Heaven Breaker: SSS Rank Tiger Evolution-Chapter 49: Fight to the limit

"Okay... we started off on the wrong foot," Raiden said. "This battle didn’t give me much of a reference point."

I laughed in amusement.

"Let’s simplify things, Raiden," I said. "My raw power should be close to that of an early-stage demon. My battle prowess is probably a bit lower, considering I don’t know much about human martial arts."

"Hmmm... yes, that’s more or less what I had in mind... however, Gravis won’t be a good training partner," Raiden said, glancing at Laxus beside him. "Laxus, I know you were supposed to just observe, but change of plans—get in the ring."

Laxus sighed and stepped forward.

"Understood... I can see why. I suppose I should fight seriously..." His eyes gleamed as he raised a hand to the heavens, murmuring some kind of incantation.

BZZ BZZ BANG

A bolt of lightning fell from the sky into his hand, a rapier revealed within the radiant light.

My gaze sharpened as I stared at him from the other side of the improvised ring.

’Laxus is supposed to be a true warrior. I shouldn’t underestimate him...’ I thought, preparing myself.

At that moment, I wasn’t a martial artist, nor did I know how to use any weapon other than my own body—though that alone was a formidable weapon, each muscle in my body was capable of stopping bullets by itself.

Laxus was the opposite. Clearly, he knew how to wield his weapon, and it was unlikely he lacked martial arts training — However, his body was as strong as an average young man could be.

I took a deep breath.

Like every difficult battle, this one began first in the minds of both fighters.

Laxus analyzed me, and I analyzed him in return, playing a mental game of chess.

I could predict his movements, and he could predict mine.

’Strange... I can almost see this battle happening before it happens...’ I felt my aura stir, but more than that. ’My aura is resonating with his... the battle has truly already begun...’

I smiled, amused, and assumed a fighting stance.

"Ready? Begin!" Raiden signaled, and in the next instant—

Laxus vanished from everyone’s sight.

My eyes widened as I moved instantly.

BOOOOM

Laxus blasted through the ground toward me, leaving a meteor-like trail behind him, his rapier aimed straight at my vital points.

He struck three times in rapid succession, each blow more lethal than the last.

I could already see his blade piercing me.

However, when the strike landed, it missed—by no more than a hair’s breadth.

"But what?" Laxus frowned, certain his attack should have hit. He was completely incredulous.

Meanwhile... I simply smiled before delivering a powerful punch straight toward his skull.

BOOOM

With a burst, he retreated, and I advanced again, chasing him down and seizing the advantage.

"Always strike while the iron is hot," I said, unleashing dozens of simple punches, the pressure of each punch leaving a permanent mark on the ground.

BANG BANG BANG

Still, he didn’t falter. Having anticipated this reaction, his rapier lashed out again as he improved his position.

BZZ BZZ BZZ

Five fast strikes came at me, aiming to pierce my vital points, each one infused with crackling lightning—and yet... all of them missed by a hair.

Laxus and I went back and forth across the battlefield, each attack narrowly missing by no more than a hair’s breadth.

"You’re too fast—how is this possible?" I wondered, watching Laxus react and move at impossible speeds.

I was certain his body shouldn’t be capable of this, and his cultivation didn’t seem much greater than Gravis’s. Yet somehow, against all odds, he kept up.

My mind raced to decipher the secret behind his movements, just as he tried to unravel mine.

SHING

I clenched my teeth as a crimson line cut across my cheek. Laxus’s attacks were accelerating, becoming harder and harder to follow.

Even so, I still hadn’t uncovered his secret—and neither had he uncovered mine.

However, I could see it in his eyes—he was starting to panic.

His energy must have been running low.

My smile widened.

Still, this wasn’t how I wanted to win—nor how I thought it would end.

’My reserves are drying up too...’ I chuckled. ’But his are even worse...’

"Tsk!" Laxus clicked his tongue, shifting from an aggressive stance to a defensive one.

He waited for me to strike two or three times before counterattacking once—a truly dangerous blow.

’At the end of the day, only one strike is needed to win,’ I thought, dodging his attack.

I took a deep breath. Flames began to envelop my fists, and by invoking the wind element, the flames turned blue as I shifted from an aggressive stance to an even more aggressive one.

It was time to go berserker.

Laxus’s eyes focused more sharply than ever as he gritted his teeth in preparation.

SHING SHING SHING

Dozens of flaming strikes rained down on his rapier, each searing blow heating the metal and threatening to burn his hand.

SHING SHING SHING

"ARGH—AHHH!"

Laxus’s concentration was pushed to its limit as he screamed, forcing out every last drop of strength to keep fighting.

BOOOM

Everything in front of me exploded from a direct punch.

However, my eyes sharpened as Laxus slipped beneath my blow, his body low to the ground.

His blade surged toward my neck, lightning perfectly concentrated at its tip.

WOOSH

The blade sliced through my neck and emerged on the other side. Blood rose into my throat, leaving a metallic taste on my tongue. The lightning penetrated my flesh, causing me to convulse and burn...

Laxus smiled—victorious yet tense, and for good reason.

The ground beneath him suddenly contracted, pulling him back within my reach—the one advantage of using a sword vanishing in an instant.

Laxus’s smile faltered.

Laxus urgently tried to pull the rapier free to launch another attack—but I tightened my neck muscles and reinforced them with Primordial Force. The blade became lodged inside me, locking him in place.

"Damn it!" He immediately tried to abandon the weapon and dodge as my fist came crashing down, promising to shatter his skull.

WOOOSH

Killing intent spread through the air, the persistent scent of blood filling the battlefield.

BANG

Laxus’s skull exploded in a sea of blood, killing him and ending the fight in that single instant.

I had won.

My body could regenerate.

His could not.

Laxus had underestimated my tenacity. He assumed that, like humans, a strike to the vital points would kill me.

He was wrong—and I proved it.

Only one person can leave the ring now.

"Very well, everyone! Good fight!" Raiden said with a smile.

My eyes blinked as I snapped back to reality, where both Laxus and I were staring at each other tensely, heavy sweat dripping down our foreheads.

"What was that?" I asked, certain I had just crushed his skull.

In the real world, however, Laxus had stopped his blade just a few centimeters from my neck, while my punch was still poised to smash him.

"We got carried away, and our auras responded," Laxus said with unexpected joy. He looked euphoric. "I lost, but that was incredible... I didn’t expect you to be moving the ground the entire time. Hahaha, of course I kept missing—you were shifting the earth beneath us to change the attack range."

"And you went a bit further," I said, surprised. "You used electricity to sharpen your senses beyond their limits. That seems dangerous—but powerful."

"So, what do we call this?" Raiden laughed as he approached. "A draw? Kai’s victory? Laxus’s victory?"

"I lost this time," Laxus said. "Without question, Kai deserves the win."

"Excellent. In that case, congratulations, Kai..." Raiden said, patting my shoulder as I still tried to process what had happened.

"Aura... can it really do that?" I murmured...