The valley shook with a thunderous roar.
Empowered by Frozen Man's rage-soaked enhancements, the snowmen charged like a herd of white gorillas, fists pounding the ground, icy aura flaring so hard the air crackled.
"Brat! If you've got the guts, crawl out here! I'll tear you apart myself!"
Frozen Man was drenched in his own blood, eyes manic, panting like some wounded monster that refused to die.
Ryuuto's voice dropped from above, loud enough to punch through the howling wind.
"You're looking for me with that much enthusiasm? Cute. I'm literally right above your head. Feel free to climb up anytime, tough guy."
Every snowman froze mid-step and tilted its head upward, fury swirling through their beady eyes.
Frozen Man snarled, "Perfect. You picked your own grave. Don't you dare blame me for getting serious!"
He swung his massive ice cannon toward Ryuuto, channeling every last scrap of his power. A blinding aurora surged forth, tearing through the sky like a divine spear.
Ryuuto didn't move.
He just floated there, arms loose, expression mildly amused as the freezing beam raced toward him.
Not dodging. Not flinching. Just… watching.
Frozen Man's face twisted. Part fear, part delight, part psychotic desperation.
He wanted—needed—to see Ryuuto get obliterated.
But fate doesn't do requests.
Ryuuto inhaled once.
Then—
[Eight Inner Gates… First Gate: Open!]
[Second Gate: Rest Gate… Open!]
[Third Gate: Life Gate… Open!]
[Fourth Gate: Pain Gate… Open!]
[Fifth Gate: Limit Gate… Open!]
[Sixth Gate: View Gate… Open!]
[Seventh Gate: Shock Gate… Open!]
The world detonated.
A golden explosion swallowed the freezing beam, ripping it into glittering shards of ice that spiraled across the sky like falling stars.
The sight was beautiful.
The silence that followed was not.
Every snowman trembled violently. Their instincts screamed. Their souls curled inward. The aura surrounding Ryuuto was so dense it felt like a divine creature had descended to judge them.
Frozen Man's voice cracked.
"T-that's impossible! You… you're cheating! Illusions! Some kind of stunt! There's no way you just tanked my full power!"
"Then come verify it yourself," Ryuuto said with a crooked grin, drawing a finger across his neck in a leisurely taunt.
Before Frozen Man could fire again, Ryuuto vanished.
Then reappeared in his face.
One punch. That was all it took.
Frozen Man's feet left the ground. Blood sprayed in thin arcs. His bones groaned like collapsing ice.
Pain detonated across his body. His senses twisted. His organs felt like someone had thrown them into a blender. Words wouldn't come. Resistance wasn't even a concept anymore.
Ryuuto didn't stop.
"Relax. I'm not killing you," he said calmly, grabbing Frozen Man by the hair and slamming him into the ground hard enough to carve a human-shaped crater. "You get to enjoy this. Thor and Magneto were grinning ear to ear when I was done with them."
The snowmen covered their eyes.
Some whimpered.
Some fainted on the spot.
Ryuuto kept beating Frozen Man for ten whole minutes before finally stepping back and shaking out his fist.
"You done? Or should I go for the head next?"
Frozen Man sprawled across the snow, twitching like a broken refrigerator. "S-stop… I surrender! I can't… I can't fight anymore!"
"About time." Ryuuto flicked him aside with all the care of throwing out a used tissue.
Frozen Man slammed into a nearby ice pillar, snapped three bones, and let out an unmanly squeal.
Right then, Shion's voice chimed in Ryuuto's mind.
[Ding! Host has perfectly defeated Frozen Man! Luck is overflowing! All remaining puzzle shards have been acquired! A new data package has been synthesized!]
Ryuuto smirked. "Knew it. Best admin ever. You always feed me well, Shion."
[So, Master, do you want to open the package now?]
"Hah. No way. Good loot should be savored. I'll open it slowly later."
[...Sure. Whatever makes you weirdly happy.]
Shion sounded completely done. Cute, though, in that tsundere-system way Ryuuto found oddly motivating.
[By the way, Host, you also earned one spin on the Lucky Wheel. Spin now?]
"Obviously. Let's get that jackpot."
The wheel flashed into existence and spun at blinding speed.
[Ding! Congratulations. You've won a Mystery Mission. Proceed immediately to the White House in New York and complete the designated objective. Reward: unexpected surprise.]
Ryuuto's grin sharpened. "Surprises? My favorite."
A burst of chakra, a streak of red light, and he launched himself into the sky.
Behind him, the snowmen collapsed onto the ground like deflated balloons, finally able to breathe now that the walking natural disaster had flown off.
Meanwhile, far away in New York…
The White House bristled with weapons, soldiers, and high-tech defenses.
Reinforcements flooded in from every direction.
As if something terrifying was coming.
As if they already knew.