Tokyo Metropolis Regional Finals
Bai Ye's first role is gone.
An uproar erupted in the meeting room.
"What a quick reaction!" Nagai Kenta stood in the players' viewing area.
Bai Ye took a deep breath and changed into her second role, Blue Mary.
Mary is known for her quick command throws and agile ground play, and Bai Ye wants to disrupt the gate's rhythm with close-quarters combat.
The match resumed, Mary moved with the speed of Cheetah, constantly circling around Goro Daimon, searching for an opening.
However, Daigo's Goro Daimon seemed to have transformed into an impenetrable wall, and his defense was watertight against Mary's dazzling attacks.
In a near-limit offensive and defensive transition, Bai Ye seized the opportunity and attempted to finish off his opponent using Mary's signature throw, "Mary Spider Hold".
But the instant he input the command, Daigo's joystick drew an even faster arc.
It's "Hell to Paradise Drop" again!
With a late-mover advantage, Goro Daimon precisely broke through Mary's throw and lifted her over his head again.
The screen was once again filled with the huge "K.0.!" logo.
"You must be kidding me— Bai Ye has already played two roles?"
"That Goro Daimon still has more than half his health left! How are we going to beat him?"
The audience erupted in cheers; everyone was speechless, stunned by the child's terrifying strength.
Bai Ye stared at the screen; only one character remained: Kyo Kusanagi.
He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his gaze had completely changed.
There is no turning back.
The moment the match began, Bai Ye's Kyo Kusanagi transformed into a raging inferno, abandoning all probing and charging forward with his life on the line!
Bai Ye's fingers pounded the keys in a frenzied rhythm, Kyo Kusanagi's combos were like a storm, finally seizing on Daigo Umehara's probing move and tearing through Goro Daimon's defense!
Amid cheers from the audience, Goro Daimon's massive body finally collapsed.
However, the cost was that Kyo Kusanagi's health bar was already one-third empty.
"Great!" The arcade owner jumped up excitedly, then quickly covered his mouth.
Daigo's second character appears – Choi Bounge.
The moment that short, clawed character with a shrill laugh appeared, the style of the story changed drastically.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh"
Choi Bounge, like a fly, darted up and down on the screen, constantly harassing the audience with his "Flying Sky Rending Slash," his sharp laughter filling the entire venue.
Bai Ye's brows furrowed into a knot.
This is so annoying!
Choi Bounge is too small and too mobile, making it difficult for Kyo Kusanagi to land many of his ground moves.
Bai Ye could only passively use "Demon Scorcher" for anti-air defense, putting him in a very passive position for a time.
"Hahaha, Bai Ye got beaten up so badly!"
"This monkey is disgusting, we can't catch it at all!"
The audience was both annoyed and amused.
But Bai Ye is a champion-level player after all. After adapting to Choi Bounge's rhythm, he began to regain the initiative little by little with precise positioning and short, sharp moves.
Both players' health bars were dropping rapidly, and the match had become extremely intense.
Just when Kyo Kusanagi was down to her last sliver of health and Choi Bounge was nearly dead, Bai Ye saw an opportunity!
Choi Bounge experienced a slight stiffness upon landing!
Now!
Bai Ye's Kyo Kusanagi suddenly charged forward, unleashing a combo attack. Once he finished it, he would win the game!
However, just as he was about to unleash the final blow of his combo, a blinding light suddenly erupted from Choi Bounge on the screen!
Super Special Move! True! Super Tornado Vacuum Slash!
Daigo Umehara, just as he was about to be hit, seized that fraction of a second of gap and input the command for his super special move!
A massive tornado rose from the ground, engulfing the nearly dead Kyo Kusanagi, instantly depleting his health bar.
K.0.!
In the second game, Daigo Umehara was even more dominant, starting with Choi Bounge and defeating Bai Ye three times in a row.
Bai Ye's fingers froze on the keys. He stared at the now-gray screen, then at the little boy standing on the beer crate in the distance, still expressionless.
We lost.
They lost convincingly.
After a brief silence, thunderous applause and screams erupted, nearly lifting the roof off Akihabara Hall No. 1.
"A monster! It really is a monster!"
Nagai Kenta stood up. Looking at that small figure, he felt a sense of unease for the first time.
The final battle.
When the names of Nagai Kenta and Daigo Umehara appeared on the big screen, it was as if the air in the entire Akihabara Hall No. 1 was sucked out, and everyone's breath caught in their throat.
On one side Nagai Kenta, the first champion who was crowned king six years ago, as steady as a mountain, representing the highest level of fighting games in Tokyo.
On the other hand, a player burst onto the scene in this competition, crushing all opponents at the tender age of eleven and earning the nickname "Little Beast."
The mysterious boy with the name, Daigo Umehara.
Nagai Kenta took off his signature red and white baseball cap, revealing a face even more resolute than four years ago. He looked at the boy across from him, standing on a beer crate with an indifferent expression, and felt a mix of emotions.
Six years ago, he stood next to Bai Ye; they were the challengers.
Six years later, he himself became the king who was being challenged.
"The decisive battle for Tokyo's strongest team begins now!"
The commentator's voice was hoarse with excitement.
First game.
Nagai Kenta selected his most classic lineup: Kyo Kusanagi, King, Goro Daimon.
Daigo Umehara, however, changed the order: Choi Bounge, Chang Koehan, Goro Daimon.
"It's that monkey again!" someone in the audience wailed.
The moment the match began, Nagai Kenta's Kyo Kusanagi displayed a maturity completely different from Bai Ye's.
Instead of rushing to attack, he steadily returned to position, using precise jumps and ground control to build an impenetrable defensive line.
He knew very well that when dealing with a character like Choi Bounge, any impatience would be magnified infinitely.
On the screen, Choi Bounge jumped around, laughing shrilly, but Nagai Kenta's Kyo Kusanagi was like a rock, unmoved no matter how much you bothered him.
The scene reached an awkward stalemate.
"Nagai is so steady!"
He's waiting, waiting for the monkey to make a mistake on its own!
However, Daigo Umehara's patience exceeded everyone's expectations.
Finally, after what seemed like a routine aerial probing, Nagai Kenta caught Choi Bounge in a landing stun.
Now!
Kyo Kusanagi unleashed a combo, a dazzling series of attacks slamming into Choi Bounge!
K.0.!
No, there is no K.0!
Choi Bounge's health bar was reduced to a sliver, yet he miraculously withstood the fatal blow! The price was that Kyo Kusanagi also lost nearly half of his health in Choi Bounge's final counterattack and fell to the ground.
Nagai Kenta's second role, King, makes his debut.
He gave Daigo Umehara no chance, starting with a precise "Double Venom Strike" to repel Choi Bounge's attempt to launch an attack, then closed in and followed up with a "Delusion Kick," cleanly finishing off the nearly dead Choi Bounge.