Fist. Fist. Fist.
Hypno swung with obsessive fury, launching strike after strike without waiting for Ryuga to answer. With every blow, the basement floor gouged and dented, leaving behind scars that testified to his staggering power.
"Die! Die! Dieeeee!"
Superiority and murderous intent bled together in his frantic shrieks. Gazing down at Ryuga, Hypno grew intoxicated by his newly unleashed strength. He let out a primal roar, savoring the rush of absolute omnipotence.
"You! That idiot! Every last one of you! Obey my commands! Move exactly as I wish! I am the Chosen Existence who rules over everything!"
He had wisdom. He had obtained power. He believed that if he truly exerted himself, he would lose to no one. Hypno possessed that unshakable pride. He had refined what he lacked to forge his current self—an existence that could only be called a Perfect Form. Having been granted the right to lead a Second Life as a Chosen One, he screamed that he was a man meant to rule the world.
Ryuga merely looked at him.
"You are a pitiful man. You are trapped by the surface, oblivious to what truly matters beneath it."
"What are you saying? Is that the desperate whining of a sore loser?"
Hypno twisted his mouth into a mocking sneer. Seeing no opening for a counterattack, Ryuga seemed reduced to nothing but evasion. Hypno raised his fist and swung down with everything he had.
Ryuga stopped moving and caught the blow with his bare hand.
"——!?"
Shock registered on Hypno's face. Ryuga had caught his fist—a strike backed by one hundred percent of his strength—dead in its tracks. Despite the bone-shattering force that should have sent Ryuga’s arm flying from his shoulder, the boy stood perfectly still, utterly unfazed.
Ryuga met Hypno’s dazed stare and spoke.
"It’s a light fist. It carries nothing but your thin vainglory. No matter how much power you squeeze out, your punch lacks substance. I don’t even feel a trace of fear."
"Guh! L-let go! Let go of me!"
Hypno couldn't break the boy's grip. He, who was supposed to be manifesting 100% Human Ability, was powerless against a single youth.
Overwhelmed by astonishment and rising panic, Hypno swung his free arm and delivered a haymaker to the side of Ryuga's face. It was a Clean Hit, yet Ryuga didn't even flinch. He simply turned his gaze back to Hypno, his eyes cold and quiet.
"Good for you. That miserable fist finally reached me. Tell me—has that one punch satisfied your petty, hollow pride?"
"I-impossible...! H-how...?"
"I told you. There is nothing behind your fist, and that makes it light. No matter how many times you swing at me, you will never defeat me."
A dull, grinding sound filled the air.
Under the pressure of Ryuga's grip, the bones in Hypno's hand began to creak and groan. Faced with a power that far eclipsed his own, Hypno lashed out with his other arm again and again in a desperate attempt to resist, but Ryuga’s strength only seemed to grow.
Treating Hypno’s resistance as if it were nothing more than a gnat landing on his shoulder, Ryuga continued in a detached voice.
"A person is at their strongest when they have something to protect. When they swear to safeguard their family, their friends, or the people who sustain their spirit, they tap into a power far beyond their natural limits. Zenon proved that when he triumphed over you."
"I did not lose! I beat him into the dirt! I pushed him to the very brink of death!"
"That is exactly why I call you a surface-level existence. He put his life on the line to challenge you and called for my help. Prepared to die, he told me the location of the Magic Items meant to kill the students. You lacked the strength to break his resolve. The moment I stood before you, you had already lost."
"Guh! Uuuuuugh! Gaaaaaaaah!"
Hypno flew into a hysterical rage at the declaration that Zenon was the true victor. Yet, unable to do anything but scream, he could only listen as Ryuga’s words cut deeper.
"Looking at you fills me with genuine pity. You are a hollow human with nothing to carry and nothing to protect... You are a mirror of my past self. I suppose that's why I find you so infuriating. Right now, you have nothing—nothing but a desire to crush those who annoy you and a craving to feed your thin vainglory. Do you have anything you would protect at the cost of your own life?"
"I don't need such things! I! Me! I am the one! I am the Chosen Existence who stands atop all sacrifices!"
"Yeah, I thought you'd say that. And that is exactly why you can't beat me."
Ryuga’s gaze was heavy with pure pity. Exploding with irritation, Hypno clenched his fist and swung one last time.
The blow connected squarely with Ryuga’s face. Hypno felt the dull crunch of shattering bone, yet...?