"You really like fighting that much?"
"Fine. I'll fight you."
A faint red glow flickered in Jovian's eyes.
…
With his face crushed in Jovian's grip, Battle Beast couldn't say a single word.
"Oh, right," Jovian said with a small smile. "I forgot—your mouth is sealed."
"But it doesn't matter. You don't need to talk."
He stopped wasting words. With one hand gripping Battle Beast's face like it was a bowling ball, Jovian hurled him straight up.
Boom!
A sonic boom detonated. Battle Beast felt the air whip and tear across his body—then even that sensation thinned out. It wasn't that sound disappeared.
He was just moving too fast.
So fast he left sound behind.
His body split the atmosphere into a blazing, knife-like streak and shot into space.
High above Earth, several satellites pivoted, tracking the incoming blur. They were the Global Defense Agency's top-tier tech—orbital weapons. Each platform carried firepower beyond even high-yield nuclear weapons, with far more precise targeting: the ability to erase certain superhuman threats with minimal collateral damage.
Cecil's trump card—built for the day someone powerful stopped obeying.
But today…
Battle Beast flashed through them like a white line.
The orbital platforms managed only a pinprick of light—an instant of discharge—before they were reduced to drifting debris.
More space junk.
I have to stop.
Battle Beast knew exactly what he needed to do: halt his momentum, correct his direction, and return to Earth to settle this with that damned "Viltrumite."
He didn't even have time to figure out how—
Pain exploded behind him.
The Moon.
After Jovian had brutally smashed it into countless fragments, its own gravity had pulled it back together—smaller now, but rounder.
Still, nothing stays whole forever.
Battle Beast punched through it.
The Moon was pierced again.
Somewhere, every werewolf howled in joy—curse dodged once more.
But the impact did what Battle Beast needed.
He finally shed Jovian's launch-force and stabilized.
I stopped.
Now I counterattack.
He steadied his mind. A conqueror of the cosmos didn't get to fall just because someone was stronger. A true warrior challenged stronger warriors.
And then—
Without even a heartbeat of rest, Jovian became a white streak wrapped in searing flame and tore out past the atmosphere.
"Tsk…"
Seeing that relentless presence—one he didn't even have to search for—made even Battle Beast's heart race. His eyelid twitched.
He blinked.
And in that instant, the figure that had been near the edge of Earth's atmosphere was suddenly right in front of him.
Jovian's fist cut through the near-vacuum, plowing through invisible micro-particles, carrying a weight that felt absolute as it filled Battle Beast's vision.
"Ghh…"
Battle Beast's instincts screamed. His fur practically bristled as danger flooded him.
I have to block it.
If that punch landed on his face, he knew it—he would be punched straight through.
In the razor-thin moment between life and death, Battle Beast snapped both arms up to guard his head—then coiled his legs like springs and kicked into Jovian's chest.
Everything happened in a flash.
The moment Battle Beast's forearms met Jovian's fist—
They shattered.
Cleanly.
But his kick landed.
And that was enough.
Using the recoil, Battle Beast slipped away by a hair's breadth, dodging the skull-splitting blow.
"Hmph."
The cold snort hit Battle Beast inside his own mind.
Jovian didn't move—he simply straightened his chest as if the kick meant nothing.
The rebound from Jovian's body alone launched Battle Beast away.
"Telepathy?!"
Battle Beast's eyes widened as he processed the sound that hadn't traveled through air.
He'd roamed the universe for countless years. He knew what that meant.
But then his focus hardened.
"Doesn't matter…"
"Telepathy or not—so what?"
Riding the momentum from his kick and Jovian's recoil, Battle Beast accelerated—near light-speed—deeper into space.
"Today I'm not at my best!"
"We'll fight again another day!"
He told himself the truth: he'd paid for arrogance and carelessness. He would heal, return at his peak, and then decide life and death properly.
Battle Beast wasn't afraid to die.
But he refused to let his first real meeting with a worthy opponent end like this—broken, messy, and unfinished.
If he was going to die, it would be as a challenger at full strength, falling at the hands of the strongest being in the universe.
So he retreated.
The kick. The timing. The recoil. All of it had been preparation for his escape route.
Viltrumite powerhouse… you'll never expect this to be my retreat path.
Battle Beast made sure the thought was loud in his mind—so it would carry straight into the telepath's head.
"Heh."
Jovian watched him flee, a thin smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
He reached out a hand.
In an instant, Battle Beast—still fleeing at near light-speed—stopped dead in the vacuum.
Then he was dragged back even faster, yanked toward Jovian like an invisible god-hand had hooked him by the spine.
"Telekinesis?!"
Real shock hit Battle Beast's face now.
He had never heard of any Viltrumite with telekinesis on that level.
"Where do you think you're running, kitty?" Jovian asked.
A moment later, Battle Beast was hauled to a stop right in front of him, bound by unseen force.
Battle Beast stared, utterly confused.
"What are you?"
"Is there really a species in the universe that produces something as strong as you?"
Even if he was going to die, he wanted to know what was killing him—telekinesis, telepathy, and physical strength far beyond anything a Viltrumite should have.
He needed an answer.
Then Jovian's voice entered his mind—calm, almost weary.
"I'm human."
"Just… human."
"Human," Battle Beast repeated silently, burning the word into himself.
I'll remember that.
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