Testing Strength

The night was torn into layers of ripples, and the cloud curtain churned in midair. The palace rooftops kept collapsing, tiles trailing sparks as they fell. Netero and Meruem faced each other above and below, their figures flickering in and out of sight amid the gaps between black and white.

Netero brought his palms together, his toes tapping repeatedly through the air as if racing up an invisible staircase. His palms opened and closed, slicing down at an angle, compressing the air into a curved white mark. Meruem's shoulders and back bulged as he raised his armored forearms to block the angled slash head-on. His body shifted back barely fifteen feet before he twisted and charged forward, fists and elbows crashing ahead like battering rams.

A muffled boom erupted high in the air. A white ring spread in every direction, tossing the night clouds into outward-rolling circles. Netero flipped with the momentum, his back to the night, and slapped downward three times in succession. The points of impact landed on the king's shoulder peak, the side of his collarbone, and the outer edge of his ribs. Meruem crossed his arms to block the first strike, arched his chest and back to disperse the second, and twisted his waist and hips to neutralize the third. The aftershock pressed down, cracking several stone pillars along the palace's central axis and sending waves of dust surging beyond the eaves.

Netero did not linger at close range. He rose again with the force, sweeping his palm edge sideways as if cleaving the night sky in two. Meruem stamped one foot in empty space, passed straight through the gap in the white mark, and reached for Netero's forearm. Netero folded his palm edge back, guided with his elbow, and deflected the king's fingers before striking