The air grew heavy.
Oppressive.
Thick with a violent aura.
---
Caelion's smile…
It irritated me.
No—
It infuriated me.
---
The tiger charged again.
This time—
More controlled.
More precise.
---
I glanced at Caelion—
Then back at the incoming beast.
---
Something inside me snapped.
---
Red lightning burst violently around my body.
Crackling.
Screaming.
---
My eyes shifted—
Left eye: red pupil, black iris.
Right eye: blue pupil, light-blue iris.
---
Instinct…
And control…
Clashed for dominance.
---
And that smile—
That damn smile—
---
It made me want to let go.
---
The tiger was already upon me.
Claws raised.
Fangs bared.
Just inches from my face—
---
"SCRAM!!"
---
BOOM!!!
---
My fist struck its chest in a flash of red lightning.
---
The impact echoed like thunder.
---
My speed—
At least ten times faster than before.
---
SCREEECH!!!
---
Its feet tore across the metal floor as it was forced backward—
Sliding.
Grinding.
---
A burnt imprint of my fist marked its chest—
---
Then…
Healed instantly.
---
"ROAR!!!"
---
Blue aura exploded from its body.
Lightning erupted—wild and violent—wrapping around it like raging serpents.
---
Then—
Condensed.
---
Forming around its fists like gauntlets of lightning.
---
BOOM!!!
---
It vanished—
And charged again.
Faster.
Sharper.
Smarter.
---
"Tch…"
---
The irritation grew.
The smile.
The pressure.
This ridiculous fight—
---
And that thing—
That avatar—
That just wouldn't die.
---
"JUST DIE."
---
My thoughts spiraled.
---
"JUST DIE."
"JUST DIE!!!"
"DIE!!!"
---
Red lightning surged wildly around me—
Burning the ground beneath my feet.
---
My right eye—
Shifted.
Red consumed the blue.
The iris darkened.
---
Reason began to slip.
---
Fury took over.
---
Everything—
Every movement—
Every sound—
---
Only fed the fire.
---
CRACKLE!!!
---
I vanished.
---
A red flash.
---
An afterimage remained where I once stood—
---
Then—
---
I was already in front of it.
---
BAM!!!
BAM!!!
---
Two brutal strikes—
Followed by a rising uppercut—
---
The impact lifted its body off the ground.
---
Then—
---
A final strike—
Straight to its core.
---
Avatar or not… I end this now.
---
It was sent flying—
Sliding back—
Twice the distance as before.
---
"RAAAARRRGH!!!"
---
Its energy surged.
---
Doubled.
Tripled.
Then—
Exploded.
---
The ground beneath it cracked—
Deep fractures forming under its feet.
---
Lightning raged—
Then compressed—
Forming a full-body armor.
---
The sudden pressure wave pushed the spectators backward.
Some nearly lost their footing.
---
But I didn't move.
---
I only grew more irritated.
---
I'm not a joke.
---
I'm not a display.
---
I'm not…
---
The thoughts broke apart.
---
Reason slipped further.
---
With a deafening roar—
---
"ROOOAAARRRRR!!!"
---
A shockwave blasted outward—
Cracks spreading across the gravity chamber walls.
---
My face—
Shifted.
---
Fangs extended.
Features sharpened.
A fusion of man and beast.
---
Red lightning surged like a living entity around me.
---
But still—
I hadn't powered up.
---
I didn't need to.
---
I was still stronger.
---
And it—
Whether intentionally or not—
Was feeding my rage.
---
The air around me turned faintly red.
Visible—
To those sharp enough to see.
---
My body trembled—
Not from weakness—
But from power.
---
"JUST… DIE."
---
This time—
I said it out loud.
---
And moved.
---
Before it could react—
---
BAM!!!
BAM!!!
BAM!!!
---
A clean combo—
Chest.
Face.
Uppercut.
---
Each strike precise.
Each strike heavy.
---
It slid back—
---
But not far.
---
"…What?"
---
It adapted.
---
Or—
---
It simply didn't feel it.
---
WHOOSH—!!
---
A blur snapped me out of my thoughts.
---
I tilted—
Dodging its counterattack by inches.
---
Fists.
Kicks.
Strikes—
---
Like bullets.
---
I dodged.
Countered.
Moved fluidly.
---
But my attacks—
---
Were absorbed.
---
Like nothing.
---
"…Annoying."
---
My pupils burned brighter red.
---
But this time—
---
I stayed focused.
---
We clashed.
---
Relentlessly.
---
Around the entire chamber—
---
Fists.
Elbows.
Knees.
Kicks.
---
Impact after impact.
---
The spectators retreated to the edges—
Watching.
Excited.
Breathless.
---
The earlier tension—
Gone.
---
Replaced by raw thrill.
---
And still—
---
I couldn't end it.
---
That irritation—
---
It lingered.
---
Yet—
---
Strangely…
---
I felt satisfied.
---
Like a starving man finally given food.
---
The anger began to fade.
---
Slowly.
---
Strike after strike—
---
BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!!
---
Our movements grew faster.
Sharper.
Heavier.
---
Cracks spread like spiderwebs—
Then—
Repaired instantly by nanobots.
---
BAM—!!
---
I caught its fist.
---
The lightning armor crackled against my palm—
Trying to burn—
---
Failing.
---
"…Time to end this."
---
My voice was calm now.
---
Cold.
---
Controlled.
---
BOOM!!!
---
Our fists collided.
---
Power against power.
---
We both slid backward—
Grinding against the floor.
---
I stood straight.
Unharmed.
Unbothered.
---
The avatar—
Bruised.
Worn.
---
Even as its injuries healed—
---
Its energy had weakened.
---
Its aura—
Less dense.
Less oppressive.
---
Its breathing—
Unstable.
---
Its once pristine white fur—
Now disheveled.
Blue lightning flickering unevenly across its body.
---
I looked at it quietly.
---
"…Thanks."
---
"For the fight."
---
My fingers relaxed.
---
"I feel like myself again."
---
A pause.
---
Then—
---
"But it ends here."
---
I raised my hands.
---
Two fingers extended—
Pointing in opposite directions.
---
Energy gathered.
---
Not wild.
---
Not chaotic.
---
But—
---
Perfectly controlled.
---
And deadly.
---
The final strike… was coming.