The arena lights flickered once again.
At the edge of the platform, Knuckle Reaper's corpse still lay there-covered under a white sheet.
The metallic stench of blood lingered in the air, thick and suffocating.
The crowd was no longer laughing.
Now, they were waiting.
The Chairman lifted the microphone.
"Next fighter-"
"The king of speed."
"The butcher of kicks."
"The nightmare of Taekwondo..."
The lights crashed downward in a vertical cascade.
"SKY CUTTER!"
The arena erupted.
A tall, lean fighter stepped inside the ring.
Barefoot.
No shin guards.
Calves coiled tight like steel cables.
Ankles so flexible it looked as if bones didn't exist there at all.
Every step produced a faint whistling sound-
as though the air itself was being sliced apart.
The commentator spoke, his voice filled with awe.
"Cameras can't capture this man's kicks."
"People say you hear the scream first..."
"...and only afterward does the body fall."
Sky Cutter's eyes locked onto Rohan.
A faint smirk curved his lips.
"Learned boxing, huh?"
"Now you're here to get your legs broken, kid?"
Rohan said nothing.
He simply bent down... and removed his shoes.
Bare feet.
The same stance.
The noise of the crowd slowly faded.
The commentator's voice trembled.
"WAIT-"
"IS HE-?"
"That's a Taekwondo stance too?!"
Sky Cutter's expression changed.
"Impossible..."
BELL.
Not even a second was wasted.
Sky Cutter exploded forward.
WHOOOSH-
A high roundhouse kick, straight at head level.
Rohan's head slipped away by mere millimeters.
The kick tore through empty air.
The crowd gasped.
"OH SHIT!"
Sky Cutter didn't stop.
Spin → back kick → axe kick.
One after another.
The ground cracked where the kicks landed.
But Rohan didn't block.
He observed.
Hip rotation.
Balance shifts.
Breathing rhythm.
Then-
Rohan moved.
Same kick.
Same angle.
Same timing.
WHAM.
His roundhouse slammed into Sky Cutter's ribs.
CRACK.
Sky Cutter slid backward, eyes wide in shock.
The commentator screamed.
"WAIT-HE COPIED IT!"
"ADVANCED COUNTER TAEKWONDO?!"
Rage twisted Sky Cutter's face.
He pushed his speed even further.
Multiple airborne kicks.
A 540 spin kick.
Heel strike.
Neck-level attacks.
One kick grazed Rohan's shoulder.
Skin split open.
Blood spilled.
The crowd went insane.
"BLOOD!"
"NOW THIS IS A FIGHT!"
Sky Cutter laughed.
"It landed, didn't it?"
"You're human after all."
Rohan glanced at his shoulder.
A single drop of blood fell to the floor.
That was all.
Then-
His stance changed.
Weight lowered.
Center of gravity shifted.
Eyes turned ice-cold.
The Chairman straightened.
"That stance..."
"That isn't normal Taekwondo."
Sky Cutter charged again.
Flying knee → spin kick combination.
And then-
Rohan stepped inside.
Distance: zero.
Sky Cutter froze.
At this range, Taekwondo doesn't work.
Rohan's knee smashed into Sky Cutter's thigh.
CRACK.
The sound of bone breaking.
Sky Cutter screamed.
Rohan didn't stop.
No elbow-
a heel stomp.
Sky Cutter's foot was planted.
Rohan dropped his entire body weight onto the ankle.
CRUNCH.
The foot twisted unnaturally.
The arena fell silent.
Sky Cutter collapsed, screaming.
"AAAA-!"
Rohan stood over him.
"Taekwondo..."
he said quietly,
"isn't just about kicks."
Then-
A perfect AXE KICK.
Straight onto the skull.
BOOM.
Sky Cutter's head slammed into the floor.
Blood spread beneath him.
His body twitched.
Rohan didn't stop.
One more stomp.
This time-on the neck.
CRACK.
The sound was like dry wood snapping.
Silence.
Doctors rushed in.
A pulse was checked.
Hands began to tremble.
"He's dead..."
For a moment, the arena was numb.
Then-
THE ENTIRE ARENA ERUPTED.
Screams.
Whistles.
Betting slips flying through the air.
The Chairman's cigarette slipped from his fingers.
His voice escaped him.
"This boy..."
"He's not just copying..."
"He's upgrading."
Rohan stood in the blood-soaked arena.
Breathing steady.
Eyes empty.
He looked up and shouted-
"I don't have time to play."
"Send all three of them together."
The arena went silent.
The Chairman, Sunil, and Bhikhari stared in disbelief.
Then laughter broke out.
"What's wrong with him?"
"He won two fights and thinks he's a top dog now?"
Even the Chairman spoke.
"Think carefully."
"What you're asking for is suicide."
Rohan replied calmly.
"If this looks like suicide to you,"
"then your way of seeing the world is too small."
"There are many things in this world you still don't understand."
Inside, Rohan thought-
Compared to the mission I've stepped into...
this is nothing more than a warm-up.
The Chairman fell silent.
What is he talking about?
What exactly has he come here to do?
He fights people in their own styles...
and defeats them.
Who is this man?
Suddenly, a memory surfaced in his mind.
His expression tightened.
No...
That's impossible.
---
But the question remains-
Can Rohan really fight all three of them at once?