Kosei felt the changes in the great ape's aura.
It used to be overbearing, flaring, and oppressive. Even being in close vicinity of the beast needed a strong will in order not to crumple and submit.
But now, the Great Ape had somewhat calmed down. It settled its weight differently. One foot back, its massive frame lowering, its closed fists rising to a guard.
It didn't feel like a wild beast anymore.
It felt like a martial artist.
He ignored fear in his heart and studied it anyway. He'd already spent the last several minutes mapping this creature down to its smallest tells—the shoulder drop, the foot drag, the chest expansion and timing before the mouth blast. He knew this beast. Whatever new trick it was trying, he'd read it the same way he'd read everything else.
His newfound appreciation for his mind gave him the confidence to win.
He was close to the next realm. He could feel it. He felt clarity that only came from genuine mortal pressure, building in him with every near-miss, every dodge, every precise counter he'd landed on the beast.
He was no longer a low-tier Martial Senior.
He was now a martial artist that could see the gates of the next realm.
He was ready.
The beast opened its maws as energy started compressing into shining light within.
It's that ranged attack!
His body was on full alert. It took the beast exactly 1.5 seconds to charge the attack, and once it finishes, it was nearly a sure hit as it instantly lands on the target. The only way to dodge was to go behind the beast.
Kosei started sprinting as he counted down in his head. He slid under the beast's legs at the right time, and now he was behind it.
Wait... it's past the timer? where's the—
All of a sudden, Kosei's body reacted on instinct—he put all of the force on his right leg and with tremendous acceleration, moved his body to the left. He felt the wind pressure graze his ear as the earth was smashed where he just was.
BOOOOM
He somersaulted as he was shocked to see he had actually dodged the beast's tail. It charged him like a spear's thrust!
Its never done that before!?
The beast pulled out its tail from the earth as it slowly turned Kosei behind it. The shining energies in it's mouth were gone.
It could cancel the attack?!
Kosei braced himself as he predicted a right jab from the beast.
He waited for the tell. Watched the frame, the weight, the eyes.
He saw it. The right shoulder dropped just a bit.
"There it is!"
Kosei already dodged even before the beast punched, to maximize his counter attack.
He was a bit shaken from the new patterns the beast made, but still, he knew the old tells that the beast had. Old habits die hard.
He was desperate. He could feel it.
One counterstrike was all he needed to ascend. It would give him the clarity he needed.
Sadly, the punch didn't come.
The right strike was a feint, and he bit on it completely.
The beast's maw suddenly glimmered and rapidly compressed energies. He was still in mid air, unable to reposition. But it was no matter, since he could definitely get under and behind it in less than a second as soon as he landed.
The beam arrived before he finished processing his escape route.
"Huh—"
It landed fully.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
The arena floor became a crater. Dust spiked upward in a column. For a moment there was nothing but white, pressure, scorching heat and the sensation of stone against every surface of his body simultaneously.
His survival instincts took over entirely.
Once the beam ended, he moved before the dust settled. He stumbled into a sprint, running away from the beast. His Martial Heart was completely spent as he was bleeding freely from his nose and ears, his arms were crushed and limp, hanging from his sides. His mask was destroyed, revealing his mangled face. His nose was crooked and his jaw hung open with missing teeth. His legs were gushing like a fountain as he placed all of his blood pressure into them to escape.
IT COULD FIRE IT INSTANTLY?!
He didn't think about Mangūsu. He didn't think about orders or clan hierarchy or punishments. He didn't think about ascending to the Master realm.
He ran for his life.
His master could be furious later. But his precious brother and master would understand if he ran for his life.
He finally made it, the edge of the arena. He launched himself above the railing—
A fist caught him mid-air.
Not the beast's.
BOOM
He cratered into the ground and lay there pitifully, genuinely unsure which direction was up.
"Who said you could leave?"
Guzo stood above him, arms folded, fox mask tilted with what felt like amusement. "Even I sat up there for an hour doing nothing but watch you maggots get massacred."
"Even I listened to orders from lord Mangusu." He crouched slightly. "And you? You dare? You little fucking maggot?"
"I—"
"Go fight."
Tears streamed down Kosei's face, mixing with blood as he tried his best to explain with his mangled mouth.
"....I...aaa... (I can't)"
"Then die with dignity." Guzo straightened up, and jumped back in the stands.
The other Master sighed from somewhere behind him.
Kosei tried his best, but that final punch from Master Guzo finished him. He could no longer fight. He could no longer see. He could no longer feel the pain.
But all of a sudden, he slowly felt the pain return to his body. His pitiful body was talking to him again.
He had a feeling he knew what was happening.
".....ankei?.. (Bankei?)"
Bankei was crouched beside Kosei and did his best to treat his injuries. Kosei coughed out a few teeth.
"Stay still," Bankei said.
"....eas... (Beast)"
"I know."
Deep footsteps reached them before Kosei finished the sentence. Low. Steady. Each one sending a faint tremor through the stone floor.
Bankei kept working.
The shadow finally arrived—moonlight blocked out from above as something enormous stopped moving directly over them. Kosei had stabilized enough to regain his vision. He immediately wished he hadn't. The Great Ape loomed, chest heaving, black eyes fixed downward, one hand rising slowly.
"IS...IIIG....HERE.....! (IT'S RIGHT THERE)" yelling with his broken jaw, Kosei grabbed Bankei's sleeve. "...UUN..ANKEI...! (RUN BANKEI!)"
Bankei didn't move.
The fist came down.
Kosei's vision went white.
Then nothing.
———
The fist stopped.
A few meters from the ground. The stone cracked anyway from the pressure alone, a spiderweb fracture spreading outward from the knuckles. Steam poured from the Great Ape's mouth in slow rolling clouds.
Its entire frame shook, a deep internal tremor working through the muscles like something fighting itself from the inside.
Bankei looked up at it with tired eyes.
"Are you done?"
The beast's shaking continued, becoming violent even. The maw opened wider. More steam.
Bankei smiled.
"...Merun?"
The Great Ape's eyes squeezed shut. The tremor peaked—a sound like grinding stone coming from somewhere deep in the chest.
One eye opened.
"HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE..." The deep primal voice echoed in the arena. The words shaped by a mouth not built for them.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He released a deep, evil, screeching laugh.
After a few seconds, the beast finally stopped.
"HOW. YOU. KNOW?"
"I can read your ki," Bankei said. "Remember?"
The eye closed again. "HEHEHE. KNOW. ME. WELL."
"...BANKEI." The name came out mangled, syllables too big for the mouth forming them.
"WHY.STAY?"
"Someone had to."
A long rumbling sound that might have been frustration. "NOT. FOLLOW. PLAN."
"To me, it looks like you also didn't follow the plan," Bankei said pleasantly. "We've both had a difficult evening."
"...FR."
"Fr? What does that mean? How are you feeling?"
The Great Ape looked at its hands again. Opened them. Closed them. "LIKE... HOLD. BIG. RIVER. WITH...HANDS." A pause. "VERY... BIG.. HANDS..."
Bankei's expression softened slightly. "How long can you hold it?"
"...DUNNO." Another tremor rolled through the frame. "IS. HARD.KEEP... GETTING.. LOUD."
"You can do it," Bankei said. "Try to suppress your aura. Like the technique you used to stay nearly invisible."
A silence. The tremoring slowed.
"...Much. Better." Merun's voice was still deep, but it was more mellow than before.
Bankei laughed. "You got in control just in time. You nearly lost, you know?"
Merun just shrugged. It looked comical—a humongous raging ape making that gesture.
"Prisoners? Seniors?" The eyes moved across the arena floor, the scattered bodies, the craters. His deep red eyes showing swirling thoughts.
"All alive," Bankei said. "Rest assured. Even this guy." Pointing to unconscious Kosei, who he was still healing.
The breath that came out was enormous. Steam billowed. A huge relief. Tedate and the others were safe.
"...Good."
"What now?" Bankei asked.
Merun scanned around the arena, looking eye-to-eye with the three Martial Masters, who also looked back expectantly... as well as a lone, smiling old man.
He immediately knew who this was. Who else?
Enjoyed the show... Beggar Sage?
"So, what do you think of my Kamehameha?" Bankei commented excitedly.
Merun slowly looked at him and the Great Ape made a sound that, scaled down considerably, would have been recognizable as satisfaction.
"HAHA!IT.AWESOME!"
Bankei laughed. "It did feel amazing! You didn't exaggerate!"
"WANT. TRY. TOO!"
"I do wonder, where did you learn that?" Bankei asked.
"...."
"It's fine, you don't have to tell." Bankei said.
"Master. Roshi."
"Master Roshi huh?" Bankei smiled. "I would like to meet this master of yours soon."
"So do I." Mangūsu said as he appeared behind Bankei.