Part III — The King's First Victory
BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM—!!!!
The battlefield vanished.
Not because either of us disappeared—
Because we had become too fast for the battlefield itself.
BAM!!
Our fists collided.
The air folded inward.
A heartbeat later—
BOOOOOOM!!
The shockwave reached the mountains.
Entire cliffs collapsed.
Stone avalanches thundered into the valley below.
Neither of us looked.
Neither cared.
There was only one enemy left in this world.
Each other.
---
BAM!!
Another collision.
BAM!!
Another.
BAM!!
Again.
Again.
Again.
Each exchange lasted less than a blink.
Each carried enough force to level cities.
Yet—
Neither strike was wasted.
The orc had compressed everything into the smallest possible movement.
Every punch traveled only the distance required.
Every rotation stopped the instant its purpose ended.
No excess.
No hesitation.
No weakness.
He had become the embodiment of battle itself.
An ancient predator refined by hundreds of millions of years of survival.
---
My body moved.
Not because I ordered it.
Because it understood.
Prime Instinct no longer felt like a technique.
It felt...
Like breathing.
Natural.
Effortless.
Complete.
My light-blue aura flowed around me like calm water, wrapping tightly against my skin.
Within it—
Countless blue sparkles drifted like stars suspended inside a tranquil universe.
The blue ring around my neck revolved silently.
Behind my head—
The circular arcs of blue lightning spun with perfect rhythm.
A crown.
Not of royalty.
Of understanding.
---
The phantom tiger watched.
Silent.
Immense.
Its enormous form stood behind me like an ancient guardian.
It still had not roared.
It didn't need to.
Authority didn't announce itself.
It simply existed.
---
BAMMMMMM—!!!!
Our fists met again.
This time—
Neither of us moved.
The battlefield shook beneath our feet.
The mountain behind the orc cracked down the middle.
Dust poured from its peak.
Still—
We remained locked together.
Blue eyes.
Crimson eyes.
Neither blinking.
---
The orc frowned.
Deeply.
His beast-like face became terrifying.
Ancient.
Ferocious.
For the first time—
Emotion appeared.
Not anger.
Disbelief.
His heart pounded faster.
THUMP.
THUMP.
His crimson veins glowed brighter beneath his skin.
Then—
He spoke.
His voice wasn't quiet.
It burst across the battlefield like thunder.
"IMPOSSIBLE!!"
The word echoed through the mountains.
It sounded less like a roar—
And more like a warrior refusing to accept reality.
---
His thoughts raced.
Impossible...
How...?
Every answer I prepare...
He creates another.
Images flashed through his ancient memories.
Battlefields.
Wars.
Champions.
Kings.
Monsters.
He remembered them all.
He had never been the strongest.
Never the most gifted.
Back in his tribe...
Others surpassed him in talent.
Others possessed greater bloodlines.
Others wielded greater power.
But intelligence...
Adaptation...
Understanding...
Those had always belonged to him.
Again and again, he had defeated opponents stronger than himself.
Again and again, experience had overcome talent.
That was why he had survived.
Why he had lived through ages that erased empires.
Yet—
This child...
Every time he believed he understood him...
The child changed.
Adapted.
Evolved.
He had fought for hundreds of millions of years.
And somehow—
This brat was catching up.
Comparing himself to another...
Was frustrating.
Terrifying.
---
His thoughts stopped.
His expression became cold once more.
His heartbeat accelerated.
Then...
Now or never.
His crimson eyes locked onto mine.
Show me...
Show me what you're truly made of.
Show me...
How deeply you understand.
---
Without another thought—
He abandoned every remaining reservation.
Every ounce of power.
Every fragment of strength.
Every drop of experience.
Nothing leaked.
Nothing escaped.
Nothing was wasted.
His aura disappeared completely.
Not because it weakened.
Because every trace of it had been compressed into his body.
His crimson skin brightened.
The glowing veins beneath it resembled rivers of molten magma.
Heat shimmered around him.
Not from flames—
From internal combustion.
Energy ignited inside every muscle.
Inside every bone.
Inside every cell.
His body became the furnace.
Combustion reached perfect concentration.
The ancient predator...
Had become even more dangerous.
---
I watched.
Calmly.
For the first time—
I wasn't trying to understand him.
I already did.
Prime Instinct wasn't prediction.
It wasn't reaction.
It wasn't speed.
It was understanding.
Complete understanding.
Understanding the opponent.
Understanding myself.
Understanding the moment.
Everything became simple.
---
The blue sparkles above my head slowly descended.
One after another.
They dissolved into my consciousness.
The last barrier disappeared.
No unnecessary thoughts remained.
No unnecessary movement remained.
No unnecessary emotion remained.
Only purpose.
---
The orc moved.
His fastest strike.
His greatest strike.
The culmination of countless millions of years.
One punch.
Nothing more.
---
I stepped forward.
Not backward.
Forward.
Just enough.
My shoulder rotated.
My hips aligned.
My breathing never changed.
My left hand brushed his wrist.
Barely touching it.
Just enough.
One pound...
Guiding a thousand ounces.
His fist missed.
Not because he failed.
Because I understood.
---
For the first time—
His balance broke.
Only slightly.
That was enough.
My right hand rose.
Blue energy condensed along its edge.
Thin.
Sharp.
Not a sword.
Not a blade.
An extension of perfect control.
An edge created by absolute efficiency.
No wasted energy.
No wasted motion.
---
We crossed each other.
Silence.
One step.
Two.
Three.
The battlefield stopped moving.
The mountains stood still.
Even the wind forgot to breathe.
---
A single crimson line appeared across the orc's neck.
His eyes widened.
Not from fear.
From realization.
A slow smile spread across his face.
Proud.
Satisfied.
"...Excellent..."
His voice was barely audible.
"...Now..."
"...I understand..."
His enormous body remained standing for one final heartbeat.
Then—
His head slid cleanly from his shoulders.
The body remained upright.
Before collapsing like an ancient tree finally surrendering to time.
BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM—!!!!!
The battlefield shook one last time.
Silence followed.
True silence.
The phantom tiger slowly faded.
The blue halo behind my head dissolved into countless sparkling stars.
The ring around my neck dispersed into gentle streams of light.
Prime Instinct settled deep within me.
No longer a technique.
No longer borrowed knowledge.
It had become...
Mine.
I looked at the fallen warrior.
Lowering my head slightly.
Not in victory.
In respect.
"...Thank you."
The wind answered.
And somewhere beyond the battlefield—
The Tower acknowledged its new king.
---
End of Chapter Twenty-One