At that very same moment, Aria and Résistance were—
“Pig.”
“Gala.”
“Apple.”
“† Eden’s Forbidden Fruit: le pomme d’Or †.”
“Huh? What in the world is that? ...Isn’t that just French for ‘apple’?”
“Oh no, it is no mere apple. It is a legendary fruit that bestows forbidden powers on any who eat it. That’s why it’s called ‘† Eden’s Forbidden Fruit: le pomme d’Or †.’”
“Don’t you think you’re pushing it a little by just saying another word for ‘apple’ right after I said it?”
“Well, if you feel that way, I’ll choose a different item. What do you say to ‘† Eden’s Forbidden Fruit: le raisin d’Or †’?”
“‘What do I say’? The heck are you trying to imply? You just changed ‘apple’ into ‘grapes’ with your stupid French answers! Don’t you think that’s cheating?”
—enjoying a leisurely game of Word Chain in the forest!!
✦ ✦ ✦
It so happened that there were, at that moment, two other individuals watching Wataru’s fierce battle with the dragon from afar.
One of them was a cute, short girl. The other was a big, burly, muscular man, bristling with brawny vigor.
Yes—they were none other than Elphabelle and her father Elphabill, of House Evil.
“Look, Papa! Isn’t Wataru amazing?”
Elphabill slowly nodded his head. “Yes... the way he fights that dragon is truly... quite something!!”
“That’s why, you know, why I want to marry Wataru, no matter what it takes! If we make some babies, they’ll be the strongest kids in the world!”
Elphabelle twisted and fidgeted with embarrassment, blushing as she said so. Elphabill merely had a most suggestive smile on his face as he watched the battle even more intensely.
“I, too, would like to one day try having a ‘battle to the death’ with that boy...!!”
He was unable to take his eyes off Wataru’s beautifully executed punches and kicks.
“But Father, what do you think of that technique Wataru’s using? His hair’s suddenly a lot longer—I’ve never heard of anything like that.”
“Indeed... Not even I, with my many years of experience, have seen anything like that before!! His form is even better now that his hair is longer...!!” Elphabill put his hands on his hips. “The more I watch, the better it gets!! He truly is the right man for my Elphabelle!!!!!!!”
✦ ✦ ✦
“PNCH!!!!!”
With careful and deliberate blows, Wataru slammed his fists right into the hard scales of the dragon’s forehead!!
KA-BAAAAM!!!
The sudden sound of the impact was the same as one might expect from a grenade detonating with full force against a concrete wall!!
Ngh......! Rrrrroooo......!
No matter how unbelievably strong the dragon may have been, there was no way he was going to come out unscathed from Wataru’s point-blank assault!! A raging, rippling vibration rammed around the dragon’s skull from the force of Wataru’s punch! It was an instant concussion! The dragon lost all sense of balance as he began plummeting down to the ground below in a free fall! Unable to regain control of his descent, he plunged right into the desert sand!
“How’d you like that!?”
Wataru leapt off the dragon’s snout a moment before it crashed into the ground, making a most beautiful landing! Somehow, the dragon managed to creakily maneuver his limbs back under himself and slowly stood up!
Ah... What have you done...? What have you done to me, Young Wataru...?
The dragon twisted and flexed its long tail—and the corners of his maw were lifted as if he was about to smile!
I cannot use my right arm... and with this concussion, I can barely move the rest of my body... hahaha......
He lifted his head to the sky and opened his jaws wide, roaring loud enough to rend the night in two with all the force of his bestial power—every creature on the continent surely felt his voice as it shook the very earth itself!
I surrender, Wataru. You have completely defeated me... The loss is mine.
The dragon accepted his defeat! He looked completely battered by this point, with not an ounce of energy left to mount a counterattack!!
Wataru... Please...... The final blow...
Wataru heard the dragon’s request and, with the face of a Nio, nodded his assent! It is the sacred duty of every martial artist to deal the final blow to any enemy who requests it after a ferocious fight!
“Farewell, dragon...! I really enjoyed our battle!!!!!”
Wataru crossed his arms, one wrist over the other, then slowly opened his fists as he moved them to the right side of his body!
“This is it! My final attack...... Here I go!!!!!”
In that instant, small balls of light materialized in the palms of his hands!
“WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOA!!!!!”
Wataru let out a fierce, hot battle cry as he gathered his power! As if in answer, the balls of light grew larger and larger!
When they were ten centimeters in diameter...!
“HOT!!! BLOODED!!!”
Wataru shouted the name of this technique as he thrust both his palms towards the dragon! The balls of light leapt from his hands and rocketed straight at the dragon!
“FIGHTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
✦ ✦ ✦
Allow me to explain! The name of this killer technique was none other than the Hot-Blooded Fighter Wave*, and it could only be used when the user was in a state of Exploding Bloodrush: Main Event Edition!!
(*Hot-Blooded Fighter Wave: a supremely strong, secret technique passed through the generations of Exploding Blood warriors. By collecting all the hot-blooded energy within one’s body into the palms of their hands, the user can create balls of light, which can then be blasted at the enemy. This technique consumes all the heat contained within the user’s blood, so they would be forced out of Exploding Bloodrush: Main Event Edition as a consequence. It is for this reason that the technique was called the “final secret” of the Exploding Blood fighters. Should a true master of the art unleash this attack, why, even the moon might explode into a million pieces from the force of the impact. [11])
The Hot-Blooded Fighter Waves Wataru had loosed from his hands blazed across the desert to fly right at the dragon! The sheer speed of the balls of light caused loud BOOM!!s as they raced over the sands, shining brilliantly out into the night! The force and speed of their attack was the same as Wataru’s own lightning-quick punches and kicks!
“Take this, dragon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
The balls of light slammed against the dragon—and exploded!!!!!
KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!
What an enormous impact! What a massive shockwave!!
Surrounded as he was by an explosion that was burning up every part of his body, the dragon still laughed!
My body... it burns... ahhhh......!! Thank you, Young Wataru......!!
“Yeah... I’m really glad that... I got to fight you...!”
The effort of using the Hot-Blooded Fighter Wave had pulled Wataru from his Explosive Bloodrush state, and our hero gasped for breath as he bade farewell to the dragon!
The dragon, surrounded in flames, lifted his eyes up to the night sky and turned his gaze to the moon!
You... I... We fought well.
Only a few seconds later, the dragon was consumed by the blisteringly hot flames, and was instantly turned into ash!!
The quiet wind picked up the ash where it lay and gently blew it out across the desert, where it became one with the sand!
It was as though he had been eliminated by Divine Providence itself! Wataru said absolutely nothing as he watched the ash swirl away!
“......!!”
Unconsciously, he allowed himself to—cry!!
Wataru’s tears were proof of the utmost respect he had for the dragon, a fellow warrior who was now gone from this world!
“......Hm?”
As Wataru wiped away his tears, he noticed something rolling around on the ground near his feat! It was the pair of glasses the dragon had been wearing! The glasses, which were far larger than anything a human could ever wear, were weighed down by the desert sands, as if they too were saddened by the disappearance of their owner!!
“......!”
Wataru did not pick up the glasses, nor did he crush them beneath his foot—he simply turned his back on them and began to slowly walk away! The smoke from their battle still hung over the area as Wataru made his way back to his friends.