The Greatest Fight [progression cultivation isekai]

X2.5.7 - Three of Seven

"Welcome, welcome, to the final battle of the Seven Wonders Tournament!" the announcer shouted as the crowd went wild. "Our final contestants are all here, ready to fight. From left to right we have the following, lean, mean, fighting machines! Gunhand Nirvana! Rosso Regola! Hopper of Smy! Waddles Quackleton! Dado! Cutlass! And last but not least, Roa None!" The crowd cheered the contestants on for several minutes.

Each of them stood proudly, with their hands behind their backs. The only one who seemed out of place was the Sunflower, who wobbled back and forth, as if struggling to even stand.

"Listen up," shouted Nirvana to the others, "remember why we are fighting. One of us must win the whole thing, it doesn't matter who, so work together until the only ones left are us!"

Rosso and Roa nodded.

"That's not fair. Sounds like they're teaming up," said the girl named Cutlass. She swung her black ponytail and lifted her katana, pointing it at the other fighters. "How about we join up forces," she winked, "for now."

A man with a cube for a head bowed without saying a word. Behind him, towering, stood a buff, yellow-skinned humanoid duck. His arms were ripped and his bicep has a tattoo of a heart with the word "MOM" on it.

"Sounds good to me," he said, with a lisp. "I'm Waddles—I don't feel pain."

Cutlass raised an eyebrow and said, "That's—great? Work together, and all that good stuff."

"Alright fighters!" shouted the announcer, "and—BEGIN!"

The back of Roa's head hit the ground hard. He opened his eyes and noticed Hopper standing over him, his fist raised. His face hurt from the punch. Rosso and Nirvana swarmed the attacker, taking him away from him, as the boy from Earth shook the hit off and stood back up. Cutlass and her team of oddballs appeared out of nowhere, taking on the Sunflower at once. Fear struck the boy.

"Surely you will not win it," Khailas' words echoed in his head.

The boy shook the insecurities off as the punches flew his way. The girl's katana sliced the air, as Roa hopped above it, narrowly missing its deadly slice.

"Focus, damn you," the boy thought, as his eyes narrowed and his aura began to spike.

As soon as his foot touched the ground, he propelled himself forward. He invoked the Powerhouse Gift, drastically increasing his strength. With the force of a freight train, he smashed his fist into Waddles' face. To his surprise, however, the duck's beak and forehead simply—bent, as if made of rubber.

"I'm Waddles, and I'm a rubber-ducky demon. I don't feel pain," he said with a lisp and a dumb look in his eyes.

Roa looked at him and pummeled his chest with a barrage of strikes, only to notice that they left no damage, causing his opponent to squeak comically with each hit.

"I don't feel pain," Waddles repeated, still standing there awkwardly.

"Damn it," the Sunflower said, evading an attack from the cube-headed stranger named Dado. "It's not fair—three against one!"

"Life's not fair! But, imagine my fame once I will be known for defeating the great hero they call the Sunflower!" said Cutlass with a big smile, as she sliced the air, attempting to kill the boy.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

The earthling did a backflip, but his body did not respond as he wanted to, clumsily collapsing onto the ground. He turned, noticing the girl about to strike when his hands began to glow.

"Solar Clap!" he shouted, slapping his palms together, letting out a thunderous sound that shook the place.

A blinding light enveloped the whole ring, pausing the fight for a few moments.

"What is going on?!" shouted the announcer. "It seems that one of the fighters has invoked some strange power and blinded everyone! Let's hope we do not all have to go see an eye doctor after this!"

Roa stood up, stumbling as he ran away in the opposite direction, as the other fighters were still struggling to open their eyes.

"Wait, what am I doing?" he said, turning around, "Why am I running away?"

He pivoted, used Haste, slamming into Cutlass who, unable to block the tackle, ended up launched out of the ring.

"One fighter is out, and the match has just begun!" shouted the announcer.

The boy was about to celebrate when he felt himself being picked up from behind. He turned his head and noticed Waddles. He looked at him and the duck said to him again, "I don't feel pain."

He launched him out of the ring, but the boy from Earth used Pan's Gift to slow himself down and return within the bounds of the competition.

"I am invincible. I do not feel pain," Waddles said again with a blank stare.

"No one is invincible," Roa shouted back.

"I am. Except—for my magic word."

"What magic word?"

"Quack attack!" Waddles' body shrunk suddenly.

The boy walked up and picked up a tiny, rubber duck. His head tilted.

"What the hell just happened?" he said, placing the ducky in his pocket.

Dado attacked him next. His body seemed to be made of some sort of metal. He slammed his cubic head onto Roa's, launching him to the ground. Dazed, the boy stood back up, stumbling over from the hit when Rosso and Nirvana came out of nowhere and attacked his opponent. The boy from the desert grabbed Dado's arm and launched him. The pink-haired Jumper roundhouse kicked him straight out of the ring.

"There's two of them," she said with a proud smirk.

"Three," said Roa, throwing the rubber ducky out of bounds and then invoking the magic words.

Waddles transformed again into his large version, glancing around, confused.

"I can't feel pain—but my defeat—hurts," he said, lowering his head.

"The last four fighters are going head-to-head for the grand prize!" said the announcer.

"Alright, we got this in the bag, don't mess it up now," said Nirvana as all three of them stared at Hopper, standing defiantly in front of them.

"It seems you three are teaming up against me," Hopper said, "it won't change anything."

"We'll see about that," Roa said, attacking first.

Hopper was fast—faster than all three combined. He slipped past his strikes, and grabbed him from behind. Roa turned but his opponent placed his leg between his, causing him to lose his balance. Hopper pointed a Gunhand at him on his way to the floor and shot a blast that barely missed the Sunflower. Both collapsed onto the ground. However, when they rose again, it was the boy from Earth who could barely stand.

"You're not looking so good, Sunflower," said Hopper.

"I'm alright. I have enough energy to beat you," said Roa.

Before another clash could begin, Rosso and Nirvana ganged up on Hopper, taking him away. Roa's eyes blurred and his vision began to tunnel again. He felt extremely fatigued, as if each breath was exhausting. He took a few steps forward but found himself on his knee. A loud crash snapped him out of it. When he looked up, he saw Hopper charge up his fist with energy, and unleash it on Nirvana. The strike was so powerful that her Scutum shattered and the hit landed, at least in part, launching her to the ground.

"Nirvana," Roa said, slapping her cheek to wake her up.

The announcer counted down from ten, but the girl remained unconscious.

"What the hell kind of punch was that? He knocked Nirvana out with one blow," said Rosso.

"Brute Force," said Roa.

"But that's a—Gift only the Shadows know," said Rosso.

"And you, Sunflower," said Hopper, appearing in front of them with his arms crossed. "Looks like there's three of us left. Well—two and a half," he nodded at the Sunflower.

The three jumped into the fray. Roa and Rosso worked together to find an opening, but Hopper was much too fast, anticipating their every move, even combined. When the boy from Earth began to feel like he was at last about to lose consciousness, he decided to give the fight one last chance. He waited for Hopper to be busy with Rosso, charged up his remaining aura, giving everything he could and was about to unleash it upon the enemy.

"Hopper!" he shouted, getting his attention. "I have a Gift for you too."

He used the Brute Force Gift, blinding everyone with the light that shot out from the impact of his fist meeting the Scutum of his opponent. His ears rang until everything went black.

"Wake up," said someone.

"What?" said Roa, opening his eyes and noticing a silhouette.

"It's me, Rosso. Wake up, Roa. Are you still alive?" he said.

"I think so," he said, suddenly attempting to sit up, "Is it over?"

His friend nodded.

"Who won?"