Zhang Jian pulled out more knives. He tried to climb onto Baki with an axe kick, using a jumping approach. Baki caught his leg mid-air and slammed him down onto the ground. Zhang Jian bounced from the impact.
"Almost had it!" Zhang Jian wheezed.
He rolled and came up, executing two fast backhands aimed at Baki's face and chest. Baki blocked the first with his forearm. He blocked the second with his other arm. Zhang Jian then tried to slash his knives across Baki's chest in an X-pattern. Baki caught both wrists and held them in place, the knives frozen inches from his skin.
"One for one! Not bad!" Zhang Jian tried to cheer, but his voice wavered.
Baki headbutted Zhang Jian. Zhang Jian's grip loosened. Baki released his wrists and delivered two consecutive jumping uppercuts. The first caught Zhang Jian's chin. The second, delivered while both were in the air, sent Zhang Jian even higher. He crashed into a chandelier. Glass rained down. Zhang Jian fell.
"Not the chandelier!" Zhang Jian yelled as he fell.
Baki landed and immediately jumped again. He delivered a leaping roundhouse kick that seemed to pull Zhang Jian toward him as he fell. Zhang Jian crashed at Baki's feet. Baki grabbed him and delivered a knee strike to his face. He extended his leg, hitting Zhang Jian a second time, then turned around, ready to follow with another attack. Zhang Jian flew backward into a pillar.
Zhang Jian slumped against the stone. He coughed blood. He reached into his coat and pulled out a knife with shaking hands. He swung it and tried to stab toward Baki as Baki approached. Baki caught his wrist easily and stopped the knife a foot away from his body.
"Not this time," Baki said.
Zhang Jian tried to use his free hand to climb onto Baki, attempting to deliver an axe kick to his shoulder. Baki grabbed that arm too and shoved Zhang Jian back with both hands. Zhang Jian stumbled. Baki delivered a heavy hook that sent Zhang Jian crashing to the ground.
They stood apart for a moment. Zhang Jian was clearly worse off. Baki looked like he just finished warming up.
Baki brought down his heel in an overhead strike aimed at Zhang Jian. Zhang Jian rolled to the side just in time. The heel hit the ground and cracked the marble.
"Bloody hell! You're trying to kill me!" Zhang Jian said.
"Isn't that the point?" Baki replied.
Baki followed up immediately, grabbing Zhang Jian before he could fully recover. He delivered a normal uppercut, then unleashed a rapid combination of kicks on Zhang Jian—left, right, left, right—all hitting his torso and head. Baki finished with an extra-powerful uppercut. Zhang Jian flew up and crashed down hard.
"Stop... hitting... so hard!" Zhang Jian gasped between impacts.
Zhang Jian lay there for a moment, then pushed himself up with tremendous effort. He tucked into a ball and flew at Baki. Baki caught him mid-flight with both hands like catching a ball. He grabbed Zhang Jian and performed a jumping suplex. Both men flew through the air. Zhang Jian's back hit the ground first. The impact shook the floor.
"Why... why are you so strong?" Zhang Jian wheezed.
Baki stood up. Zhang Jian lay there gasping. He rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself up on shaking arms. He grabbed Baki's leg and tried to perform a lumbar check on him. Baki twisted out of it before Zhang Jian could establish any grip and delivered a kick to Zhang Jian's face. Zhang Jian's head snapped back.
"Nice try," Baki said.
"Can't blame a guy for trying," Zhang Jian mumbled through broken teeth.
Zhang Jian pounded under his shirt near his chest. His breathing became ragged, his eyes wild with determination and his heart beat wildly.
"Alright! Round two!" Zhang Jian said with manic energy.
He rushed at Baki and tried to grab him by the throat, moving faster than before. Baki caught both his hands before they could close around his neck. Zhang Jian struggled for a moment. His desperation gave him strength. But his strength wasn't enough. He spat on Baki's face and abruptly pushed Baki's arms down, trying to force him to kneel.
"How's this feel?" Zhang Jian grinned, finally getting an advantage.
Zhang Jian got one hand free and delivered a knee strike to Baki's face. Blood burst from Baki's nose. Zhang Jian tried a second knee. Baki caught his leg despite the first hit. He twisted and threw Zhang Jian away.
"The fuck you're doing?!" Baki cleaned the blood and spit from his face.
"That's more like it!" Zhang Jian said, landing on his feet.
Zhang Jian rushed forward again, his desperation driving him faster, and tried to grab Baki. He attempted to deliver three knees to Baki's chest in rapid succession. The first knee came in. Baki blocked it with his forearm. The second knee came harder, fueled by desperation. Baki blocked it, but the force pushed him back slightly. The third knee came with everything Zhang Jian had left. Baki caught it with both hands and twisted Zhang Jian's leg, throwing him off balance.
He shoved Zhang Jian back.
"Two out of three! Like counting sheep!" Zhang Jian tried to laugh, but he was clearly frustrated.
Baki stumbled slightly but stayed upright. He ran toward Zhang Jian, closing the distance in an instant. At the end of his run, he could kick or attack. He chose to attack. He delivered a rising kick that brought Zhang Jian into the air. He followed with a leaping wheel kick. Zhang Jian spun from the impact and crashed down.
"Stop making me fly!" Zhang Jian complained.
Zhang Jian got up quickly, his desperation giving him energy. He executed a wheel kick with his boot blade extended, moving faster than before. Baki leaned back smoothly. The blade passed a hair's breadth from his throat. Zhang Jian tried to follow up by kicking Baki away with his other leg. Baki caught his leg mid-kick and twisted. Zhang Jian spun and fell hard.
"See? I can make you move too— ow!" Zhang Jian's taunt was cut off by his impact with the ground.
Baki charged at the rising Zhang Jian. He delivered a barrage of spinning kicks, moving in a horizontal straight line as he spun repeatedly. Each rotation hit Zhang Jian multiple times. Zhang Jian tried to block with his desperate speed, but the onslaught was too fast, too powerful. He flew backward and crashed through a table.
"Stop spinning! You're making me dizzy!" Zhang Jian said from the wreckage.
Zhang Jian got up slowly. Blood covered his face and chest. He tried to grab Baki for a powerbomb as soon as Baki stopped spinning, desperation lending him strength. He reached for Baki. Baki sidestepped and delivered an uppercut before Zhang Jian could grab him. Zhang Jian's head snapped back.
"Got you now— wait, no!" Zhang Jian said, confused.
Zhang Jian stumbled back. He hopped up and executed a descending headbutt with his full weight behind it. Baki saw it coming and moved his head at the last instant. The headbutt grazed him instead of hitting with full force. Both men's heads collided, but Baki took minimal damage. Zhang Jian got the worse of it.
"Ow! My head!" Zhang Jian said, holding his forehead.
"Close," Baki replied.
Zhang Jian shook his head, desperation overwhelming him now. He tried to grab Baki's groin with a dirty move. Baki caught his wrist before it got close and twisted Zhang Jian's arm behind his back.
"That's a low blow, friend!" Baki said.
"Hey, I said no fair fights!" Zhang Jian laughed weakly, trapped in Baki's hold.
Zhang Jian broke free with a burst of desperate strength and tried to deliver three headbutts in rapid succession. The first came at Baki's forehead. Baki blocked it with his palm. The second came harder, driven by desperation. Baki blocked it with both palms, but the force pushed him back a step. The third one came with everything Zhang Jian had left, all his desperation concentrated into one final attack. Baki tried to block, but Zhang Jian broke through this time. The headbutt connected and launched Baki away. Baki crashed into a pillar and slumped.
"Headbutts for days!" Zhang Jian cheered, but he was gasping for air.
Baki pushed himself up. Blood ran down his face from multiple cuts. He wiped it away and grinned through bloody teeth. "Not bad. You finally landed one good hit."
Zhang Jian was breathing hard. His movements were becoming more erratic. "Not... done yet."
He tucked into a ball again. This time when he flew at Baki, he moved even faster than before, driven by sheer desperation.
"Here I come!" Zhang Jian yelled.
Baki sidestepped at the last possible instant. Zhang Jian shot past like a cannonball and bounced off the wall. He came back even faster. Baki performed a roll, landing on his back, then returned to his initial position as a feint. Zhang Jian flew through where Baki should have been. He hit the ground hard.
"Stop tricking me!" Zhang Jian said, getting up slowly.
Zhang Jian bounced back up with effort and tried another ball attack. Baki dashed backward quickly to dodge. As Zhang Jian flew past, unable to course-correct, Baki delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to the back of Zhang Jian's head before he could react. The kick knocked Zhang Jian down hard. He skidded across the floor.
"Ow! That hurt!" Zhang Jian said from the ground.
Zhang Jian pushed himself up with shaking arms. His desperate burst was fading. He entered a stance where he taunted Baki with a gesture. "Come on then! Hit me!"
Baki rushed forward and threw a punch. Zhang Jian caught it—a parry. He countered by trying to push Baki back, then attempted to deliver a powerful clothesline. Baki ducked under the clothesline smoothly and delivered an uppercut from below. Zhang Jian's head snapped back violently.
"How's that?" Baki said.
Zhang Jian stumbled, his desperation completely spent now. He tried another parry stance desperately. This time when Baki attacked, Zhang Jian attempted to catch the punch and counter by pushing Baki to the floor and stabbing his knife into Baki's gut. Baki saw it coming. He pulled his punch back and instead grabbed Zhang Jian's knife hand. He twisted. The knife fell. While Zhang Jian was disarmed and off-balance, Baki kicked him hard in the face.
"So close!" Zhang Jian said weakly, blood pouring from his broken nose.
Baki jumped to his feet. He kicked Zhang Jian into the air with a rising kick, then followed up with three attacks in quick succession. First, a leaping roundhouse that pulled Zhang Jian closer mid-air. Second, another leaping roundhouse that kept him airborne. Third, a final leaping roundhouse with all his power. All three hit Zhang Jian while he was helpless in the air. The last one sent him crashing into the wall with tremendous force.
"Stop! Kicking! Me!" Zhang Jian yelled with each hit, his voice getting weaker.
Zhang Jian peeled himself off the wall and dropped to his knees. He coughed blood violently. He reached into his coat with shaking hands and pulled out something. A vial. He stepped back and threw chemicals from it. They splashed across Baki's body. Zhang Jian smiled through his bloody, broken face. "One thing we Red Dragon know—there's no fun in a fair fight."
He pulled out a lighter with shaking hands and threw it over the fire pool. It took two tries, but he managed. The lighter landed on Baki. The chemicals ignited instantly. Flames erupted across Baki's body.
Zhang Jian watched, satisfied but exhausted. "That should... do it..."
The fire grew. Smoke filled the air. Baki's figure disappeared in the flames.
Then Baki rushed out of the fire.
His shirt was completely gone, burned away. His skin was red but unburned. He didn't slow down. He ran straight at Zhang Jian at full speed.
Zhang Jian's eyes went wide with horror. "What the— You're not human!"
Baki jumped and performed a jumping kick. It hit Zhang Jian square in the chest before he could even raise his arms. Zhang Jian flew back.
"Bloody hell!" Zhang Jian gasped, the air driven from his lungs.
Baki jumped off him with his other foot, spinning on the ground backward. Then he ran back up and launched into an upward-flying spinning kick that hit Zhang Jian multiple times as he rose. Baki ended with a final, slightly prolonged kick going straight across Zhang Jian's face. Blood and teeth exploded from Zhang Jian's mouth.
Zhang Jian crashed down hard. He lay there, barely moving. Blood pooled under him. He tried to push himself up, but his arms gave out immediately.
"Can't... move..." Zhang Jian whispered.
Baki grabbed him and pulled him up roughly. He delivered a flurry of kicks—so many that Zhang Jian's body jerked with each impact like a puppet. Baki finished with a rising spinning kick that brought Zhang Jian up into the air one final time. Zhang Jian crashed down and didn't move at all.
Baki stood over him. Blood covered his torso from multiple stab wounds and cuts. The knife wound in his gut still bled freely. His face was covered in blood from cuts on his forehead and lip. But he was standing as if nothing had happened. Zhang Jian wasn't.
Zhang Jian's eyes fluttered weakly. He was barely conscious. Blood leaked from his mouth. "You... monster..."
Baki looked down at him. "You fought well. I haven't had this much fun in a long time. But it's over."
Zhang Jian tried one last time to move. His hand reached for a knife that had fallen nearby. His fingers were inches away when his arm dropped completely.
"Damn... I... couldn't... win..." Zhang Jian whispered.
His eyes closed.
Baki turned away from Zhang Jian's unconscious form.
Li Xiu stepped forward. She still had her drink. She took a sip and smiled, though her eyes showed concern. "My, my. You really are something~"
A tall man with a buzz cut stood behind her. His jaw was tightened and his face was seething with anger. It was none other than Hou Qing.
Baki cracked his neck. Blood dripped from his wounds onto the marble floor. "Good. Line up. I'll take you all on."