The Villian Who Broke The Story

Kael immediately used Vanishing Step to avoid Hulk’s descending strike, disappearing just before the massive mallet crashed into the arena.

BOOM!

The ground exploded beneath the impact as cracks spread across the arena floor.

Hulk didn’t hesitate for even a second.

The moment his strike landed, he twisted his body and charged after Kael like he had a personal vendetta against him.

His speed was terrifying.

For someone carrying a weapon as large as his mallet, he closed the distance far faster than Kael expected.

”Maybe I shouldn’t have riled him up,” Kael thought as he narrowly avoided another swing. ”That seemed like a stupid idea at this moment.”

The mallet swept past his face with enough force to send a violent gust of wind across the arena.

Kael slid backwards before lowering his stance.

Since his sword had already shattered...

There was no point regretting it.

He raised both fists.

If weapons wouldn’t work...

Then he’d fight without one.

Hulk frowned when he saw Kael’s posture.

”You’ve lost your weapon, and you’re still planning on fighting me?” he asked, tightening his grip on the mallet.

Kael rolled his shoulders, ignoring the pain shooting through his right arm.

”What?”

”You think I’ll surrender just because my sword broke?”

A grin appeared on his face.

”I’ve still got two fists.”

Hulk snorted.

”Then don’t blame me when I smash every bone in your body.”

The symbols engraved along the shaft of Hulk’s mallet suddenly began glowing brighter.

Runes spread from the handle all the way to the weapon’s head.

The mana surrounding it became noticeably heavier.

Without warning—

Hulk lunged forward.

Kael answered by rushing toward him as well.

The distance between them disappeared in an instant.

Hulk swung first.

Kael stepped inside the attack instead of retreating.

His fist, wrapped in Darkness Mana, collided directly against the side of the mallet.

CLANG!

The metallic sound echoed throughout the stadium.

Students instinctively stood up.

”...He punched it.”

”Did he just punch Hulk’s weapon?”

”Is he insane?”

Neither combatant paid attention to the spectators.

Hulk immediately followed with another strike.

Then another.

Then another.

Kael met every single one with his fists.

Each collision sent violent shockwaves rippling through the arena.

Stone fragments danced across the battlefield with every exchange.

The audience watched in disbelief.

No one could understand how Kael’s fists hadn’t already been crushed.

Even Kael could feel the damage building up.

Every clash sent a painful vibration through his arms.

His knuckles were already bleeding.

His muscles screamed in protest.

Yet...

He refused to back down.

Hulk’s expression slowly changed.

The human in front of him wasn’t dodging anymore.

He was matching every strike.

”You really are stubborn,” Hulk growled before suddenly changing his rhythm.

Instead of swinging from above, he spun his body and aimed a crushing horizontal strike at Kael’s ribs.

Kael ducked beneath it.

Before Hulk could recover—

Kael stepped into his guard.

His fist shot upward.

BANG!

Darkness Mana exploded around his punch as it connected with Hulk’s jaw.

The impact forced Hulk’s head upward.

But it wasn’t enough to knock him back.

Instead...

Hulk grinned.

”So that’s your plan?”

He lifted his knee and drove it toward Kael’s stomach.

Kael crossed both arms just in time.

The kick still launched him several metres backwards.

His boots carved deep trenches into the arena floor before he finally stopped.

He exhaled slowly.

”His strength...”

”It’s even greater than before.”

Hulk rolled his shoulders before resting the glowing mallet on one shoulder.

”You’ve got guts.”

”I’ll give you that.”

”But fists alone won’t save you.”

Kael flexed his fingers.

Blood dripped from several cuts across his knuckles.

The pain was becoming sharper with every exchange.

Still...

A smile slowly appeared on his face.

”You know...”

”I’ve always wanted to try this.”

Darkness Mana quietly began spreading across both of his arms.

It no longer simply coated his skin.

Instead...

It seemed to seep directly into his muscles.

Hulk immediately noticed the change.

His grin disappeared.

Something about the mana surrounding Kael...

Felt wrong.

Hulk’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the Darkness Mana flowing through Kael’s body.

It wasn’t gathering around his fists the same way ordinary mana enhancement worked.

Instead, it was seeping into his muscles, wrapping around every movement he made.

The darkness leaking from Kael’s arms seemed almost alive.

Hulk frowned.

”I guess your mana resistance is still at least C Rank,” Kael said with a grin as he slowly rolled his shoulders, ignoring the pain coursing through his injured arm.

Hulk’s expression immediately changed.

”You possess an affinity to Darkness...” he said slowly.

”And you’re trying to emphasize it?”

His voice carried genuine disbelief.

”Are you a madman?”

Kael simply smiled.

Hulk tightened his grip on his mallet.

”Of course, using your entire body as nothing but a conduit to emphasize mana is already dangerous depending on your elemental affinity.”

He took a step forward, never taking his eyes off Kael.

”Enhancing your body with mana and emphasizing your element are two completely different things.”

”When you enhance your body, you’re still controlling your mana.”

”You’re strengthening your muscles, your bones, and your movements.”

”But emphasizing your element...”

He pointed his mallet at Kael.

”...means using your own body as the conduit for the purest form of that element.”

”The element isn’t simply coating your body anymore.”

”You’re releasing it directly through yourself.”

Hulk’s expression became even more serious.

”And being the conduit for your own element doesn’t mean your body is immune to it.”

”It can damage its own conduit.”

”You should know that better than anyone especially with what your affinity is.”

Kael didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he planted his foot firmly on the arena floor.

A sharp pain suddenly shot through his leg.

His expression twitched for the briefest moment.

The nerves in his leg screamed in protest from forcing Darkness Mana through them.

He quietly took a deep breath.

”So he’s right...”

”The backlash is getting worse.”

Even so...

He refused to let the pain show.

He slowly raised both fists once more.

”I’m still standing.”

Hulk snorted.

”Then fight!”

With a roar, Hulk charged again.

His mallet blurred as it descended.

CLANG!

This time, Kael didn’t block.

He punched it.

His Darkness-coated fist collided directly against the side of the weapon.

A violent shockwave burst outward.

The force pushed both of them backwards.

Before Hulk could recover, Kael was already in front of him.

A punch.

An elbow.

A knee.

Every strike flowed naturally into the next.

Hulk met each attack with the shaft of his mallet.

The clang of metal against Darkness-enhanced fists echoed throughout the stadium.

Neither combatant gave the other a chance to breathe.

Hulk suddenly twisted his weapon, sending a barrage of heavy strikes toward Kael.

Left.

Right.

Overhead.

Diagonal.

Each swing carried enough force to shatter stone.

Unlike before...

Kael no longer tried to block with his forearms.

Instead, he struck directly at the mallet itself.

Every punch landed with perfect timing.

His fists met the weapon head-on again and again.

The students watching couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

”He’s... punching the mallet?”

”Has he completely lost his mind?”

”His hands should’ve shattered by now!”

Even the teachers stared silently.

The longer the exchange continued...

The stranger it became.

At first, every collision had visibly hurt Kael.

Blood had dripped from his knuckles.

His arms had trembled.

But now...

Each punch looked steadier than the last.

The Darkness Mana flowing through his body had begun adapting to the punishment.

It didn’t erase the pain.

It simply allowed him to endure it.

Hulk noticed it too.

”This human...”

”...he’s adapting.”

His eyes sharpened.

”If I let this continue...”

”...he’ll become even harder to put down.”

With that realization, Hulk abandoned his measured attacks.

He tightened both hands around the handle of his mallet.

The glowing runes along its surface shone even brighter.

”I’m ending this now.”

He swung with every ounce of strength he possessed.

Kael lowered his stance.

His crimson eyes remained locked on Hulk.

Neither of them intended to retreat anymore.

Hulk’s final swing descended with overwhelming force.

The mallet tore through the air with enough power to split the arena apart.

Kael didn’t retreat.

Instead, he stepped forward.

Bang!

His fist collided directly with the head of the mallet.

The impact sent a violent shockwave across the arena, forcing loose debris into the air. Students instinctively shielded their faces as dust rolled across the battlefield.

Hulk refused to give Kael even a moment to recover.

He swung again.

And again.

Each strike carried enough force to crush stone.

Kael answered every attack with his fists.

Punch after punch, he met the mallet head-on. His Darkness Mana poured out of his body, no longer remaining around his arms alone. It spread across his entire body, causing faint wisps of black mana to trail behind every movement he made.

The spectators watched in stunned silence.

To them, it looked as though Kael’s fists had gradually reached the same level of impact as Hulk’s enchanted mallet.

Every collision shook the arena.

Neither side gave an inch.

Hulk’s breathing gradually became heavier.

His shoulders rose and fell with each breath as the prolonged exchange began taking its toll on him.

Kael noticed it.

”He’s slowing down...”

Without hesitation, Kael slipped beneath another horizontal swing before swiping his hand across Hulk’s chest.

It wasn’t a punch.

His fingers were shaped like a claw.

Slash!

Darkness Mana coated his fingertips as they tore across Hulk’s chest.

Blood burst from the wound.

Hulk staggered backwards, instinctively pressing a hand against his chest.

His eyes widened.

”...He cut me.”

The blood continued flowing between his fingers.

For the first time since the battle began, Hulk had been genuinely wounded.

His breathing became noticeably heavier.

Kael, on the other hand, showed no intention of stopping.

His excitement only grew.

A grin spread across his face as Darkness Mana surged through his body once more.

In the next instant—

He vanished.

”Where—”

Before Hulk could finish the sentence—

Bang!

A strike landed against his side.

He turned.

Nothing.

Then another blow struck his back.

Another his shoulder.

Another his ribs.

Kael continued using Vanishing Step, attacking from every conceivable angle.

To Hulk, it felt as though he was fighting shadows.

His vision gradually darkened.

The arena...

The audience...

Even the sky...

Everything disappeared beneath an endless sea of darkness.

He couldn’t even make out where the attacks were coming from anymore.

The barrage suddenly stopped.

Silence filled the battlefield.

Hulk struggled to keep himself standing.

Blood continued dripping from the wound across his chest.

His vision had almost completely faded.

Only one figure remained before him.

A silhouette wrapped entirely in darkness.

The only thing clearly visible...

Were a pair of glowing crimson eyes.

Hulk’s body swayed.

His consciousness was rapidly slipping away.

Before darkness completely claimed him, he looked at the figure standing before him and asked a single question.

”...What are you?”

His knees finally gave out.

Thud.

Hulk collapsed onto the shattered arena floor.

The Darkness surrounding the battlefield slowly faded.

Kael stood silently, his breathing uneven as the Darkness Mana gradually receded back into his body.

The referee appeared almost instantly between them.

After confirming Hulk had lost consciousness, he raised his hand.

”The winner...”

”...Kael Draven!”

The stadium, silent only moments ago, erupted into thunderous applause.