The battlefield had grown strangely quiet after Gene disappeared into the forest, leaving only the distant sounds of destruction echoing across the landscape. Denma stood several meters away from Leo, his eyes fixed on the man before him. For a moment, neither moved. The wind swept across the battlefield, carrying dust and fragments of broken earth through the air.
Denma slowly reached for the bottom of his shirt and pulled it over his head. He tossed it aside, allowing the garment to catch in the wind behind him as he rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms. His expression was unusually serious.
"Let me ask you a question," Denma said, his voice carrying across the battlefield. "What do you think it means to have great strength?"
Leo stared at him for a moment before answering. "It starts with a purpose. If someone wronged you, you can train to gain great strength and have your revenge. It's still great strength."
He clenched his fists, golden energy beginning to flicker faintly around his body.
"I don't think about it a lot," Leo continued. "But I have great strength, and now I choose to wage war on you guys too."
Denma's expression hardened.
"That's what you think?" he asked, disappointment settling into his voice. "It's pathetic."
Leo's eyes narrowed.
"That's why people like you die early or stray onto the wrong path. It makes sense now…" Denma stepped forward, his eyes filled with disgust. "You're really just a loser."
Leo's expression immediately changed. "Shut up. What do you know about me?"
"I know that you're a coward who can't face the enemy. Even if you're weak, you don't have the will to stand your ground. I know that you blindly follow orders and do what you want because you think you have great strength."
Denma lowered his center of gravity and raised his fists.
"I'll show you true strength and endurance."
"You'll die," Leo replied.
He entered his own stance, and golden energy suddenly erupted around him, engulfing his body in radiant divine power. Denma didn't hesitate. He exploded forward.
Leo threw a right punch the instant Denma entered his range. Denma raised his forearm and blocked it, but Leo immediately followed with three right kicks in a single fluid motion. The first came toward Denma's ribs, the second toward his shoulder, and the third toward his head.
Denma blocked all three.
The moment Leo's final kick was deflected, Denma stepped inside his guard and drove his fist toward Leo's face. The punch connected. Yet Leo didn't move. His head barely shifted.
He slowly smiled.
"Is that all?"
Leo suddenly threw a lightning-fast jab.
Denma crossed both arms in front of his face and absorbed the impact, but the force sent him sliding backward several meters, his feet carving lines into the ground.
Leo laughed.
"This is true strength. I am invincible and invulnerable to your attacks."
Denma lowered his arms.
"Let's see about that."
Something changed. The relaxed expression disappeared from Denma's face. His muscles tightened, and the pressure surrounding his body suddenly intensified.
Leo's smile faded slightly. Denma ran forward. Leo charged toward him at the same time.
As the distance between them closed, Denma planted his foot and pulled his right fist backward. Then he punched. Leo was still several meters away.
There was no physical contact. Yet suddenly, an invisible force slammed into Leo's body. His eyes widened as the impact lifted him from the ground and launched him backward.
BOOM! Leo crashed through the side of a mountain.
Rocks collapsed around him.
A few seconds later, Leo emerged from the debris and brushed the dust from his shoulders.
"Did you just punch through the air, creating a space for the impact of your punch?" Leo asked, studying Denma carefully. "Quite clever."
His golden eyes narrowed.
"Even though you are a Stage Seven Circuit Master, I shouldn't underestimate you."
The golden energy surrounding him intensified.
"Circuit Embodiment—Divinity."
The energy erupted outward.
Denma's expression remained unchanged.
"Circuit Embodiment—Kratos, the God of Strength."
Red markings appeared across Denma's hands and feet, while smaller markings formed beneath his eyes. A massive red spiral appeared across his back, glowing with overwhelming force.
Leo looked down at him.
"Kratos…" His expression became more serious. "So that is why you're so arrogant. I should've known."
Leo raised his right palm toward the heavens.
"Divine Missiles."
Thousands of small spheres of divine light appeared above the battlefield.
They filled the sky like a second constellation.
With a simple gesture of his hand, Leo sent them all toward Denma simultaneously. Denma inhaled deeply. He planted his right foot forward and began punching the air.
Each punch released a concentrated shockwave that collided with incoming spheres, destroying several of them before they could reach him.
Leo smiled but then he moved his hand.
The remaining projectiles suddenly changed direction. Two of them curved sharply at the last possible moment, attacking Denma from opposite sides. BOOM! The explosions swallowed him. Leo watched the smoke. Then he vanished.
A second later, he appeared behind Denma. His leg slammed into Denma's back. Denma was sent flying, but he twisted his body in midair and landed on his feet.
Leo stood several meters away.
"Give up. You can't win."
Denma slowly straightened.
"Nonsense."
A grin spread across his face.
"It's nothing I can't punch to death."
Denma suddenly accelerated. His monstrous physical strength propelled him forward with such force that his body became little more than a streak of red across the battlefield.
Leo's eyes widened. Denma folded his right fist and pulled it backward. The air began swirling around his arm. The pressure became so intense that Leo felt his own body being dragged forward.
"What—?"
His feet left the ground. Denma had pulled him into the range of his punch. The fist came forward. Leo's expression changed.
"Frozen Hour."
Everything stopped. The wind froze. Dust hung motionless in the air. Even the surrounding energy became completely still.
Leo stared at Denma and began laughing hysterically.
"You're finished."
But then…CRACK. Leo's laughter stopped. A fracture appeared across the frozen space directly in front of Denma's fist.
Another followed. Then another. The frozen flow of time began cracking apart under the sheer force contained within Denma's punch. Leo's eyes widened.
"No…"
The entire battlefield trembled.
CRACK! The frozen time shattered and Denma's fist continued forward. And this time, nothing stood in its way. The punch struck Leo directly in the face.
BOOOOOOM!
Leo was launched across the battlefield like a projectile. He tore through several trees, smashed through one mountain, then another, before finally crashing into a third mountain with enough force to bury himself deep within it.
Silence followed.
Leo slowly forced himself out of the mountain, blood escaping from the corner of his mouth.
He wiped it away and stared at Denma.
"How insulting…"
Golden divine energy began flowing throughout his body, rapidly restoring his injuries as his expression hardened.