The rest day passed quickly.
Too quickly.
And when the final day of the Kengan Annihilation Tournament arrived, something unexpected happened.
Early that morning, members of the Metsudo Guard hurried to find Katahara Metsudo. While he was calmly receiving the Emperor-Gaolang Wongsawat-served personally by the Fighting God, they delivered an urgent report.
"Lord Katahara... I strongly advise postponing the tournament."
As for the reason-
Katahara Metsudo and the genuine emperor of a nation, Rama XIII, who sat opposite him, both looked down at the intelligence report handed over by the guard.
"An earthquake?"
Rama XIII froze for a moment.
Earthquakes themselves weren't rare.
And according to the forecast, this wasn't a particularly massive one either.
But the timing-
A short-term forecast had only been confirmed last night.
It was impossible not to feel uneasy.
After all, just yesterday, the current Kengan Association Chairman's Fifth Fang of Metsudo-Agito Kanoh-had lost his match.
No matter how one looked at it, the coincidence was unsettling.
But coincidence or not-
Rama XIII slowly closed his eyes.
"It seems this rather fascinating tournament may have to end prematurely... If an earthquake is truly imminent, then-"
"An earthquake or whatever, it doesn't matter."
Hmm?
Before Rama XIII could finish his sentence, he was interrupted.
Katahara Metsudo spoke calmly, expression unchanged.
"The forecast says within ten days, doesn't it? Postponing would mean delaying everything by at least half a month. Or moving the venue entirely."
He waved his hand lightly.
"Too troublesome."
"But-"
The Metsudo Guard member tried to speak again.
Katahara Metsudo smiled.
There was no fear in his eyes.
No hesitation.
"The afternoon matches will proceed as scheduled."
"If the earthquake happens to strike today, then let it strike today."
He leaned back slightly.
"I was just thinking that after the Fang lost, no matter how exciting the remaining matches were, they would lack a certain... stimulation."
His smile deepened.
"But now, it seems that thrill has appeared elsewhere~"
With that, Katahara Metsudo shifted his gaze to Rama XIII.
"That's my view, Your Highness."
"What do you think?"
Logic told Rama XIII that he should immediately leave the island with Gaolang and return to his country.
That was the correct choice.
The rational choice.
But-
The moment he met Katahara Metsudo's gaze, he changed his mind.
"I'll stay."
After all-
"As you said... this kind of thrill is unprecedented."
Rama XIII smiled faintly.
"Even I am starting to feel excited~"
...
Today was the final day of the Kengan Annihilation Tournament.
First, four matches in the quarter-finals.
Eight down to four.
Then, two semi-final matches.
Four down to two.
And finally-
The decisive one-on-one final.
All three rounds.
All in one day.
From noon until evening.
In other words, to win the championship, a fighter had to defeat three opponents-each strong enough to reach the quarterfinals-within a single afternoon.
And the deeper the round, the less rest time there would be.
Compared to the previous two days, this schedule was nothing short of brutal.
A true hellish format.
It was practically guaranteed-
No one would reach the end unscathed.
As for the earthquake, neither Katahara Metsudo nor Rama XIII revealed the information.
They sat calmly in the highest viewing room.
As if nothing unusual were happening.
As if today were just another day of matches.
Meanwhile, inside the individual rest rooms of the eight fighters scheduled to compete, everyone was making their own preparations.
Gensai Kuroki slowly withdrew from his stance.
He stood before a stone statue, breathing steadily.
"I have no blind spots now."
Raian Kure sat alone in his rest room.
Thinking about his next opponent-Jaden-he let out a low, eerie laugh.
Few, even within the Kure Clan, truly understood what Raian was thinking.
But one thing was certain.
Although Raian had entered the tournament partly due to a commission, once he stepped into the arena-
He wasn't fighting simply to win.
He-
-Wanted to slaughter every single person standing in front of him.
Julius Reinhold remained by Hayami Katsumasa's side.
He stared at the screen before him.
On it played the footage of Jaden versus Tokita Ohma.
Julius wasn't particularly concerned about his upcoming opponents.
In the semi-finals, he would most likely face Takeshi Wakatsuki.
That didn't bother him.
The only person he cared about-
Was Jaden.
Because-
Jaden gave him a feeling.
A feeling eerily similar to the one he had experienced at the research facility.
The figure he saw there-
Frailer than expected.
Long hair that seemed inconvenient.
Yet overwhelming.
-The completed product of the Human God Project.
Exhale.
Julius breathed out slowly.
When he had left that facility back then, he had never been able to forget the suffocating sense of death the Human God radiated.
But precisely because he remembered it-
That feeling-
-Had made him stronger.
Julius continued staring at the screen.
Every bit of his attention was locked onto Jaden.
Gradually, the image of Jaden overlapped with that memory.
With the Human God.
And then-
It was as if something shattered.
In that instant, the movements on the screen-Jaden and Tokita Ohma exchanging blows-slowed dramatically in his vision.
The Near-Death Experience Time Lag Phenomenon.
For Julius, who had relied on drugs and clawed his way back from the brink of death multiple times through sheer willpower, this sensation was familiar.
He had experienced it before.
Many times.
And now-
He had found the trigger.
Once he consciously activated it, he adapted almost instantly.
Julius Reinhold-
Had become stronger.
At the entrance to Jaden's rest room, Tokita Ohma arrived.
His injuries had mostly stabilized.
Beside him was Sakura Ogami, who had also come to check on Jaden's condition.
Ohma hesitated.
He wasn't sure whether it was appropriate to disturb him.
But Sakura Ogami didn't hesitate at all.
She reached out and pushed the door open.
"Master Jaden-"
The words barely left her mouth before she froze.
Her voice cut off.
Her eyes widened.
Tokita Ohma stepped closer and looked into the room from behind her.
His pupils shrank.
"...Is this for real?"
Up until now, Ohma's understanding of Jaden had been simple.
A terrifyingly strong opponent.
Someone far beyond him.
But after seeing the scene before him now-
A question surfaced in his mind.
One he couldn't ignore.
Jaden...
Is he really human?
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