Kellios intrigued by the invitation, kicked the man out of his home after accepting it. "Contact me the next day. People are here."
The rest of the day passed peacefully and the fated next day arrived. A knock on his door was heard and what was waiting for him was a bunch of men suited in black with a carpet to a limousine. The same intruder that was at Kellios' home lowered his head and guided him inside the car. "I apologize for the late introduction, my name is Yabi, please follow us young master."
Kellios was ridden along the beautiful scenery of the city, three cars followed them from behind and then three more in front. "How stupid."
"You must understand young mas-"
Yabi was cut off suddenly by Kellios, "It's fine. I know it's not for my protection." Kellios looked at the man next to him in the limousine. "Even if you keep your finger near that trigger, it's not going to help you."
The bodyguard with his hand hidden in his suit's pocket shook visibly, scaring everyone in the vehicle.
Yabi and the rest of the people in the car turned silent for the rest of the ride along.
A grand palace, and a banquet at the very front of it. The sounds of police sirens outside the mansion polluted the area, so there were people wearing masks hiding their identities, despite it all, Kellios felt the amount of bloodlust emanating from the area.
He was led inside the mansion, a large room at the very end of it. Two bodyguards covered the door, slowly opening it, welcoming him.
"It seems that my subordinates haven't been... accommodating to your liking, Kellios Fortis." An old man, white hair, barely even be able to stand up, around four and a half feet dragged his body with his cane and slowly walked towards one of the chairs and sat on it. He extended his hand to the chair on the other side, "My name is Akira Hideyoshi, I'm the head of the Hideyoshi family. Please seat, we have much to discuss."
Kellios reluctantly sighed and sat down. "There isn't much to discuss." He demanded, his face growing annoyed. "Leave me alone." His prideful stare caused the bodyguards in the room to feel their emotions stirred as this young boy half of their size is emitting this much fierce aura.
"Hoho." The old man laughed, "Quite the fighting spirit you've got boy." He cleared his throat, "Unfortunately, no matter where you go, the Fortis bloodlines runs through you. There is no such thing as escaping things like fate." He raised his cane and pointed it at him, "Your existence being known to the world is enough to shake it."
Kellios grew impatient, "I know. That's why I'm trying to leave it all behind."
"The Fortis bloodline was built in a mountain of bodies and an ocean of blood. Your family has earned enough renown to take down countries if they needed... no, if they wanted, but they didn't. For the past few decades the family never needed to move, because they didn't have to move. Anything they want, anything they could get their hands on, they would get. Unfortunately, despite having that much freedom, more than anyone in this world ever have, there was one thing that they satiated more than food, money or pleasure."
"..."
The old man stood up and grasped his hand in a tight hold resembling that of a fist. "A worthy opponent."
"I'm not like the freaks like the rest of my family. This endless cycle of fighting and proving myself, it gets boring."
The head of Hideyoshi's face warped into that of anger, "Those words... can only be uttered by two types of people. Those who are too strong to have never fought a worthy foe to use their full abilities, or filthy losers making up excuses."
"What... the fuck did you just say old man?" Kellios stood up, his stance wide. The veins on his body visible as his adrenaline starts to kick in as if in command that he could just do at will.
The bodyguards in the room frantically pulled out their batons, "Don't use guns! You might hit the head of the family!" and slowly inched their way closer to the both of them.
The old man laughed and chuckled, his eyes slowly losing color as it was enveloped in pure black as his rage reached a boiling point, "Are you underestimating the rest of the world you god damned hell spawn of the Fortis family you damn brat!"
The head of the Hideyoshi family tapped his cane twice and the door to their room was suddenly sent flying passing by between him and Kellios.
A man with the same build as Kellios but a little bit bigger, donned a white karategi and a black obi wrapped around his waist. His toned muscle visible at the open area of his outfit, showing how well built his body was.
His hair was pure black and the way he stood there looked so casual as he fixed his obi while asking, "Huh? Whatd'ya want old man?" The kansai dialect was audibly heard from his speech.
The old man smiled, "This is Haruto Hideyoshi, one of the candidates for becoming a head of the Hideyoshi family. Haruto, this man in front of you is Kellios Fortis, a member of the Fortis family."
"This is that Fortis ya?" Haruto stared at him up and down, "Doesn't look like much old man. Ya sure this guy is it?"
Kellios suddenly threw a high left kick.
Haruto parried it easily by raising his left hand, "Ya serious? Have ya not encountered Karate in your whole life?" He smiled and entered a stance, he lowered his body and cocked his right arm just next to his waist, "Well, let me show you the most basic of moves ya got it?" His right arm spun in a single rotation, drilling a straight punch right to Kellios' chests, blowing him away a meter back, and him dropping on the ground.
"W- what..." His chest was left with a large bruise and a small imprint of Haruto's punch. His breathing grew heavier and taking in air grew harder.
"Feels like it's being underwater right?" Haruto entered another stance. "If this is the so called legendary bloodline of Fortis then, this is just a waste of time ya know?" As if a ruler guided his attack, a perfectly vertical downward motion of his hand, a chop, sliced through the air.
Kellios stopped this attack by grabbing Haruto's wrists like it's nothing. A loud boom echoed throughout the room as the floorboards beneath Kellios broke by simply stopping that attack. There was no redirection like Haruto's parry, Kellios took it all on full force. His eyes changed, and the heat that revolved around his body grew hotter.
Kellios stood up casually, and in a matter of a second, landed three consecutive kick blows right to Haruto's chin, neck and stomach, sending him flying, breaking the chairs behind him.
Haruto slammed against the wall, coughed up blood, his eyes and consciousness flickering from passing out and staying awake.
Kellios' demeanor completely changed, "Get up."
Suddenly, the head of Hideyoshi laughed, "That's it, that's what the blood of Fortis is supposed to be like! This is 'Tuning' isn't it! Ahaha!" He kept laughing, "That state that you've entered. You may run from it, you can try hiding from it, but at the very end of the day, your bloodline cannot lie."
The old man creepily smiled his eyes turning fully black as his lips covered his teeth as he hollered, "That's right, that's how it should be. Growing up you learn to love things like toys, games, hobbies, sports or whatever. As you grow older you will lose interest in these things. But there is one thing that remains, the desire to be the strongest. Young or old, it doesn't change, "
Kellios stepped back, and the mirror that was there across the room saw him in that hideous Tuning form with a smile on his face, a face that he feared.
As if commanding his body, the adrenaline slowly disappeared and his state of Tuning left him. His face, angry and disappointed at what just happened was something that he desired to not be a part of ever since running away from the Fortis family. "..."
Akira Hideyoshi stepped up to him, "Your existence being known to many has brought many foreigners and challengers all over the world to take you down." The sounds of police sirens outside the mansion grew gradually louder and louder. "That's why I've decided to reopen the Throne of Rome tournament like the head of the Hideyoshi family before me and the head of the Hideyoshi family before them."
Kellios looked at the passed out Haruto on the other side of the room, "I'm not interested." he said as he aimed to leave the mansion, going for the door.
"That freedom that you so desperately wanted, no matter how foolish or no matter how stupid I think it may be, I can grant you that wish. I alone hold the power to make you disappear from this world, away from all this fighting, away from the Fortis family." He smiled, "I could do it as long as you win the Throne of Rome tournament. You don't have to accept right now, I'm willing to wait, there's still a month left before it officially starts. If you decline, then you will forever continue living as a Fortis and will always have people going for your throat and the people around you."
Kellios stopped, "Is that a threat?"
"My threat? No, it's a statement. A fact." He spreads his arms wide, "I'm simply just an old geezer who wants to watch the strongest duke it out. It doesn't matter who you are, it doesn't matter what you are, I will give you everything you have ever wanted as long as you can give me the entertainment, money and power that you can contribute to the Hideyoshi family."
"Goodbye." He left the building after hearing the head's words.
"No Kellios Fortis. See you soon."