The monster shouted in rage:
— "I'll kill you!!!"
Suddenly, the Master appeared out of nowhere and calmly said:
— "Don't be so angry… let's have a little fun. I haven't had a proper fight in a long time. Hope you can entertain me."
Hearing this, the monster's thirst to spill the Master's blood intensified. It charged at him with incredible speed, throwing a powerful punch… but the Master, without any reaction, simply dodged by moving his head.
The monster, confused by this move, continued punching. The Master dodged each strike until the monster, exhausted from futile attacks, tried to find another way to hit him.
It scanned the surroundings and suddenly got an idea.
— "Dark Death!"
The monster shouted the name of its technique, and the area around the Master went completely dark.
The Master said:
— "Oh, so you have such a technique? Interesting move…"
The monster charged at the Master again, but he dodged all the attacks once more. After a few seconds, the technique ended, and the light returned.
The Master said:
— "That technique didn't work either… got anything else up your sleeve?"
The monster laughed:
— "Hoho… you fell into my trap."
The Master looked around with mild surprise. At that moment, the monster infused its dark energy and attacked the Master. The Master tried to dodge but suddenly realized he couldn't move.
The monster said:
— "Hahaha, you fell into my trap! I used that technique to summon my shadows."
Four shadows locked onto the Master, and the monster's punch hit him directly in the face, sending him flying toward a cliff.
The monster, thinking it had defeated the Master, said:
— "You weren't even that strong."
Suddenly, the Master appeared behind it and said:
— "Is that so… then I'll get a little serious."
The Master raised his fist, radiating infinite energy that made the monster's hair stand on end. But the monster used one of its shadows to replace itself. The Master's fist hit the shadow, which dissipated into nothing, as if it had never existed.
Seeing this, the monster felt fear for the first time. But its monstrous nature refused to surrender. Absorbing the remaining three shadows, it entered its third form. A creature with golden scales, dragon-like horns, and golden-pupiled eyes appeared.
The Master said:
— "Hmm… looks like you've gotten a bit stronger than before."
The monster laughed:
— "A bit?!"
It appeared in front of the Master and, with a punch, threw him several meters away.
The monster said:
— "I've only entered this form three times so far. This form is ten times stronger than the previous one. Be proud that you got to witness it… but this is the end for you!"
It then gathered energy around its hand, forming it into a sphere, and launched it at the Master. The technique was called Star Explosion.
The energy sphere hit the Master, creating a massive explosion that shook everything nearby. The blast was so powerful that the city where Ryu was present trembled — even though it was a hundred kilometers away from the battle site.
---
Meanwhile, in the city —
Ryu, feeling the massive quake, immediately realized something serious had happened and ran toward the Paradise Merchants Union building. When he arrived, he saw the building completely destroyed.
Looking around, he saw Wong lying in a corner. He rushed to him and tried to wake him up. Wong barely regained consciousness and said:
— "Ah… that guy who was with you… went to… fight the monster…"
At that moment, another explosion erupted from the Paradise building.
The Vice President of the Paradise Merchants Union had transformed into a large, grotesque monster.
Wong tried to get up but couldn't. He told Ryu:
— "Go… tell the guards… there's a monster here…"
Then he passed out again.
Ryu started running but suddenly noticed a child crying near the building, with the monster moving toward him.
He hesitated; he should have gone to report the incident, but he couldn't let the child be killed. The monster raised its hand to strike the child with a powerful blow.
Ryu dashed forward and, at the last moment, blocked the attack. He grabbed the child and ran a few meters away. Looking at the child, he asked:
— "Are you okay?"
But the monster was now approaching him and, with a strike, threw Ryu into one of the nearby houses. The child fell into a corner again.
Ryu got up from inside the house and shouted to the child:
— "Run!"
The child started running, but the monster chased after him.
Suddenly, a stone hit the monster's head. The monster turned and saw Ryu standing there, bloodied but ready.
Ryu said:
— "I won't let you kill that child."
And he moved toward the monster…
---
End of Chapter 12