Dust from the explosion still covered the front doors of Bowser's Castle. Tatsumi and Mario were at the front doors, covered in dust from the explosion. There were soldiers circling outside the hazy dust, waiting for Tatsumi and Mario to come out and attack them. Both boys were just regaining consciousness of the explosion caused by Kammy.
"That damn turtle ... he's going to pay us for it."
"Mama mia… And again, we still haven't seen Bowser. "Mario remarked.
At this moment, a battle noise is heard. Not far from the boys, Wario jumped into the air and tried to crush Kurome under his butt. Jumping back in time, Kurome avoided getting run over. Then she aimed her saber towards Wario. Thinking at first that he would have been unable to dodge, Kurome was surprised to see him perform several back flips to dodge her attack.
Then, resting his feet against a large boulder, he propelled himself towards Kurome, while directing his fist towards her.
"WARIO PUNCH!"
Positioning her sword in front of her like a protection, Kurome felt Wario strike her weapon. Immediately, Waro's superhuman strength made Kurome's feet take off, crashing into another boulder. The force of the impact made her cough up blood.
"KUROME !" Tatsumi called out.
"Wario ? " Mario asked. "Can I see what you're doing ? "
"Huh ? " The obese man wondered, noticing the presence of the red plumber. " Mario ? Sorry, but that's not your concern ! This girl tried to steal from me and I'm making her pay for her rudeness."
"Motherfucker !" Tatsumi shouted, running towards him.
Nevertheless, an arrow was planted at his feet.
"What?"
Immediately he saw new soldiers running towards them, wanting to take advantage that they were only two left.
" Here they are ! Get them! " One of the soldiers says as he and the others attack Tatsumi and Mario.
"You take from this side and I take from this side." Mario said, attacking the soldiers in front of them.
"OK! RAAAAAAAAAAH !" Tatsumi screamed as he attacked the soldiers on his side.
Nonetheless, they stopped the instant a wall of ice appeared, imprisoning all of the soldiers.
"Mammamia ? " Mario wondered.
Just turning around, Tatsumi caught sight of Esdeath, who was sitting on one of the castle walls. Having landed on the roof of the castle, she had defeated the soldiers above.
"Who is this woman ?" Mario wanted to know. "Strangely, I think she's a lot more powerful than Bowser. "
"Mostly more terrifying." Said Tatsumi.
Hearing more crashing noises, he saw Kurome jump back several times, while Wario rushed towards her, while attempting to strike her with his powerful punches. Knocking the ground, he made it tremble with his herculean power.
However, eventually anticipating his movements, Kurome dodged one of his punches by bending down before rushing towards Wario. Aiming at his stomach, she made a movement with her sword and managed to disembowel him.
"ARRRRGGGGGHHHHH!"
Standing in front of her opponent, Kurome saw him stand still, as blood flowed from his wound. Eyes turned back, he remains motionless, as he seems to have passed out while standing.
"It's over." Kurome asserted, preparing to give him another cut of her saber to kill him.
However, Wario's irises reappeared and Wario aimed his fist at Kurome's face. Unable to react in time, Kurome felt her nose get crushed and then flew before crashing to the ground.
Breathing with difficulty, Wario then rummaged in his clothes and grabbed a red mushroom which he tossed into the air before swallowing. A few seconds later, his wound disappeared.
"HAHAHAHA! What did you think? A woman can never beat a real man."
Nonetheless, he was surprised to see Kurome managed to get up. Showing a dark gauze, Kurome was breathing heavily. In truth, Wario stops smiling, while he thought he saw a strange black aura around her.
"What's going on, again?"
"A day, I'll kill my sister to make a doll. "Kurome assured. "But to kill her, I have to get my teigu back! And to get my teigu back, I must defeat you. "
"What are you saying? Frankly, do you think you can beat me?"
"Kurome!" Tatsumi shouted, running towards the duo. " I'm coming to help you. "
Nonetheless, he stopped as a new wall of ice formed in front of him.
"What?"
"Tatsumi, this is Kurome's fight." Esdeath retorted, dropping down not far from Tatsumi. " I forbid you to help her ! Kurome must show us her determination."
Then looking at the young woman, Esdeath cried out.
"Kurome, the Jaegers have already suffered a loss today! I forbid you to lose to this guy! Fight to the death if you have to."
"Yes." Kurome asserted, despite her face being bleeding.
Not believing his ears, Mario wanted to know.
"Are you really a general?"
"Sorry? " Esdeath wondered, looking at Mario.
"I ask how a woman like you is the leader of this team! Your comrade is hurt! You have to help her."
"If she was hurt, it's because Kurome is still too weak! She has to fight on her own to get stronger."
"Why is it a shame to be weak?" Mario wanted to know. "If she's one of your comrades, you have to help her."
"Because you think I'll always be there to save Kurome? What will she do if she finds herself facing someone alone against Bowser? In situations like this, she needs to be able to fend for herself. "
And to prove it, the trio saw Kurome rush to Wario and resume her fight in front of him. Seeing her continue to fight, while ignoring her injuries, Mario couldn't help but think.
" These guys are crazy. "
At that moment, footsteps were heard as more soldiers arrived.
"But it never ends?"
Just shrugging his shoulders, Esdeath asserted.
"Tatsumi, I'll let you take care of them! I'll try to find Bowser."
"No way." Tatsumi retorted. "I'm the one going to fight Bowser."
"Huh?" Esdeath wondered.
"Tatsumi… that's not a good idea." Mario asserts. "Bowser is not someone to be underestimated."
"I know." The boy assured. "And that's why I want to fight him."
" But why ? "
"I have to get stronger to impress someone," the boy assured simply.
Listening to him, Esdeath couldn't help but chuckle. Then, watching the soldiers run towards them, she declares.
"You have ten minutes early! I'll take care of them."
Hearing this, Tatsumi prepares to run inside the castle. Nonetheless, he heard Esdeath tell him.
"Tatsumi, take this."
Turning around, Tatsumi grabbed an object in time and threw it at him.
"What…?" The boy wondered, recognizing Incursio.
"You have permission to use it, but only against Bowser ! And ... don't lose. "
"No worries." The boy assured. " Thanks. "
Seeing him go, Mario only stared at Esdeath.
"A problem, plumber-san?"
"Nothing." Mario said, finally following Tatsumi. "Just that I'm glad I don't have you as my boss! I'm not even sure which power you see as an ally. "
"Still better for you! I'm the best warrior in this world."
" Whatever ! You stay weak. "
"Sorry ?" Esdeath wondered, turning to Mario.
Stopping, the man turned to say.
"You are powerful physically! However, if you don't have your friends to help you out when you need it, you are still a weak person."
Seeing him then leave, Esdeath stared at him silently. Taking advantage of her lowering her guard, a koopa pretended to hit her with a hammer. Unfortunately, in an instant, he found himself frozen in a block of ice.
And so began Esdeath's fight against the soldiers, who were easily defeated.
Meanwhile ... in the training room ...
The training room was a good place for Bowser's soldier to train. The walls were covered with different types of weapons for the soldiers to practice, there was a wrestling ring in the middle of the room, and there was a big ... hole in the ceiling ? The hole was shaped like Stylish and Luigi's silhouette. They were now regaining consciousness as they stood in the wrestling ring.
"Mama mia ... I never thought he would actually hit it." Luigi said as he tried to keep his balance after the explosion caused by Kammy.
" Why am I still with this useless guy ? " Stylish wondered. " If he passes out again from hitting the ceiling, I'll leave him here. "
Nonetheless, the scientist smiled confidently.
" Don't worry ! Even if we have been separated from the others, we will be able to defeat our opponents who will fight us ! By the way, what is this place anyway ? "
"It must be a place for Bowser's soldiers to train." Luigi said.
"This place is huge." Said Stylish, stunned. " Nonetheless, I doubt I could find anything there that could be of use to me."
Suddenly the doors opened as soldiers burst into the room.
"Intruders ! Catch them." Said a soldier as he and everyone else stepped into the ring and began to attack.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAH ! " Luigi cried as they began to circle the ring, followed by Bowser's soldiers.
Seeing him do it, Stylish thought.
" There is nothing elegant about him. "
Rummaging under his clothes, he grabbed some of his vials. However, he noticed that he didn't have much left.
" I absolutely have to find a way to do it again. "
"Hey, Luigi. " He called out, before throwing a pill at him.
"What ? " The man wondered, turning to him.
The pill entered his mouth and the man accidentally swallowed it. Almost choking, he asked.
"What was that ? "
Then he felt a strange sensation in his body. Feeling his muscles grow, the man's strength increased tenfold.
"What…?" The soldiers wondered, stopping.
Immediately, Luigi turned to them. Then, twirling his arms, he ran towards them before hitting them. Seeing him do it, Stylish just stayed still, before just seeing him return to his normal appearance after a few seconds.
"What…?" Luigi wondered, seeming to have forgotten what had just happened.
"Help!" Someone shouted, running away.
"Since when has Luigi been this strong?"
Surprised, Luigi opened his eyes to see many stunned soldiers.
"Oh, I guess I don't know my own strength." Luigi said, while doing some flexing.
A few hammer koopa then entered the room and started throwing hammers at Luigi, who didn't notice they were entering. The hammers were about to hit Luigi, until the hammers bumped into another soldier's account.
"What ?" A Koopas wondered.
Smiling simply, Stylish had gripped the body of one of the soldiers Luigi had knocked out and threw it in the path of the hammers.
"Motherfucker ! How dare you use our comrades as shields ?"
"Hey, we're in the middle of a war ! I'm not here to drink tea. "
Then, seizing a new vial, he threw it in the face of an enemy. Feeling a liquid run down his face, the soldier screamed in pain as the acid burned his face.
"Mamma mia!" Said Luigi. "You have really without pity."
"I don't see why I should have pity for the enemy."
"R … RUN !" Someone shouted. " This guy is too dangerous. "
Immediately, the duo saw the soldiers flee and walked out of the room. Yet a second later, their bodies were thrown into the air.
"You cowards ! I forbid you to flee."
Just standing still, Stylish and Luigi saw a rather large Koopa burst into the room.
" What is happening here ? " Asks the big koopa.
He looks at Stylish and Luigi.
"Don't tell me it's these two guys that scare you?"
"But ... they're super powerful and ... "
The soldier was crushed under his foot as the koopa continued to stare at his enemies.
"You must be those goddamn kids trying to kidnap the boss's ladies. Let me introduce myself, I'm Grubba, former president of the Glitz pit arena." Said Grubba.
"You must be that guy who used the Crystal Star to drain energy from mighty warriors and use it for your own selfish reasons." Luigi said, remembering that Mario had mentioned it.
"Um?" Stylish wondered. " Can he absorb the energy of others to become stronger ? "
" And I always would have done that, if I hadn't been bothered by that moron plumber. "Grubba said with his fists clenched in anger." That smelly asshole took everything from me, and now I want to fight you and crush you for fun. "Grubba said as he stepped into the ring.
Preferring to take a few steps back, Stylish simply examined Grubba while considering a strategy to defeat him.
"Do you think you can beat us ? You are clearly outnumbered. " Luigi said, getting into a fighting stance.
"A match with a handicap ? Well that would be perfect. You will be the first to witness the power of my new health drink. " Grubba said, taking what looked like a diet drink from his pocket.
He then drank it all and threw it away.
Just looking at him, Stylish then saw Grubba start to gain weight and dab. Grubba was now three times the size he used to be and his muscles were more muscular, and his skin had turned from purple to orange.
Luigi immediately screamed in fear at Grubba's new look, while Stylish groaned.
"He's strong ... and ugly ! And I have no more drugs to dope Luigi ! Anyway, I doubt it could have been enough to defeat him."
"Now I feel like when I was in the good old days, like when I defeated the strongest opponent to win the world heavyweight championship like a real man," Said Grubba.
As soon as Grubba finished speaking, Stylish aimed at him with a new vial of acid. Standing still, Grubba felt the object shatter on his face. Yet he didn't even wince when the acid coated his face.
"I didn't even feel that."
" Shit ! Luigi give him an uppercut or something. " Stylish said.
"Me ? Well ... OK." Luigi said as he ran to Grubba and gave him an uppercut, but Grubba didn't even flinch.
"Even a baby can hit harder." Grubba said before pushing Luigi aside with a punch.
Stylish couldn't understand why Luigi's uppercut hadn't worked. Sure, Grubba was huge, but if that uppercut could damage Kuro, it surely would have damaged Grubba.
"Luigi, what's wrong ? How come you didn't hit him so hard like when we met you ? " Stylish asked as Luigi stood up.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you that my powerful punches only have a 2% chance to pass." said Luigi shamefully.
"UNNECESSARY FOOL ! " Stylish roared, seeing Grubba running towards him.
As Stylish dodged Grubba's fist, he then tried to aim at him with another vial. Letting himself be touched, Grubba continued to smile. However, he ended up clapping his hands to his nose as he smelled a horrible smell.
"-cough -... What's that stink?" Grubba asked, trying to push the stench away.
While Grubba was distracted, Luigi pulled out his hammer and hit Grubba on his head.
"OOOOOF ! " Grubba cried as he was hit hard in the head.
Grubba then got angry.
"I HAVE ENOUGH OF YOU VARMITS TRYING TO GET THE BEST OF ME!" Grubba exclaimed, hopping on the tensioner. "GRUBBASAULT ! "
Grubba did a backflip and was about to land Stylish and Luigi with his stomach, until they stepped out of the ring. When Grubba landed, the whole ring collapsed. Grubba stood up and couldn't see Stylish and Luigi anywhere.
"Now where have these guys gone ? " Grubba asked.
Suddenly Stylish stepped out from the remains of the ring and looked at Grubba. Then he ran a hand through his hair while flaunting.
"A moron like you doesn't stand a chance against my beauty."
"Shut, up, asshole ! "
However, the instant Grubba was about to attack him, the koopa halted, smelling another bad smell.
"What ?" Grubba wondered as he stood in the middle of a strange smoke. " Gas ? "
Pointing to a vial that was broken on the ground, Stylish asserted.
"The bad smell from my last vial hid the gas smell."
Then he pulled out what looked like a grenade.
" Bye !"
Nonetheless, grabbing a hammer from the ground, Grubba threw it down and managed to hit Stylish's face, who fell back.
"AHHHHH ! " He yelled, feeling blood run down his face.
"You're dead ! " Grubba roared, running towards him to crush him with his fist.
Nevertheless, Luigi suddenly ran against a wall with his hammer and jumped on it.
"SPRING JUMP!" Luigi jumped off the wall at high speed and headed straight for Grubba.
" What ! ? " Grubba gasped as he turned to see Luigi, only to be hit hard in the face, which made him fly straight towards the wall. Grubba then fell to the ground, unconsciously. Luigi then put his hammer away and ran towards Stylish with glee.
"We did it." said Luigi.
Standing up with difficulty, Stylish showed no joy.
"Was I saved by this incompetent ? If Esdeath finds out about this, she will kill me."
Still, displaying his most grateful smile, he declared.
"We are an amazing team ! And now Seryu and Peach are waiting for us!"
"I'm right behind you." Luigi said as he was about to leave too, until he heard something behind him. Luigi turned and saw Grubba stand up.
"Shit ... you ..." Said Grubba.
"AHHHHHHHHHH! Can I still get up?"
Taking a step forward, Grubba stopped nonetheless, only to see a grenade at his feet.
" That ... ? "
"Bye bye !" Stylish repeated, not looking back.
Seized with a bad feeling, Luigi fled from the room and, a moment later, a violent explosion pulverized it. Screaming in pain, Grubba ends up on the ground, defeated.
"That's what I call a magnificent victory."
Simply staring at Stylish, Luigi swallowed hard before following him.
