The Chimera that had been sitting atop the arena suddenly let out a deafening screech.
At the same moment, the remaining Chimera Beasts began tearing themselves apart, their bodies breaking down into pieces of flesh and corrupted energy before everything was absorbed by the final Chimera.
Its body began to grow.
Larger. More twisted. More corrupted.
As the transformation was finally completed, the Chimera slowly turned its head toward King Arthur.
Its eyes locked onto him.
It was as if it were challenging him.
King Arthur seemed to accept that challenge.
The two stood face to face.
Neither moved.
Then King Arthur's fist began glowing with divine light.
In the next instant, he leapt forward.
BOOM!
His fist struck the Chimera.
Then another punch. And another.
King Arthur quickly realised something.
This Chimera was far tougher than the one he had destroyed moments ago.
His attacks were not doing nearly as much damage as before.
He needed to increase the power of his Praito Butham.
But the Chimera was fast. And cunning.
Its tentacles moved rapidly, striking from different directions while its tongue suddenly extended toward Arthur. Its wings created powerful strikes, while parts of its body could temporarily separate and be launched like projectiles.
King Arthur avoided every attack.
At the same time, while dodging, he continued increasing the power of Praito Butham within his body.
The battle was so fast that most people watching could barely follow it.
The arena was filled with some of the greatest adventurers in the world, the army of the Kingdom of Cero, and royals from various nations.
Yet only a handful were actually capable of keeping up with the battle.
To everyone else... King Arthur and the Chimera had become little more than blurs.
The Chimera was no joke.
Many quickly realised that.
It was unstable and unnatural, but its strength and speed were more than enough to kill most people within the blink of an eye.
Suddenly... CRACK!
One of King Arthur's punches finally broke through the outer layer of the Chimera's body.
But it seemed useless.
The damaged flesh slowly began regenerating.
However... That was all King Arthur needed to know.
Its regeneration was slow.
It might have incredible strength and speed, but it wasn't perfect.
King Arthur began attacking the exact same area again and again.
CRACK!
Another punch.
CRACK!
Another.
The crack continued spreading wider, even as the Chimera desperately tried to regenerate it.
The Chimera attempted to defend itself.
It tried attacking Arthur from every possible angle.
But now, King Arthur simply used his fists to deflect every incoming attack.
Even though his punches continued landing and the crack continued growing, the Chimera still seemed almost unstoppable.
Then... The Chimera suddenly shifted its body.
It stopped.
Once again, its body began transforming.
But this time, it did not grow larger.
Instead... It became more humanoid.
Its body reshaped itself until it resembled something much closer to a human.
Then corrupted energy began oozing from its fist.
It raised its hand.
And attacked.
King Arthur immediately responded.
The two began exchanging punches.
One.
Two.
Three.
After only a few exchanges, King Arthur and everyone capable of following the battle, realised something horrifying.
The Chimera was copying him.
It was learning his fighting style.
Every movement. Every attack. Every pattern.
It was adapting.
King Arthur knew the Chimera had to be killed as quickly as possible.
But the problem was becoming obvious.
Every move King Arthur made seemed to be predicted by the Chimera.
King Arthur threw a right hook.
The Chimera blocked it.
It immediately attempted to counter with a left jab.
But unexpectedly, King Arthur kicked it directly in the face.
The Chimera staggered.
King Arthur had changed his fighting style.
But even then, he knew he had to finish this quickly.
He couldn't allow the Chimera enough time to analyse his new movements.
The Chimera suddenly became defensive.
Its tentacles extended outward, keeping King Arthur at a distance.
But Arthur didn't stop.
He changed his movements again.
Fists.
Kicks.
Combinations.
He attacked from different angles, constantly changing his rhythm.
He gave the Chimera no time to recover.
No time to analyse.
No time to adapt.
CRACK!
Another strike landed against its chest.
The crack widened.
King Arthur immediately followed up.
His fist pierced directly into the Chimera's chest.
"Luminous Explosion."
His fist remained inside the Chimera.
Praito Butham began surging through his arm.
The Chimera desperately struggled to escape.
Its tentacles wrapped around Arthur, attempting to force him away.
One of them managed to pierce slightly through Arthur's left abdomen.
But Arthur did not move.
He held his ground.
And then... BOOM!
A blinding explosion erupted from within the Chimera.
A deafening sound shook the entire arena.
The divine light consumed everything around them.
For a moment, nobody could see anything.
Everyone instinctively covered their eyes.
Then... Silence.
Slowly, everyone opened their eyes.
The Chimera was gone.
Completely erased.
King Arthur still stood in the centre of the battlefield.
Despite the battle, he had taken very little damage.
To everyone watching, he appeared almost like a symbol of hope.
A person who would play a huge role against the evil that had come to threaten the world.
---
Somewhere in the Darkness
Vorath stood in the darkness.
Xekar remained silent.
And somewhere nearby stood Zalthar.
Vorath sighed. "So even this wasn't enough to kill King Arthur."
He sounded almost disappointed. "Such pity. It took a lot of effort to create it, and it was killed in the end."
Xekar remained silent. "…"
Zalthar looked toward Vorath. "I hope your risky visit wasn't simply to test your new experiment."
Vorath smiled. "Obviously not."
He chuckled.
"If anything, I feel like we took a step forward from this visit."
"Our purpose for coming here was fulfilled in the very end."
Zalthar briefly looked at Vorath.
Vorath noticed. "What?" He smiled.
"You knew we obviously weren't going to be able to kill King Arthur."
"But don't worry."
"He won't be any problem anymore."
Zalthar remained silent for a moment.
"I know..."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"You are a terribly cunning man."
Vorath grinned.
"Come on."
"Don't make me blush."
---
Back in the arena, everyone began rushing toward King Arthur.
The King smiled as he looked at them.
For a moment... Everything seemed fine.
Then, His expression suddenly changed.
A strange shock ran through his entire body.
King Arthur's hand immediately moved toward his left abdomen.
His eyes widened.
Another shock coursed through him.
"Kh... "
Blood suddenly came out of his mouth.
Everyone froze.
King Arthur's body lost its strength.
And then...
He collapsed where he stood.