Suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the hallway.
A man in his fifties emerged from the passage. His presence was overwhelming, exuding a terrifying aura like a primordial beast. Unlike the tall man from earlier, this individual wore a suit of white armor, resembling a mechanized warrior.
“It’s you! How can it be you?”
Chris’s face was filled with shock as he recognized the man-it was Shura.
Shura had once been freed by Daniel Williams from the Obsidian Citadel. Later, Shura returned to the East Coast seeking revenge against Chris. But he was no match for Chris and had jumped into the sea to escape.
Nearly a year had passed since their last encounter, and now, here he was again.
Chris, who had fought Shura before, knew how formidable he was. But now, the Shura standing before him was different. His vacant eyes and the violent aura surrounding him made him seem more beast than man. Chris sighed softly.
“Shura, when we battled on the East Coast, you escaped into the sea. I never thought our next meeting would be like this.”
Though Shura had once kidnapped his daughter Hope, Chris bore no deep hatred for him. Seeing Shura in this state filled Chris with a sense of pity.
This was no longer the Shura he knew. Shura had been transformed into a super-soldier. It was clear that after escaping into the sea, Shura had been captured by Daniel Williams and brought here.
“Ke-ke-ke…”
Shura let out a sinister laugh, his bloodthirsty gaze locking onto Chris. Whatever humanity had once been in him was now gone-only the instinct to kill remained.
Chris’s heart burned with anger. He hadn’t expected Daniel Williams to be so ruthless. First, Daniel released Shura to eliminate Chris. When Shura failed, he turned him into a super-soldier.
Facing Shura, Chris didn’t dare to be careless. Shura had already been powerful before, and now, with his modifications, his strength had skyrocketed.
“Roar!”
Shura let out a beast-like roar and charged at Chris with incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, he was upon him, swinging a massive axe with deadly force.
Chris’s expression shifted as he dodged, narrowly avoiding the strike. Despite his quick reaction, the axe grazed his arm, leaving a deep wound. Chris gritted his teeth, his face contorted in pain. If he had been even a fraction slower, he might have lost the arm entirely.
But Shura didn’t pause. He pressed the attack relentlessly.
“Hmph!”
Chris snorted coldly, gripping his Dragon Slayer sword tightly as he engaged Shura in a fierce battle.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Their weapons clashed violently, the deafening sound echoing through the hall.
Chris shouted, “Shura, let me end your suffering!”
The battle grew even more intense, leaving the hall in ruins. Shura seemed impervious to pain, his strength inexhaustible. Chris, consumed by fury, swung his Dragon Slayer with all his might.
“Die!”
With a roar, Chris unleashed a powerful strike, his blade slicing through the air like a tidal wave.
Even in his mindless state, Shura sensed danger. He raised his axe to block the attack.
Boom!
The collision sent Shura flying backward. But Chris didn’t relent, striking again with even greater force.
Shura defended with his axe, but it couldn’t withstand Chris’s relentless assault.
Crack!
The axe shattered under the pressure, and Chris’s blade struck Shura’s armor.
If it had been an ordinary man, the blow would have been fatal. But Shura’s white armor was unnaturally strong, showing no signs of damage.
One strike.
Two strikes.
Three strikes.
Chris didn’t stop. Each swing of his blade carried immense power, enough to shatter steel. Yet Shura, now a soulless shell, showed no reaction. His expression remained blank, as lifeless as a corpse.
“Roar! Roar! Roar!”
Shura roared in rage, charging at Chris and throwing a powerful punch.
“Die!”
Chris’s expression turned grim as Shura closed in. With a roar of his own, Chris mustered all his strength and delivered a final, devastating blow.
Boom!
The hall shook with the impact. Shura froze in place.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The white armor began to fracture, a deep slash running from Shura’s neck to his waist.
The once-violent light in Shura’s eyes dimmed, replaced by clarity. He looked at Chris, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
“Thank you,” he said softly.
Thud!
With that, Shura collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
For Shura, being turned into a super-soldier-a monster neither human nor machine-was a torment worse than death. Chris’s final blow had freed him.
As Chris stared at Shura’s body, his emotions were complex. Anger, sorrow, and guilt churned within him.
He turned his gaze upward, his voice filled with resolve. “Rest in peace, Shura. I will avenge you.”
The hall fell silent. The floor was littered with bodies-mostly members of the Hall of Valerian and their super-soldiers.
A cold voice broke the silence.
“Unbelievable. Even Shura couldn’t kill you. Do you realize, Chris, that Shura was the strongest super-soldier in the Hall of Valerian? I spent years perfecting him, and now you’ve destroyed everything.”