Women Fighters Team Lounge
Mary, who'd been giving King a massage, froze mid-motion.
Mai, who'd been discussing the latest cosmetics with Yuri, stopped mid-sentence.
They raised their heads simultaneously, looking toward the window.
Korea Team, Ikari Warriors, Psycho Soldiers...
In that moment, every fighter in South Town who'd reached a certain level of power—regardless of what they were doing—seemed to hit pause. They turned their gazes skyward in unison.
Though they couldn't see anything yet, Cloud's unusually grave tone made one thing clear:
Something big was happening.
Something far more terrifying than any tournament match!
"All fighters who've awakened Ultimate Power—assemble at South Town Central Tower's rooftop immediately!"
"Repeat: this is not a drill!"
"If you want to protect your home, if you want to protect your lives, get there at maximum speed!"
Cloud's voice thundered through their minds again, carrying an unmistakable command!
No hesitation.
Terry and Ryo simultaneously transformed into streaks of light and shot skyward!
Mary and King exchanged glances and immediately moved out!
Ralf and Clark simply vaulted from the spectator stands and sprinted toward Central Tower!
For a moment, South Town's sky became a scene from some superhero crossover event!
High-energy signatures representing each martial arts school's elite fighters converged from all directions toward Central Tower—South Town's tallest building—at maximum velocity!
"What the hell is happening?!"
"Terry and Ryo... they all just flew away? Is the match cancelled?"
"Look at the sky! What... what is that?!"
The clueless spectators on the ground erupted in confused exclamations.
...
Meanwhile, in space...
Clone Zero watched the final ten-second countdown on his firing sequence, a cruel smile spreading across his face.
"Assembling, are you? Too bad it's already too late."
"Before the artillery of the gods, your mortal struggles are so... laughable."
"5... 4... 3... 2... 1..."
"FIRE!"
At Clone Zero's command, the Zero Cannon—which had been thirsting for destruction in low Earth orbit—finally unleashed its devastating roar!
A beam of annihilation over a hundred meters in diameter—like a divine spear capable of instantly vaporizing an entire city—tore through the atmosphere. Blazing with purifying white light, it plummeted toward South Town with perfect precision!
In that moment, time seemed to slow.
Every resident of South Town instinctively looked up to see that "sun"-like white point descending—a sight that made their very souls tremble.
The apocalypse had arrived.
...
Yet at that critical instant—
South Town Central Tower, Rooftop
Cloud hovered in mid-air, watching the approaching beam of destruction. His eyes were calm as still water.
Beside him, Chin Gentsai, Terry, Ryo, King, Mary, Ralf, Clark... dozens of the world's most elite fighters had assembled.
Every face was etched with grim determination.
"Everyone!" Cloud's voice rang in their ears. "This might get a little hot. Give me everything you've got!"
"Pour your strongest attacks toward my front—full power!"
"What we're going to do is use our strength to hold up our own piece of sky!"
"HAAAH—!!!"
No one wasted words. Everyone answered Cloud's call with a battle cry!
"Power Geyser!"
"Haoh Shoukou Ken!"
"Phantom Dance!"
"Venom Strike!"
...
Dozens of attacks representing the pinnacle of modern martial arts exploded in unison toward the same point!
And Cloud stood at the very front of them all.
He extended both hands like a king embracing the heavens.
"Not enough! Still not enough!" he roared. "Our power alone isn't enough!"
Through telepathy, he issued orders to Chizuru Kagura in the distant VIP suite.
"Chizuru! Use all your financial resources! Every energy deflection satellite Norton's consortium deployed worldwide—activate them all! Target: South Town airspace! Deflect that beam with everything you've got!"
"Understood!" Chizuru didn't hesitate, picking up the encrypted phone.
"Connect me to Mr. Norton! Maximum emergency! Activate the Celestial Dome Defense System! Authorization code: Cloud is my man!"
And so, at a secret facility on the other side of the world, alarms blared in billionaire Norton's command center.
"Sir! Receiving priority directive! Celestial Dome system requesting activation!"
"Authorization code... confirmed!"
"Activating! Immediate activation! Channel all energy to Node 003 above South Town!"
...
The instant the Zero Cannon's destructive beam was about to touch South Town's surface—
Everything changed.
First, dozens of invisible energy fields descended from the heavens like ethereal hands, forcibly deflecting the beam's trajectory by a small margin!
Then, above South Town, a massive, multicolored energy barrier—constructed by the combined might of dozens of elite fighters in what could only be called "history's most star-studded lineup"—burst into existence!
And at that barrier's very center, Cloud poured his 99% Ultimate Power into it without reservation, manifesting as a golden, indestructible "Wall of Sighs"!
BOOOOM——!!!!!!
An explosion beyond any words—powerful enough to make the continental shelf tremble—erupted!
The beam of annihilation collided head-on with the barrier of protection above South Town!
In that instant, the light and heat released made the actual sun pale in comparison!
...
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