The glass-walled loge overlooked the arena like an eye of steel and glass. Inside, the atmosphere was icy, hushed, heavy with ego.
Four armchairs. Four silhouettes. Four legends.
Captain Man was the most relaxed, legs crossed, a charming smile plastered on his face. He waved to the crowd with a small gesture every time a camera passed by.
Iron-Tank faced the glass wall, motionless, arms crossed over his bunker-like frame. His eyes didn't follow the crowd. They scanned the arena. Always. Like a soldier in a war zone.
Shadow G was slumped in his armchair as if he'd just collapsed after three sleepless nights. Dark circles under his eyes, cigarette at the corner of his mouth (lit, in a venue where it was forbidden, but who was going to tell him?), he stared at the ceiling with existential boredom.
And at the far end, discreet, almost faded, a woman with pink hair hidden under a hat, scarf pulled up to her eyes, black sunglasses. She said nothing. She watched.
Pink Buster. No one had recognized her. No one could. She had never been seen without her mask.
A heavy silence settled in the loge.
"Why are we here again?" grumbled Shadow G without moving his head.
Captain Man shot him an exasperated look. "Because it's the quarter-finals. Because the Hero Association asked us to observe the new generation."
"The new generation," Shadow G scoffed. "Just a bunch of kids who'll be dead in five years. Like the others."
Iron-Tank didn't move, but his voice, deep as a tank's rumble, filled the space:
"Shut up, G."
Shadow G smiled, a tired grimace. "Iron-Tank… you're the best placed to know that this is just a masquerade. This tournament is business. There's no new generation to observe."
Pink Buster said nothing. Her eyes, behind her sunglasses, remained fixed on the arena.
---
MAIN ARENA
Lola, standing on her floating podium, microphone in hand, radiated under the spotlights.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! WELCOME TO THE CONTINUATION OF THE QUARTER-FINALS! AFTER EXCEPTIONAL BATTLES, WE HAVE TWO DECISIVE CONFRONTATIONS TODAY! FIRST, A DUEL OF SHADOWS AND BLADES: LUNA, THE HUNTRESS OF THE NIGHT, FACING VIPER, THE REPENTANT ASSASSIN!"
The crowd roared. Banners waved.
"LU-NA! LU-NA! LU-NA!"
"VI-PER! VI-PER! VI-PER!"
In the honor tribune, Captain Man nodded.
"Luna impressed against Nova. Her control over shadows is remarkable. She'd be a good catch for you as an acolyte."
Shadow G blew a smoke ring. "She's going to get demolished. And don't ever compare her to me again. I control shadows."
Iron-Tank said nothing. He observed.
Pink Buster, silent, watched Viper. She thought of Pinky. Of her defeat against him. Of what she had learned from it.
He's changed since that fight. He's calmer. More dangerous.
---
FIRST FIGHT: LUNA vs VIPER
The arena darkened. The spotlights went out one by one, leaving only controlled twilight, perfect shadow zones.
Luna entered first. Her eyes glowed in the darkness like silver embers. Her claws shimmered faintly. She was in her element.
Viper entered. The darkness didn't seem to bother him. An assassin knows how to hunt anywhere. Even where you can't see.
— FIGHT!
Luna disappeared.
Not an evasion. Not a run. A pure fusion with the darkness. The arena became a black canvas where only Viper's motionless silhouette stood out.
In the honor tribune, Captain Man leaned forward.
"She uses the absence of light as an extension of herself. She doesn't hide in the shadows – she becomes the shadow."
Shadow G shrugged. "Nice. But the other guy isn't moving. That's suspicious."
Viper, indeed, wasn't moving. His eyes swept the arena with calculated slowness. He listened. He sensed. He waited.
SWOOSH.
A claw shot from the darkness, aiming for his neck.
Viper dodged with an infinitesimal head movement. A millimeter. No more. The claw passed within a centimeter of his skin.
He didn't counter-attack. He waited.
SWOOSH. SWOOSH. SWOOSH.
Three attacks. Three directions. Three minimal dodges.
"WHY ISN'T HE RESPONDING?!" exclaimed Lola, her microphone trembling. "VIPER IS JUST DODGING! HE'S NOT TRYING TO STRIKE!"
In the honor tribune, Iron-Tank spoke for the first time.
"He's reading her."
All eyes turned to him.
"Luna always attacks after an inhale. Her breath betrays her. Viper has identified the pattern. He's waiting for her to tire out."
Captain Man nodded, admiring. "That's the predator's patience. He doesn't react to the attack, he reacts to the attacker."
Luna, in the shadows, was beginning to pant. Her attacks were becoming more predictable, more desperate.
She attempted a feint – a fake to the left, a real attack to the right.
Viper didn't bite. He attacked where she was going to be, not where she was.
His dagger sank into Luna's shoulder.
She screamed, emerged from the shadows, revealing her position.
Viper followed through. No rage. No contempt. Surgical efficiency. A kick to the knee. An elbow to the jaw. A sweep.
Luna collapsed.
She tried to get up. Her legs gave way. She fell back.
"I give up," she whispered, tears in her eyes.
The referee whistled.
— K.O.! WINNER: VIPER!
The crowd applauded, torn between respect for Luna and admiration for Viper.
In the honor tribune, Captain Man nodded.
"Clean. Patient. Efficient. Viper has learned a lot."
Shadow G crushed his cigarette on the armrest (no one flinched).
"He learned to wait. Kids never get that. Patience kills more surely than rage."
Iron-Tank said nothing, but his gaze, fixed on Viper leaving the arena, was approving.
Pink Buster, still silent, watched Viper. Her fingers, under her gloves, tightened slightly on the armrest.
He's changed. Pinky changed too fighting him.
---
SOCIAL MEDIA PAUSE – THE HYPE RISES
Networks were already on fire.
#ViperThePatient: 15M views
#LunaFALLEN: 10M views
But everyone knew the main course was coming.
Lola, microphone in hand, spoke again, her voice vibrating with excitement.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THE FIGHT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! THE PERFECT MAN AGAINST THE WAR MACHINE! THE GENIUS OF SUBLIMATION AGAINST NANO-TECH'S MASTERPIECE! GRAAAAAAAAANNNN VERSUS ORIIIIIIION!"
The Dome exploded.
---
SECOND FIGHT: GRANN vs ORION
The arena returned to full light. The spotlights swept every corner, chasing away the shadows. This fight deserved clarity.
Orion entered first. His mechanical eyes glowed with cold intensity. His arms, ready to deploy, hung at his sides like sleeping weapons.
Grann entered.
He walked. Calm. Serene. Hands behind his back. Not an ounce of stress. Not an ounce of doubt.
In the honor tribune, Captain Man instinctively stood up.
"This boy… he's different. He doesn't look at Orion as an opponent. He looks at him as a problem to solve."
Iron-Tank nodded once.
"Orion was designed to kill. Grann was born to rule. That's the difference."
"But Orion will still win. He's my creation. Nano-Tech is my company."
Shadow G, despite his displayed boredom, had his eyes fixed on the screen.
"Let's see if the toy holds up."
Pink Buster, silent, watched Grann. She looked for a flaw. A tic. A micro-expression. Nothing.
He's too perfect. Too… smooth.
— FIGHT!
Orion attacked immediately.
His forearms opened, revealing eight different cannons, calibrated for eight different types of attacks. Energy beams. Solid projectiles. Blades. Knockout gases.
Everything was unleashed.
The energy beams shot toward Grann.
He didn't move.
The beams reached him – and evaporated, like water on burning rock.
The projectiles struck him – and rebounded, deflected by an invisible barrier.
The blades touched him – and shattered, exploding into a thousand harmless pieces.
The gases enveloped him – and dissipated, as if sucked into a vortex.
"SUBLIMATION: SELECTIVE BARRIER," announced Grann, his calm voice carrying despite the uproar. "I choose what touches me."
In the honor tribune, Captain Man was speechless.
"HE CHOOSES WHAT TOUCHES HIM! HE'S NOT IMMORTAL, HE'S… HE'S SELECTIVE!"
Iron-Tank, for the first time, spoke with a hint of emotion – admiration.
"He doesn't endure the fight. He directs it. Every attack is data that he processes and rejects. He's… he's the perfect soldier."
Shadow G lit another cigarette.
"The perfect soldier doesn't exist. There's always a flaw."
Pink Buster, silent, watched Grann. She kept searching. Nothing.
Orion, seeing his arsenal ineffective, changed strategy. He charged, blades deployed, for close combat.
His energy-vibrating blades traced deadly arcs toward Grann.
Grann dodged. Not by running. By sliding. Minimal movements, economical, perfect. He didn't expend energy. He redirected it.
"SUBLIMATION: DEVIATION," he explained while evading. "Your blades follow predictable trajectories. I redirect them."
Orion, now, attacked with everything he had. Blades, fists, feet, head, shoulders – every part of his body was a weapon.
Grann kept dodging, diverting, absorbing.
"THIS ISN'T A FIGHT!" screamed Lola, beside herself. "IT'S A DEMONSTRATION! ORION IS GIVING EVERYTHING, AND GRANN… GRANN ISN'T EVEN TRYING!"
In the honor tribune, a religious silence had settled.
Iron-Tank finally pronounced the sentence:
"Orion has lost. He doesn't know it yet. But he's lost."
Shadow G chuckled.
"You talk like a cheap philosopher. But you're right. The guy is draining his batteries on a wall."
Captain Man, eyes shining, murmured:
"It's not a wall. It's a mirror. He sends everything back."
Suddenly, Grann stopped.
He looked at Orion, panting (mechanically), all his systems overheating, all his gadgets deployed, all his artificial muscles trembling.
"That's it?" he asked. "All of Nano-Tech's technology?"
Orion stared at him, his eyes blinking rapidly, searching for a solution, an angle, a flaw.
Nothing.
He didn't stop. As if he had regained control of his will. He could choose again.
He had switched back to manual mode.
He charged at Grann head-on, fusing his two arms to create a cannon capable of leveling a mountain.
"BUT WHAT IS HE DOING?! HE WANTS TO KILL US ALL…!!"
Iron-Tank shouted, immediately calling Sendo, who didn't answer. He had left his post. Orion had taken control.
He charged forward, powering up his cannon.
To pulverize Grann and everyone watching.
He was about to fire, under everyone's gaze.
When Shadow G jumped from the honor tribune, shattering the glass wall.
"Damn, I hate this job. "
Shadow G used his shadows to grab Orion's arms and hurl him into the air with his shadow vines.
The referee was about to interrupt the fight when a shadow wolf prevented him from blowing his whistle.
Orion, propelled into the air, fired without aiming, completely blind.
As Shadow G desperately tried to stop the shot.
Grann's elegant voice was heard throughout the arena.
"Leave it. I'll handle this. This charlatan isn't a hero. He's a machine. A modified human."
As Grann prepared to finish it, a heavy cry was heard.
It was Orion, screaming for the first time.
"Who the hell are you to talk to me like that?! I'll show you! I'll show ALL of you!"
PUSH.
His cannon charged. He was still airborne, thrown by Shadow G's vines.
"METEOR CANNNOOOON!"
The attack was devastating.
But Grann didn't move.
"Well then…"
Grann raised a hand.
"SUBLIMATION: TOTAL COUNTER."
He absorbed all the attack's energy at a terrifying speed and released it in a fraction of a second.
To the public, it was like watching an attack returned to its sender.
He would name it "Counter".
It struck Orion head-on.
The cyborg was launched above the arena, completely pulverized. He fell back rapidly like a dead weight, crashing to the ground, his mechanical limbs torn off, sparks flying from his broken joints, hydraulic fluid gushing from his wounds.
The clouds were obliterated, the sky seemingly split in two from the shockwave.
He moved no more.
Silence.
Then the Dome exploded.
"GRANN! GRANN! GRANN! GRANN!"
Sixty thousand voices chanted his name, a clamor so powerful it shook the suspended cameras.
Lola, in tears, screamed into her microphone:
"MAGISTERIAL! ABSOLUTELY MAGISTERIAL! GRANN HAS JUST REDUCED NANO-TECH'S CYBORG TO SCRAP METAL! WITHOUT EFFORT! WITHOUT SWEAT! HE'S THE MOST IMPRESSIVE FIGHTER I'VE EVER SEEN!"
In the honor tribune, Captain Man applauded standing up.
"MAGISTERIAL! AN ABSOLUTE DEMONSTRATION OF POWER!"
Iron-Tank nodded once.
"Impressive."
Shadow G, slumped, watched Grann leave the arena without emotion.
"Pretty boy. But in ten years, he'll be dead like the others."
Pink Buster, still silent, stood up.
She cast one last glance at the screen where Grann was disappearing.
Then she turned toward the exit.
This boy can go all the way. But how far?
---
As the legends prepared to leave, Shadow G received a call informing him he had to be there for the semi-finals. The news didn't please him.
He expressed himself, not very politely:
"But why the hell ME again?! Damn it!!"
---
[BONUS]
Iron-Tank was slowly pursuing Professor Sendo through the Nano-Tech lab.
Iron walked. Sendo ran.
But they moved at the same speed.
"I'm surrounded by incompetents,"
Iron-Tank said, his voice heavy.
"Stop running, or I'll pulverize your legs."
Sendo's legs gave way automatically under the pressure of his words, and he collapsed to the floor.
He tried to crawl but had to stop immediately.
"Don't move. You and I need to talk."
Sendo didn't dare move, paralyzed by fear.
He was clearly about to have a very bad quarter-hour.
---
See you soon for a new chapter of ONE: No Limits.