Hokori chuckled at Haruto’s confusion. “Boy, are ya deaf or some shit? Show me more! Show me your true self—your Zenith Corpus! And ya know what? Now that your girlfriend’s here, lemme in on you with dis…” he pointed at his opponent, “…Battle Escalation is what ya got, am I wrong?

“Yeah, das right. I knew about your schtick even before we met! Combined with your girlfriend’s Nostradamus, gotta say it’s pretty deadly! Now, I’m achin’ to know—how far your limits go….” He chuckled again and showed a wide, toothy grin.

Haruto sweated bullets like never before, utterly unnerved by his opponent’s words. Before he could react, Hokori charged at him at blinding speeds.

Tokino ran inside the arena and cried, “Left hook!”

As a result, Hokori only managed to graze his cheek. “Aaaaah… Stuff comin’ at ya too fast is her power’s limit! Now, I believe there’s another…” he lunged at Haruto for a straight punch.

Tokino foresaw it clearly, but the outcome went another way. Hokori’s attack subtly changed to a backhand fist at the last second, hurling Haruto far away.

Hokori flash-stepped nearby. “I knew it! Your girlfriend ain’t omniscient! Too bad for you, cuz I got a million ways to beat your ass! I’d say these are good enough reasons to use Zenith Corpus.”

Haruto slowly stood up and panted. “Why should I?” his eyes glared straight. “I have no intention—of listening to scum like y—” a turning kick dealt his neck.

Hokori’s eyes fill with disgust. “I wasn’t askin’, Haruto…” his resentment peaked. “Don’t make me say your name again. Tell ya what… if ya don’t show it to me, you’ll live your life knowing you wounded your own pride. I’d just simply tap your neck, all because you were stubborn. I win, you lose, and you never defeated my title.

“In other words…” Hokori began speaking in Japanese, “…don’t ever be a coward. In fact, I forbid it!” He stomped on the ground, fissuring it. “So… what’s your answer, boy?” he picked up and threw Haruto’s swords near him.

This time, Haruto did not stand up immediately. Half a minute went by with him not moving an inch. Until he let out a deep breath. His magic spiked, blowing sand away as everyone could see a tangible aura. Hokori felt his pressure, noting internally as if a thousand razor blades carved up his flesh nonstop. Even then, he grinned.

As Haruto picked up his broadswords, they transformed into ornate nodachi. He slowly walked toward his opponent, eyes closed. “You’re right, Hokori. If this is what it takes to defeat your title…” He began speaking Japanese as well, “…I’ll back down when I’m six feet under!” his corneas turned bright yellow.

Hokori grinned and chuckled yet again. “That’s the spirit, boy. Bring up more one-liners….”

The final round had now begun.

Two-thirds of the crowd jumped from their seats, screaming at the top of their lungs. Not moving from the spot, Haruto delivered a horizontal swing with his right.

Hokori leaped high to dodge, and he witnessed something phenomenal. The blade extended far enough to scratch the dome many meters away. Later on, larger-than-life swords manifested everywhere as Haruto kept slashing in place.

Tokino from afar quickly cast runes on her nape, which caused ones to glow on Haruto’s. “Honey… can you hear me?”

“Yeah… Let’s do it.” Haruto’s eyes filled woth resolve.

Now forced to dart around midair, Hokori ran and jumped on one enormous blade after the next. “Damn… He’s escalated the battle, alright.” He chuckled.

He hopped toward Haruto and managed to close in on their distance. However, Haruto moved out of the way in time and delivered a downward crossed slash. Hokori grabbed both swords with one hand the moment they intertwined.

The ground vicinity sank deep into a crater after the attack. Many a crowd flooded into the second row’s railings to view the fight closer.

Hokori sighed, having a firm hold on Haruto’s swords. “You know, boy… when I said ya never had any chance…” he slowly pushed them downward, by which Haruto grunted as he struggled to push back up. “…I wasn’t fucking around.”

He kicked Haruto on the side, which hurled him diagonally upward to the runic dome. Fortunately, the latter did not receive the same grievous injuries.

Hokori jumped before Haruto and double-punched his stomach. He tried to close his mouth, yet so much blood inevitably spewed out. Hokori grabbed his head and threw him back to where he was, sinking the crater even deeper.

Getting back up swiftly, Haruto extended his right-hand sword and went for a downward swing, but Hokori threw a knee strike to his stomach. Even when he vomited more blood, Haruto carried on.

Tokino observed the entire ordeal with distressed eyes. “I can’t believe it… Nothing I foresee comes true!” She hoped to help her husband in any way she could, but at that moment, she was no better than a liability.

She witnessed Hokori delivering a straight punch that drifted upward at the last second, hitting Haruto’s chin. The latter rotated midair and landed on his feet with drag. Haruto’s fatigue came back even worse, panting.

Hokori walked closer. “Aight, time for the conclusion! You’ve already shown me enough before all this. Using Zenith Corpus for this long ain’t recommended. So swing your best at my face, boy! I’ll wait….” He grinned and rested his hands behind his neck.

“Gladly!” Haruto obliged out of anger. A thousand copies of his nodachi filled the arena. None of them flew to Hokori’s face even once. Instead, they flew to his main swords and merged. His nodachi now glowed yellow like his eyes.

The tremendous magic permeated the entire colosseum, causing violent tremors that every spectator could feel. Eyeglasses broke instantly. Many stadium lights shattered, and wine bottles bursted—even in the VIP rooms.

Because of its sheer power, Haruto almost fell on his knees and vomited blood. “Damn it…! I’m out of time. I’ll just have to slash him once…” he readied a stance.

He appeared before Hokori all in one step, and delivered a horizontal double swing to the left. “Starbright… Torrent!!!” a blinding flash of light occurred on impact.

The marvelous attack blew the crowd from their seats in both ways. More bottles and eyewear shattered, and every stadium light exploded. Emergency lighting illuminated in response.

Tokino, Hokori’s comrades, and the two paramedics shielded their eyes before being blown away in a literal sense.

Moments later, they all got up to see the aftermath. It was unheard of. A grinning Hokori did not budge as the technique could not even scratch his skin. Haruto gazed wide open out of shock and fright.

Hokori smiled with his closed. “Eh…. It was good enough, boy…” he grabbed Haruto’s swords and hurled him high with a push-kick. Next, he flash-stepped and prepared a right spear hand to his opponent’s chest, who flew midair.

Even when Haruto’s temporarily peak perception allowed him to see in slow motion, he could do nothing with the attack. The stench of death loomed over him. His heartbeat matched a rabbit’s.“Sorry… Tokino….” He closed his eyes, tearing up.

Tokino’s eyes lit up after foreseeing the future. White, transparent clock hands appeared within her corneas. She gasped. “Nooooooo!!! Don’t kill hiiiiiiim!!!” she ran up to them, crying.

After Hokiri’s spear hand closed in on Haruto’s chest, a shockwave occurred, obscuring both fighters as sand flew around.

Tokino shielded her eyes. As the dust settled, she saw the hand deeply embedded in her husband’s chest. She fell on her knees, then on her elbows, and bawled a river.

Moments later, Tokino heard a groan before her. She looked back up, tears rolling down her cheeks. It turned out the future she saw was only true to an extent. Blood vessels covered Haruto’s entire body. As Hokori pulled his hand out, the bloody cavity disappeared.

Now fully healed, Haruto touched his chest, more confused than Tokino was. He saw his adversary lending a hand, which he complied.

Hokori held his shoulder. “Hahahahahahaha! So dat was another limit of your girlfriend’s power, right boy? The future truly is uncertain….”

Tokino hugged Haruto and cried his name out loud. As she let go, her eyes changed when she looked at Hokori. They did not express anger. In fact, her expression looked slightly terrified.

Hokori turned to Haruto again. “Anyways, boy… you win.”

“W-What…?” his eyes squinted.

He sighed with his eyes closed, “You’ve defeated my title, just like ya said. I was more interested in your girlfriend that time. Again, you’ve already shown me enough.” He held his shoulder again. “I forfeit the battle….” His face exuded sheer serenity.

Haruto cracked a smile. “Hoko— Agh!” his neck was karate chopped. His eyes relaxed, falling unconscious.

Hokori raised his index finger, “However… I win the war!” he grinned.

Kennedy up above felt unrelenting excitement. “Woohoo! Once again—the Peerless Champion reigns supreme!!!”

Hokori raised both fists high as he was once again showered by the crowd’s ear-bursting praises. Tokino held Haruto in her arms and placed her hand on his chest; she sighed in relief. However, she overheard the crowd’s cheers. One said Hokori rightfully deserved the win and called her husband a ‘pansy’ out loud.

Tokino’s eyes lit up again. She hyperventilated. “How… How could you? My Haruto showed you respect. But you—you…” she gazed at Hokori and drew her rapier, “…coward!!”

Unfortunately, she pierced through his afterimage instead. Her vision blurred, and she collapsed on the floor. Hokori stood behind with a karate chop stance on his right hand. “Ain’t no coward, kid. Opportunism’s my forte.” He saw the paramedics from afar. “Take them home!” he ordered.

Hokori stretched and yawned. “Gotta meet up with the girls again. It’s raging down here…” he touched down below.

“Mama! Papa!” Yukino ran to them, still accompanied by Kenkō. Engo blocked her way to cast runes beneath her feet. “Please stay where you are, Ms. Yukino.” She used the same Japanese honorific when she met Hokori before. Dominique cast ones for the couple, while Hokori and his comrades cast their own. Kenkō held Yukino close to calm her down.

“Hey, Kenkō!” Hokori caught her attention, throwing her the syringe device. “Thanks…” he gave a thumbs up.

Hokori got transported outside a twenty-story brothel named “Fly Away Now.”

With all that, the Minagawa family teleported to their new home.

In the floating private room, Kennedy jumped in glee. “Wooo nelly, that was golden! Sorry, Harald. Looks like you’ve become the poorest king of all time— Huh?” he noticed the holographic screen sending a check online. He examined it closer. “What! E-Excuse me? W-W-What the—”

“Surprised?” Harald smirked. “The bet was: if Hokori said ‘I forfeit the battle,’ we would win. Be careful next time with computers, old friend.” He turned to Richard. “Let’s have some fun outside. Before you can see them again, drinks are on me.”

Kennedy ran to him from behind. “W-W-Wait a minute, Harald! How can I possibly—”

“Now now, McLagan. Surely a billionaire like you could spare a few bills. Which reminds me…” he turned around, “…You’ve been twenty thousand short on your taxes, lately. I could increase the sentence, you know.” The two walked out of the room.

Kennedy smiled. “Hahahahahaha!” then he sighed, “You take care, Harald….” He snapped his fingers, turning his private room invisible.

The spectators exited the Fools’ Theater. Teleportation-based runic arrays appeared beneath their feet as they stood outside.

After their exit, the colosseum’s lights turned off.

At the Coelestis estate, Haruto slept on a bed at his new home. He opened his eyes slowly and saw Tokino, saddened and saying his name softly. However, she smiled and and held his cheek.

Tokino hugged her husband, tearing up with eyes closed. “I’m so glad you’re okay….”