THE OPENING MATCH

The underground arena was immense, a colossal stadium carved deep beneath the earth. Tens of thousands of voices merged into a deafening roar that shook the very foundations of the structure. Floodlights swept across the crowd like restless stars, illuminating seas of waving arms and banners.

Then, without warning, the lights died.

Darkness swallowed the arena.

A hush rippled through the crowd as a circular platform rose from the center of the stadium floor. A single spotlight pierced the darkness, revealing a sharply dressed announcer standing atop the platform. His grin widened as anticipation filled the air.

"Ladies and gentlemen..."

His voice boomed throughout the stadium.

The crowd erupted immediately.

The announcer stretched a hand toward the entrance on the right side of the arena.

"To our right, we have a legendary war veteran! The beta who went toe-to-toe with an alpha and emerged victorious! The Great Thunder Wolf... THROG!"

The gates on the right burst open.

A massive man stepped into the arena. Long brown dreadlocks flowed behind him, and a thick beard framed his rough face. Resting on his shoulder was a gigantic warhammer nearly equal to him in length. Crimson lightning crackled around his body with every step. His yellow eyes glowed brightly as he entered the spotlight.

The arena shook with applause.

The announcer raised a hand to calm the crowd before turning toward the opposite side of the arena.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen..."

His voice rose dramatically.

"The brave wolf who laid waste to the human armies during the Great Invasion!"

The audience immediately began chanting.

"RAGNAR! RAGNAR! RAGNAR!"

The announcer pointed toward the western gate.

"The Fire Wolf! The Wrathful! RAGNAR!"

The gates opened.

A much smaller figure walked into the arena. Ragnar looked surprisingly ordinary. Average height. No armor. No weapon. Only a pair of worn trousers and a lean, muscular physique hardened by countless battles. His yellow eyes calmly swept across the arena.

The crowd went wild.

Ragnar smiled.

And burst into flames.

Gasps echoed throughout the stadium. His entire body dissolved into fire before the eyes of the audience.

Then, just as suddenly, the flames vanished.

A pillar of fire erupted directly in front of Throg.

Ragnar stepped out of the flames with a grin.

Shu and Hanz, who were standing among the tournament contestants in a separate viewing room, stared at the scene in surprise.

Shu blinked.

"Did you see that?"

His grin widened.

"That's some seriously advanced stuff."

"No kidding," Hanz replied.

His eyes remained fixed on the arena.

"We might actually have a tough time here."

Instead of being worried, Shu's grin stretched from ear to ear.

"This is gonna be fun."

Back in the arena, all the lights suddenly came on.

The announcer raised his microphone.

"LET THE FIRST MATCH OF THE TOURNAMENT BEGIN!"

The crowd erupted.

Throg immediately coated his hammer in lightning kantar and swung it toward Ragnar.

Ragnar's body dissolved into flames.

The hammer passed harmlessly through empty air.

An instant later, Ragnar appeared behind Throg and slammed a flaming fist into his back.

BOOM!

The impact sent Throg stumbling forward.

Ragnar didn't stop there. He reinforced his legs with kantar and exploded forward, closing the distance in an instant. Leaping into the air, he landed five consecutive kicks across Throg's face. Each strike echoed throughout the arena.

Throg staggered backward and spat blood onto the stone floor.

The crowd roared.

He wiped the blood from his mouth and grinned.

"Alright."

He rolled his shoulders.

"I was planning to start small, but if you're gonna go all fancy from the start..."

He snapped his fingers.

CRACK!

Red lightning exploded around his body. A deafening thunderclap echoed through the arena.

Before Ragnar could react, Throg was already behind him.

His hammer smashed into Ragnar's face.

The impact sounded like an explosion.

Another thunderclap rang out.

The arena floor shattered beneath Throg's feet as he accelerated.

This time he appeared beside Ragnar, grabbed his leg, and repeatedly slammed him into the ground. The arena floor cracked apart.

Then Throg spun and hurled Ragnar into a nearby wall.

Before Ragnar could even begin falling—

BOOM!

The warhammer crashed into his chest.

The force created a crater in the wall and wedged Ragnar inside it.

The audience exploded into cheers.

Ragnar slowly dragged himself out of the crater, blood running down his forehead.

"Damn..."

He wiped blood from his mouth.

"You really hit hard."

His body suddenly ignited. Flames erupted outward and split into five identical copies. The clones scattered across the arena.

Then all six Ragnars attacked at once.

Massive fireballs rained toward Throg from every direction.

Throg grinned.

A thunderclap echoed again.

Red lightning burst around him as he accelerated toward where his hammer had landed. He grabbed it and poured huge amounts of lightning kantar into the weapon. The air around him crackled violently.

Then another thunderclap.

The arena floor shattered beneath him as he launched himself back into the center of the battlefield.

With a roar, Throg slammed his hammer into the ground.

BOOOOOOM!

A devastating shockwave erupted outward.

Lightning exploded in every direction.

The fireballs were instantly extinguished.

All five clones vanished.

The original Ragnar was launched across the arena and barely managed to regain his footing before crashing into the edge.

Even the audience felt the shockwave.

Up in the viewing room, Shu's eyes widened.

"Wow. They must have insane kantar reserves to fight this recklessly."

Hanz frowned. He had been channeling kantar into his eyes the entire time.

"I thought I taught you to always observe your opponent's kantar flow."

Shu blinked.

"Huh?"

"Look closely."

Shu did as instructed. His eyes glowed faintly.

Almost immediately he noticed what Hanz was talking about.

Hanz folded his arms.

"They have complete mastery over their innate techniques. But they're horribly inefficient."

Shu stared.

Sure enough, huge amounts of kantar were being wasted with every attack.

"They just keep pouring more and more kantar into every technique," Hanz continued. "They're making each attack as powerful as possible instead of as efficient as possible."

He pointed toward the arena.

"They've already burned through nearly half of their total reserves."

Shu whistled.

"That's pretty brutal."

His eyes narrowed.

"Now that I look closer... they haven't even bothered healing their wounds."

Back in the arena, flashes of crimson lightning and blazing fire filled the battlefield. Throg and Ragnar moved at hypersonic speeds, colliding again and again. Every clash sent shockwaves across the arena.

Finally, both fighters leapt backward.

They were breathing heavily now. Covered in blood. Covered in dust. Exhausted.

Throg spun his hammer once more and hurled it forward.

At the same time, Ragnar clasped his hands together.

A massive pillar of fire erupted from his palms.

The fire collided with the hammer.

Neither attack gave way.

Lightning battled fire.

Fire battled lightning.

The two warriors poured every remaining ounce of kantar into their attacks.

Then—

BOOOOOOOOM!

The resulting explosion engulfed the entire arena.

Both fighters were thrown backward.

They smashed into opposite walls as debris rained down everywhere.

Silence followed.

Dust filled the battlefield.

For several moments, neither fighter could be seen.

Then movement.

A mountain of rubble shifted.

Throg slowly emerged. His body was covered in blood, dust, and sweat. He was barely standing.

The commentator, who had wisely retreated to a safe platform high above the arena, grabbed his microphone.

"WOW!"

"What a clash!"

"It looks like only one fighter is still standing!"

The crowd held its breath.

"Without a doubt, the winner of the first round is Thro—"

He suddenly stopped.

The audience followed his gaze.

A second pile of rubble shifted.

Slowly.

Painfully.

Ragnar emerged.

His entire body trembled.

Blood covered him from head to toe.

The commentator nearly fell off his platform in excitement.

"HE'S STILL STANDING!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, both fighters are somehow still in this!"

Hanz watched carefully.

His inner demon suddenly interfered with his thoughts  saying .

"Looks like this is it."

Hanz nodded.

"They're empty."

"No way either of them has enough kantar left for another exchange after this."

The commentator pointed dramatically toward the battlefield.

"Watch closely, ladies and gentlemen!"

"This looks like the final stand between these two warriors!"

Having lost his hammer, Throg channeled every remaining ounce of lightning kantar into his body.

Red lightning crackled wildly around him.

At the same time, Ragnar engulfed himself in flames.

Both men roared.

Then charged.

One trailing lightning.

The other trailing fire.

The entire arena seemed to shake.

They met in the center.

And punched each other directly in the face.

BOOOOOOOOM!

The impact completely destroyed what remained of the arena.

A final shockwave tore through the stadium.

Both fighters were launched backward and embedded themselves into opposite walls.

Silence.  

 The crowd stared.

Neither fighter moved.

The commentator grinned from ear to ear.

"There you have it, ladies and gentlemen!"

"The first round of the tournament..."

He raised his microphone dramatically.

"HAS ENDED IN A DOUBLE K.O!"