A Punch That Shattered Everything He Knew

When Dr. Genus saw Carnage Kabuto's body undergo a drastic transformation, disbelief spread across his face.

"Don't tell me you're going berserk again," the doctor murmured.

The base's entire alarm system suddenly sprang to life, sirens blaring.

The battle room's doors closed automatically, sealing the room completely.

Dr. Genus had installed this safety system for precisely such a situation. If Carnage Kabuto went berserk and wasn't locked inside this area, the entire base would suffer.

In this state, Carnage Kabuto's combat instincts reached their peak, while his reason sank to its lowest point.

He became a killing machine through and through.

Asura Mode activated!

Asuras were one of the six realms of Buddhist cosmology, known for their love of battle and quick tempers.

"Asura Mode" could not have described Carnage Kabuto's current state more aptly.

His eyes turned bloodred. In this mode, his sight and sense of smell reached the biological limit, allowing him to detect the slightest movement anywhere in the room.

"Well? Can you feel my power? In this mode, I'll lose all reason and let my combat instincts burn unchecked. This state will last a week. I won't just kill you. I'll kill the woman you're trying to protect, too. Then I'll destroy everything I see for the rest of that time."

Looking utterly deranged, Carnage Kabuto roared at Luke, "If you're really strong enough, try and stop me!"

With that, Carnage Kabuto vanished from where he stood and appeared before Luke in an instant, unleashing a devastating blow.

Luke went flying backward.

Now nothing but a killing machine, Carnage Kabuto gave his enemy no chance to catch his breath. He pursued Luke relentlessly, pummeling him all the while.

With every heavy blow, Luke's body changed course in midair.

He was like a fallen leaf tossed about in a violent storm, a small boat on the verge of capsizing amid towering waves.

No matter how tough someone's body was, a barrage like that should have torn it apart.

Strangely, Luke's limbs remained intact. Even with Carnage Kabuto's keen senses, he could not detect the slightest sign of injury.

Luke had done nothing but take the blows from start to finish. Even so, Carnage Kabuto could not hurt him in the slightest.

Could someone like this really exist?

Someone even Carnage Kabuto could not shake, no matter what he tried?

Dr. Genus and Carnage Kabuto himself had always believed one thing.

As the ultimate product of artificial evolution, Carnage Kabuto was invincible. He represented the limit of what humanity could achieve.

So why was he so helpless against this bald man?

He was already so powerful, yet before this man, he seemed so small. So insignificant.

So insignificant that the man could not even be bothered to respond to his attacks.

Carnage Kabuto's convictions crumbled, and his will to fight drained away.

Let my combat instincts burn unchecked? Forget it.

Carnage Kabuto could not help asking himself:

So what if you can fight?

What the hell good is that?

To this bald man, perhaps Carnage Kabuto's frantic efforts looked like nothing more than a circus clown performing tricks that fooled no one but himself.

Carnage Kabuto's muscles rapidly shrank. In moments, he had returned to the state he was in before activating Asura Mode.

He conceded defeat.

Body and mind alike, he had been utterly overcome by this bald man.

When Carnage Kabuto stopped attacking, Luke checked his backward flight at once and hovered in midair.

Then he slowly descended to the ground and walked up to the dejected Carnage Kabuto.

"What's gotten into you?" Luke asked curiously.

Wasn't he supposed to go berserk for a whole week? Why had he stopped after only a moment?

Carnage Kabuto looked at Luke. No trace of fighting spirit remained in his eyes, only profound awe.

"Too strong. You're far too strong," Carnage Kabuto said.

The bald man had shown him what true strength was.

No, he had not even seen the man's true strength yet.

Because the man had still not struck a single blow.

"Could you show me just how strong you really are?" Carnage Kabuto asked earnestly.

"You really want to see?" Luke studied Carnage Kabuto and found nothing but sincerity in his eyes.

"All right, then."

Luke's gaze suddenly sharpened.

His whole demeanor changed. The vacant-looking bald man became a supreme powerhouse with an overwhelming presence.

Luke threw a punch diagonally upward.

The punch passed right by Carnage Kabuto.

Carnage Kabuto's senses were extraordinarily sharp, yet he felt no surge of energy.

Neither its force nor its speed seemed remarkable.

It was an utterly ordinary punch.

Then a tremendous crash came from above, and sunlight poured into the vast room.

The room lay dozens of meters underground, separated from the surface by thick layers of rock.

To ensure it was sturdy, the entire room had been built with concrete walls several meters thick.

Carnage Kabuto looked up.

A huge circular opening had appeared in the ceiling, extending all the way to the surface. Dozens of meters of earth and rock had been erased by an incredible force. The walls of the opening were weathered and uneven, as though thousands of years of windblown sand had worn them down. Sunlight streamed through the broad passage Luke had opened with one punch and into the room deep underground.

The power of that punch surpassed anything Carnage Kabuto could imagine. It also shattered everything Dr. Genus thought he knew.

Dr. Genus was shaken to his core.

Once, he had believed in science.

He had believed science could improve human genes and make humanity as powerful as he dreamed it could be.

Dr. Genus had devoted himself to pursuing humanity's limits, and he had thought his achievements in that field were unprecedented. Only now did he realize how absurd the research he took such pride in looked beside this bald man.

Science could never produce strength like his.

Dr. Genus's convictions came crashing down.

The ultimate product of artificial evolution? A one-of-a-kind miracle of life?

None of it held any appeal anymore.

He looked up at the sky.

The view was beautiful, and the sun shone brightly.

Research? To hell with research.

The world was wonderful enough. He could leave the pursuit of dreams to people with the talent for it.