I have no memories.
The absence of memories from before I became a monster... I don’t even know whether they existed in the first place.
Whether I was evil.
Whether I was good.
Or whether I was simply born a monster from the very beginning.
I can’t remember.
Because there isn’t a single scrap of memory left for me to recall.
All I remember is falling from the sky to the ground.
Clashing with heroes.
And carrying the worst sin I ever committed, the first and last one of my life.
At least, for me, that is where my life begins.
Yes.
That is why.
“[Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist]!”
Of course, I have no idea who this human is.
Who are you, anyway?
...Even so, I do have some idea.
I had heard the name [Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist] a few times while hunting monsters with it.
Something like, “Silver Fang’s disciple?” “That’s Silver Fang’s martial art, isn’t it?” “Don’t get cocky just because you learned martial arts from an S-Class hero.”
So I was certain.
The human I was facing now was...
“Hm!”
KWAANG!!
“Hmm!”
THOO-KWAANG!!!
An S-Class hero, Silver Fang.
As expected, his level of combat ability was completely different from that of an A-Class hero.
He was probably the one who created the [Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist] I was using now.
Just as I suspected, blows packed with terrifying mastery collided and clashed again and again.
KWA-KWAANG!!
BANG!
KWA-AAANG!!!
One strike cut through the wind.
The next shattered the ground.
The third came flying out faster than sound.
Ferocious fists that seemed impossible for an elderly human came flying in.
I answered by crossing my arms and charging in.
I closed the distance as much as possible.
And pushed through the barrage of afterimages left by his fists.
[Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist]
- Water Formation
After successfully scattering Silver Fang’s attacks into empty air, I immediately used [Body Transformation] and [Hardening] together to turn my large fist into the shape of a thin but sturdy club.
His two-handed strike was deflected, leaving his abdomen seemingly open, and I slipped under his raised arm to drive in a weighted blow.
He was too late to realize it was a feint.
His lifted knee struck my side instead.
THOO-KWA-AAANG!!!
At the same time as the boom, Silver Fang’s fierce attack poured down on me.
But it was only one hit.
I broke free of that split-second groggy state and countered.
Fist and fist rushed toward each other again, each trying to crush the other in midair.
Just as the deadlock was about to continue...
I accelerated my thoughts.
And fixed my gaze on Silver Fang’s arm as it shot out hard once more.
One leg back.
The other slightly forward.
I bent my back.
Like a snake, I sharpened both open hands.
The fist was right in front of me.
Imagining not an arm but a tree before my eyes, I lunged.
A snake landed safely on a tree and began climbing it.
[Snake Bite Fist]
For that one instant, Silver Fang’s startled expression seemed to slow down before my eyes.
He hurriedly bent his arm, but I was faster.
Right then, I was about to strike Silver Fang’s abdomen—
[Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist]
“.........!!!”
My whole body went rigid at the insane warning ringing through my instincts.
I immediately leaped back and tilted my body as far as I could.
It was the old man beside Silver Fang.
Along with a movement that looked like martial arts, I thought I saw a red current in the air.
SHAAAAK!!!
“Ghk...!”
My shoulder was gouged into several overlapping circles.
Blood seeped from perfect, flawless rings, as if stamped out by a cookie cutter.
...If that had hit my face without warning, it would have been dangerous.
And his skill was on the same level as Silver Fang’s.
After gauging his ability, I took another step back and clutched the wound.
“...That was close. Thanks, old man.”
“Don’t mention it. More importantly... my [Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist] was partially blocked by the bastard’s scales. Stop holding back, Bang. At this rate, you’ll be the one who gets hurt.”
“...I wasn’t holding back.”
Silver Fang rushed in quickly.
Through the blue current I could see, I predicted his path.
What he was aiming for was the shoulder I had just been hit on by [Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist].
A reasonable choice.
But...
Exposing the shoulder that had already finished regenerating, I also charged in with my knee raised.
“What...! You regenerated?!”
Our knees flew in from above and below and collided in the middle.
I pressed in with my body tight against my knee.
Silver Fang did the same, and a contest of strength began in the center.
“Grrrrr...!”
“Uuuuuun...!!”
The shockwaves from our struggle cracked and collapsed the ground around us.
As the earth began to shake like an earthquake, I finally started to force him back.
My strength was clearly superior.
With our knees still locked together, I began to press down.
But Silver Fang had already noticed.
He lowered his knee, let mine slide off, and planted his stance.
KWA-AAANG!!!
“Huuuuup...!”
[Hardening Breath Technique]
He took in a breath using that unusual breathing method.
In an instant, he pushed his body past its limits.
He drove his legs hard into the ground, maximizing the power of his fists.
Then he sent a straight punch toward my abdomen.
THOO-KWA-AAANG!!!
“Kuh...!?”
The impact hit my abdomen dead-on, bending my back forward like a bow as I was sent flying backward.
Blood burst from my mouth for the first time in a while.
As I flew, I saw Silver Fang leap into the air.
He spun midair and drove his right leg deep into the ground to force himself to stop.
KRAA-DRDRDRDR...
The earth was torn apart.
He was pushed back about three more meters before stopping.
Then Silver Fang’s fist fell from above like a meteor.
If it hit, it would be dangerous.
Just as that rapidly approaching fist was about to touch my face, I used [Warp] to move to the side.
Silver Fang’s fist, finding no target, smashed the ground.
His balance pitched forward.
This time, I drove a side kick into Silver Fang’s completely open side.
THOO-KWA-AAANG!!!
“Ghk!?”
Silver Fang’s body bounced into the air.
This time I leaped up as well, rising to the same height.
Before he could prepare anything, I acted.
First.
I inhaled.
[Hardening Breath Technique]
“Huuuuup...!”
I felt my strength being drawn up to my body’s limit.
Power surged wildly, making my whole body tense and bulge.
I concentrated it all in one place.
I packed that power into both arms, raised high.
I imagined a giant weight, something that would crush whatever lay beneath it.
[Ogre-Type Crushing Technique]
Arrange.
Smash down.
I brought it down toward the ground.
KWA-AAANG!!!
“Khk!?”
I heard Silver Fang’s shocked, pained groan.
His white figure crashed rapidly into the ground, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.
Just as I landed and was about to finish it, a surprise attack came from the side.
[Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist]
That technique.
A powerful art that cut through things like a sharp wind.
I confirmed the strange hand shape forming.
I had already understood the breathing, the muscle movement, even the footwork.
Good.
So this is roughly how it works.
I imagined a spiraling wind that could slice through solid iron.
Layered it with a red current.
And struck.
[Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist]
The two hands carrying the power of a spiraling red wind touched and vanished in an instant.
“What... You erased it?!”
The moment they touched, I twisted my wrist and reversed it, canceling the technique.
Without wasting a gap, I drove in with my elbow.
Just as I was about to strike his solar plexus with that momentum, a fist came flying in from the side.
KWA-AAANG!!!
I blocked with one arm and was pushed back, but I kept my eyes on him.
Silver Fang had thrown off his upper clothes and was cracking his shoulders loose.
Blood was running from his head, but he casually rolled his neck as if nothing was wrong.
...I see.
So he’s still fine at that level.
He’s definitely tougher than Gouketsu.
I rushed Silver Fang, and Silver Fang rushed me as well.
BANG!!
THOO-KWA-AANG!!!
My thrown fist flew into empty air, and his straight punch came at my jaw.
I let his incoming punch slide toward the ground and drove in a palm strike.
It seemed to be deflected again, but with more force behind it, it curved back toward me.
I instantly stiffened my muscles to stop the palm strike’s movement, and sensed Silver Fang raising a knee to strike.
Faster than that, I raised my own knee in front of my chest.
I knocked Silver Fang’s knee aside, then lifted mine higher and struck his jaw.
At that same moment, an unseen fist hit my abdomen.
I endured the impact and struck his solar plexus with my elbow.
But immediately a fist smashed into my face, and I staggered, feeling as if my brain itself had been shaken by the blow.
My jaw twisted.
I regenerated it instantly.
And then a wave of follow-up attacks crashed down on me like surf.
I focused and responded.
I let the knife-hand aimed at my leg slide off with my knee.
I deflected the palm strike aimed at my solar plexus with [Hardening].
I twisted my neck with [Body Transformation] to let the blade-hand aimed at my throat slide past.
And I caught the rotating fist aimed at my abdomen right up to the point just before impact.
Before it could land, I placed the back of my hand against the fist, changed its direction, and sent it back.
KWA-AAANG!!!
I rushed Silver Fang, who had been pushed back once by the blow to his head.
I concentrated the psychic power flowing through my entire body into every knuckle of my fist.
With a movement as smooth as water flowing downstream, I formed a flexible strike.
[Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist]
- Psychic Crushing Fist
I dodged Silver Fang’s fist and struck his solar plexus at the same time.
A fierce shockwave spread in all directions.
For that brief instant, Silver Fang tried to raise his guard and hold on.
But that was pointless.
Psychic power burst from my fist immediately, and Silver Fang was overpowered and blasted away.
“Kheuk!!”
BLURK!
Silver Fang coughed up blood in midair from the impact of the psychic power coursing through his body.
He crashed into the ground with that same momentum, rolling across the dirt and kicking up dust.
He only managed to stop after being pushed back about seven meters.
“Bang! Are you okay!!”
“...I’m still fine.”
Even after that dizzying impact had swept through his body, he stood back up.
But it had definitely landed.
Seeing his breath turn ragged, I lifted the corners of my mouth.
“The [Hardening Breath Technique] that boosts physical strength, and your [Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist] too... You learned them to combat level after seeing them just once. And every time our fists collide, you keep getting stronger...”
“...He’s an unexpected monster. Bang, we have no choice but to use ‘that.’”
“...Brother, that’s...”
“At this rate, we may not win. My [Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist] is no longer effective, and you know your [Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist] is starting to get pushed back too.”
“.........”
“Besides, his talent is dangerous. If we don’t stop him here...”
“.........But.”
“Bang! That thing is already a monster!”
He’s not the little kid you remember!
“Grandpa, Grandpa.”
“You brat. I’m not old enough to be called Grandpa yet.”
“...Aren’t you a grandpa at sixty-three?”
“Ahem, ahem. So... what is it you wanted to ask?”
“...............”
The little boy had paused for a moment.
“...Um, you know.”
“You’ll come save me anytime, won’t you?”
“Of course I will.”
I’ll come running no matter when, no matter where, no matter how.
He answered that way in a voice full of certainty.
“........I understand.”
Suddenly, the two of them changed their movement.
...There was no way I’d let them do something.
I charged at them at incredible speed, like a sharp arrow.
For some reason I couldn’t explain, a wild instinct told me I had to separate them.
But...
Charging in was the wrong move.
The instant the distance closed...
“Whirlwind!”
Their hands began to rotate as if woven together.
At the same time, they stamped the ground, shattering the earth around them with dust and debris.
Through the thick brown haze, I could see red and blue currents mixing together.
“Water Stream!”
At that moment, the death knell began ringing in my head.
I had to get out of the way.
I could still dodge it.
Warp, anything was fine.
If I took that head-on—
Wobble.
“...Ghk!?”
...A dizzy spell, of all things, now?
I’m dizzy.
My vision suddenly breaks apart.
The world twists and slows down.
My life flashing before my eyes?
No, this is different.
My mind suddenly starts tangling itself up.
Twisting wildly, drifting away from reality.
{Die as you are. A mass of error that should never have existed.}
It is huge.
A cross-section comes into view.
Is it a brain cell?
The blueprint of the universe?
The surface of Jupiter?
A living thing?
No.
It is not something that can be defined as mortal.
Something indescribable.
As that thing floating in the air comes into view, my whole body freezes.
My thoughts won’t move.
A crushing sensation takes control of my rigid body.
{Disappear.}
Dangerous.
If this continues—
[Roaring Aura Sky Splitter Fist]
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