Happy New Year! I bring you good tidings and Kumite action! I want to start by thank you all, once again, for your support: this story has finally become my most reviewed story of all time. I couldn't have done it without you, and I thank you all SO MUCH. You truly are the life of this story. I want to especially thank thenewsubwayguy, for leaving a fantastic review that really made my day. Thank you, my friend.

This concludes our Hakkeshu triple feature. Very meaty, important chapter, so don't miss a thing! ; )

In practically any other scenario, it would be a time of joyous celebration: the Heavenly Kings were knocked out of the tournament, the mysterious Shion was nowhere to be found... all was right with the tournament.

Well... almost.

It seemed like, when it was time for a bright and sunny day... they were there to douse the warmth and light. These two troublesome "twins": a symbiotic pair, who shared the same fate, the same goals, the same affiliation... hell, they probably shared the same body and mind. Probably a soul.

Chris was gone. Shermie was neutralized. Yashiro's spirit was crushed. Yamazaki... got burned. In the physical sense.

They were all that remained... and, even now, their minds were ever-scheming.

"It's time, my sweet Vice." Mature stood ringside, her arms folded. Vice was right up against her, arms also following suit.

"Are you sure you can handle this, Mature?" Vice questioned.

Mature's eyes leered to the side. "Are you questioning my competence, Vice?"

"Of course not. I just don't want you to be softened up by nostalgia."

Mature chuckled. "Well, I'm sure I'll get a THRILL out of being with... that boy... but I'll try to keep my emotions reigned in, and focus on our goal."

Vice grinned wide. "If what you're saying is true..."

Mature matched the grin. "That boy, and Iori, could be our own personal aces in the hole."

"Bearers of the Orochi brand."

"Chosen ones, to fight in His name."

"We'll groom them."

"Temper them."

"Make them pave the final, blood-soaked road."

Mature couldn't help herself; her hands traced sensually down her body, as her eyes QUIVERED with erotic glee. "Ohhhhhhhhh... it gets me excited just THINKING about it~!"

Vice gently slapped her chest. "Keep it together, you horny minx. It's time... go out there and break the boy."


IN THE LOCKER ROOMS...

"Hyaaaah! Huff...huff...huff... HYAAAAH!"

Valiant grunts masked struggling breaths, as Adelheid, in the confines of a locker room, threw repeated kicks to his appointed sparring partner, Silber. The thick German savage proved he could take them with ease, as they slapped against his forearm and left him in no worse shape.

The purpose of this testing of waters was to gauge the performance of Adelheid's legs. Silber circled him constantly, to test his footwork... occasionally throwing a strike his way to get him moving. But overall, Silber was borderline pacifist, as he allowed Adelheid to command the majority of the offense.

Despite the gruesome injuries from Freeman... Adelheid was moving well on this new day. Perhaps he had a proficient- and well endowed - nurse to thank for that.

"HYAAAAAH!" Adelheid lunged in with a deep step, fired a kick; as his foot returned to the ground, a grimace of pain did not go unnoticed by Rose, who immediately intervened, halting the action. She knelt down, placing a hand on the afflicted area.

"He needs more tape on his leg!" she shouted across the room, to the other female present: the aforementioned Crane Maid, Iroha, who had been in charge of his medical care the previous night.

Iroha bowed politely. "If I apply more tape to his leg, it could cut off the circulation of blood flow and leave his movement compromised."

Rose swung her dress furiously. "Do not question me! More tape! NOW!"

Adelheid peered scoldingly at his sister. "Rose, be nice. It's thanks to her that I'm even walking today."

Rudely snatching the athletic tape from Iroha's hand, Rose approached Adelheid's leg, leaned in...and began applying a hearty dose to his lower knee, working its way up towards his thigh.

"If anyone knows what's best for you, Adelheid... it's your darling sister~" Rose cooed with honeyed words, as she concluded her work on his leg, severing the tape from the roll.

Adelheid looked down at his limb: at this point, there was more white than black to his fighting slacks. He lifted the leg a few times, testing its mobility... a little tight, but necessary to stifle the bleeding... and the pain.

"Does it hurt?"

"Of course it hurts!" Adelheid puffed, turning his back sharply to her, enough to force her back a step. "But I swore I'd keep going... blood or broken bones. I'm going to see this monstrosity you've created to the end. Otherwise... this was all for nothing."

Rose slightly reached out, but retracted it, fearful of his raised voice. His back still to her, it took a second of courage for her to finally approach him... and press herself against him, wrapping her arms around his waist, her head finding the back of his shoulder.

"Brother...I'm sorry. For EVERYTHING. I didn't mean for things to turn out this way, honest. If I had known you'd get hurt like this, I... you have to believe me, I did all this for you. I did this with good intentions!"

"...But you won't ask me to quit, either." Adelheid's words cut into her.

Rose distanced herself from him, as the man abruptly turned back around. "B-but I... I..."

"Don't worry, I have no intentions of quitting anyway." he shook his head. "It's like you said... we're in this too deep. I've got no choice but to win this damned thing."

He took a step forward. Rose slightly retreated.

"But listen well..." Adelheid's voice took a scary tone, that she RARELY heard. "...Rose, I swear to God, this is the last tournament you'll ever host. You understand? After this, we're DONE. Out of it, for good."

Rose's hand nervously clutched her breast, so hard she was scrunching up her dress. "B-b-brother... you're bossing me around. And I don't like it."

Adelheid's teeth bared in a grimace, his lip slightly twitching. "G...guuhhh... guuhhh..."

"Wh-what?"

His eyes shut. He hunched over, grabbing his head with anguish... she approached him, reaching out a supporting hand... but he slapped it away, as those eyes re-opened... COMPLETELY red.

"GET OVER IT!"

She felt her body shivering in his presence... her hand, still against her chest, nervously jittered, as her brother turned his back and exited the locker rooms...

...A faint red hue was glowing from his body.


ROUND 3 FIGHT #7: ADELHEID BERNSTEIN VS MATURE

It was an understandably vocal outpour of cheers when Adelheid finally emerged from the locker rooms: it seemed like the uncertainty and fright of his injury reports proved to work to Rose's favor, as their hearts were blessed with relief when he walked out of that tunnel.

Rose had played her cards perfectly. They were still impressed with his triumph over Shion. They were HIGH on his triumph over Freeman. The news channels were singing about it nonstop; they loved their hero, striking down villains... and the tournament fans loved a scrappy underdog, overcoming adversity.

Speaking of "underdog", one drawback of Adel's grueling matchups, he was only able to enjoy being the #1 betting favorite for the first two days. After his blood-shedding affair with Shion, Krauser and Chizuru jumped ahead of him, which remained unchanged after Round 2.

As it stood now, Chizuru dropped down to #2 after the bad knocks she took from Shermie, leaving Krauser as the new #1 betting favorite, as he had remained virtually untouched throughout the tournament. Just in time for his main event, it seemed...

Regardless of his #3 standing, Adelheid still commanded the POPULAR vote; nobody in the country, maybe the world, wanted to see anyone stand tall with KOF gold more than him. The Prince of Germany. Their beloved son. The offspring of a legendary and controversial figure.

"ADEL-HEID! ADEL-HEID! ADEL-HEID! ADEL-HEID!"

As much as he hated he seedy, distrustful, unholy intentions this tournament cultivated... he couldn't deny the light-headed rush he got from their cheers.

"The people love you."

Adelheid's attention was brought to the ring, where he finally noticed his opponent: standing there, clad in a white and black dress, ruby lips painted in a smile. Her blue eyes fixated on him, as she slowly reached a hand up... and wiggled her fingers in greeting.

Adelheid proceeded to his half of the dirt ring, and stood firm. His eyes remained on hers, as the woman furthered her pleasantries.

"Do you remember me, boy? I was a friend of your father." she spoke with the appearance of kindness. "I'm not sure we ever interacted."

Adel shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I didn't know any of my father's associates. Tell me...are you one of those evil cultists that seduced him to his untimely end?"

...All at once, Mature's innocent expression changed, twisting into a sickening grin. "So you know about that, eh~?"

Adelheid's eyes narrowed. "I'm aware that he tapped into a power he didn't quite understand... and it destroyed him."

Mature's eyes widened, to insanity. "And now that power is in YOU! Fufufufufufufufufufufufu! Can you feel it, boy? Hmmmmmm...? Can you feel it gnawing inside you... tearing at your innards, begging to rip out everything that comprises you, and leave only its hellish template~?

Adelheid felt himself grow uneasy at those words... beads of sweat formed on his brow, as he felt his breaths turn more exerting. "I-I'm not my father. So don't even think you can... urgh... sway me..."

Mature licked her lips, as she hunched over, her insane gaze still on his. "My dear boy... you're a major role in this. Your father passed on his trademark, whether you like it or not. Now you're here, to carry on the legacy he left behind! Fufufufu... ohhhh yesssss... we had such fun with your father, Vice and I. We sowed the seeds of temptation, filled his avaricious soul with delusions of grandeur... oh how his eye glowed with glee!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Adelheid spat. "Shut your mouth, now!"

Mature beckoned with her fingers, her mouth curving wide. "Why don't you come over here and shut it for me, Rugal's pampered pup? Show me that power, if you've got even half of what your daddy had!"

Adelheid's face was twitching with rage. "I'm going to shut you up... if it's the last thing I do!"

FIGHT!

Adelheid immediately shot at her, attempting the signature Body Press... but as he glided towards her, Mature smoothly sidestepped, and the man was forced to skid his heels.

They both assumed a fighting stance, inched closer to each other... finally, they mixed it up. Mature shot at him, with outstretched fingers, throwing rapid swipes. Her hands moved with a terrifying grace, both at once, one distracting with waving movements, while the other sliced forward. Left right, right left, left right... she swung with metronome-like movements. But Adelheid was not baffled; the boy's wits were sharp, and he avoided every strike perfectly.

Mature mixed her slashes constantly: body, head, body, head, head, body... Adelheid had to keep the epitome of sharp, to know when to sway his head, and when to sidestep or backpedal.

Finally, a break in the rhythm; Mature lunged with a more solid strike, and Adelheid brought his leg up to parry her wrist. The end result were their limbs crossing: her arm, on his shin.

...Her arm held there, Mature's lips curled with a smile. She raised her free hand, and attempted to sink the fingers into the flesh made available to her. Adelheid, quickly knowing what her intentions were, executed a perfect counter; leaping up with his lone stationary foot, he brought it sailing across, knocking her arm off-trajectory before it could reach its target. Mature stumbled back, and Adelheid himself retreated to range.

"He's moving well..." Rose analyzed from her position on the sidelines.

"We'll see how long he can keep it up." Krauser shared a subtle hint of pessimism.

The two circled in a taxing waltz. Constantly... constantly... their eyes fixated on the other, trying to match each other's movements, one trying to become the matador, to the other's bull.

Mature scanned lower... trying to capture even the slightest flaw, the briefest of deficiency, in his legs. But she eventually grew tired of waiting... and she led the assault, stepping in with a deep left swipe...

...Nowhere to be found. Adelheid won the exchange, moving safely out of the way.

Before Mature even had a chance to bring her arm back, Adelheid had already countered: a vicious right kick to her body sent a painful rattle throughout her being. She winced hard, and maintained her circling pace...

...Again, she stepped in, this time with a combination left high, followed by a swiping right to the stomach. Adelheid still commanded the range too well, and a head sway and backpedal easily evaded the two.

Adelheid popped in quick, with a stinging jab that busted her nose; Mature yelped and was sent backwards, and the hot-headed woman tried to rush in to counter immediately. This proved to be a mistake: she came straight forward, and received a spinning back kick to her chest as a result, planting her on her butt and sending her skidding.

"Stop playing with him, Mature!" Vice snarled from the sidelines. "Make him submit!"

Still on her butt, Mature lifted herself slowly... carefully... trying to throw him off, bait him into a trap.

...He didn't bite.

Finally, Mature SHOT forward all at once, back to her feet, throwing a wild combination. She opened with a leg kick, which was easily checked by Adelheid's shin, and she threw a plethora of wild swipes to try and open up fresh cuts on the man. One, two, three... she swung so wildly, their bodies collided, and Adelheid controlled her in the clinch. He wrenched her head downwards, forcing her weight lower, into her knees; as she buckled, he threw a short, but nasty leg kick that uprooted her foot from under her. She collapsed to one knee...

...Adelheid lifted his leg high, and brought it down across her spine with an axe kick, but he dropped the ENTIRETY of his body weight on top of her, bringing the two of them crashing to the ground hard, Mature absorbing the force of all 163 pounds of the man. She grunted in pain, as he rolled smoothly backwards, recovering to his feet easily.

She was slow to get up. Her eyes darted to the sidelines; as expected, Vice wasn't looking pleased.

"What are you doing, you stupid bitch?! You should have ended this minutes ago! He should be beneath your foot, begging for mercy!" she harshly coached. "Now, FINISH HIM! FINISH! HIIIIIM!"

Disheveled, loose strands hung down, complimenting eyes of an insane bloodlust, as Mature lunged back towards Adelheid with no fear of counter. She swung at his head; he weaved, and she mixed up with a low kick... right on his wounded leg.

She saw his face grimace with pain. She smiled.

Adelheid's response was swift, he pivoted his hip, whipping his leg low and brutalizing her ankle. Mature was literally knocked off both feet by the force of the leg kick, going airborne, like she had slipped on a banana peel. She hit the ground with a sharp grunt.

Adelheid tried to come down on her with an axe kick, but Mature rolled away, and his leg touched down on the ground... one could swear he had cracked the Earth with it.

Rather than bring himself back up, he scooted his other leg to the front of him, grazing it across the ground and sending a Reppuken sailing at her. Mature wasn't going to let such a petty projectile hit her; she dodged it easily, and raced towards him, attempting to cleave him before he could get up.

Adelheid couldn't have gotten up a second later; Mature swung at him with an unholy left cross, her fingers extended, and she would have gouged his eyes out, had he not swayed his head. Her arm passed over his ear, and he threw himself against her, forcing the two into another wrestle. They danced around a few times, before a SWOOOSH! from Mature's arms flung the man aside, in a manner similar to Vice's snake-like arm movements. The strength of her throw sent Adel into a wild stumble, so far back that he eventually tripped over his feet and hit the ground.

Adelheid got up, like he normally would... but as soon as he put pressure on that particular leg, he felt the pain rush all at once.

"Hnngh...AHHH...!"

Rose saw it happen, and she cried out his name in fear. "ADELHEID!"

A tiny part of her wanted to step out there, to rescue him, to put an end to all this... but just as quickly as her feet inched towards the battlefield... a hesitation forced her feet back in the other direction.

Mature could tell his leg was bothering him, and as well as she dished out physical torture... she relished the opportunity for mental, as well.

"Leg troubling you, boy? Fufufufufu... nooot a good time for that. Not in the fight of your life."

Adelheid was rattled... but he roared back in defiance. "Shut up! Don't worry about my leg."

Mature's tongue flailed. "Oh I'm not the one worried... YOU should be. I got news for you, kiddo..."

Her eyes grew more menacing, as he fingers flexed with a sickening crack. "I'm not fighting for fun here! If you slip up for one second against me... YOU'RE DEAD!"

Mature cackled as she leaped at him, hands over her head, as she brought them down in a dive-bombing slash. Adelheid grimaced as he side-rolled to dodge it, but their bodies were uncomfortably close upon recovery... she went into a sloppy forwards roll, but at the apex, she thrust her lead foot out instead, delivering a kick to his groin area.

"Ngh...!"

Mature took advantage of the temporary stun, as she recovered to her feet, shot forward... she delivered a wide, slashing left, and Adelheid swayed to dodge it... but she followed up with a right, and cleaved diagonally down his bicep.

"Nngh..AHHHHH!" Adelheid felt the sting immediately, as his flesh was raked across... seconds later, followed by the trickle of warmth. He didn't bother looking down at it; his eyes remained forward, on the smirking Mature... who brought her fingers to her lips and licked the blood.

"See what I mean~?"

Adelheid didn't let it bother him; he wiggled his arm a few times to air out the pain, then pressed forward; a stepping pump kick to the chest knocked Mature on her butt, and she tried to scramble back upwards, only to receive a punishing kick to the side of her neck. She recoiled sharply... but not out of range of his kicks in time, and he gave her a parting gift of a debilitating leg kick below the knee. As with before, his leg kicks were too brutal to stand up to, and Mature took a hard fall.

Rather than lay there and let him axe kick her, she took advantage of the closeness of his legs, throwing her body forward and taking a desperate swipe at the wounded one. Adelheid's footwork prevailed... but as he put weight on that leg, she saw it slightly buckle. She looked up... the pain on his face was evident.

With a grin, she saw her opportunity; lunging forward into an Imanari roll, she got right in close proximity of his legs, took her best swipe... and her claws hit their mark.

SLASH!

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Adelheid's howl painted a clear picture of the pain, as Rose covered her face upon seeing him go down to the slash. The athletic tape on his leg was split down the middle, unraveling, falling off... to reveal fresh red pooling on his black pants.

"Hahahahaa... HAHAHAHAHAHA! NOW THE REAL FUN CAN BEGIN!" Mature screeched with laughter, as her arm swished out, capturing Adelheid by the hair. "I'm doing to torture you, just like I did little Yuri~!"

Adelheid fought furiously in her grip... but he could put no weight on the leg to support his strength. He was at her mercy. Mature dragged him by the follicles easily, and slammed him like a ragdoll, facefirst.

"ADELHEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIID!" Rose wailed.

She dragged him across the dirt, before snatching him back up... holding him in one hand, she rammed a knee into his stomach. A second knee, went lower to his pelvis... before another disgusting squelch of sliced flesh resonated, as her fingers raked across his chest, sending particles of skin and torn clothing flying through the air.

"FUFUFUFUFUFUFUFUFuuuuuu...!" Mature released her grip... and Adelheid collapsed on his back. In front of 75,000 people... his people... his leg was cut open and bleeding. A huge claw mark was painted across his torso, diagonally. His face was dirty. Hair messed up. A look of torment on his face.

"This just turned very bad." Benimaru fretted.

"That leg is f***ed." Shen Woo noted.

"Damn it, show some positivity!" King urged the two of them, perhaps out of personal vendetta against the blonde witch.

Mature just stood there, casually checking her fingernails, admiring the red and skin chunks stuck in them. Even as he showed signs of life and appeared to be getting up, she ignored him.

"Go ahead and get up. Give me your best shot." she taunted, even after he was back standing. "No, I'm serious! Go ahead!"

Though not blind to her mind games... Adelheid would be a fool to deny a free hit given to him. Thus, he limped forward, his leg barely supporting him... he cocked back and spun into a back kick, nailing her to the body. Mature laughed as she brought her arm against her midsection to block it, and it barely knocked her backwards.

"Hahahahaha...hahahaha! Try again!"

Adelheid grimaced hard; his foot kicked up dirt as he cut a swath through the air, bringing it across Mature's face. Her cheek went inwards, her head going sideways... but she merely smiled and extended her own foot, nailing Adelheid right on the leg wound. The boy gave an anguished yelp, collapsing before everyone's eyes once again... and the audience let out the most troublesome of gasps.

"HAHAHAHA! HA HAAA! You have NOTHING! NOTHING YOU CAN HURT ME WITH!" Mature roared with glee as she approached the downed boy, snatching him up by the hair once again... and at this point, he had little to nothing to offer her.

"Kill the bitch."

Mature brought her hand across his cheek, splitting his lip, sending a string of blood drizzling as he hit the ground.

He slowly rose up...

Mature smirked as she drew her hands back, and flung them forward, crossing them like an X: a blue, crescent-shaped projectile flew towards Adelheid.

...In an instant, Adelheid extended his hand, activating his reflect barrier. A circular forcefield spawned and took the hit, sending the projectile soaring back towards Mature, too fast for her to dodge.

"Unghhh!" she grunted in discomfort as she took the full force of it to the chest, sliding her backwards several yards... and upon skidding to a halt... her face once again returned to that maddening smile.

"Fufufufufufu... I see your father in you. Ever-stubborn, that one. Never knowing when to quit."

"Take her the fuck down, boy!"

Adelheid took a labored step forward... a second step... upon the third step, upon attempting to distribute weight to that leg... he collapsed once more.

"Huff...huff...huff... R-Rose..." he groaned weakly, under her breath. "I'm sorry... I couldn't see it through to the... end..."

"You're not fucking done yet!"

Her approaching footsteps were not urgent... almost carefree... as if she didn't want this to end at all. As far as she was concerned, he was food... and she wanted to play with it for hours on end.

She looked down on the boy, a deceptively sweet smile plastered on a dishonest, angelic face.

...And then it TURNED, all at once: a snarl, a sour, twisting expression of pure, seething contempt.

"I HATED YOUR FATHER!" she screamed in his ear, as she snatched him up by the hair, delivering a kick to his stomach, before letting him drop again.

"He was nothing but a stupid babysitting assignment!" she carried on. "Busy work, that Goenitz gave us just to keep us away! I hated every minute, every SECOND spent with that pompous, ignorant megalomaniac!"

Adelheid was a coughing, sputtering mess, but a true testament to the boy's will was shown when he still tried to fire back.

"Gh..cough cough... h-he's still... my father...! I won't have you... talk..."

She backhanded him, shutting him up. "And we were forced to indulge in his whims... oh, the humiliation. The incessant orders... the vulgarities... and it was all Vice could do not to rip his head off when he ordered us to brainwash that elder Kusanagi fool. Face the facts, boy... your father was a son of a bitch! I spit on his name! I spit on his whole bloodline!"

Adelheid's eyes squeezed tight...he felt a pooling, in his chest: some sort of pressure... threatening to burst free...

Mature kept going. "Fufufufufufu. My dear boy, Rugal may be dead, but you've granted me a unique opportunity here... every last memory, every waking nightmare, I'm going to beat out of you! I'll destroy you and your disgusting family once and for all! You... you're so much like him it's sickening. Just standing here, looking at you, makes me want to claw my eyes out."

Pressure growing... he felt like he wanted to vomit, but every time it rose upwards, from his chest to his throat... it would swallow back down. It didn't feel... natural.

"ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!" Mature swiped her hand out, striking him across the cheek... three distinct claw marks were left behind, seconds later expelling red, as the blood rushed to the surface of freshly-broken skin.

"And don't even get me started on your sister."

TH-THUMP.

His eyes opened. He looked up... he met her eyes with a look of the most ferocious anger.

Mature relished in it. "Fufufufufufu! Am I striking a nerve? I'm just speaking the nasty, ugly truth. The truth you don't want to hear. Everyone knows your own sister lusts for you and wants to make a pure-blooded baby, like the Aryan whore she is!"

TH-THUMP.

TH-THUMP.

TH-THUMP.

Mature got right in his face. "...But you never spurn her, do you? Because you get off on that. You get off on being worshipped like a superhero, like a god among mortal men. Just like your old man. Pfeh, the "Bernstein family"... your father was nothing but an egotistical fool, and he passed it on to his two childre-UGHHHHHHHkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk?!"

A hand reached out... and snatched her neck, the fingers sinking into her throat, cutting off any further attempts at insults.

"About time, boy. Now, silence the bitch."

Adelheid rose back up... his eyes devoid of white. An extremely visible red hue plastered all over him... one could swear, in real time... his pale white skin was darkening.

He lifted Mature up high, the blonde woman wriggling helplessly in his grasp... all at once, his body emitted a strange red energy, as the woman sizzled in his grasp.

"AHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...!"

He held her for several seconds, frying her like a supercharged conduit... before finally slamming her at his feet.

The Stadium had gone deathly silent. As far as they knew, their hero had suddenly and unexpectedly risen back to his feet... yet he was glowing red, his skin turning an eerie shade of graphite... nobody really knew what to think about it, whether to cheer, or gasp... thus, they remained silent.

Mature slowly struggled to her feet... but even in the midst of that nasty attack, her lips only curved upwards.

"Fufufufufufu...good, good... show me more...!"

The boy had no response. Almost no consciousness of himself or his surroundings... he seemed driven by an instinct to win this fight and nothing else, as he stepped forward... and awaited her...

Mature swung at him as well as usual; she stepped in with a deep right, then twirled into a spinning left. Adelheid ducked the right, backed away from the left... Mature didn't quit, and she came forward with a slashing uppercut...

...It was at this moment that the extent of Adelheid's terrifying new power made itself known, as he folded his arms in front of her, appearing not to present the least bit defense...

...But his body became a red blur before her eyes, as he passed through her in the blink of an eye.

"Ah?!"

Before Mature knew what had happened, he attacked her from behind, launching her with a HUGE back kick to the spine. She went flying far beyond the perimeter of the dirt circle, nearly hitting the wall of the Stadium.

Mature groaned, placing her hands on the wall to help boost herself to her feet... she spun around, and a slight touch of fear instilled in her eyes, as the son of Rugal approached her... body glowing with a red miasma, his eyes devoid of humanity.

Despite her body language clearly showing signs she didn't want to be here... the smile on her face contrasted this.

"Y-You're really going now... hahahahaha... look at you go~!"

Adelheid kicked up dirt, sending a Reppuken sailing through the ground. It traveled at such a speed, hurdling over it was impossible; Mature took it in the legs, and it sent her body flying forward, sailing in his direction...

...Adelheid spun around, with perfect timing, his foot meeting her chest while she was still in mid-air.

"Agh...aghhkkkk...!" Mature wheezed as the air expelled from her body; she was dangling here, on his foot, her limbs dead at her sides like slow, swinging pendulums...

Adelheid kicked his foot upwards, sending Mature airborne. His body glowed with red power as he sailed up into the sky, meeting her in mid-air:

"GENOCIDE CUTTER!"

His foot sailed up, in that classic arc...

SLASH!

...As the first hit landed, he brought his second foot up, hitting her a SECOND time...

SLASH!

...His body twisted in mid-air, and his foot came back around... hitting her a THIRD time...

SLASH!

...Before he finally brought that same foot crashing back down, on the top of her head, in a spiking axe kick that sent her soaring into the ground like a crashing shuttle.

Mature's body hit the ground with an explosive dirt cloud. Any normal human being would have been broken from skull to femur at this point.. but bearing no mortal form, Mature was back up on her feet in a matter of seconds. Albeit, she looked incredibly weak in her movements... the feat of standing was an ordeal.

Adelheid landed back on his feet. His body hadn't slowed down for a second, as if his injuries were never there. Blood eyes found her contrasting sapphires... rage and vengeance met fear masked by madness.

"MATURE, THAT'S ENOUGH! BACK OFF!" Vice called out, taking several nervous steps forward. She was almost in their space... but she was wary of what crossing the invisible boundary would mean. Instead, she stayed where she was, and silently hoped her partner wouldn't dig herself too deep.

Mature sequentially wiggled her fingers, from forefingers to thumbs, as the smile returned to her lipstick-smeared mouth. "Fufufufufufufu... come on now, boy. Is that all you've got? Cmon. Hurt me. Maim me. After all, I insulted your whore sister."

Adelheid's eyes glowed even brighter.

Mature cackled as she soared at him, left arm drawn back, intending to ram all five digits into his chest...

Adelheid's body moved in a blinding red blur... and he caught her in the chin with a perfect counter knee. Mature was stunned solid... her attack fell to her sides... and she collapsed like a domino.

Adelheid went airborne. Arms folded. He landed on her stomach, planting both feet firmly.

His body began to spin... spin... spin... rotating like a full-speed turbine, his feet drilling into her insides.

Vice watched with horror as Mature's body wriggled in agony, underneath his feet, her scream piercing her eardrums. Her feet started moving on their own: towards the combat zone, as a heart that was no longer there pounded with fright.

Adelheid dismounted from Mature, and the blonde's body lay limp. Having taken several of his super attacks, the woman had no resistance left to offer... if Adelheid wanted his vengeance, now seemed the ideal moment.

He knelt down, grabbed her by the top of her dress, lifted her up...

"THAT'S ENOUGH! LET HER GO!"

Vice jumped in, tearing Mature free of his grasp, fiercely shoving him away with her other arm. She turned her back to Adelheid and fell to her knees, defensively cradling Mature in her arms.

As soon as Rose saw that, she sprang into action, seizing the perfect opportunity to end this horror. "A-A-ADELHEID WINS, BY DISQUALIFICATION!"

WINNER: ADELHEID BERNSTEIN


Whether unaware of his victory, or lost to all sense of humanity... Adelheid did not stop. Even now, his body glowed with that menacing red, as he approached the Hakkeshu duo, curling his fingers into a fist...

Vice knew he was coming. Still, she refused to budge; her arms tightened around Mature with extra strength. She shut her eyes, all but smothering the blonde against her chest, as she awaited the pain to come...

"BROTHER! BROTHER, NO!"

Adelheid raised his fist, prepared to bring it down on them...

"STOOOOOP!"

His fist flew...

...It suddenly stopped, mere inches from the face of his sister, Rose Bernstein.

"B-brother please, not here! Not like this!" Rose squeaked. "The people... th-the people are watching...!"

He didn't put his fist down. It quivered, where it rested, unmoving... a mental battle, to issue new commands to the appendage, to decide life and death of those around him.

...He felt her weight press against him. Her arms go around him. Her face fall into his chest.

...He felt newfound air rush to his lungs.

"Brother..." Rose spoke softly, against him. "Please... please come back to me. This isn't you. I want my brother... I want my sweet, handsome brother. Not this uncouth monster. Please, give me my brother back..."

She raised her face up, pressing her hands against his cheeks... she brought his eyes level with hers, and peered into the red abyss. She didn't know what was looking back. Her brother? Father's ghost? Some other demon?

Red continued to stare into red... until she could see the light beginning to fade slowly. Little by little, the whites of his eyes returned... the aura surrounding him grew dim, to the extent that it was no longer blinding to look at... his skin whitened, back to its natural form.

"R...R...Rose."

His voice contained no malfestation. He closed his eyes... a second later they opened, and they were normal.

"Oh Adelheid...!" Rose buried her face against his cheek, sloppily smashing her lips onto his. The kisses kept coming wildly: two, three, four... all the way up his face, like a long lost loved one who had just come back into her life... or had just been pulled from the bring of oblivion.

"You... scared...me..." Rose's voice broke all at once, as she ceased her kisses and collapsed against him. He felt her body shudder against him... and wetness soak his chest, where her face rested. Soon after, he heard low, whimpering, muffled sobs...

"FUFUFUFUFUFUFUFUFUuuuuu...!"

Adelheid grunted angrily, as his eyes looked beyond his sobbing sister, and towards the bodies of the duo, who had returned to their feet. Vice was still carrying Mature's full weight, as the blonde woman couldn't walk on her own... despite this, the blonde woman had a look of sadistic glee, as she addressed him, even now, with taunts.

"Look at him, folks!" she laughed. "See your 'hero'! Like father, like son, eh?"

"Shut your mouth!" Adelheid spat. "I don't know what you're trying to accomplish, but I'm not... I'm not... cruel... in battle... like he was. You refused to stop, so I..."

"Oh~?" Mature giggled. "Look at me! I can't even walk! You beat me within an inch of death... I bet if you had some molten iron handy, you'd-"

"ENOUGH OF THIS NONSENSE!"

The tension of the moment was cut off by a booming, commanding voice; Krauser had stepped between them, his towering frame blocking out any chance of offense or rebuttal from both sides.

"All of you, get the hell out of my ring!" Krauser addressed friend and foe, his arms folded. "This is my time now... this is MY moment."

Thus ends the ambitions of the Hakkeshu, as they have been defeated, down to the last woman. How will the tournament proceed from here? Will everything run smoothly? Are there other schemes cooking up? FIND OUT SOON!

NEXT CHAPTER: It's the main event of Round 3! Wolfgang Krauser has stepped in the ring, and he's not going anywhere until he gets revenge on the Wild Wolf that defeated him so long ago. It's Krauser vs Terry, for the final spot in the Quarterfinals!

But first... bonus scenes! Look below, for juicy deets.


BONUS SCENE 1

"So that's it then... we won! WE WON!"

Athena was all cheers, as she embraced an equally-smiling Chizuru. Saisyu also appeared pleased, folding his arms and giving a hearty nod of approval.

"I feel like ten tons just lifted off the roof of this place." Benimaru grinned, hands on his hips with a celebratory air about him.

"It was a fierce campaign..." Saisyu spoke aloud. "But there should be no more chances, no more opportunities, for the Hakkeshu to get back in this tournament. Their plan to win it all has failed. Their ranks are in shambles. I don't see where they can go from here. And yet..."

Chizuru's face grew slightly serious. "...You'd feel better if they were gone altogether."

Saisyu nodded. "It's an unfortunate thing to wish on somebody, but... they're not of this world in the physical sense anymore, anyway. It's best if they pass on."

"So what are we supposed to do, kill em? Benimaru jumped in. "We're not murderers or assassins."

"I'm sure Iori wouldn't mind." King casually addressed, with a sarcastic scoff.

"Hey! Iori! Duuuuuude...!" Mai called out to the man. "Why aren't you celebrating? The bad guys lost!"

...Iori was standing by his lonesome, his back turned to them all, hands in pockets. His posture didn't look... natural. He was gravely slouching, enough that it looked taxing on his spine.

"Iori?" Chizuru called out to him.

...The man finally spoke. "Why don't I feel any different?"


BONUS SCENE 2

The locker room was silent as death, despite two figures still remaining inside. They lay on the bench, having not moved an inch from their position, as long as they touched down there.

Were they aware of the events that had transpired? Hard to say. Their bodies were still weak, their minds dim of perception... all their focus was on remaining solid, remaining of this world. And yet... a part of them felt like Chris was calling to them, waiting on them, in Heaven.

"Shermie?"

"Hmm?"

"...Were we in over our head? About everything? This whole time... should we have even bothered coming back?"

Shermie could barely move, but she managed some sensation in her arm; her fingers gently caressed, back and forth, where they resided on his side.

"We came back for a reason, my darling. This was always meant to be this way. I don't regret it for one second."

"...You don't?"

"Why? Do you?"

"W-well... I..."

A sharp, hyena-like cackle shook the locker room. "What's all this boohoo bogus about 'regret'? Heehahahahahahahaaa! You two need a tissue to wipe your snotty noses?"

The surprise presence shocked their bodies back into movement; Yashiro and Shermie picked themselves up quickly, to meet what was a very familiar... and unwelcome... voice.

Tall. Blonde hair. His body lacking clothing, save for a pair of boxers. A slasher smile on his face. His hand, amusingly, was inside his boxers, as he had no pocket to slip it in...

"What do you want, Ryuji?" Yashiro frowned. "Here to kick us while we're down?"

Yamazaki grinned. "While that IS one of my favorite fighting techniques... I'm not here for that. I'm here to give you guys a friendly little tip: we're not out of this yet."

"W-we're not?" Shermie echoed.

Yamazaki shook his head. "Noppity nope. See, you two may be wallowing in tears and grief, but Mature and Vice haven't stopped their scheming for one minute. They already have their next ace in the hole ready. Well, aceS, plural."

"But what... who?"

Yamazaki flashed two fingers. "Iori... and the Bernstein boy."

Shermie gasped. "Y-you mean?!"

"Correct!" Yamazaki laughed. "They're going to use those two to gather the remaining dark energy required to break the seal. Hehe... between Iori's constant struggle with the Riot, and that Rugal Jr.'s demon-possessed self... it's sure to be a fun time, heeheeheehehehehehehehee..."

"So those two are the key." Yashiro's fist balled with newfound determination. "W-we can still do this...?"

"Well, you got a choice in the matter, chief." Yamazaki advised. "You can give up and pass onto the next world, like pussies... or you can pick your pathetic selves up and make the most of this situation."

"B-but why are you helping us?!" Shermie questioned. "I thought you didn't like us!"

Yamazaki shrugged. "Look, I'm at the point that I'm sick of Mature and Vice's bullshit as much as you are. Right now, I'm purely fueled by not wanting them to succeed. So go ahead, cook up a ritual to bring back Goenitz for all I care. Just remember who helped you guys out when it mattered the most."

Yashiro stared at the thug for a moment, measuring the honesty, the authenticity in his remarks... before making his choice. Taking Shermie's hand in his own, the two of them lifted themselves off the bench, returning to their feet.

"Thank you, Ryuji." Yashiro nodded. "You're right; we can still do this."

"So what now?" Shermie asked.

"We bide our time, pick our moment... we wait for things to truly unfold. Those two are ticking time bombs. When things escalate, and they WILL... we'll be ready to make our move."

The two exited the locker room, leaving Yamazaki standing there, by himself.

Yamazaki looked left. He looked right. He made sure he was the only man in the room.

He smiled wide.

"Hehehehe... you know, the most fun part of all this? None of them even know what's going to happen if the God comes back. They all have their own little ideas about it, like a pretty picture in a coloring book... me, I'm a realist. I know Fuck City: Population 6 when I see it. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"