Valerian stood utterly still. His stormy-blue glow was faint, like a thundercloud waiting to break. His breathing was calm.
The first strike came without warning.
A Mk II android lunged, its fist colliding squarely with Valerian's chest.
—THUUD!
The blow rattled the entire ring. Valerian's body folded with the impact, launched backward as his boots scraped across the steel plates. He crashed down, sliding across the pit floor.
His vision blurred momentarily. Numbers flickered on the inner HUD of his biomechanical layering:
HP: 25,000 → 24,800.
A clean 200 damage. His systems already whirred softly, regenerating the lost points. There was no pain. Only force. Only the quiet hum of correction.
But the second android was already on him. It grabbed his collar plating with massive hands, jerking him upward. Its glowing yellow optics whirred as it pulled back another fist.
—CRACKK!
The punch drove into his ribs with precision, engineered for maximum concussive force. Valerian's body was tossed across the pit like a ragdoll, slamming into a support pillar with an echoing KRANG! Metal cracked. His HUD flickered again.
HP: 24,800 → 24,620.
Still regenerating. Still functional.
Above, Luna's fingers clenched the railing so hard her knuckles whitened. Her eyes glowed lilac, trembling with fear. Her life reactor pulsed erratically beneath her clothes.
Why… why isn't he fighting back?
Every blow made her chest seize tighter. She could feel each impact like it struck her reactor instead of his body. Her lips trembled, whispering under her breath, "Valerian… why aren't you moving…?"
Down in the pit, Valerian lay still, head turned to the side. His stormy-blue gaze unfocused for a moment. This force… these Mk IIs hit like the academy machines… back then…
Memory spiked—
The HD Academy. Training against combat bots. His first day sparring—
One strike.
One blow.
And he'd been on the ground, lights out. The memory burned humiliation into his muscles.
But this isn't the academy anymore…
His gaze shifted upward. On the railing—Luna. Her glowing lilac eyes wide with fear. Her lips moving, whispering his name. Her reactor bright pink, pulsing like a beating heart too fast for its chest.
But then—his eyes caught something else. One of the Mk II androids had broken formation. Its gaze was locked not on him, but on her. Its hand lifted, slowly, deliberately—reaching toward the railing, reaching toward her.
Valerian's vision narrowed instantly. Muscles coiled. If they touch her—
But before he could even move—
—SHRRKKKT! CRRRRUNCH!
Two Mk II androids screamed in distorted static as their chests burst open. Metal crumpled inward like paper, bones that weren't bones snapping under impossible pressure. Their torsos caved in with wide smoking holes, arms and legs dismembered and thrown outward like scraps.
The ring went silent for a fraction of a second. The sound of metal hitting steel echoed like gunshots.
Both life reactors… untouched. Still glowing faintly inside their mangled chests.
From above, a shriek cut through the smoke
"VALERIAN!!"
Luna's voice—pure fear, breaking like glass.
Valerian froze. Not from pain. Not from confusion. But from shock.
His stormy-blue eyes scanned the pit, the corpses. His brain tried to trace the motion—who? What? But he hadn't seen. It had been too fast. Too blinding.
And then… realization struck him.
The faint hum of the railing. The way the air was disturbed near her.
His gaze lifted—upward. To her.
Luna stood there, chest heaving, eyes blazing lilac brighter than he'd ever seen. Her life reactor flared hot pink beneath her clothes, lighting her from within like a beacon.
She did that…
The bodies on the ground were proof. The holes in their chests were her strikes. He hadn't seen it—not because he wasn't looking, but because it was faster than his perception.
She's… she's an S-Rank. She moved… too fast for me to even register.
Up in the gallery, the Boss android barely glanced up from his holo-slate. He chuckled, brushing the incident off.
"Looks like the weaklings are already breaking themselves. Useless."
His girlfriend smirked, adjusting herself against his arm. "So fragile. I'll still have that girl's eyes when it's over."
The junior accountant android scribbled frantic notes, muttering, "Y-yeah, Boss… their parts alone—worth more than—"
The Boss growled: "Don't speak so much truth, idiot."
But Valerian wasn't listening anymore.
He was staring straight at Luna. His chest thrummed—not from reactor pulses, but something deeper.
Why… did seeing her move like that—why does it unsettle me? Why does it make my heart… race?
Luna, trembling at the railing, stared down at him, her hands still clenched, reactor glowing furiously.
The pit smelled of scorched wiring and hot oil. Broken Mk II limbs twitched uselessly on the ground where Luna's unseen strike had left them. The crowd of android spectators buzzed faintly, their processors struggling to compute what had just happened.
But in the middle of the ring, Valerian slowly rose from the cracked pillar. His boots pressed into the steel, posture unshaken, his stormy-blue glow intensifying.
He lifted his right hand.
For the first time since stepping into the pit, his voice cut through, deep and cold:
"…I've seen enough."
The Mk II androids surrounding him laughed mechanically, static-filled voices mocking:
"Still standing?"
"Your frame already cracked—"
"MK I trash."
Valerian's gaze didn't flicker. He opened his palm. The biomechanical layering along his gloves whined, circuits glowing brighter, each segment locking into precision. The Assault Unit chip in his palm came alive—kinetic energy rippling like liquid lightning across his knuckles.
He remembered Nikhil's words in Hindi and English, spoken just last night:
"har Mukka (every punch) charges your gloves. And when you time it perfectly—you unleash a shockwave. One hit KO. But it must be calm, precise… not rage. Precision is destruction."
Valerian exhaled slowly. His chest expanded, reactor glowing a turbulent green-red mixture.
The Mk II closest to him lunged. But in that fraction of a second, Valerian stepped forward. His motion carried no wasted energy, no emotion. Just calm inevitability.
His fist arced forward.
—WHHHUUUMMMMM!!
The instant his punch connected with the first android's chest, the kinetic charge discharged. A deafening BOOOOM thundered across the pit, the shockwave spiraling outward like a collapsing star.
The floor plates beneath them buckled, the steel railing above shuddered.
The Mk II struck by the punch didn't just crumple—it imploded, its torso folding inward before blasting apart into scrap that clanged against the walls.
But it didn't stop there.
The shockwave expanded outward in a perfect sphere—precision devastation.
—KRSSHHHHKTTT!
—BOOOMMM! CRRRAAANG!
Every Mk II in range staggered, bodies cracking, chest plating shattering as if invisible fists had struck them simultaneously. One by one—six heavy combat androids collapsed in catastrophic unison. Limbs clattered. Life reactors sparked but flickered weakly, unable to stabilize.
In a matter of seconds—silence. Only the faint hiss of steam, the stench of burnt circuitry, and the sound of Valerian lowering his fist.
He stood in the middle of wreckage, utterly calm, stormy-blue eyes glowing like twin engines. His gloves faintly smoked, the kinetic Assault Unit cooling down.
Up above, Luna's lips parted. Her breath hitched.
That… that wasn't brute strength. That was precise. Cold. Controlled. Nikhil's teaching… but amplified through Valerian. He didn't just fight them… he erased them.
Her heart hammered so hard her reactor pulsed pink light through her clothes, betraying her spiraling emotions.
The Boss android, who had been lounging casually, suddenly sat upright in his chair. His huge frame stiffened, reactor glowing an uneasy green. His girlfriend straightened too, smirk gone, her pink reactor dimming in instinctive fear.
"Impossible…" the Boss muttered, voice trembling for the first time. "One punch… all six… Mk II units… gone."
His girlfriend whispered sharply, "He's not Mk I. That precision… that output—he's hiding something."
And then, the junior android—wide-eyed, processors buzzing with panic—dropped his holo-slate, data scattering into the air. Without a word, he bolted for the back exit. Metal footsteps clanged frantically as he vanished into the shadows.
Valerian finally raised his head toward the Boss's seat. His voice cut cold through the stunned silence:
"…Your turn."
The Boss android instinctively gripped the armrest, reactor pulsing violently, fear seeping into his artificial tone.
Above, Luna pressed a hand to her chest, her reactor glowing so bright it burned against her palm.
Why… why does seeing him like this make me tremble…? Why do I want to run to him… and at the same time, why am I afraid of how merciless he looks?
Her eyes shimmered. But she whispered under her breath, a truth only she could hear:
"…Valerian… I can't fake it. Not anymore."
The pit was silent except for the hiss of Valerian's cooling gloves, steam venting like a predator's breath. The six Mk-II androids lay scattered in pieces—torsos split open, arms bent into grotesque angles, their reactor lights flickering weakly before dimming out.
The Boss android, a towering machine with a reactor glowing deep green, staggered to his feet. His eyes widened as he looked down at Valerian, still standing motionless in the center of the ring. His voice cracked with disbelief, switching instinctively,
"Arre… yeh toh Mk-1 bhi nahin hai… Mk-2 bhi nahin. It's like… Mk-3, yaar!"
("Damn… he's not even an MK-1… not an MK-2 either. He's like… MK-3, man!")
His girlfriend clutched his arm, her pink reactor flashing in panic.
"we can't fight this. Agar hum ruk gaye toh… we're finished."
("We can't fight this. If we stop now… we're finished.")
The junior android fumbled with his digital ledger, projections of debts and expenses collapsing into static as his fingers shook.
"woh insaan monster hai! Humari club ki aukaat hi nahin hai uske saamne!"
( that man is a monster! Our whole club is nothing compared to him!")
The Boss didn't reply. His reactor pulsed erratically, as if his entire frame trembled in fear. Then, without another word, he bolted—his girlfriend and junior scrambling after him. Their heavy footsteps echoed against the steel corridors, fading into the shadows of the Vault Void Club.
Valerian didn't chase. He only tilted his head slightly, stormy blue eyes following their retreat. His voice came out low, calm, almost inhuman:
"…Run."
The word slithered through the smoky air like a command.