Chapter Twelve: The Confrontation Begins

Meanwhile, Seven and Cupid were locked in a fierce struggle. Both men were determined to defeat the other, and neither held anything back.

"Die!"

Seven lunged toward Cupid, his body spinning at high speed. A visible vortex of energy formed around him, and he rammed into Cupid like a spinning windmill. This was one of Seven's signature combat maneuvers, a technique that utilized the immense kinetic force of his rotating body; he had once used this very move on Earth to defeat an impostor.

However, for Cupid, this was not enough to bring him down. His blue body suddenly leaped upward, followed by a diving kick from the air—a maneuver designed to strike an enemy with maximum efficiency in the shortest possible distance and time.

"Bang!"

The violent collision of muscle against muscle sent both combatants reeling backward. Before they had even regained their footing, Seven threw a punch at Cupid's face. Cupid dodged sideways, seized Seven’s wrist with a steady grip, and then, using a pivot of his body and a surge of strength in his arms, threw Seven over his shoulder.

"Seven, stop this reckless fighting!" Seeing the two separate, Zoffy tried to intervene, but Seven ignored his words entirely.

On the other side, Ace was also attempting to restrain Cupid, but it was clearly to no avail. The deep-seated resentment between Cupid and Seven made this battle inevitable; neither side was willing to back down.

As they closed the distance again, Seven delivered a series of heavy kicks to Cupid. Cupid did not dodge, choosing instead to tank the blows. Seizing a momentary lull in Seven's momentum, he leaped up and brought a merciless hand-chop down onto Seven's shoulder. The armor on Seven's shoulder absorbed the brunt of the strike; with his plating, Seven’s defensive capabilities were significantly superior to Cupid's.

Seven clamped his left hand down on Cupid’s wrist, balled his right hand into a fist, and struck hard at Cupid's midsection—his most vulnerable spot. As the right hook landed, Seven released his left hand, clenched it into a fist, and struck the same spot with savage force.

Seven seemed to have lost all restraint, landing punch after punch on the exact same point, each blow thudding home with sickening force. This was the "Seven Combo," a powerful sequence of blows targeting an enemy's weakness that had become a staple of his fighting style. In the 40th episode of *Ultraman Taro*, Seven had used this very technique on Saturn to force the monstrous tyrant Tyrant into a retreat.

Yet, Cupid merely swayed, steadied himself, and spat out cold words.

"Armor up!"

The Dictator Gear armor spread across Cupid’s blue frame. This time, he stood firm, taking Seven's barrage of punches without retreating a single step.

"My turn!"

With the assistance of the armor’s boosters, Cupid concentrated all his energy into his right fist. The strength of his arm, already enhanced by the Dictator Gear, was pushed to its limit as he swung a heavy punch directly into Seven’s chest plate.

Seven was sent flying backward. In the vacuum of space, with nothing to push off against, he drifted helplessly until Zoffy caught him.

"Seven, that’s enough!"

Seven shook himself free and lunged at Cupid once more, his body spinning rapidly, radiating destructive energy as he charged.

"Spinning Flash!"

Cupid grew slightly more cautious. He stepped back, raised his right hand, and—empowered by the Dictator Gear—rushed to meet Seven head-on, his right hand sweeping down from above, gripping his Eye Slugger.

"Clang!"

As Cupid moved, he swung his Eye Slugger, batting away the energy bolts. When he reached Seven, he brought the weapon down in a ruthless, merciless strike.

"Bang!"

The light scattered instantly, followed by the sound of clashing metal. Seven held his own Eye Slugger tightly, straining to hold back Cupid’s blade.

"Hmph!"

With the extra thrust from the Dictator Gear, Cupid pressed down with his Eye Slugger. Though Seven resisted with all his might, his body was forced downward.

"Whoosh!"

As Cupid’s weapon descended, Seven slipped away from beneath him and, with a swift turn, came to a halt a short distance away.

"You defeated me last time. This time, we shall have a fair fight!" Cupid’s sharp gaze locked onto Seven as he threw his Eye Slugger.

The Eye Slugger became a storm of steel, spinning at high speed. In the vacuum of space, no sound could carry, but the immense energy it carried forced Seven to treat it with the utmost caution.

Seven deployed his own Eye Slugger and, with a flick of his hands, utilized a guided shot to assist it. The added boost of his light energy increased the weapon's speed several times over as it roared toward Cupid’s blade.

*Ultra Impact Strategy.*

"Clang!"

The two lights collided violently in the void. After a brief moment of impact, they ricocheted back to their owners.

The moment Seven retrieved his weapon, he gathered his light energy, forming a cross with his hands to launch a piercing energy blade at Cupid with overwhelming momentum.

"Cross Ray Slash!"

As the slash was fired, the brilliant light transformed into a massive, several-fathom-long shadow that erupted outward! The projection, saturated with intense light energy, struck out like a giant blade, its sharpness chilling to the bone.

Cupid was clearly more cautious now. As a seasoned warrior, he did not underestimate his opponent. With the amplification of the Dictator Gear, he unleashed a torrent of energy beams from his fingertips to his elbows. The fierce stream of light instantly illuminated the cosmos, cutting through the stars to crash head-on into the incoming Cross Ray Slash.

Both energy attacks were terrifyingly fast, their raw power evenly matched. The two ferocious strikes collided like meteors.

At the moment of impact, there was no sound, but the powerful shockwave radiated outward in a ring from the center of the collision.

Even Zoffy turned his head, watching the brilliant ball of light in the arena, which radiated an intensely sharp aura.

To be continued.