone who has it. But that's your choice."
As he spoke, the traitorous bodyguards stormed into the building, shooting at the loyal ones.
Ryuji stopped wasting words with Helena. The moment Mai and Marie Rose rushed out, his figure vanished and he began swiftly cutting through the villa.
Sword energy flashed, bodies were split apart, and the traitorous guards were slaughtered one after another.
Even without a sword, Ryuji could still defeat most people in this world. With it, his lethality rose to another level.
At that very moment, the assassins charging toward the hotel entrance drew their weapons and began massacring the security personnel. But before they could coordinate with those inside, Ryuji's figure burst out.
Seeing the sheer number of small fry and the surveillance cameras on the street, he frowned slightly. So, instead of swinging his sword, he suddenly widened his eyes and glared at them.
In the next instant, an invisible wave swept across all the assassins present. Their eyes lost their light, then turned blood-red. They raised their weapons and began attacking each other.
Bullets tore through flesh. Rockets blasted people into the air. The assassins who had come to kill Helena suddenly turned on one another, slaughtering without restraint.
They forgot money, forgot rewards.
They killed purely for the sake of killing.
The elegant hotel sign was blasted apart. The luxurious garden was engulfed in flames. Beautiful sculptures were reduced to ruins.
Amidst this sea of blood and fire, Ryuji calmly sheathed his greatsword.
He was already used to what others saw as hell.
But Helena wasn't.
She trembled as she watched the enemies inexplicably began killing each other, Ryuji's words echoing in her mind. She knew very well that without him, most of her bodyguards would have died in the first wave of attacks.
Then the assassins would have cornered them. Even with Marie Rose's help, at best they could escape with her mother. Those bodyguards and maids who had followed her for so long, would all die here.
But in that moment of distraction, a sniper rifle aimed at her head.
On a nearby rooftop, a white-haired beauty lay prone, a faint smile on her lips as she pulled the trigger.
But the next moment, she saw her bullet blocked by a greatsword and a handsome face appeared in her scope.
And then...
She saw that terrifying man, like a demon god, standing before her.
"Since I can't have Mai for now… I'll just treat you as some fast food."
Looking at the leather-clad female assassin in front of him, Ryuji nodded and then casually punched her.
And just like that, the highly anticipated elite assassin Christie became Ryuji's captive.
~~~~~~~~~~
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