"Aargh!"
Before Kousuke could brand the unconscious Leonardo, Cao Cao roared and sped toward him. His fists were precise, aiming straight for Kousuke's vitals, yet none of them landed. He couldn't accept being defeated, not before he had achieved any of his goals. To lose in such a humiliating way… that couldn't happen.
He was Cao Cao, a man said to be capable of fighting a god on his own. How could he ever make such a claim in the future if he couldn't even defeat the man before him? Deep down, he knew his arrogance was getting in the way of his true potential, yet he couldn't dismiss it as easily as he thought.
"You should have stayed down. That way it would've been less embarrassing when I got to you later," Kousuke said calmly, expertly blocking every blow with the back of his arm like someone deeply experienced in close combat.
It was common knowledge that people with non-combat-style abilities were usually weak in melee. Kousuke knew this, so he underwent the Royal Captain's grueling almost-borderline insane training to keep up. There were many times he nearly gave up from how hellish it was, yet he came back stronger and more determined each time.
That was his first lesson in the Other World. After all, no one wanted a weak Hero.
By a twist of fate, he ended up being the one to defeat and kill the Royal Captain, after the man had been brainwashed and used by the Demon God to start an uprising. It was the first time Kousuke had shed blood that wasn't his own. He still remembered the smile that lingered on the Captain's face once he was freed from control.
"How can this be?! How can someone like you exist?!" Cao Cao shouted, his relentless attacks growing more ferocious with boiling rage. He was no longer the calm, charismatic leader of the Hero Faction—only a husk filled with envy and jealousy. If he were as powerful as Kousuke, then maybe he wouldn't need a faction. He could threaten the supernatural races alone.
Yet this man, this impossibly strong human, was playing around as a nobody high school student. He even made Devils, beings weaker than him his girlfriends. Kousuke was just like Ophis… neither of them cared about the bigger picture. Cao Cao's fists and feet kept flying, but it only made him more frustrated.
None of his attacks connected, Kousuke easily blocked them all like it was child's play. It was like punching a training dummy. Cao Cao was already breathing heavily from the strain… while Kousuke stood firm, not even breaking a sweat.
"Looks like you have only been fighting people weaker than you," Kousuke said nonchalantly, but his words hit straight into Cao Cao's guts.
Cao Cao had easily overpowered others in his faction, even without relying on the True Longinus. Even though he continued to train, he had never once faced a real threat to his life. He was missing a crucial experience—an event that could've unlocked his true potential. The so-called character development.
Perhaps if Kousuke wasn't here, then maybe this would've been Cao Cao's turning point. Maybe he would've fought Issei, been pushed to his limits, and grown stronger because of it. After all, Kousuke could tell, if Issei went all out, he could handle Cao Cao. He wasn't the wielder of the Boosted Gear for nothing.
"I told you didn't I? your dream is childish," Kousuke continued. "You can't accomplish anything meaningful with only this level of strength. You have the Snake as well, don't you? Maybe if you use that, I'll be able to take you a little more seriously."
"Shut up!"
Cao Cao knew his opponent was right, but his pride was in the way. If he used the Snake, it would be like admitting that he was weak. That's a humiliation to him, a stain on his dignity as the strongest human. Or that was what he initially believed. But if things continued like this, it wouldn't just be his pride that would be trampled, but also his ideal and the reason the Hero Faction exists.
This was no longer about removing supernatural threats to humanity. This was about challenging the impossible. The opponent before him was not just stronger than anyone he knew—he was human, just like Cao Cao. And so...
With gritted teeth, Cao Cao reached into his pocket, pulled out the shining orb with the snake-like emblem and forced it down his throat.
"RAAAAAARGH!"
Cao Cao roared as his aura surged, corrupted by the orb's power. It turned a deep, ominous red and erupted around him like a storm. So this is strength...! he thought as he flexed his arms. He could feel immense power bursting within his body. It wasn't an illusion. If he wanted to, he could punch through a mountain.
"Hup!"
Cao Cao swung his fist downward, shattering the ground beneath him in a massive explosion of force. He looked at the deep crater his strike had left, then glanced up to meet Kousuke's curious expression with a smirk of his own.
"I understand now. My previous strength really was a joke. I can't believe I was so proud of it, so utterly embarrassing. But the weak me is no more, this Great Cao Cao is reborn!"
Suddenly, he sidestepped, just as Kousuke vanished from his spot and reappeared in front of him, fist already flying. Cao Cao ducked low, avoiding the follow-up kick by a hair's breadth, then threw an uppercut into Kousuke's chin and sending him flying into the sky.
It connected!
Without wasting a second, Cao Cao crouched and launched himself into the air, leaving spider-web cracks in the ground behind him. He raised his heel and brought it down onto Kousuke's stomach—driving him into the ground with a thunderous crash. Cao Cao landed beside the human-shaped crater, staring down with a condescending smile.
"Where's that attitude from a minute ago? Cat got your tongue?"
Swish!
Before he could laugh, something shot out of the ground—golden chains wrapping tightly around his legs, locking him in place. Startled, Cao Cao threw a punch at the chains, expecting them to shatter under his overwhelming strength. But it didn't, the chain didn't even bend. His eyes widened as he saw his shocked reflection on the unyielding metal.
"Surprised? That's to be expected. I made sure to place an indestructible concept on that thing, it took me a full week!" Kousuke's voice echoed. Cao Cao turned to see him climbing out of the hole, casually dusting himself off before waving like he'd just bumped into a classmate at school.
"I forgot to tell you," Kousuke said coldly, "even if you were to use the Snake, I had my ways to put you in place."
That look on his face… it sent a chill through Cao Cao.
He had been set up. When Kousuke first received the Snake orb from Ophis, his immediate thought was to gather more information about it. So, he baited Cao Cao into using his own, and everything had gone according to plan.
With Cao Cao now immobilized, Kousuke could finally get a better look. He narrowed his eyes as it flickered with strange light, peering into the depths of Cao Cao's soul. Then his expression shifted as his eyes widened in surprise.
"So this is... Infinity."