The moment the voice faded, that purple sun violently contracted!
All the darkness, all the divine power, all the Divine Tribe citizens—in this moment—were all absorbed into it!
Finally, condensing into a human figure.
That figure slowly descended from the sky.
His upper body was bare, a strange sun tattoo on his chest. His lower body wore loose white trousers.
His descent was incredibly stylish.
He didn't simply fall—rather, the space around him, driven by his will, had... folded.
Yes, folded.
Like a flat piece of paper being gently lifted from below. The space beneath his feet, along with light and dust, produced visible, water-ripple-like distortions.
He walked down this way, stepping on layer after layer of "spatial ripples," elegant and indifferent, until he reached eye level with Cloud.
His appearance was the perfect definition of "divine inhumanity."
He had borrowed Chris's body, but his features had been reshaped to be even more androgynous, beautiful, and perfect—devoid of any human imperfection. His skin was so pale it was nearly translucent, as if he weren't flesh and blood but a work of art carved from the purest moonlight.
His bare upper body had flowing, elegant muscle lines without an ounce of excess, full of classical beauty.
On his chest, that signature sun tattoo seemed to have come alive, slowly rotating, emanating a heart-stopping dark aura.
He simply stood there, not releasing any powerful pressure.
But the entire planet, in this moment, seemed to stop breathing.
The wind stopped.
The clouds scattered.
Sound vanished.
An absolute pressure from the most fundamental source of life covered half the globe!
Countless ordinary people, in this moment, inexplicably fell to their knees, trembling, as if greeting their god!
The most classic and most powerful boss in KOF history—Orochi—had officially appeared!
However, Orochi's current state was far from optimal.
Due to Shermie's betrayal, the Hakkesshu's power had suffered tremendous losses.
And due to Cloud's interception, the sacrifice Yuki's soul was incomplete.
This caused him to start in a weakened state the moment he appeared.
But even so... he was still... a god.
"Interesting."
Orochi slowly opened his eyes. Those platinum-gold orbs, devoid of any emotion, swept across the devastated venue before finally locking onto Cloud.
"Was it you... who prevented my... complete descent?"
His voice was flat, yet carried an authority where words became law.
Cloud met his gaze directly, not a trace of fear on his face.
Instead, a smile appeared.
"That's right, it was me."
He rolled his wrists, his joints crackling.
"Allow me to introduce myself, Mr. Orochi."
"My name is Cloud. My profession is KOF champion. My side job is..."
He paused, then grinned, revealing his white teeth.
"—Deity Terminator."
"Upon your body..." Orochi finally spoke, his voice carrying no emotional coloring yet resonating directly in one's soul, "...there are many... breaths that do not belong to this world."
He seemed to have seen through all the secrets within Cloud. Whether it was the Chaos Divine Bloodline or the karmic traces left by his two otherworldly teammates.
"Additionally..." Orochi continued in that maddening flat tone, "I also sense... part of my own power. You... consumed them?"
He was referring to the Hakkesshu members whose bloodlines Cloud had absorbed.
Cloud shrugged, wearing a smile so relaxed it was almost provocative: "I wouldn't call it consuming. More like resource integration or optimization restructuring. After all, that power was wasted on them. Better to give it to me where it can be put to greater use."
A nearly imperceptible fluctuation appeared in Orochi's emotions.
He was puzzled.
This "ant" before him was clearly so weak that he could erase him with a single thought.
Why was he... so fearless?
Who gave him such courage? Taylor Swift?
"Ant, your ignorance makes you laughable." Orochi slowly raised his right hand, his index finger lifting slightly, preparing to execute his infamous "Heart Rip"—the technique that could break players' mental state through the screen.
"Wait!" Cloud hurriedly made a timeout gesture. "Mr. Snake, I think you may have misunderstood something."
"Oh?"
"I never said I was going to fight you one-on-one." Cloud grinned, showing his white teeth. "I've never been fond of solo combat. I prefer team cooperation."
"Simply put, I'm planning to gang up on you."
The moment his words fell, Cloud snapped his fingers.
"BOOM—!!!"
A pillar of crimson-gold flame shot skyward beside Cloud!
Kyo Kusanagi—the man who should have been unconscious—after Cloud had secretly fed him a "Senzu Bean" (System-produced, effectiveness guaranteed), had now fully recovered! His entire body burned with the intertwined gold and crimson "Divine Crimson Flame," his eyes blazing with fighting spirit!
"Orochi! The debt from eighteen hundred years ago—today, right here, we settle it!"
Following that, a white light filled with sacred solemnity blazed to life on Cloud's other side!
Chizuru Kagura, holding the Yata Mirror, wearing pristine white shrine maiden robes, surrounded by countless phantom images of Kagura clan priestesses, slowly materialized. Her Ultimate Power was even stronger than Kyo's, filled with the will of "protection" and "purification"!
"In the name of the Three Sacred Treasures—today, you will be sealed once more!"
But that wasn't all!
A howl full of madness, violence, and endless killing intent tore through the sky!
A purple figure appeared behind Orochi as if by teleportation!
He had the signature red hair, his body wreathed in ominous purple flames—more pure, more violent than even Chris's!
His eyes were no longer simply crazed, but held the insight of one who had comprehended a higher level of power—"Dark Power"!
Iori Yagami!
He had finally finished absorbing the mad power inherited from Goenitz the Tempest, and had successfully comprehended his own—Dark Power!
...
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