Koragami entered the Union headquarters, dragging behind him the copies of the Four Leaders. Their bodies groaned under the weight of defeat, their spirits torn apart beneath his shadow.
In the hall sat an old man with a thick white beard and snow-white hair. A celestial mark glowed softly around his forehead. He sat calmly at a round table, surrounded by heroes.
A woman clad in a cloak woven from wind stood silently, her eyes fixed on Koragami as if seeing his true features behind the mask. She silently raised her hand toward "Jiv," who understood immediately and escorted "Amishia" out of the meeting hall.
"Remove your mask," said a cold voice. It came from a blind man with brown hair, his body sculpted like stone, wearing an exquisite yellow suit tailored specifically for him.
But Koragami didn't respond. He continued advancing with slow steps until the hem of his black cloak brushed the edge of the table.
"How dare you come here, you—"
Koragami stared steadily at the table, then said in a voice as calm as if discussing the weather:
"I want the bounty... here."
Silence fell for a moment before someone exploded in rage. It was a tall young man with fiery red hair and golden armor encasing his body. He stepped forward and sneered:
"Who do you think you are? You barge into Union headquarters and demand we hand over the bounty?"
He unleashed overwhelming spiritual pressure throughout the hall. The walls trembled, the air grew heavy, and even some seated heroes struggled to breathe.
Yet... Koragami stood unmoved, as if nothing had happened. His black cloak fluttered gently, and his silence roared louder than any force.
Suddenly...
His violet eyes flashed behind the mask.
In an instant, a wave of dark pressure erupted around him, as if the void itself breathed within him. The hall shook violently, windows shattered, and the heroes seated around the table were thrown backward—some fell to the ground, others gasped, their expressions frozen in shock.
The only one who remained composed was the woman in the wind-woven cloak, but she silently clasped her hands, contemplating his flowing dark power.
As for the current Union leader...
He remained silently seated. He didn't move, didn't speak, didn't react. His eyes were fixed on Koragami as if reading something in the shadows that others couldn't see.
---
The Union leader spoke in a quiet voice as he rose from his seat:
"Bring him four billion crystal stones... One hundred billion for each Leader. We prepared a bounty poster... No matter who brings them to us... we will honor it and pay the reward."
Koragami stepped forward... and handed over the fake copies of the Leaders, bound and restrained.
Soldiers immediately moved. Energy began gathering into specialized containers, while Koragami watched with disinterest. He approached the table, his eyes settling on the woman in the wind-woven cloak.
His voice pierced the silence:
"You... You're the one who knocked me unconscious on the rope that day, aren't you?"
She didn't answer.
She didn't even move.
But Koragami moved.
In the blink of an eye, his hand shot out wreathed in an aura of darkness—its speed invisible to the naked eye—aiming straight for her heart as if to pierce it...
But wind suddenly coiled around her, merging into a repelling spiral storm that deflected his attack.
It was her... known as The Devastating Typhoon.
Famed for her ability to control winds within a vortex hundreds of meters in diameter, tearing apart anything that approached.
But she didn't realize... darkness cannot be stopped by wind.
Koragami appeared behind her in an instant, as if he had torn through space itself. He struck the back of her neck with a swift blow...
A dark explosion resonated, muffling sound. She fell to her knees, breathing laboriously.
Koragami said in a cold voice:
"You're weak... far too weak, for someone of SS-Class."
The room fell still. Even the soldiers preparing the bounty froze where they stood.
---
At the very moment Koragami's hand was about to reach that woman's neck, the Union leader moved...
With supernatural speed, he seized Koragami's wrist, halting the attack.
Still, the explosion occurred.
The meeting hall quaked. Walls cracked, parts of the ceiling collapsed, and lights shattered overhead.
As for the woman known as "Typhoon" or "The Whirlwind," she stood rigidly in place, staring at Koragami... but not at his hand. At his eyes.
There, behind the mask, she saw not a man... but a bottomless abyss.
His gaze showed no regard for the Union leader... no fear, even toward the heads of the Union on Planet Varyon...
Instead, those eyes seemed to belong to an entity standing above classifications, as if saying:
"You are all mere obstacles."
A chill seeped into her bones—not because her life was about to end, but because she realized he would have ended it without hesitation, without even seeing her as a worthy opponent.
Suddenly, Koragami's foot moved.
Shrouded in darkness, he kicked toward her again, as if the leader's intervention meant nothing to him.
But...
His foot collided with another foot.
Pure white energy encased the Union leader's foot, repelling the darkness.
This collision wasn't between bodies—it was between presences.
The entire hall vibrated. Air compressed. Heroes behind the table recoiled from the shockwave.
The leader finally spoke, his voice quiet yet carrying the weight of an entire world:
"Enough... Koragami."
---
Koragami smiled faintly behind his mask:
"Ah... You finally remember me, Mr. President."
A charged moment of silence hung in the air.
"I thought... you'd forgotten me, after you personally issued the order to imprison me in the Eternal Hell Cell,"
he said with a tone laced with icy sarcasm, like slow stabs piercing dignity.
The heroes' gazes instantly shifted to the President.
Many hadn't known this truth. Some thought he was merely a dangerous prisoner.
But now... it was clear it had been a personal decision by the Union President.
Koragami continued, turning his back:
"But no matter... I didn't come today to discuss the past."
He paused briefly, then added in a voice sharp enough to cut the air:
"Give me my bounty, and I'll leave."
---
The man in the custom yellow suit—brown-haired and powerfully built—stepped forward, addressing Koragami with a tone mixed with reproach:
"How dare you demand the bounty after all you've done?! How dare you attack a Union member, then fight its leader himself?!"
But Koragami didn't respond. Instead, he suddenly unleashed a colossal wave of dark pressure that engulfed the entire hall, as if a bottomless vortex had exploded in an instant.
The retaliation wasn't delayed. The heroes surrounding the hall unleashed their auras simultaneously. The air ignited with chaotic energy, each aura bearing a unique signature of power and history.
The Union headquarters shook as if struck by an earthquake… one man, facing a swarm of overwhelming forces.
Koragami took a step forward, his voice cold as death:
"Do you think I'm a fool? This is merely an interim Union President. You're hiding three Catastrophe-Class beings, while deceiving the world into believing SSS is the highest rank…"
The attendees were stunned. One shouted:
"How do you know that?!"
Koragami smiled mockingly—an expression not of pride, but of disdain:
"How could I not know?"
Amidst this chaos… the old man with the white beard sighed. He who had remained calm walked slowly toward the table... preparing to return to his seat after having risen slightly.
He raised his hand slightly in a faint gesture.
Suddenly, all auras were withdrawn. Not by force, but as if everyone understood his presence demanded calm… even Koragami. As if his body responded to that gesture, his pressure gradually faded until it vanished.
It wasn't authority… it was presence.
The presence of one who has lived long enough to understand that the loudest roar… is the one never uttered.
The old man sat down quietly once more and said in a low voice:
"Do not defile this place... It was built with much blood…"