This wasn't making him a "king" at all!
This was making him a glorified employee with a "compliance collar" around his neck!
The kind of miserable worker who could be "physically terminated" at any moment for "failing to meet KPIs"!
But... did he dare refuse?
He glanced at Cloud's "friendly" smile, then at Terry's fists the size of sandbags, then at Ryo's arms thicker than his own thighs.
Mr. Big, very wisely, dropped to his knees once more.
"Please rest assured, my lords! I, Big, will dedicate myself body and soul, working until my dying breath! I will resolutely implement the supreme directives of you three, striving my entire life to build a harmonious, friendly, fists-only-no-guns New South Town!"
...
When South Town's "transfer of power" ceremony concluded in this remarkably casual yet efficient manner, this grand "party" finally reached its end.
Heroes, after all, must eventually embark on their own journeys.
However, not long after everyone parted ways...
A seductive, sensual figure radiating lethal allure—clad in blood-red—appeared ghost-like at the shattered edge of Geese Tower's top floor.
She wore a form-fitting dress that perfectly accentuated her flawless figure, with a slit so high it revealed legs long enough to drive any man wild, wrapped in delicate lace.
Golden waves of hair cascaded freely behind her. That face—beautiful beyond description—wore a languid, playful smile.
Simply standing there, she seemed the embodiment of all "sensuality" in existence. Every movement radiated lethal charm capable of making male hormones explode.
No one noticed her arrival.
Her gaze fell upon the direction Cloud had departed.
She slowly crouched down, extending slender jade fingers to delicately pinch a bit of dust from the charred ruins left by Cloud's Battle God Golden Flames clashing with Geese's Rashomon.
She raised that dust to her nose and inhaled softly.
In those narrow, fox-like seductive eyes, a flash of intense surprise—and the burning interest of someone who'd discovered a rare treasure!
"Hehehe..."
A laugh like silver bells—clear yet dripping with allure—drifted on the wind.
"What an... unexpected discovery..."
Her crimson lips parted slightly as she murmured in a seductive whisper only she could hear: "So it wasn't... the Riot of the Blood..."
"But something... nobler, purer, something even we... must look up to..."
"...The power of gods."
"Cloud... the first King of Fighters..."
"You're becoming... more and more interesting to me."
With that, her enchanting figure dissolved into a crimson afterimage, vanishing silently into the dawn's light.
As if she had never been there at all.
The wind over South Town continued to blow.
Only now, it seemed to carry a hint of something dangerous—something called "the Divine Tribe."
...
The skies over South Town had finally cleared.
After that ultimate battle—South Town's very own "Ragnarök"—this city of sin entered what could only be described as a "magical" period of peace.
The newly appointed "property manager," Mr. Big, displayed remarkable survival instincts and work ethic under the "kind guidance" and "friendly supervision" of the three "shadow emperors" (Cloud, Terry, and Ryo).
He implemented sweeping reforms—not only abolishing all unreasonable "protection fees" but also converting the formerly smoke-filled underground casinos into "South Town Senior Citizens' Chess and Card Recreation Centers."
Overnight, the entire atmosphere of South Town transformed dramatically.
No more gun-toting gang warfare in the streets. Instead, retired grandpas argued red-faced over whose cannon was better positioned or whose knight move was legal.
As for the "mastermind" behind all this—our protagonist Cloud—he had fully embraced the "retired cadre" lifestyle of his dreams.
He purchased a luxurious seaside villa in South Town (funded by "confiscated ill-gotten gains" from Geese Tower), and his daily routine consisted of sleeping until he naturally woke, then...
Eating the "loving breakfast" prepared by Yuri Sakazaki—horrifying in appearance but surprisingly decent in taste—under Mai Shiranui's "gentle" supervision.
Offering pointers on Andy and Joe's training under Aoi Kusanagi's starry-eyed gaze of "worship."
Beautiful women on every side, surrounding him constantly.
It was, frankly, the "ultimate form" that every transmigrator predecessor had ever dreamed of.
If only... it weren't for that "annoying" system.
...
One day, Cloud was lounging by his villa's pool, enjoying Mai Shiranui's "premium VIP service" of personally applying sunscreen to him.
When suddenly, a voice he hadn't heard in ages—both familiar and headache-inducing—rang out in his mind without warning.
[...Ding! System rebooting... CPU check complete... Memory optimization complete... Reckless-death module—ahem, Core Combat Module repaired...]
[Esteemed Host, your loyal, reliable, handsome, exceptionally capable personal assistant—the Dimensional Plunder System Version 2.1 Upgraded Edition—is now online! Would you like me to play "Good Fortune Is Coming" to celebrate?]
"..."
Cloud's body—which had been relaxing to the point of sleep—went rigid.
That voice...
"Holy crap! You're alive?!" He roared internally. "I thought your CPU fried from overload last time and you got sent back to the factory for repairs!"
[Host, please watch your language. This system merely entered a brief power-saving hibernation mode for self-repair and upgrades.]
The system's voice maintained its deadpan electronic tone, but Cloud could swear he detected a hint of... disdain.
...
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