Chapter Seventeen: Collapse of a Crown

Courtyard Battle

The first bodyguard lunged.

Ryuji's eyes sharpened. His body shifted like water—fluid, precise.

A sidestep. A palm strike.

The guard's legs folded, crashing into the dirt with a guttural cough.

The second was faster, stronger—but predictable. Ryuji met him head-on. A hook, a knee, and a ruthless elbow to the jaw.

Down. Crumpled.

Only Sora remained.

He hesitated. Rage boiling beneath humiliation. Then he lunged with a desperate scream.

Ryuji didn't even blink.

He caught the punch. Twisted. Slammed Sora against the tree behind them.

Sora gasped.

Total Dominance

Ryuji leaned close, voice cold.

"The Kamaguchi? You're nothing. A bunch of suits hiding behind words and money."

Sora's eyes widened.

"You thought you were playing a game of power and dominance? No. You've just been playing game of kids."

He twisted Sora's arm tighter.

"But now... you're standing in front of Vengeance ."

Ryuji's eyes burned into him.

"You think you're ready for this world? You don't even know what blood smells like."

He shoved him down. Sora collapsed in front of the stunned crowd.

Ryuji's voice cut through the silence like a blade:

"You wanted war. Now you're in it."

Sora trembled.

The once untouchable student council president—the feared heir of Kamaguchi—shook like a leaf.

Broken Silence

Ryuji looked down at him.

"You don't belong in the ring with me, Kamaguchi."

He turned and walked away.

Aika and Kaito saw everyting with their own eyes for the first time they saw the real Ryuji "The Black vow"

Just silence.

The kind of silence that echoes long after it falls.

And in that silence, Sora Kamaguchi felt something he'd never known before.

Fear.