VISION GRID SYSTEM: THE COMEBACK OF RYOMA TAKEDA - Chapter 586: The Night of Artificial Stars

Chapter 586: The Night of Artificial Stars

The arena never quite returns to normal after a knockout like that. The air remains unsettled, vibrating with anticipation instead of release. Because everyone understands what comes next.

High above the floor level, in a wide unified block on the north side of the upper bowl, positioned deliberately near the red corner, the Cruel King Army finalizes its formation.

Kenji Matsuda stands at the center aisle of the block, headset resting against his collar, eyes scanning his generals. Twenty-two of them, each one holds a tightly wrapped flagpole at their feet, concealed for now.

“Second cue after blackout,” Kenji says quietly. “Raise on my mark. No delay.”

Two sections down, near the stair rail, the peculiar girl adjusts the strap around her shoulder and checks the valves of her trumpet. She does not rehearse a note, and she never does. But when it sounds, it must feel inevitable, not practiced.

Across the arena, pockets of Thai supporters cluster in smaller groups, some draped in their national colors, others wearing shirts bearing the insignia of ONE Championship.

Many have traveled, and some live here in Japan. For them, Thanid Kouthai is not just a challenger tonight, but a standard-bearer.

At last, the house lights begin to dim. Instantly, the Cruel King Army stops moving, no more rehearsal gestures. More than two thousand bodies sit in synchronized stillness, like a wall waiting to unfurl.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the lead commentator says, tone lowering with gravity, “this is the final main event of the evening.”

His partner follows smoothly. “The OPBF champion Ryoma Takeda will defend against a world-level striker stepping into boxing’s proving ground, Thanid Kouthai.”

The blue-corner tunnel glows. Thanid Kouthai steps into the light. The first notes of his entrance music roll through the arena, carrying the cadence of a fighter used to grand stages.

He takes his first step forward. And something unusual happens.

His supporters rise immediately. Applause breaks out in proud concentrated bursts. It is not overwhelming in number, but sincere, and unafraid.

However, the rest of the arena does not respond. More than ten thousand spectators remain seated, no boos, no cheers, just eerily quiet.

Even those who earlier roared for Rikiya and shouted themselves hoarse for Hamakawa now sit still, hands folded, eyes forward, like they know the protocol.

Lower in the stands, a Hamakawa supporter in a faded gym jacket shifts in his seat and clicks his tongue.

“I’ll cheer for the Thai fighter,” he mutters under his breath. “Anything but Nakahara’s guys.”

But his friend grips his sleeve immediately before he can rise.

“Sit down.”

“Why? You saw what they did.”

Another leans closer, voice barely above a whisper. “Hamakawa’s fight is over.”

“This isn’t about gym rivalries anymore. It’s Ryoma against the world.”

The first man hesitates, finally realizing the weight of this fight.

“Don’t you see who’s here tonight?” the third adds quietly, gesturing toward ringside. “World champions. World rankers. Global promoters. They didn’t come for Thanid. They came to watch Ryoma Takeda”

“After Renji disappeared…” the second guy adds, “everyone knows. Japan’s future is on his shoulders now.”

The words hang between them. Slowly, the resistance drains away. The first man exhales and lowers himself back into his seat.

Around them, similar silent negotiations seem to occur without words. No announcement demands unity. No signal commands restraint. Yet an unspoken agreement spreads across the arena like a tide. Support later, but now, we are demanded silence.

The Thai pocket continues to clap, but the contrast only magnifies the quiet.

Thanid walks the aisle, eyes scanning the crowd. He feels the absence more than the presence, feels the way thousands are watching him.

“Well… this is something,” the lead commentator murmurs, voice barely above conversational level. “You can hear the Thai supporters’ whispers clearly.”

His partner answers just as softly. “The rest of this arena… they’re waiting.”

Thanid reaches ringside. And the arena continues to watch him as if attending a funeral before a coronation.

***

The arena remains suspended in that strange quiet after Thanid settles into the blue corner.

Then the house lights shift. A single white beam cuts across the canvas and lands squarely on the red-corner corridor.

High in the north upper bowl, Kenji Matsuda lifts his chin. His voice, trained and resonant, carries cleanly through the hush.

“LONG LIVE THE CHAMELEON KING!”

More than two thousand members of the Cruel King Army rise at once. They stand in perfect unison, like a regiment answering a command.

From somewhere within the section, the first drum strikes.

Dum-dum-dudum-dum.

A second joins, then a third. And the rhythm locks instantly.

Dum-dum-dudum-dum.

Twenty-two generals step forward along the aisles of their section, each gripping a flagpole now raised upright but still furled.

Together, they answer in one voice:

“CROWN OF THE CRUEL, RULE OF THE RING!”

The drums tighten.

Dum-dum-dudum-dum.

Dududududum-dum-dudum.

The tempo increases, controlled but relentless, reverberating off the concrete bowl of Yoyogi National Gymnasium. The rest of the arena does not interrupt. They wait, with some of them already lifting their phones.

The beat accelerates further. And then, when the red-corner door finally opens, the drums stop at once. Total silence crashes down so abruptly it feels physical.

From the upper section, a single clear trumpet pierces the void. It echoes clean and defiant.

Pararara… Paararaparaa ♫♫

No backing track, no amplified music, only the sharp ceremonial melody from the peculiar girl who has played before every one of Ryoma’s fights in Ota Gym.

Ryoma steps into the light. No crown rests on his head, but his robe falls from his shoulders like royal regalia. He walks without haste, chin slightly lowered, eyes forward.

Behind him, Hiroshi raises the OPBF belt high above his own head, the gold catching the spotlight.

Unlike with the Ota Gym, the Cruel King Army does not chant now. They do not sing, they do not shout his name. Even the commentators fall silent, following the protocol knowingly.

The twenty-two generals unfurl their flags in slow synchronization, the fabric rolling downward like banners over a castle wall. They wave them steadily.

Across the lower bowl, neutral Japanese fans begin lifting their phones one by one. White screens flicker to life. Within seconds, thousands of small lights shimmer across the arena.

And before long, the effect spreads outward like contagion. Foreign spectators, unsure at first, begin raising their phones as well, drawn into the ritual by its sheer strangeness.

The entire arena glows like a field of stars. And Ryoma continues walking through it, expression unchanged.

Mika Aoyama, sitting right beside President Fujimoto, can barely contain herself. Her eyes shine, hands clasped at her waist as if she might burst into applause at any second.

“He’s incredible,” she whispers, unable to suppress the pride in her voice. “The presence alone…”

Fujimoto’s gaze remains forward. “Let’s hope he shows his best performance tonight,” he replies evenly. “That is what matters. If he does, everything else follows.”

“There is no need for concern,” Dr. Mizuno says in a measured tone. “He adhered to every phase of the program with complete discipline. Conditioning, recovery cycles, micronutrient timing. He is in optimal state.”

Fujimoto gives a small nod at that, satisfied not by hype but by preparation.

As Ryoma nears the sponsor section at ringside, Hirotaka Fujimoto and the Aqualis delegation rise from their seats in unison.

Ryoma slows for a brief moment and turns toward Fujimoto. He offers a composed bow, measured and respectful, the gesture of a champion aware of both gratitude and responsibility.

Fujimoto meets it with a firm nod. “Good luck, son.”

The exchange is brief but sincere, understood by both men without further display.

Ryoma then steps toward the base of the ring stairs, where Sera moves in smoothly to untie the robe and lift it from his shoulders.

Several international promoters exchange glances. One leans toward another and scoffs under his breath.

“This is absurd.”

Another mutters, “The audacity is over the limit.”

A third watches more carefully, fingers steepled. “If the kid can’t live up to this,” he says quietly, “it won’t just be a loss. It’ll be a global joke.”

But none of that reaches Ryoma. The trumpet holds its final note. The flags continue their measured wave. And beneath a sky of artificial stars, the so-called Chameleon King approaches his ring, as a challenger to the world, as its declared center.

Waiting in the blue corner, Thanid Kouthai gazes at him with visible contempt, reading the spectacle not as tradition but as indulgence.

To him, being made to wait like this is not pageantry, but presumption. His lips press into a thin line as Ryoma settles in the opposite corner.

“Let’s see if the crown survives the bell.”