"Heh…"
"Big kitty—so you want to fight me too?"
"I don't want to hurt you!"
Mark looked at Battle Beast gripping his war hammer and actually laughed. He didn't believe this oversized cat could do anything to him anymore. He wasn't the same Mark as before.
He was back on his feet.
Times had changed.
"Hahaha! Great!" Battle Beast's eyes lit up instead of showing fear—his hunger for a real fight flaring like a wildfire. "I hope you can hurt me as much as you possibly can~"
"In that case—don't blame me for not holding back!"
The instant Mark finished speaking, he broke the sound barrier.
He shot in front of Battle Beast and drove his left fist straight into the lion-man's face.
Boom!
The shockwave from the punch blasted furniture across the room. The power radiating off that fist was monstrous—like a tactical missile going off at point-blank range.
But…
Even a punch that brutal still couldn't hurt Battle Beast in the slightest.
The huge white lion-man took it and didn't move a single step.
"Harder," Battle Beast said, gesturing at him—telling Mark to hit him harder.
"You asked for it!"
Mark had never seen anyone take his punch that casually. A flicker of panic flashed through him—then vanished.
If one punch didn't work, he'd throw a second.
If the second didn't work, he'd throw a third.
Mark refused to believe there was anything in this world that couldn't be beaten down with enough punches.
Smacksmacksmacksmack—
His fists became a storm of afterimages, smashing into Battle Beast's body.
One punch. Two punches. Dozens. Hundreds.
Punch after punch—kick after kick!
Off in the distance, Machine Head watched it all and felt like his brain wasn't big enough for what he was seeing.
There were humans in this world who could be this strong?!
"AAAHH!!"
Mark roared and threw a full-power punch—everything he had—straight at Battle Beast.
"Interesting," Battle Beast said, and that was the only judgment he offered.
He extended one hand, like he planned to just catch the punch.
Pop.
With a soft, almost casual sound, Mark's fist landed in Battle Beast's palm—and was seized.
Mark's strongest, fully charged punch was caught like it was nothing.
"Huh?!"
Mark's expression changed instantly as he felt the grip tighten—like a steel vise clamping down on his knuckles.
No matter how he tried to yank free, he couldn't.
And Mark knew what this meant.
He'd only ever felt this kind of strength from two people.
One was his father, Nolan.
The other was Jovian.
Both of them stood far above him—bodies tougher than his, power that completely dwarfed his.
Pop~
Battle Beast squeezed just a little.
A soft sound—
And then "tomato sauce" sprayed as Mark's arm twisted out of shape in Battle Beast's grip. Anyone who saw it would know immediately: that arm was absolutely broken.
"AAAAAHH!!"
Mark screamed—raw and tearing, like his throat was being ripped open.
"Keep going!" Battle Beast snarled.
He grabbed Mark by the head and started pounding—holding Mark's skull steady with one hand while the other fist slammed into his face like a pile driver.
Huff—
After that barrage, Mark's face was practically caved in, "tomato sauce" spilling from his eyes, nose, and mouth.
"What's wrong?!" Battle Beast growled. "Weren't you so tough a second ago?!"
Like this still wasn't enough for him, Battle Beast threw Mark to the floor, planted a heavy boot on Mark's chest, and leaned down with a low, furious rumble.
Boom!
Half of Mark's body sank into the floor from the impact.
And it still didn't end there.
Battle Beast clenched both fists and started hammering Mark's body—one punch after another.
Pff—pff—pff—
Every punch squeezed out more "tomato sauce."
"Too weak! Too weak!"
"This isn't enough—this is nothing!"
Battle Beast glared down at Mark's barely-breathing, shredded body—now nothing but a blurred, broken mess—and roared in rage.
"Get up! Stand up and keep fighting me!"
He snatched up his war hammer and aimed it at Mark's head, like he was about to crack his skull open like a walnut.
"S-save me…"
Mark stared at the massive shadow looming over him. Tears slid out from the corners of his eyes.
Since becoming a hero, this was the first time he truly understood what death felt like.
When a hero walks through life and death, that's when they change.
After today, Mark would be more mature—
Assuming he survived today.
Boom!
A hurricane of pressure exploded outward as the war hammer came down, carrying power that felt like it could tear the sky apart, split the ground, even shatter a planet—swinging straight for Mark's head.
Mark squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the end.
But the hammer never landed.
…?
With that sliver of confusion, Mark forced his eyes open with the last of his strength.
Floating in the air above him was a broad-shouldered man in a black-and-white combat suit, cape whipping behind him, face cold and sharp.
But what shocked Mark wasn't the sudden arrival—
It was what the man was holding.
The man's left hand held Battle Beast's war hammer.
His right hand gripped Battle Beast by the head.
He hovered there effortlessly, unmoving—no matter how Battle Beast thrashed and strained.
"Jovian…"
The moment Mark saw him, the tight wire in his nerves finally snapped loose. All the helplessness he'd ever felt when facing Jovian—
Was exactly how safe he felt now that Jovian was here.
"Mark," Jovian said calmly, glancing down at him, "go to sleep. You did well."
Then Jovian looked back at Battle Beast.
"Thanks for knocking Mark out," Jovian said, completely serious. "That saves me the trouble of doing it myself."
Jovian was the kind of person who kept everything clean and separate. Even if he was going to kill Battle Beast, he'd still say what needed to be said.
"Hello, Battle Beast."
"Goodbye, Battle Beast."
Jovian tossed him into the sky—
Then drove a punch straight into Battle Beast's face.
Boom!
A sonic boom ripped through the air as Battle Beast rocketed away, smashing through the building across the street.
Huff—
Battle Beast stared at Jovian, eyes blown wide.
"You're a Viltrumite?" Battle Beast's body trembled slightly. "I thought the universe was vast enough that Thragg was already the strongest… I never imagined someone even more savage than the stories about Thragg!"
He knew it—this opponent was on a completely different level.
And precisely because of that, his blood burned even hotter.
"You don't need to know my name," Jovian said, voice flat as a blade.
"You only need to know this—"
"I'm the one who's going to kill you."
The moment Battle Beast dragged himself up from the rubble, he heard that voice in his head—
And a massive hand was already reaching toward his face.
Battle Beast's pupils tightened as that hand closed in.
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