Chapter 18:

Hiroshi Vs Gorokko Part-II : The Steel Celestial

Blaze Borne

The entire arena began melting in layers as the metal softened and slid downward. Hiroshi’s footing vanished beneath him as Gorokko had absorbed half of the arena's floor almost instantly.

The absorbing of the metal caused a big ground level difference, and Hiroshi fell in. the removed metal revealed an even harder metal floor beneath the actual arena's floor.

Hiroshi fell and slammed on the hard metal floor, face first.

In front of him, he saw Gorokko on some sort of liquid metal tower, slowly descending. the liquified metal climbed the descending tower, defying gravity just to merge with him.

It climbed his body, merging with him completely until his frame swelled to monstrous proportions.

He grew—twice, thrice, and then ten times Hiroshi’s height.

“D-Did he just get bigger?!” Hiroshi thought, stunned. “He was already massive! Now he’s basically the size of a baby blue whale!”

Gorokko’s voice erupted in a beastlike roar that shook the walls.

“Prepare to face the wrath of a Celestial Giant!”

Metal surged visibly through the veins of his arms and into his sword, causing the blade to elongate and thicken. He swung it at Hiroshi with terrifying speed—far faster than a creature his size should have been capable of. The attack barely missed, slicing off a portion of Hiroshi’s coat and shirt.

Hiroshi leapt away, landing hard. Threads of his coat and shirt instantly pulled themselves back together, reknitting instantly.

“How the hell is he so agile?!” he thought, shocked. “Shouldn’t being bigger make him slower?!”

Gorokko inspected his weapon. “My Eclipse-blade doesn’t seem to perform well in this battle,” he growled. “Now… I must draw my best weapon.”

More metal surged from his veins into the blade. The sword’s shape shifted—widening at the end as two enormous axe heads unfurled from its sides.

The Eclipse-blade had transformed into a dual-headed axe.

“This is my best weapon…” Gorokko declared. “The Axe of Thousand Metals.”

He slashed downward, aiming for Hiroshi’s skull.

“Oh… shit..!” Hiroshi muttered as he backflipped just in time. The axe tore through the metal floor with explosive force.

Gorokko stomped the ground. “TERRAIN TYPESHIFT—TITANIUM–TUNGSTEN ALLOY!”

His foot sank into the floor, crushing it, and energy began rippling outward. The entire arena darkened as its metallic composition changed, shifting into a dense alloy of Titanium and Tungsten.

“ABSORB!”

Gorokko absorbed some part of the arena into his own body, and his entire form converted into the same alloy—cold, heavy, and impossible to dent.

“Celestial Armor—CARBON STEEL ADDITION!”

His armor erupted with thousands of cubical spikes. They fused into the plating, reforging it into a layered fusion of Titanium, Tungsten, and high-carbon steel.

“How many times is he gonna change?!” Hiroshi though, tensed.

“GROUNDBREAKER STRIKE!”

Gorokko slammed his axe again. Hiroshi jumped back, the blow shattering the floor into shards and rubble before the arena regenerated itself.

“I need to be careful… If that move hits me, it’ll crush my entire body!” Hiroshi's mind rushed.

“ATOMIC FUSION—PROPERTY MIXING!” Gorokko roared.

The metals within his armor—Titanium, Tungsten, and High-Carbon Steel—began merging not physically but atomically. Their electrons, protons, and neutrons fused into new structures. Different atoms condensed into one.

His armor blackened completely as a new element was born.

Gorokko laughed, his voice shaking the entire coliseum.

“The properties of Titanium, Tungsten, and High-Carbon Steel have merged to form a new element—one of my own creation! Its name is Eclipsium, the strongest metallic element ever! It is a thousand times stronger than Titanium and Tungsten combined!”

“Is he seriously flexing his invention mid-battle?!” Hiroshi thought.

“GROUNDBREAKER STRIKE!”

“FLAMING SLASH ’N DASH—SUPER SPEED!” Hiroshi countered.

He dashed beneath the descending axe, evading by a hair’s breadth. A blue-orange trail of flames streaked behind him as he appeared at Gorokko’s back.

The massive axe remained embedded in the ground—stuck.

Hiroshi noticed Gorokko struggling to get it out.

The axe stayed that way for five full seconds before slowly loosening.

“I got it!” Hiroshi analysed rapidly.

“He’s stuck for five seconds after using that attack.”

He paused.

“I take two seconds to dodge and get behind him. That gives me a three-second window to strike his backbone!”

“Yes… that’s the key to defeating him!”

Gorokko roared, “RAPID AXE SPIN!”

He extended both arms outward, the massive dual-headed axe pointing straight ahead. Then he spun—fast—too fast for a giant his size to reasonably move. A whirling vortex of metal and death howled through the arena, aimed directly at Hiroshi’s neck.

Hiroshi simply dropped flat to the floor, the spinning blades slicing the air inches above his head.

“GROUNDBREAKER STRIKE!”

Gorokko tried to take advantage of Hiroshi lying prone. The axe came down with murderous intent—

“ENGULFING FLAMES—RAPID DASH!”

Even while on the ground, Hiroshi ignited. A burst of flame propelled him sliding across the floor, skimming beneath Gorokko’s legs and emerging right behind him.

He hopped to his feet.

“INFERNAL SLASHES—SINGLE STRIKE!”

A single arc of blazing blue-orange flame cleaved the air and slammed into Gorokko’s spine. The giant winced, stumbling forward.

His axe loosened—free again.

“AXE SWING!”

Gorokko whipped the blade sideways. Hiroshi ducked sharply, the wind of the strike ruffling his hair.

“GROUNDBREAKER STRIKE!”

The axe smashed down again. Hiroshi burst sideways, flames sparking from his feet, and once more repositioned behind Gorokko.

The colossal weapon lodged itself in the ground.

Again.

“Perfect.”

“ENGULFING FLAMES—DEEP PIERCE!”

Hiroshi rushed in and drove both daggers deep into Gorokko’s spine. A violent crack echoed as blue-orange fire surged into the armor. Fractures raced outward. Shards of the metallic plating fell away.

Gorokko shrieked, “WHY DON’T YOU JUST DIE?!”

“CELESTIAL STOMP!”

He raised a titan-sized foot and brought it down. Hiroshi caught it with both hands—but the raw pressure overwhelmed him. His arms trembled violently as the stomp crushed downward.

Hiroshi yanked out a dagger and stabbed it straight into the nail of Gorokko’s toe.

“TAKE THIS!”

“GAAAAAHHH!” Gorokko’s scream tore through the arena.

“No matter if you’re an animal, a human, a Varkonian—or even a Celestial,” Hiroshi said through gritted teeth. “Everyone feels this pain.”

He gripped the daggers tightly, Flames surged.

“FLAMING SLASH ’N DASH—RESONATION!”

Hiroshi blasted away toward a towering metal pillar. Just before crashing into it, he jumped and landed sideways on the pillar. His feet seemed to stick to the pillar's surface.

With all his force, he kicked off—snapping with explosive force. He jumped and landed on another pillar sideways.

Then on another pillar.

Then another.

With every landing and every launch, his velocity increased rapidly.

He ricocheted across the arena like a flaming bullet, each rebound leaving a streak of swirling blue-orange fire behind him. Gorokko’s eyes whipped back and forth, here and there, unable to track even a fraction of Hiroshi’s movement.

“What the hell is happening?!” Gorokko thought, panic rising. “What is he doing—?!”

Hiroshi’s voice suddenly echoed above him.

“GOROKKO! EAT THIS!”

He perched on a pillar sideways for a split-second, legs coiled like a spring, then launched himself downward at impossible speed—aimed directly at Gorokko’s back. His daggers pointed forward.

The strike landed.

KRAA-THWOOOM!!!

A thunderous explosion of flame burst outward as Hiroshi’s attack shattered the entire back plate of Gorokko’s armor. Thousands of black Eclipsium fragments scattered like metallic dust.

Hiroshi leapt to safety, landing lightly.

Gorokko’s scream was guttural. The armor was part of his body—its destruction ripped straight into his nerves.

“And for the final strike…”

Hiroshi steadied his flames.

“INFERNAL SLASHES—HORIZONTAL SLASH!”

A blazing horizontal wave tore through the air and cleaved clean across Gorokko’s spine.

“NOOOOO!!!”

The Celestial giant collapsed to his knees. His flesh sizzled. His metal exterior melted, dripping like black molten tar.

Hiroshi sheathed his daggers as he slowly approached.

He bowed deeply.

“Thank you for this amazing battle. You are the first tyrant I truly had fun fighting with. And… I acknowledge your invention.”

A single tear rolled down Gorokko’s cheek.

Then his armor dissolved, melting away into formless lumps of metal, revealing a muscular being—once trapped in metal armor, now free.

Chunks of raw Eclipsium clattered across the floor—cold, uneven, and lifeless.

Gorokko was defeated. He remained armorless, lifeless, but not prideless. His dead body had not fallen—just on it's knees, head not bowing—but looking up with glory.

The pedestal rose slowly behind Hiroshi, glowing with a calm, sky-blue aura. Resting atop it was the Sky-Blue Ember—the Super Jump Ember.

Hiroshi stepped toward it, the dust settling around his boots. He reached out and lifted the ember from its pedestal.

At once, his veins glowed sky-blue, pulsing like shooting stars as the new energy surged through his body.

The entire arena trembled violently. Without the stabilizing power of the Blaze Ember, the structure began to destabilize—metal groaning, plates cracking.

Hiroshi raised his hand.

“FLAME COMET—CONCENTRATED!”

Above his palm, a massive sphere of orange flames formed, threaded with jagged blue sparks. The air distorted from its sheer heat.

The comet detonated upward.

The entire arena erupted, exploding into dust and shrapnel. The platform disintegrated beneath them. Hiroshi, Gorokko’s corpse, and the scattered Eclipsium fragments all plummeted.

While falling, Hiroshi unleashed another attack—

“BLAZING TORNADO!”

He stretched his arms outward in opposite directions. A massive horizontal flame tornado spiraled into existence, stabilizing his descent and burning away debris around him.

He landed safely, boots scraping against the stone foundation far below where metal once stood. Chunks of Eclipsium rained down, thudding heavily onto the ground alongside Gorokko’s melted remains.

Gorokko still landed in the same state. On his knees, Head watching up at the sky.

A familiar voice echoed from afar.

“HIROSHI!”

Shinzo sprinted toward him, breathless, coated in dust and sweat. “There you are—the victorious hero.” His eyes flicked toward Gorokko’s mangled body. “And then there’s that piece of shit.”

“Don’t disrespect him,” Hiroshi said quietly. “He was the strongest opponent I’ve faced so far. His personality didn’t feel evil. He felt like a Knight… Trying to fulfill some kind of promise to his king. Nothing like the others.”

Shinzo rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. What’s with those chunks of metal?”

“It’s a new element. Eclipsium,” Hiroshi explained, crouching beside the black, uneven fragments. “He created it himself. He could fuse atomic properties of different elements and form something entirely new. His armor was made from it. Breaking through it felt impossible.”

Shinzo froze for a second, staring at the shards. “A new element?!”

“Yeah. And it’s durable. Stupidly durable.” Hiroshi replied, praising.

“HRA could use this,” Shinzo muttered, excitement creeping into his voice. “We might be able to make new weapons with it.”

“Then let’s pile it up.” Hiroshi said as he picked one up and tossed it away in an empty space.

They began gathering the pieces, one by one. The metal was unnaturally heavy, humming faintly with leftover energy.

While lifting a thick, jagged piece, Shinzo’s fingers brushed against something smooth. He paused, pulled it out, and stared. A perfect golden key, gleaming untouched in the soot-black mass.

He blinked. “A key? What the hell is this doing here?”

But without saying a word, he slipped it quietly into his pocket and continued collecting the metal beside Hiroshi.

[A Few Minutes Later…]

The piling was finally complete. Dozens of black, uneven chunks of Eclipsium now formed a neat mound on the cracked ground.

Shinzo dusted off his hands and nodded to himself. “According to my calculations, we picked up around eighty-five pieces of Eclipsium. Each weighed about two kilograms… so that makes a total of one hundred and seventy kilograms.” He sounded weirdly proud of his math.

Hiroshi let out a long exhale—quiet, but heavy enough that Shinzo instantly sensed something was off.

“I’ll message an HRA team right away,” Shinzo said. “They’ll pick all this up and take it back.”

But when he glanced at Hiroshi again, the sadness in Hiroshi’s expression hit him harder than any blast wave.

“Uh… hey,” Shinzo said softly. “You alright? Aren’t you happy? You literally just defeated Gorokko.”

“It’s not that…” Hiroshi mumbled. His gaze drifted downward, his fist tightening. “It’s just…”

Another sigh escaped him. “I couldn’t find her.”

Shinzo froze. “Her? You mean… Ryumi?”

He forced a big grin and lifted a thumbs up. “Don’t worry, bro. We’ll get to her soon. Be positive!”

But Hiroshi didn’t react. The pain lingered in his eyes like a shadow that refused to leave.

Before Shinzo could say anything else—

BOOM!

a deep boom shook the entire terrain. It sounded like a massive underground blast—like someone had detonated a mountain full of TNT from below.

The ground slowly split.

The earth beneath them cracked open like a broken tile, trembling violently. Hiroshi and Shinzo staggered, struggling to stay balanced as chunks of land tilted sideways.

And then—

The ground collapsed entirely.

Both of them dropped into a widening sinkhole.

Hiroshi gritted his teeth, bracing. Shinzo’s terrified shout echoed as they plummeted into darkness.

They crashed onto something wooden with a heavy thud. Dust exploded upward, filling the air with choking dryness.

Hiroshi groaned, pushing himself up. “Shinzo. Are you okay?”

“Yeah… I guess…” Shinzo wheezed, wincing.

Then—FWOOM—torches lining the walls flared to life, illuminating a long, abandoned mineshaft. Cobwebs draped the beams like old curtains, and wooden supports creaked under their weight. The air was cold and stale.

Ahead of them, shadowy figures moved—slowly, awkwardly.

“Uh… hello?” Hiroshi called out. “Can you guys help us?”

One figure stepped forward into the light.

Yellow eyes. Sunken dark circles. Green, rotting skin. No hair. No expression.

A zombie.

Shinzo screamed at the top of his lungs. “ZOMBIES ARE REAL?!?!”

Hiroshi didn’t even hesitate. He snapped into his combat stance.

“INFERNAL SLASHES!”

Flaming arcs shot out like blazing crescent blades, slicing the zombies into scattered pieces.

But the severed limbs crawled back to their torsos. Heads rolled along the floor and attached themselves again. The creatures stood right back up, unfazed.

Before they could attack again, a tiny voice croaked behind them.

“Hiroshi!”

They spun around to see a small, old dwarf, barely reaching Hiroshi’s waist height due to his red pointy hat. Beard white, clothes tattered, eyes wide with urgency.

“You must come with me! We need to run!”

He said while pointing towards a nearby dark tunnel.

“Who are you? And run where?!” Hiroshi demanded.

“I will explain later,” the dwarf said, tugging on Hiroshi’s sleeve with surprising strength.

“We must go to Dwarika. Quick!” He again pointed to the the dark tunnel.

“Hiroshi. Firstly, who the hell is this small and ugly potato-head? And Secondly, what's Dwarika?” Shinzo interrupted, blatantly.

Hiroshi didn’t waste time arguing. “No time to argue. Get on my back.”

The dwarf clambered up onto his back, followed by Shinzo.

Hiroshi crouched, focusing.

“Alright… Dwarika… here we come.”

Blue-orange flames swirled around his legs.

“FLAMING SLASH ’N DASH—SPEEDY RUN!”