It was mid afternoon and the sky was a clear blue. There wasn’t a single dark cloud in sight and a gentle breeze swept through the air mitigating the heat of the beaming sun hanging in the center of the sky. It was the perfect weather for a normal day, some would even call it a beautiful day but for Tomoro Sazaki he found it to be ironic.

“The weather does not reflect the mood of this day at all.”

He says this whilst standing atop one of the tallest skyscraper overlooking City C. Following his voluntary defeat at the hands of Suiryu Tomoro left the Super Stadium in order to survey the damage done by the Monster Association attacks while he was preoccupied. His senses were like a blanket covering the entirety of the city making him aware not only of every sentient being within it but their location, level of power and state of being ( that is, monster, human, etc).

He was surprised to find that the overall damage to the city was surprisingly minimal. He could only attribute this to the timely intervention of one blonde cyborg. It wasn’t a perfect thing of course, not even Genos could intervene in every conflict when it was happening against an unprepared civilian populace over an area the size of City C. Genos is only one person and with there just not being many strong heroes in City C to begin with casualties were unavoidable.

This attack was meant to target heroes specifically but the monsters didn’t much care for propriety so civilians were fair game. Still Genos is powerful, fast, efficient and thorough so for every human casualty Tomoro found he saw twice as many monsters. It culminated into him discovering several dozen monster corpses scattered throughout the city when he actually took the time to look and unlike his senses his vision doesn’t cover the entire city.

It seems that the Hero Association was able to coordinate an evacuation to the emergency shelters while Genos (and presumably other heroes) kept the monsters busy. Unfortunately with Genos being taken out and the other heroes either M.I.A. or incapacitated monsters that have managed to slip under the radar or came in after the fact were starting to make their way to the shelter. He couldn’t sense anyone exceptional amongst these new arrivals (save for the big man and his three lackeys) but he did notice something else.

“Hm, looks like the heroes are in the shelter too.”

There can be three reasons for this:

They were providing security because they couldn’t keep up with Genos.

They were recovering from injuries sustained in the attack.

Or they were overwhelmed and are currently hiding like cowards.

Whether or not the monsters would be able to breach the shelter is up in the air. He couldn’t sense anything special among these heroes but

“It should be fine, right?”

It was hard to parse power levels of this sort, they were just that weak.

“That guy on the other hand…”

His eyes turned to a specific area of the city. For a normal person they would not be able to see anything but a skyline or vague outlines on the street if they squinted hard enough. Tomoro and his heightened senses however can cover a fairly great distance if he concentrated. Not that he needed to concentrate since his target wasn’t exactly inconspicuous to his more esoteric senses. He was of course speaking of Gouketsu who was making his way inside the stadium. His presence alone outstripped everything else in the city. He was the equivalent of a lighthouse beacon in the darkness.

“Still nothing compared to Boros but I can see why Genos thought Saitama would need to team up with all the S-Class to defeat him.”

Out of curiosity Tomoro concentrated his vision to get a visual on his future opponent. Just like everything else he’s witnessed in this world what vague recollections of Murata’s drawings he remembered could not compare to seeing the real thing. Gouketsu was something to behold, standing at 12 meters tall the giant wore a purple gi, spikes covered his arms, shoulders and knuckles and four vertical bloody red eyes with yellow pupils that seem to glow with restrained power sat atop his head.

Circling him were three human/crow hybrid monsters. The crows flew ahead into a certain section of the stadium moments before the giant entered the stadium or would have had he not abruptly turned so his four his eyes could seemingly glare right at him. The move was mildly surprising to Tomoro however he did not react beyond lowering the intent behind his concentration. He was rewarded by the giant looking about for a bit before ultimately disregarding his feelings to enter the stadium, actually ducking his head to do so which was quite civil of him.

“In hindsight I should have seen that coming.”

Gouketsu was a martial arts grandmaster after all and one doesn’t just spy on people of their caliber without some serious stealth abilities. Luckily stealth was something Tomoro was very proficient in.

“It’s about to start.”

In a few moments the crow monsters flew out with the injured contestants held within their hands and talons. The moment the crows made their way onto the arena Tomoro decided to check in with the shelter. The monsters were there trying to get in but between the automated defenses and heroes (who turned out not to be injured or cowering) they were having less success.

“Good, there’s no need to expose myself. I’ll let the Hero Association do its job.”

In the next moment he disappeared from roof of the skyscraper.

“Time to see what Suiryu is made of.”

~O~

“Alright, all of you will become monsters.”

In that moment a myriad of emotions went through Suiryu: mild surprise at the appearance of monsters, annoyance at having his fun interrupted and curiosity at the words spoken by the monster in question. It was due to this curiosity that the young martial arts master chose to remain idle.

‘It’s not like I have anything better to do.’

The woman he was flirting with notwithstanding this situation was interesting by virtue of its novelty.

‘Then there’s this guy’ from a glance Suiryu can tell that the three birds were nothing but the big one ‘he’s definitely strong.’

Said monster glanced at the contestants save for the injured and Suiryu who were standing off to the side. Suiryu knew that look, it was of a fighter assessing his opponent which is why his next words weren’t at all surprising to him.

“So many weaklings” his voice rumbled across the arena causing most of them to flinch and/or cower “has the level of the tournament dropped this much?” his voice contained notes of disappointment “the world of martial arts has fallen.”

The creature’s words struck a chord with Suiryu, thin as it was. His attitude eerily reminded him of Tomoro, that disappointment. Suiryu stamped down the resentment building within him.

‘I’ve got nothing to prove to him.’

Even thinking it Suiryu knew that was not true. He did have something to prove and even if the result wasn’t a victory in the traditional sense, he did technically prove his worth to the man.

‘Let it go Suiryu.’

“Hey what do you mean by ‘becoming monsters’?”

Max’s voice brought him back to the present to find both he and Snek stepping forward to challenge the monster.

‘Bad idea’ Suiryu thought knowing how this was going to end.

Even as a few of the audience members who haven’t evacuated yet were cheering on the two heroes Suiryu saw plain as day how the monster reacted to their rush. He simply wound back his leg and kicked out with a speed that was dizzying to the average person. One moment Max and Snek were in battle stances preparing for a fight and the next they were sent flying by a simple side kick from a leg the size of tree trunk.

‘Called it’

On another note this was the second time today that both of those so-called A-Class heroes were beaten by a single kick.

It was kind of funny actually.

‘That’s what you get for not knowing your place and playing hero.’

His musings were interrupted by the giant’s words.

“It would be easy to kill all of you right now but that’s not the goal for today” the monster looked down on them both literally and metaphorically as he continued “I am Gouketsu and I was sent from the Monster Association.”

‘There’s a Monster Association now?’

Was his thought but apparently he was being surprised by the wrong thing.

Zakos shouted “what Gouketsu!!?”

The announcer picked up with just as much shock “you can’t mean the Super Fight’s first champion, that Gouketsu.”

That piqued Suiryu's interest “first champion?”

The announcer quickly went to summarize the monster’s background. The first Super Fight tournament had the most participants and the one who fought all of them to win was a martial artist by the name of Gouketsu.

By the end the monster named Gouketsu chimed in “if you already know about me then you know that resisting is meaningless.”

If he was hoping his reputation would cause some effect he would be disappointed because aside from that one guy and the announcer Suiryu and the rest of them did not in fact know about him.

‘Must have not been much back in the day.’

The first Super Fight tournament was over a decade ago.

“But Gouketsu should have died when he was challenged by a monster and lost!” the announcer continued “how are you standing before us here and with this appearance?”

The announcer trailed off as Gouketsu’s four eyes pinned him in place, he seemed to be considering something briefly before making up his mind.

“That’s right, I was utterly defeated by a monster in the past and taken to their hideout. Instead of killing me they offered to help me fulfill my life’s ambition to gain more power!” As he spoke his voice gained fervor causing his rumbling voice to roar despite his expression not changing much “they explained that the limitations that a human body cannot surpass can easily be destroyed by becoming a monster.”

There were exclamations of shock amongst the gathered and even Suiryu was a bit unnerved, though it was more by Gouketsu’s exuberance when recounting the story more than anything else.

“Do you understand now? I have been reborn a completely different entity from the Gouketsu you knew. That reminds me” he reached into his gi and tossed out disgusting looking lumps of meat “listen well you trash martial artists, these are ‘monster cells,’ eating them will transform you into monsters, that way you can join the Monster Association. Be grateful that you will be able to serve as our soldiers.”

‘Disgusting’ Suiryu thought seeing most of the others look about as much as he felt ‘what idiot would ever choose to become a monster?’

“Become monsters or die.”

Ah…

The threat had an immediate outcome as Rosie the university student rush forward. Suiryu couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the display.

‘What is this guy even doing here?’

Out of everyone in the tournament Rosie was literally a civilian, a student no less. He didn’t even pretend to be a fighter and they just allowed him into what is supposed to be a martial arts tournament. It’s for reasons like this why Suiryu only joined the tournament for the money. Don’t get him wrong he would like to test his skills against strong opponents but if he were really serious about it then this tournament wouldn’t be his first choice looking for a challenge.

Moments after eating the ‘monster cell’ Rosie gained an extra two feet in height, his teeth became needle-like, his ears pointed and his eyes reptilian. There was the small sound of shattered glass as his already cracked glasses shattered from his face reconstructing in the transformation. His most obvious change however was his muscles which bulged to an almost obscene degree, ripping through the top of his fitted suit and exposing the spines of his vertebrae.

“This power is amazing!” he exclaimed before his gaze landed on Dave, his opponent who easily defeated him in their match “hey fatso! You crushed me during our match right.”

Far from the well educated and composed university student Rosie’s attitude reflected his new appearance, that of a hulking brute. And to demonstrate this he stalked towards the incapacitated sumo and grabbed his leg before easily tossing him into the bleachers.

With his revenge done Rosie looked to the others “screw psychological analysis, I’ll kill you all with raw strength!”

*SNAP*

Rosie’s declaration was abruptly cut short and the newly transformed monster fell with a wet gurgle, his head twisted 180 degrees. His killer Choze, looked down upon his victim with a calculating gleam hidden in his apathy. He was still heavily injured from his bout with Tomoro and despite putting up a front Suiryu could tell that he was still struggling.

“Interesting, a plebian like him was able to grow so much by becoming a monster” he limped to the nearest cell and picked it up “surely I, who hold’s humanity’s strongest genes will be able to attain ultimate power.”

He ate the cell and his transformation occurred. All injuries he suffered seemed to disappear, his black gloves became black claws while the sweater he wore seemed to meld into his skin which became the same deep crimson with black pattern as the fabric. Surprisingly he kept his pants but grew two vertical horns above his now bald head.

“So this monsterization” the newly transformed monster gave himself a once over “hmm, it’s not just my physical abilities that have changed” he noted clinically “a hormone I have never experienced before is being secreted from my brain. It’s as if a subconscious restriction I had on my actions has been lifted. My morals though only faintly present have now completely vanished” he held a hand up and clenched it into a fist “let’s test it out.”

In the next moment he appeared before Jakumen, the pro wrestler/entertainer and gave a careless backhand that sent the larger man flying out of the ring.

“Yes, with this power I will be able to kill that man” as he spoke the memories of his brutal defeat at the hands of Tomoro replayed in his mind.

‘I will make him regret making me feel so insignificant!’

“Not bad” Gouketsu spoke out loud “monsterization is a gamble but the outcome depends on the quality of the material” he turned his attention back to the others “I chose to target this tournament because strong humans would make for strong monsters. Now the rest of you, hurry up and eat, it doesn’t work if you don’t choose to do it willingly. Or are you going to defy me?”

And that sealed the deal for some of them.

“I-I’ll eat it, just spare my life!” wailed Benpatsu scrambling for one of the cells while on his knees.

After him Hamikichi followed suit muttering “I’m getting tired of teaching self defense classes for hardly any money. If becoming a monster means I can live freely by my own desires then…”

Then there was Volten whose thoughts revolved around his match between Suiryu and how easily he lost.

“To think an opportunity to close the gap would arrive so quickly” he bit into the cell.

In mere moments Benpatsu cackled like madman as his muscles bulged slightly and he grew a third eye “WAHAHAHA, THIS IS AWESOME!”

Hamikichi, the bear of a man became a literal bear monster growing fur the color of his hair. He released a roar expressing his bloodlust and foamed at the mouth like a rabid animal having seemingly lost his ability to speak.

The most drastic change of the lot however was Volten. His face was split into a wide devilish grin, his eyes lost all color becoming black pools and his hair spiked upwards. Most noticeable was the lightning which has become his signature technique became supercharged, changing from yellow to blue and cloaked his entire body like an aura.

“Kukuku, this feels pretty good.”

With two of their numbers incapacitated, one deceased and four having turned into the monsters the other fighters were faced with two decisions. To lose their humanity or to lose their lives, fear and indecision warred within them, locking them in place.

With this stalemate Suiryu mentally sighed putting down his trophy and cheque to crouch near the cute girl who handed him the things in the first place.

“Aren’t you going to run away?”

“E-eh” the woman shell shocked looked to the man with wide fearful eyes.

“They aren’t interested in normal people so you can just escape.”

“I-I can’t move my legs” she whimpered.

Suiryu internally frowned seeing her body trembling from her sitting position ‘I guess this would be a bit much for a normal girl like her to face.’

“Say, if I get rid of them will you go out on a date with me?”

It wasn’t fair to girl since she would have agreed to anything if it meant getting out of her current situation.

“Then it’s a date!”

~O~

It hadn’t escaped Gouketsu that not all of the humans were engaging with the situation.

‘Taking a look at them, they might be able to offer something more than even that one’ he thought looking from the heavily injured yet still stoic man to the other more laid back one stepping forward with nonchalance.

Gouketsu didn’t care enough to keep up with the Super Fight tournament after his participation and monsterization so he didn’t know who these two were. At a glance none of them showed any kind of potential so his expectations were rightfully low. It did come as a surprise to him when the heavily injured one became a monster with a Demon threat level without any problems. As for the others they were more or less within the expectant disaster level though the one with lightning was interesting enough.

And speaking of interesting…

‘So he’s the current champion.’

He inferred that much from the boy since he was the one to have the trophy when Gouketsu first arrived. This boy didn’t look like anything special to him but true masters are very adept at hiding their power this he knew. Not every martial arts master is a brute littered with scars and muscles surrounded by an intimidating aura. Some can be as nondescript or unthreatening as a frail old man, a damsel or even a civilian.

Gouketsu certainly knew not to judge by appearance and it’s the reason why he wrote off everyone standing there. He can see beneath the façade to their true selves and what he saw was unimpressive to say the least. Strength and strength of character are what Gouketsu uses to judge a martial artist, not that it matters to a monster but being back in this stadium has him falling back on old instincts.

“The rest of you watch the crows or something, I’ll handle the rest” the boy spoke.

‘Is that confidence or arrogance?’ internally Gouketsu chuckled ‘I guess we won’t find out until he proves himself.’

“All humans opposing the Monster Association will be eliminated, kill him.”

The boy only stretched in the face of his impending death with a nonchalance that can only be afforded to someone completely unthreatened.

“This should help me relieve some stress and forget all about the finals.”

“Hah! Someone like you actually awakened a sense of justice!? Don’t make me laugh! This is where you meet your end Suiryu-AGH!”

Gouketsu wasn’t really surprised when the first one to attack was the one who was the first to run away at the first sign of trouble and immediately surrenders to Gouketsu’s demand (once he regained consciousness) out of fear for his life, a coward through and through.

‘Not that it’s a bad attitude to have for a monster.’

There is no shame in knowing when to cut your losses and escape. Nor is it frowned upon to take advantage of the weak for that is the law monsters live by, survival of the fittest. Alas this one would prove to be a disappointment as the boy whom he had carelessly run up to simply delivered a roundhouse kick to the neck with bone breaking force.

The fool proved a useful distraction however as the bear, Hamukichi, used the opportunity provided to flank him. With speed and intelligence belying its appearance it appeared directly behind the boy with drool still dribbling from its maw and a massive fist cocked back. It was the perfect ambush set up in such short order however the bear too would be denied as the boy easily maneuvered out the way of the fist with a swift turn bringing his elbow back.

*CRACK*

Blood and teeth flew out the monsters jaw as it was sent tumbling away. All the while Suiryu kept his calm smiling façade as he calmly replied to Benpatsu’s taunts.

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m only doing this because you’re getting in the way of my easy life.”

A gleam entered Gouketsu’s eye ‘interesting.’

It was then that the electrified monster, Volten, entered the fray leaping towards the boy with a flying kick charged with thousands of volts of electricity.

“Kyahahah, thanks to my monster form my Super Thunder-Thunder Fist has surpassed my original Thunder-Thunder Fist! You’ll be electrocuted Suiryu!” Volten cackled.

‘Not that it seems to matter’ thought Gouketsu as Suiryu grabbed the hair of Benpatsu (who was still alive even after having his neck snapped) and used him as an impromptu hammer to slam into Volten with enough force to shatter the ring tile under them. Nether monster moved afterwards with Volten’s lightning aura dissipating leaving a pair of charred and smashed corpses.

Gouketsu couldn’t help but feel disappointed by their performance, they were all quite literally taken out in a single hit which spoke as much for their weakness as it does for Suiryu’s strength.

‘Hopefully this one would prove to be better’ he thought looking to Choze.

Smoke waft off of the electrocuted corpses blowing in the breeze that picked up as Suiryu quite literally wiped his hands clean of their filth to stare down his next opponent who hasn’t moved from his spot. In the blink both man and monster met in the middle swinging their legs in the roundhouse kick that connected before attacking each other in a flurry of moves before ending with a punch which connected to each other’s cheek.

‘Not bad’

Suiryu seemed to feel the same as he wiped the corner of his mouth where there was a bruise starting to form.

“Not bad, you’re a little decent at least.”

Unfortunately for him the backhanded compliment only served to set his opponent off “a little decent? It seems you are just another plebian who lacks intelligence” as he spoke a crackling orb of energy appears between his horns.

‘What’s this?’

Gouketsu’s interest in Choze was reignited with this feat.

“My clan was aiming to rule over the world but that goal is worthless. Aside from those whom I have deemed worthy I will slaughter everyone. A new world will be created by those who passed my test and I have deemed you all to be failures.”

As he continued to speak the orb continued to grow in size until “the new world does not need the likes of you, now die!”

Choze launched the massive orb of plasma towards his opponent. Suiryu could have easily dodged it however a glance behind saw that the others would be caught in the explosion so instead he caught the orb instead.

‘Hmph’ Gouketsu folded his massive arms at the display.

After several moments of struggling the martial artist eventually kicked the orb upwards. The sphere detonated in a massive explosion that parted the clouds above the stadium. Had the sphere detonated on contact it would have killed every human destroyed a sizeable part of the stadium itself.

‘An admirable feat…if it had actually worked.’

“What!?” Choze exclaimed in genuine shock as he witnessed his attack explode in the clouds.

‘Shouldn’t get distracted’

Choze paid for his inattention with Suiryu grabbing onto his horns as leverage to deliver a devastating knee to the face. The attack had enough force to allow the martial artist to break off Choze’s horns as the monster was sent flying if only briefly before recovering in a kneeling position with a bruise where his nose used to be.

Meanwhile Suiryu tossed aside the horn pieces maintaining the same air of nonchalance as he taunted “heh you almost had me there but ‘almost’ isn’t good enough and according to my test you’re a failure. So get up and make this more entertaining for me” he smirked while beckoning him forward.

Choze was naturally incensed at his words, his anger represented only by the veins popping over his now horn-less head.

“That was a foolish choice because now you’ve lost your chance at a painless death!”

In the blink of an eye the two disappeared from view only to reappear in violent clashes all across the arena. While the humans could hardly even perceive the aftereffects of each individual clash Gouketsu was easily able to keep up with them.

‘Hmm, so it wasn’t just bravado after all.’

Gouketsu can admit when he’s wrong and it seems that he was certainly wrong about Suiryu’s strength because from where he’s standing despite Choze’s strength Suiryu was edging him out in every exchange.

‘This fight is over’

And as he thought this Suiryu and Choze reappeared with the former in the midst of delivering an uppercut to the latter’s gut.

“VOID SHAKING TIGER FIST!”

Gouketsu perked up ‘I thought I recognized those moves, so he’s using that style’

Choze gurgled on Suiryu’s fist, foaming at the mouth but the young man was not through yet and with a rotation of his wrist sunk his fist even deeper into Choze’s chest. Blood mixed with spit and bile as Choze’s chest bone shattered and his internal organs ruptured.

“VOID RISING PHOENIX FIST!”

It was as if a vortex had gone off in Choze’s body, one that destroyed his already damaged organs and bones. So potent was Suiryu’s attack that it ended up sending Choze’s broken corpse flying with pieces of his bio-mechanical ‘armor’ splintering off.

*Thud*

Gouketsu stared at the corpse of who was the most promising monster of the bunch, his expression betrayed nothing. Then his gaze fixed on the young martial arts master, the bout did not leave him unscathed. Suiryu sported damage across his body, most prominent being the head injury that trickled blood from his hairline down his face and was likely the cause of his brief bout of dizziness.

Suiryu took a moment to compose himself, something Gouketsu allowed before speaking “that style and your name, tell me are perhaps related to Suicho the Void Fist?”

The question caused a brief yet unsubtle twitch of displeasure before he answered “what’s it to you?”

Gouketsu may not care for his human attachments however he was once a martial artist dedicated to his craft and as such he is well aware of the true masters and Suicho was one such master.

“When I was human the last I heard of him was that he went into seclusion.”

“Yeah well, if you’re hoping to meet him, sorry to say but gramps is dead.”

“But not without leaving an heir.”

To his not-so-surprise the young man scoffed “I’m not his heir or whatever. I don’t want to inherit his dojo. I just want to live a carefree life.”

‘To think that Void Fist’s own grandson would end up like this.’

Gouketsu almost cracked a smile at the irony.

“It would be…a waste to kill you, there is still time to reconsider. If you become a monster you could be promoted to a Cadre in the Monster Association.”

Actually Gouketsu was sure of it, Suiryu displayed strength similar to himself back when he was a human.

‘If he is anything less than disaster level Dragon after monsterization I would be shocked.’

But that is only if he agrees, so Gouketsu did something he didn’t normally do, make an earnest attempt at convincing him to join the association.

“It’s not such a bad deal for you, after all everything is about to change and this world will soon belong to the monsters. It will be a world of blood and violence where the strong will rule. Things like money, laws and government authority will not matter. In this world you can do as you wish, live your life as carefree as you want.”

For a long moment Suiryu seemed to consider his options even folding his arms as he did “live as carefree as I want huh?” reaching down he took up the closest monster cell and gave it a considering look “I guess it doesn’t really matter what kind of society I live in so long as I get to live an easy life.”

Gouketsu watched as the young man brought the monster cell to his mouth. Adding Suiryu to the Monster Association forces really would be worth the time it took for him to come here and the deaths of the other prospects. He is by far and wide the best fighter out of them all and there is a high chance that his monsterization would grant them another ‘Cadre’ further bolstering their forces.

Yes Suiryu’s addition to the Monster Association really would have been a net positive.

*Smack*

That is, if he actually joined.

“I’d rather die than become something as ugly as you!”

“VOID SKY DRAGON FIST!!”

Gouketsu did not outwardly react to having the monster cell smack in his face nor did he outwardly react to being assaulted by what seems like the young martial artist’s attack.

What Gouketsu did do however, was deliver his judgment.

“Then die.”

*SMASH*

A quick pounding jab hammered Suiryu into the ground so fast and so hard not even the man himself realized what had happened until he started spewing blood through his teeth on the cratered arena.

“…”

Gouketsu looked down at the seemingly incapacitated man before his eyes roamed across the arena seeing the corpses of the monsterized fighters and the pathetic cowering of the human fighters.

‘So this whole trip turned out to be a waste of time then?’

Other than providing a bit of entertainment for him there was nothing he or the Monster Association would gain from this.

‘This whole thing was a failure’ he mentally sighed before his eyes focused back on his foolish opponent.

Gouketsu was not a monster who used the soft approach for a recruiting pitch. He gave the facts, delivered an ultimatum and let them choose their fate. It was the same method Gyaru Gyaru used for him when he was defeated by Orochi and he approved because in the end freedom of choice mattered. Taking the time to actually sway a potential recruit is not something Gouketsu did on principle and the fact that he had to lower himself to actually try and convince this man and still be brushed off…

Needless to say Gouketsu was quite irked with the arrogant martial artist.

So as he looked to the man still lying insensate in the crater Gouketsu felt his inner sadist brought on by the monster transformation set aflame.

“Hey, what’s the matter? Weren't you going to fight me?

‘Your death will not be a swift one.’

“You have 3 seconds to stand up.”

~O~

‘It’s all over’

As he watched the beginning of what he is sure to be Suiryu’s futile fight against the inevitable Bakuzan couldn’t help but find himself at an impasse. All he ever wanted was to be the strongest martial artist in the world, to carve his name out in the annals of history like others before him. Bakuzan was no fool, he did not take this path lightly and was fully aware of the risks involved. He was also acutely aware of where he stood in the martial arts world but that was why he entered the Super Fight Tournament in the first place.

For all that it has declined over the years it was still a place where martial artists gathered. For Bakuzan in the times where he entered there was always at least one other fighter who would prove to be in the same league as him and every time he would dominate. This time around Bakuzan entered specifically to fight Suiryu after witnessing highlights of his match, recognizing a master when he saw one.

Defeating Suiryu would have been his benchmark for entering that place and he was looking forward to it. But things did not go the way he expected, several variables threw a wrench in his plans with the first and most blatant being him, Tomoro Sazaki, a true master, a Grandmaster. Bakuzan felt foolish for not recognizing him for what he was until he was laid up in the infirmary fighting a concussion.

Bakuzan had been defeated before but this defeat stung all the more not just because of how handedly Tomoro dismantled and brutalized him but because it came out of nowhere. He was only expecting a true fight from Suiryu not this unknown man. He took some solace in knowing that Suiryu himself was not spared humiliation as well. As for why Tomoro let him win Bakuzan did not care to know.

‘And then there’s this’

The appearance of the very first Super Fight champion, now a towering monster offering them power in exchange for their humanity. Bakuzan would be lying if he said he wasn’t intrigued especially since he now realized just how far behind he was. In just a few short hours he went from one of the two strongest in the arena to a mere afterthought literally standing on the sidelines.

His folded hands clenched his biceps and he grit his teeth ‘Tomoro and Gouketsu, they’re both monsters.’

And in a way he can accept his inferiority to them but then there is Suiryu. Looking at the cocky man being toyed with Bakuzan could not see him as being anything more than a mere ‘man.’

‘Just like me and yet better than me.’

And there was the rub, the answer to the question the crowd was raving for. Between Suiryu and Bakuzan, who was strongest? Suiryu proved his mettle in his display against the monsters and even while he was hopelessly outmatched by Gouketsu he was putting up a decent resistance for what it’s worth. It was more than what Bakuzan was capable of and he knew this.

“Hey you!”

Bakuzan met the desperate eyes of the man he’d just now acknowledged as his better.

“Aren’t you supposed to be pretty strong? I’m in a tight spot here, gimme a hand.”

‘So this is what you’re now reduced to? Oh, how the mighty have fallen.’

Bakuzan couldn’t help but smirk at the irony but only for a bit, he had something he needed to get off his chest.

“I figured I’d wait to see how this all plays out but I guess it’s just about over now” he glanced to the side to see the beaten and unconscious bodies of the other contestants “it’s funny, I realized and acknowledged you were stronger than me just now and yet not even you, who is better than me can defeat these monsters.”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m asking for your help!” Suiryu shouted sounding quite annoyed “if we don’t work together then we are both going to die!”

“What do you mean ‘we’?”

Bakuzan unfolded his arms to reveal several monster cells. These are the same ones that were left discarded on the arena floor by the other fighters. With the spectacle Suiryu created it was easy for Bakuzan to retrieve them for himself.

“I’ve decided to become a monster too!” he announced much to the horror of the other man “oh and I won’t leave any for you Suiryu, it’s better for me if you just die here.”

“W-Wha”

Before Suiryu can get a word in Bakuzan began to stuff the cells in his mouth “I’m giving up my dream of becoming the strongest martial artist, instead I’ll become the strongest being on the planet!”

Bakuzan was showing the effects of transforming. Veins pulsed all across his body, his eyes became inhumanly manic and his teeth became needle-like and his muscles bulged.

“Eating all of them” an amused Gouketsu chuckled with folded arms “you’re a greedy one.”

“Shut up Gouketsu! Once I become a monster you won’t be so high and mighty!”

Bakuzan’s mad cackling was abruptly cut off when his body, for lack of a better term, internally exploded. His body doubled then stopped and his eyes popped out of his socket before he collapsed forward into a heap.

~O~

Suiryu couldn’t believe it, his only hope for some reprieve and a way out of this situation just up and killed himself trying to spite him. In a way it worked because with Bakuzan’s death Suiryu was the only one left standing, the only one left to take on the burden, the only one left to preoccupy the monsters, the only one left for them to torture.

As the situation truly began to dawn on him the brief bout of silence was broken by Gouketsu.

“The monsterization failed, he took in too many cells for his body to handle” Suiryu glanced back to see the monster looking about as he mused out loud “it’s gotten so quiet here, all the spectators and staff have run away. Everyone else is either dead or unconscious” his gaze went back to Suiryu causing him to flinch “you’re the only one left now but that’s okay too because now you can beg and scream all you want without ruining your image.”

Then Gouketsu did something that put the fear of god in the young man, he smiled.

“Let me hear you scream.”

And as if that were the signal one of the three crow monsters that had him surrounded attacked, driving his beak forward with the intention of skewering him.

Feeling fatigued with a whole host of injuries across his body including a broken arm and a concussion Suiryu could only mentally reiterate his fate with a numb realization.

‘I’m dead.’

.

.

.

“COILING DEFENSE!”

But before the attack could land however, out of nowhere Snek came to his defense his poised rapidly rotated to deflect the crow’s beak attack and leaving it open for Lightning Max to capitalize with a swift attack powered by the thrusters in his shoes.

“LIGHTNING KICK!”

His heel connected with the crow’s body discharging the hero’s signature lightning and yielding a shrill squawk from the monster. Both heroes took up a defensive stance in front of Suiryu who could only look at them with shock and disbelief.

“Snek? Max? You’re okay but…why did you come back?”

They even changed their clothes.

In response to his question the two heroes shared a look before replying as one “to help you.”

The way how they said it was as if the answer was so obvious and Suiryu was floored by it.

Snek then went on “we’re not the same as we were before and this isn’t just a simple snakeskin suit. This is battle armor I made from a vicious snake monster I defeated. It can withstand claws, fangs and beak attacks from monsters.”

“And I’m wearing my ‘lightning shoes’ so now you can see what the real Lightning Max can do.”

…absurd, it was absolutely absurd that these two think that a simple change in wardrobe could make that much of a difference in their chances against Gouketsu. But that was neither here nor there for they still had to contend with the three enemies before them.

Something Snek seemed to realize as he spoke “even still, those three monsters are going to attack at the same time.”

“Can we trust you to take care of one Suiryu?”

He never got a chance to answer Max’s question for the Crow Brothers chose that moment to attack. And despite everything, despite his injuries, despite his fatigue and the despair he felt, the arrival of the two heroes boosted Suiryu’s confidence enough that with a determined expression joined the two in their retaliatory assault.

A single flying kick to the middle one was able to obliterate the monsters head and alongside the two heroes whose own attacks landed sent the corpses of the Crow Brothers past their master. The three landed and Suiryu felt relief for the first time in what felt like a long time now.

‘I can move my legs, good.’

His eyes met Gouketsu and the bit of relief he felt instantly vanished.

‘Even with Max and Snek’s help I can’t beat him.’

“We need to bail, now” Suiryu urged beginning to retreat only to pause when the two heroes didn’t so much as budge from their position in fact the two took up combat stances “what are you two doing!?”

“Even if we did run, he’d just catch up to us” Snek looked around “we’ll hold him back, even for a little bit so use that chance and run away.”

“Are you out of your minds!? There’s no way you can beat him! You two are even weaker than me!”

Neither hero responded, nor did their resolve waver in the slightest.

‘Why aren’t you afraid?”

In response Gouketsu unfolded his arms however his eyes seem to look…behind them.

What?

“I’ll have to agree with Suiryu.”

Said man flinched and spun around to meet…him.

“You…”

Tomoro Sazaki ignored Suiryu as he addressed the two heroes now standing behind him instead.

“As commendable as it is that you’d sacrifice yourselves for someone else’s survival it is ultimately misguided. First of all you two wouldn’t be able to stall long enough for Suiryu to make a proper escape and second” he pointed at the frowning Gouketsu “he’s not the only monster here anymore.”

*CRASH*

As he said this there was a crash as something slammed into Tomoro kicking up a dust cloud that obscured Suiryu’s vision. As Suiryu was trying to figure out what was going on Tomoro’s words registered and the inured martial artist looked to find a massive four armed monster with fur covering parts of his body, arms and legs. Along with a singular horn on top of its head there was a spike on each shin and elbow and a horn on top of head. It had pointed ears, sharp needle-like teeth, black sclera, orange pupils and three white tails sticking out the back of its white trousers.

When it opened its mouth, it was in a deepened and manic voice that was oddly familiar to him.

“GYAHAHAHAHA, not so high and mighty now are you!?”

“Tomoro!” Exclaimed Max

“Dammit where did it come from!?” Snek wondered aloud.

The two heroes were now found their situation to be even direr than they first believed. Meanwhile Suiryu’s mouth could only drop as he realized why this particular monster looked so eerily familiar

“Bakuzan?”

Seeming to notice Suiryu’s stare the now monsterized Bakuzan turned his manic glare onto him and his grin widened when the human flinched.

“Hahahahaha that look on your face really suits you, Suiryu.”

The martial artist staggered back until he bumped shoulders with Max and Snek.

“Shit, what do we do now?” Max questioned deferring to the older A-Class hero “any ideas?”

Before Snek could reply a voice spoke up from the dust cloud “how disappointing.”

The dust settled to reveal Tomoro standing exactly where he had been and Bakuzan’s fist lodged in a crater next to him.

“What!?” Bakuzan exclaimed in shock and confusion.

Tomoro glanced over his shoulder at the significantly larger monster “I see becoming a monster has already dulled your skills so much.”

“You bastard!” incensed the monster launched another massive fist against him “DIE!”

*Crash*

And again his fist impacted the space next to his target, Tomoro had not moved an inch.

The man himself pushed up his glasses “care to try again?”

“RAAAARGGGHHH”

This time all four of Bakuzan’s fists were launched in a volley of devastating blows all vying for a single target. Each individual punch was enough to shake the arena and the ensuing cacophony was enough to shake the stadium itself. Yet despite this Bakuzan never once hit the man and Tomoro for his part never once moved or even flinched at the impacts.

“WHY. CAN’T. I. TOUCH. YOU!?”

“Tell me Bakuzan are you satisfied with this?”

The monster screamed.

HELL DISPATCH CHOP!

“And time’s up.”

Suiryu watched in complete astonishment as the man raised his hand and catch Bakuzan’s attack. Again aside from some wind kicking up Tomoro did not move an inch, the force of the strike did not even carry over to affect the ground beneath him.

“W-what?” for the first time Bakuzan lost his manic expression. Now it was replaced by shock, disbelief and uncertainty.

“Sorry Bakuzan but I’m afraid your part in this story is now over.”

~O~

It happened in an instant, with such speed that even Gouketsu himself almost missed it and even then it was nearly a missed thing. Yet despite this Gouketsu was only able to see the human do a simple throw. A simple throw on a monster ten times his size and with a disaster threat level of Dragon the same as Gouketsu himself. The result of which was…

*SMASH*

“YYYAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!”

A blood curdling scream of pure agony erupted from the monster as his body smashed into the ground. It wasn’t necessarily the throw itself that caused such a reaction but something else, something that gave even Gouketsu pause. The body of the monster was, for lack of better term, scrambled. From what Gouketsu could discern it seems as if every single joint, from the shoulders to elbows, knees, wrists, toes, fingers, spine and neck were dislocated and twisted in such a way that has become an immobilized tangle of agony and despair.

For what felt like minutes the only thing that could be heard in the stadium was pure agony expressed in bouts of soul wrenching screams. Both the humans and Gouketsu were stunned silent while the man responsible simply watched his work until the monster’s voice petered out into rasps and whimpers of pain. The early bloodlust, power trip and bravado of earlier nowhere to be seen as the Dragon level monster was reduced to a pathetic, whimpering and tear stricken mess.

Finally the man deigned to speak “as expected of a monster with a disaster threat level of Dragon. Lesser beings would have died by now, either from the pressure put on their neck and spine, their brain shutting down from decreased airflow or their heart giving out due to the sheer agony of the experience. If you were human you would have been dead Bakuzan so I will concede that your newfound strength is something. Though whether or not it was worth it is another matter for it made you a viable target in my eyes and now your suffering is being prolonged because of it.”

“Ple….ll….me…” the monster whimpered.

“What was that?”

“…kill…me….please…”

The man raised a brow “you want me to kill you?

“Ple…ase…”

“No” the man answered turning away “you don’t deserve to be killed by my hand.”

Gouketsu perked up felt his heartbeat spike at the words, his pupils became laser focused on the individual in front of him and before his brain even caught up a single word was uttered from his lips.

“Shiva.”

The man paused and even through the glare in his glasses Gouketsu could see the look in his eyes, the same eyes he remembered all those years ago that looked down on him.

“Do I know you?”

.

.

.

.

“Heh”

It started with a crack in his stoic façade, a smile-not a smirk but a genuine smile.

“Hehehehehehehehe”

It turned into blatant mirth.

“Hahahahaha”

Then echoing laughter.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA”

Until it twisted into something more malicious.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.”

For the first time in a very long time Gouketsu was happy, elated, filled with absolute joy.

“What’s so funny?”

The question caused his uproar to quiet and Gouketsu pinned him with a stare filled with such murderous intent that even the unconscious humans shivered where they lay. That is not to even say the effect it had on the others. The three martial artists nearly fainted but all Gouketsu cared for was him.

“Time to make good on my promise from all those years ago.”

Gouketsu felt a thrill of delight when he saw the man’s eyes widen behind his frame.

“Shit” he looked back and that’s when the monster chose to strike.

In that moment the Super Stadium was ground zero for a major cataclysm that was felt throughout most of City C.

~To Be Continued~