To my great relief, dealing with the resurrected Phoenix didn't take long. In this form it definitely had a Dragon-level threat rating, but compared to monsters like Asura Kabuto, the "chick" was just a punching bag.
Before long, using Whirlwind Fist techniques, I sliced its suit open in several places and, seizing the opening, simply tore it off like a second layer of skin. Whatever power it had left the monster in the blink of an eye. All that remained was to finish it off and make sure that, with the suit destroyed, it wouldn't come back to life again.
With that sudden problem out of the way, I returned to my original route and soon reached the stadium where the largest martial arts tournament in the world was being held today. Judging by the people still evacuating from the stands, if monsters had shown up, it had only happened recently… or so I hoped.
I vaulted over the stadium walls and landed on the very top row of the spectator seats. From there, I could see what was happening on the arena floor below.
First, the monsters. I counted eight, including three enormous crows, but only one of them stood out with a terrifying aura. It was a humanoid, four-eyed giant, and its presence surpassed that of every Dragon-level monster I'd met before by at least a head.
As for the humans, there were eight of them too, but I only cared about two. They looked remarkably alike, both tanned and dressed in thick blue martial arts uniforms with sparkling stars on the chest: Suiko and, apparently, her older brother Suryu.
Right now the two of them were fighting the monsters to protect the others. The guy was handling the ones that vaguely resembled humans, and the girl was taking on the giant crows. The fight had only just begun, but it was already clear how it would end. Under the onslaught of two masters of the Void Fist, the monsters dropped to the ground one after another.
None of it bothered the four-eyed hulk in the slightest. He stood motionless, gazing indifferently down at the battle from the height of his enormous frame.
Only a couple of seconds after I landed on my feet outside the stadium, it was already over. Suryu and Suiko had quickly cut down the horde of monsters, which included at least two of Demon-level threat, but then they did something foolish and charged the giant, and they were defeated instantly.
In a single moment, the pair's winning streak was cut short. With one wave of his hand, not even a strike, just lowering his fist straight down, the monster pressed their bodies into the already battered arena.
Then, deliberately slowly compared to the blow from his hand, but still monstrously fast overall, the monster lifted his foot and began to bring it down on Suiko and her brother, who lay in a small artificial crater.
Luckily for them, by then I had already dropped down to the arena level and even crossed its entire expanse, scooping both of them up in one dash and carrying them out from under the attack.
"Phew. Looks like I made it in time…"
I set my burden back on the ground and quickly turned toward the monster. Luckily, he hadn't tried to take advantage of my vulnerable position and was still standing in the same spot.
"That's an understatement." Suiko gave a strained smile, shut her eyes apologetically, and winced, probably from the pain of her earlier injuries. "Damn. If I'd known heroes have to fight monsters like this, I would've held off on begging to join S-Class…"
"Can you move?" I asked, not taking my eyes off the monster.
"Yeah." She nodded and quickly got to her feet. "My brother and I beat each other up pretty good during the tournament, and then those things… but I'm tough!"
"Then take him." I nodded toward Suryu, who lay on the ground, apparently knocked out after the recent "fight." "Them, too." This time my nod was directed at the small crowd of people still left in the arena. "And get out of here."
"But… understood. Just be careful. This monster… by his own words, he was once called Goketsu. He's a master who won the very first World Martial Arts Tournament."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Sighing, Suiko started doing what I'd asked, while I headed toward the giant, who was calmly waiting for us.
"Know this: you don't have to fight me." The moment I took a couple of steps, the monster finally opened his mouth. His voice was as calm and commanding as his appearance. "Killing you would be a waste of potential. Instead, you can become a monster and gain tremendous power."
With those words, Goketsu pulled something out of the rags that made up his clothing. It looked like a ball of pulsating organic mass, about the size of a human hand, and he tossed it at my feet.
"Eat the cell of the Monster King and join the Monster Association, on whose behalf I'm here. Do that, and you'll become one of the leaders, like me. You'll like it, because soon we will be the ones ruling the world. The time has come for everything to change. It will be a world of violence and blood. A world ruled by the strongest. Oh, and if you happen to have no appetite, then I'll have to kill you. Be reborn as a monster and rule the world with us… or die."
"Can I get a third option?" I asked, openly stalling so Suiko and the others could get far enough away, looking up at the monster from below. "Like, say, could I become a monster but stay as handsome as I am now, instead of turning into an ugly thing like you?"
"Watch your tongue." Without so much as raising an eyebrow on any of his four eyes, Goketsu folded his arms across his chest. "And don't waste my time. Are you ready to devour the cell?"
"Mmm." I glanced over my shoulder, saw that only the two of us were left in the arena, took a stance, and shook my head. "No, I think I'll pass. All of this…"
"Fine, then. Die."
Before I could finish, Goketsu shrugged, and in the very next instant, his enormous foot filled my entire field of vision.
I was ready. Or at least I thought I was. Fully focused. And, most importantly, already in a stance meant for deflecting blows. But only a miracle let me react in time. Using every ounce of my skill, I redirected part of the force of the strike while pushing off the ground with my legs. Thanks to that, I wasn't turned into a bloody pulp, only thrown to the other side of the stadium, where my back plowed through the stands and the outer walls.
If I compared this attack to Asura's blows… no, honestly, comparing them was just stupid. It was a completely different level of power. If Asura Kabuto's berserk form was high Dragon level, then Goketsu was… well, you could call him the true peak. After that, there were only the stars.
Holy shit. I definitely didn't see this coming… he's too strong, even by monster standards. A little more and…
Somewhere at the back of my mind, I realized I had just, no more and no less, narrowly escaped death by a miracle. I climbed out of the heap of rubble I'd made with my "gentle landing" and immediately leaped to the side with all my strength. Goketsu's enormous foot was already looming over my head.
"Still resisting?" His laughing voice came from above. "Come on… try not to die while I count to three. One…"
The next three seconds stretched into an eternity. Thinking only about how to survive, I darted all over the giant stadium, dodging the lazy blows of the monster, who was openly mocking me. His immense size didn't stop him from constantly appearing behind my back, moving so fast that I dodged on reflex alone, minimizing the damage with Mountain Stream Fist techniques.
"Looks like you're nearly spent." He stopped abruptly, apparently having finally counted to three, and Goketsu gave a short grunt. "Still, you're not bad compared to the others. If my crows were still alive, I'd feed your body to them. Martial artists are their favorite food… oh, almost forgot. Still don't want to become a monster?"
The monster's words reached the edge of my consciousness, but they didn't linger there. Having finally gotten the breather I so badly needed, I immediately focused entirely on the task at hand: survive and win. It was perfectly clear that doing so without giving everything I had, and even a little more, was simply impossible.
So, acting almost on instinct, I took a deep breath, drawing in all the air I could and activating my breathing technique. Its essence was very similar to something like the Eighth Gate from Naruto. It meant removing all of my body's natural limiters and using my maximum capabilities in battle.
Naturally, a "mode" like that put a heavy strain on the body and consumed far more stamina and internal energy, since it essentially allowed me to use the entire reserve. In other words, activating the breathing technique inevitably led to brutal backlash afterward.
Until now, I had only used this technique during my training at Bang's dojo and during my sparring match with Bita. Even then, I had only used a portion of it, barely opening the inner barrier, whereas now I was about to throw it wide open. Not that I had a choice. An opponent like Goketsu simply forced me to use every means of strengthening available.
The breathing technique was fully complete in a moment, the very moment I had so badly lacked not long before. As the flow of energy surged into my body, the vessels on it swelled as if they were about to burst from the strain. My muscles expanded sharply in size, tearing my clothes in several places.
I had never felt so strong. During Goketsu's "games," I'd been thoroughly battered, though I'd managed not to take any serious wounds. Now, having healed myself with Fubuki's esper techniques and activated the breathing technique, I was at my peak.
And yet… looking at Goketsu, still standing calmly a few dozen meters away, I couldn't let my lips stretch into a victorious smile.
Our battle hadn't even truly begun, and besides, I hadn't yet seen his martial art. All this time, he hadn't used anything more complicated than an ordinary kick or punch… and in the past, he was one of the great masters. Who knew how his style had changed after he became a monster.
Damn it all… why is it that whenever I start thinking about this, I want so badly to run away?
I smirked weakly so that fear wouldn't cloud my mind, and took another step toward the towering monster ahead.
As they say, all or nothing…