In Kenji's mind:
If I can land even one clean hit… I'll prove I'm not just a swordsman—I'm the swordsman.
With a determined growl, Kenji crossed both blades in front of him. The air around him pulsed.
"KEN-X!!!"
He shot forward, leaving behind a sonic crack. The snow beneath his feet exploded upward as he vanished and reappeared in front of Agharna, blades glinting in an X-formation. He let both swords rip across Agharna's chest in a diagonal-slash, his form spinning past with elegant precision. He skidded to a stop behind the beast, a confident smirk on his face.
He looked back.
Agharna hadn't moved.
The black bear turned his head slightly, crimson eyes meeting Kenji's. "That the best you got?"
Kenji's smirk vanished. "What the hell…?"
Agharna turned fully, brushing imaginary dust off his fur. "You did nothing to me," he said, genuinely disappointed.
Kenji gritted his teeth. "KEN-SLASH!"
With a sweeping motion, he launched seven razor-sharp air blades screaming through the frozen sky toward Agharna.
Agharna tilted, twisted, and stepped around each one—easily. Casually. Effortlessly. His body blurred like a shadow weaving through moonlight.
Kenji rushed in with a roar, slashing wildly, swinging with both blades in a deadly dance. But every strike met air. Agharna ducked, swayed, leaned back, spun—his footwork flawless, almost lazy.
Kenji didn't stop. He kept swinging.
Agharna yawned mid-dodge.
Then—
Agharna's fist collided with Kenji's chest. The impact sounded like thunder splitting the earth.
Kenji shot backward like a missile, crashing through six trees, the wood splintering like matchsticks. His body tumbled through snow and ice before slamming into the ground, carving a trench in the frost.
Agharna laughed, wiping his knuckles. "You're gonna have to try harder than that, blue-hair."
Kenji groaned, spitting blood into the snow, but forced himself to his feet. His arms trembled, his body sore—but he wasn't done.
He walked back toward Agharna, limping but determined. His grip tightened around his swords.
"There's no point in holding back anymore," he said. "I usually save this for strong opponents."
He raised one blade and pointed it directly at Agharna.
"But you... you're a monster. My attacks didn't even touch you. I couldn't land a single clean hit."
Agharna folded his arms. "So you finally get it. Now you understand why they call me the strongest in World 1."
Kenji closed his eyes, breathing deeply.
"Yeah... but now it's my turn. My ultimate ability."
Agharna raised a brow. "Huh?"
Kenji crossed his blades again, this time raising them toward the sky as a storm of energy spiraled around him. The air itself felt like it was being shredded.
"KEN-MULTISLASH!!!"
His body erupted into motion.
He spun and slashed from every direction—above, below, to the side—his dual blades flashing like lightning. The sound of metal ripping through air echoed in every direction as Kenji struck Agharna over and over.
Agharna raised his arms to block, stepped back, tried to counter—but Kenji didn't stop. Each swing was faster than the last, breaking the rhythm, slashing past his guard, cutting his arms, his chest, even grazing his cheek.
By the time Kenji stopped, breathing heavily, Agharna's body was marked with cuts. Not deep—but real.
Agharna looked down at himself, blood dripping onto the snow.
He laughed.
He clapped.
"Well damn," he said, still smiling. "You actually damaged me."
He continued clapping, grinning wide. "You're a rare swordsman. Maybe I'll visit Swordman Island someday."
Kenji's eyes flared. "You better not hurt them, you bastard."
Agharna held up a paw. "Relax, relax. No need to threaten. I was just curious."
Then, his right hand began to glow—bright violet, like fire condensed into a single strike.
He whispered, "BWAR STRIKE."
And he launched himself forward in a blink, the ground beneath him exploding on takeoff.
The strike collided square into Kenji's chest, creating a shockwave that shattered nearby ice and flattened the trees behind him. Kenji's body went flying—miles this time—before landing in the snow, unconscious, a deep glowing mark burned into his chest.
Agharna exhaled and dropped into a seated position on a flat stone. He cracked his knuckles, looking at the bruises on his fur. "Tch. That was fun, but this place is boring."
Then—shadows moved.
A group of figures emerged—cloaked vampires with eyes like obsidian fire and blades as thin as needles. Their auras flared with a chilling pressure.
One of them stepped forward, hissing, "Agharna… you've done enough damage. We'll end you here."
Agharna stood up slowly, dusting off his chest. "Ahh… now things get interesting again."
The vampires moved like lightning, three of them already above him, blades slashing downward. Agharna ducked under the first, parried the second with a swipe of his palm, and caught the third by the throat mid-air before slamming him into the ground.
He twisted, spinning on his heel as his glowing paw smashed through another vampire's blade. His movements were clean, efficient, and savage.
Every time a vampire got close, he turned their speed against them—throwing one into the other, slamming them into trees, or knocking them out with one-hit counters.
Within moments, all that remained were unconscious or retreating vampires, crawling or limping back into the forest.
Agharna stood alone, sighing.
"This world's supposed to be strong. Where's the challenge?"
He cracked his neck, gave one last look toward the direction Kenji flew, and began walking away, paws in his coat pockets
Meanwhile…
Paw turned slowly, his sharp eyes scanning Eleo Tony and Nox, His tail flicked once. Then he smirked.
"You must be Eleo, the little bunny everyone's been whispering about."
Eleo blinked. "Huh? Wait—how do you know who I am?"
Paw turned his head slightly, looking off into the distance. "And you…" He pointed. "You must be Tony, the skeleton."
Tony raised his hand and shouted proudly from afar, "YES I AM!"
Eleo scratched his head. "Okay, seriously… How do you know who we are?"
Paw chuckled, waving a finger. "Posters. News. Hunk Tower incident made quite the splash. You, Tony, Olorun, Kenji—all of you lit the city up. The whole world saw that stunt."
Eleo's eyes lit up. "Man… we really are famous, huh."
Tony nodded with arms crossed. "See Eleo, We're legends in motion."
Paw's gaze shifted again.
"…And you," Paw muttered. "You must be his brother."
Nox didn't even flinch. His voice came cold and flat.
"No. I ain't his brother. And I sure as hell ain't his clone."
Paw gave a sly smirk. "Right… anywho—three, two, o—"
Before he could finish counting, a blinding blur crashed into him from the side.
Paw was launched like a cannonball, flipping through the air and smashing through tree after tree.
It was Dot.
"Didn't think I'd let you run your mouth, did you?" Dot growled, dashing after him without a second's delay. He closed the distance in a blink, claws gleaming in the light as he slashed down hard—
But right before impact—Paw's body burst into a cloud of thick, purple poison mist.
Dot's eyes widened. "Shit."
He instantly flipped backward, holding his breath, avoiding the toxic haze.
The mist swirled unnaturally—then with a hiss, Paw reformed behind Dot, already mid-swing.
A punch landed square in Dot's side, followed by a fierce spinning kick to his jaw that sent him skidding back.
Dot wiped blood from his lip, chuckling through his teeth. "So your S-Orb's poison, huh?"
Paw gave a sly grin. "Oh? How'd you know it was poison?"
Dot adjusted his stance, eyes locked. "Doesn't take a genius to figure that out."
Paw shrugged lazily. "Heh. True."
The wind whistled through the broken trees. Tension tightened like a rope about to snap.
Paw rolled his shoulders, then pointed a single claw at Dot. "So… this is where we fight to the death, huh?"
Dot cracked his neck. "Yeah. And I sure as hell know it ain't gonna be me."
Paw let out a low, amused laugh.
"Funny… usually a dead man walking says exactly the same thing you just did."