Meeting in the Finals

The Round of 64 was about to begin, and the competitors were all ready and waiting.

During the preparation period, Lu Mingfei and Erii entered from opposite sides and took their seats, each facing their opponent.

Lu Mingfei looked relaxed, his gaze wandering, while Erii wore no expression, her eyes resolute.

The match began.

He'd heard that this opponent was quite well-known, a bona fide Street Fighter expert. Lu Mingfei had only learned about him from the competitors sitting nearby during a break.

But as usual, Lu Mingfei won with ease.

His opponent looked utterly dejected. He couldn't muster any desire to challenge Lu Mingfei, because the man in front of him was absurdly strong, and the difference between them was obvious at a glance.

Lu Mingfei looked around and spotted a girl in the distance with dark red hair and a red-and-white shrine maiden outfit. Like him, she was waiting for the other competitors to finish their matches.

It seemed someone else, like him, was taking care of their opponents quickly.

"Young Master, the Execution Bureau has sent word. There's a particularly vicious oni that you need to deal with. It seems the Demon Spirits are behind it."

Crow came over and whispered in Gen Chisaki's ear.

Gen Chisaki frowned slightly. Why had someone from the Demon Spirits come to cause trouble now of all times?

He'd had to work hard just to clear a day to take Erii out for a little time.

"Where is it, and how far away is it?" Gen Chisaki asked.

"Not very far, Young Master. It should take about twenty minutes by car," Crow replied.

Gen Chisaki looked at Erii on the stage. The excitement in her eyes was plain to see; he knew she was having a wonderful time.

After thinking it over, Gen Chisaki gave his orders. "Crow and Sakura, come with me. Yaksha, arrange for our family members to keep an eye on Erii here. Report to me directly if anything happens."

"Yes, Young Master," the three replied.

Gen Chisaki stepped onto the stage and stood in front of Erii. "Your big brother has something to take care of, so I can't stay with you for now. I'll have Yaksha wait downstairs, and I'll be back soon. Can you have fun here in the meantime?"

Erii obediently nodded and wrote in her notebook: "I understand, Big Brother. Go ahead. The match is about to start."

It seemed Erii didn't mind at all whether Gen Chisaki was there or not.

Gen Chisaki patted her head and went downstairs. Crow and Yabuki Sakura followed. They were going to eliminate the rampaging oni.

Erii waited attentively for the matches to come.

The Round of 32 became the Round of 16, the Round of 16 became the quarterfinals, and the quarterfinals became the semifinals.

Lu Mingfei and Erii fought their way through to the semifinals.

The semifinal matchups were decided by a draw, so luck played a major role. But it didn't really matter. There could only be one winner of the grand prize, and the last one standing would surely be the strongest.

The matches would be projected onto a giant screen so the audience below could watch.

Lu Mingfei drew number one, which meant his opponent was number two. He had no idea who that might be.

Lu Mingfei carefully studied the other three competitors. There were two men and a woman. One man wore sunglasses and looked very cool, so Lu Mingfei decided to call him Sunglasses Guy.

The other man had his hair tied in a little braid and wore a carefree expression. All right, he'd be Braid Guy.

The last competitor was the girl he'd seen finishing her matches around the same time as him.

She had dark red hair and rare red eyes, and wore a red-and-white shrine maiden outfit made up of an undergarment, a white robe, and a red hakama. Red cords trimmed the sleeves and collar.

Her face remained expressionless, making her seem a little aloof.

Even though Lu Mingfei had seen plenty of pretty girls, he'd rarely come across one with such flawless features.

Lu Mingfei sat in the number one spot, and his opponent came over. It was Sunglasses Guy.

His Akuma was precise in both offense and defense, far stronger than the opponents Lu Mingfei had faced before. At last, he'd come across a real expert.

Lu Mingfei's Ryu was just as precise, and he began to take things a little more seriously. After a fierce battle, he took off the last sliver of his opponent's health with a Shoryuken.

The match ended, and the whole arena erupted in cheers. Everyone was amazed by Lu Mingfei's sense of timing and formidable execution.

"I hereby announce that the first finalist is Sakura!"

The host grabbed the microphone and shouted. The crowd applauded as Lu Mingfei advanced to the next round.

Lu Mingfei waved to everyone, perfectly composed.

Next came the match between Erii and Braid Guy. It was a complete stomp. Erii's Chun-Li was simply unbeatable, drawing another burst of cheers from the audience.

Erii also made it to the finals.

The cheering made Erii seem a little uncomfortable, as if she wasn't used to it.

"Now, let's welcome our two finalists onto the stage!" the host announced.

Lu Mingfei and Erii stepped onto the stage and faced the audience.

"Both finalists are so good-looking!"

Seeing the two of them take the stage together, the audience couldn't help exclaiming.

"Do either of you have anything to say?" the host asked.

The host looked forward to hearing what they had to say. This was the part where competitors traded taunts before the match, and in his experience, the two of them were sure to get into it.

Lu Mingfei smiled and said, "I hope we have a fun match and enjoy ourselves. First, I'd like to thank my uncle and aunt for helping me get here. Then I'd like to thank—"

The host quickly stopped Lu Mingfei's acceptance speech. What was this? Who gave a speech before the match?

Lu Mingfei gazed up at the sky, feeling dejected. Why couldn't they just let him finish? He'd never given an acceptance speech in his life!

Then the host offered the microphone to Erii. She didn't take it. She stared expressionlessly at the host, making him shiver with cold.

Next, Erii took a pen and a little notebook from the pocket sewn into her skirt. She wrote: "I want to become the King of Fighters!"

The camera zoomed in on Erii's notebook, showing everyone what she had written.

So she was mute.

The host and the audience finally understood. No wonder she hadn't said a word.

They got ready to fight. Lu Mingfei and Erii stood facing each other. Erii's gaze was resolute, and Lu Mingfei looked serious. They could both sense the other's strength. Their sheer presence alone was enough to overpower everyone else there.

Was this really just a video game tournament? For some reason, the audience felt a wave of pressure just watching the two face off.

They sat down, the match began, and the battle was about to erupt.

Lu Mingfei was taking this match seriously—not only because of the one-million prize, but also because he knew how strong his opponent was. He'd never been this excited about playing a game before.

Erii could also tell how formidable the man in front of her was. Just from his presence, he seemed no weaker than her big brother. As expected of the World Martial Arts Tournament!

After beating the trash mobs in the earlier rounds, he'd finally reached the final boss stage.