Chapter 63: The Dance Of Power
Above Gregor Naught —
The heavens held their breath.
Daito Greyhell stood shoulder to shoulder with Monday Valhalla, suspended high above the world. Beneath them, Gregor Naught looked no larger than a child's model, its streets hidden beneath drifting clouds and the scars carved into it by their battle.
Across from them...Cassian smiled.
Not because he believed he would win.
Because, for the first time in years...He had found opponents worth fighting.
The silence between them stretched.
Then Cassian slowly lowered both arms until they rested comfortably at his sides.
The warped pressure surrounding him faded.
The invisible distortion that had bent air around his body gradually disappeared.
Even the overwhelming presence of Give or Take seemed to withdraw.
Daito narrowed his eyes.
"...What are you doing?"
Cassian chuckled softly.
"I'm making this fair."
Monday frowned.
"...Fair?"
Cassian nodded.
"I've relied on my Savage Power long enough."
His smile widened.
"Let's see what happens..."
"...when all that's left is skill."
The words echoed through the endless sky.
No tricks, no multiplication, no transfer, and no overwhelming ability.
Only three martial artists...Standing at the very peak of human possibility.
Fwoo....
Daito slowly raised his fists.
There was no room for weapons now.
Bzztle.....
Monday rolled his shoulders as blue sparks quietly danced across his skin not as an enhancement, but as a natural extension of his breathing.
Neither of them questioned Cassian's decision.
Because they understood.
This battle had grown beyond abilities. It had become a contest of experience, technique, timing and instinct.
* * *
Then—
SWOOSH!
They moved.
Not at the speed of sound. Not at the speed of lightning. Not even at the speed of thought.
They moved inside a fragment of existence so unimaginably brief that a trillionth of a second became an entire battlefield.
Within that infinitesimal instant...
Fwoo.....
More than one hundred thousand attacks were exchanged.
The sky erupted.
BOOOOOOOM!!
Daito struck first.
His right fist shot forward like a perfectly forged spear, aimed directly at Cassian's nose.
There was no wasted movement and no unnecessary strength.
Every ounce of force traveled through one flawless line.
SHOOOM!
Cassian tilted his head.
The punch missed almost.
Daito's knuckles grazed his cheek.
SKRRRCH!
A thin line of crimson appeared across Cassian's face.
His first genuine wound.
Cassian touched the blood with two fingers.
He smiled.
"...Good."
Before the words had fully left his lips—
FWOOSH!
Monday arrived.
He spun through the air, his body twisting with terrifying precision before releasing a devastating hook kick toward Cassian's ribs.
WHOOOOOOM!!
The surrounding air exploded.
Cassian raised his forearm.
THOOOOM!!
The kick landed.
The impact echoed across the heavens.
For the first time...Cassian was pushed backward.
Only a single step, but a step nonetheless.
SWOOSH!
Daito was already there.
His elbow crashed toward Cassian's ribs.
BAM!
His knee rose immediately afterward.
Cassian twisted as the knee skimmed across his abdomen.
Daito's fist followed.
SHOOM!
A straight punch toward the jaw.
Cassian leaned away.
FWOO!
The punch brushed his chin before continuing past.
Three attacks in three different angles with no pause between them.
No hesitation, only relentless efficiency.
Cassian blocked two and redirected one.
Yet even that single graze forced him to acknowledge something.
These two...had reached him.
His smile grew wider.
"...Excellent."
He stepped forward.
Sliding directly into the space between Daito and Monday before either of them could adjust.
FWOOSH!
His palm shot toward Daito's chest.
Daito crossed both forearms.
THUD!
The impact forced him backward through the air.
His lungs emptied instantly.
Before Daito had fully recovered—
SWOOOSH!
Cassian pivoted.
His backfist carved through the sky.
CRACK!
Monday barely managed to raise his shoulder before the strike connected. His head snapped sideways.
BRZZT!
Blue sparks scattered through the clouds.
Yet he refused to yield.
POW–PANG–THWACK!
He answered immediately.
A left jab.
A right cross.
An elbow.
A spinning heel kick.
Every movement chained perfectly into the next but Cassian flowed around them like water.
He slipped beneath one strike. Redirected another with the edge of his wrist. Allowed a third to skim harmlessly across his shoulder.
The dance continued.
* * *
FWOOSH!
Daito suddenly dropped low. His leg swept across the empty sky.
Cassian jumped.
Exactly as Daito expected.
SWOOSH!
Monday was already above him.
His fist descended.
BOOOOOOM!!
Cassian crossed both arms.
The punch landed squarely against his guard.
The pressure rippled outward, splitting another layer of clouds.
Before Cassian's feet could stabilize—
ZOOOM!
Daito exploded upward.
His shoulder crashed into Cassian's abdomen.
WHAM!
Cassian's body lifted slightly, Monday followed with a knee.
Cassian twisted sideways, as the attack grazed his ribs.
POW–PANG–KA-POW!
Daito continued.
One punch then another, then a third.
Each strike aimed at a vital point.
The floating ribs. The solar plexus. The liver. The carotid artery.
His enhanced perception mapped weaknesses in real time, adjusting every movement based on Cassian's reactions.
Monday fought differently.
He wasn't precise.
He was overwhelming.
Heavy hooks.
Explosive elbows.
Wide kicks that generated enough force to split the atmosphere.
SHWAAAM!
Together...Precision and power fused into a single relentless offensive.
For the first time...Cassian stopped smiling.
Not because he was angry,but because he had begun concentrating.
A punch slipped through.
THUD!
It struck his ribs.
Another followed.
CRACK!
His jaw turned slightly.
Then a knee.
BOOM!
His side absorbed the impact.
Blood filled his mouth.
He tasted iron.
He laughed.
"...YES!"
His eyes gleamed with excitement.
"This..."
He wiped the blood away.
"...This is what I've been searching for!"
Instead of retreating...
SHWOO!
He advanced straight into the storm.
Daito's jab shot toward his throat.
FWOO!
Cassian slipped outside its path.
His fingers wrapped around Daito's wrist.
With one smooth motion he twisted.
Daito's body flipped through the air.
But before Cassian could capitalize, Monday slammed into him shoulder-first.
KABOOOOOOM!!
All three fighters crashed together.
The collision erupted into a shockwave so violent that the clouds beneath them split apart from horizon to horizon.
They separated.
BOOOM!
Only to collide again an instant later.
* * *
Daito feinted low.
Cassian instinctively lowered his guard.
The feint transformed into an upward hook.
BAM!
Cassian's head turned.
Not much but just eough.
His counter arrived immediately as a perfectly straight punch.
THOOOOM!!
It struck Daito across the face.
His body spun violently through the air.
Yet before momentum could carry him away—
GWAAM!
He regained balance.
His feet touched nothing.
Still...he stopped.
Resetting his stance in midair.
Monday never allowed breathing room.
POW–POW–POW–BAM!
POW–PANG–THWACK–KA-POW!
His fists became a blur.
One.
Two.
Three.
Ten.
Twenty.
An endless chain of rapid strikes.
Cassian blocked most, redirected many , and yet one slipped through.
POW!
His shoulder snapped backward.
He answered instantly with his knee drove upward.
WHACK!
Monday's stomach absorbed the impact.
The air exploded from his lungs.
"...Kgh—!"
His body folded.
But instead of retreating...he smiled.
His hand shot downward.
Grabbing Cassian's leg.
"Got you."
He pulled.
Cassian's balance shifted by the smallest fraction.
It was enough.
SWOOSH!
Daito descended from directly above.
His heel crashed downward.
KRAAAAAAAK!!
Cassian rolled away at the last possible instant.
The axe kick missed.
Even so, the compressed force split the sky beneath it, leaving a massive scar through the ground stretching for kilometers.
* * *
Again.
They reset with no recovery, no hesitation, and only continuation.
Three shadows suspended above the world. Every exchange refined them further. Daito's movements became cleaner,sharper,and more deadlier.
Monday's rhythm became increasingly unpredictable. His speed no longer resembled lightning. It resembled instinct itself.
Cassian adapted.
Every failed defense became a lesson. Every successful counter became another adjustment. He wasn't simply surviving. He was evolving alongside them.
The three martial artists climbed higher with every exchange until even the clouds lay far beneath their feet.
The stars themselves seemed close enough to touch.
One final collision.
Three fists launched simultaneously.
Three perfectly timed counters.
Three absolute commitments.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Bone met bone.
The heavens exploded.
A shockwave rolled across the upper atmosphere, powerful enough to be seen from every corner of the town as a ring of white light racing across the sky.
When the light finally faded...all three warriors still stood.
Breathing heavily, bruised and bleeding.
Smiling.
The battle had surpassed victory. It had surpassed defeat. It had become something far rarer.
A meeting between three monsters...Who had finally found others capable of standing beside them.
And somewhere, deep within Cassian's eyes...A new emotion quietly emerged.
Not excitement, not joy but expectation.
Because he knew...The true climax of this battle...Still hadn't arrived.
To be continued...