The Cold World of Winner-Takes-All

Byorn, having taken a hit, immediately drew his sword.

Blue aura — a fifth-rank magic blade.

“You bastard!”

Byorn lunged to stab me on the ropes.

Proper stance, sharp charging momentum, but……

I just had to dodge.

I swung my feet while still seated and flicked the rope.

THWOOM!

Using the rebound, I leapt sideways to another rope.

An impossible feat for ordinary people, but my feet stuck to the rope perfectly.

“What……”

Byorn hesitated, looking bewildered.

I clapped my hands together from my seated position.

Clap, clap.

Like an adult beckoning a small child.

“Y-you bastard. So you plan to just keep running……”

Byorn deactivated his magic blade.

Probably thinking it was a waste of mana, but wrong call.

I created another rope rebound and launched a dropkick.

“Ngh!”

Byorn panicked, not expecting my sudden counterattack.

With beastman reflexes he twisted his body to dodge, but……

WHAM!

My dropkick connected with his chest.

Byorn had clearly dodged by a hair, yet my foot stuck to him like a magnet.

Normal people can’t adjust trajectory mid-leap, right?

But with telekinesis, it’s possible.

Having continuously trained and absorbed mental power, I could now use telekinesis freely.

“Kugh!”

Byorn’s body slammed backward into the ropes.

The moment I landed and regained my stance to rush him……

THWOOM!

He also used the rope’s rebound to charge at me.

“Are we doing pro wrestling now?”

I dropped flat and rolled, trying to snatch his ankle.

“What!”

Byorn kicked at my hand in disbelief.

As expected of a beastman — decent reflexes.

But I’d mixed in a feint from the start and pulled my body and hands back.

Ground techniques are normally performed while grappling, not lying down trying to grab ankles — anyone doing that is insane.

But if you encounter it? You either back off or instinctively try to kick.

Byorn was charging, so kicking was obvious.

His foot sliced through empty air, and I grabbed his ankle one beat late and brought him down.

CRASH!

Then I immediately bounced up like a ball, spun through the air, and drove my heel into his gut.

THWACK!

“GAAAGH!”

Byorn reflexively activated his mana defense, but the Telekinetic Fist drove pain through it.

“Wh-whoa……”

“What the — that!”

“How is that even……”

The spectators gasped in shock.

Everyone had combat experience — they knew how absurd this sequence was.

That there was an overwhelming skill gap between Byorn and me.

“Nnnngh!”

Byorn slashed his sword from his prone position to threaten me.

I rolled backward lightly and stood.

“Hff, haaagh.”

Byorn gasped for breath in shock.

Even in this wide world, he was probably encountering someone who fought like me for the first time.

“What is this? What the hell is this?”

“The sound of you writing your resignation letter.”

“Rrrrgh!”

Byorn had some skill.

Standing up, he gripped his sword with both hands and concentrated.

I could see his determination not to be fooled by my flashy movements.

“The judgment’s not bad. Not bad, but……”

Fighting reveals an opponent’s level.

Byorn was supposedly fifth rank, but he lacked combat experience.

“Aren’t you a war veteran? So why are you this green? What are you going to do with a sword against someone who flies around like me?”

“……”

“Do you even know Mana Sprint? Come at me.”

I shoved both hands in my pockets and faced Byorn.

Complete provocation.

The moment the crowd held their breath, Byorn thrust his sword at my throat.

“Can’t even control where you’re looking?”

A human body might be fast, but the blade tip is faster.

However, the fourth-rank ability Mana Sprint gives tremendous instantaneous acceleration.

I dove toward Byorn’s lower body like a swimmer and used Mana Sprint.

Less than a second of use.

A trick only possible with extensive mana experience!

WHAM!

“……Kh, KYAAAGH!”

Having slipped in perfectly, I struck Byorn’s groin with mana-charged force.

Low blow.

In a sport this would be a foul, but there were no rules against groin strikes here, right?

Byorn, who’d poured his mana into his magic blade, was completely defenseless.

CLANG!

Byorn dropped his sword, pressed his legs together, and staggered backward.

“Nice setup for a kick?”

“Waaaaait……”

WHAM!

I kicked upward into Byorn’s groin with my toes.

An application of the Telekinetic Fist — enough power to lift his whole body into the air.

“Khhhhh……”

He barely managed to wrap mana defense around himself, but Byorn staggered, unable to stand properly.

He’d taken a clean hit from me plus a Telekinetic Fist.

Tingling and unable to concentrate at all.

“Sur, surren……”

“You’re surrendering?”

“Uh, agh……”

Byorn couldn’t overcome the pain and hopped in place.

“Impressive that you’re concentrating after that hit. Now, let’s see how long you last.”

“Ugh, ngh……”

I approached and kicked him with a front kick.

Byorn, whose attention was entirely focused on his groin, took a clean hit to the stomach and stumbled back.

I immediately launched my body and delivered a low flying knee.

Byorn reflexively covered his stomach, but……

WHAM!

This time my knee targeted his groin again.

“Ack, aaagh. GAAAGH……”

Byorn staggered backward.

His face turned pale.

Groin strikes are no joke.

The only reason Byorn was still standing was because he was a beastman — he’d already lost the will to fight.

“Can’t even use your fifth-rank ability……”

“Ugh, ngh. Sur, surren……”

“Who’s accepting that?”

I suddenly slapped his face.

Byorn, whose attention had been entirely on his lower body, took the hit to his cheek.

Slap! Slap!

“Gagh!”

When I rapidly slapped his cheek three times in succession, Byorn gritted his teeth and threw a punch.

Even in this state, the sound of his punch cutting through the air was sharp.

A human would have been knocked out long ago, but being a beastman, his recovery and stamina were impressive.

But……

I weaved lightly to dodge and delivered rapid strikes to his stomach.

Thud-thud-thud!

When the mana-charged rapid strikes pounded his hide, Byorn screamed and stumbled back.

At the perfect distance, I spun and kicked his groin again with a back kick.

“GHHHHK!”

Byorn’s body flew up and slammed into the ropes.

“……”

I’d normally stop here, but my chest was boiling.

The way this bastard had been looking at Lang Ei was deeply offensive.

Offensive enough to want to wreck his groin completely.

“……Aaagh.”

“St-stop. End it!”

Screams erupted from the spectator seats.

Anyone could see this was a one-sided beatdown — at this rate, Byorn would be crippled.

But Albert, serving as referee, remained cold.

“Byorn has not declared surrender.”

“Right, he hasn’t.”

“Ugh, nnnngh.”

Byorn, leaning against the ropes, shook his head frantically in terror.

Even a mighty warrior gets terrified after repeated groin strikes.

I started beating him without even using mana.

Thud-thud-thud!

Trapped against the ropes, he flinched and blocked with his arms, curling up.

He no longer had the strength to counterattack.

STOMP!

Since there were no fouls anyway, I stamped hard on his foot.

“Ah!”

The moment his mouth opened in pain, I hit his teeth.

They broke and blood sprayed, but I didn’t stop and threw another punch.

“Kh, ugh. Nnngh……”

Byorn trembled finely and his guard opened.

I grabbed his shoulder to hold him in place and drove my knee into his groin.

Repeatedly.

Thud! Thud! WHAM!

“GAAAAGH! GHHHK!”

Death-rattle screams.

After beating him five, six times…… I felt it.

Destroyed.

“Kh, khh. Khhh……”

Byorn rolled his eyes back and trembled violently.

Only then did I release him and step back.

Tap, tap.

Dusting off my hands, I saw his groin gradually turning red.

Drip, drip.

Blood fell to the ring floor.

To fully regenerate such a sensitive area would require a Grade One healing potion or higher.

But those were precious celestial items, rarely given out.

In other words, Byorn was now a eunuch.

Once Byorn passed out and I stepped back, Albert finally shouted.

“Match over!”

Silent arena.

The moment I turned around, everyone quickly averted their eyes.

Having attacked so persistently to castrate him, their hair must be standing on end.

Even I wondered if I’d gone too far, but.

“St-stretcher!”

“Healing potion! Give him the healing potion!”

“Where do you think you’re going?”

When the Central Police members tried to climb into the ring, I glared at them.

Flinch.

Those who’d been making a fuss stopped cold.

I spoke sharply.

“As of today, Byorn has stepped down as Central Police Chief. Do you agree?”

“Th-that’s……”

“Everyone saw it. Are you going to break your promise?”

I’d deliberately not written a contract for this.

Going forward, I needed to control the Central Police too.

I had to make it clear now that I was the new master.

The police officers exchanged glances.

The highest-ranking one, a fox beastman, bowed his head to me.

“U-understood. As of today, Chief Byorn is retired.”

“Good. Operate with an acting system for now, and the successor will be announced soon.”

I jerked my chin toward the collapsed Byorn.

Take him away.

“Carefully! We have to move him carefully!”

“Lay him down first, lay him down!”

The bustling crowd.

Watching them, I turned around.

Lang Ei.

Standing apart from the other spectators, she was looking at me.

She’d removed her hat at some point.

Just staring vacantly, lost.

Reminiscing about the past.

Remembering someone who fought like me.

“Lang Ei.”

“……”

Dealing with Byorn made me realize something anew.

Things between my wives and me hadn’t been properly resolved.

Now that I’d returned, I needed to resolve them.

I had to reveal that I was Sirik to move forward……

Rattle-rattle-rattle.

“……”

A strange sound reached my ears.

The sound of a glass bottle rolling, having fallen from the collapsed Byorn’s pocket.

I turned without much thought and my hair stood on end.

……Why does it keep rolling toward me?

The ring wasn’t sloped, yet it kept approaching me?

I reflexively used telekinesis to stop the glass bottle.

Overreacting?

Having fought by manipulating inertia, I could tell.

That was strange.

But the glass bottle didn’t stop.

It ignored my telekinesis!

Should I break it?

But the sloshing red liquid inside, which looked like a mana potion, gave me a dangerous feeling.

“Hmm.”

I deployed a Telekinetic Barrier.

Normally I only wrapped it around myself, but this time I spread it wider.

Seemed like an overreaction, but the feeling was ominous.

Snap!

Once I deployed the Telekinetic Barrier, the bottle finally stopped.

But……

“……It’s not being pushed back?”

I was trying to push it away, but the bottle remained fixed in place.

Resisting being pushed by the barrier.

Thud.

The bottle that had been resisting the barrier suddenly stood bolt upright.

The red liquid inside began bubbling violently.

This was not normal!

“Everyone off the ring!”

“Yes!”

“Get off now!”

The police officers examining Byorn panicked at my words……

Fwoosh!

At that moment, the bottle shot into the air.

Fine, you want to try?

I moved to strengthen the barrier further…… but the bottle flew horizontally.

In a different direction.

Having found approaching me difficult, it searched for the next target.

Looking for other prey.

Toward Lang Ei, who was staring at me in a daze.

“Lang Ei!”

In that instant I shouted until my throat tore and stretched out my hand.

I couldn’t let something like that attack my wife!