Hunter x Hunter: War of the Anime Worlds

Those two are undoubtedly the highest‑ranked Extinction players in the main King of Fighters world.

Xiang Nan immediately shook off the players he had run into.

The other side had clearly guessed that someone had unlocked a hidden scenario and had found a way to get involved, so they had been on guard.

Even without a system quest they still stepped forward of their own accord.

Although players are supposed to defend the main world, not everyone is that self‑sacrificing—fighting intruders means taking risks, and one careless move might cost you your life, while afterwards you get no reward at all.

On the surface, then, it looks like a losing proposition.

"If you clear the Ten Wheels of Annihilation you'll be bound to the KOF world as its representative player. When that happens, to lead the KOF world farther in the Reincarnation Dimension, high‑level players like these will definitely step up. Where there are selfish people, there are also selfless ones…," Xiang Nan thought to himself.

Ga‑ga‑ga…

He expanded his perception and sped through the corridor inside the ship's hold.

Along the way he even came across several story characters—including, perhaps, Mai Shiranui, Yuri Sakazaki, and Kim Kaphwan—but he ignored them.

Those people sensed his presence too, yet before they could look closely Xiang Nan's blinding speed had already made him vanish.

Very soon he located the ship's central battleground: a hall like a gloomy palace.

It felt oppressive because statues in every possible pose lined both walls, while a huge red carpet covered the floor; at its far end stood a throne. All those statues were top martial artists from around the globe whom Rugal had defeated.

Inside the hall, besides Goro Daimon and Benimaru, were other story figures such as Athena Asamiya and Chin Gentsai.

They were watching the fight between Kyo Kusanagi and Rugal without intervening—not because they did not want to help Kyo, but because Kyo insisted on defeating Rugal alone: his father, Saisyu Kusanagi, had already been beaten by Rugal and lay badly injured and unconscious nearby. Rugal had dragged him out as a trophy to display before everyone, which only provoked Kyo further.

The moment Xiang Nan entered, a glance told him Kyo was already on the brink of defeat—forced to his knees by Rugal, barely able to stand.

Rugal—long blond hair, a mechanical right eye, radiating untamed arrogance—didn't finish Kyo off at once; instead he ran his mouth, mocking him.

Crack!

A shrill cutting sound sliced through the air.

The spectators, still worrying for Kyo, suddenly sensed someone entering, but when they turned the intruder had already flashed behind Rugal.

Who?!

Everyone was startled, including loud‑mouthed Rugal.

Quick to react, he swung his right leg, tracing a crescent of light in mid‑air.

With that speed and power his kick actually produced a blade‑like slash—solid and lethal, far beyond Mature's flimsy wind blades.

Bang!

Xiang Nan's scalpel, aimed at the back of Rugal's skull, shattered at once.

The kick sent him skidding back through the air before he landed.

Only then did the crowd recognize this unexpected challenger.

It's him!

Of course they knew Xiang Nan: making the KOF tournament final four, even with luck, had already made him famous in the fighting world.

"Huh?"

Lowering the arms he had crossed to block the blow, Xiang Nan glanced at his broken scalpel in surprise, speaking in a playful tone.

He had reinforced that blade with Nen—yet Rugal's kick snapped it. The man's strength was terrifying.

"You seem to have some skill—hardly a mere lamb," Xiang Nan praised, eyes fixed on the towering Rugal.

"For trash like you to break in here and still have the guts to strike at me is praiseworthy," Rugal said, cracking his knuckles.

Without waiting for Xiang Nan to move first, he flung both arms back, gathered power, and thrust his palms forward—

Boom! A cannon‑like blast.

A wave of energy as tall as a standing man roared toward Xiang Nan and exploded.

Yet the body it blew apart was only a phantom.

"Hmm?"

Rugal's red cyber‑eye narrowed.

When he refocused, the man was already in front of him, a cold gleam swelling in his vision.

Rugal dodged, tilting his head as the scalpel flashed past, and swung a muscled arm to smash the enemy at point‑blank range.

Xiang Nan caught that arm with his other hand, but the force dragged his whole body a meter across the floor even though he blocked it—Rugal's raw power exceeded expectations.

Rugal thought he had escaped the scalpel, but Xiang Nan twisted his wrist; the blade changed angle and sliced a bloody line across Rugal's cheek.

Enraged, Rugal unleashed a barrage of terrifying kicks, the air cracking in streaks, yet Xiang Nan's speed was no slower—his figure blurred into after‑images, and none of the kicks struck the real body.

"Trying to outrun me?!" Rugal roared.

His huge frame spun, shifting and weaving, but the spectators could not track Xiang Nan at all.

Rugal's motions, however, looked like a stuttering cartoon; freeze‑framed remnants of punches and grapples testified he kept missing his target.

Within seconds Rugal suffered a decisive blow—the clashing figures broke rhythm as Xiang Nan knocked him skyward several meters, then he crashed heavily to the floor. Everyone watching was stunned: Xiang Nan had burst in, fought Rugal without a word, and in so short a time had gravely wounded the fearsome tyrant, leaving them no room even to think.

"Interesting… For a human in a baseline Earth setting you're close to breaking your genetic shackles. Your growth rate outstrips everyone else's," Xiang Nan said, ghosting into view beside Rugal.

He flicked another scalpel.

Rugal swatted it aside, his lone eye bloodshot—could he really lose to an obscure nobody? Unacceptable! His face twisted; he had to draw on more of Orochi's power.

Yet just as savage energy began to surge within him a searing pain tore through his body, beyond endurance, beyond control. His breath hitched; his mind blanked for an instant.

Then he saw, over his shoulder, a white‑gloved hand holding a vial.

Rugal froze. Time itself seemed to stop.

Crack! A brittle snap.

Blood sprayed from the back of his head. The glove, mottled red and white, slowly rose. From the front, Rugal's features were locked in shock; his bionic eye had lost its mechanical gleam. His massive body toppled.

Silence.

What just happened? Such a powerful foe—dead, just like that?

And this Team Flying Brigands member—how could he be so strong? From the earlier matches he seemed like a different person entirely.

Ignoring the stunned story characters, Xiang Nan glanced at the system timer and strode toward Kyo Kusanagi. Killing Rugal had not been hard, but the man's physical abilities had exceeded forecasts. As one of this world's protagonists, Kyo might still hold unforeseen variables despite not yet being fully awakened. Xiang Nan dared not be careless; he unleashed torrent‑like Nen energy that flooded toward Kyo and spread through the hall.

"Kyo!"

Goro Daimon, Benimaru, and Kyo's friends sensed danger and dashed forward, but the Nen pressure stopped them cold, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

"What is this?"

Every story character felt the same sudden, chilling aura. The very light seemed to dim; they were like drowning souls smothered by fear and despair.

Kyo, already injured and unable to stand after Rugal's beating, turned deathly pale. He struggled to resist the crushing will but lacked the strength.

As Xiang Nan closed in, a pink energy orb shot in from the side and exploded against him.

Lowering his blocking arm, he saw the girl sprinting over—Athena Asamiya! She had actually shaken off his mental suppression.

Athena stopped in front of Kyo, arms spread wide.

"Your psychic power…" Xiang Nan murmured.

"What are you trying to do?!" she demanded, tense.

He remembered: Athena's ESP was also mental; she could sense minds and shape her powers accordingly. Earlier, she had pinpointed and destroyed the device emitting Orochi's will, freeing everyone from its influence—thanks to that same psychic talent.

Bang!

In an instant Xiang Nan appeared beside her. His strike shattered the pink psychic mirror she raised and sent her arcing through the air, a spray of blood in her wake.

At this moment he seemed the hall's true final boss—more terrifying and oppressive than Rugal.

Standing before the dazed, up‑looking Kyo, Xiang Nan didn't hesitate. His hand knife swung in a black crescent toward Kyo's head.

~~~

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