Hou Qing charged once again.
His punch came straight and fast. From Baki's perspective, it crawled. He moved his head two inches. The fist passed by his ear.
Hou Qing threw another. Baki shifted his weight. He dodged.
Hou Qing threw a left-right-left-right combination. Baki's head moved in small and economical motions. Every punch missed by the smallest margin.
Hou Qing stepped back. "What the hell?"
Baki came forward. His punch seemed to appear inside Hou Qing's guard. It hit his chest and sent him sliding back several feet.
Baki followed without pause. He threw an uppercut. Hou Qing leaned back. The fist grazed his chin. Baki threw a kick. Hou Qing blocked with his forearm and felt it go numb immediately.
Then Baki threw three more kicks in rapid succession. All three hit. The last one sent Hou Qing stumbling.
Hou Qing tried to counter with a hook. Baki's body swayed like grass in wind. The punch hit nothing. Hou Qing's uppercut met empty air.
Baki's fist came up and caught Hou Qing's jaw. Before Hou Qing could recover, Baki hit him with a chest punch and drove his knee into the midsection.
Hou Qing doubled over. Baki grabbed him and drove two knees into his face. Blood exploded. Baki kicked him away.
Hou Qing flew back and crashed through a table. He rolled through the debris and came up on his feet through pure instinct.
He wiped blood from his face. "What did you do?"
"Boring question." Baki's smile was serene. "Let's continue."
Hou Qing rushed forward again but this time he'd changed his approach. He threw a punch at Baki's face. Baki moved before it arrived. But Hou Qing kept his arm extended. When Baki's counter came as a straight right to Hou Qing's jaw, Hou Qing took it. His head turned from the impact but his extended elbow swung back and caught Baki on the temple.
Baki stumbled.
"If I can't hit him clean," Hou Qing thought, "I'll make him hit me and hit him back."
He kept pressing. Baki dodged most of his strikes but every time Baki landed a hit, Hou Qing was already positioned for a counter.
Baki punched Hou Qing's chest. Hou Qing grunted and headbutted him. Their skulls met with a sickening crack. Blood ran down both faces.
Hou Qing grabbed Baki's collar and threw him over his shoulder. Baki hit the ground hard enough to spiderweb the floor.
Hou Qing stood there breathing hard. Blood streamed from his nose and split lip. His ribs screamed. Every breath hurt. But Zhang Jian's broken body was in his peripheral vision and that was enough.
Baki rolled away and stood up. "You want to trade damage?" His eyes lit up. "You can try. But I don't lose."
The next exchange was brutal. Baki landed three shots for every one of Hou Qing's. But Hou Qing made his count. Each hit he landed was maximum damage. All technique was abandoned in favor of raw power.
He punched Baki in the face. Baki's nose broke again. He headbutted Baki. Baki's vision blurred. He drove two knees to the stomach. Baki dropped to one knee.
Baki swept Hou Qing's legs. Hou Qing fell. Baki mounted him and started raining down punches. Hou Qing blocked some and ate the rest. His face became a mask of blood.
Hou Qing grabbed Baki's arm and yanked him down. He kneed him in the face. Baki's head jerked back. Hou Qing pushed him off and stood up.
They came together again. And again. The floor around them was a disaster zone. Craters and cracks and blood covered everything.
Then Baki shifted into a higher gear as a blue glint appeared in his eyes. His movements became a blur. He appeared in front of Hou Qing. He threw punch-uppercut-kick-knee in a combination so fast Hou Qing couldn't even think about defending.
Hit after hit after hit.
Hou Qing stumbled backward. Blood poured from his nose and mouth. His vision blurred.
Baki grabbed his arm and pulled him forward. He kneed him in the face. Blood sprayed. He kneed him again. He kicked him in the chest.
Hou Qing flew back and crashed through a table. He rolled across the floor and stopped.
He tried to get up. His arms shook. Blood ran into his eyes. He got to his hands and knees.
Baki walked toward him. "You fought well. But it's over."
Hou Qing pushed himself up. He got to his feet. He swayed. He stayed standing.
Baki moved forward fast. He punched Hou Qing in the gut. He punched him in the jaw. He kicked him. Hou Qing fell to one knee.
Baki brought his heel down on Hou Qing's head. Hou Qing dropped to both knees. Baki kicked him again. Hou Qing fell forward onto his hands.
"Your best isn't enough."
Hou Qing's arms shook. Blood dripped onto the floor and created small pools. He tried to push up. His arms gave out. He fell.
He tried again.
His arms shook so badly they looked like they'd tear themselves apart but he pushed up. He got to his hands and knees. Then he pushed more.
He got to his feet.
Blood covered his face. His left eye was swollen completely shut. His nose pointed the wrong direction. His lip was split open.
"Not... yet," he whispered.
An image flashed through Hou Qing's fading consciousness.
He saw Zhang Jian. He saw middle school. He saw that first day and those eyes full of admiration. "You're my idol."
Another flash came. He saw Zhang Jian in high school fighting beside him. "I'm stronger now." He heard Hou Qing's response. "Still weak." But he was smiling. Always smiling.
Another flash came. He saw Zhang Jian joining the Red Dragon. No questions. No hesitation. "Where you go, I go."
The final flash came. He saw Zhang Jian's broken body on the ballroom floor.
"I have to protect," Hou Qing thought. "That's what strength means. That's what he needed me to do."
"That's what I failed to do."
His hand moved. His fingers closed into a fist.
His eyes opened slightly through the blood.
Then they began to glow. They glowed purple like dying stars.
He pushed himself up. His arms shook violently. He got to his hands and knees. Then he got to his feet. He swayed. But he was standing.
The purple glow intensified. Dark veins began appearing under his skin and spreading like cracks in ice.
Baki stopped. He turned around. He looked at Hou Qing.
For the first time, something like caution entered his expression.
"I need to finish this fast," Baki said.
Hou Qing took a step forward. His movements were still slow and still pained. But something had changed.
"I won't..." Hou Qing's voice was rough and torn. "...let you walk away."
He charged.
Hou Qing's punch came at the same speed as before. Baki moved to dodge. The punch went past his head. Baki countered immediately with a straight right to Hou Qing's chest.
The punch connected.
But Hou Qing didn't fly back. He stumbled but stayed on his feet. His punch had missed Baki's face but kept moving. Hou Qing brought it down on Baki's shoulder.
The impact sounded like a car crash.
Baki's shoulder exploded. The bone shattered. The force drove him down to one knee. Cracks radiated out from where he landed.
"What—" Pain cut off Baki's words.
Hou Qing didn't stop. His eyes glowed brighter. He threw another punch.
Baki tried to dodge. His shoulder wasn't responding. The punch caught him on the side of the head.
Baki's head whipped around violently. Blood and spit flew from his mouth. His jaw dislocated. The world spun.
Baki swept Hou Qing's legs on instinct. Hou Qing fell. Baki rolled away and pushed himself up with his good arm.
His left shoulder hung useless. The arm was dangling. His jaw was completely out of place. He grabbed it with his good hand and shoved it back into the socket with a wet pop.
Hou Qing got to his feet. He was still slow. He was still covered in blood. But those purple eyes burned.
Baki rushed forward. He couldn't use his left arm anymore but his right still worked. He punched Hou Qing in the face. The punch landed clean. Hou Qing's head snapped back.
But Hou Qing's wild right hook came through. Baki ducked under it easily. It was too slow and too telegraphed. But Hou Qing's left uppercut came up underneath.
Baki's instincts screamed. He tried to move. He was too close.
The uppercut caught him under the chin.
The force was like being hit by a wrecking ball. Baki's head snapped back so violently his neck vertebrae popped. His feet left the ground. He flew up and back and crashed into the ceiling. The ceiling cracked. Concrete chunks rained down. Baki fell and hit the floor hard.
He lay there for a moment. His vision was blurred. His ears were ringing. His shoulder was destroyed. His jaw was out of place again. His neck was almost broken.
But he pushed himself up. He got to his feet. Blood ran down his face.
A crazy grin spread across his broken face. "THIS IS IT! THIS FEELING! I'VE MISSED IT!"
Hou Qing stumbled forward. Each step looked like it might be his last. Blood poured from his nose and his mouth and his ears. His skin had gone pale gray. The dark veins under his skin spread further with each second and reached across his face and down his neck.
The purple glow in his eyes flickered. His body was destroying itself. The power was eating him from the inside.
Baki watched him approach. He made his decision. He rushed forward and kicked Hou Qing in the stomach with everything he had left.
The kick sank deep. Hou Qing doubled over. Baki kneed him in the face. Blood exploded. He grabbed him with his good arm and kneed him again. And again.
But Hou Qing's glowing eyes locked onto Baki. He grabbed Baki's leg with both hands and lifted.
Hou Qing lifted him off the ground and slammed him down. The floor shattered under Baki. Cracks spread for several feet.
Hou Qing lifted him again. He slammed him down a second time. The floor cracked deeper. Chunks of marble broke free.
He lifted Baki a third time but before he could complete the slam, his body gave out. The purple glow flickered hard. Blood poured from his nose and ears in streams. He stumbled. He dropped Baki.
Both men stood there.
Baki's left shoulder was completely destroyed. His neck could barely hold his head up. His jaw hung wrong. But that grin remained.
Hou Qing's entire body was failing. Dark veins covered his skin like spider webs. Blood poured from his nose and his ears and the corners of his eyes. The purple glow flickered like a candle in wind.
Baki moved first. He rushed forward and kicked Hou Qing in the chest. Hou Qing stumbled back but didn't fall. He threw a punch but his movement was agonizingly slow.
Baki dodged easily.
Hou Qing's fist hit the pillar behind Baki. The entire pillar exploded into chunks. Concrete rained down around them.
Hou Qing turned slowly. Blood ran down his face constantly. But those purple eyes still glowed. He threw another punch.
Baki ducked. The fist went over his head and hit the floor. The impact created a crater. Cracks spread like lightning. The whole section of floor collapsed down into the level below.
Baki punched Hou Qing in the stomach. Hou Qing bent over but immediately grabbed Baki's arm.
Hou Qing pulled Baki forward and drove his forehead into Baki's face. Their heads collided with a sickening crack. Baki's vision went white.
Hou Qing headbutted him again. Baki's nose shattered completely. Blood exploded across both their faces.
But then Hou Qing stumbled. The purple glow got dimmer. His grip on Baki's arm loosened. Blood poured from his nose and mouth and ears in steady streams.
Baki saw the opening through his blurred vision. He drove his knee into Hou Qing's face. Blood sprayed across the floor. Hou Qing's head snapped back.
Baki kicked him in the head. Hou Qing stumbled to the side.
Baki grabbed Hou Qing by the collar with his good arm. He drove his knee into Hou Qing's face repeatedly. Each impact sent blood flying. The wet sounds echoed through the ballroom.
The purple glow in Hou Qing's eyes flickered. Then it went out completely.
Hou Qing's body went limp. Baki let go. Hou Qing dropped to his knees. Then he fell forward onto his face. He didn't move.
Blood pooled under his head. His eyes were closed. His breathing was shallow and barely there.
Baki stood there swaying. His left shoulder was destroyed. Blood poured from multiple wounds on his face and body. His breathing was labored. Each breath sent spikes of pain through his ribs.
He looked down at Hou Qing's motionless body.
"You pushed past your limits," Baki said quietly. "I never thought I would be pushed to my limits once again."
He wiped blood from his face with his good hand. Then he grabbed his destroyed shoulder and popped it back into place with a grunt of pain. The bone was shattered but at least the joint was aligned.
He turned to Li Xiu who'd watched the entire fight from her safe distance. "You're Red Dragon too. Aren't you going to stop me?"
Li Xiu raised both hands. Her drink was still somehow in one of them. "I'm not a fighter. And if I were you, I'd go after your target instead of wasting time here."
Baki's grin was visible even through the blood and swelling. "Is that so?" He took a step toward her. "But you're all my target."
He threw a punch with his good arm.
Li Xiu's eyes went wide. She tried to move but she was too slow.
The punch caught her square in the face. Her head snapped back. Her body flew backward and slammed into the wall hard enough to crack it. Her eyes rolled back. She slumped down unconscious. Her drink shattered on the floor beside her.
Baki turned toward the exit where Wang Wei and Vivi had fled. His body was broken. His shoulder hung wrong. Blood covered him. But he was still standing. He was still moving.
He started walking. Each step was deliberate despite the pain.
"I miss South Korea," he said to no one in particular.