The arena echoed with the deafening roar of millions of spectators, but Lam stood rooted to the shattered edge of the ring, his gaze locked strictly upward. His analytical visor hummed silently, processing the residual atmospheric disturbances near the red star Colex-5411025. Something had happened up there—a localized spike in temporal density that had vanished in a microsecond.
"Hey, leave the stage already! The next matches are waiting!" Asadullah called out, slinging an arm over his shoulder and tugging him toward the exit tunnel.
Lam didn't immediately move. "I... might be seeing something up there."
"Forget it," Asadullah scoffed, nudging him forward. "Your gauntlet's probably just overheating from that Electro Barrage. Come on, let's go."
Reluctantly, Lam turned away from the sky and followed his brothers back toward the waiting room.
Above the central arena, the massive holo-screen flickered, updating the official tournament brackets for the next round of single-elimination matches.
GROUP 10 - MATCH 5: KRODH (G.O.D OF DESTRUCTION) VS STEVE
Krodh leaned against the metallic wall of the waiting room, staring up at the glowing text on the screen. He tilted his head, scratching his chin in mild confusion. "Ah... do you guys know who this Steve guy is?"
Lam shook his head, pulling up his database. "Nah, I don't. No recorded data in the regional registry."
"Why would I know, ah?" Draz added with a bored shrug, leaning back against the wall.
"No, seriously, I've never heard about him anywhere," Krodh said, crossing his arms.
Asadullah grinned teasingly, elbowing Krodh in the rib. "So... he should be stronger than you, right, Krodh?"
"No, absolutely not!" Krodh snapped back, his eyes narrowing. "I just wanted to know how strong he is so I can decide how fast I will finish him!"
Bayu let out a quiet chuckle from the corner. "What, you were actually thinking about that?"
"Yes!" Krodh huffed, turning his back on them and heading straight for the tunnel gates.
***
The mechanical gates slid open with a heavy hiss. Krodh strolled out onto the vast stone battlefield, his shoulders relaxed and both of his hands shoved deep into his coat pockets. His entire posture radiated supreme indifference. He wasn't even bothering to take a combat stance.
From the opposite tunnel, his opponent stepped into the light.
Steve was a fifteen-year-old boy, wearing simple blue-and-teal attire. In his right hand, he wielded a massive, gleaming blade—a weapon classified at -x tier, forged entirely from pristine, hyper-dense Diamond. His primary affinity was Normal Type, a baseline power system, but he carried himself with a steady, quiet confidence—though a flicker of nervous tension was clearly visible in his eyes as he looked at the G.O.D. of Destruction.
"Oh," Krodh remarked casually, looking down at the blade as Steve took his place across the ring. "That sword is shining."
Steve adjusted his grip on the hilt, nodding faintly. "Thanks. It's made of Diamond."
Krodh let out a sigh, shaking his head. "Ah... it's a matter of sorrow that I have to break this."
Steve's eyes narrowed, his grip tightening. "Don't make fun. You can't break this blade that easily."
"MATCH BEGINS!" the referee drone bellowed from above, dropping its signal flag.
Steve moved instantly, lunging forward with impressive raw speed. He brought his diamond sword down in a sharp, diagonal slash aimed straight at Krodh's chest.
Krodh didn't even take his hands out of his pockets.
With an effortless side-step, Krodh leaned back, letting the edge of the sword whistle harmlessly through the empty air inches from his face.
Steve's eyes widened in shock. Wow, he's fast!
Without breaking his momentum, Steve twisted his wrists and executed a rapid low sweep. Krodh jumped straight into the air, hovering effortlessly above the arc of the blade.
Reaching the apex of his horizontal swing, Steve immediately angled his blade upward to impale the mid-air fighter. "Got you!"
"Predictable," Krodh muttered down at him, casually twisting his frame in mid-air so the thrust missed entirely.
Steve leaped backward, creating twenty yards of distance between them as Krodh landed lightly on his feet, still keeping both hands completely buried in his pockets.
"What? You predicted my attack while airborne?" Steve asked, breathing heavily.
"It's easier to predict a swordsman like you," Krodh replied calmly, looking at him with mild boredom. "Especially when you're in that type of position. Your shoulders give away your angle before you even swing."
Steve wiped the sweat from his forehead, resetting his stance. "Okay... you're tough."
***
Up in the participant viewing balcony, the Dino Lion brothers watched the exchange unfold.
"Wow, Krodh is really playing with him," Lam observed, resting his chin on his fist.
Asadullah turned his head toward Lam with a raised eyebrow. "Wait, what did you do with that girl in your match, ah?"
"When your opponent is a girl, you can play with her, but not against a boy," Lam answered smoothly without missing a beat.
Asadullah stared at him, utterly bewildered. "Who said that?!"
"I," Lam stated flatly.
Asadullah decided it wasn't worth arguing, shaking his head and returning his focus to the arena below.
***
Back on the stone ring, Steve channeled his internal aura into his blade. The translucent diamond surface began to glow with a sharp, clear energy.
"MULTI CUT!" Steve shouted, unleashing his Normal-Type signature technique.
In a split second, Steve executed dozens of ultra-fast slashes, sending a dense wall of razor-sharp spatial energy flying toward Krodh. The air whistled violently as the barrage tore through the stone floor.
Yet, Krodh moved like a phantom. Ducking, swaying, and weaving through the storm of energy without taking a single step backward, not a single slash so much as grazed the fabric of his coat.
Taking advantage of Krodh's movement, Steve leaped high into the air, positioning himself directly above Krodh's head for a full-power downward plunge.
Krodh looked up. Finally, he pulled his left hand out of his pocket.
A dark, terrifying crimson light began gathering rapidly in his palm—raw, unadulterated Destruction-Type Urja.
"EXPLOSION BEAM!" Krodh roared, thrusting his open palm straight upward.
A massive pillar of concentrated crimson energy erupted from Krodh's hand, shooting toward the descending swordsman like a localized sun burst.
Steve's eyes dilated in sheer terror. Instinctively, he threw his diamond sword horizontally in front of his chest, channeling all of his Normal-Type defensive aura into the flat of the blade to tank the blast.
BOOM!
The explosive force of the beam detonated upon contact. The sheer kinetic recoil blasted Steve backward across the arena, driving his feet deep into the stone floor as he skidded over fifty meters before coming to a halt.
Steve gasped for air, his arms trembling violently from the impact. He looked down at his -x tier weapon. In the center of the pristine diamond blade, a microscopic crack had formed.
Krodh looked at his left hand, then grinned, a dark spark of excitement finally appearing in his eyes. "Ah... it will be fun!"
In a flash of red kinetic light, Krodh charged forward. He closed the fifty-meter gap in less than a millisecond, his fist swaddled in crackling destruction energy.
"DESTRUCTIVE FIST!"
Krodh threw a heavy right hook. Steve barely brought his sword up in time to catch the strike.
CLANG!
The impact sent shockwaves rippling across the entire stadium. Steve gritted his teeth, his knees buckling under the absolute weight of the blow.
Krodh didn't stop. He pulled his left fist back and struck again. "DESTRUCTIVE FIST!"
CLANG!
And again!
CLANG!
"DESTRUCTIVE FIST!"
CLANG!
Krodh unleashed a relentless, rhythmic combination of heavy power-punches. Left, right, straight, hook—every single strike was a concentrated Destruction-Type blow hitting the exact same spot on Steve's sword. Steve was forced entirely onto the defensive, gritting his teeth as the overwhelming pressure forced him backward inch by inch.
On the sixth strike, the crack across the diamond blade widened significantly.
On the seventh strike, spiderweb fractures spread across the entire length of the weapon.
"DESTRUCTIVE FIST!" Krodh bellowed, throwing his eighth consecutive strike.
SHATTER!
The -x tier Diamond Sword burst into thousands of sparkling, useless fragments that rained down onto the stone floor.
Steve stared in absolute shock at his empty, vibrating hilt. "Ah... really? It's broken?!"
Krodh didn't hesitate for even a fraction of a second. Sweeping his leg around, he primed his final attack, channeling the lingering destruction aura into a single point.
"BOOM!" Krodh yelled, driving his palm directly into Steve's exposed chest.
THWACK!
A localized shockwave exploded from the point of contact. Steve was lifted completely off his feet and sent flying straight across the arena like a cannonball, crashing through the outer boundary wall and collapsing into a heap of unconsciousness.
The referee drone lowered its visor, scanning the rubble. "WINNER: KRODH!"
Krodh pulled his left hand back, flexing his fingers slightly before sliding it right back into his coat pocket. He looked down at the scattered diamond shards on the ring with a thoughtful expression.
"Ok... I needed eight Destructive Fists to break a cracked diamond sword," Krodh muttered to himself, shaking his head. "Not bad."
***
Meanwhile, in a realm existing entirely outside standard cosmic coordinates...
The sky was a horrifying, bruised shade of crimson, choked with swirling ash and endless pillars of divine fire. Broken, ancient monoliths and ruined futuristic skyscrapers littered the endless burning wasteland.
This was the Lost World.
The Five-Armed Man was casually strolling down a ruined highway, twirling his cosmic plunger around his lower right finger while keeping his other arms relaxed.
Suddenly, the ground beneath him shattered. A colossal, grotesquely mutated creature possessing twelve hyper-armored arms and a maw filled with rows of serrated teeth erupted from the tectonic fault line. The twelve-armed beast let out a realm-shaking roar and lunged straight toward the intruder with all twelve claws raised.
Without even turning his head, the Five-Armed Man raised his lower left hand toward the massive beast.
"Go away, you shit!" the Five-Armed Man grumbled, his central third eye twitching with intense annoyance. "Can't you see I'm watching Krodh's fight?!"
He snapped his lower left fingers.
An invisible, infinitely dense spatial press crushed down upon the twelve-armed creature. Before the beast could even register the movement, its entire massive frame was instantly compressed into a microscopic point of mass and erased from existence.
Not a single droplet of blood hit the ash-covered floor.
The Five-Armed Man tapped a hovering, miniature projection screen floating near his head, watching the final replay of Krodh's match with a low chuckle.
"Ah... 'BOOM'... what a ridiculous name for an attack," he said with a dry laugh, twirling his plunger. "Looks like Krodh really is the cruelest son of Mufasa."