Immediately, they all rushed toward each other—Harden went for Wang, and Raizo went for Kyle. Harden slammed down an axe kick aimed at Wang, who simply jumped back, dodging the hit. But he immediately retaliated with a roundhouse kick aimed straight at Harden's face. Harden blocked it, pushing Wang's leg aside as he closed the distance between them and released a flurry of jabs. Wang managed to weave through, barely dodging the punches, and retaliated with a palm strike to Harden's gut, pushing him back a few meters.
"Not bad," Harden said with a smile.
Meanwhile, Raizo and Kyle were clashing weapons. Kyle unleashed a flurry of attacks on Raizo, who parried every hit. Just as he was about to retaliate, Kyle vanished from his line of sight.
"I'll admit, that skill is annoying," Raizo said, twisting his body to evade Kyle's surprise attack from behind.
"It seems you're used to the Blink Step," Kyle said as he rushed in once more.
"You have no idea," Raizo replied, placing his hand on the hilt of his blade as he bent down slightly.
"Samurai Skull Quick Draw—Horizontal Strike!"
Raizo swiftly unsheathed his blade, slashing the air horizontally with the back of it. Kyle wasn't sure why, but his instincts told him to duck—which he did—and he was glad he did, as a large dent appeared on the wall behind him.
"Woah! Take a chill pill!" Kyle exclaimed, coating his daggers with poison. "Let's take this up a notch, shall we?"
Just as he said those words, a loud bang resounded—Wang's back slammed against the wall, leaving a dent.
"What the hell was that? I didn't even see it," Kyle said, glancing across the room, where Harden stood in his stance with his palm stretched out.
"This Stage Two Rupture that I learned from Hawkins is proving to be useful," Harden thought with a smile.
"That's gonna be a bother," Wang said as he rushed toward Harden, using the skill Paralyzing Touch Point and thrusting his fingers forward. Harden jumped back, evading the attack.
"Perfect," Wang muttered, activating the skill Twin Lion Kick as he twisted into a set of spinning kicks. Harden, however, countered with Azure Tornado Kick, pushing Wang back, then followed up with a Crescent Kick, slamming his leg into Wang's face and sending him flying.
Wang's body crashed into Raizo on the other side of the room.
"What the heck, man?! Watch it!" Raizo complained, pulling himself up. As soon as he did, his body jolted—Harden had performed a devastating palm strike, sending him flying. But Harden wasn't done yet; he continued charging toward him.
"I'm not going to be an easy target!" Raizo said as he rushed toward Harden, using the skill Cherry Blossom Slash. A pink aura enveloped his blade as he twisted his body, gaining momentum, and slammed the blade into Harden. But Harden simply raised his right arm, activating Iron Body before impact. The blade slammed against his arm, and he seemed completely unfazed.
Before Harden could counter, Raizo followed up with Bull's Thrust, slamming the tip of his blade into Harden and sending him back a few meters.
Meanwhile, Wang and Kyle were exchanging blows—Kyle trying to poison Wang, and Wang trying to paralyze Kyle. Wang dashed toward Kyle and unleashed a powerful thigh kick. Kyle jumped back, barely evading it—or so he thought.
"Predictable. But that move was to force your hand," Wang said, smiling as he leaped into the air and activated Dragon's Barrage, unleashing a flurry of midair attacks. He then grabbed Kyle's hand, spun, and slammed him into the ground. Wang pressed the advantage, slamming his fist down—but Kyle dodged it once more.
"Quite impressive," Wang said.
"You haven't seen anything yet," Kyle replied with a smile, activating a new skill.
"What the—?" Wang said, stepping back.
Before his eyes, Kyle appeared to be walking toward him—no, multiple Kyles were moving in, surrounding him with Blink Step. Wang could feel attacks landing from all directions.
"I have to do something," he thought, trying to block the attacks. "I can't match his speed... and he's injecting his poison. So I just have to reduce his speed."
Wang closed his eyes, concentrating as he activated a skill. Suddenly, he could feel Kyle's heartbeat—the flow of blood, the nerves, the muscles, and all the pathways in his body. Just as Kyle went in for another attack, Wang thrust his fingers forward with precise strikes, activating Paralyzing Touch Point and hitting the pathways with pinpoint accuracy—completely paralyzing Kyle.
Kyle fell to the ground.
"One... two... three!" Amy announced.
"Kyle has been eliminated."
"Would you look at that," Raizo said with a smile, glancing in Kyle's direction.
"You should pay attention!" Harden shouted as he used Advanced Rupture: Dual Impact, slamming his poisoned palms into Raizo's stomach. Raizo was sent flying.
"One... two... three!" Amy announced again.
"Raizo has been eliminated!"
Harden looked at Wang, and Wang looked back. Without a word, both charged toward each other, preparing their attacks—Harden using Azure Tornado Kick, and Wang activating Twin Lion Kicks.
But just before the skills could clash—
"STOP!!!"
A loud voice resounded across the room.