At Clay's side…
Everyone around lay beaten and broken on the ground — some unconscious, others crying out in pain, their arms and legs twisted at odd angles.
"Rock Stone Punch!" Rahzei roared, slamming his fist toward Clay with all his strength.
"Hardening!" Clay crossed his arms in front of him, blocking the blow. The impact sent out a gust of wind so strong that dust and leaves scattered through the air.
"Oh my! You're strong," Clay said, smiling innocently as if nothing happened.
Rahzei gritted his teeth and swung again, this time with even greater force — but Clay blocked it just as easily.
"I think we'll become good friends," Clay said, tilting his head with that unnerving, childish grin.
"Shut up, you freaking weirdo!" Rahzei barked, his temper flaring.
"Thunder Clap!" Rahzei clapped his hands together, releasing a massive shockwave aimed straight at Clay.
Clay simply snapped his fingers. The snap created an equal wave of air pressure that collided with Rahzei's attack and neutralized it completely.
Rahzei's eye twitched. "You've got to be kidding me…"
"You and I can free people together," Clay said, holding out his hand with a twisted smile.
"All you do is kill people, and you call this freeing people? You psycho!" Rahzei charged forward and threw a punch.
Clay caught his fist mid-air, his expression turning serious. "I'm freeing them from the suffering of this world."
Rahzei swung with his other hand, forcing Clay to let go and step back. The two clashed — Rahzei's punches relentless, Clay's movements fluid and effortless as he dodged and parried.
"With every kill, I make this world better," Clay said, dodging another strike. "If we eliminate the weak, the strong can live with more resources."
"Even the weak have the right to live!" Rahzei shouted, his voice filled with fury.
Clay suddenly leapt backward, flipping over Rahzei's head and landing behind him. Rahzei's punch smashed into a tree, splintering it apart. Clay countered with a quick jab to Rahzei's face, staggering him for a second.
"Looking at you," Clay smirked, "you're not that strong either. You've got muscle—but no brains."
Rahzei wiped blood from his lip and grinned. "You're right."
"Huh?" Clay blinked, confused.
Rahzei suddenly charged forward, fist glowing with mana.
"Brute strength won't help you," Clay said, readying his guard.
But Rahzei smirked again. At the last moment, he scooped up a handful of stones with his left hand and threw them at Clay's face. Clay flinched, losing sight of Rahzei for a second.
That was enough. Rahzei vanished from sight, then reappeared behind him and landed a crushing punch to Clay's ribs.
"That was a nice punch," Clay chuckled, rubbing his side.
"He's not relying on brute strength anymore," Clay thought to himself, a flicker of excitement in his eyes.
"Let's make it interesting," Clay said, rushing forward and aiming a punch at Rahzei's head.
Rahzei caught Clay's fist and twisted it, but Clay pulled him closer and slammed his other fist into Rahzei's face. The two began trading blows — a brutal exchange of power and precision, fists colliding with thunderous echoes.
When the dark entities tried to approach, Clay raised a hand without looking. "Don't. He's mine."
The entities backed away.
"You're too confident for your own good," Rahzei growled, his fists glowing again.
They clashed once more, and after a fierce exchange, Rahzei finally landed a solid blow that sent Clay flying backward. He crashed into a tree, snapping it in half.
"Now who's the strongest?" Rahzei smirked, panting heavily.
Clay's head was down. But then, slowly, he lifted it—grinning again. Despite the bruises and the impact, he stood up straight, smiling like nothing had happened.
"What kind of monster are you?" Rahzei muttered, stunned.
"Monster…?" Clay whispered, his grin fading once again
Many years ago…
"Is he even human?" people whispered as they pointed.
Little Clay trudged down the street. His clothes were torn, blood crusted at his knees, and his legs moved with a slow, uneven limp—but he kept walking as if nothing could stop him. The murmurs followed him like a shadow.
"I heard he beat ten delinquents all by himself."
"Ten-year-old boy? No way."
"He doesn't have a family."
"His parents abandoned him when he was small."
Each whisper landed like a cold stone in Clay's chest. He kept his eyes down, swallowing the sting of it.
A few days later, Clay was fighting again. He stood over a sprawled teenager while four more lay motionless nearby. A little girl watched from the edge of the crowd, trembling and crying, her fear making the scene all the more awful.
Three guards rushed in and grabbed him.
"They were picking on her, I was just helping her" Clay said, covered with stains of blood
The guards looked at the girl, she was crying in fear.
They hauled him away, cuffed and scorned, and beat him in the prison like he was already nothing. The blows left more than bruises—they sharpened something inside him.
When he was released the next night, the gossip had turned into rumor: "Clay loved that girl and beat them for her," people said. Lies and half-truths spread like wildfire.
Clay heard it all. The rumors, the sideways glances, the pity that tasted like contempt. He felt a cold resolve harden under his ribs.
That night, as he walked alone past shuttered shops and lanterns guttering in the wind, he thought, with a quiet, burning clarity, that weaklings deserved to die.
Present time…
"Yes… I'm a monster," Clay said, his voice echoing in a low, chilling tone. A dark aura began to radiate from his body, swirling violently around him like smoke alive with fury.
"Dark Magic: ***," Clay chanted — the words were ancient, incomprehensible. The moment he spoke them, his aura intensified, shaking the ground beneath his feet.
"What was that? What did he cast?" Rahzei muttered. He couldn't recognize the spell — even its language was foreign to him.
Before he could think further, Clay launched forward with a blinding punch.
"Hardening!" Rahzei yelled, coating his arms into stone like strong to block the strike.
The moment their fists met, the air cracked. Rahzei's body shot backward like a cannonball, smashing through trees — one after another — before crashing into the wall of a nearby house. The entire structure trembled and collapsed behind him.
"So much power…" Rahzei groaned, trying to move, but his entire body screamed in pain.
Clay didn't stop. He dashed again, faster this time, a blur of black energy.
Rahzei barely rolled aside as Clay's fist slammed into the wall, reducing it to dust.
A sharp sting ran down Rahzei's cheek — a thin line of blood.
"I'm… bleeding?" Rahzei touched his face, staring at the blood on his fingers in disbelief.
Despite fighting countless battles, his hardened skin had never been cut before.
"That bastard… he was holding back this whole time," Rahzei thought, his jaw tightening.
Clay's behavior had completely changed. The playful, talkative tone was gone — replaced by silence. He wasn't smiling anymore. His eyes, once bright with madness, were now cold and empty.
Rahzei clenched his fists. "I'll kill you, you freaking weirdo"
Clay lunged again, his footsteps crushing the ground. Rahzei rolled aside and cast a spell.
The rocks behind Clay rose and hurled toward him. Clay crossed his arms in an X — all the stones shattered upon impact.
"You bastard won't die that easily!" Rahzei roared.
He swung his arm. Broken chunks of the wall and rubble flew toward Clay. Clay met every piece with his fists, punching each to dust.
In that brief opening, Rahzei charged. "Destructive Punch!"
Their blows collided, creating a violent gust that shook the air.
But Clay didn't even flinch.
"What kind of monster are you…" Rahzei gasped.
Clay grabbed Rahzei's arm and threw him like a rag doll. Rahzei slammed into a massive tree, snapping it in half before hitting the ground hard. He could barely move.
Clay walked toward him slowly, his footsteps heavy and deliberate.
"Damn it… why isn't my strength working on this bastard?" Rahzei thought, trying to push himself up.
From behind, a guard tried to sneak up on Clay — sword in hand.
Clay turned instantly and punched.
The man's head snapped from his body. Blood sprayed across the dirt.
Rahzei froze in horror.
A few more guards charged in — "No! Get back!" Rahzei shouted — but it was too late.
Clay tore through them like paper. Bones cracked. Screams echoed.
"Damn it!" Rahzei forced himself to his feet. Something inside him snapped — rage, pain, pride — all merging into one.
He dashed forward, "Destructive Punch!"
Clay caught his arm and hurled him again, but this time Rahzei dug his feet into the ground, sliding instead of flying.
He charged again. Same result. Thrown away.
A third time — Rahzei feinted, then slammed a fist into Clay's chest. Nothing happened.
He immediately followed with another strike — and another — and another.
Each punch landed faster than the last. His fists blurred into streaks of motion.
There was no pause, no hesitation — only impact after impact, each one louder than the last.
Clay staggered slightly.
"What's happening…?" he thought, eyes widening. He tried to counter, but Rahzei's punches didn't stop.
"I'll break through your damn defenses!" Rahzei roared.
Cracks began forming on Clay's hardened skin. With every strike, his aura flickered — his body trembling from the pressure.
"My… skin is cracking?" Clay's tone was disbelieving.
Rahzei's fury only grew. The earth shook beneath them as he unleashed the final hit.
"Secret Art: Earth destroying fist!"
His punch connected with Clay's chest — a thunderous shockwave erupted, sending Clay flying.
Rahzei dropped to his knees. His arm hung limp, bones shattered. He collapsed to the ground, unconscious from exhaustion.
Clay crashed into a jagged piece of broken steel from the fallen building — the shard pierced straight through his chest. His body twitched once… then went still.