Dust drifts through the ruined battlefield.
The wind moves slowly across broken stone and shattered buildings.
Paul lies on the ground, barely breathing.
Blood runs across the cracked earth beneath him.
Qin stands still.
For the first time since arriving on this planet, his eyes are not calm.
They are watching.
Studying.
Punk walks forward.
One step.
Then another.
His arm hangs broken.
Blood pours from the hole in his chest.
Yet he keeps walking.
Qin narrows his eyes.
"How… are you still moving?"
Punk stops a few meters away.
He laughs weakly.
"You said I have nothing."
Blood drips from his chin.
"But you're wrong."
He lifts his head.
His eyes burn with something wild.
"I still have one thing left."
Qin tilts his head slightly.
"And what is that?"
Punk cracks his neck slowly.
Then he smiles.
"A reason to kill you."
The ground beneath Punk suddenly trembles.
Paul, barely conscious, whispers from the ground.
"Punk… what are you doing…"
Punk ignores him.
His energy begins to rise again.
Slowly.
Unnaturally.
Qin's expression finally changes.
Interest.
"So the worm still has tricks."
Punk takes another step.
"Let's finish this."
Qin smiles.
"Good."
He raises his hand.
"Because I was starting to get bored."
Qin steps back.
He forms a heart sign and launches a beam.
Punk smirks.
"I know that trick."
He charges instantly, interrupting Qin.
The battlefield explodes.
Even with a broken hand, Punk is still fighting.
Qin smiles.
"So you are now using your legs. Let me break them too!"
Paul wonders.
He lifts his body up.
He stands again, bleeding.
He looks at his hand, bitten and torn by Qin.
He takes his stance and charges up.
In his enhanced state.
He is coming to help Punk.
Punk's leg is caught by Qin.
Paul reaches Punk.
Punk explodes in anger.
"I don't need your help!"
Paul stops mid-air.
He watches Punk suffering.
Qin bends Punk's leg and grabs his throat, pressing it with his tail.
He points his hand toward Punk.
"Any last wish, worm?" Qin asks.
Paul comes again.
Punk points a finger toward Paul and launches a beam.
Paul dodges.
"Punk?"
Punk's eyes flood with ego.
"I would rather die than take help from someone."
Paul steps back.
He watches Punk suffering.
He clenches his fist.
"I need to do something… or he is about to die."
Qin laughs.
"A king dies now under the weight of his ego."
Punk remembers Romen.
His family.
The girl he saved.
The people of the city.
Earth.
He opens his eyes.
"I won't."
Punk screams.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
Wind bends around him.
His aura forms stronger than Qin's.
He steps back and throws Qin to the ground.
"What is this now?" Qin asks.
Punk stands up, holding his broken arm.
"This is the cost you will pay."
Punk smiles.
"You want cruelty? I will kill you now… with my raw hands."
Qin gets scared this time.
Punk charges up.
He unlocks the Limit Breaker state.
Paul is shocked.
"Is this… the same aura which Romen had?"
Punk disappears.
In the next instant he appears behind Qin.
A punch lands.
The impact sends a shockwave across the battlefield.
Qin crashes through three rock pillars before stopping.
Punk walks toward him slowly.
Qin tries to stand.
Punk grabs Qin's face and slams his head into the ground repeatedly, cracking the earth beneath them.
The final smash creates a crater.
Punk throws him away like broken trash.
"Now you will taste real brutality."
He charges toward Qin again.
Nonstop kicks and blows push Qin back.
He straightens both hands toward Qin and launches an energy attack.
It forces Qin to be thrown near a mountain.
Punk smiles.
He kicks near Qin's head.
Qin starts bleeding now.
He launches a laser from his hand.
Qin is thrown to the ground from the mountain.
Paul stands near Qin.
"It's the end of you."
Punk comes in front of Qin now.
Qin explodes with anger.
"I am not going to die now!"
"You insect can't kill me! You are nothing against the King of this universe… Qin!"
Punk smiles.
He punches Qin.
Qin drops to his knees.
Punk laughs proudly.
"This power is on another level. I have never tasted this much power in my life."
"Romen is also nothing against me."
He charges an energy ball toward Qin.
Qin clenches his fist and starts smiling.
Paul gets shocked.
"Why are you smiling? You are about to die!"
"Oh really?" Qin says.
"I am not dumb like you all."
"Look at the sky."
He points a finger.
Punk and Paul both look at the sky.
A giant spaceship covers the sky as it lands.
Punk takes his hand off.
"Enough! I will not tolerate this!"
A laser points toward Punk.
Punk jumps backward.
An explosion happens there.
Smoke fills the air.
Qin stands on the spaceship now and raises his hand.
"You all are finished now."
"My army is here."
Punk gets irritated.
He murmurs and looks at Paul.
"Are you ready?"
The spaceship lands.
Qin jumps to the ground, swinging his tail.
The door opens.
Five creatures come out.
They look green, not bigger than Qin, but of a different species.
All of them wear warrior suits.
The muscular one comes forward.
"Sorry, my king. We are late. We already received the information about the death of the Ruler."
"But we were preparing for battle."
Qin says harshly,
"Preparing? I was about to die!"
Punk laughs.
"So you losers think you can beat me?"
"I have Limit Breaker!"
Punk signals them to come with his hand gesture.
"Go!" Qin says.
All the creatures attack.
Punk jumps into the sky and rushes toward two creatures.
He kicks one and it falls.
Two creatures attack Punk from behind suddenly, but Punk smiles and punches both of them, making them fall.
Paul joins the fight.
He charges in his enhanced state.
Two aliens rush toward him.
Paul blocks the first punch.
The second one hits his ribs.
Paul grits his teeth and headbutts the alien, breaking its visor.
Another creature attacks from the side.
Paul spins and drives his elbow into its throat.
The alien collapses.
But the remaining three surround him.
Paul breathes heavily.
"So five of you… fine."
Qin rushes toward Paul.
Qin strikes Paul with his tail.
Paul almost falls but maintains his balance.
"It's not that easy," Paul says.
He throws a punch toward Qin.
Qin dodges effortlessly.
Another one — again dodged.
Then back to back.
Qin grabs one of his hands.
A laser beam comes from behind.
It hits Qin.
Qin kicks Paul in the gut and throws him away.
"Why are you attacking me? Have you lost your mind?" Qin shouts.
A creature speaks up.
"I'm sorry, my lord. It was my mistake. I was trying to hit that—"
He is interrupted.
Punk kicks him, sending him crashing into a mountain.
"Here the emperor falls," Punk says.
Qin's facial expression changes.
He shouts,
"What are you all doing?!"
Punk comes toward Qin now.
He attacks with back-to-back strikes.
One punch lands.
Then two.
Qin almost falls to the ground.
Punk points both hands toward Qin.
He screams,
"Here goes the… Eclipse!"
Qin screams.
"Noooo!"
But then—
Punk's aura suddenly vanishes.
Punk gets shocked.
His power disappears.
He finds himself back in his base state.
He screams,
"What is this?!"
Qin realizes Punk's power is gone.
He smiles.
"The end is near."
Punk screams again, trying to charge his power.
But nothing happens.
He looks into Qin's eyes.
Qin's eyes feel like those of a monster.
Punk laughs again.
"It's useless now," Qin says.
Punk trembles.
Qin charges a kick.
It hits Punk's neck.
Punk falls to the ground.
His head splits open, bleeding heavily as it hits a large rock.
All five creatures stand in front of Paul.
Paul rushes toward them, trying to handle all five.
He punches two in the guts.
Paul smiles.
Then a voice comes from behind.
"Time's up!"
Qin points an energy ball toward Paul.
Paul's eyes fill with fear.
His expression changes.
He sweats.
He looks at Punk already fallen.
Then the leader of the creatures places a hand on Qin's shoulder.
"Enough. We don't need to kill them brutally, my lord."
Qin's face shows irritation.
He was enjoying it and is interrupted mid-attack.
He looks at the creature's face.
"So now you will stop me?" Qin says.
"All your status is under my shoes. Listen."
He launches the energy ball toward the leader.
The creature explodes.
All the other creatures step back.
They raise their hands.
"My lord, we are sorry!"
Qin smiles.
"You all deserve that."
Paul becomes numb.
He forms his fists.
"I know I won't last long."
"But Earth is my responsibility now."
"I will fight until my last breath," Paul says.
On the Ascension Planet,
all the Ascension Gods watch everything through the sky of their planet.
The Supreme Ascension God punches the table.
"I'm sorry…"
The wind blows everywhere.
Silence spreads.
All the remaining creatures kneel on the ground without looking up.
Qin and Paul face each other in the sky.
Paul hesitates at first.
But now he accepts his fate.
Tension hangs between them.
Chapter ends