Oda Toshita dropped to his knees at once, begging for mercy.
But Rei Ao clearly had no intention of letting him off so easily. He could hear the man's inner voice as plain as day—the malice hadn't faded at all. For scum who only learn their lesson when they're staring at the coffin, you have to make it cut to the bone.
Under the frightened, shocked, and conflicted stares of everyone around, Rei Ao slowly lifted his foot—and with a force that looked casual yet was impossible to resist, he stomped on Oda's head, grinding his face hard into the cold, rough concrete.
"Ugh—!"
Oda let out a muffled groan of pain. His glasses shattered. His cheek was scraped raw. Blood, mixed with dust, ran down his face—a sorry sight.
Looking down from on high, Rei Ao said, "If you don't want to mysteriously disappear one day—poured into a concrete pile and sunk at the bottom of Tokyo Bay to feed the fish—you'd better behave and disappear from Hiromi's sight for good. Do you understand?"
His voice cut through the air like a cold wind from hell, every word reaching Oda and everyone present. That brazen, yakuza-style threat—backed by Rei Ao's unquestionable aura and the very real pressure of his foot—shattered the last of Oda's defenses. Death had never felt so close.
A rank stench rose from his crotch—he'd wet himself. He curled up, trembling, unable even to form words of supplication, wheezing like a broken bellows.
Seeing this, a flicker of boredom crossed Rei Ao's eyes. Dealing with this kind of trash just dirtied his shoes. He drew his foot back and, as if he'd stepped in something filthy, lightly scraped it on the ground.
Then he ignored the reeking "garbage" on the pavement, turned, slipped an arm around the still-stunned Kato Hiromi's shoulders, and flipped back to gentle mode.
"Come on, Hiromi. I'll take you to get something to calm your nerves."
Hiromi was already dazed by the whirlwind of events, her brain basically crashed. Half held by Rei Ao, she let herself be led toward the flashy supercar.
After opening the passenger door and seeing her safely in, Rei Ao seemed to remember something. He turned his head toward the still-shaking Oda and, in a voice not loud but clear enough for all to hear, added offhandedly:
"Oh, right. I forgot to mention—you're fired. As it happens, I currently hold all the shares in this company. From now on, don't let me see you within a kilometer of Hiromi. Otherwise, what I said just now won't be a joke."
With that, he slid into the driver's seat. The scissor door lowered, cutting off every outside gaze. The dark-blue supercar let out a deep, powerful growl, then shot into traffic like an arrow and vanished at the end of the street—leaving a cluster of dumbfounded coworkers at the entrance, and Oda sprawled on the ground, ashen and reeking.
Several seconds ticked by before Oda jolted as if waking from a nightmare.
"Aaaah!!!"
A cry of despair tore out of him. He had lost all face. Deep hatred welled in his eyes—when—
Riiiing!
His phone shrilled. Puzzled, he fished it out: the caller ID showed the HR department.
"?"
Why would they call now?
He answered, still confused. A cold, formulaic voice—the HR manager—came through: "Oda Toshita-san, pursuant to management's decision, your employment contract is hereby terminated. Your dismissal notice and severance details will be emailed to you. Please clear your personal items and leave the company today. Goodbye."
The line clicked off, leaving only a busy tone.
"???"
Oda stared at the phone, stunned. It slipped from his limp hand and smashed on the ground, the screen cracking. Only then did he truly understand: the man named Rei Ao was someone he absolutely, absolutely could not afford to cross.
The man had not only terrifying presence and strength—he could decide Oda's career, life or death with ease. The threat of "sinking in the bay" probably hadn't been mere talk.
A tide of boundless fear and regret washed over him. He was finished—completely finished. Not only was his job gone, he'd likely be blacklisted across the industry—and he'd have to live under the shadow of that threat.
In that instant, every petty scheme shriveled up. All he wanted was to run.
…
Meanwhile, in the passenger seat of Rei Ao's very expensive supercar, Kato Hiromi watched the city blur backward outside the window, breathing in the faint, clean scent that was his and sensing the steady calm of the man beside her.
Her feelings were a tangled knot: relief that the trouble was over, shock at Rei Ao's overwhelming methods, and a flutter she couldn't quite name from being defended so forcefully. The mix left her reeling.
"Um… Rei Ao-kun, thank you—for just now," she murmured, cheeks still rosy.
Eyes on the road, his profile razor-clean, Rei Ao only gave a mild smile. "It was nothing. And if we're acting, we see it through, don't we?"
His tone was easy—as if the cold, domineering man who'd ground someone underfoot moments ago had been a hallucination. But Hiromi knew that had only been the tip of his true power. This man was even more mysterious and formidable than she'd imagined.
He hadn't used any supernatural strength just now; otherwise the whole world wouldn't be able to stop him. And to handle a small fry like Oda Toshita, he wouldn't even need to speak—a single thought could bend the man's mind.
Knowing all this, a small sweetness rose in Hiromi's heart instead: Rei Ao-kun had chosen to solve her problem the ordinary way—for her. The thought kept circling in her mind.