Everything felt heavy.
Jin Haru lay on the floor of the underground arena, blood dripping from his lip. His vision was blurry. The crowd's cheers faded in and out. It felt like a dream. His legs wouldn't move. His arms trembled.
[System Alert: Damage critical. Body weakening. Consciousness fading.]
REI's voice sounded far away.
The Taekwondo black belt stood tall in front of him, breathing hard but still strong. His uniform had a few tears, but his stance was perfect. His sharp eyes looked down at Haru.
"You were fun," the black belt said. "But this is the end."
The crowd waited. Some were cheering. Others watched in silence. Cold Girl—Min Yura—stood near the back, arms crossed, eyes unreadable.
Haru tried to stand, but his knees gave out. He fell again.
[Warning: Combat Mode threshold reached.]
Then… everything changed.
A sudden click echoed in his mind.
His eyes, once dull, glowed bright glacial blue.
The crowd gasped.
The Taekwondo fighter froze. "Wh-what… are you?"
Haru slowly stood up—no shaking, no weakness. His back straightened. His breathing was silent. His face was blank, expressionless.
The air around him felt cold.
Like something powerful had woken up.
He raised his hands—calm, perfect form.
REI's voice returned, now robotic.
[Combat Mode: Activated. Martial copy percentage—80%. Limit exceeded.]
The black belt charged forward with a roundhouse kick.
SWOOSH.
Haru dodged without blinking. His body moved smoothly, like a machine. He stepped to the side and countered with a spinning back kick—exactly the same technique.
CRACK!
The kick landed on the fighter's ribs. He flew across the mat and hit the wall.
The crowd went silent.
The fighter struggled to stand. He rushed again with faster moves—low kicks, punches, elbows.
Haru copied everything in real time. He blocked, countered, and moved like a mirror. No, even better.
Every attack was perfect. Every move clean.
Then, Haru jumped high and landed a sharp axe kick on the fighter's shoulder.
THUD!
The fighter dropped to the ground, eyes wide.
He couldn't move.
The match was over.
But Haru didn't stop. He walked forward, eyes glowing, expression still cold.
"Jin Haru! Stop!" someone shouted.
But he didn't hear.
He grabbed the fighter's collar and raised a fist—
Then a voice called in his head.
[Warning: Overload risk. Shutting down Combat Mode in 3… 2… 1…]
His eyes flickered.
The blue glow faded.
Haru blinked, confused. "What… happened?"
He looked down and saw the black belt lying there, face bruised, body shaking.
Gasps echoed through the room. Some students backed away. Others pulled out their phones.
"He destroyed him…"
"What was that?"
"His eyes… did you see them?"
Min Yura stepped forward, arms still crossed. She didn't say anything at first. Just stared at him.
Then softly, "You're not normal."
Haru didn't answer.
He looked at his hands.
They weren't shaking anymore.
They felt… warm.
Alive.
Too alive.
The match was over.
But something had started.
Something deep inside him had opened—and it scared him more than anything.