“Alright, then… let’s check this out!”
To verify Yuren’s Plema, the prince charged forward.
The prince charged like an enraged bull seeing red, sending a rough Plema kick toward Yuren.
And then…
Boom!!!
“What!? The prince’s kick!”
“It was blocked…”
In the center of the coliseum, two blazing kicks collided.
The prince’s Plema kick was intercepted by Yuren’s Plema kick.
The prince, unable to believe it, kept kicking while Yuren countered with the same technique.
The sound of explosions rocked the heavens and earth, and Jiren asked Karen.
“It really looks like the Plema that Karen uses.”
“That’s right. When did Yuren learn it?”
Although they had practiced martial arts together, Yuren had never specifically learned Plema.
In response to everyone’s curiosity, Irene casually revealed Yuren’s secret.
“Did you guys not know? Yuren learns just about anything he sees once.”
“What?”
“Yuren, really!?”
Everyone present was shocked by Yuren’s secret.
However, Irene had an expression of disbelief.
“Didn’t you all see? When I taught him magic, he copied it after just one demonstration.”
“Well, we thought it was because Master is older and learned it first!”
“Exactly!!”
“Disciples, I don’t show any favoritism in teaching.”
Yuren could indeed learn just about any magic after seeing it once.
Whether it was due to his past life experiences or some cheat in this life, Yuren himself didn’t know.
But what mattered was that if he could copy magic just by seeing it, then martial arts would naturally be possible as well.
His level of skill was enough to earn the prince’s recognition, who was picky about martial arts.
Facing off against Yuren’s kick, the prince had no choice but to acknowledge it.
That Yuren’s skill was genuine.
“Truly, this is no joke! But!!”
Yet, as they exchanged kicks a few more times, the prince felt it.
The technique was passable.
But that was all.
Yuren’s Plema felt too light.
Ka-boom!
“Cough!”
“It’s light!! A Plema kick shouldn’t be so light!”
The prince began to get serious.
The muscles of the dragon swelled, and the flames intensified.
Yuren was pushed back as his stance crumbled under the prince’s sincere kick.
“This is the end! Yuren!!”
As Yuren was pushed backward, the prince prepared his final technique.
The prince’s signature move, the Fire Dragon’s claw, was aimed directly at Yuren.
But in that moment…
Whoosh!
“Wha… what!?”
The prince’s kick flew right through Yuren.
The audience watching from afar began to murmur in astonishment.
But Julia, who knew everything, shivered.
“An illusion? So, it must be…”
“The Black Forest! Yuren used the Black Forest!”
Eventually, the prince also noticed the unexpected turn of events.
The spinning kick he thought was perfectly timed sliced through the air instead.
“This sensation is an illusion, no way!?”
“It’s too late.”
By the time the prince caught on, it was already too late.
Yuren, now behind the prince, grabbed his waist and executed Julia’s Black Forest throw, slamming him to the ground.
Ka-boom!
“Cough!”
Even a dragon’s body seemed to suffer damage from the impact with the stone floor.
Yuren rushed towards the prince without missing a beat.
“One more time!”
He aimed a fiery Plema kick at the prince.
With the impact from being thrown to the ground, the prince should have been dazed. This was the perfect opportunity.
Yuren’s judgment wasn’t bad. But he had forgotten one thing.
Dragons didn’t operate by human logic.
“Not a chance!”
Boom!!!
“Ugh!!!”
From a fallen position, the prince delivered an upward kick to Yuren’s stomach.
Though it was a kick launched from a broken stance, it was on a different level altogether.
Yuren barely defended against it but felt as though a grenade had exploded in his gut, sent flying backward, returning the match to square one.
“Haah, you possess an incredible technique. It’s the first time in my life I’ve encountered an illusion I couldn’t distinguish.”
“Cough! Cough! To think I could fool the Dragon Heart is an honor.”
The prince regained his stance.
Yuren did the same.
He lowered himself dramatically, adopting a boxing stance akin to Mike Tyson, and this time Noirin cheered passionately.
“That’s the dwarf martial art ‘Valparia’!”
“Exactly! Fight with a man’s martial arts, not those of little folk!”
Several dwarves also rejoiced at Yuren’s stance.
The prince, looking as if he were at an amusement park, smiled and said to Yuren.
“Is this your secret move, Yuren?”
“It’s nothing so grand. I simply found ‘this’ while searching for what I do best. That’s all.”
Just as the prince excelled in Plema, Yuren was most confident in this.
Doing everything and anything.
Yuren had always been like this since his past life.
Working at startups and corporations, he gained experience in planning, programming, graphics, sound, and more.
That was when it started.
It became his strength to surpass basic levels in everything.
“I see… Even better! I’ve always wanted to fight someone skilled in all martial arts!”
“Honestly, I didn’t want to fight either. But… I want to win this game.”
“That goal isn’t bad either. Now, let’s enjoy this game to the end, Yuren!”
“Yes!”
Yuren’s martial art parade continued after that.
When he decided it was his turn to charge, Yuren utilized the dwarf martial art ‘Valparia’.
Using the spell ‘Valtrach’ (Rock Manipulation Magic) that makes stones soft and elastic, Yuren got low and charged at the prince, dodging kicks and delivering an uppercut.
“How do you expect to catch a flying dragon while sticking to the ground?”
But the prince easily evaded and toyed with Yuren.
As if desiring an aerial battle, Yuren responded.
“That’s Nidra!”
Using wind magic to fly lightly like a cat, attacking with sharp claws, Yuren, resembling the white cat character Blanc, lunged at the airborne prince.
“Not bad! But with those claws, you can’t even scratch my skin!”
Though Yuren’s claws weren’t from the feline race, they didn’t inflict significant damage.
Knocked back by the prince’s kick while airborne, Yuren was sent sprawling away.
Then, as if waiting for this moment, Yuren readied his stance.
“What!?”
“He’s really going to use that martial art!!?”
The stance that astonished everyone in the Coliseum was recognizable only to those who had played Legend Fighter.
A martial art that could only be performed by Yuren in this other world.
It was none other than…
“Adegan!!”
The technique of Ryo from Street Fighter 2, the iconic move of that game, was the Hadouken.
A vibrant wave of energy shot out from between Yuren’s hands, leaving the prince and his followers, gamers themselves, gasping in awe.
“Adegan!?”
“That’s the real Adegan!!”
“That’s Ryo’s technique from Legend Fighter!!!”
“Is the volcanic demon return style a real martial art!?”
Naturally, such martial arts didn’t exist.
The wave was simply Yuren using wind magic to create an air shockwave.
But that wasn’t what mattered.
What mattered was that an Adegan truly flew before their eyes.
Ka-boom!
With a massive explosion of air, shockwaves hit the prince.
Though it was an incredible shock, the prince could not evade it.
As a fan of Legend Fighter, avoiding an Adegan was unthinkable.
“Cough! Cough! Haha! Incredible, Yuren! Good! More! Show me more!”
“Got it! One more coming!!”
“I’m in too!!”
Yuren prepared another Adegan.
The prince also readied Curie’s wind blast technique, Plema.
“Adegan!”
“Dragon’s Breath!!”
Yuren’s Hadouken and the prince’s Dragon’s Breath clashed in the center of the coliseum, erupting in an explosion.
The Legend Fighter fans witnessing the reality of the wind-based battle couldn’t hold back their tears of emotion.
*
“Hah…hah…”
“Huff…huff…huff…”
The fight continued afterward.
The prince’s robust physique was gradually but undeniably worn down by Yuren’s attacks.
But Yuren wasn’t unscathed either.
Each of the prince’s strikes was close to a finishing blow, and no matter how much Yuren hit back, one hit could turn the tide.
Despite the unreasonable difference, Yuren had been able to endure for one reason alone.
‘(This is how I imagined Yuren might come out.)’
The reason professional fighters are so powerful lies in their ability to force responses.
Strikes, locks, throws, kicks, etc.
All kinds of attacks I could envision could come my way, so I had to respond to all of them.
As Yuren countered every martial art he possessed, the prince created openings.
Thanks to that gap, Yuren had been able to hold out until now.
But that was nearing its limit.
Both Yuren and the prince were close to their limits.
Even the spectators felt that the next strike would determine the final outcome.
“This next one is the last. Yuren, I wish I could enjoy this more, but as a prince, I hope you understand I can’t.”
“It’s alright, Your Highness; I feel like I might die, so… this is it.”
Yuren readied himself for the final stance.
Finally, the stance everyone had been waiting for sent the citizens of the empire into a frenzy.
“Look at that!”
“It’s finally here!”
The martial art of the resurrected general and the protagonist of Legend Fighter,
『Zergas』
Yuren finally assumed the stance.
“Well, since I’ve come to the empire, I have to experience this! Thanks until the very end, Yuren!”
As Yuren took his stance, the prince mirrored it.
It was a stance familiar to Yuren, too.
The final technique of Plema and Curie’s ultimate move, ‘Dance of the Burning Dragon’.
To counter it, Yuren also prepared.
Karga’s finishing move and Zergas’s ultimate technique, ‘Spear of the Lightning God’.
Feeling the lightning gathering in his right hand, Yuren spoke.
“Please excuse me if I can’t control my strength against you, Your Highness.”
“Doesn’t matter! If you hold back, I won’t forgive you, so give it your all!!”
Fire vs Lightning
Kingdom of Ra vs Zers Empire
Prince vs Game Developer(?)
The decisive battle was about to commence.
