[“Wowwwww!!! Bean is the best!!!”]

The arena erupted in cheers at Bean’s victory. Last year’s runner-up, Bean, was getting closer to victory, and his fans were going wild. Even the general audience, who enjoyed an underdog victory, began to cheer for Bean.

Amidst that atmosphere, the players prepared for the next round.

“Bean has taken off his glasses!! Despite winning, Bean has removed his glasses!!!! He’s showing his determination to finish this firmly!!!!!”

Bean performed significantly better without his glasses. Normally, one would take off their glasses after losing to show sincerity, but this time he did it to secure victory.

“Bean has a good chance of taking the first win, but what do you think, Noirin?”
“Clearly, Bean is in a strong position right now. It’s not just because he secured the first win, but because he defeated Johan in an area where Johan could have had an advantage.”

“That’s right!!! This is the first time Johan has allowed so many attacks in this tournament against Bean!”
“However, I’ve seen Johan always showcase something here. I believe he still has hidden cards as the champion.”

While selecting characters for Round 2, Noirin and JYJ discussed the impending match. Johan was clearly at a disadvantage. Logically, the only way Johan could gain an edge was to choose a character that had an advantageous matchup.

As everyone’s attention turned to Johan’s fingertips, the character selection was completed, and the screen displayed the results with everyone gasping.

“Bean!!! The face of the Empire!!!! The protagonist of Legend Fighter!!! He chose Karuga!!!”
“On the other hand, Johan chose the dwarf character Pull!!!! Oh!!! I never thought I’d see Pull, my main character, here!!!”

The gamers were astounded at Johan’s unexpected choice of Pull instead of the super advantageous Ren. Pull had strong power but was slow, making him weak against Karuga.

“Did Johan give up on the game!? Or does he have something hidden?”
“This match is truly unpredictable. The game is starting now while we talk!!”

The game screen changed, and the dwarf Pull and the imperial soldier Karuga appeared. With the start of the match, Karuga began his actions.

“Round 2 Fight”
“Bean starts an onslaught of projectiles with Karuga.”
“Classic play. I’m looking forward to how Johan will dodge that projectile rain.”

Johan’s Pull had a simple reaction to Karuga’s projectile downpour.
“Radek! Ucha! Radek! Ucha!!”
“Oh! Johan dodges by jumping!”

“If he approaches like that, he could get caught in Karuga’s anti-air. I’m worried about Johan.”

Ducking and weaving through Karuga’s projectiles, Pull moved closer. Just as Pull barely entered Karuga’s effective strike zone, Bean made his move.
“3-hit combo!!”
“Before I could finish speaking, Karuga’s anti-air strike explodes!!!!”
“Oh no!!!! What’s happening!!!!?”

But clearly, Pull, who should have been knocked away by the anti-air, didn’t have a hitbox activated.
“Johan’s Pull!!! He dodged Karuga’s anti-air!!!”
“Oh my!!!! It seemed like he got hit!!!! Does that even make sense?!”

The secret lay in Pull’s hitbox; it was one pixel smaller than expected. Johan, aware of this while continuing the game, kept it hidden as his trump card, just like in this match against Bean.

Everything was built up to enter Karuga’s arms perfectly.
“Ha! Hah! Whoooa!!!!!”
“Here we go!!!! The first Owa of this match!!!! It bursts on Bean!!!”
“Massive damage!!! Yes!!! That’s Pull!!! That’s Johan!!!”

Pull, in Karuga’s grasp, unleashed a three-hit combo and finished with an Owa, dealing immense damage. After that, Pull continually attacked to keep Karuga cornered. The crowd erupted in cheers.
“Bean’s Karuga is trapped in the corner!!!”
“Could this really be the end!? Just like this!!!!?”

‘(I can’t lose like this!!!)’

Trapped in the corner, Bean couldn’t afford to lose and decided to use his ultimate move. Karuga’s ultimate, even if it didn’t block it, could push Pull back.

“God of Lightning, lend me your power!!! Lightning Spear!!!”
“Bean’s Karuga is about to use his ultimate move!!!”
“That’s right. It’s better to use the ultimate and escape than lose in the game.”

But then, something unexpected happened. Just as Karuga’s ultimate was about to strike!!! Johan’s gauge filled completely, and he unleashed his own ultimate move.
“Earth God! I’ll buy you a drink, just lend me some strength!!!”

Pull’s ultimate required him to dive underground before using it. The timing was so fast, it was rarely used for dodging, but Johan used it precisely for that.

“Earth Breaker!!! Pheeroooooow!!!”
Karuga, using the Lightning Spear in the air, saw from below as Pull emerged from the ground and delivered an uppercut, Pull’s ultimate exploding onto Karuga.

With the incredible damage from the counter hit, Bean’s Karuga met his demise, and Bean’s fans could hardly contain their shock at the moment.
“Johan’s Pull!!!! Slamming Karuga into the wall, bringing home the second victory!!!!!”
“Absolutely perfect!!! This was a true showcase of ‘This is Johan!!!!’”

Thus, Johan secured a win with his secret weapon, Pull. The battle ended in a tied 1:1.

Who would win? Who would become the holder of 1 billion gold?

All eyes were on the audience in the Coliseum, as well as those watching on screens in Zephia and the Kingdom of Ra and Yura Republic through the crystal ball broadcasts, all watching with bated breath.

“Yes, just like in the Tetric finals, both have recorded 1 win!!! It’s truly fierce!!! Both players are fighting for their lives like gladiators!!”
“It’s impossible to predict. Both players’ skills, strategies, and preparations are neck and neck. Only the Gods can truly predict the final outcome.”

Amidst the electrified atmosphere, Round 3 began. What characters would they choose this time? All the eyes of the Coliseum were focused on the fingertips of the two players. And then…

“Oh!!! Unexpected characters have emerged again!!!!”
“Bean chose Curie!!!! Johan chose Kan!!! This is the first appearance of Kan in this tournament!!!!”

Bean selected Curie while Johan picked Kan. Kan had balanced stats but wasn’t top-tier in any aspect, leading to his rare use in matches. Everyone was taken aback by Johan’s choice of Kan.

“What could be the reasoning behind Johan choosing Kan? What do you think, Noirin?”
“Kan is a character from the same school as Ryo and Volcano Ryu, with slightly better anti-air capabilities than Ryo. He likely chose Kan for being strong against Ren while having a charging attack among his remaining character options.”
“Indeed, that’s quite a strategic choice by Johan!”
“However, Bean’s Curie isn’t bad either. If Curie’s anti-air is similar to Karuga’s, it could counter Johan’s earlier choice of Karuga. Curie has the highest win rate among Bean’s picks.”
“It seems both players selected their characters after a fierce mental battle. Truly impressive.”
“Oh!!!! The final match is now beginning!!!!”

After the explanations from Noirin, the audience settled, and the final showdown commenced. The ultimate battle was about to begin.

“Round 3 Fight”
“Kan charges in with Attatattugen right at the start!!!”
“Johan comes out aggressively right from the beginning!!”

Charging in with a Wind Slash, Kan pushed Curie into the corner.
“Attatattugen! Hah! Adoken!”
“Curie is cornered from the start!”
“Is this going to end like Round 2!?”

But this time, it wasn’t going down without a fight. At just the right moment, Curie executed a Just Guard and sent Kan flying.
“Gotcha!”
“Bean!!! Just Guard!!!”
“Curie begins her counterattack!”

As Kan tried to get up from the grab, Curie rushed in and unleashed her National Combo. With a low kick > mid punch > projectile > dashing move, Curie visibly chipped away at Kan’s health.
“Yeaah! Hah! Ha! Yat!”
“Curie!!! She’s giving it back just as much!!!!”
“That’s right!!! You can’t just take it lying down!!!!”

Kan, however, wasn’t going to sit idly. He retaliated with his anti-air, the long-reaching Rising Slash.
“Waryugen!!!!!”
“Kan’s Waryugen explodes as a counter!!!!”
“Impressive!!!! How did Johan time that so perfectly?!”

Neither competitor gave an inch as they both whittled away each other’s health. In a moment of mistake, the battle could go either way, and the arena grew quiet.
“Remaining health: Curie at 32%, Kan at 15%.”
“Bean has a slight advantage but shouldn’t let his guard down.”

Both characters could get hit hard if they were careless. Then, Curie’s foot connected with Kan.
“Souu!!! Yaat!!”
“Oh!!! Curie’s kick hits!”
“Kan is down to 10%! It’s Bean’s chance!!!!!!”

With Kan pushed back to 10%, Bean saw the perfect kill opportunity.
‘(This time, I will be the first place!!!)’

Bean firmly believed this would be his victory. A perfect opportunity, a flawless chance, everything was telling him it was his time to shine. Bean unleashed Curie’s ultimate move.
And then, the moment that would become legendary began.

“Iyyaaaaap!!!! Dance of the Burning Dragon!!!!”
“Bean is using his ultimate move!!!!!!”
“Is the battle ending like this!? But what on earth is happening!!!!!!!!?”

Curie’s ultimate move, the Dance of the Burning Dragon, unleashed a flurry of spinning kicks, with Johan’s Kan executing a Just Guard to block them!!!!!!
“Hu! Hu! Hu! Huuuuu!”
“Oh my goodness!!!!!!!! Johan’s Kan blocks Curie’s ultimate move with a Just Guard!!!!!!”

Curie’s relentless barrage of kicks came, yet Kan defended it with impeccable timing using the Just Guard. The tricky timing of Curie’s kicks made it incredibly hard to perform the Just Guard throughout the move. But Johan’s Kan managed to pull it off seamlessly.
“Hu! Hu! Hu! Hu!”
“Johan!!! He doesn’t miss a single timing!!!! Does that even make sense!?! Is that something a human can do?!”

In this battle, the attacker was Johan while the defender was Bean. That naming came from Bean executing Just Guards much more frequently and skillfully. But could Johan not perform Just Guards better than Bean? No, Johan wasn’t unable; he simply chose not to use them.

He created this moment intentionally for Bean to believe he could freely use his ultimate!
“Hu! Hu! Hah!! Ascend to the heavens!!!!”
“Kan!!! After dealing damage with a jumping kick, he perfectly executes Ken’s ultimate Rising Wave Punch!!!!!!”

Kan, having blocked Curie’s ultimate with Just Guards, leapt into the air and struck Curie, reducing her health to 20%. Then, he unleashed his own ultimate, the Rising Wave Punch. Kan struck Bean’s Curie with three successive Rising Punches.

The damage from Kan’s ultimate was precisely 30% of Curie’s health, marking a flawless conclusion.
“Aora! Aora! Ohriyaaaaah!!!!”
“Oh noooooo!!!!! Kan’s ultimate explodes!!!!! Curie has fallen!!!!!”
“Johan’s miraculous comeback win!!!!!!! With a play that felt like a miracle, Johan once again claims the throne!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
[“Wowwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!”]

This truly was a miraculous play, showcasing what it means to be the strongest as Johan ascended to the pinnacle once more. And in that moment, Bean was again confirmed as the runner-up.