Location: Underground District Gamma-7 – "The Arena"
Somewhere beneath the city, where the law didn't reach, hundreds of students and outlaws gathered in a blackened steel coliseum. Bloodstains decorated the walls like murals. Screams echoed. Bones cracked like fireworks.
And in the middle of it all…
A giant stood.
"DEADLOCK."
Seven feet tall. Shackled wrists. Bare chest layered in scars. A chain tattoo wrapped around his neck, pulsing with red static.
His eyes were completely white, glowing like a malfunctioning HUD.
He wasn't fighting to win.
He was fighting to feel something.
Beneath the arena, in a backroom accessed through a bribe-heavy tunnel, Jihan and Hana watched from behind a reinforced one-way window.
Kai stood guard behind them, uneased.
"That's him?" Jihan asked quietly.
Hana nodded. "Deadlock. Real name's Noha Ryun. Former system candidate. Broke his chain during an S-tier mission, went berserk, killed the system handler. They've been keeping him sedated in that arena ever since."
Jihan narrowed his eyes.
"He's still active?"
"His system's corrupted. Chainbreaker symptoms—uncontrolled. We'll have to pull him out mid-fight. It's the only time he's lucid."
Jihan cracked his knuckles, bandages still wrapped tight.
"Then let's give him something worth waking up for."
[MISSION START – Rogue Recruitment: Deadlock]
Objective: Survive the Arena. Defeat Deadlock. Trigger Code Recognition.
Reward: Rogue Faction Expansion / Unique Trait Unlock
Difficulty: SS-Rank
Moments Later – Inside the Arena
The crowd roared as a new challenger entered.
A skinny figure.
Bruised. Bandaged.
Unarmed.
"What the hell?"
"That's him—Chainbreaker!"
"He's gonna die!"
Jihan walked forward, slowly.
Deadlock stood across from him, chains dragging, head twitching violently like a glitching avatar.
His voice came in static growls.
"CHAINBREAKER…"
"YOU… TOOK HER FROM ME…"
He charged.
The fight began with a shockwave.
Deadlock grabbed Jihan mid-run, flung him into the arena wall. Steel cracked. Blood exploded from Jihan's mouth.
He landed hard—but rolled back to his feet.
Too slow.
Deadlock was already on him.
A knee to the gut.
A hammer fist to the back.
A headbutt to the skull.
Jihan dropped, coughing blood. Ribcage fractured again.
"Not fast enough…"
"Can't beat him by force…"
He activated Framebreaker Instinct.
The world slowed—milliseconds stretched.
Deadlock threw a right hook.
Jihan leaned in—not back.
He let the fist graze his cheek—and plunged a blade into Deadlock's armpit, piercing the nerve hub.
Deadlock screamed.
Jihan drove his forehead into the big man's nose.
Then swept his leg.
Deadlock fell.
Jihan mounted.
He went berserk.
Fists to face. Over and over. Blood splattered across the sand.
Deadlock grabbed him by the throat mid-pummel and threw him full-force across the arena.
Jihan slammed into a pillar—arm dislocated.
Still, he stood.
"You're not a monster," he shouted.
"You're just like me."
Deadlock paused—his white eyes flickering. Shaking.
[System Trigger – Chainbreaker Recognition Detected]
Connecting fractured anomalies…
Stabilizing code sync…
Deadlock roared—and charged.
This time, not in rage.
But in recognition.
Their fists clashed mid-air.
A burst of black lightning exploded between them.
[CHAINBREAKER BOND FORMED]
Target: Deadlock – Synced Anomaly
System Reconfiguration Successful
Trait Unlocked: Wrath Anchor
[Trait: Wrath Anchor]
While within 10 meters of a synced Chainbreaker, all damage resistance +25%
Once per fight, ignore a fatal blow and restore 20% HP on rage trigger
The arena went silent.
Deadlock stood beside Jihan—calm for the first time in years.
He looked down at him.
"We're not alone anymore…"
The announcer stammered.
"Ladies and gentlemen… he didn't kill Deadlock."
"He recruited him."
Outside the arena, factions watching through hidden channels started moving.
"Chainbreaker has a team now."
"It's beginning…"
"He'll come for the Black Core next."
End of Chapter 32