Zeno and Vale had just landed on the scorching desert sands when Vale stepped forward anxiously.
"Zeno… are you sure you want to fight Prince Itsuki? He's the strongest warrior in magic and physical power… of course, after the Emperor."
Zeno's eyes lit up.
Instead of a warning, it was like fuel thrown onto a fire.
He quickly turned to Vale and said excitedly,
"So there's someone here even stronger than Itsuki's brother?!"
Arisa sighed.
"Yes… my father is the most powerful person in the Shamrock Empire. Especially in physical strength, he's unmatched. No one has ever defeated him. He's on the level of a seven-star Archangel."
Zeno widened his eyes and shouted,
"Where is he right now?! … And by the way, what's a seven-star Archangel?"
Arisa and Vale froze at the same time.
They stared at him in disbelief.
"You don't know what an Archangel is?!"
Zeno pouted slightly and shrugged.
"No… was I supposed to?"
Arisa took a breath to explain—
But suddenly Itsuki's voice echoed from across the field:
"Don't you want to start the fight? Or are you scared, little kid? Hahaha!"
The wind swirled across the sand.
Zeno slowly turned.
His smile… was no longer ordinary.
"Who are you calling little?"
Itsuki calmly released his sword from his hand.
The blade plunged into the sand.
"No sword? Then I'll crush you with my fists."
Zeno laughed.
"You sure talk big… let's see how strong you really are."
Both stepped forward.
Their fists rose.
A wave of heat and pressure rippled around them.
Sand lifted from the ground.
The massive rocks nearby cracked.
This was no ordinary fight.
This was the collision of two monsters—
A battle that, if not restrained,
Would leave behind nothing but destruction.
At the same time, both raised their fists—
And in a single instant charged at each other.
As they drew close…
It felt as if time slowed.
The wind split between their fists.
Air pressure surged in waves.
Two auras—one black and raging, one blue and radiant—approached each other.
Feeling that pressure, Vale's breath caught.
"Damn it… wa—"
Instinctively, he grabbed Arisa and leapt behind a rock.
Arisa said in surprise,
"What are you doing?!"
Vale whispered with terrified eyes,
"Don't talk…"
Grrrrrrr— BOOOOOOM— DOOOOOM!!!
The fists collided.
A massive shockwave erupted.
The giant mountains around them shattered like glass.
Cliffs turned to dust.
Lightning storms of power engulfed everything.
Black thunder roared around Zeno.
Blue lightning spiraled around Itsuki.
Amid that hell of fire and lightning—
The two monsters still pressed their fists against each other.
Their wicked smiles gleamed under the flashing light.
Second punch.
Third.
Fourth.
With every blow, the earth trembled beneath their feet.
Their speed rose so high they could no longer be seen—
Only shockwaves and lightning remained.
Vale peeked from behind the rock.
His eyes were wide, sweat covering his entire face.
"These two… what kind of monsters are they? Their power has no limit!"
He glanced behind him and took a deep breath.
"Thank God we're far from the capital…"
But Arisa was still anxious.
"I need to go to the capital. There's no way they won't feel this shaking and pressure there… someone has to calm the people."
Without hesitation, she left the battlefield.
Vale remained alone—
Between fear and excitement, staring at the field of destruction.
At the center of the desert, Zeno and Itsuki rained punches upon each other's faces and bodies.
Yet neither took even a single step back.
Until—
For a brief moment, Zeno's guard dropped.
Itsuki's eyes flashed.
He ducked.
Zeno's punch missed.
"Damn it… what—"
With that same mysterious smile, shadowed power across his face,
Itsuki delivered a heavy kick beneath Zeno's leg.
His balance broke—
And in that instant, Itsuki's blue-glowing fist, wrapped in a radiant aura, slammed into Zeno's stomach.
UOOOGHHHH!!
A massive wave burst outward.
Zeno's body shot like a meteor into the mountain behind him.
But the mountain couldn't withstand it—
It split apart.
Zeno burst out from the other side,
Dragged across the ground,
Rocks shattering beneath him,
Sand tearing open.
Suddenly—
He slammed his feet hard into the earth.
Two deep trenches carved into the desert.
He still slid back several meters—
But he stopped.
The air slowly settled.
Zeno stood there, blood in his mouth.
Blood trickled from the corner of his lips.
But…
He was smiling.
He wiped the blood away with the back of his hand.
Breathing heavily.
His eyes shone with pride and excitement.
"That your full power… little prince?"
He laughed.
"Hahahahaha!"
Black thunder roared around him once more.
And this time—
Something in his gaze had changed.
BOOOOM… CRRRAAACK… UOOOGHHHH—
Zeno's fist struck directly into Itsuki's chest.
He was launched like a kicked ball, flying backward at insane speed.
Itsuki tore through that same mountain again—
But this time the mountain did not survive.
Stone and ash shattered, pulverized like glass.
With a mouth full of blood, Itsuki was still flying back—
When suddenly something in the sky caught his attention.
His eyes widened. His body stiffened.
Zeno—
Had raised his fist.
But the wicked smile was gone.
In its place…
A merciless, cold, piercing eye shone upon his face.
Hovering in the sky, he shouted:
"Now I'll show you my real power!"
Suddenly the sky darkened.
Black clouds spiraled above Zeno.
Lightning danced around him.
His raised fist overflowed with thunder and explosive muscle power—energy that seemed ready to burn the very earth itself.
Itsuki's eyes remained wide.
He was still being pushed back under Zeno's immense pressure.
"I have to pull myself together… or that punch will finish me…"
He drove his foot firmly into the ground.
A deep crack tore through the desert, forming stable footing as he stopped.
At that exact moment—
Zeno descended toward him, eyes white, hair blazing like white flames.
Vale stared from afar.
Frozen.
Zeno was falling, fist filled with lightning,
As if dragging bolts from the sky like ropes, shaping them into a furious dragon.
Vale whispered in fear:
"If that power hits the ground… not just me… even the capital will be finished…"
The air compressed.
The ground beneath the two fighters trembled.
The desert stood on the verge of collapse.
And this—
Was only the beginning of Zeno's true power.