BAM!!!
BAM!!!
BAM!!!
Explosions of force erupted across the battlefield like thunder tearing apart the heavens.
Each collision of fists distorted the air.
Shockwaves rolled outward in violent circles, ripping apart the cracked black earth beneath us while red and blue lightning devoured everything caught between.
The battlefield itself seemed alive now.
Breathing.
Watching.
Waiting to see which monster would survive.
---
I skidded backward across the ground.
My feet carved deep trenches into the dark stone as sparks exploded beneath my heels.
My muscles tightened.
My breathing steadied.
My eyes locked onto him.
---
My other self stood silently several meters away.
Perfect posture.
Perfect balance.
Perfect control.
Not a single wasted movement.
The crimson lightning around his body moved like living serpents, slithering around his arms and shoulders before disappearing beneath his skin.
Predatory.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
---
"…You still don't understand."
His voice echoed calmly through the battlefield.
Not angry.
Not excited.
Not mocking.
That calmness was what made him terrifying.
Like a predator already certain the hunt was over.
---
I narrowed my eyes.
"You talk too much."
---
A grin slowly spread across his face.
Sharp.
Cruel.
Knowing.
---
BOOM!!!!!
The ground exploded beneath his feet.
Red lightning erupted violently around him as he blasted forward like a cannon shot.
Not hesitation.
No warning.
Only violence.
---
DANGER!!!
---
My instincts screamed instantly.
I reacted immediately—
But the moment I moved—
I realized something was wrong.
Again.
---
I punched forward.
Blue lightning condensed around my fist like a gauntlet forged from pure destruction.
The air cracked from the force behind the strike.
---
But instead of meeting my attack head-on—
He changed.
Again.
---
His arm twisted around mine like a serpent wrapping around prey.
Smooth.
Effortless.
Natural.
---
My eyes widened slightly.
Too late.
---
BAM!!!
His fist slammed into my face.
My head snapped sideways violently.
I felt flesh tear inside my mouth.
---
Before I could recover—
---
BAM!!!
Another punch landed.
Same angle.
Same precision.
Same timing.
---
Not wild attacks.
Not random brutality.
Everything connected in perfect sequence.
---
BAM!!!
An elbow crashed into my neck.
The world flashed white.
---
My body froze for the briefest moment.
That single moment—
Was enough.
---
"…You react exactly as expected."
His voice sounded distant.
Cold.
Certain.
---
CRACKLING!!!!!
Red lightning exploded around his arm.
His grip loosened slightly—
Not to release me.
To reposition.
To prepare the next attack.
---
My instincts exploded in warning.
---
DANGER!!!
DANGER!!!
DANGER!!!
---
His palm glowed crimson.
Violent lightning compressed into a sphere no larger than his hand.
But the pressure—
The pressure was monstrous.
The surrounding air bent inward unnaturally.
Even the ground beneath us began collapsing before the attack was unleashed.
---
"Authority…"
The word barely formed in my thoughts.
---
BOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!
The world disappeared.
A massive crimson explosion swallowed everything in sight.
Lightning consumed the battlefield.
The ground collapsed inward instantly, forming a crater stretching over a thousand meters wide.
Stone melted.
Mountains cracked.
The sky itself flashed red from the violent discharge.
---
Pain.
Pure pain.
---
The lightning tore through my body like living blades.
My nerves screamed.
My muscles convulsed uncontrollably.
The smell of burnt flesh filled the air.
---
Then—
Impact.
---
BOOM!!!
My body slammed into the center of the crater.
Broken stone exploded upward around me.
Smoke swallowed the battlefield.
---
For several seconds—
Nothing moved.
---
I lay there silently.
My body twitching slightly.
Steam rising from burnt skin.
---
"…He could've killed me."
That realization settled heavily in my chest.
He absolutely could have.
Many times already.
---
But he didn't.
---
Because this wasn't about killing me.
---
This was training.
Correction.
Evolution.
---
The realization frustrated me more than the pain.
---
Above the crater—
He stood calmly at the edge.
Watching.
Studying.
Learning.
---
"…You're close," he said quietly.
---
Not mockery.
Not arrogance.
Just observation.
---
"You stopped being predictable…"
His crimson eyes narrowed slightly.
"…so I adapted."
---
Silence filled the crater.
---
That was it.
That was the answer.
---
This floor was not testing strength.
It was testing thought.
Adaptability.
Control.
The ability to evolve during battle.
---
Every adjustment I made—
He learned instantly.
Every change in rhythm—
He countered immediately.
---
"…Then this never ends," I muttered.
---
"Correct."
He tilted his head slightly.
"…unless one of us evolves faster."
---
I slowly stood up.
My burnt flesh regenerated gradually beneath the crackling blue lightning surrounding my body.
Pain still pulsed through my nerves—
But my thoughts became calmer.
Sharper.
Clearer.
---
I finally understood the true problem.
---
I was still fighting like myself.
---
Even while trying to become unpredictable—
I was still using logic.
Still choosing actions.
Still creating intention.
---
And intention—
Could be read.
Predicted.
Countered.
---
The moment understanding appeared in my mind—
His smile widened.
Like he already knew what realization I had reached.
---
"…Good."
---
I exhaled slowly.
Then—
I released everything.
---
No killing intent.
No battle rhythm.
No planned movement.
No structure.
---
Even my aura changed.
---
The violent blue lightning around my body slowly compressed inward instead of exploding outward.
The destruction vanished.
Silence replaced it.
Stillness.
---
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
---
For the first time since the battle began—
His eyes narrowed seriously.
---
"…What are you doing?"
---
I looked at him calmly.
"No idea."
---
Silence.
---
Then—
I moved.
---
Not fast.
Not slow.
---
Meaningless.
Random.
Instinctive.
---
My body stepped sideways unexpectedly.
Then forward.
Then stopped.
Then twisted suddenly.
No rhythm.
No pattern.
No logic.
---
For the first time—
He didn't attack immediately.
---
Because there was nothing to read.
Nothing to predict.
---
The predator—
Had lost the trail.
---
BOOM!!!
I vanished.
---
Not through speed.
Not through power.
---
Through absence of intention.
---
BAM!!!
My fist slammed into his face.
Clean.
Direct.
Real.
---
His head snapped sideways violently.
The impact distorted the air around him.
Fragments of crimson lightning exploded outward.
---
A pause followed.
A long one.
---
Then—
Slowly—
He turned his head back toward me.
---
And smiled.
---
Wider than before.
Wilder than before.
More dangerous than before.
---
"…Excellent."
---
BOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!
Crimson lightning erupted from his body violently.
Far greater than before.
The entire battlefield trembled.
Mountains cracked in the distance.
The sky darkened further.
---
His red eyes glowed brighter.
Hungrier.
Predatory.
---
"…Now," he said softly.
"…the real lesson begins."
---
The moment those words fell—
My instincts screamed louder than ever before.
---
DANGER!!!!!