I Can See Evolution Paths

The town-sized boulder was still crashing behind them. Sun and Kong were still falling through the air after jumping off it, the abandoned district rushing closer beneath them. Dust still filled the air from the Ape Chief being thrown into the city moments earlier.

Neither of them looked behind. Their eyes stayed locked on the Chief, which slowly climbed out from the collapsed buildings below, blood running down its forehead, eyes burning with fury. It didn’t roar. It simply stared at Kong.

Hatred. Pure hatred.

As Sun adjusted himself in midair, a voice called out. "Sun!"

He turned. On top of the wall, Mithra planted one foot, spun, then kicked Long. The golden staff spun through the battlefield end over end.

Sun’s eyes lit up. "My baby!" he shouted.

He twisted in the air, reached, and grabbed Long. The instant his fingers wrapped around it, golden light rippled through the weapon. It hummed, almost as though it was happy to return.

Sun grinned. "I missed you too," he said.

Mithra cupped her hands. "Go!" she called. "We’ll hold the wall! Leave that ugly ape to you two!"

Sun raised a thumb. "You got it!" Kong immediately copied him, giving Mithra an enthusiastic thumbs up.

Mithra laughed despite herself. "Don’t die!"

Sun laughed. "No promises!"

The two landed, the ground caving beneath their feet. Neither stopped moving. They immediately sprinted toward the Ape Chief.

The Chief didn’t wait. It tore an entire stone tower from the ground one-handed, crimson light immediately wrapping around it, cracks glowing along its surface.

Sun immediately recognized it. "Move!" he shouted.

The tower flew, screaming through the air. Both leaped apart, and the instant it passed, booooooom!! The entire tower exploded, thousands of burning chunks of stone raining outward.

Sun planted Long.

[Point Shockwave]

The tip erupted, a circular shockwave bursting outward, hundreds of stone fragments exploding apart before they could reach anyone.

Kong didn’t bother destroying them. Instead, he grabbed one flying slab, pushed off it, grabbed another, pushed again, literally climbing through the exploding debris, one piece, another, another.

Every exploding fragment...

Became another stepping stone.

The Ape Chief’s pupils narrowed.

The smoke suddenly exploded, and Kong burst out, fist flying forward. The Ape Chief answered with its own.

Booooooooooom!!

Both fists collided.

The shockwave tore roofs apart, and nearby buildings rattled, dust erupting everywhere. For several seconds, neither moved. Neither wanted to be the first to take a step back, and then both were blasted backward.

The real fight began.

Both skidded backward.

The Ape Chief’s feet carved two trenches through the streets.

Kong’s sandals exploded apart as he slid across broken stone.

Neither gave the other time to breathe.

They disappeared.

BOOM!

A fist collided with an elbow.

BOOM!

A kick met another kick.

BOOM!!

Sun couldn’t even see them anymore.

Only explosions raced through the abandoned district.

Buildings collapsed one after another.

Every collision blasted dust hundreds of feet into the air.

The Goblins watching from the wall couldn’t follow.

They only saw two streaks...

One crimson.

One gold.

Constantly crashing together.

Then—

BOOOOOOOM!!

Both were blown apart again.

The entire district had become ruins.

Neither side rushed forward again but instead circled each other. The Ape Chief studied Kong, and then its eyes glanced over Sun before frowning. Kong’s eyes studied the Ape Chief and noted it was way faster than expected.

The Chief vanished.

Only crimson afterimages remained.

"There!" Sun shouted.

Too late.

The Chief appeared behind Kong, and its elbow slammed into Kong’s spine.

BOOOOOOM!!

The force folded Kong forward. And before Kong even hit the ground, a knee drove into his stomach. The street exploded beneath him as his back crashed into the ground, and Kong gasped.

Then the Ape grabbed Kong’s ankle before spinning him twice and then hurled him straight through three abandoned buildings.

The fourth building finally stopped him.

The Chief never chased, as it was already turning toward Sun, who rushed at it and thrust out Long.

[Point Shockwave]!

Booooom!

The invisible blast caught the Chief.

It slid backward, smirking, but only grunted and said. "Still not good enough."

The Chief grabbed a broken wall, crimson spreading across it, and threw it.

Halfway there, booooooom!!

It detonated.

Sun barely rolled away, the explosion destroying everything around him. "So that’s how you fight," he muttered.

Sun rushed forward while evading the rubble that kept on rushing towards him. Before finally closing the gap and then thrusting out with Long. The Ape Chief shifted to the side, but Sun only smirked before twisting his body to swing Long.

Long swept through the air and was about to crash into the Ape Chief’s side.

But then the Chief caught the staff.

Yet Sun only smiled. "Gotcha."

And then a light shone around the staff.

"No." Was all the Ape Chief said before it spun the staff it caught in its hand while pulling. Long was ripped from Sun’s grip.

And before the shocked Sun could react, his own staff was smashed into his own ribs.

CRACK!!

The Chief had struck him with his own weapon, and he felt his body smashed into the side of the wall. But then his leg was caught by a massive hand before being pulled back as the Ape Chief began swinging him like a hammer.

Sun crashed through an entire stone marketplace.

The Chief still hadn’t let go.

It pulled him back again before slamming him into another wall. And then hurled Long towards the falling Sun. The staff was only a few inches away from smashing into Sun before Kong appeared and caught it.

"You okay, Sun?" Kong softly asked as he pulled him out of the wall.

"Ugh... That’s going to hurt tomorrow."

Kong nodded. "It’s good you haven’t lost your nerve."

"As if I have a fortune to enjoy."

Kong snorted before throwing Long to Sun, who caught it.

The Ape Chief’s eyes narrowed before smirking and then rushing forward again. But this time it vanished. Instead, there were only crimson afterimages that burst across the abandoned district.

One.

Three.

Five.

Ten.

The streets became filled with identical Ape Chiefs sprinting in every direction.

"They’re all moving!" Sun shouted. "No..."

The real one wasn’t.

It was already above them.

Sun looked up. "Move!"

Too late.

The Ape Chief dropped like a meteor and its knee smashed into Kong’s shoulder.

BOOOOOOOOM!!

The street caved in.

Before Kong could recover, an elbow crashed into the back of his neck. The impact sent him skipping across the ground before crashing through another building.

Sun thrust Long.

[Point Shockwave]!

The invisible blast exploded toward the Chief, but the Ape twisted around it. To Sun’s shock, it wasn’t dodging but moving along the side of the shockwave. Not dodging...

Sun’s eyes widened. "How—"

Yet he quickly used Buff as he blasted out with a fist. But then the Ape Chief opened its mouth and released an ear-splitting roar.

Sun’s body froze.

Kong’s body froze.

The Ape Chief smiled before it slammed Sun all around before hurling him straight into Kong.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!

Both disappeared beneath collapsing buildings.

Only then did the Chief slowly lower its fists.

Sun coughed blood. "...Three seconds."

Kong slowly climbed back to his feet, and he nodded.

They understood now.

Sun wiped the blood from his mouth.

"No more one-on-one." Kong nodded.

The two rushed forward together, with Sun attacking first as he thrust Long toward the Ape Chief’s throat.

The Ape Chief blocked exactly as Kong expected before he appeared on its blind side. His fist shot toward its ribs and the Chief twisted. But then it noticed Long was striking the ground beneath it.

[Point Shockwave]!

BOOOOOOOM!!

The exploding street threw the Ape off balance before it was smashed into by Kong’s shoulder slamming into its chest.

And then it crashed into the ground before a golden staff cleaved through the walls and smashed into it from above. It smashed into the ground once before bouncing up and then hitting it over to Kong.

Then Kong grabbed its arm before spinning a few times and then hurling it towards a wall. But Sun simply smacked it upwards towards the sky with an explosion. And then Kong was already in the air before swinging both of his fists down, and it crashed into the beast’s spine.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!

The street disappeared beneath the impact.

Dust swallowed the entire district.

"Nice work!" Sun gave a thumbs up, making Kong chuckle as he landed close to him.

But both of them stared at the dust for a couple of seconds before an ear-splitting roar rang out!

The dust suddenly exploded, and the Ape Chief burst out.

Blood covered its face as the usual smile was gone, replaced by fury. It slammed both fists into the ground and then crimson light erupted.

Every broken weapon...

Every fallen wall...

Every shattered rooftop...

Exploded and smashed into the duo. Long and Kong were blasted away by the explosion, crashing through the buildings before quickly recovering. More crimson light appeared and forced them to jump out of the way.

And soon, the entire district became a sea of fire.

When another explosion appeared, Sun crossed Long.

[Point Shockwave]!

The blast scattered one explosion, but then another light shone from behind. And Sun was hit from behind and sent crashing through the wall. But then Kong quickly caught him before leaping out of the way of another explosion from below.

The Ape Chief wasn’t attacking them anymore but detonating the battlefield itself.

"How annoying," Sun muttered while Kong nodded.

The Chief laughed, and then three enormous boulders formed instantly, each glowing crimson, one after another.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

Sun activated [Buff], golden light spreading across both of them. Kong activated [Fiery Rage], every crimson marking igniting, golden flames wrapping around him. Everything doubled from his speech to strength, to everything.

Kong punched through the first boulder, kicked apart the second, headbutted through the third.

Sun whistled. "Okay," he said. "That’s ridiculous."

Kong proudly beat his chest.

The Chief activated its speed again. This time Sun didn’t chase. He watched its feet.

The instant the Chief accelerated, Sun smiled. "Got you," he said.

Long flashed.

[Point Shockwave]

Instead of aiming at the body, he aimed below the knee.

Booooooom!!

The invisible explosion crushed the joint.

Crack!!

The leg twisted, and the Chief stumbled. It wasn’t defeated but no longer able to abuse its speed.

Now Kong could finally keep up.

The tide turned.

The Chief realized it, panic setting in.

It gathered every building nearby, every broken tower, every stone wall, everything, forming a gigantic boulder overhead.

It threw it directly at Kong.

At the same time, it detonated it.

The explosion swallowed Kong completely.

Sun’s smile vanished. "KONG!!" he shouted.

Silence fell in the area.

The smoke didn’t move.

The Ape Chief frowned, and then the smoke collapsed inward.

Every remaining ember.

Every piece of burning rubble.

Every shockwave.

Everything was pulled toward one point.

[Nova Burst]

All around Kong as the crimson markings covering his body became blinding. The Ape Chief and Sun could see every line glowing as the heat around Kong grew even more. The surrounding ground cracked as he took a step and buildings trembled.

Even Sun stepped backward. "...Partner?"

Kong slowly raised one fist, and the air screamed.

The Ape Chief turned, and it actually tried to run. But Kong disappeared, and the ground exploded behind him. He appeared directly in front of the Chief, forcing it to throw up both arms as the area around it began to rush over.

Broken walls rushed toward Kong.

Stone pillars.

Collapsed towers.

Everything gathered between them.

But Kong didn’t slow down as his glowing fist pierced the first wall. Then the second and then finally the third wall. The rubble exploded apart, and the Chief’s crossed arms met Kong’s fist.

CRACK!!

Both forearms shattered.

The punch continued.

It struck the Ape’s chest, but nothing happened, making the Ape Chief blink. Then the district behind it exploded.

The stored force erupted all at once.

A circular shockwave tore through every abandoned building around them.

Sun blinked. "...That’s my partner."

The Ape Chief’s eyes widened.

It had never seen power like this.

Only then did its body finally fly backward. He blasted through the rubble building and then through a tower and then through another tower.

The Titan Boulder Ape Chief roared as it pushed itself out of the rubble. It refused to accept that it might lose as it tried to stand even as one leg refused it.

Sun landed first, and then he swung Long upwards, which smashed into the Ape Chief’s chin.

[Point Shockwave]!

The blast launched the Chief into the air.

"Kong!"

Golden flames exploded as Kong appeared above it with his fist ignited like a miniature star.

Sun laughed. "Send him home!"

Kong answered with one punch.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

The Chief became a streak of crimson light as it crashed back into the rubble and shook the entire ground.

Kong exhaled, then simply fell backward, flat onto the ground, completely exhausted.

Sun walked over, looked down, then burst into laughter. "Hahahaha! My partner is the best," he said.

Kong laughed too, a deeper laugh now, still unmistakably Kong’s.

Sun offered his hand before Kong grabbed it, and he pulled him up. The battlefield became strangely quiet. Neither of them needed to say anything as they already knew.

They’d won.

"We did it," Kong said with a chuckle. "That’s one."

Sun laughed in agreement.