NOVEL NEXT Chapter 134: The Chairman
The confrontation between the Association Chairman and the Rooster-masked figure escalated with frightening speed. What began as a standoff rapidly transformed into a clash of titans that would leave scars across Lumina's cityscape. The two warriors faced each other amid the rubble of the Hero Association's shattered entrance.
Chairman Darius Stormcrest rolled his shoulders, the remnants of his once-pristine uniform hanging in tatters around his muscular torso. Across the debris-strewn courtyard, the Rooster-masked figure stood with unsettling stillness, the ornate mask's crimson and gold detailing catching the afternoon sunlight in flashes of brilliant color.
"Your technique is impressive," Darius acknowledged, his weathered voice carrying across the battlefield. "But I'm curious why the Empire would risk open war with such a brazen attack."
The masked figure offered no response, his silence unsettling.
Without warning, both combatants vanished—their forms blurring beyond visual perception as they launched themselves forward. They collided at the courtyard's center with catastrophic force, the impact generating a thunderous shockwave that shattered windows throughout the surrounding district. Buildings trembled on their foundations as concentric rings of displaced air expanded outward from the point of contact.
Their exchange of blows defied conventional understanding of combat. Each strike carried enough force to level buildings, yet was delivered with precision that spoke of decades of mastered technique. The Chairman's fist connected with the Rooster's mask, the impact reverberating through the air like artillery fire. In the same instant, the masked figure's knee drove into Darius's abdomen with enough force to create a localized vacuum, air rushing back with a thunderclap as physics reasserted itself.
Neither combatant showed signs of yielding. The Chairman recovered instantly from what should have been a debilitating blow, pivoting on his heel to deliver a roundhouse kick that displaced enough air to create visible distortion around his leg. The Rooster-masked figure caught the strike with crossed forearms, his feet carving twin furrows through solid stone as he was driven backward.
"SSS-rank," Darius realized, reassessing his opponent's capabilities upward. "To think that there is such a person in the Empire that isn't part of the Four Generals."
The masked figure capitalized on the momentary realization, closing distance with impossible speed. His assault became a blur of strikes—each punch, each kick flowing into the next with mechanical precision yet artistic grace. Darius defended with equal skill, his body seeming to instinctively predict the pattern of attacks, intercepting or redirecting each lethal strike by fractions of inches.
Where their limbs connected, space itself seemed to protest. The air cracked and distorted, kinetic energy dispersing in visible waves that pulverized nearby debris into fine dust. Cobblestones beneath their feet began to fracture, then disintegrate entirely, creating an expanding crater that threatened the structural integrity of surrounding buildings.
The Chairman abruptly changed tactics, abandoning his defensive posture to launch a counteroffensive of staggering intensity. His movements became near-impossible to track, attacking from multiple angles simultaneously as though physics had become merely a polite suggestion rather than an immutable law. The Rooster's defense faltered momentarily against this overwhelming assault, a powerful strike slipping through to connect with his shoulder.
The masked figure was launched skyward, his body carving an arc through the air before he stabilized himself mid-flight. Without pausing to reconsider, he plummeted back toward the Chairman like a meteor, the air around him ionizing from sheer velocity. Their collision created an impact crater that expanded outward in cracking, shattering stone, the shockwave powerful enough to collapse the weakened walls of nearby structures.
Citizens who had taken refuge in distant districts felt the ground tremble beneath their feet. Royal knights who attempted to approach the battle zone were forced back by the atmospheric pressure alone, their armor offering no protection against the rippling waves of force that emanated from each exchange.
As the battle intensified, their movements became increasingly difficult for normal perception to process. They appeared almost as afterimages, their actual positions constantly shifting as they exchanged hundreds of blows in the span of seconds. Each impact generated localized atmospheric disturbances—miniature thunderclaps that merged into a continuous roar of destruction.
The Rooster-masked figure suddenly changed patterns, sacrificing defense to land a devastating upward palm strike to Darius's chin. The Chairman's head snapped back, his body momentarily airborne from the force. Taking advantage of this opening, the masked figure delivered a brutal combination—a strike to the solar plexus followed by an elbow to the temple that sent Darius crashing through a half-collapsed wall.
Stone and mortar exploded outward as the Chairman's body carved through the structure. Yet before the debris had even settled, Darius emerged from the ruins, his expression darkening with focused intensity. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but his stance revealed no weakness.
"Enough warming up," he announced, his voice carrying an edge that hadn't been present before.
What followed could scarcely be called combat in conventional terms. The Chairman seemed to fold space around himself, condensing potential energy into his movements. Each strike carried exponentially more force as though he were channeling the power of natural catastrophes through his limbs.
The Rooster-masked figure met this escalation with matching intensity. His movements became more fluid, almost liquid in their organic unpredictability. Where the Chairman embodied overwhelming force, the masked combatant represented perfect adaptation—continuously evolving his techniques to counter each new approach.
Their battle transformed the Hero Association's courtyard into an apocalyptic landscape. Deep fissures spread outward from their position, buildings sagged inward as their foundations were compromised by the continuous seismic activity. The air seemed to grow heavy with discharged energy, creating localized weather phenomena as moisture condensed and evaporated with each temperature fluctuation caused by their exchange.
In a moment that defied expectation, the Chairman feinted left before delivering a punishing right cross that connected squarely with the Rooster mask. The impact created a sound like breaking thunder, the masked figure's body hurtling backward to crash through several walls before skidding to a stop amid a shower of pulverized stone.
But instead of continuing the pattern established throughout their battle—rising to resume combat with undiminished vigor—the masked figure remained motionless for several heartbeats. Then, with deliberate calm that contrasted sharply with the chaos surrounding them, he reached into his tattered cloak.
Darius tensed, anticipating some new weapon or technique. Instead, the Rooster-masked figure withdrew a small, unassuming orb that gleamed with subtle inner light. Before the Chairman could close the distance between them, the masked figure activated the device. Space distorted around him, folding inward with a sound like tearing fabric.
In the span of a single breath, the Rooster-masked figure vanished completely, the spatial dislocation collapsing in upon itself with a sound like distant thunder.
Darius stood amid the devastation, momentarily stunned by his opponent's unexpected retreat. He wondered why the sudden retreat.
Realization suddenly dawned upon him. The masked figures weren't simply attacking the capital as a show of force or act of terrorism—they had specific objectives. The Chairman's eyes widened as understanding crystallized.
"Oh no!" he exclaimed, his voice carrying rare alarm. "The princess and the young master!"
Without further hesitation, Darius launched himself skyward, his powerful form cutting through the air as he flew toward the royal palace with desperate urgency, leaving behind a n apocalyptic cityscape altered by their confrontation.