---
A City of Echoes
The battlefield had transformed into a nightmare.
Kurokawa City was no longer the Syndicate's hunting ground. It had become a graveyard of broken pavement, shattered buildings, and flickering neon lights drenched in blood. Gunfire rattled through the night, a distant siren wailed through the air, and the scent of smoke and metal clung to the ruined streets.
The Phantom Syndicate had held an iron grip over this city.
But now?
That grip was slipping.
The battle had turned.
For the first time, the Syndicate's elite were on the defensive. Their perfect control, their unshakable dominance—it was fracturing. They weren't just hunting anymore.
They were being hunted.
And at the center of it all—
Akira Takahashi stood tall.
---
Ryo Asakura: The Bloodhound on the Ropes
CRACK.
Akira's fist collided with Ryo Asakura's jaw.
The Phantom Syndicate's deadliest tracker—the Bloodhound himself—staggered backward, blood spraying from his lips. His boots scraped against the broken pavement as he barely caught himself, his narrowed eyes locking onto Akira with something between shock and fury.
He spat blood.
"You…" His breath came ragged. His muscles tensed, and for the first time, he looked shaken. "You actually managed to hit me."
Akira shook out his bruised knuckles, his golden eyes unwavering. "You sound surprised."
Ryo exhaled sharply, his expression twitching. His Stand, No Mercy, flickered at his side, the glowing red markings on his arms dimming.
"This has never happened before," Ryo muttered. There was no arrogance in his voice now. Only raw disbelief. "No one has ever landed a clean hit on me."
Akira's lips curled into a smirk.
"That's because you've never fought someone who could rewrite your instincts."
Ryo's eye twitched. "Tch."
He moved.
His body blurred—an inhuman burst of speed that turned him into a streak of shadow and steel. His knife slashed toward Akira's throat, a perfect execution. No wasted movement. No hesitation.
It was a kill meant for a weaker man.
But Akira was already three steps ahead.
---
Echo Chamber vs. No Mercy
The instant Ryo lunged, Akira's Stand, Echo Chamber, pulsed.
A ripple of pure sound energy erupted from his body—distorting the air.
In the blink of an eye—
Ryo's attack trajectory warped.
His perfect muscle memory betrayed him.
Instead of slashing Akira's throat, his knife swung inches off-target—just enough for Akira to pivot away, unharmed.
Ryo's eyes widened.
"What—"
Before he could adjust, Akira's elbow smashed into his ribs.
BAM!
The impact sent Ryo crashing into a nearby streetlamp. Sparks burst as metal bent under the force, and he collapsed onto his knees, gasping.
He looked up, teeth clenched. "You… you rewrote my movements?"
Akira rolled his shoulders. "Sound isn't just something you hear, Ryo."
His Stand pulsed again.
Ryo's heartbeat—his own internal rhythm—shifted ever so slightly.
"It's something you feel."
Realization dawned in Ryo's eyes. "You're not just affecting what I hear… you're distorting my body's natural tempo."
Akira's smirk widened. "Bingo."
---
The Bloodhound's Last Stand
Ryo's expression darkened.
Then, he grinned.
His body tensed like a coiled spring, blood dripping from his knuckles.
"…I see." He cracked his neck. "Then I just have to move without a rhythm."
Akira's smirk vanished.
SHING!
In a single instant, Ryo's Stand—No Mercy—shifted.
The red markings on his body glowed violently, and Akira barely had a second to register the change before—
Ryo disappeared.
Faster.
Harder to track.
He was no longer moving in a pattern—no longer following instinct. He had forced himself into pure chaos.
A hunter abandoning all rules.
And this time, when he struck—
Akira couldn't counter in time.
SLASH!
A streak of red exploded across Akira's chest.
Pain flared as the knife tore through his jacket, slicing deep into his flesh. He gasped, stumbling back as warmth spread across his torso.
Ryo loomed over him, panting, his eyes wild. "No instincts. No rhythm. No weakness."
His knife gleamed in the dim streetlights.
"No Mercy."
He lunged for the kill.
---
Akira's Last Gambit
Blood dripped from Akira's wound. His breath hitched, and for the first time in this fight—
He felt like he was losing.
But then—
He heard it.
Not his own heartbeat.
Not Ryo's breathing.
Something deeper.
The echoes of the city itself.
He closed his eyes for a split second—
And listened.
The distant rumbling of a collapsing building.
The whispers of shifting debris.
The throbbing pulse of Kurokawa City's heart.
The sound of the battlefield.
And then—
He felt it.
The perfect note.
The exact sound frequency needed to turn the tide.
Akira's lips curled into a grin.
"…Gotcha."
BOOM.
Echo Chamber's full power unleashed.
A single, perfectly timed soundwave erupted—not at Ryo, but at the entire battlefield itself.
The ground shook violently.
Ryo's eyes widened—his body recoiling instinctively.
And in that moment of hesitation—
Akira struck.
BAM!
His fist crashed into Ryo's chest, sending the Bloodhound flying across the battlefield. He slammed into a wrecked car with a sickening CRUNCH, his knife skidding away.
For the first time—
Ryo Asakura collapsed.
Breathless. Defeated. Broken.
---
The Bloodhound Falls
Silence settled.
The echoes of the battle still rang through the ruined streets, but for now—
One of the Phantom Syndicate's deadliest enforcers had been taken down.
Akira exhaled, gripping his bleeding chest.
His vision blurred slightly, but he forced himself to stay standing.
From across the battlefield, Hiroshi and Daisuke arrived, panting.
Daisuke's eyes widened. "You actually took him down?"
Hiroshi whistled. "Damn, Akira."
Akira didn't respond immediately. He was staring at Ryo, who lay sprawled on the pavement, motionless.
Then—
Ryo chuckled.
Low. Ragged. Amused.
"You're… really something." He exhaled sharply. "I've never… lost a hunt before."
Akira knelt beside him. "It's over, Ryo."
The Bloodhound smirked weakly.
"Maybe."
His gaze flickered toward the shadows beyond the battlefield.
"…But the real monsters haven't even stepped in yet."
Akira's stomach tightened.
Minh.
Cetz.
The true masterminds of this nightmare.
This was just the beginning.
And deep down—Akira knew.
The real hunt hadn't even started yet.
---