The battle at the pier had been going on for nearly an hour.
Po's fur was soaked with sweat, clinging to his body, and his honest panda face was full of exhaustion.
His left eye was swollen until it was just a slit, there were several bloodstains on his right arm, and the fur on his belly was messy, as if it had been hit by a typhoon.
Garou's situation was no better. His bodysuit had been torn into rags, revealing a lean, muscular body covered in bruises.
The blood at the corner of his mouth had dried, and his left shoulder was clearly dislocated, but he had forced the bone back into place using his muscles.
Both stood in their respective positions, panting heavily.
The surrounding shipping containers had toppled over, and the concrete ground was pitted and scarred, as if it had been plowed by artillery shells.
"Can you still fight?" Garou wiped the sweat from his face, his golden pupils still bright.
Po rubbed his sore arms and grinned: "I can still eat three bowls of noodles."
"That means you can still fight."
Garou charged again, but this time his speed was noticeably slower.
Po met him, his bear paw strikes not as swift as before.
Their fists collided, making a dull thud.
Then, both stepped back a few paces.
Garou looked down at his fists; his knuckles were swollen and purple. He flexed his fingers, and his bones made a cracking sound.
Po also looked at his paws; the pads of his palms were chafed, oozing beads of blood.
"Is your body made of iron?" Po asked, panting.
"Is your belly filled with springs?" Garou countered.
The two looked at each other and laughed in unison.
In this smile, there was no fighting spirit, only pure exhaustion and mutual recognition.
"I can't fight anymore."
Po said straightforwardly. He sat down on the ground with a thud, his round body causing the ground to shake.
"If we keep fighting, I won't even have the strength to go back to the sushi restaurant."
Garou did not continue his attack. He walked over to a relatively intact shipping container, sat down against the metal, and tilted his head to look at the night sky.
"You are strong."
Garou spoke suddenly, his voice lacking its previous arrogance.
"Stronger than most heroes I've met, maybe even reaching the level of an S-Rank hero."
Po scratched his head: "You're amazing too. When I was in the Valley of Peace, except for Master, no one has ever made me fight this hard."
"Your master?"
"Yeah, a red panda, very small, but his kung fu is amazing." Po said, a nostalgic expression on his face.
"He taught me many things, not just kung fu, but also—how should I put it—the principles of being a good person."
Garou was silent for a moment.
"I have a master too," he said suddenly. "An old man, his martial arts are far stronger than mine."
"Then why do you fight heroes?" Po asked curiously.
"That red skull above your head—the system says you are in the Raid Faction."
Garou turned to look at Po, a flash of complex emotion in his golden pupils.
"Because heroes are hypocritical."
His voice was calm, but every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.
"Many heroes are just fishing for fame, not genuinely protecting the weak, but merely 'bullying' monsters to satisfy their own vanity."
Po was stunned for a moment.
"So I want to become a monster," Garou continued.
"Absolute evil, absolute strength. Strong enough to make everyone afraid, strong enough that no one dares to resist."
"But—" Po scratched his head.
"You didn't want me to fight in the restaurant earlier because you didn't want to hurt Boss Guan Gu and Yuna, right?"
Garou's words stuck in his throat.
"If you really wanted to be a monster, you wouldn't care about those things," Po said seriously.
"Master said that true evil doesn't care about others. But you do, so you aren't a monster."
"What do you know?" Garou looked away.
"I don't," Po said honestly.
"I'm just a panda; I used to only know how to eat buns. But Master taught me one thing—to protect others, not because they are the majority, but because they need protection."
He stood up and brushed the dust off his body.
"You want to create a World where no one is bullied, right?" Po looked at Garou.
"Then you should protect the weak, not fight those who protect the weak."
Garou did not speak.
He just leaned against the shipping container, watching the sparse stars in the night sky.
After a long time, he spoke: "Maybe you have a point."
Po blinked, a bit surprised.
"But a person's dream will not change." Garou stood up and stretched his stiff body.
"I will create that World in my own way."
"Then are we still enemies?" Po asked.
Garou looked at him, the corner of his mouth curling up.
"I suppose so," he paused. "But no more fighting today. I'm going to find a place to sleep and think about how to hunt you players tomorrow."
"Oh." Po nodded, "Then I'm going back to eat noodles."
The two just like that, one walked east, one walked west.
Neither looked back.
When Po limped back to the sushi restaurant, it was already eleven o'clock at night.
The lights in the shop were still on.
He pushed open the door and saw Shirou Emiya wiping the bar, while Uta sat on a chair, holding a cup of tea.
Boss Guan Gu and Yuna were already asleep, leaning against the sofa in the corner, covered by a blanket.
"You're back." Shirou looked up at him.
"Yeah." Po nodded and sat down at the bar.
Shirou turned and went into the kitchen, and soon brought out a steaming bowl of Zha Jiang Mian.
"I saved it for you."
Po looked at the bowl of noodles, his eyes suddenly becoming a little moist.
He picked up his chopsticks and began to eat in large mouthfuls. The chewiness of the noodles, the rich fragrance of the sauce, and the crispness of the cucumber exploded with the taste of happiness in his mouth.
"Delicious." Po said indistinctly.
Uta put down her teacup, looking at the wounds on Po's body.
"That guy named Garou, he's strong, right?"
"Yeah." Po nodded. "Extremely strong. And he learns during the battle, getting stronger the more he fights."
"Did you win?"
"No." Po was honest. "We tied."
Shirou's action of wiping the bar paused.
"He left?"
"He left." Po slurped his noodles. "He said he'd come back to hunt us tomorrow."
"Then why are you still so relaxed?" Uta raised an eyebrow.
"Because we aren't fighting today anymore." Po said as a matter of course. "And I'm hungry; I have to be full before fighting."
Shirou looked at this honest panda, the corner of his mouth curling into an almost imperceptible arc.
Uta listened to their conversation from the side and suddenly spoke: "That Garou, his target is all players, right?"
"Probably." Po nodded. "Then he'll come for me sooner or later."
Uta stood up and picked up the headphones she had placed on the chair. "I need to be prepared."
"Are you also very strong?" Po asked curiously.
Uta didn't answer, just put on her headphones and turned to walk toward the door.
"See you tomorrow." She left these words behind and pushed the door open to leave.
The shop returned to quiet.
Po finished the last bite of noodles and let out a satisfied burp.
"Shirou, another bowl."
"None left." Shirou took the empty bowl. "I'll make more tomorrow."
"Oh." Po was a little disappointed, but quickly perked up. "Then I'm going to sleep. I have to get up early tomorrow to make buns."
He stood up and walked toward the small room in the back kitchen.
Shirou watched his back as he left and suddenly spoke: "Po."
"Hmm?"
"You did well."
Po was stunned for a moment, then grinned. "Thank you."
The night deepened, and the lights of the sushi restaurant finally went out.
On the streets of New York, Garou leaned against the corner of a building, closing his eyes to rest.
In his mind, he kept replaying tonight's battle.
That panda's Tai Chi, that technique of using softness to overcome hardness, and that sentence— "You should protect the weak, not fight those who protect the weak."
"Protect the weak—" Garou murmured to himself.
He opened his eyes and looked at the moon in the night sky.
"I will do it in my own way."
He stood up, stretched his body, and walked toward the depths of the city.
Tomorrow, he would continue to hunt.
But tonight, he just wanted to get a good night's sleep.