After what felt like an eternity, Krauser's figure slowly floated up from the freezing ocean.
He wasn't dead.
But his current state was worse than death.
His armor lay in ruins. Wounds covered his body. That imperial pride and dominance had vanished entirely, leaving only endless humiliation and weakness.
He looked at Terry—equally exhausted, yet with eyes still burning bright as stars—and a complicated expression crossed his face.
Unwillingness. Anger. But more than anything... a hint of acknowledgment.
"Heh... hehehe..."
He laughed. Bitter beyond measure, yet carrying a trace of release.
"Jeff Bogard... you bastard... you really did... raise a fine son..."
He struggled to his feet in the water, casting a long look at Terry, then at the distant Geese Tower—still ablaze with lights, radiating its ominous aura.
"Kid..."
For the first time, his voice carried no mockery. Only warning.
"Be careful... of Geese."
"That man's power... is strange, terrifying... far more dangerous... than I ever was..."
With that, he turned away.
This former Dark Emperor, dragging his broken body, staggered into the endless darkness.
He left South Town—this city he too had once dreamed of conquering—entirely to these "young people" he'd spoken of.
Terry watched his retreating silhouette and slowly straightened his own body.
He had transcended himself.
...
When Terry blasted the Dark Emperor Krauser into the Pacific, drawing this fateful confrontation to a close, the great chaos at South Town Docks finally approached its end.
Krauser's "Iron Blood Guard," leaderless and demoralized, was swiftly mopped up by Robert and Benimaru's "flashy duo."
Geese's "beast soldiers"—those fighters transformed by the Riot of the Blood—were cleaned out under the combined assault of Ryo and the other powerhouses.
As for Mr. Big and his "Godfather Self-Defense Force"...
From start to finish, they performed their roles as "atmosphere crew" and "logistics squad" with admirable dedication, providing the perfect backdrop for this clash of titans.
With that, all the "small fry" had been cleared from the board.
In the night sky, the battered moon emerged from behind the clouds once more, casting its cold light upon the devastated battlefield—a wasteland that looked as if meteors had plowed through it.
Every gaze converged on a single direction—
That building still blazing with lights, looming like a dark king coldly surveying all below. The symbol of evil itself.
Geese Tower!
The final boss, Geese Howard, awaited them there.
"Let's go."
Cloud brushed off the negligible dust from his clothes and looked at his companions—every one of them wounded, yet every eye burning with fierce determination.
A supremely confident smile spread across his face.
"It's time... to demolish this illegal structure."
...
Geese Tower, top floor. The Emperor's throne room.
This place couldn't have been more different from the hellscape outside.
Polished marble floors gleaming like mirrors. Priceless antique paintings and calligraphy. Through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, the glittering nightscape of South Town spread below.
The air was thick with the refined scent of premium cigars and red wine.
Geese Howard sat elegantly behind his massive desk of pure obsidian, wearing an impeccably tailored black suit.
Like a conductor appreciating a symphony, he watched the brutal "performance" at the docks through dozens of surveillance screens before him.
His face showed not a trace of tension or anger.
Only a near-pathological composure and pleasure—as if everything was proceeding exactly as planned.
As if the lives and deaths of those below were nothing but a game he'd personally directed for his own amusement.
Ding.
The elevator doors opened. Three figures stepped out, carrying the scent of gunpowder and killing intent.
Cloud. Terry. Andy.
The strongest of the "new era" had finally come to stand before this "emperor" of the old.
"Welcome to my humble abode."
Geese slowly turned, greeting the three with the smile of a gracious host.
His gaze lingered on Cloud for a moment, filled with undisguised appreciation and greed.
"The first King of Fighters, Cloud. You're even more interesting than I imagined."
Then his eyes shifted to Terry and Andy.
That warm smile vanished instantly, replaced by the cold cruelty one might show to objects.
"And you two... Jeff's little relics." His voice dripped with malice and mockery.
"It seems you've finally mustered the courage to crawl before me."
"Geese!" Terry's eyes went blood-red! The fighting spirit that had just calmed reignited into a roaring blaze!
"Today, we avenge our father!"
"Avenge?" Geese seemed to find this hilarious, a light chuckle escaping him. "You? Against me?"
He rose elegantly and walked to the windows, gazing down at the city below—tiny as ants from this height.
"You know, just moments ago, my dear brother Wolfgang Krauser—that fool who fancied himself an emperor—was defeated by you as well."
He turned back, his smile dripping with derision.
"Do you think that because you beat him, you're qualified to challenge me?"
"Don't misunderstand, my dear nephews." He deliberately emphasized that last word, his eyes filled with amusement. "He and I... are not on the same level."
"That idiot was nothing but a brute wallowing in past glory, knowing only how to solve problems with raw force. He shared my blood yet couldn't grasp even a fraction of its true power."
"That you defeated him only proves... he was worthless."
"But I..."
A chill-inducing purple light flickered in Geese's eyes!
"I have long since... transcended the realm of mortals!"
...
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