By the time the quarterfinals of KOF 96 were in full swing, the Tokyo Dome had transformed into a pressure cooker of adrenaline and testosterone.
Every match was a clash of titans!
Every fighter was a monster in their own right!
The audience had long since progressed from "shocked" to "completely numb."
They felt like their ticket purchase was the deal of the century.
This wasn't a fighting tournament—this was a Hollywood blockbuster! With no CGI! Pure live-action stunts!
Amidst the thunderous cheers of "LET'S GOOO!", the first quarterfinal match officially began!
[Iron Fist Team VS Ikari Warriors]!
When Crown Prince An'un and his two "background decoration" palace master bodyguards appeared on stage, the crowd erupted into a chorus of jeers and boos laced with fear and disgust.
Can't blame them. His utterly humiliating curb-stomp in the preliminaries had left a sour taste in everyone's mouth.
On the opposite side of the ring, Ralf, Clark, and the ice-queen "Soldier Flower" Leona walked up with grim determination etched into their features.
The iron-blooded killing intent they'd forged in countless battlefields clashed head-on with An'un's imperial arrogance—and actually pushed it back!
"Oh? Some... slightly sturdier insects?"
An'un regarded the three soldiers with their steel-hard gazes and let a cruel smile twist his handsome features.
"I hope you can provide me with... some entertainment."
Still that insufferable arrogance.
He didn't even bother sending his teammates forward.
He walked to the center of the ring alone.
He was going one-versus-three.
He intended to turn this high-profile quarterfinal into his personal highlight reel.
"That bastard! He's way too full of himself!"
Ralf, the hot-headed bruiser, wasn't about to stand for this disrespect.
He roared and charged forward!
"Cosmic Phantom!"
He took the "serpentine footwork, fist like art" philosophy Cloud had taught him and pushed it to the absolute limit!
His steps became unpredictable, almost ghostly. His fist shot forward like a cannon shell, carrying enough force to punch through a battleship's hull, striking from an impossibly tricky angle!
But An'un didn't even raise an eyebrow.
He simply... lifted his hand.
Absolute Domain 60% erupted!
A semi-transparent energy shield—woven from pure "imperial authority"—materialized before him in an instant!
Ralf's devastating punch, one that could shatter bedrock, slammed into the barrier with everything he had.
And the result?
Absolutely nothing.
His power vanished like a stone dropped into the ocean. Not even a ripple.
"Wh... what?!" Disbelief flooded Ralf's eyes.
"Too weak."
An'un sighed with mock pity.
Then he flicked his finger.
An almost invisible thread of dark-gold qi shot forward, piercing through Ralf's fist, striking his chest dead-center before he could even react!
"GUHH—!"
Ralf didn't even have time to scream. His body flew backward like he'd been hit by a bullet train, blood spraying from his mouth, slamming into the barrier behind him. He crumpled, unconscious.
One hit.
One-hit knockout. Again.
The stadium fell silent as a grave.
Clark stared at his best friend lying in a pool of blood, life status unknown, and his eyes turned crimson with rage.
"YOU BASTARD—!!!"
He bellowed and charged like an enraged grizzly bear!
"Super Argentine Backbreaker!"
He was going to grab this arrogant piece of shit and slam him into the ground until he broke!
But An'un's silhouette flickered and vanished like a phantom.
"Too slow."
That cold voice whispered right beside his ear—the verdict of death itself.
Clark's heart seized. He tried to spin and defend—
Too late.
A palm wreathed in dark-gold imperial qi pressed silently against his back, burning like a red-hot brand!
BOOM!
Clark's body went rigid.
His bear-like frame crumpled to his knees like a puppet with cut strings, completely drained of fighting power.
Another one-hit kill.
An'un had toyed with the second Ikari Warrior like a cat batting around a mouse!
His overwhelming strength. His casual brutality. His complete disregard for fair play.
Every fighter watching felt a bone-deep chill crawl up their spine.
"Now then..."
An'un turned slowly.
Those shadowed, imperious eyes locked onto the last figure still standing—the one with ice-blue hair.
Leona.
"Your turn... the King's woman."
A twisted, sadistic smile spread across An'un's face.
During the preliminaries, he'd watched carefully.
He'd seen this ice-cold woman approach the man who'd humiliated him.
He'd seen that man press his hand against her forehead in an unmistakably intimate gesture.
So naturally, An'un concluded that Leona was Cloud's... possession.
"Since I can't touch that man just yet..."
The cruelty in his expression intensified.
"I'll start by collecting some interest from his woman."
He didn't go for a quick kill this time.
Instead, like a cat toying with cornered prey, he played with her.
His ghost-like speed let him appear before Leona again and again, leaving shallow wounds across her porcelain skin with attacks that were humiliating rather than lethal!
He wanted to break her will through sheer, agonizing degradation!
He wanted that man, watching from the stands, to see his woman violated and tortured before his very eyes!
Leona roared her defiance!
She pushed her newly-awakened Absolute Domain to its absolute limit!
Absolute Domain 35%!
"V-Slasher!"
She became a bolt of blue lightning, launching her final, desperate counterattack!
But against the crushing supremacy of 60%, all her attacks were pathetically futile.
An'un didn't even bother dodging.
He let her razor-sharp slashes scrape harmlessly against his Domain barrier, then reached out and wrapped his hand around her slender throat.
"Garbage."
He stared into her face—flushed from oxygen deprivation, yet still defiant, those ice-blue eyes still burning with unconquered fire—and felt a sick thrill of excitement!
Slowly, he tightened his grip.
"Die... drowning in agony and despair!"
...
"BASTARD! STOP!"
"That's so cheap! Attacking a woman like that!"
In the stands, Terry, Ryo, and every fighter with a shred of decency leaped to their feet, screaming in fury at the sickening display.
And in the VIP sponsor's section...
Cloud watched the screen. Watched the ice princess being tormented.
Watched her eyes—full of stubborn courage—slowly glazing over with despair...
Something inside him ignited.
A rage that could burn the world to ash.
The golden depths of his eyes shifted—becoming swirling chaos of purple and gold, blazing with pure, absolute destruction.
The air around him groaned under the pressure, vibrating with a low, threatening hum.
"An'un..."
Two syllables, ground out through clenched teeth.
Cold as the ninth circle of hell.
"I'll remember this."
"I hope... you make it to the finals."
"Because then... I'll show you personally..."
"What true agony feels like."
In his heart, he had already signed this reckless "Crown Prince's" death warrant.
...
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