Steve winced while massaging his temples. Not because of the lingering pain from the Hyper-Simulation, but because Unknown's voice was echoing like a short circuit inside his head.
(Yeah, yeah, I'm just about to get up!) Steve replied inwardly.
Steve smiled gently. Instead of immediately getting up, he raised his hand, which still felt a bit stiff, and gently rubbed Gaki's head. "I'm sorry, Gaki. I made you cry. But look? I'm healthy now."
Gaki wiped her tears, nodding quickly even though she was still sobbing.
Steve's gaze then shifted to Pulchra. He grabbed a piece of warm bread from the tray the white-haired woman was holding, then took a bite. Steve's eyes sparkled. "Wow... this is so delicious! Thank you very much for the food, Senior. It's perfect timing; I was starving," he said sincerely.
Hearing that, Pulchra's face, which was already red, now ripened like a tomato. She even had to cover part of her face with the tray. "Y-you're welcome... just finish it!" she squeaked softly.
Steve chuckled softly. He looked at Shizuku, who was still looking away, then at Gens. "Thank you to all of you for taking care of me. I am indebted to you all."
Shizuku only snorted softly, although the corners of her lips lifted slightly. "Hmph. Hurry up and recover completely; don't be a burden."
Steve then looked over.
"I'm sorry, Kregt. It seems I can't relax here for long," Steve said while stretching his neck until it cracked. "There's someone I have to meet today."
Kregt raised an eyebrow, then smiled meaningfully. "Heh, okay then, go ahead."
"Thank you, Kregt," Steve answered casually.
Steve got up from his bed. He walked out, passing through the building's hallways until he reached a quiet balcony.
(Hurry up and say the password, kid!) urged Unknown, who had completely run out of patience.
Steve let out a long sigh, closing his eyes. "OPEN!"
WHOOSH!
In an instant, Steve's aura changed completely. His gaze became cold and intimidating. The four legendary weapons from the Void appeared and spun slowly around him. Unknown had taken over his consciousness. Without wasting any time, he cleaved space with his portal and immediately darted toward his desired coordinates.
Meanwhile, in the ruins of the AH city from Polypus' attack...
The Hunter Association (AH) was truly an organization that didn't want to lose out. Instead of deploying heavy machinery that cost billions to clear the debris, they turned the destroyed area into an official arena. Going all out, dozens of AH camera drones were already flying in the air, broadcasting the location to the whole world.
Shiro stood in the middle of a dust crater with a calm face and folded arms, waiting for the arrival of his challenger.
However, next to him, the atmosphere was completely the opposite.
Gampler didn't seem to care at all about the tense aura there. With her imagination magic, her wizard robe had transformed into a futuristic neon streetwear outfit complete with glowing cat-ear headphones and her hair tied in twin tails. Three personal drones hovered around her.
"Hello hello, my dearest viewers~!" Gampler greeted the camera while winking and striking a cheeky pose. "As promised, today I'm keeping Grandpa Shiro company in the AH junk arena! He said he's going to have a rematch with some weird guy. Even though this place is full of dust, it's just getting my outfit dirty! Don't forget the Super Haipur so I stay hyped up~"
On the floating hologram live chat screen in front of Gampler, viewer comments immediately poured in, praising her beauty and sending donations. She smiled with satisfaction.
However, Gampler's cheeky smile didn't last long.
Suddenly, the daytime sky above them turned as dark as night. The air suddenly felt very thin, and the gravity in the ruined area grew heavier, causing the remaining buildings around them to crack and collapse.
BZZZTTT! BOOOOMMM!!!
A pitch-black meteor crashed into the ground exactly fifty meters in front of Shiro. The explosion blew away dust and debris extremely brutally.
Gampler, who was busy striking a pose, instantly lost her balance. "Kyaaa!" she screamed before face-planting inelegantly into a pile of dust, clearly recorded by millions of viewers on her live stream.
When the black smoke slowly thinned, Unknown's figure was seen floating a few centimeters above the ground with a mask concealing Steve's identity.
Four legendary weapons orbited behind him, radiating pure Pure Darkness aura that made the air vibrate.
(Are you sure this mask won't shatter like it did in the tournament yesterday, Unknown?) Steve asked uncertainly in his mind.
(Shh, shh... It's perfectly safe.) We meet again, you damn creature.
Shiro opened his eyes, grinning widely. "Hey hey hey... Remember, you are the challenger here." Shiro looked toward Gampler with a faint smile. "Leave, Gampler. It's going to be very dangerous here; I promise I'll win."
Gampler's eyes sparkled. She nodded and flew up with her drones.
Unknown stared at Shiro with a condescending look. "I know that, you bastard!!! Let's begin."
The strongest in history will fight against the strongest in the new era.
BOOM!!!
Even before the echo of Unknown's voice faded, the ground beneath his feet had exploded. He shot forward with speed that tore through the air. However, instead of using the four legendary weapons orbiting behind him, those weapons faded, returning into the spatial vortex.
Unknown came empty-handed.
Shiro narrowed his eyes. He immediately assumed a defensive stance, crossing his arms to brace for the impact.
CLASH! The fist coated in Pure Darkness collided with Shiro's arms. The shockwave from that first impact alone swept away the remaining dust in the arena cleanly.
However, what surprised Shiro wasn't the power of the punch, but what followed. Instead of pulling his hand back or engaging in a test of strength, Unknown very fluidly twisted his wrist, caught Shiro's arm, and deflected his entire defensive momentum.
(Martial arts technique?!) Shiro thought in surprise.
Before Shiro could pull his arm back, Unknown had stepped into his blind spot. With very flowing movements a deadly fusion of various ancient and modern martial arts styles from around the world Unknown launched a barrage of attacks.
A hard elbow strike slammed into Shiro's ribs. THWACK!
Shiro staggered, but before he could balance himself, Unknown's leg swept his footing. While Shiro's body was in the air, Unknown unleashed a series of highly precise close-range punches, targeting every vital point on Shiro's chest and neck with lightning speed.
Pow! Pow! Pow! Bam!
"What's wrong, the strongest?!" Unknown mocked in between his attacks. His fists were now enveloped in dense red energy. "Has the short human lifespan made you forget how to fight properly?!"
Shiro growled. He tried to retaliate with a straight kick, but Unknown easily read it. Thousands of years of combat experience made every muscle and instinct of Unknown able to predict the opponent's movements even before the opponent's muscles tensed.
Unknown parried the kick with the back of his hand, then used his body's rotational momentum to land a spinning kick right on Shiro's temple.
BOOM!!!
The solid kick sent Shiro's body flying violently until he crashed into and destroyed several concrete pillars in the ruins.
Unknown stood tall, casually lowering his stance, staring at the dust cloud where Shiro had crashed. "Come on, get up. I know you haven't used that world shield of yours."
Shiro's body slammed hard, destroying several buildings. Thick dust billowed into the air.
In front of the still-active camera drones, millions of viewers around the world held their breath. The Strongest Hunter... had just been dominated in close-range combat!
Unknown landed slowly, folding his arms across his chest with a condescending look. "Is this all? My disappointment is even greater than before. If you keep refusing to use your proud World Shield, you will die before this warm-up is over, Shiro."
From behind the billowing dust, a soft chuckle could be heard.
(Heh... I lost in close-range combat again.) Faintly, Shiro remembered Togil in his mind. "Ha... haha... Hahahaha!"
The smoke was swept away by a dense wave of spatial rings. Shiro stepped out of the ruins. His shirt was slightly torn, and there was a stream of fresh blood at the corner of his lips.
However, instead of being angry or panicked, Shiro simply wiped the blood with the back of his hand while grinning widely a psychopathic smile that he rarely ever showed.
"That actually hurts," Shiro muttered casually, cracking his neck. "Your martial arts technique just now... it's not from this era, is it?"
Unknown didn't answer, only staring at him coldly. "Hmmm?"
"Alright. You win the physical bout," Shiro said while spreading both his arms.
Suddenly, the space around him vibrated violently. The air suddenly felt heavy, and an impenetrable transparent layer of energy began to envelop his body. "If so, let's see how you pierce through this!"
WHOOSH!
The World Shield was finally activated! The pressure from the absolute shield triggered a windstorm around the ruined area.
Even before the wind subsided, Shiro had already raised one finger, pointing straight at Unknown's chest. His eyes glinted cruelly.
"Now it's my turn. Destroy!"
Shiro used the power of destroy at full strength. The red destructive energy sphere shot fast at Unknown, completely destroying the surrounding area it passed through.
Unknown instantly smiled with satisfaction. He reached his hand to the side, grabbing his bow from the void. Quickly, Unknown drew the string and released an arrow ready to clash with that red energy.
BOOM!!!! A devastatingly massive explosion occurred, covering the entire arena in smoke, forcing the drones to activate X-ray mode.
Shiro channeled blue energy into his hand, directing it at a building beside him. The building began to shake and levitate.
Shiro swung his hand, sending the building flying swiftly towards Unknown.
Unknown, who was still hovering in the air, only clicked his tongue softly. His glowing eyes behind the mask easily pierced through the smoke screen. Instead of dodging, he stretched his left arm to the side.
"You think this cheap toy can hit me?!" Unknown shouted.
A giant battle axe with a dense black aura manifested from the spatial vortex straight into his grasp. With one incredibly brutal horizontal swing, Unknown cleaved the giant building into two pieces that shattered in mid-air!
CRAAASHHH! Massive concrete debris rained down like a meteor shower around him, creating aftershocks in the arena.
However, Unknown quickly realized one thing. The building was just a distraction.
As soon as the building was split and its debris scattered, Shiro's figure was right behind it! Taking advantage of the momentary blind spot, Shiro darted in with his right hand densely wrapped by the World Shield.
"White splash!!!" Shiro smirked, aiming the apocalyptic-force direct hit straight at Unknown. "Got you!"
Unknown quickly parried the attack, but he was still blown far away, crashing into dozens of buildings behind him until they were pulverized.
"Damn, that attack is really troublesome." Realizing his hand could no longer regenerate due to Shiro's attack, Unknown cut off his own hand, allowing him to regenerate and use his hand normally again.
However, while Unknown was busy healing himself, Shiro darted towards him with a gravitational vortex in his fist.
THWACK!! Unknown was sent flying backward again; his body spun around due to Shiro's gravity, making his brain hit against his skull until Unknown became dizzy.
In that brief moment, Shiro formed a hand seal, unleashing his ultimate technique.
"Mugen no kūkyo no ryōiki o sakusei suru!"
A blinding white light instantly exploded from Shiro's body, swallowing the battle area into an endless, all-white dimension. There was no debris, no cloudy sky, only a boundless empty space. Even the sound of the rushing wind vanished, swallowed by absolute silence.
Inside that dimension, Unknown suddenly froze stiff. His body seemed frozen in mid-air. Let alone retaliating, he couldn't even move a single finger. The laws of space and time in this domain were completely controlled by Shiro, suppressing every inch of Unknown's body down to the cellular level, forcing him into a state of absolute stagnation.
Shiro slowly lowered his hand, staring at the petrified Unknown with a victorious smile. He walked casually toward the challenger.
"Checkmate," Shiro said coldly, his voice echoing throughout the domain. "You might be superior in physique and regeneration. But in here, even the laws of nature bow to me. Say goodbye, monster."
Shiro raised his right hand, which was once again coated in deadly Destroy energy, preparing to crush Unknown's core into nothingness.
However, shiro had forgotten one very fatal detail.
When he pulled Unknown into his domain a second ago, he only trapped the man's physical form.The four legendary weapons that had been orbiting behind Unknown's back earlier were left behind in the real space!
In the ruins of the outer city, Unknown's dense-aura legendary sword vibrated violently in the air. Responding to the lethal danger threatening its master's existence, the sword emitted flashes of black and red energy that struck like lightning. Without any hand grasping it, the sword slashed the empty air with god-like power.
"Dimensional Slash!"
Back inside the domain, exactly a second before Shiro's hand touched Unknown's chest...
CRAAAASHHH!!!
The impenetrable white dimensional ceiling suddenly cracked like fragile glass hit by a giant hammer. Black cracks spread at insane speed, sucking in the surrounding white light, before finally... SHATTERING TO PIECES!
The dimensional slash from the outside forcibly tore apart the absolute laws of Shiro's domain.
The rumbling sound of explosions and the strong winds of the arena hit them again. Along with the destruction of the domain's walls, the pressure locking Unknown's body instantly vanished.
Behind his mask, Unknown's eyes flashed bright red. He grinned fiercely.