Tower of God: Overpowered MC

"To deal with these nobodies… I'm enough. You two just sit back and watch," Anaak said confidently.

"Are you crazy!? "One of the enemies shouted. "You think we're some kind of weaklings!? "

"Kon, don't act rashly! " one of his teammates warned, but Kon had already taken the bait.

"In that case, I'll take you on! " Kon snarled, drawing a spare needle sword. "Here I go—"

Smash! BOOM!

He didn't even finish his sentence. Anaak lunged in, leaped forward, and slapped him across the face—sending him flying back to where he came from, like a ragdoll.

"HEY! KON!! " his allies shouted, trying to call him back.

Too late. He was already unconscious.

One of his friends clenched his jaw in fury. "You damn bluffing lizard… how dare you do that to Kon!? "

He gritted his teeth, tightened his grip on the needle, and rushed forward—only to be smacked away by Green April, which extended like a living vine and flung him across the stage.

"URGH!!"

Using that opening, another one of the nobodies crept up behind Anaak and launched a surprise hook aimed right at her temple.

"It's over, bitch! " he declared confidently. His fist collided, not with fragile flesh—but with a skull tougher than steel.

Crack!

"URGH—What the hell is with her skin!? " He tried to pull back in pain, but Anaak caught his wrist mid-retreat—and squeezed.

"AAAAARGH!!"

His right arm was done for. Hanging limp. Disarmed and disabled, he dropped to his knees, groaning in pain.

"What the hell…"

Everyone stared in stunned silence. No one expected such overwhelming dominance. Even Khun and Rak were slack-jawed.

"That lizard… just how strong is she? " Rak muttered.

"Can we even beat her? "Someone whispered.

"No. She's way out of our league," another replied, eyes wide.

Khun narrowed his gaze. "As expected. She hasn't even used Shinsu yet… That was pure physical strength."

Back in the arena, the beaten-up nobodies slowly stood up, bruised but not broken. They nodded at each other.

'... No one has claimed the crown yet! This is our chance! '

"Shopin! Kon! Run now! " their leader shouted, charging toward the empty throne.

But before they could get close, Anaak lightly jumped—barely using any effort—and landed squarely on the throne. With a quick flick of Green April, she whipped their backsides, sending them flying again.

WHIP! WHAM!

"URGH!"

Rak scowled. "As expected. Her weapon is strong. I doubt anyone here could match her."

"I agree," Khun said. "But it's not just her. That swordsman teammate of hers—Hatz—won't be easy to deal with either."

He paused, calculating.

"However… if Anaak's stuck on the throne for the rest of the rounds, and only Hatz and that tracksuit guy are left to fight… then we might actually have a chance."

After witnessing the one-sided massacre, none of the other teams dared to make a move.

Then came the announcement:

"Because Anaak Zahard wore the crown and remained seated for five full minutes, the first round has ended. Team Shibisu is the winner! "

"Phew…" Khun sighed. "Thank goodness that lizard isn't too bright. For the rest of the game, she can't leave that throne."

"Is that… good? "Baam? asked.

"For us? Yes. Fighting Anaak would be suicide. But against her teammates? We've got a fighting chance."

"For now… we wait."

Announcement:

"The next round will begin in…"

"5… 4… 3… 2… 1…"

Two teams stepped forward. Two females and four males… No—on closer inspection, it was one female and five males.

"Urgh… You should've let me take the crown, Anaak…" Shibisu grumbled. "Those guys look strong…"

"Stop gawking and prepare to fight," Hatz said, unsheathing his sword. "Aren't you the master of Killer Arts? "

Shibisu twitched. His scalp tingled. "Damn it. You actually believed that?"

He remembered the lie he'd told long ago, back when people called him useless. To save face, he'd made up a title: Master of Killer Arts.

"Of course I believe you," Hatz said. "We're teammates. It's natural to trust you." His tone was sincere. Despite once thinking of Shibisu as a weakling, he now recognized him as capable.

Shibisu reluctantly raised his fists and took a stance… until he saw the lone girl on the enemy team pull out a pair of daggers.

Which made his balls shiver. "Why does she look like she eats bald men for breakfast?" He glanced sideways. "Maybe Hatz should fight her instead? But she's the weakest among them..."

"Hey, Uncle Baldy. Let's fight," she said with a crooked grin.

Unlike in the original timeline, where the two would later bond, this version of events had diverged. They were enemies. Shibisu was afraid...

Still—

'If I'm going to die… I might as well die with dignity.' He stepped forward, planting his feet.

"FINE! BRING IT ON!!! "

On the other side...

Two people approached Hatz, looking at him with interest.

"Judging by the sword on your waist, you must also be a swordsman…" one said, slowly unsheathing his weapon. "Black-haired man, did you know… the higher the floor, the higher the viscosity of Shinsu? That means wide swords with high surface area don't exist."

"So in other words... Our first fight might be our last. Disappointing, maybe, but also an inspiring opportunity, isn't it? "

Hatz also drew his sword, listening intently. Fellow swordsmen understood each other better than anyone.

"Although I hate to smear such an opportunity… it looks like I don't have the luxury to duel you fairly."

Just then, another man walked beside him, also wielding a sword.

"Because we need that crown! " they said in unison. "Here we come! "

The two performed a split attack. One jumped into the air, steadying his stance to hack downward, while the other charged Hatz directly.

"Sword that flies higher than any…" the one in the air chanted, tossing his blade skyward. Then he drew another. "Sword that flies lower than any…"

Clang! Shing!

Right on time, Hatz blocked both the frontal and aerial assaults. Despite the two-on-one situation, he wasn't feeling pressured. In fact, he pushed the front attacker back.

Shing!

Klang!

Hatz slashed sideways, aiming to disable the attacker's dominant arm. His opponent barely blocked with a large kitchen knife—but a spiderweb crack appeared. It wouldn't last long.

"Damn... His strength is too great! I doubt my weapon will hold on! " he grumbled, stepping back.

His friend also jumped back after being repelled by the aerial sword.

"Deos, I'll create an opening—take that chance to attack him," said the one with the damaged blade, pulling out another weapon.

"Copy that."

This time, instead of one kitchen knife, he dual-wielded. Together, they kicked off the ground and charged at Hatz again, full speed. They repeated the same formation—but the guy with the knife suddenly threw it at Hatz's flying sword.

Since Hatz wasn't holding it directly, its control was slightly weaker.

Using all his strength, the knife thrower knocked the airborne blade off balance—giving Deos a clear opening.

Ting!

Deos' knife aimed straight for Hatz's chest.

"It's over now!!!"

That's what they thought.

But Hatz pointed his sword at the ridge of Deos's blade—and using the momentum of the air and Deos's body, struck with the sword pommel like a hammer on a nail. Two forces collided, and the enemy's knife shattered.

Crack!

"What!? " They both looked on, dumbfounded.

Hatz recovered his airborne sword and slashed at Deos, who barely blocked—but the force still sent him flying.

"Amazing… to think he'd use their own momentum against them…" their leader muttered from afar. He'd been observing from the start without moving an inch.

"The time's ripe."

He warmed up his fists. "Deos. Cloaker. We're switching tactics. I'll join the fight too."

"It's time to show what the Martyr of the King's Army can do. I'll retrieve that crown in five minutes."

Elsewhere...

Shibisu was nervous at first. He didn't have the confidence to fight the girl head-on. However, he was holding out slightly better than expected. Still, as the fight dragged on, his early advantage faded.

"Damn you, baldie! How dare you punch my beautiful face!? " she yelled, wiping blood from her nose.

"Hehehe ~ Ajumma, do you think I have the luxury to care about your face? " Shibisu replied, looking smug. "Look, you two are ganging up on me. Why should I be considerate? If you fall for my manliness, maybe I'll consider sparing you."

Her face flushed with rage.

"SCREW YOU, BALDIE! WHO WOULD FALL FOR SOMEONE LIKE YOU!? I'D RATHER DIE! AHH, THAT'S IT—I'LL STAB THAT ANNOYING FACE OF YOURS!!! "

"O~K! Please, stab me, Ajumma. Just like how market ajummas stab fish heads! You should've come at me like that from the beginning! "

Shibisu might've been fooling around, but his stamina was fading. Earlier, he could provoke her into reckless attacks, but now she was more composed—and her partner had adjusted too.

Worse, his teammates were still unconscious. He'd already gauged the strength of these two: about equal to his own. There was no way to win Round 2 with just this. They were probably relying on him to carry the fight.

'Damn it! Come quick, Hatz! I'm not strong enough to win alone…'

He'd been relying on provocation because he didn't have the power to win cleanly.

"Baldie, I think you're misunderstanding something…" she said, staring at him with a cold smirk.

"…Misunderstanding?"

"Yes. Did you know… teaming up with monsters doesn't make you one! " she shouted, slashing at him.

Shibisu tried to dodge, but her teammate pinned him from behind.

'SHIT! IT'S OVER! 'He thought. The knife was already at his head. 'I'm sorry, Anaak… Hatz… I think she's right. I'm not that powerful…'

He closed his eyes, accepting defeat.

But—

Clang!

—Ting! ~Ting…

He felt no pain—he only heard the sound of metal clashing. He opened his eyes and saw Hatz's sword parrying the dagger.

"H-Hatz!? When did you get here!? " Shibisu's eyes widened in disbelief, then curved into a wide smile.

"Ahhh~ ~ Hatz, I love you, baby!!! " he cried, rushing to hug him. He even puckered up for a kiss—but Hatz ignored his antics completely.

"Damn… what about the others that came with us? Did he already deal with them…? " the ajumma muttered, looking behind.

What she saw made her jaw drop—a pile of teammates pretending to be dead.

"W-what!? Martyr of the King's Army, my ass!! "

"…Oy!"

She tried calling them, but they kept pretending to be unconscious.

"…"

Meanwhile, something else caught Hatz's attention. A guy wrapped in a blanket was sleeping like a log.

"Ahh, that's the last guy," Shibisu said, pointing. "He's just sleeping."

"…Sleeping? " Hatz's eyelid twitched. "While your teammates are fighting with their lives on the line… you're sleeping? Even trash like you gets chosen? "

He clenched his sword. "Sword that flies higher than any…"

His voice darkened. "I don't like killing people—but trash is different! "