"Who... are you?" Kula regarded this white-haired girl who had suddenly appeared—someone whose vibe was completely different from her own—with wariness in her ice-blue eyes.
"Me?" Angel licked her lips and flashed a smile that was both sexy and dangerous. "I'm his woman. And who are you, some random chicken?"
"Unchain!"
Angel wasted no more words. The genetic locks on her body were instantly released, and a violent power with a bizarre, rhythmic quality erupted from within!
Her entire form seemed to transform into an incorporeal phantom, launching a hurricane of attacks at Kula with dazzling, logic-defying combos!
"Red Sky of Japonesia!"
"Senseless Fists!"
Angel's fighting style was wild, uninhibited, and unconventional. Every attack was like a death-dance—gorgeous yet deadly.
Her relentless barrage seemed capable of "locking" her opponent in time, leaving no opening for counterattack.
She was like a white inferno that burned eternally, full of aggression and destructive power!
Kula, by contrast, embodied a completely different style.
Her combat was calm, precise, efficient.
Facing Angel's storm of attacks, she simply glided on peculiar footwork, like an elegant ballerina dancing on ice, each evasion perfectly timed.
"Diamond Breath!"
A blast of absolute-zero breath instantly disrupted Angel's attack rhythm.
The frost forming on the ground also restricted her agile footwork.
Kula was like ancient, never-melting black ice—silent, solid, neutralizing all violent offensives with the simplest, most direct methods.
One was a wild-as-fire "Combo Queen," her style bold and flashy, full of visual impact.
One was a pure-as-ice "Ice Princess," her movements elegant and precisely lethal, full of artistic beauty.
Two completely different styles, two equally stunning young women, engaged in a gorgeous duel that could only be called a "visual feast" at South Town's pier.
The clash of ice and fire made the surrounding air fluctuate between hot and cold.
K' and Maxima, watching from the side, were completely dumbfounded. They felt somewhat... superfluous?
Meanwhile, Cloud leisurely munched on his "candied hawthorn" while watching with great interest.
"Hmm... not bad, not bad. This is more entertaining than the KOF finals." He stroked his chin and commented, "Kula's technique is more solid; Angel's burst damage is stronger. If they teamed up—one for crowd control, one for damage output—it'd be perfect."
[System's Hot Take: Host, that's quite a bold idea! Are you trying to turn this "battlefield of jealousy" into a "harem team-building exercise"? But... this system approves! Go for it! I believe in you!]
...
After more than ten minutes, the battle ended in a draw.
Both Angel and Kula had expended tremendous stamina and stood panting at opposite ends of the pier, facing off from a distance.
"Hah... hah... You're pretty tough." Angel wiped her sweat, but the fighting spirit in her eyes hadn't diminished one bit.
Kula said nothing, only silently watching her, then glancing at the man still leisurely munching "candied hawthorn" nearby. A deeper confusion flickered in her ice-blue eyes.
At that moment, Cloud's figure appeared soundlessly between the two girls.
"Alright, alright, warm-up's over." He pressed a hand on each of their heads, like petting cats, and gave them both a good rub.
"Wh-what are you doing! Don't touch me!" Angel protested verbally, but her body honestly didn't dodge.
Kula stiffened, feeling the warmth from the palm on her head—a comfortable sensation—and her small face flushed slightly pink.
"Little Kula," Cloud crouched down, meeting the doll-like girl at eye level, his expression becoming serious yet gentle. "Let me ask you something. Do you like fighting?"
Kula froze.
Like?
Did fighting even have "like" and "don't like"?
Wasn't that the only reason she was created?
"Fighting... is my... mission." She answered in her programmed tone.
"No, that's not your mission." Cloud shook his head. He pointed at the brilliantly lit city in the distance, at the couples laughing and playing together, at the street corner takoyaki stand wafting its enticing aroma.
"See all that? Eating delicious food, wearing pretty clothes, having fun, making friends, laughing happily, crying freely... those are the things a person should do."
His voice seemed to carry a magic that penetrated the cold combat programming NESTS had implanted, reaching directly into the deepest part of her soul—that heart belonging to a "human" that had been sealed away for so long.
"You are a person. A living, breathing person with flesh and blood and feelings."
"You're not a tool, and you're certainly not anyone's weapon."
"You are Kula Diamond. A unique, beautiful, adorable little girl."
With that, he pressed a beautifully packaged box of "Shiroi Koibito" white chocolate cookies—freshly exchanged from the system shop—gently into Kula's hands.
"Remember: from now on, live for yourself."
Kula lowered her head, staring at the box of cookies in her hands, then raised her gaze to the man showing her that warm smile.
A single warm, crystalline tear, beyond her control, slid down from her ice-blue eye.
It was the first time in her life she had ever cried.
Not from pain. Not from sorrow.
She knew that from this moment forward, her world had been completely changed by this man.
...
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