At the same time, Shin and Fist's battle grew even more intense. Shin, wielding his heavy blade, unleashed fierce phantom slashes that showed his mastery in swordsmanship. Fist countered with explosive punches charged with raw Chaos essence, detonating shockwaves around them.
Then Fist activated one of his beast techniques. He was more of a close-range enhancer, his fighting style similar to a berserker.
In this world, there were Anomalies, corrupted versions of monsters, and Mythical Beasts, ancient creatures known across generations.
Long ago, it was said that animals were the ones who even learned how to use Khaos energy before humans. They evolved, becoming new species and stronger, intelligent, some could even speak as they increased and developed, they even became mythical, each beast possesses powerful Khaos cores. These cores could be harvested and cultivated by the Khaos user. Once fused into their aperture, they could channel energy into the core to inherit the beast's strength and trait. Khaos users who didn't do this were often called beast wilders.
Heaven is fair, beast wilders are granted the beast strength and trait, but it always comes at a cost and backlash.
The beast core Fist had fused with was that of a Blood Rhino; it had crazy strength features, a fierce and stubborn creature. It was considered a lower-tier beast, but its raw power and endurance were unmatched. His eyes glowed red as the transformation began, veins bulging, metal plates shifting, and a low snarl rumbling from his throat. A long horn came out of his forehead.
His cybernetic arms merged seamlessly with the Blood Rhino energy, releasing a crimson aura. He charged at Shin like a rampaging beast. Shin braced, his sword flashing in arcs of phantom light, the two forces colliding violently, and both landed in a Green Zone. They looked at themselves before teleporting away. By the green zone.
Four zones were already occupied, leaving only one unclaimed. The rest of the players scattered, fighting brutally over the last spot. Blood filled the air as the number of survivors dropped rapidly to about nine.
Meanwhile, Kurogami was still locked in battle with Verrak.
Verrak was smart enough not to let Kurogami close in. He launched a relentless barrage of missiles, the explosions lighting up the arena like a war zone. He had a Gatling gun attached to his armor and a scope locked on target, firing constantly from a distance.
Kurogami could only keep dodging, using his jumps and momentum boosters to evade the rain of explosions. The blasts erupted all around him, smoke, debris flying everywhere. They were at least fifty steps apart, but Verrak's aim was deadly accurate.
If Kurogami had mistimed even a single dodge, he would've been hit by the attack. That was how fast and precise Verrak's attacks were.
Through the communication lens, Daichi's face appeared.
"You sure you're holding up?"
Kurogami smiled faintly.
"This is nothing."
He glanced around and noticed the scattered weapon caches across the field. Without hesitation, he dashed through the chaos, grabbing everything he could.
A launcher. A belt of grenades. A long spear. A plasma blaster.
He snatched each one, sliding them into his pack while dodging missiles in a blur of motion.
Verrak, noticing this, gritted his teeth. His ammunition was running low, but he still had one final trick. The plating on his back shifted, expanding into a massive armored scorpion tail, linking with his metallic frame.
His sensors locked onto Kurogami. The tail began charging energy, glowing brighter with every second. He wasn't planning to miss this time.
Kurogami, still weaving between explosions, raised his head slightly, his eyes narrowing with calm intensity.
"Finally," he muttered. "You're serious now."
Scorpion tail fired a massive red-energy explosion cannon toward Kurogami.
Kurogami dashed straight toward it.
At first glance, it looked suicidal. The spectators gasped in disbelief, "Is he gone mad? Why would anyone charge directly into such an attack?" The announcer's voice cracked with excitement, "Oh my god! White monkey is about to clash with it head-on!"
But just before impact, Kurogami shifted his stance and slid low beneath the blast. The beam grazed past him, missing entirely.
He raised a launcher he'd grabbed earlier and fired. Scorpion's cannon shot went far behind before exploding. The impact was like a miniature nuke going off, a blinding explosion that shook the arena. Buildings were shattered, walls were blown apart, and debris rained down like dust.
Verrak barely had time to react attack. Faster towards him, the attack, many shots left a strain on his body, but he wanted to fight without defense. He immediately summoned his armor,
"Chaos Armor: Tortoise Shield!"
A shimmering shell of energy surrounded his body, sealing him in a sphere of solid defense. Even his tail was covered. As the blast waves roared over him, Verrak smirked confidently.
"My Tortoise Shield can withstand multiple direct hits. Nothing to worry about."
He stood calm inside the smoke and fire. But that was exactly what Kurogami had been waiting for.
Through the haze, Kurogami's silhouette flickered. He gripped his spear, the weapon extending and glowing faintly. His form blurred, then vanished.
In a heartbeat, the sound of impact echoed.
BAM.
The spear strike landed cleanly, sending Verrak's armored body hurtling backward nearly forty steps. The ground cracked under the force.
Verrak's eyes widened. His shield, the unbreakable Tortoise Shield, was fractured. A thick line of cracks spread across its surface.
"Impossible…" he muttered.
Still falling, Verrak reloaded his launchers, using his six metallic legs to stabilize as he hit the ground. The impact sent tremors through the arena, but he recovered quickly and resumed firing.
Missiles and plasma blasts filled the air. Kurogami weaved between them, returning fire with his own launcher. Explosions flashed like strobe lights, both of them locked in a deadly exchange.
While fighting, Kurogami noticed something: Verrak's flaw.
Whenever he defends, he can't attack.
That realization changed everything.
Kurogami began tightening the circle, weaving faster, moving unpredictably, firing off smaller projectiles, and forcing Verrak to react defensively.
Block.
Pause.
Block again.
Verrak could barely get a shot off. Kurogami's relentless pace forced him into pure defense. Sweat rolled down Verrak's face; he was being cornered.
Now, only about twenty steps separated them.
Outside the battle stage, Kai and Shin met.
"That was an intense battle," Shin said, ready to relax and talk casually. But before he could continue, Kaia walked right past him. Her expression was tense, almost cold.
"Kaia, what's wrong?" Shin asked, catching up.
"We have to hurry," she replied sharply.
They both rushed toward the main stadium, the viewing section packed with roaring spectators. As soon as they sat, Shin pressed again,
"Kaia, what's going on?"
Kai didn't answer. She immediately opened their portfolio. Together, they had managed to earn around 25 million drakons from the earlier fight. Combined with their 5 million in savings, they had roughly 30 million drakons in total.
Shin watched as Kaia worked the system interface quickly, her fingers moved fast as if her life was in danger.. He was confused and worried until he saw her gaze fix on the display showing the white monkey, the man fighting in the arena. Without hesitation, Kaia navigated to the betting section and placed all their assets on him.
Shin froze. His mouth fell open.
"You, you just threw away everything!" he shouted. "Are you insane?! We'll have nothing left, not even for food or a single training session! If this goes wrong, we'll be forced to take loans, and you know how deadly City loans are!"
Kai said nothing. Her focus was unwavering, her fingers confirming the bet.
Meanwhile, Ryu, deep in his training chamber a distance away from the den, received a notification. He opened his lens interface; everyone of them had one embedded, and immediately saw Shin's alert.
"Yo, what's up?" Ryu asked.
Shin's tone was sharp. "Looks like Kaia's
lost it, man. She just bet everything on some guy named White Monkey! She thinks it's Kurogami from school."
Ryu blinked. "Wait… what?" He opened the joint account, and his eyes widened as he saw it drained to zero.
"She really did it…" he muttered.
Shin was still fuming. "This is crazy, right? Tell me this is crazy!"
But Kai finally spoke, her tone calm yet certain.
"It's Kurogami," she said quietly.
Shin froze. "What?"
Kaia looked at her display again, eyes locked on the screen. "That man, White Monkey, is Kurogami."
Ryu, still on the other end, stopped moving.
"…You're sure?"
Kai nodded. "I'm sure."
A tense silence followed before Ryu smirked faintly.
"If that's true," he said, "then this might just be the best bet we've ever made."
He closed the call, grabbed his jacket, and bolted out of the chamber. "Send me the live feed," he told them through the lens. As he ran toward the den, the feed from Kaia's screen appeared in his view. But still, he ran towards the den. He needed to see it for himself.