Chapter 36: Fierce Battle

Chapter 36: Fierce Battle

“Now that’s more like it.”

Tendou smiled faintly as he looked at Cromwell, whose eyes were now sharp with killing intent. “That gaze suits you much better. Compared to that little playfight from earlier… this is way more interesting.”

He stretched lazily and rolled his shoulders. “Since you’re getting serious—guess I’ll loosen up a bit too.”

As his voice fell, Tendou began doing light stretches right there on the battlefield. Left hand on his knee, right leg stretched straight—completely unfazed by the sight of his opponent, or the tens of thousands of viewers watching through the dimensional screens.

The message was clear as day.

Everything up till now had been just the appetizer.

The real meal was about to begin.

“Alright then, old man,” Tendou said with an inviting grin, curling a finger toward his opponent. “Come at me.”

After all, as the one being challenged, he had no reason to attack first.

Facing that utterly relaxed expression, Cromwell’s eyes grew heavy with emotion.

The reason he hadn’t activated his Star Origin earlier was because he’d been worried. Worried that the venom within those coral spikes might inflict irreversible damage on Tendou.

But now, he realized just how ridiculous that concern had been.

Because, as Tendou himself had said, it was clear who the real challenger here was.

If he didn’t fight seriously now, then this so-called “test” truly had no meaning.

At that moment, a quiet thought surfaced in his heart.

‘Masamune Tendou… You really are, just as Miss Tachibana described, a complete monster.’

‘No—calling you a monster isn’t enough. That word can’t capture the awe you inspire.’

‘You’re a king—the king who reigns above all monsters.’

‘And if I still hold back before such a king… that isn’t mercy.’

That’s blasphemy.

“So be it,” he muttered to himself. “Let this lowly knight witness firsthand… the true power of the King among Stars!”

With resolve burning in his eyes, Cromwell finally stopped restraining himself.

He thrust his left arm forward, and from it burst countless violet corals—spikes that pierced deep into the grooves carved upon his heavy shell-shield.

With a metallic clang, the enormous shield suddenly split apart and began to reassemble itself.

Within seconds, it transformed into a fearsome gauntlet that encased his entire left arm.

At the same time, his right-hand weapon—the cross-hook spear—was consumed by the same purple corals. They crawled along its shaft, reshaping it into a matching armguard.

Left arm: Gauntlet.

Right arm: Spear Gauntlet.

Body: Sealed within heavy coral armor.

The two-meter-tall warrior now stood as a hulking, half-metal, half-coral juggernaut radiating raw might.

Even the spectators beyond the dimensional screen sat up straight, holding their breath.

This wasn’t the same Coral Knight from before.

“Holy crap—so this is what a second-order Starbearer looks like when he gets serious?”

“That pressure is insane!”

“Wait, did this guy just transform? Bro’s an armored hero now!”

As Cromwell shifted from a defensive to an offensive stance, Tendou remained perfectly calm—but the audience? The audience was panicking for him.

And before Tendou could even finish his thought—

Deep Blue Flow—Fang Thrust!

With an earth-shaking stomp, Cromwell launched himself forward. The ground beneath him split open like shattered glass.

The two-meter-tall titan blurred into a streak of violet light, and in the next heartbeat, his massive fist was already crashing toward Tendou’s face.

The force behind that punch was so immense that even the air screamed in protest.

The blow hadn’t yet landed, but the pressure alone was enough to whip Tendou’s silver hair back from his forehead.

BOOM!!!

Faced with Cromwell’s monstrous strike, Tendou didn’t dodge. He didn’t even flinch—he met it head-on.

The instant his bare palm collided with the venomous coral gauntlet, a shockwave exploded outward from the point of impact, forming a visible ring of air that tore through the parking lot.

Within ten meters, the concrete ground shattered like brittle biscuits.

Shards of debris shot outward, punching holes through several parked cars nearby.

But the noise wasn’t what shocked Cromwell most—it was the result.

Because right before his eyes, Tendou stood firm, holding his punch in place.

Those venom-tipped spikes—sharp enough to pierce armored vehicles—had stopped. Dead still.

Each one hung mere millimeters away from Tendou’s skin, as if blocked by some invisible barrier.

For a long heartbeat, Cromwell could only stare.

Tendou’s lips curved into a grin. “Tell me, old man… Do you know what’s the best thing about vector control?”

As he spoke, his fingers slowly began to close around Cromwell’s fist.

A creaking groan echoed through the air as the coral gauntlet buckled under pressure.

The metal warped, the spikes bending like twigs about to snap—

CRACK!

With a sharp snap, the entire gauntlet twisted grotesquely, its spikes snapping off one by one.

Before Cromwell could even react, an immense counterforce surged through his right arm.

Then came the impact.

A single, overwhelming burst of strength hurled him high into the air like a ragdoll.

And before he could even begin to stabilize himself—Tendou was already there, appearing above him like a phantom.

His calm voice followed him through the air:

“The best part about vector control…”

Tendou’s right arm drew back, elbow poised.

“…is that it lets me send your power right back at you.”

BOOM!

The elbow slammed into Cromwell’s chest with devastating force.

His enormous body shot downward like a falling meteor, smashing into the ground below.

When the dust settled, a spiderweb-shaped crater—seven, maybe eight meters wide—spread from the point of impact.

“Gah—!”

Cromwell coughed up blood, clearly wounded. But before he could even breathe, his instincts screamed a warning.

He looked up—just in time to see Tendou diving toward him from above, his right leg raised like a descending battle-axe.

Without hesitation, Cromwell crossed his arms over his head, summoning his last line of defense.

The corals on his body erupted outward, intertwining and hardening in an instant—forming a shell of jagged thorns.

Deep Blue Flow—Coral Armor!

THUD!!!

Tendou’s axe-like kick crashed down on the barrier.

Though it failed to break through completely, the sheer force drove Cromwell another meter deep into the ground.

Using the rebound from his own strike, Tendou flipped backward through the air and landed lightly.

His shoes scraped sparks against the concrete as he skidded to a stop ten meters away.

For a moment, neither of them moved. The battlefield fell silent.

But in that silence—every viewer watching through the dimensional screens felt their hearts pounding in unison.

The chat, once flooded with endless scrolling messages, had fallen completely still.

Tendou’s strength… had surpassed everyone’s imagination.

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