Chapter 135: The Backup
BOOOOM!
Another explosion echoed across Playmore.
The city had become a battlefield composed of overlapping wars, with humans, Savages, Freakers, monsters, Royal Guards, Stars, and Silver Moon all fighting across the same ruined streets.
Somewhere within that chaos, the King was still rampaging. Mardale was still fighting. Champagne remained unconscious. And Daito Greyhell was gone.
He was fighting alone in a world beyond the gates. Yet despite everything that had happened, something had finally changed. For the first time since the battle began, the heroes were pushing back.
The battle for Playmore raged on.
Bzzz.....
Booommm....
Lightning continued splitting the skies while monsters roared through the streets and explosions echoed from one district to another.
Yet for one brief moment, away from the worst of the chaos, inside an abandoned building near the southern district, something unexpected happened.
Champagne opened his eyes.
SPLASH!
Cold water struck his face.
"GAAAH!"
His upper body shot upright as he immediately grabbed his head.
"AHH!"
"My face!"
"It feels like I was hit by a giant hammer... or something!"
Champagne winced and looked around the room.
His body was covered in bandages, and his shirt was missing completely. Thick wrappings covered parts of his chest and shoulders, while bruises and cuts remained visible across the exposed areas of his body.
Across from him, Brandon sat calmly on a broken crate.
"You kind of did."
Champagne looked down at himself.
"You patched me up?"
Brandon nodded.
"Someone had to."
Champagne slowly stretched his neck, immediately regretting it when pain shot through his body.
"Damn..."
Then his expression changed as his memories came flooding back.
The Boss, Daito, and the attack.
His eyes widened.
"Daito."
Brandon's expression became serious.
"You remember?"
Champagne lowered his head.
"Unfortunately."
For the first time in a long time, Champagne looked genuinely guilty.
"I almost killed him."
Brandon remained silent, and neither man spoke for several seconds.
Finally, Brandon broke the silence.
"You weren't yourself."
Champagne gave a bitter laugh.
"Tell that to Daito."
Brandon then explained everything that had happened while Champagne had been unconscious, describing the destruction, Daito's reaction, and how close the fight had come to ending with Champagne's death.
Champagne listened quietly.
When Brandon finished, he rubbed his forehead.
"No."
Brandon frowned.
"What?"
"The Boss's power."
Champagne looked up.
"It isn't possession."
Brandon's expression tightened.
"Then what was it?"
"Mind control."
The room immediately became quiet.
Champagne continued.
"The first time he touched me during our fight, I felt it. He got inside my head."
He paused, remembering the sensation.
"But this time..."
Champagne's face darkened.
"This time it was stronger."
"Way stronger."
Brandon folded his arms.
"So physical contact strengthens it?"
"Maybe."
Champagne thought carefully.
"But something doesn't add up."
Brandon waited as Champagne slowly raised his upper body.
"If his power worked the way we think it does, then back at the Underground Auction..."
He looked toward Brandon.
"He should've ordered me, Zachia, and Mardale to kill each other."
His expression hardened.
"Or he could've ordered us to hand over the Stimuleigh briefcase."
Brandon's eyes narrowed.
"That's true."
"He had opportunities."
Champagne nodded.
"Exactly."
"Which means there must be limitations."
Brandon considered the possibility.
"Like ultimate techniques."
"Powerful..."
"But temporary."
Champagne suddenly snapped his fingers.
"That's it."
He looked toward Brandon.
"Maybe there's a cooldown. Or a duration. Or maybe he can only control one target properly at a time."
Brandon slowly nodded as the explanation made sense for a moment.
Then, something changed in Brandon's expression.
"Wait."
Champagne immediately noticed.
"What?"
Brandon looked directly at him.
"The border guards."
The room suddenly felt colder, as Champagne froze.
The memory returned instantly. Silver Moon, the Boss, and the checkpoint. There had been no physical contact. No fight and no struggle.
Just words.
One command.
Then, dozens of guards had obeyed. Afterward, they had turned on each other and killed each other.
Champagne slowly lowered the water bottle in his hand.
His smile disappeared.
"No..."
Brandon finished the thought.
"He never touched any of them."
Silence.
The two stared at each other as the implications began connecting in their minds.
"No..." Champagne repeated. "That can't be right."
But both of them already knew that the pieces were fitting together too perfectly.
Brandon swallowed.
"What if..."
He hesitated, neither of them wanted to say it.
"What if he was holding back?"
Champagne stared at him.
The realization hit him like lightning.
Back during the fight, back at the Auction, and back during every encounter. The Boss had never seemed worried.
He had never panicked, he had never lost his composure, almost as though he hadn't been fighting seriously at all.
As though he had simply been observing, learning, and basically playing.
Champagne immediately grabbed the communicator.
"Everyone."
SSHHK!
Static crackled through the device.
Then voices answered.
Aerin.
Wei-Wan.
Fah-jin.
Monday.
Mardale.
Champagne's voice became unusually serious.
"We have a problem."
The communication network went quiet.
"If Brandon and I are right..."
Champagne took a breath.
"The Boss's ability isn't limited to touch."
There was silence on the other end.
Then Wei-Wan asked, "What do you mean?"
Champagne looked at Brandon before answering.
"It means everything we've seen might've been him holding back."
The entire network went silent.
Mardale's heart sank. Monday stopped mid-step. Fah-jin tightened her grip on her weapon. Even Aerin felt a chill run through her.
Champagne continued.
"If he was testing us all along..."
"If every fight was him measuring us..."
His voice became heavier.
"Then Daito isn't fighting the Boss we know."
The words echoed through every communicator.
"He's fighting the real Boss."
Far away, beyond Nyx's portal and beyond reality itself, Daito Greyhell stood before the Boss in a desert filled with monster carcasses and jagged stone.
For the first time, the Boss smiled.
It wasn't his usual playful smile.
It wasn't his confident smile.
It was something different.
The smile of a man who no longer had any reason to hide what he truly was.
And suddenly, Daito felt it too.
The pressure.
The terrifying feeling that perhaps the battle had only just begun.
* * *
The communicator went silent as nobody had anything else to say.
The truth was simple.
Whether their theory was right or wrong, nothing could be done now. Daito and the Boss had already crossed into another world, and the outcome of their confrontation was beyond everyone else's reach.
Brandon leaned against a broken wall.
"Thinking about it won't help."
Champagne sat quietly for a moment before finally sighing.
"Yeah."
Brandon folded his arms.
"All we can do now is wait."
He looked toward Champagne.
"Wait and see who comes back through that portal."
Champagne stared at the floor, his expression unreadable.
Then—
THUD!
He kicked the ground with the soles of his feet and stood in one fluid motion.
"Aight."
Brandon blinked.
"What are you doing?"
Champagne ignored him.
Instead, he stretched his neck.
CRACK!
Then his shoulders.
POP!
CRACK!
His back.
KRRRRK!
His knees.
TICK!
His wrists.
POP!
Brandon visibly recoiled.
"Dude."
Champagne twisted his torso.
More snaps echoed through the room.
"What?"
Brandon pointed at him.
"Doesn't that hurt?"
Champagne looked genuinely confused.
"No."
"It feels amazing."
Brandon's eye twitched.
"Amazing?"
"Yeah."
Champagne bent backward unnaturally far.
CRACK!
"Loosens the joints."
Brandon immediately looked away.
"Nope."
Champagne looked at him.
"What?"
"Nope."
Brandon shook his head.
"I can't watch this."
Champagne laughed.
"You act like I'm breaking my bones."
"It sounds like you are."
Brandon shook his head and settled for stretching only his shoulders, deciding that was considerably safer and much less horrifying.
Meanwhile, Champagne continued warming up.
He moved through high kicks, side kicks, rotating punches, and shifting stances, constantly changing his feet and hands while maintaining a smoothness that made his movements resemble flowing water.
Brandon watched for a moment before smiling slightly.
"Must be nice."
Champagne paused.
"What?"
"Being able to move like that."
Brandon stretched his large shoulders.
"Being agile, flexible, and free."
He looked down at himself.
"I've always been built like a tank."
Champagne grinned.
"Trust me being built like you has its advantages."
Brandon chuckled.
"Maybe."
Champagne grabbed his jacket and wrapped it around his waist, leaving the bandages around his chest and stomach exposed.
"Anyway."
He rolled his shoulders.
"We should go help the others."
Before he could finish the sentence—
SHHHHHHHHHK!!
A spear screamed through the air.
It was fast, deadly, and aimed directly at Champagne's head.
Brandon's eyes widened.
The spear was already upon them, yet Champagne didn't even turn around.
He didn't look he simply lifted one leg.
THUNK!
His foot struck the spear head, knocking it completely off course and destroying its momentum.
The weapon spun harmlessly through the air.
Brandon immediately stepped forward.
BOOM!!
His fist slammed into the shaft.
The spear transformed into a projectile.
The air exploded around it as the weapon shot away with tremendous force.
Miles away—
KRAAAASH!!
Four Royal Guards were struck simultaneously.
"Uaahh!!"
"Arrggg!"
BOOOM!
CRAASH!
Buildings collapsed around them as dust and debris erupted into the sky, and the four guards disappeared over the horizon.
Silence.
The remaining three Royal Guards froze.
One slowly lowered his weapon.
"..."
The second blinked.
"...Did..."
The third finished the sentence.
"...Did they just hit our spear back?"
Champagne finally turned around.
"Oh."
He looked across the battlefield.
"There were seven of you."
Brandon cracked his knuckles.
"Three now."
The remaining Royal Guards cautiously stepped backward.
What disturbed them most wasn't simply the strength.
It wasn't the speed. It wasn't even the casual destruction they had just witnessed. It was the fact that neither man had spoken.
There had been no warning and no signal.
Yet they had reacted perfectly. As though they had rehearsed the movement countless times. As though they shared one brain.
One of the Royal Guards gritted his teeth.
"How did you—"
Champagne interrupted him.
"A lot of fighting."
Brandon nodded.
"You stop needing words."
The Royal Guards tightened their grips.
Their Savage Powers activated.
SWOOOSH!
FWOOOSH!
WHOOSH!
Golden energy erupted around them as one guard wielded twin spears, another summoned floating blades, and the final guard formed a suit of royal armor made from crystal-like energy.
Champagne's grin widened.
"Perfect."
Brandon sighed.
"Please don't break too many buildings."
Champagne pointed toward himself.
"Me?"
He glanced at Brandon.
"You're literally talking to the wrong guy."
Champagne immediately pointed toward the destroyed street behind them.
"You punched a spear so hard it launched four people into another district."
Brandon paused.
"...True."
The Royal Guards finally lost their patience.
"ATTACK!"
All three charged.
SWOOSH!
Champagne's smile became dangerous.
"There we go."
He rolled his neck one final time.
CRACK.
"Needed some warm-up material."
WHOOSH!
Dragon energy flickered around his body. Brandon stepped beside him.
CRACK!
The pavement beneath their feet shattered.
The Royal Guards suddenly realized something terrifying. These weren't the legendary members of the Outsiders. These weren't the monsters people talked about.
These weren't Daito Greyhell or Monday Valhalla.
These were simply... the backup.
To be continued...