Once upon a time in God's playground-Chapter 100 - 99 : Truce bought by Item

The underground throne room was already wrecked—pillars shattered, dust choking the air, the ceiling sagging under the strain.

But Su-Bin wasn’t slowing down.

His body rippled again, stone armor crawling across his chest, flames bursting from his shoulders. Lightning arced from his fingertips, carving cracks of pure white across the walls. His eyes glowed blood-red, manic, unstable.

"You don’t understand!" he roared, voice shaking the chamber. "Seoul *needs me!* Without my power, this city is nothing but corpses waiting to rot!"

I spat blood, grinning despite the ache in my ribs. "Big speech for someone who can’t even stand straight."

His face twisted. "I’ll show you who can’t stand."

He blurred forward—speed ability kicking in—so fast the air boomed. His fist, wrapped in stone and fire, aimed for my head.

Instinct screamed.

I ducked, tail snapping up. His punch grazed past, but the heat singed fur and skin. I lashed out—claws across his chest. Sparks, stone fragments, and blood sprayed.

He stumbled, but his other hand was already swinging. Lightning poured from his palm. I vaulted sideways, claws digging into the wall as the blast scorched through where I’d stood, melting stone.

"Shit." I hissed, clinging to the ceiling. "You really *did* mug a superhero."

He glared up at me, teeth bared. "Every man who fell became mine. Fire. Ice. Stone. Speed. Power belongs to the strong—and I am the strongest!"

I tilted my head, fangs glinting in a grin. "Correction. You’re the *greediest*. And it’s eating you alive."

He roared, flames flaring brighter, wings of fire tearing across the room. He launched upward, fist swinging at my head.

I let go.

Dropped straight past him. My tail lashed, cracking against his skull. His head snapped sideways, blood spraying. He crashed into the wall, stone crumbling around him.

I landed in a crouch, claws gouging deep trenches into the ground.

Su-Bin staggered out of the rubble, flames sputtering. His chest heaved. His skin—patchwork now, cracked and peeling—glowed faintly with too many elements fighting for space.

And I knew. He was breaking.

But he wasn’t done.

"I—am—*Seoul!*" he screamed, thrusting both hands forward.

The room lit up with chaos.

Flames roared from his left hand, ice spikes launched from his right. Lightning carved through the air in jagged arcs. Laser beams tore from his eyes, searing into walls, slicing through pillars.

"Holy *shit*!" I sprinted forward, weaving between beams, tail flicking rubble aside. Heat blistered my skin, ice bit my legs, a stray laser grazed my shoulder, flesh sizzling.

But I kept moving. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

I leapt onto a pillar, sprinted along its side, then launched off, claws aimed for his throat.

He turned—stone armor forming just in time. My claws raked sparks but couldn’t pierce. He swung back, fist slamming into my gut.

The air left me in a violent cough.

I flew across the chamber, smashed into the ground, blood splattering from my mouth.

My lungs screamed. My ribs burned. But I grinned through bloodied teeth.

"You hit like a bastard... but you’re sloppy as hell."

He staggered forward, sweat pouring, movements jerky. His left leg trembled with every step. The ice spikes from earlier melted, dripping from his arm like sludge. The flames on his back flickered. His skin cracked with every shift of power.

He was *overusing it.*

"Without me," he spat, "this city dies. I share my power. I keep them safe. I built Seoul’s walls!"

"Yeah?" I coughed, forcing myself up. My claws scraped the ground. "And in the meantime, you’re killing yourself—and turning everyone else into your slaves."

He froze, teeth grinding.

I stood, blood dripping, tail swaying low and steady. "Face it, Su-Bin. You’re not a king. You’re a junkie."

The word *hit.* His eyes widened, blood vessels bursting in his face. His breath caught—and then he *screamed,* unleashing everything at once.

Flames. Lightning. Ice. Lasers. Stone.

The chamber detonated.

I charged straight through it.

Claws shredded through fire. My tail cracked ice apart. Lightning seared my skin, but I pushed forward. His laser beams nicked my arm, carving a burning line, but I gritted my teeth and didn’t stop.

I leapt. Crashed into him. We rolled across shattered stone, fists, claws, and rubble flying. His stone fist slammed my jaw. My claws raked his chest. His flames roasted my fur. My tail wrapped his throat, choking, pulling.

We broke apart, panting, bloodied, both barely standing.

He trembled violently now, every muscle spasming, flames sputtering out.

"See?" I rasped, spitting blood. "You can’t control it. You’re tearing yourself apart."

He staggered, body flickering with unstable power, veins glowing under his skin. "...I... I *am* control!"

"No." I stepped closer, tail raised, claws ready. "You’re a collection of corpses. That’s not control. That’s desperation."

He dropped to one knee, coughing blood. His flames died, ice melted, lasers flickered out. Stone armor crumbled. Only lightning remained, weak and sputtering.

I crouched low, eyes sharp. "Listen. You don’t have to keep doing this. You need something that stabilizes you. Something from the Cosmic Shop."

He glared up, weak but still burning with rage. "Why... why would you help me?"

I smirked, fangs bloody. "Because fighting you like this is pathetic. I’d rather take on a king who’s whole than a junkie cracking apart at the seams."

His hands shook. "You’d... help me... buy it?"

"Yeah." My tail lowered, hovering just off his throat. "Get yourself a regulator, a core, something that channels your stolen powers without frying your ass. You’ll live longer, and I’ll get a rematch worth remembering."

For a moment—silence. His flames finally sputtered out, leaving only his labored breaths.

Then Su-Bin let out a broken laugh. "You’re... insane."

I grinned, sharp and feral. "Takes one to know one."

The throne room was rubble. Prisoners were freed. Ji-a’s voice echoed faintly in the tunnels. And Su-Bin... wasn’t king anymore. Not yet. Not until he made his choice.

He wasn’t invincible. He wasn’t untouchable. He was a man drowning in his own power, and for the first time—he knew it.