BOOM!
A screeching explosion of friction tore through the air of the dark underground plaza. The instant Shin's challenge left his mouth, Roxy's figure vanished from where she stood, replaced by a dark red afterimage ripping through the atmosphere as it lunged straight toward him.
— "So fast!" Shin blurted out, his pupils contracting at his opponent's terrifying reflexes.
Instantly tightening his posture, Shin dug his heels into the stone floor to backpedal rapidly. The cat ears atop his head twitched furiously to register the changing air currents.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Roxy swung five fingers, cutting through the wind. Her claw strikes seemed to miss Shin by a hair, appearing to be nothing more than standard physical swings. However, a few milliseconds after Shin backstepped out of attack range, elongated trail marks slashed straight into empty space. WHAM! The brick wall behind and the stone floor beneath Shin's feet groaned before cracking wide open into deep grooves, stone debris scattering as if sliced by invisible energy blades.
— "You're pretty fast yourself!" Roxy boasted with a proud smirk as she pressed the attack.
Pivoting her body, her hooves scraped hard against the stone floor, creating a trail of friction sparks that instantly locked down Shin's escape route. The dog ears atop her head stood upright, her eyes glistening with battle intent:
— "But you're out of room to dodge now!"
Shin froze in surprise. He suddenly realized he had been backed straight against the ancient stone wall of the underground tunnel. Seizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Roxy slammed her right foot down to create a shockwave, her body launching forward like a wind-cleaving arrow, driving an open-palm thrust brimming with energy coated around her sharp claws.
With no space left to dodge, Shin lowered his center of gravity, his eyes blazing with a dangerous black-and-crimson glow:
— BLACK-CRIMSON CALAMITY: SPIRIT EXPLOSION!
BOOM!
Shin's entire body erupted with a surging wave of black-crimson Sophion energy. Gathering his force, he unleashed it all into the surrounding space, forming a massive pressure storm that swirled like a runaway disc. However, Shin maintained total control over the technique's area of effect. The energy storm exploded strictly within a three-meter radius around him, compressing tight and repelling Roxy's strike without damaging or causing cave-ins to the surrounding buildings and residents.
Blasted backward by the massive wave of pressure, Roxy hastily crossed her arms over her chest to shield herself. The friction pressure forced her back over ten paces, her hooves plowing deep into the stone floor.
— "That move stings..." Roxy groaned softly, looking around in astonishment. — "You controlled the blast radius? With that amount of Sophion, you could have completely flattened this whole area!"
Shin cracked his neck, withdrawing the black-crimson energy before scratching the cat ear on his head:
— "I came here to recruit a member, not to slaughter hybrids. But credit where it's due, making me release a burst move like that proves you're no push-over!"
Shin looked over his opponent's presence with admiration, nodding in praise:
— "Can a hybrid really be this strong? You've certainly opened my eyes!"
Roxy drew herself up to her full height, her lips curling into a proud smirk:
— "Did you think I was just an ordinary hybrid? Oh no... My ancestors were Hellhounds!"
— "Hellhounds?" Shin widened his eyes, then broke into a delighted laugh. — "A bit mystical, but I like it! Regular physical brawl, then?"
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— "Suit yourself!" Roxy slammed her fists together.
Both slammed their feet against the stone floor at the same time, charging toward each other like two beams of light. Leveraging the lightning speed and razor-sharp claws of her Hellhound heritage, Roxy unleashed a barrage of fluid claw strikes, shifting angles seamlessly.
Shin, however, remained completely unphased. He instantly deployed his peak hand-to-hand combat skills, seamlessly blending Judo and Aikido.
As Roxy lunged forward with a diagonal downward claw strike, Shin refrained from blocking head-on, instead utilizing the Aikido principle of Tenkan (Body Pivot). Stepping to Roxy's flank, he used his soft palm to deflect her forearm, borrowing her momentum. Simultaneously, Shin rotated his hips, seized Roxy's wrist, and executed a Kotegaeshi (Wrist Lock Flip), twisting her wrist outward and forcing Roxy to flip midair to relieve the pressure and prevent a bone fracture.
The moment her feet touched the ground, Roxy immediately kicked off backward, snapping a leg straight toward Shin's chest. Shin sharply parried her leg and closed the distance into extreme proximity (In-fighting). This time, he transitioned to Judo.
Slipping his left hand under Roxy's armpit to grab the back of her collar while wrapping his right hand securely around her waist, Shin swiftly planted his heel between her legs as a fulcrum—a textbook Harai Goshi (Sweeping Hip Throw)! Rotating his shoulders, he drove his weight forward and slammed Roxy hard onto the stone floor.
THUD!
Despite being thrown flat on her back, Roxy reacted with terrifying speed. Her tail whipped violently against the ground to generate recoil, while her hands unleashed lightning-fast claw slashes.
SLASH!
Even though Shin backpedaled in time, the claw strike still grazed his coat chest, leaving several tears and a severe burning sting.
— "Ouch!" Shin leaped back, clutching his chest with a wince. — "Did you sharpen your claws to knife-edge precision or what?"
Roxy stood up, dusting off her clothes as her nails retracted slightly:
— "Not really! They only transform into this razor-sharp state when my blood serum activates during battle mode. Normally, they're just like human fingernails!"
Just as the battle reached its peak excitement, Shin bounced on his feet, preparing to push forward:
— "Then let me take another round!"
However, before he could take two steps, a sudden anomaly occurred. Shin's body abruptly lost speed control due to a sudden drop in biological energy. Miss-stepping completely, he lost his footing and plunged headfirst into the adjacent stone wall!
CLUNK!
— "Ow, ow, ow! That hurts!" Shin clutched his head where a massive bump was swelling, sitting dizzily on the ground.
At the same time, the gray cat ears atop his head twitched softly before shrinking and completely vanishing into his hair. The cat tail behind him faded, dissipating into thin air. The effects of the temporary physical transformation drug crafted by Loona had officially worn off!
— "What happened? Great, now I lost the ears too!" Shin complained, clutching his hair.
Roxy stood bewildered, taking in the entire scene. From the moment Shin appeared and stated his name, she had felt his face and aura were strikingly familiar. Now, with the fake cat ears and tail gone, revealing Shin's original appearance, Roxy instantly recognized him!
This was the madman who had single-handedly turned the Underground Black Market upside down, defeated the Gen-Primal leader Orlov, and liberated scores of brutally imprisoned hybrids!
Around the underground plaza, hundreds of hybrid residents began murmuring, their gazes shifting entirely from suspicion and vigilance to profound respect and gratitude.
Roxy crossed her arms, her eyes gleaming as she looked at Shin:
— "You look so familiar... No wonder you seemed suspicious right from the start, and your name sounded so familiar, like I'd heard it somewhere before! Turns out... you were disguising yourself as a hybrid to come down here?"
Shin pulled a face, explaining:
— "I didn't want to fake being a hybrid! My little sister used me to test out a new drug, which is why I sprouted ears and a tail!"
Shin then slapped his chest with pride:
— "Besides, my little sister is insanely talented!"
Roxy burst into laughter, her eyes filled with admiration:
— "I never expected to meet you under these circumstances... Yanagisawa Shin! The man who dared to shatter the underground black market, freeing countless hybrids among us... and even defeating that monster Orlov!"
Taking a deep breath, Roxy fully retracted her sharp claws and bowed 90 degrees before Shin:
— "I don't think this match needs to continue any further. I know who I need to follow right here and right now! Your words were by no means empty talk. I yield! I officially join Zero Horizon, alright?"
Shin blinked in confusion, scratching his head:
— "For real? You're joining just like that? I thought we'd have to fight to the death until a winner was decided!"
Roxy raised her head, her gaze dimming with nostalgia:
— "Continuing to fight would just waste time; I'd rather humble myself and follow you, Shin. In the past, it was precisely due to my recklessness and lack of strength that the revolution demanding equal rights for hybrids against human oppression failed completely..."
Roxy looked straight into Shin's eyes, brimming with faith:
— "But now, I see the person before me... possesses enough strength to change this entire rotten generation!"
Shin scratched his nose, laughing awkwardly:
— "Hehe... Saying all that makes me embarrassed!"
Roxy smiled and continued:
— "Right now, across almost every underground hybrid community, everyone is talking about you! If you need manpower, I can assemble everyone immediately!"
Shin frantically waved his hands:
— "Whoa, whoa! No need for that! My main goal here was just to recruit you. Come with me?"
— "Of course!" Roxy nodded firmly, but then paused slightly, her cheeks suddenly flushing pink. — "Though... I have one request, I wonder if you could grant it?"
Shin spread his hands innocently:
— "Of course! As long as it doesn't involve money, I can handle anything!"
Roxy lowered her head, her voice dropping as soft as a mosquito's buzz, her dog ears drooping in embarrassment:
— "Could... could you give me a little head pat?"
Shin froze completely, his eyes bulging:
— "Huh... Eh?!"
Seeing Shin's bug-eyed reaction, Roxy's face flushed crimson all the way to her ears as she stammered in defense:
— "Because... because I'm a hybrid! In our culture, getting pat by someone you respect is totally normal!"
Shin broke into a laugh, holding out his hand:
— "No problem, no problem! I can do that!"
Shin stepped closer, gently reaching out to stroke her head and pet Roxy's soft dog ears. Receiving Shin's affection, the fluffy tail behind Roxy immediately wagged back and forth in delight. Shin even scratched lightly behind her ears, tickling Roxy and causing her to let out adorable giggles.
— "Your ears are so soft!" Shin laughed as he petted her. — "If Loona were at home to see this, I bet she'd love it!"
Roxy looked up and asked:
— "Loona?"
— "Loona's my little sister. Seeing you like this, I bet you two will get along great!"
Shin paused, giving Roxy a firm pat on the shoulder:
— "Alright, that's enough! Now follow me back to base! Everyone back home is probably waiting for us!"
— "Yes, Leader!" Roxy smiled radiantly, walking side-by-side with Shin as they departed the underground tunnel.
END OF CHAPTER 38