The lights of the Dome trembled. The air vibrated. The crowd, heated to a boiling point by Kotobe's fight, was on its feet, screaming, ready for more.
On Nano-Neko, K2B's voice was hoarse from shouting.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE'RE ALMOST THERE! TWO FIGHTS SEPARATE US FROM THE END OF THE ROUND OF SIXTEEN! TWO CLASHES! TWO MONSTERS! AND FIRST… THE FIGHT EVERYONE HAS BEEN WAITING FOR! THE LIGHTNING! AGAINST SUB-LI-MA-TION! ZANEEEEEEE VERSUS GRAAAAAAAAANN!"
The giant screen displayed both portraits.
Zane, hair shaved in a silvery-gray buzz cut, eyes shining with wild energy, a predatory smile on his lips. The crowd loved him. He was fast, spectacular, unpredictable. He had atomized Jin in twenty seconds. He was THE perfect challenger.
Grann, motionless, perfect, his gaze empty of emotion. No reaction. No fear. No excitement. Just… waiting.
In the studio, Lola turned to Mecha Sullivan.
"Mecha, this fight… it's speed against perfection. Your prediction?"
Sullivan, who was still tapping on his tablet (Orion's data was undergoing advanced analysis), looked up.
"Zane is a phenomenon. His mastery of speed is exceptional. But Grann… Grann doesn't fight like the others. He transforms. The question isn't whether Zane can hit him. The question is: what happens when he does?"
---
IN THE MAIN ARENA, THE AIR WAS ELECTRIC. ZANE VS. GRANN – THE SHOCK WAS APPROACHING.
The two men entered at the same time.
Zane entered the arena with a cold stare, lightning crackling within his imposing aura. One could feel a great power emanating from him.
"ZANE! ZANE! ZANE!"
Grann walked. No run. No ceremony. He stopped in the center of the circle, hands behind his back, looking at Zane with polite curiosity.
"You don't look impressed," Zane said, his smile still present. "That's gonna change. Promise."
Grann tilted his head. A millimeter. Not an answer. An observation.
— FIGHT!
Zane vanished.
Not a portal. Not an illusion. Pure speed. He became a streak of light, a blue and yellow flash that crisscrossed the arena in all directions, striking Grann from everywhere.
THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK.
Each impact was a punch, a kick, a blow to the liver, to the jaw, to the kidneys. It was a deluge of lightning-fast violence.
Grann didn't move. He took it. His body shuddered with each impact, but his feet remained planted.
"HE'S HITTING HIM FROM EVERYWHERE!" K2B roared. "ZANE IS EVERYWHERE AT ONCE! GRANN CAN'T FOLLOW HIM!"
On Nano-Neko, the slow-motion replays overloaded the servers. Zane was striking ten times per second. His fists were machine guns.
But Grann…
Grann was smiling.
Not a big smile. A slight curve at the corner of his lips. Like a professor watching a particularly brilliant student take an exam.
Zane, out of breath for the first time, retreated ten meters in a flash.
"What? You don't feel pain?!"
Grann looked down at his own body. His white tunic was torn in several places, revealing red marks on his skin.
"Yes, I do," he said calmly. "It hurts."
Zane blinked.
"But pain…" Grann raised a hand, palm towards the sky. "…is information."
Kotobe, watching from the stands, recognized Grann's analytical talent. He was using the same strategy he did.
Suddenly, around him, the air vibrated. Yellow particles – Zane's Ether – floated in the atmosphere, invisible to the naked eye. Grann saw them. He captured them.
"Sublimation: Absorption of the effect."
Zane felt a sudden weakness in his legs. As if part of his speed had been stolen from him.
"What the…"
"Each of your strikes left a trace, a cause."
"And with my ability, I did the simplest thing to understand. I simply…"
— SIMPLY WHAT?!
Zane shouted, his face confused, as if a part of himself had been stolen.
"…simply absorbed the effect."
He raised his other hand. In his palm, a ball of yellow energy, crackling, furious, swirling.
"And now… I'm giving it back."
He hurled the sphere at Zane.
Zane tried to dodge. He was still fast. But the sphere was unpredictable – it followed his movements, fueled by his own speed.
BOOM.
The explosion sent Zane flying. He crashed against the safety barrier, bounced off, and fell heavily to the ground, unconscious.
Silence.
Then, a deafening ovation.
"GRANN! GRANN! GRANN!"
"Everyone be quiet, be quiet, BE QUIET!"
ALL OF YOU!
Zane got up, his face bloodied, devastated, exhausted. But sure of one thing.
One of them was going to die today. He was ready to fight to the death.
His arms, filled with lightning, crackled to the sound of the spectators' voices. He was preparing…
for his attack when…
---
[BONUS]
PROFESSOR SENDO'S EXPLANATIONS:
Theme: Cause and Effect
Every action triggers a reaction. So if I use my Ether, the reaction is a manifestation – for example, lightning.
By using modification or nullification of the effect, action no longer triggers anything. No reaction. No effect.
This has been Professor Sendo's explanations.
See you soon for the next chapter of ONE: No Limits!