Digesting the mighty powers that had fused within him under the System's guidance.
His "Ultimate Power" was undergoing a deeper transformation that even the System couldn't fully analyze.
And everything happening in the outside world was clearly presented in his mind through his "spiritual network" spread across the globe.
He watched Kyo and the others running around frantically and smiled.
"Young people need to eat some bitterness to grow."
He watched Ash's face full of scheming and shook his head.
"Young man, playing with fire is fine, but don't burn yourself."
He watched Magaki and Shion's arrogant expressions of "everything is under control," and his smile grew wider.
"Playing tech games in front of this GM? Do you have... some misconceptions about power?"
He wasn't in a hurry to act.
He was waiting.
Waiting for the optimal moment to make his entrance.
Waiting for all the "actors" to take the stage.
Waiting for all the "conspiracies" to surface.
Waiting for all the "good guys" and "bad guys" to fight to exhaustion, all trump cards revealed.
Then, like a true "Final BOSS," he would descend magnificently before them.
And tell them...
What true... "despair" really meant.
The storm of KOF XI was intensifying.
And Cloud sat at its very center, leisurely awaiting the moment to reel in his net.
...
The KOF XI arena had completely transformed into a "private server" where "magic" and "technology" flew together.
The veteran fighters, tormented by those endless "Time Assassins" and "Space Mages" with their "tech exploit" flavors, were pulling their hair out, collectively declaring "this tournament is too deep—I want to go back to the countryside."
And just as Kyo and Maki Kagura were racking their brains to crack these "rule-type" abilities, an unexpected "ally" brought them crucial "internal intelligence."
Elisabeth Blanctorche—this queen-like descendant of the "Light Clan" from France—had found the Three Sacred Treasures Team again.
"Everyone, the situation may be worse than we imagined."
Elisabeth's expression was more grave than ever. She placed before them a top-secret document her family had obtained at great cost.
"According to our intelligence, those newcomers with special abilities appearing in this tournament are only peripheral members of Those From the Past organization. Behind them is an even more terrifying, true mastermind."
"His name is Magaki."
Elisabeth pulled up a blurry photo that looked like it was extracted from surveillance footage.
In the photo was a man in ornate noble attire with bewitchingly long hair, so handsome he didn't look human.
"Magaki is one of the core cadres of Those From the Past, second only to their Lord. He possesses abilities even more bizarre and powerful than Mukai—spatial distortion."
"Mukai's ability was converting energy to matter—creation and solidification. Magaki's ability is pure destruction and decomposition. He can tear and fold space like paper, banishing his enemies into endless dimensional turbulence."
"What's even more terrifying!" Elisabeth's voice dropped lower. "I've discovered he's using some method we can't understand to secretly manipulate some participants. He's collecting data—combat data from this era's strongest fighters, as well as emotions of despair."
"He's... preparing for some even grander, more evil ritual."
Elisabeth's words made everyone's hearts sink to the bottom.
One Mukai had already left them helpless. Now another "Magaki" had appeared, sounding even more "perverted" and "unreasonable"?
How were they supposed to fight this?
Just surrender and try again next round.
"Hmph, spatial distortion, is it?" Only Iori remained fearless, purple flames burning in his eyes. "I'd like to see whether his space is harder or my claws are sharper!"
...
The KOF XI finals began in an eerie yet tense atmosphere.
Ultimately, after a series of matches filled with "accidents" and "dark dealings," the top teams made it to the final round.
However, just as the announcer was about to declare the finals' start, an anomaly occurred once again!
The entire venue—that modernized stadium of steel and glass—began to "melt" without warning?!
Walls became like flowing liquid, the ceiling twisted into bizarre spirals, and the floor churned and bubbled like boiling magma!
"What the hell! What's happening? Sky Noah Part Two? Which genius is playing self-destruct this time?"
"No! This feeling... is even more bizarre than last time! Space... space is distorting!"
The fighters discovered in horror that the space they occupied was being forcibly "peeled away" from the real world by an irresistible, enormous force!
A few seconds later, when everything around them calmed down, they found themselves in... an indescribable extra-dimensional space filled with the bizarre and insane!
Here, the sky was blood-red, hung with countless planet-like orbs of varying sizes that resembled eyeballs. The ground was composed of countless twisted, wailing human faces—stepping on them, one could hear screams from the depths of souls.
...
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