"Holy crap! This setup! Does this year's organizer have a gold mine or something?!"
"Mommy, look! A UFO! A super-sized one!"
"Are we going to fight in the sky this year? If someone falls off, won't they just become a splatter on the ground?"
The fighters stood on the airship's expansive deck, chattering among themselves, thoroughly stunned by the "sci-fi blockbuster" spectacle before them.
Just then, an elegant young lady wearing a Gothic Lolita dress with long golden curls approached the crowd, flanked by several bodyguards in black.
She appeared to be only fifteen or sixteen years old, with features as delicate as a doll's, wearing a haughty smile that seemed beyond her years.
"Welcome, everyone, to my Sky Noah." The girl lifted her skirt hem and performed a standard curtsy, her voice clear and pleasant. "My name is Rose Bernstein, and I am one of the organizers of this KOF tournament."
Her words left everyone present stunned.
A girl this young was one of KOF's organizers?
"I know you're all full of questions." Rose seemed to enjoy the shocked expressions, smiling as she gestured toward a young man behind her—also with long golden hair, tall and handsome with a stern expression, though his features carried a hint of melancholy.
"Allow me to introduce my brother, Adelheid Bernstein."
"Bernstein?!"
Upon hearing this surname, some veteran fighters like Terry and Ryo Sakazaki's expressions instantly changed!
Because they all remembered the man who had brought them endless nightmares—the final BOSS of the first KOF tournament, the terrifyingly powerful fighter who ultimately self-destructed after pushing himself too far... Rugal Bernstein!
"That's right." Adelheid spoke slowly, his voice deep. His gaze swept across every fighter present before finally settling on Cloud, his eyes filled with complex fighting spirit.
"We are Rugal's children. We're holding this tournament simply to fulfill our father's dying wish—to have a pure contest against the world's strongest fighters."
The entire venue erupted in chaos at his words.
The BOSS's kids came for revenge? Why did this plot feel so familiar?
However, Cloud sensed no malice from Adelheid. Though his fighting spirit ran high, his "qi" was pure—none of his father Rugal's madness and evil.
His sister Rose, on the other hand, gave off subtle vibes of being scheming and cunning—the spitting image of Rugal's temperament. But the girl herself possessed not a shred of combat power.
"Interesting, the BOSS's descendants are out here working." Cloud mused internally. "Looks like this year's KOF is going to be quite lively."
...
The tournament officially began aboard this extravagantly luxurious "Sky Noah."
Cloud continued to enjoy his "direct-to-finals" privilege. His daily routine consisted of sitting in the most luxurious VIP box, sipping '82 Lafite, eating premium caviar, and watching everyone else fight to the death below.
However, this time, his attention wasn't entirely on the matches.
His gaze—or rather, his "divine sense"—remained locked on a figure drifting through the venue like a ghost.
Ash Crimson.
That youth with the flamboyant white hair and exquisite manicure, always wearing a carefree attitude while saying the most infuriating things.
Cloud noticed something very wrong with this Ash.
He seemed to participate in matches not for victory. Each time, he defeated his opponents in extremely clever ways, never delivering killing blows.
And after each match ended, he would always find various excuses to approach the defeated, exhausted fighters.
For instance, he would "kindly" help a fallen opponent to their feet.
"Oh my, sir, are you alright? Seeing you in such a sorry state really breaks my heart~"
Then, the instant his palm made contact with them, a barely perceptible wisp of emerald flame would silently drain a trace of pure energy from their bodies.
Or he would pretend to be "just passing by" and "coincidentally" encounter injured fighters receiving treatment outside the medical room.
"Eh? Isn't this the gentleman who was performing so magnificently in the ring just now? How did you end up lying here so quickly? Life is so unpredictable~"
Then, seizing the moment when their anger caused their mental defenses to drop, he would repeat his trick, completing another energy "theft."
His technique was extremely sophisticated, and the energy he absorbed was so minuscule that almost no one noticed.
But none of this escaped Cloud's observation—his awareness having reached the pinnacle of Ultimate Power, giving him a "god's eye view" of perception.
"This guy... is jungle farming." Cloud instantly understood what Ash was doing. "He's stockpiling power. And he's specifically absorbing energy from fighters with special abilities."
[System tracking initiated. Analyzing target Ash's energy absorption patterns...]
[Analysis report: Target primarily absorbs special attribute energies including fire, lightning, and psychic power. His absorption behavior demonstrates high intentionality and selectivity.]
[Combining his relationship with the light clan and Those From the Past's objectives... System has deduced a shocking conclusion!]
[Ash's target is the Three Sacred Treasures!]
"Just as I thought." Cloud's eyes flashed with understanding as he read the System's analysis.
Ash, this "mole" from "Those From the Past," had no interest in becoming KOF champion.
He was after Kyo Kusanagi's "Kusanagi Sword," Iori Yagami's "Yasakani Magatama," and Chizuru Kagura's "Yata Mirror"!
"Trying to steal equipment from my brother-in-law and my wife right under my nose? White-hair, aren't you a bit too naive?" The corner of Cloud's mouth curved into a cold arc.
He didn't immediately expose Ash, choosing instead to play along with his scheme.
...
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