In mid-air, Orochi's figure reappeared.
But now, he had been weakened to the extreme.
His body had become nearly completely transparent, like a candle flickering in the wind, seemingly about to dissipate entirely at any moment.
His face was written with utter confusion.
Yes, pure, undisguised confusion.
He couldn't understand.
Since ancient times, he had never imagined that anyone could use his unique technique—the one representing the will of "Nothingness."
This completely overturned his "divine worldview."
"Alright, this farce is over."
Cloud's figure—black hair and dark eyes restored—appeared before Orochi.
The transformation time was limited; he had to end this quickly.
"Mr. Orochi, your ideology is too extreme. It doesn't align with the developmental requirements of our harmonious society. So, I'm afraid we'll have to ask you to go back to sleep for another eighteen hundred years."
The moment those words fell, he hurled something from his hand!
It was that necklace of purple magatama beads—the Yasakani Magatama!
The magatama blazed with brilliant light in the air, instantly transforming into chains of purple energy that bound the extremely weakened Orochi tightly!
"Seal!"
"Curse you..." Orochi tried to struggle, but found that his divine power couldn't even gather in the presence of this Sacred Treasure representing "sealing."
"Not done yet!"
Cloud's figure teleported to appear before the restrained Orochi's chest!
In his hand, he gripped that divine sword burning with crimson flames—the Kusanagi Sword!
"—One slash, clean through!"
SHLICK!
The Kusanagi Sword pierced precisely into the black sun tattoo on Orochi's chest!
That was his power core!
"AAARRGH—!"
Orochi let out his final cry, filled with unwillingness and agony.
"And finally, this!"
Cloud produced the last Sacred Treasure—the Yata Mirror!
He aimed the mirror's surface at Orochi and channeled every last bit of his remaining power into it!
"Light of Yata: Purifying Seal!"
A beam of pure white divine light—so pristine it tolerated no evil—burst from the mirror, completely engulfing Orochi's entire body!
Under the illumination of this divine light, Orochi's already transparent body began dissolving bit by bit into countless particles of light, scattering into the air.
His expression shifted from initial fury and unwillingness, to final confusion and... relief.
He felt like a 996 corporate slave who'd worked overtime for months and could finally clock out and go to sleep.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! Successfully sealed the weakened Orochi!]
[KOF 97 Exclusive Quest "Carry the Girls, Climb the Ranks—It's Only Right!" completed!]
[Calculating rewards...]
[Rewards issued: Source Points ×100,000, Orochi Power Fragment (Low-grade) ×3, "Harem Cultivation Manual (Beginner to Expert Edition)" ×1 stored in System Inventory.]
With Orochi's complete disappearance, the dimensional gate connecting to the other realm slowly closed.
All remaining divine tribe members let out despairing wails as their bodies turned to ash, scattering between heaven and earth.
The dark clouds shrouding Tokyo dispersed.
Long-absent sunlight pierced through the clouds, falling upon the devastated ruins.
Everything was over.
"We... we... survived?"
After what felt like an eternity, a surviving fighter in the ruins asked in a trembling voice, speaking everyone's thoughts.
"I... think so?" Another answered uncertainly.
"Look! The sun! It's the sun!"
When the first ray of warm sunlight touched their faces—
After a brief silence, the entire ruins erupted with earth-shaking cheers of survivors!
"OHHHHHHH!!!"
"We won! We won!"
"Mom! I can still see tomorrow's sunrise!"
Countless people embraced and wept, crying tears of joy.
Those fighters who'd just been "mowing down mobs" now collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.
"Hah... hah... I'm beat." Terry lay flat on the ground in a spread-eagle pose, without even the strength to move a finger. "Tonight, nobody's stopping me—I'm eating ten Big Macs!"
"Brother, please mind your image," Andy said, though he was equally exhausted, still maintaining his composure.
"Hehehe... we're saved..." Joe just sat there giggling non-stop.
On another side, the Kyokugenryu crew's vibe was rather peculiar.
Ryo and Robert were inspecting their gi and suit respectively, heartbroken beyond measure.
"My limited-edition gi! I saved three months of allowance for this!"
"My Armani suit! It's covered in dust! Quick, help me brush it off!"
Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami, those eternal rivals who loved to hate each other, for once weren't at each other's throats.
Kyo was holding the still-shaken Yuki, gently comforting her. (Cloud had released Yuki's soul.)
Iori, meanwhile, leaned alone against a crumbling wall, lit a cigarette, and gazed at the sky with a complicated expression, lost in thought.
"Hey, Yagami." Kyo suddenly spoke.
"What?" Iori responded coldly.
"Thanks."
"...Hmph." Iori said nothing more, only drawing deeper on his cigarette.
As for our hidden master Chin Gentsai, the moment the crisis was confirmed over, he immediately produced another small wine gourd from his robes.
"Sigh, that mouthful of fire earlier was too hard on my booze." He smacked his lips regretfully. "Gotta... replenish quickly."
With that, he started gulping again, as if the peerless master who'd just set half the sky ablaze with a single "Blast Furnace Inferno" wasn't him at all.
As for Cloud...
He was currently surrounded by a group of people.
"Cloud! That transformation was so cool!" Mai Shiranui gazed at him with starry eyes. In her mind, she was already fantasizing about whether she could ask him to transform during their... nighttime activities in the future...
"Cloud, may I ask how you managed to... copy the boss?" Chizuru Kagura inquired with a thirst for knowledge.
"Boss! How was my performance? Don't I deserve a bonus?" Shermie sidled up with an expression clearly angling for credit.
Cloud felt his head spinning.
He looked at these ruins—devastated yet brimming with vitality.
At these fighters—exhausted yet wearing the smiles of survivors.
At the distant setting sun, painting the entire world a warm gold.
He let out a long breath.
Though the process had been somewhat absurd, the ridiculous moments rather dense—
KOF 97 had finally, at last, drawn to a close.
...
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