Unedited.

Part 1

In the darkened control room, the faces of twenty or so people were illuminated by the large screen in front of them. The room was shrouded in silence. The expression of nearly everyone, in the room was filled with fear and anxiety.

Subject code named Emperor.

Just the name Emperor made their hearts tremble in fear. Rightfully named Emperor, when researchers would stand in his majestic presence their palms would go sweaty and cold. The strength in their body would flee and their knees would go weak. Although, the researchers were standing thousands of miles away, they still felt uneasy and fearful of the test subject known as Emperor.

“Engaging Emperor, deploying [Star formation].” A voice rang out a loud in the silent control room. Immediately, the sounds of keyboards could be heard tapping across the room. In quick succession, different people began speaking up,

“Satellites in position, we have bird’s eye view of the target. Loading fast shutter CAMs 1 through 90.” Several new windows popped up on the main screen which provided an aerial view and other angles of the combat location. In addition to the point of view (pov) of the robots.

“Thermo sensors are now active, CT scanners feedback will be up in 10. We are good on all other sensors.” Several windows displaying a wide variety of graphs went up on to the secondary screen. Some windows popped up beneath individual bot cams. This was a research team and it was important for them to record as much data as they could – regardless of the outcome.

“Perimeter has been secured, commencing final operation!”

The last sentence made everyone feel the pressure and tension. They had been attempting to recapture the target many times before – this was their last attempt. Each operation cost several million dollars and after several attempts the budget allocated to this initiative had been wiped clean. If the team failed to capture the target this time, then it was over. Hence, the team decided to go all out. Normally, they would deploy five to six bots. However, this time they deployed forty bots. In addition, this operation was being run by a joint task force – the military had decided to invest in this operation. Of course, it was unclear to the researchers how the military arm of the government learnt of this facility or programme, but the money was much needed and the help was welcome.

Part 2

“So do you think you have what it takes to capture me?” Ryu asked with a smug smile as he faced the enemy. The thirteen animated dolls took up various positions – forming an interesting formation – it was a net which easily changed shape but never let the target escape….or so the enemy must have been thinking. Ryu kept waiting for a response but it didn’t seem the other side would respond to him.

Just when Ryu least expected it, the enemy made their move. Five of the cloaked dolls moved simultaneously towards Ryu. Each doll was positioned at distance forming a pentagon. For an ordinary person fighting two people in a forested area would be hard enough. The trees blocked the view and the terrain was uneven. It would be a mistake to think that the cloaked enemy faced the same limitations - the bots which were being guided by a mix of artificial intelligence and human controllers, this type of terrain was most suited for them. With a range of cams and sensors covering the entire forested area, the trees imposed no visual impairment. Furthermore, they were constantly aware of the enemy’s location. This type of situation was akin to – ‘being able to see the enemy but the enemy cannot see you.’

One would expect the entire research team to be buoyed with conceit over the marvellous machines they designed. However, no one had the slightest smug expression. If anything, everyone wore a stiff expression – as though they were constipated. They had tried many times before capturing Emperor – and each time they failed miserably. Yes, they had been improving the specs of their bots but would it be enough? The opinion of the team was split in half. Half of them believed that Emperor would excel beyond previously conceived limits and the other half believed they had long surpassed Emperor. Yet, none of the team members had the confidence to speak their opinion out aloud.

Who or what was the subject? A monster among monsters. A human that transcended the understanding of impossibility and imagination. Of course, the researchers were unaware that their basic premise of Ryu not being human was wrong. However, this was not their fault as none of their medical tests had indicated otherwise. When the Emperor was combat tested for the first time in the lab, he destroyed half the lab with a single flick of his hand….a stronger testing room was then built specifically to handle the Emperor. A single sentence from the latest report about the subject read, “A single punch of the subject is enough to send a lightly armoured Humvee flying several meters backwards….in addition to completely decimating the Humvee.”

Martial artists have been known for making a hole in a lightly armoured vehicle before – but completely decimating the entire vehicle in a single punch? Ridiculous is what many of the top generals remarked when they first read the report. However, their jaws were touching the floor when they were shown the video. The subject was truly a monster amongst monsters and rightly named Emperor. Where did the name Emperor come from? Nobody knew for sure….maybe it came from the test subject himself – as he did infact refer to himself as ‘This king’. But rather than calling him a king – the research team felt he was the king of kings – a true Emperor.

Several researchers gulped as the bots neared the target…they were three meters away….this would be the defining moment…

Part 3

A forested area might seem to be disadvantageous for those engaged in close combat as the dense trees would obstruct the view made it easy to dish out a surprise attack. However, the bots made full use of data being transmitted via the cams scattered across the forest to eliminate the element of surprise. For those who specialized in long distance combat – like snipers, it was harder to make a line of fire with the trees in the way. However, suitable arrangements had been made such that the trees would offer no obstruction. Three bots which were not part of the current formation held sniping guns which resembled cannons more than guns. These bots were here to ensure that the Emperor never breached the set perimeter. Every shell fired from these guns was uranium coated and measured eight inches in length – enough to speak of its destructive power. They could fill the entire forest in holes if they were to unleash their true power.

Ryu stood still as he watched the cloaked dolls approach him. He was taking his own sweet time to observe the surroundings. Although, it seemed that Ryu had selected this location to fight, Ryu began to understand that this might not have been the case. Ryu could not see it but felt there were many eyes watching him.

“Tch…” Ryu muttered, he probably played right into the spoilt brat’s hand. It wasn’t going to be a problem but the fact that the enemy understood him so well – was annoying. Ryu considered himself to be as someone who was easy going. Naturally, he did not like it when his ‘fun times’ were encroached upon. Further, Ryu was bored of playing this game of cat and mouse – it was no good when the other side was too weak. Unknowingly, Ryu decided that this would be the last time he would play with the spoilt brat. It was meaningful, when fighting with his complete power. However, if Ryu did that there was a possibility he might destroy the entire country…so Ryu decided to honour the warrior spirit by using approximately 5% of his true power. Normally, Ryu revealed less than 2% his strength to the enemy which was enough to rain havoc.

Although Ryu did not understand that he was fighting robots – he did understand that he was not killing living people. This fact settled well with Ryu as there was no meaning in killing ants. The enemy dolls were inferior to him in every way; be it martial arts skills or stats. The enemy knew that Ryu was better than them in every respect and worked very hard to fill the differences, even if only by a little, they wouldn’t spare the effort. They probably toiled ceaselessly to create dolls that were this strong. However, Ryu had very low opinion of the dolls especially after he met other martial artists who were much stronger than these dolls. Although Ryu met martial arts experts before he was mistaken to assume they were the norm rather than the pinnacle of human race.

The other side was probably also aware of this – that their dolls were only this good. Maybe, if Ryu showed them overwhelming strength they would send out stronger ‘living’ people.

That would be interesting….

Ryu stopped thinking about the future and moved slightly to the left to dodge an incoming punch. However, just at the moment he moved to avoid the punch, the five dolls made a strange sound.

““PHHHiiisissssssssss――――――.”” Hot air pressurized air blew through the backs of the dolls; which made their cloaks fly up. Suddenly the movements of the dolls became twice as fast. Ryu least expected the dolls to be hiding strength.

‘Ah….I’ve become careless…’ Ryu thought to himself as he took the punch. Although Ryu was many times stronger than these dolls but at such close range it was impossible to dodge the punch. It also wasn’t the simple matter of dodging a single attack – but Ryu had to avoid five direct attacks and six hidden ones.

““Wwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”” Ryu screamed as the punch landed on his face sending him somersaulting thorough the air. Several trees came crashing down as Ryu tore through them. After flying roughly fifty meters, Ryu hit a boulder which stopped his momentum. The boulder which was over fifty feet high moved an inch back and trembled upon impact. There was a deep impression of a human left in it.

One would have imagined that such an impact was enough to kill a human. However, this was a monster that the research team was dealing with. They knew well enough that even though it was a good hit – it was far from enough to take down the monster. The research team grew tense – this was the first time they managed to land a hit on Ryu. Normally, they would celebrate at the achievement. However, this was far from their objective – to capture the subject. A single punch was like winning the battle but the war was far from over.

One of the dolls moved in and jumped towards the human impression. It then latched on to boulder – dead ahead of Ryu, digging its feet deep into the boulder for support. All this happened in less than a second, once the bot was secured in place, it released a barrage of punches at Ryu who was lying inside the human impression. A normal human who were to witness this scene would not be able to see the arms of the bot but only a dark blur. Each punch was the same as taking a hit from a cannon at point blank range. The boulder continuously trembled under the assault launched by the bot. In fact, it became so unbearable that cracks began appearing on the surface of the massive boulder – originating all the way from the inside.

The research team began feeling an emotion that they had long forgotten; the excitement of finally overcoming an unsurmountable obstacle. Some researchers had tears welling up in their eyes as they saw Ryu being pulverized. They remembered his taunts and sarcasm every time he beat them ….but after many hardships and abuses by their superiors they finally they did it. This was the moment they all had been waiting for…….

But then the live feed changed. Instead of seeing a man being crushed by a storm of heavy jabs, everyone was now staring at the starry sky. After a while, the view changed to a lush green forest – hundreds of feet below.

“““““““EH!!!!!””””””””” Some people in room exclaimed. What just happened?

The bot which was launching a barrage of punches suddenly shot out into the sky. To be precise, the bot’s head flew out. The camera located in the bot’s eyes, continued to send the feed – however not everyone understood what happened till the feed from the bot went dead.

A mourning voice announced, “Bot 03 offline. Restoring feed from CAM 6 and Bot 01.”

Several researchers let out a sigh. They had their hopes to high – to think it would have been that easy. They had expected some form of retaliation, but in their excitement they lowered their guards. The Emperor as always met their expectation – a sleeping monster had been awoken from its slumber.

The video feed was restored and the room went silent again. A drone camera flew above the boulder, trying to capture a glimpse of Ryu. However, there was too much dust raised in the air – visually impairing the drone.

“Switching over to infra camera…” Just as this was announced, the boulder in which Ryu lay – shattered. The correct word would be exploded. Rubble flew in all directions completely decimating the vicinity. The drone tried several evasive manoeuvres but ultimately crash landed after being hit by the countless pieces of flying rubble.

“Drone CAM eight through sixteen – maintaining thousand feet altitude. Bot 01, Bot 02 – prepare to engage the target. Bot 4 to 6, standby.”

““““Roger!””””””

When the dust and rubble settled, what was visible was Ryu – wearing tattered clothes. He stood in the center of where the boulder lay as his body emitted a faint glow. Hissing sound could be heard as the cold and hot air condensed in the form of visible steam coming off from Ryu body. The researchers, mostly women, gulped in awe at the sight; Ryu stood like a majestic beast; with all his muscles bulging.

Ryu slowly looked up and wiped away the trickle of blood that oozed from his lips. “Come foolish children. Let this King show you what it means to anger this King.”

The lines sounded funny but when the Emperor spoke them no one found it funny. Some researchers felt their stomach lurch as they watched Ryu take a step forward – they felt as though as he was coming from them. The video feed was crispy clear giving the illusion that he stood in front of them. One research could be heard yelping in fright as Ryu looked towards Bot 01 which was relaying the current main video feed.

Bot 01, began running towards Ryu with the simple intent of a direct combat. It seemed as though the controller of Bot 01 believed the specs of his machine were enough to take on Ryu in a one to one – even after seeing his awe inspiring power. However, this controller’s actions weren’t without reason, he had the support of his long range sniping friends who would provide him the necessary opportunity.

Ryu simply smiled and turned towards the running doll; laying his body open and bare – revealing absolutely no intent to defend. The controller of Bot 01 was confused – isn’t this guy getting too cocky?

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The opportunity was created – a single bullet zoomed towards Ryu. The bullet was comparable to a javelin missile but more compact – it could open up a hole in a heavily armoured tank. The Emperors only option would be to try to dodge the bullet. Even with [Thick Armoured Skinned] martial arts technique it would be impossible to take the blow without any damage. The sniper and the research team had complete faith in science and their weapons….till they saw what the Emperor did.

““ OOOOOoooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaa”” Ryu screamed out as he turned around and punched the incoming projectile. The energy from the punch was so profound that it transformed into a shock wave, and spread the destruction out to the surroundings. That shock, together with the earth shaking, cleared the ground from a radial center that should be called ground zero. Dirt, grass, stones, flew over several feet up into the air and disappeared into the thin air.

If that weren’t enough, Ryu then immediately turned around and grabbed the charging doll by its head and smashed it into the ground. Everything happened in a mere split second. If it were not for the slow motion cameras – the audience would have continued to believe that they saw a magic trick. No even after seeing Ryu’s lightening fast movements, the research team refused to believe it was possible to move this fast – it had to be some illusion or a lie.

‘Yes….this is all a dream….a very bad dream’ – the sniper thought as he continued to stare at Ryu through his lense.

Part 4

The control room had it no better; the scene could only be described as chaotic as several speakers began updating the status of the situation;

“Drone Cams 6, 18, 22 down.”

“Links with sensors in zone A2 are down.”

“Confirming….Bot01 is down. I repeated Bot01 is down.”

“Got the readings from the seismic sensors located in nearby zones….3.0 on the richter scale…I repeat 3.0. This is the highest readings we have ever had…”

In all this clamour, the old man on the wheel chair – Yuri, appeared very calm and in deep thought.

So you have surpassed our imagination once again….

While Yuri’s team was in a state of chaos, Yuri’s shining eyes communicated his excitement. Whenever he believed that the absolute limits of martial arts or human beings had been reached – Ryu would prove him wrong. Other researchers might feel defeated but Yuri viewed it differently. Didn’t this all mean that there was more room for improvement? Room to grow stronger?

Part 5

The grass vanished and the ground was exposed, it was almost like an impromptu ring had appeared and Ryu stood in the centre of it. Ryu returned back to his original open stance.

“Brat!! Is that all you got?” Ryu began provoking the other side as no more Bots dared to rush at him. The forest was as still as could be.

“Kuekukukukuku….Emperor-sama, you always have surprises for us….” The robotic voice resonated throughout the forest. “However, I am afraid – this is as far as we will go this time. Till next time then.”

Huh? Ryu was slightly baffled as he sensed the dolls retreat. That brat never gives up….for him to be retreating like this? What is up to?

Before Ryu could figure out what was happening the ground beneath him exploded.