Recap: BOOM.
The explosion hurled Zane through the air. He crashed into the safety barrier, bounced off, and landed heavily on the ground, unconscious.
Silence.
Then, a deafening ovation.
"GRANN! GRANN! GRANN!"
"Everyone shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!"
ALL OF YOU!
Zane got up, his face bloodied, his gaze desperate. He was at his limit. But he was sure of one thing.
One of them was going to die today. He was ready to fight to the finish.
His arms, filled with lightning, were there, crackling to the rhythm of the spectators' voices. He was preparing…
his attack when…
—
When a graceful, golden light spread throughout the arena.
It was Grann's aura. He was manipulating his Ether to create an aura around himself, whose effects he then sublimated.
Making this aura so dense that Zane seemed to be swimming in it. It was suffocating, even oppressive.
So this was the power of Myers' top student.
Grann advanced slowly in theory, but before everyone's eyes, his speed seemed multiplied tenfold.
He sublimated the effect of his speed to move so fast that even the Class-A heroes present in the Dome were shocked by the performance.
For Zane, it was the final blow. Everything had been taken from him: his honor, his power, even his impact.
Speed was his domain. Several fighters shared this slippery ground, but only he had the mettle to change the very norms.
Unlike some, like Blink, for whom speed was merely a tool, Zane had trained day and night to enter a state where he could run beyond his limits.
He wanted to run in the SpeedX. Few have succeeded in entering this state, practically none.
This state is more than mental; it is physical. Possessing immense speed, one must enter it by surpassing one's limits, running until you vomit.
Little Zane already dreamed of being a hero. Influenced by his favorite hero, Flash Samurai, he trained to become the strongest. He undertook special training, using his adoptive father's influence to procure the best regimens.
But that was just a walk in the park.
Zane was one of the children who entered and left the Abyss, a government program aimed at creating genius survivors.
Just another test.
Zane was not just a simple fighter.
So, while Grann was still basking in the ecstasy of his power…
Zane compressed his Ether deep within himself.
Not a single Ether particle remained beside him.
His hair rose slowly, little by little, forming a huge, spiky tuft.
His eyes turned white, gradually filling with lightning.
And then…
Silence.
A heavy silence fell over the arena, and a bone-chilling cold began to make every spectator tremble. And then…
BAAM!
A massive lightning bolt struck—but not from the sky.
It was formed by Zane, who stood there as lightning coursed through his entire body. He advanced at a terrifying speed.
Shattering some of the Dome's lamps, he moved so fast that all that could be seen was a moving blue light.
It was like seeing a TGV emerge from a tunnel, the sound was so loud.
Grann also countered in the same way, moving faster and faster. The two moved and struck each other everywhere at a mind-boggling speed—so incredible that the spectators witnessed a battle of lights, Yellow vs. Blue.
But while Zane's lightning bolts were slowly being absorbed by Grann, his speed kept increasing. His blows were becoming weaker, but as for his speed…
It was official.
He was immersed in SpeedX. He grabbed Grann by the hair, pulling him away to concentrate his Ether for his attack.
A lightning whip he had materialized.
With this, the plan was simple: strike cleanly to take down Grann.
Grann, for his part, intensified the effect of his sublimation. The goal was to hit Zane before the whip could touch him.
They stood face to face, each ready to end it.
A white flash blinded the spectators at the moment of impact.
No one had seen what happened, except for one single person who enlightened everyone.
—
And this person was about to reveal everything.
—
It was K2B, and he screamed:
"HE STOLE HIS SPEED! HE TOOK HIS OWN BLOWS AND RETURNED THEM! WHAT KIND OF MONSTER IS THIS?! ZANE WAS THE FASTEST IN THE TOURNAMENT! AND GRANN BEAT HIM WITH… WITH HIS OWN POWER!"
In the studio, Sulivan leaned forward, eyes gleaming.
"Fascinating. He doesn't destroy his opponents. He uses them. Every attack becomes a resource. This… this is the perfect fighter."
Lola, mouth agape, finally found her voice.
"GRANN… GRANN WINS THIS FIGHT WITH ABSOLUTE MASTERY! HE ADVANCES TO THE QUARTER-FINALS!"
Zane, being evacuated on a stretcher, had a smile on his lips. He had lost. But he had touched Grann. That was already more than most.
On Nano-Neko, the analyses flew:
"— He took TEN hits per second and turned them back."
"— Zane was at 100%, and Grann… where was Grann?"
"— He didn't even sweat."
"— He's not human."
The replays looped: Grann taking the hits, smiling, then the ball of yellow energy forming in his hand, as if he were returning a favor.
#GrannSublimation: 20 million views in ten minutes.
#ZaneRespect: 12 million views.
—
/QUICK BREAK ON SOCIAL MEDIA./
While the crews cleaned the arena, discussions raged.
"— Grann is too strong, it's not fair."
"— Fair? Since when is a fight fair?"
"— Zane deserved better."
"— Zane was used like a battery. That's worse than a loss."
A post went viral: a drawing of Grann with a caption: "Thanks for the energy."
Others defended Zane:
"— He held his own against Grann. That's huge."
"— He hit him! No one else has hit Grann!"
"— Zane is the true champion of the people."
The public, true to form, was already flipping their opinions. Some forgot Zane. Others turned him into a martyr. Grann, meanwhile, remained unshakable—loved, feared, misunderstood.
—
FINALLY, WE COULD MOVE ON TO THE FINAL FIGHT OF THE ROUND OF 16: ONE vs. AXEL
K2B caught his breath and screamed even louder.
"AND NOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE MOST… ANTICIPATED? THE MOST… WEIRD? THE MOST… HOW DO YOU SAY IT? THE MOST ONE! THE SANDWICH PHENOMENON VERSUS THE SCARRED COLOSSUS! OOOOOONE VERSUS AXEL!"
One entered first.
He walked slowly, hands in the pockets of his worn-out tracksuit. He looked at the floor, the ceiling, the crowd, as if searching for something interesting. He found nothing.
He yawned.
The public, torn between laughter and applause, didn't quite know how to react.
"— Is he really going to fight?"
"— This guy's a troll."
"— He knocked out Brick without touching him, remember?"
Axel entered.
The contrast was striking. Massive, scarred, muscles tense under his tank top, he radiated raw power. His gaze, fixed on One, was serious. He hadn't forgotten Grann's lesson: never underestimate an opponent.
"I saw your fight," Axel said, his voice deep. "Brick was funny. But I'm not Brick."
One looked at him. Then he looked at his shoes. Then at the ceiling.
"…Okay," he said.
"FIGHT!"