Location: The Azazel Cup Arena - Stage: "The Bedrock Wasteland"
Event: Round 2 - Team Void vs. Team Tiamat (Sponsored by Evil Dragons)
Matchup: Raiden (The Joker) vs. Crom Cruach (The Crescent Circle Dragon)
The arena was a flat, desolate expanse of hardened obsidian. No cover. No water. Just rock.
The crowd was silent. The air was heavy enough to crush a lesser devil.
On one side stood Raiden. He had removed his trench coat and shirt. His upper body was covered in the glowing purple tattoos of the Gluttony King, pulsing with the rhythm of his heartbeat.
On the other side stood a man in a martial arts gi. He had long blond hair and eyes that held the wisdom of a thousand years of war. He didn't look like a monster. He looked like a master.
Crom Cruach. The Strongest Evil Dragon. The one who refused to join Rizevim because he only cared about finding a worthy opponent.
Azazel (Commentator): "Folks, brace yourselves. We have received a special request from both fighters. They have asked to disable the magic barriers on the field. They have also agreed to a 'No Magic, No Flight, No Gluttony' rule. This is going to be a brawl."
Raiden walked to the center.
Crom Cruach walked to meet him.
"I watched you erase 666," Crom said, his voice calm. "And I watched you eat magic. It was impressive. But can you fight without your stomach?"
"I watched you train," Raiden replied. "You punched a mountain until it turned to dust. Can you fight a human who doesn't break?"
Crom grinned. It was a savage grin.
"No beams. No breath attacks. No eating my energy. Just fists."
"Deal," Raiden cracked his neck. "I won't eat you. I'll just tenderize you."
Crom assumed a stance - low, grounded, perfect balance.
Raiden assumed his stance - loose, arrogant, hands low.
"Begin," Crom whispered.
There was no sound of movement. Just the sound of impact.
BOOM.
Their fists collided in the center of the arena.
The shockwave didn't just crack the floor; it pulverized the obsidian into sand for a hundred meters in every direction.
The audience gasped. The VIP box windows rattled.
Crom didn't retreat. He stepped in, delivering a flurry of punches at hypersonic speed.
Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam.
Each punch was heavy enough to shatter a diamond.
Raiden took them.
He blocked with his forearms, his elbows, his forehead.
He was being pushed back, his feet carving trenches in the rock.
"Good!" Raiden laughed, blood trickling from his lip. "That's heavy! That has flavor!"
Raiden countered. A massive right hook.
Crom weaved under it by a millimeter. The wind pressure from Raiden's fist blew a crater in the rock wall behind Crom.
Crom struck Raiden's solar plexus.
THUD.
Raiden coughed saliva. His ribs creaked.
But he didn't fold. He grabbed Crom's wrist.
"Gotcha."
Raiden pulled Crom in and headbutted him.
CRACK.
It was like two meteors colliding. Both men stumbled back, foreheads bleeding.
Vali Lucifer watched from the stands, his eyes wide.
"Pure physical stats... Raiden is matching Crom Cruach in base strength. That shouldn't be possible for a human."
"He's not just a human anymore," Issei muttered, clutching the railing. "He's eaten dragons, devils, and gods. His muscles are made of everything he's ever consumed."
Back in the fight.
Crom shifted gears. He wasn't just brawling; he was using martial arts.
He parried Raiden's wild haymaker, swept Raiden's legs, and delivered a palm strike to Raiden's chin.
Raiden flew into the air.
Crom jumped after him. He clasped his hands together.
"Sledgehammer."
He slammed Raiden back down to earth.
CRASH.
Raiden hit the ground so hard the entire arena tilted.
Crom landed, breathing steadily. "Is that it, Glutton? Without your tricks, are you just a punching bag?"
From the dust cloud, a hand rose.
Raiden stood up. He popped his dislocated shoulder back into place.
Click.
"You have technique," Raiden spat out a tooth. "I hate technique. It's too clean."
Raiden's eyes went blank. He entered a state of pure instinct.
He didn't use a specific style. He used violence.
He charged.
Crom tried to parry, but Raiden feinted a punch and kicked Crom in the knee.
Crom flinched.
Raiden tackled him.
They rolled on the ground, trading punches to the face. It wasn't elegant. It was a street fight between gods.
Raiden bit Crom's ear.
Crom elbowed Raiden's throat.
They stood up again, swaying.
"This..." Crom smiled through a swollen eye. "This is fun."
"Yeah," Raiden grinned, his face a mask of bruises. "Best meal I've had all week."
30 minutes had passed.
The arena was gone. It was just a crater.
Both fighters were exhausted. Their healing factors were overtaxed.
Crom Cruach's gi was shredded. His right arm was broken.
Raiden's chest was a mess of purple and black bruises. One of his eyes was swollen shut.
"One last hit," Crom panted. "I'll put everything into this."
"Come on then," Raiden pulled his fist back.
Crom focused his Dragon Touki (Life Force) into his left fist.
Raiden focused his pure physical mass and the kinetic energy of every meal he'd ever eaten into his right fist.
They charged.
"DRAGON FIST!"
"SOVEREIGN SMASH!"
The fists met the faces.
Crom punched Raiden's left cheek.
Raiden punched Crom's right cheek.
Time stopped.
The shockwave expanded vertically, blowing the clouds away above the city of Agreas.
They stood there, fists buried in each other's faces, for ten seconds.
Then, Crom Cruach's eyes rolled back.
His legs gave out.
He collapsed backward.
Raiden swayed. He took a step to steady himself.
He looked down at the fallen dragon.
"You have a hard head," Raiden whispered.
He raised his fist in the air.
Announcer: "KO! CROM CRUACH IS DOWN! THE WINNER IS RAIDEN!"
Medical teams rushed the field.
Rias and Asia were the first to reach Raiden.
"Raiden-san!" Asia cried, healing light already glowing in her hands. "Your ribs are dust! Your jaw is fractured!"
"I'm fine," Raiden mumbled, though he leaned heavily on Rias. "Just... need a steak."
Crom Cruach sat up, waving away the medics. His healing factor was already kicking in.
He looked at Raiden.
"You won," Crom said. "You didn't use magic. You didn't eat my energy. You beat me with bone and muscle."
Crom stood up and extended his hand (the non-broken one).
"I acknowledge you. You are the strongest male I have ever fought."
Raiden shook the hand.
"You weren't bad yourself, lizard. Next time, let's do this over barbecue."
Crom laughed. "I will hold you to that."
[System Alert]
[Achievement: Fist of the North Star]
[Defeated the Strongest Evil Dragon in CQC]
[Physical Stats Permanently Increased by 20%]
[Respect Earned: Crom Cruach]
Location: VIP Box (Hidden Section)
Hades crushed his wine glass.
"Crom lost? In a fistfight? Against a human?"
Indra looked serious. "He is evolving, Hades. He adapts to his opponent. If you use magic, he eats it. If you use fists, he brawls. He has no weakness."
"He has one," Hades hissed. "His pride. And his appetite."
Hades turned to the shadows behind him.
"Prepare the Saelbael. If we cannot beat him... we will poison him."
Location: Team Void Waiting Room
Raiden was asleep on the couch. He was wrapped in bandages like a mummy.
Ravel was checking his vitals.
Rossweisse was calculating the medical bill.
Serafall was drawing cute doodles on his casts.
Alice (Hologram Message via Dodoco):
"Wow! You punched a dragon in the face! My daughter wants to know if his teeth exploded! Good job, Gluttony King. But watch out... the next round smells like 'Rotten Soul'. Be careful what you eat."
Raiden snored. In his dream, he was eating a mountain of ribs.
The tournament continued. But the world now knew one thing:
The Joker didn't need tricks to kill you.
Sometimes, he just needed to punch you really, really hard.