Before Hokori’s comrades arrived at the Minagawa family’s VIP room, the two fighters finally met face to face.

Outside the arena, Engo ran to Dominique. “Hey, kid! What are you doin’ here?” asked the latter.

“I’m so sorry, Larry…. He told me to be with you….” she caught her breath.

He sighed and turned to the arena. “Well, I appreciate that immensely. Now I’m in luck. I won’t be able to do this job all by myself. Hokori’s really somethin’ else….”

The two fighters slowly walked toward each other. Haruto unsheathed his swords while Hokori cracked his knuckles and other joints. The crowd went silent, waiting for the first blood. “Round one… Fight….” said Hokori, chuckling.

Haruto moved closer, “I would like to say this at least once. Your name is strange….”

“Yeah yeah… and your name is overused. In fact, I once had a bro named ‘Haruto,’ and you’re the lamer one,” he pointed.

“Well, at least the ‘lamer one’ here can filet your muscles in mere seconds.” He gave his opponent a stern look.

“Dat’s the spirit, boy! Bring up more one-liners. Really riles up the crowd….” he grinned.

Haruto readied his weapons. “I will win this, Hokori Udemaeno. When I do, I hope you’ll reconcile with your behavior. If you don’t, then I’ll defeat you here again and again—until you finally see yourself for who you really are—” he interrupted himself, feeling a gust flowing past him.

Hokori readied a right hook from behind. “I said to bring up more one-liners, not monologue while standing there!” Haruto failed to dodge the attack in time. However, he crossed his swords to guard himself.

Haruto rolled on the ground but managed to land on his feet. Hokori flash-stepped before him and delivered a left side-kick to his waist. Like the last attack, he could not dodge and only defend, and this time he fell on his face.

The crowd screamed in pure, unadulterated excitement.

Hokori slowly walked to Haruto, who struggled to stand up. He grinned again. “If you wanna monologue… ya gotta do it while we go right at it with each other. Like this!!” he kicked him in the stomach as he laid down, hurling him onto the arena’s edge blocked by the runic dome.

Hokori charged forward with unending enthusiasm. Haruto tried to intercept by swinging his right-hand sword at his face. His opponent dodged by a hair and delivered two straight punches and another kick to his stomach. Haruto flew to the runic edge once more.

Hokori pummeled him endlessly. “Ahahahahaha! Pathetic, Haruto! Do you think this will satisfy me?! You absolute cunt!!”

Haruto crossed his swords in defense, only for Hokori to break right through it with a fist straight to his chest. He did not roll on the ground like before, yet the slaughter continued.

“You weak bitch! You never had any fucking chance! So if I win this, you and your family will have to pack up and get lost! Aahahahahahahaha!” Hokori hit Haruto’s chest again, this time with a side-kick. The latter rolled on the ground once more.

Hokori chuckled. “Time for the conclusion, boy….” He clenched his right and cocked his arm to the side, loudly groaning as he did. Haruto got back up, eyes glaring with pure resentment.

Hokori, maniacally smiling, yelled as he ran toward him to deliver a one-hit KO. However, his opponent disappeared from his sight. He stood in confusion, then grunted in pain. A diagonal slash across his chest opened wider. “What the… What happened— Aaaaagh!!” A wound gaped across his back.

He threw a punch behind him, but Haruto was not there. Mere moments later, he received a scratch on his cheek. He wiped his face and stood bewildered upon seeing his smeared hand. Hearing slow footsteps from behind, he turned around.

Haruto’s eyes filled with contempt. “I didn’t want to use my innate ability on scum like you. But your insults made me realize you deserve it. Keep your senses sharp, Hokori. Because now…” he pointed his right-hand sword at him, “…I’m going to defeat your title.”

After hearing his words, Hokori laughed maniacally again. He licked the blood off his palm and charged at Haruto at blinding speeds. He threw a downward right-cross that cracked the ground. This time, Haruto dodged perfectly.

Hokori turned around and grinned. “Ahahahahaha! Not bad, boy. Not at all! Any more tricks up your sleeve? Guess even the weak could tear off some skin!” He flash-stepped behind Haruto again, but his punch missed. Then, his opponent appeared from behind. He threw a right hook, but Haruto dodged and countered the attack with an upward slash across his right shoulder.

Hokori walked back and groaned, holding said shoulder with his left. “What… What’s happening!” he limped forward, “How…? How are you…….”

Haruto walked closer. “I don’t have to explain how or why I can, Hokori. The outcome will be the same. You will lie on the floor as your vision fades to black. As I’ve said, you never deserved your title.”

His statement enraged Hokori, with eyes narrowed and teeth clenched. “Don’t fuck with me, cuuuuunt!!!” He threw a barrage of punches and kicks, yet Haruto dodged and countered all of it again.

As it went on, Haruto’s broadswords magically transformed into falchions with red tufted fabrics tied to the ring-shaped pommels. More wisteria engravings covered the blades, and their edges were now fifteen times sharper. Many a foe surrendered instead of feeling its tendon-cutting sting.

Hokori could not do much against Haruto at that point. Now desperate, he punched the ground hard enough to throw him off balance. It allowed him to swipe off his swords, and he readied a straight punch to the face. However, instead of dodging, Haruto caught the fist with his lone right hand. A large shockwave caved the ground behind him.

The crowd gasped in surprise while Hokori grunted in shock. With his left, Haruto threw a devastating gut punch that hurled his opponent onto the arena’s edge.

The disoriented Hokori cripplingly stood up. His hat fell off, and the lens of his shades shattered. His vision became hazy, seeing only a white coloration running toward him.

Haruto delivered the finishing blow. “Sorry, Augustus. I’m going to have to borrow your ultimate move.” He closed his eyes briefly, and, “Immortal… Mark!!!” his swords cut diagonally across Hokori’s torso, forming an X-shape.

Hokori let out an agonizing scream. His whole body relaxed, and he fell on his back with his mouth wide open.

With that, the stern Haruto turned around and sheathed his swords. “I hope you learned a lot, Hokori….”

In Kennedy’s private room, Richard stood up from his chair. “I-I can’t believe it! Haruto actually won!” He turned to the king. Your majesty. I don’t know what to say, except that I’m sorry I doubted you….”

“Well, you shouldn’t be at all,” said Harald, “It’s not over yet. Besides—this was not the bet I decided on. Sit down….”

“W-What…?” Richard’s eyes squinted.

Outside the arena, Dominique stopped Engo from running to Hokori’s aid. “No need for that, kid…” he held her right wrist.

“W-What do you mean? I have to heal him, don’t I? Are you sure he wasn’t lying before?” she raised an eyebrow.

He chuckled with his head shaking. “Kid… lying’s one of the many things Hokori despises the most.”

Meanwhile, Haruto tried to walk back to the training room but was interrupted by Kennedy speaking on his headset. “Woah there, son! Where do you think you’re going?! We ain’t done yet. Specifically—the Peerless Champion’s never done until he sees fit!”

Haruto heard the crowd laughing out loud. Some yelled at him for how he “fell for the beginner’s trap,” while others called him a “sweet summer child.” Confused, he did not pay them much attention and walked. However, he heard a chuckle from behind.

Hokori got back up using only his feet. “Hahahahahahaha!! Really gotta love how you’re so dedicated to your hero act, boy. Meanwhile, I’m here being very dedicated to calling you ‘boy’ just like my favorite character! Now wouldn’t ya know dat, boy?” He examined his now lensless shades. “Hmmm… Ya know what? They still look nice this way. I’ll keep it….”

The large, gaping flesh wounds dealt on him regenerated instantly before Haruto’s eyes. His blood absorbed back into the skin, while blood on his clothing turned brown quickly.

Hokori chuckled again. “What’d I tell ya, boy? Your wake-up call is now in session!” he looked at Haruto wide open.

Without the lenses of Hokori’s shades, it revealed very unusual eyes. His dark red corneas resembled the blood that covered him before, and his pupils were bright yellow-orange like a raging bonfire. Seeing this, Haruto stood utterly terrified, sweating bullets. “No way!”

Hokori sighed with his head shaking. “You never got the memo, did ya, boy…? You went actin’ like the perfect light novel protagonist throughout our fight. So, I decided to act like a typical arrogant villain they’d defeat in minutes. Dat’s the one thing ya missed, boy…” he pointed at a still terrified Haruto, “…I ain’t no villain nor hero!

“I… am me. And I am, indeed, an arrogant savage. But I’m the best breed of my kind!” He raised his right fist and said, “Aight… now it’s my turn…” in Japanese.

Hokori stood in place with a wide grin. Even then, Haruto decided to carry on the battle. He felt he had everything to lose if his opponent had another story added to his perfect victory record. His family’s future hung by a thread.

With Haruto’s phenomenal, magical speed enhanced further by his innate ability, he charged at Hokori with all his might. Just as he was within striking range for both swords, the latter intercepted effortlessly.

Moving so fast that it resembled a single time frame, Hokori delivered a literal earth-shattering lariat at Haruto’s middle torso. Even with his powerful magic and innate ability fortifying him, Haruto coughed out enough blood to drench Hokori’s whole face.

The lariat’s shockwave caused the ground behind Haruto to fissure and cave in across the arena. The sands and their bodily contents flew around the air again. Haruto was hurled mid-air throughout, only for his momentum to be halted all at once by the runic dome.

He fell ten feet high and rotated on the way down, falling on his back. Dominique and Engo rushed to his aid.