Chapter 67
The Royal Rumble was held in a different building than the death matches. This one was larger, older, a converted factory on the north side of the 8th District with walls of dark brick and windows that had been boarded up for decades. The cage was not a cage here. It was a ring, raised high above the floor, surrounded by lights so bright they turned the canvas white.
Elijah stood in the back corridor, his back against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. The black blade was strapped to his hip. The mask covered his face.
Tristan stood nearby, watching the corridor, but Elijah did not ask him about the fighters.
"System," Elijah said quietly. "Show me the fighters in the Royal Rumble. Their stages, physical limits, current raw stats and their ki enhancement. Everything."
The screen flickered.
[Scanning Royal Rumble participants...]
[10 fighters detected. All at Beginner Knight Stage (Peak). Physical limits, current raw stats, and Ki enhancement ranges provided below. Note: Physical limits apply across all physical stats. If a fighter's physical limit is 40, none of their stats can grow beyond 40 until they advance to Advanced Knight Stage.]
[Fighter 1 - The Hammer]
Physical Limit: 44
Strength: 44 (At limit) +30% = 57
Agility: 38 (Below limit) +30% = 49
Defense: 44 (At limit) +30% = 57
Endurance: 44 (At limit) +30% = 57
Ki Enhancement: 30%
[Fighter 2 - Viper]
Physical Limit: 40
Strength: 35 (Below limit) +30% = 46
Agility: 40 (At limit) +30% = 52
Defense: 36 (Below limit) +30% = 47
Endurance: 38 (Below limit) +30% = 49
Ki Enhancement: 30%
[Fighter 3 - Ghost]
Physical Limit: 46
Strength: 42 (Below limit) +35% = 57
Agility: 46 (At limit) +35% = 62
Defense: 44 (Below limit) +35% = 59
Endurance: 45 (Below limit) +35% = 61
Ki Enhancement: 35%
[Fighter 4]
Physical Limit: 38
Strength: 36 (Below limit) +25% = 45
Agility: 35 (Below limit) +25% = 44
Defense: 38 (At limit) +25% = 48
Endurance: 37 (Below limit) +25% = 46
Ki Enhancement: 25%
[Fighter 5]
Physical Limit: 39
Strength: 39 (At limit) +30% = 51
Agility: 36 (Below limit) +30% = 47
Defense: 38 (Below limit) +30% = 49
Endurance: 39 (At limit) +30% = 51
Ki Enhancement: 30%
[Fighter 6]
Physical Limit: 37
Strength: 35 (Below limit) +25% = 44
Agility: 37 (At limit) +25% = 46
Defense: 34 (Below limit) +25% = 43
Endurance: 36 (Below limit) +25% = 45
Ki Enhancement: 25%
[Fighter 7]
Physical Limit: 41
Strength: 40 (Below limit) +30% = 52
Agility: 39 (Below limit) +30% = 51
Defense: 41 (At limit) +30% = 53
Endurance: 40 (Below limit) +30% = 52
Ki Enhancement: 30%
[Fighter 8]
Physical Limit: 38
Strength: 36 (Below limit) +20% = 43
Agility: 38 (At limit) +20% = 46
Defense: 35 (Below limit) +20% = 42
Endurance: 37 (Below limit) +20% = 44
Ki Enhancement: 20%
[Fighter 9]
Physical Limit: 42
Strength: 41 (Below limit) +30% = 53
Agility: 40 (Below limit) +30% = 52
Defense: 42 (At limit) +30% = 55
Endurance: 41 (Below limit) +30% = 53
Ki Enhancement: 30%
[Fighter 10]
Physical Limit: 39
Strength: 37 (Below limit) +25% = 46
Agility: 39 (At limit) +25% = 49
Defense: 36 (Below limit) +25% = 45
Endurance: 38 (Below limit) +25% = 48
Ki Enhancement: 25%
[Note: Jack Reyes, not present in this Rumble, has a physical limit of 55. His raw stats are all at 55. His Ki enhancement is 100%. His effective stats are 110 across all physical categories.]
Elijah studied the numbers. Ghost was the strongest here, with a physical limit of 46 and 35% enhancement, pushing his Agility to 62. The Hammer was next, with Strength, Defense, and Endurance at 57. Viper was fast but fragile.
The others were weaker. Their physical limits were lower. Their enhancements were lower. Their effective stats ranged from the low 40s to the mid 50s.
At 100% Zenith, Elijah's stats were:
Strength: 33 → 66
Agility: 32 → 64
Endurance: 32 → 64
Defense: 33 → 66
With Flash Step and Iron Body adding 20% to Agility and Defense:
Agility: 64 → 77
Defense: 66 → 79
He was stronger than all of them, Faster than all of them, More durable than all of them.
But there were ten of them. And they would not fight fair.
He closed the screen and walked toward the ring.
The arena was packed. Hundreds of people filled the seats, shouting, cheering, money changing hands in the aisles. The lights were blinding, the noise was deafening, and the ring stood in the center of it all, white canvas, red ropes, waiting.
The other nine fighters were already in the ring when Elijah climbed through the ropes. They stood in a loose group on the opposite side, their masks hiding their faces, their auras flickering around them in shades of blue and green and gold. Some of them held weapons—knives, chains, brass knuckles. Others stood bare-handed, confident in their own strength.
The Hammer was easy to spot. He was massive, six and a half feet tall, with shoulders that barely fit through the ropes. His mask was steel, painted black, and his eyes were brown, flat, emotionless. His aura was a deep orange, pulsing in slow, heavy waves.
Viper was smaller, leaner, her mask made of dark leather that covered her entire face. Her eyes were yellow, cat-like, and they moved constantly, scanning the ring, the crowd, the other fighters. Her aura was a bright green, fast and flickering, like a snake ready to strike.
Ghost stood apart from the others, near the far corner of the ring. His mask was white, featureless, with only two dark slits for eyes. His body was lean, average in every way, unremarkable. But his aura was a pale silver, almost invisible, and it pulsed in a rhythm that Elijah could not predict.
The announcer's voice boomed through the arena. "Ten fighters. One winner. No rules. No time limit. The last one standing takes fifty thousand dollars."
The crowd roared.
The fighters spread out, circling, watching each other. No one moved to attack first. They were all waiting, all calculating, all trying to figure out who the biggest threat was.
Elijah stood in the center of the ring and did not move.
He had fought ten times tonight. He had killed eight people. He had been shot, cut, beaten, and drained. His body was covered in scars that were still healing. His muscles were still screaming. His mind was still heavy with the weight of what he had done.
He did not want to kill again.
But he also did not want to be forced into a fight where the only way out was through more blood.
He looked at the nine fighters surrounding him.
Elijah closed his eyes and breathed.
In, Hold, Out.
He had one use left. Maybe two, if he pushed himself to the edge.
He did not need to push himself to the edge.
He opened his eyes.
The King's Aura exploded outward.
It was something else entirely—a presence that filled the ring, heavy and absolute, pressing down on everything inside it. The lights above seemed to dim. The noise of the crowd faded to a distant hum. The air grew thick, hard to breathe.
The nine fighters froze.
The Hammer's orange aura flickered wildly, guttering like a candle in a storm. His massive body trembled, his knees buckling under the weight of the pressure. His brown eyes went wide, and for the first time, there was fear in them.
Viper's yellow eyes darted around the ring, searching for an escape that did not exist. Her green aura flickered and died, then flickered again, struggling to stay alive. Her hands shook at her sides, and the knife in her right hand clattered to the canvas.
Ghost's silver aura held longer than the others, pulsing against the pressure, trying to push back. But his body was shaking, his hands were trembling, and his featureless white mask could not hide the fear in his eyes.
The other six fighters collapsed. Some dropped to their knees. Others fell to the canvas, their bodies limp, their auras dark. One of them—a man with a red mask and a chain wrapped around his fist—curled into a fetal position, his hands over his head, his breath coming in short, sharp gasps.
The crowd was silent. No one knew what was happening. They could not see the King's Aura. They could not feel the pressure. They only saw nine fighters falling, one by one, while the man in the center of the ring stood motionless, his red eyes glowing through his black mask.
Elijah looked at the fighters still standing.
He let the King's Aura press down harder.
Ghost's knees buckled. He caught himself on the ropes, his body shaking, his breath coming in ragged gasps. His silver aura flickered once, twice, and went dark.
Elijah spoke.
His voice was low, quiet, but it carried through the silent arena. There was killing intent in every word, heavy and cold, the kind of intent that came from a man who had killed eight people in one night and felt no regret.
"Yield. Or die."
The words hung in the air.
The Hammer raised his head. His brown eyes met Elijah's red ones. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Then he nodded, once, and lowered his head.
"I yield," The Hammer said. His voice was barely a whisper.
Viper did not hesitate. "I yield."
Ghost said nothing. He just raised his hand, palm open, and let it fall.
The other six fighters were already unconscious or too terrified to speak. But their bodies told the story. They were done.
Elijah released the King's Aura.
The pressure vanished. The air returned to normal. The lights seemed brighter, the crowd louder, the ring less like a tomb. The fighters gasped, sucking in air, their bodies shaking as they pushed themselves up from the canvas.
The Hammer climbed to his feet. He looked at Elijah for a long moment, then turned and walked toward the ropes. He did not look back.
Viper followed, Ghost followed, The others followed.
The ring was empty except for Elijah.
The announcer's voice was shaky, almost disbelieving. "Winner... Red Eye."
The crowd erupted. Elijah did not hear them.
He walked to the corner of the ring where the money was kept—a steel briefcase, locked, heavy. He picked it up and climbed through the ropes.
Tristan was waiting for him at the bottom of the steps. He looked at Elijah like he was seeing him for the first time.
"What was that?" Tristan asked. "I have never seen anything like that."
Elijah did not answer. He walked past Tristan, toward the exit, the steel briefcase in his hand.
"Elijah," Tristan said, following him. "What are you doing? Where are you going?"
"9th District," Elijah said. "Take me there."
Tristan stared at him for a moment. Then he nodded.
They walked through the corridor, past the steel door, past the red lights, out into the cold night air. The parking lot was nearly empty.
Elijah opened the back door and climbed inside. He set the briefcase on the seat beside him, leaned his head against the window, and closed his eyes.
Tristan got into the driver's seat and started the engine. He looked at Elijah in the rearview mirror, his purple eyes curious, confused, maybe a little afraid.
"You are not going to tell me, are you?" Tristan said.
Elijah did not answer. His breathing was slow, steady, the breathing of a man who was already half asleep.
Tristan shook his head and pulled out of the parking lot.
The lights of the 8th District faded behind them. The streets grew darker, narrower, quieter. The 9th District was still an hour away, and Elijah slept in the back seat, the steel briefcase clutched to his chest, his body covered in scars and drying blood.
Tristan drove in silence, his purple eyes fixed on the road, his mind still trying to understand what he had witnessed.