When the strange war machine named Hell House “glared” at Cain with the evil eyes painted on its walls, the atmosphere in the entire colosseum was pushed into absolute madness.
What erupted from the audience was no longer cheering, but a kind of scream mixed with excitement and fear.
They were eager to see how this newly crowned king would fight against this supposedly unbeatable legend.
“What is that thing?!” Tifa cried out despite herself.
She had never seen such an absurd creation before.
A living house filled with cold killing intent, black smoke belching from its twisted chimney, wooden windows opening and closing like teeth as they creaked and groaned.
“An abandoned Shinra weapon.
Don Corneo’s people picked it up and modified it.” Aerith’s expression also grew serious.
“This thing is hard to deal with.
Physical attacks don’t do much to it, and it can switch between different modes and cast all kinds of magic.
Cain’s in trouble.” There was obvious worry in her voice.
The earlier opponents had, in the end, still been flesh and blood.
But the Hell House before them was a steel monster through and through, a machine born purely for destruction and slaughter.
In the arena, Cain also felt pressure unlike anything before.
The sense of oppression radiating from Hell House was far beyond those thugs and lowlifes from earlier.
It was a cold, inorganic killing intent, reminding him of certain berserk mechanical monsters he had seen in Shinra’s laboratories.
He unconsciously clenched his fists, his blue eyes flashing with vigilance.
“Roar!” Hell House let out a roar made from grinding metal and bursting steam.
Its two “arms,” assembled from scrap metal and junk, suddenly rose, and dozens of chairs, tables, and bottles shot toward Cain like cannonballs, blotting out the space around him.
Cain’s gaze sharpened.
His body instantly turned into an afterimage as he darted at high speed through the dense “furniture rain.” Wood splinters flew and glass scattered everywhere, but he always managed to avoid every attack by the slightest margin, without a single unnecessary movement.
His dynamic vision was pushed to its limit in that moment.
“Nicely dodged!
But that was only the appetizer!” The host’s voice sounded especially excited amid the chaotic background noise.
Before his words had even faded, Hell House’s windows suddenly turned crimson, and a scorching aura spread out.
In the next second, blazing flames surged from the windows, forming a wall of fire that sealed off Cain’s path of retreat.
“It’s Fire Mode!” Aerith recognized it at once.
“Cain, watch out for its fireballs!” As if to prove her words, Hell House’s “mouth,” its front door, suddenly opened wide, and a huge fireball came howling toward Cain.
Faced with an attack he could not avoid, Cain did not choose to dodge again.
He took a deep breath, advanced rather than retreating, and charged straight toward the fireball.
At the instant the fireball was about to reach him, the black tactical glove he wore on his right arm suddenly erupted with a dazzling blue glow.
Within the light, a massive translucent blue claw formed from pure energy appeared out of thin air, covering his entire right arm.
The giant claw radiated raw power, mysterious runes flowing across it as if it did not belong to this world.
“What is that?!” Madam M shot to her feet in the VIP seats, forgetting even to wave her folding fan, her eyes full of shock.
Andrea was even more entranced, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit an egg.
Under countless stunned gazes, Cain swung his right fist, now wrapped in that blue demonic arm, and slammed it head-on into the enormous fireball.
Boom!
Cold demonic power and scorching flame collided violently, erupting with a deafening blast.
Hot steam swept out in every direction, forming a ring of white shockwaves.
When the steam dispersed, everyone saw Cain still standing steadily in place.
The ground beneath his feet had cracked, while the huge fireball had been forcibly smashed apart by a single punch, scattering into a sky full of sparks.
On his right arm, the blue giant claw slowly faded, its light pulling inward.
“My God!
He put out the flames with his fist!” “That hand… that hand is… magic?!” Incredible gasps burst from the stands.
However, Cain’s expression was not relaxed.
Taking that attack head-on left waves of numbness running through his right arm.
He knew he could not keep fighting passively.
This metal house’s energy core seemed extremely powerful, and a simple battle of attrition would not favor him.
At that moment, a clear voice pierced through the noisy arena and reached his ears distinctly.
“Cain!
Attack its flying arms!
That’s one of its weak points!” It was Aerith’s voice.
At some point, she had stood up, her hands cupped around her mouth as she loudly provided tactical guidance.
Her voice carried a strange penetrating quality, as if it could soothe the heart.
Hearing her, Cain immediately shifted his attention to Hell House’s two “arms,” which were still gathering furniture back together.
He pushed off the ground, his entire body shooting forward like an arrow leaving the string.
Hell House seemed to sense his intention.
The chimney on its roof began to rotate, and the color of its windows changed from crimson to ghostly purple.
“It’s Lightning Mode!
Watch out for paralysis!” Aerith shouted another warning.
Countless thin bolts of lightning shot from Hell House’s windows, forming a crackling electric web across the ground.
Cain weaved and shifted through the electric net, moving so fast that only a chain of afterimages remained behind him.
He calculated the landing point of every bolt with precision, closing the distance between himself and Hell House at the smallest possible cost.
Finally, he rushed to Hell House’s side.
One of its “arms” had just finished forming and was about to smash him with an old sofa.
Cain seized the timing, leaped high into the air, and delivered a heavy spinning flying kick straight into the joint connecting the “arm” to the “body.” Crack!
An ear-piercing sound of tearing metal rang out.
The “arm” made from junk snapped clean off, scattering into parts across the ground.
“Roar!” Hell House let out a pained roar, its body shaking violently as it lost its balance.
“Nice work!” Aerith excitedly waved her fist.
“That’s it!
Now, attack the main body!” Cain did not need her to say it.
He had already launched another attack.
Like a curse that would not let go, he stuck close to Hell House’s swaying body, his fists raining down against its metal shell.
Every punch contained tremendous power, denting and warping the iron plating as sparks flew in all directions.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The dense rhythm of impacts was like war drums beating against everyone’s heart.
The audience had completely forgotten how to shout, merely staring in a daze at this battle that surpassed their imagination.
However, Hell House’s defensive strength far exceeded expectations.
Just then, Hell House’s body suddenly stopped shaking.
All its windows and doors slammed shut, turning it into an airtight iron box.
Immediately afterward, it began rotating at high speed like a massive top, violently flinging Cain away.
Cain flipped several times through the air before landing steadily on the ground.
Before he could stand firm, the roof of Hell House suddenly opened, revealing a dark cannon muzzle.
A dangerous energy began to gather within it.
“It’s its ultimate attack, Hellfire!
Dodge, quickly!” Aerith’s voice became incomparably urgent.
An unprecedented sense of crisis enveloped Cain.
He could feel how terrifying the energy gathering inside that cannon was.
If it hit him, even he would likely be killed or seriously wounded.
It was already too late to dodge.
At that critical instant, a soft green light suddenly flew from the stands like a shooting star, landing precisely on Cain.
The moment the light entered his body, Cain felt warm and powerful life energy flow through him.
The fatigue from the earlier fighting and the numbness in his right arm were swept away, replaced by an unprecedented abundance of strength.
At the same time, a translucent magical shield made of green energy appeared in front of him.
It was Aerith’s healing magic and defensive magic.
Almost at the exact moment the shield took shape, a thick beam of light, mixed with flames and dark energy, blasted out from Hell House’s cannon muzzle and instantly swallowed Cain’s figure.
Boom!
The entire colosseum shook violently, and the blinding light made everyone instinctively close their eyes.
“Cain!” Tifa’s heart almost stopped.
She tried to rush down without caring about anything else, but the attendants beside her held her back tightly.
The light faded, and smoke and dust filled the arena.
Everyone held their breath, staring fixedly at the center of the field.
Within the dust, a figure slowly straightened.
The green shield in front of him was covered in cracks, but in the end, it had not shattered.
Behind the shield stood Cain.
His clothes were somewhat damaged, but he was completely unharmed.
“He… he blocked it?!” The host’s voice trembled, almost unable to believe his own eyes.
Cain raised his head.
His gaze pierced through the smoke and locked onto Hell House, which had fallen into a brief stiffness after unleashing its ultimate attack.
He knew this was the final chance.
He glanced at the flower seller in the stands, who was giving him an encouraging smile, then looked at the bar owner holding the greatsword, her eyes filled with trust.
In that moment, the will to protect within his heart reached its peak.
“It’s over.” He whispered those words, and the blue glow on his right arm erupted again, brighter and more dazzling than ever before.
The enormous Devil Arm appeared once more, more solid than before, even extending up to his shoulder.
Blue energy rose like flame, enveloping his entire body.
The ground beneath his feet instantly cracked, and he turned into a blue comet, charging toward Hell House at a speed beyond his limits.
In that instant, time seemed to slow.
In everyone’s eyes, that blue beam of light was like a spear of judgment punishing evil, piercing precisely into the “mouth” on Hell House’s evil smiling face, its front door.
Boom!
There was no earth-shattering explosion, only an extremely muffled impact from deep inside Hell House.
Immediately afterward, countless blue arcs of electricity burst from its windows, chimney, and cracks in its walls.
Hell House’s movements froze completely.
Its evil smiling face seemed to be fixed in its final moment.
A few seconds later, accompanied by a string of crackling internal explosions, the once-invincible ruler of the colosseum collapsed with a thunderous crash, scattering into a pile of lifeless scrap metal and junk wreathed in black smoke.
The battle was over.
The entire arena was dead silent.
Several seconds later, cheers like a landslide and tidal wave drowned the whole of Wall Market.
“Guardian!
Guardian!
Guardian!” People frantically shouted the title that had already become a legend.
Cain stood in the center of the ruined battlefield and slowly lowered his right fist.
The blue light gradually faded as well.
He knew that in this battle, he had not been alone.
It was precisely those two gentle yet unwavering gazes behind him that had allowed the power within him to be fully released.