At long last, the finals of the God of Combat Tournament began.
Duanmu Huai stood in the arena, staring at the man in sunglasses before him. The latter also fixed his gaze on Duanmu Huai, then opened his mouth.
"Where's that set of armor of yours?"
"What do you care?"
Hearing Sunglasses Man's question, Duanmu Huai raised an eyebrow and countered. The man simply smiled faintly.
"Nothing much. I was just being kind and giving you a reminder. If you use that armor to fight me, you might even last a little longer."
"Big words. I just don't know if you actually have the skill to back them up."
A cold glint flashed through Duanmu Huai's eyes, but the man only spread out his hands.
"I'm merely offering advice… of course, if you don't want it, then that's fine. Let me show you my power—maybe it'll change your mind."
The moment his voice fell, Duanmu Huai saw the tall, lean man clench his fists and roar. Immediately, the muscles all over his body began to swell like inflating balloons. In just a few seconds, the once tall and skinny man transformed into a hulking, muscular giant. His arms were thicker than an average person's torso, radiating explosive power.
"Well then… let's begin!"
"ROUND ONE! READY—GO!"
As the announcer's voice fell, Duanmu Huai suddenly sensed a whirlwind rushing straight at him. Sunglasses Man swung his right fist forward in a violent punch! Duanmu Huai also let out a roar, clenched his own fist, and punched straight back!
Bang!!
Their fists collided. Duanmu Huai didn't even budge, while Sunglasses Man staggered slightly, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.
"Oh?"
"With just that level, you dare talk big?"
Duanmu Huai clenched both fists, glaring at the man. He had no intention of wasting time on him. Fortunately, judging from this guy's fighting style, he was a pure strength-type like Duanmu Huai, not a technique fighter. That made things simple—when two meet head-on in a narrow path, the stronger fist wins!
"Haaah—!!"
Sunglasses Man swung again, punching toward Duanmu Huai's chest. Duanmu Huai threw his fist forward again, colliding with his blow.
"ORA—! ORA—!!"
With Duanmu Huai's roar, iron fists exploded outward, hammering toward Sunglasses Man. The latter said nothing, raising both hands to block over and over. But as Duanmu Huai roared faster and faster, his punches also grew faster. Soon, his arms were like countless afterimages of crashing waves, completely shattering Sunglasses Man's guard!!
"ORA ORA ORA ORA—ORA!!"
A storm of punches hammered mercilessly onto the man's sturdy body. Duanmu Huai had to admit, this guy really was tough—his fists hitting him felt like striking a sandbag, with even a faint rebound. But Duanmu Huai didn't stop. Pouring out all his strength, he finished with a final, heavy blow that sent Sunglasses Man flying!
The man spun through the air like a thrown truck before crashing heavily into the ground with a dull thud.
"Phew…"
Duanmu Huai finally lowered his fists, letting out a breath. The biggest problem with Platinum Star was that the damn thing was a voice-activated skill, so every time he used it, he had to continuously shout "ORA" to control the rhythm and speed. Every round he finished, he felt like he'd just sung a high-energy song—exhausted in both strength and throat.
"Well done, Mr. Duanmu!"
Seeing this, Honoka clenched her fists and shouted. In her memory, no one had ever managed to withstand Duanmu Huai's full barrage.
But the next moment, her expression completely changed.
"Not bad. This is getting interesting."
Sunglasses Man slowly stood up, patting the dust off his clothes. Even though he had just taken Duanmu Huai's punches head-on, his body showed no injuries—in fact, he looked even stronger.
"No wonder you're so confident. Seems using only 80% of my strength was careless. In that case, let me show you my 100%!"
As he spoke, the muscles under his skin began to writhe violently. Honoka's eyes widened in shock.
"What… is that?"
She could swear she had never seen anything like it. The muscles beneath his skin squirmed as if alive, reorganizing themselves. As though what lay under his flesh wasn't muscle at all, but some twisted, mutated creature.
In the blink of an eye, his transformation completed. His body still resembled a human, but the aura he emitted was completely inhuman, suffocating with overwhelming pressure. Even standing in the passage far away from the arena, Honoka felt her legs weaken, almost forcing her to kneel.
Duanmu Huai let out a silent sigh.
Great. The phase-changing boss routine. Might as well finish him quickly.
But just as the thought crossed his mind, Sunglasses Man suddenly raised his right hand and flicked his fingers. A powerful force shot forward, striking Duanmu Huai's forehead and snapping his head to the side.
"So? Have you changed your mind now?"
Staring at Duanmu Huai, the man asked again. Duanmu Huai merely touched his forehead.
"A finger flick? You think that kiddie trick can threaten me?"
"You never know—unless you don't mind getting that face ruined."
The man sneered.
"Oh, sorry. With a face like yours, ruined or not… hardly makes a difference—"
BANG!!
Before he finished, Duanmu Huai appeared in front of him and slammed a fist into his face, sending him flying like a cannonball. He crashed straight into the spectator-area wall, the impact exploding with a thunderous boom that even cracked the stands.
"What the hell did you just say, you bastard?"
A cold, terrifying voice rolled across the arena like a gust of freezing wind. Honoka instantly trembled, her legs giving out as she collapsed onto the ground. She felt as if she were facing an avalanche, a roaring volcano, a shattering earthquake—an overwhelming natural disaster crushing down on her.
Most of the spectators fared no better—they either fainted outright or leapt from their seats screaming, running for the exits like the arena was about to be obliterated.
"Uuuhhh…"
Sunglasses Man was embedded deep in the concrete wall—walls specially built to prevent fighters from harming the audience. But before he could recover, a massive impact fell from above.
BOOM!!!
Duanmu Huai leapt high and smashed into the wall like a bombardment shell, blowing apart the wall and even the seating behind it.
"Say that again, you bastard?"
Duanmu Huai raised his fist and smashed it down toward the man's skull.
"Who the hell looks 'scary'?! Huh?! Disfigured?! Disfigure your f—ing mother!!! You want to die?! You asking for a beating?! You begging to get smashed?! You think I can't kill you, bastard?!"
His punches howled through the air, slamming relentlessly into the man's head. Each blow shook the ground, cracks spider-webbing outward, the ceiling lights crashing down.
"WHAT?! Thought you had something to say?! Keep talking! Go on!! Say it again!! Who the hell is disfigured? HUH?!"
BANG!
His fist hammered Sunglasses Man's face like a sledgehammer. The sunglasses shattered, and the man's nose collapsed instantly, bone fragments bursting through skin.
"You—"
"Shut the hell up!!"
The man opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Duanmu Huai's massive fist smashed into it, pulverizing every tooth and blowing apart his jaw. If not for the man's inhuman physique, he would have already been killed by a crushed skull.
"Eeeuuugh—"
Honoka couldn't see them inside the debris, but she heard every one of Duanmu Huai's roars. Her face turned pale. She remembered how Marie Rose always mocked Duanmu Huai's face, provoking him. Although she'd get beaten up for it, she never learned.
Now she realized—back then, he had actually been very gentle.
After this, she definitely had to tell Marie to never provoke Mr. Duanmu again!
Shivering, covering her ears, Honoka silently made up her mind.
"Come on! Transform again! Did I let you transform?! Try it! See if I don't beat your little turtle-spawn ass to death!"
BANG!!
Another hammering blow. Sunglasses Man's battered skull finally reached its limit. Duanmu Huai's fist shattered his facial bones, punched through his brain, and exploded out the back of his head. Then Duanmu Huai clenched his fist and roared—
The man's head burst apart completely, disappearing without a trace.
"F—ing hell… looking for death…"
Duanmu Huai withdrew his blood-and-brain-soaked fist, glaring viciously at the headless, mangled corpse.
Panting heavily, he stood up.
He had originally wanted a normal, decent final match—but since this bastard wanted to die… he couldn't be blamed for losing his temper.
At that moment, a voice echoed out of nowhere.
"Excellent—"
Duanmu Huai turned. A twisted, massive figure descended from above, landing on the arena floor. It stared at him, nodding with satisfaction.
"A powerful body and immense strength. Truly the perfect sacrifice for me—"
"And what the hell are you supposed to be?"
Though he already guessed, Duanmu Huai still asked. The creature spread its arms.
"I am the power you seek— I am the God of Combat, the champion. Rejoice, for your body shall become the sacrifice that lets me fully manifest in this world!"
"…Honestly, I'm not surprised."
Duanmu Huai sighed and clenched his fists again.
"I knew from the start. Fighting tournaments always end with something like this."
Then he spoke again—
(End of chapter)