"So, you are this generation's Kuuga." Seeing Steve transform into Kuuga, the Spider Gurongi finally straightened his posture.
Previously, the Spider Gurongi hadn't paid much attention to Steve, treating their battle as nothing more than a warm-up game. In his eyes, a mere Rinto could never truly harm him, no matter what.
However, possessing the power of Kuuga changed everything. After all, in ancient times, it was Kuuga who had sealed the entire Gurongi tribe.
Although Steve could understand the Gurongi language thanks to the information instilled by the Amadam Stone, he could not yet speak it. Furthermore, Steve felt there was nothing to say to a race that viewed hunting human lives as a game.
He simply took his stance and threw a punch.
After transforming into Kuuga, Steve's physical attributes had been vastly improved; both his strength and speed were incomparable to before. This time, it was the Spider Gurongi's turn to be sent flying by a single punch.
The Spider Gurongi let out a strange cry. "Long ages have passed, and seeing Kuuga once again is just as loathsome as ever."
Long fangs sprouted from his wrists, shimmering with an eerie green luster—clearly laced with potent venom. The Spider Gurongi leapt into the air, thrusting the venomous fangs toward Steve.
However, Steve caught the creature's arm in a death grip, leaving it unable to advance or retreat.
Looking at the venom on the fangs, Steve's expression turned solemn. After transforming into Kuuga, his senses—heightened by the Amadam Stone—allowed him to perceive subtle details invisible to ordinary humans. He could sense the extreme toxicity of the venom.
Using his other hand, Steve snapped the venomous fangs off the trapped Gurongi's wrist. The broken fangs fell to the ground, the venom instantly corroding pits into the metal flooring.
Despite losing his fangs, the Spider Gurongi didn't utter a sound. He spat silk from his mouthparts toward Steve's head to obscure his vision, while his other hand sprouted another fang to strike.
Seeing this, Steve gripped the Gurongi's arm and gave a powerful heave, slamming the creature toward the ceiling. The force caused the silk spray and the fang strike to veer off course, easily neutralizing the attack.
Once thrown against the ceiling, the Spider Gurongi spread his limbs like a real spider, adhering to the surface. He then spat a massive web downward at Steve.
Steve grabbed a nearby piece of equipment—its purpose unknown—and hurled it at the web to avoid being ensnared. Immediately following this, he leapt up and launched a punch at the Spider Gurongi.
Refusing to back down, the Spider Gurongi met him with full force. Both sides clashed head-on, determined to crush the opponent.
The result was clear: Steve, as Kuuga, was superior.
The Spider Gurongi was violently knocked back, his arm snapped and hanging limply. For a Gurongi, a broken arm was minor and would heal in minutes. What truly sparked panic and fear in his heart was the sensation of a familiar Sealing Energy flowing from Steve's fist into his body.
Though the energy entering him wasn't yet overwhelming, it made the Spider Gurongi sense true danger.
Realizing that Kuuga possessed strength that completely surpassed his own—and the energy to seal or even kill him—the Spider Gurongi felt the urge to retreat. Kuuga wasn't an official target of the Gegel game; there was no need to fight to the death here. He could settle the score after passing his Gegel, increasing his rank, and obtaining greater power.
Deciding to flee, the Spider Gurongi spat a web to block Steve and immediately turned to escape.
Seeing the monster run, Steve seemed to think of something and paused his movements for a brief moment, allowing the Spider Gurongi to successfully get away.
"Captain?! Why didn't you stop that monster?" Nick Fury frowned as he patched into the lab's communication device to remind him.
"Let him leave first. I'll defeat him once he's outside the building," Steve replied with a slight shake of his head, moving to follow the Spider Gurongi's escape path.
He had intentionally let the creature go. Steve was cautious and didn't plan on finishing the fight inside. After the Kuuga belt merged with his body, he naturally understood how to completely destroy a Gurongi.
He had to condense the Amadam Stone's sealing energy into a rune, inject it into the Gurongi's body through an attack, and then detonate it. The most effective method was the Mighty Kick—channeling the body's full strength into a flying kick to drive the sealing rune into the enemy.
The sealing energy would then explode from the inside out, obliterating the Gurongi's life functions at a cellular level. However, this process created a violent explosion that caused massive collateral damage.
Steve had paused because he didn't want the blast to harm the SHIELD agents trapped in silk nearby. He wasn't confident he could protect them from the explosion's radius.
Once the Spider Gurongi escaped the SHIELD Triskelion building, he looked back at the pursuing Steve.
"Kuuga, the next time we meet, I will strike you down!"
After his parting threat, he spat silk toward a nearby skyscraper. Ignoring the barrage of bullets from the surrounding SHIELD agents, he prepared to swing away.
Suddenly, an arrow whistled through the air. The Spider Gurongi caught it mid-air and looked toward Hawkeye.
"Rinto, your aim is true, but it is useless—"
The arrowhead suddenly detonated in a violent plume of fire. Caught off guard, the Spider Gurongi was left scorched and soot-covered. More importantly, his silk line was burned through.
The Spider Gurongi crashed to the ground, his chance to escape gone. Steve had already caught up.
Now that they were in an open area outside the building, Steve no longer worried about the explosion harming innocents. He didn't hold back. Leaping high into the air, he delivered a Mighty Kick—saturated with sealing energy—directly into the Spider Gurongi's chest.
The Spider Gurongi took the full force of the kick, staggering back several steps as a glowing golden symbol formed on his chest. Then, his entire body erupted in a massive explosion, covering everything within a ten-meter radius in a shockwave of fire.
(End of Chapter)