They would surely win this battle.

Karman and the others could imagine no other outcome.

Currently, Karman was just a single, mad machine…

“I will crush you. I will crush you with my own hands, Beretta…!!”

–He would not stop until this operation was complete.

And that was how the fight began.

◇◇◇

Intense shockwaves blasted the area as the incredibly heavy Karman charged into Beretta.

He was in complete combat mode and intended to crush Beretta.

The great energy from the reactor was compressed as Karman raised his fist.

Hyper Impact–the Powered Suit’s thick plating covered Karman’s fist, giving it immense destructive force.

The power would be overwhelming.

It exceeded a million horsepower. It would surely turn its target into dust.

However–

Beretta saw the attack coming.

Instead of directly blocking the flow of power, he parried it, throwing Karman off balance and into the air.

In other words, a one-arm shoulder throw.

They say that soft methods often trump brute force, but that was just an illusion.

It was not possible to control the direction of Hyper Impact’s power with just knowledge of how it worked.

You would only get swallowed up with such lukewarm strength.

So there was really only one reason that Beretta was able to throw Karman–it was that Beretta’s power reached that of Karman’s.

“What!?”

“He threw Commander Karman!?”

His subordinates were stunned.

He had moved faster than the speed of sound. They would never have imagined that he would be stopped in such a fashion.

Karman was just as surprised.

However, he quickly rose up and admitted his error.

He did not like to admit that he had underestimated his opponent, but he now remonstrated himself for relying on his own power alone.

“Don’t’ fret! He has combat arts. He is an expert that can react at the speed of sound! Avoid fighting him one on one or at close-range!!”

Karman said without panicking.

His subordinates obeyed, and they surrounded Beretta in an instant.

As for Beretta…

“…Well, well. This is turning out to be quite a hassle. The lack of energy means that ‘Universal Perception’ is not very accurate. The light, wind, heat, sound and my other senses. This fight will be harder than I thought.”

That’s what he had determined just now.

This was because part of his chest and both arms were not deformed by the heat and impact after parrying Karman’s attack.

That meant that even with Beretta’s ‘Physical Attack Nullification’ and ‘Natural Elements Nullification,’ that he had taken some damage.

Had he been slower in reading the information, that blow may have been fatal.

So the lack of energy was effecting him in those ways.

And so Beretta used ‘Mineral Manipulation’ to liquefy his body.

It healed his body and protected him from attacks.

Still, Beretta kept his eyes on the enemy.

“Hmph. ‘Universal Perception,’ you say? Is that your sensor? It seems quite advanced, but can you dodge this?”

Karman laughed confidently and signaled to his men.

The four Powered Suits that surrounded him immediately went into an offensive posture.

Their next attack would come in waves.

On the surface, the Powered Suits could move at three times the speed of sound.

It was the same as the Murder Dogs, but the internal conditions were very different.

The Powered Suits were much more advanced when it came to standing still and then moving at full speed. But it wasn’t just that.

The Murder Dogs were not good at precise turns. It was like how jet planes were weak against attacks from the side, due to their structure.

Sudden changes in direction would cause both the plane and the pilot to be subject to intense centrifugal force. While Murder Dogs were controlled by computers, they were not built to be able to withstand this from the side.

On the other hand, the Powered Suits allowed them to move freely while going at a high speed.

Of course, moving at three times the speed of sound would have an effect on the person inside.

However, Karman and the others were cyborgs, so there was no problem.

They also had the aid of a support calculation device, allowing them to make the most of their speed and to synchronize with each other.

“Tsk…”

Beretta clicked his tongue as he dealt with their attacks.

His arms and legs were not enough.

And so Beretta used the Ultimate Gift, Deus Ex Machina, to take in the surrounding matter and create several tentacles that were thicker than his arms.

Each of them represented his will and could move freely.

Each of them were sensors and could make decisions immediately.

The sound came later.

So much power was focused in one spot, and anything that got caught inside was turned into dust.

Karman’s men moved while staying out of each others’ way. But Beretta showed he could deal with them, even though he was facing them for the first time. Both sides had to admit the strengths of the other as the chaotic battle continued.

◆◆◆

“…This is pretty crazy.”

“Hmm. That Beretta. He is trying to take my spotlight…”

“No-no-no! That’s not the problem now, is it!?”

Ramiris was impressed. But Veldora had begun to complain after misinterpreting the situation.

As for Zaza, he felt frustrated enough to shout at them.

The information that his senses allowed him to gather was now being replayed in his head through the analysis device in his brain. It was only after seeing this that Zaza fully understood what was happening.

He had never seen a fight at such speed before.

And so he could not understand Veldora’s reaction while watching this.