Che Heart Rises in DEATH BATTLE!

   

Ché Heart, the Burning Successor

Ordeal was created by Brent Bristol, it can be read on Webtoon

DISCLAIMER: The Imgur Purge of May 2023 deleted most of the linked scans. Until I am aided in reclaiming all missing images, this message will remain here. Regardless, the blog will continue being updated with new scans.

Welcome back to the blog! Unlike the other blogs before, this comes from a series I recently finished. After developing a more organized way of recording feats throughout my reading, it will be easier for me to create blogs for future series I read because my feat recordings will be organized like these blogs. And I really wanted to talk about this one above all else because wow, I feel like this is the sort of series a lot of people in the VS community would dig. If I had to summarize Ordeal, it's basically Kengan Ashura + My Hero Academia in Trinidad. While the series is still ongoing, I'd like to provide a spoiler warning, as I discuss some big plot points I feel would be best experienced blindly. Without further ado, let's dive right in.

Background

"Through all of this, I should have seen the red flags, painted red with the blood you would soon shed. But how could I have known… a comrade, a brother by bond, my best friend… this was the first day you took your first step over the edge. I should have reached out to you even harder. I'm sorry, Che…"

Ilios, Kataigida, Okeanos, Thanatos. Born in ancient Greece were the four brothers that bore a unique genetic makeup that provided them with powerful abilities that put them far above humans. They were the first of their kind known as kimyos, 1/3 of the human population that is born with physical enhancements and superpowers called talents. The brothers have gone down in history as the Great Four, with their talents of Sun, Storm, Ocean, and Life Through Death have been passed down to others for generations, now named after each brother.

While not the strongest of the Great Talents, Ilios has become synonymous with a later user of it: Leo Thomas. Leo was a young soldier who participated in the Great Kimyo War, a war jumpstarted by the current bearer of the Thanatos talent and #1 ranked strongest kimyo ever recorded, Cain. Back then, Thanatos was a kimyo supremacist who really believed his kind were above humans, and sought to dominate over them. His brothers wouldn't have any of that and killed him in a war. Cain sought to carry out what Thanatos had originally planned, and could have succeeded had it not been for Leo, the one who would kill him. Leo would go on be known as a war hero and recognized as one of the most powerful kimyos ever. After settling down, he would open the Red Ember Gym to adopt and train other kimyos to become capable warriors. Out of all the students he's raised, one had the greatest potential of them all: Ché Heart.

Che is a human who was the son of Sabito and May Heart, two immensely powerful kimyos. His father was the prince of the Heart Clan, which passed down a talent through generations. His mother bore the ability to bestow and remove talents of anyone. Unfortunately, both his parents and most of the Heart Clan were erased by a powerful kimyo and their army after the clan destroyed their previous one. After that, Leo took Che in as his own. Although Che was his only human student, he proved to be as skilled, if not more so than his kimyo peers. He grew up abiding by Leo's virtuous and courageous ideals, but frequently fought other kimyos as a recurring participant in underground fight matches. Because he's only human, he gained an alarming amount of injuries that could put him out for good. Leo forbid him from entering more of these fights, worrying for his well being.

Everything would change after Leo's ex-student entered the picture. Millionaire, 97th strongest kimyo, and complete narcissist Rokash Rampersad waltzed into Leo's gym to reconnect, but his former master and his disciples were obviously unwelcoming. So later that night, Rokash and his nephew paid old Leo a visit and murdered him, having the gall to throw a tournament dedicated to himself afterwards.

It was obvious to Leo's wolfpack that Rokash was responsible, so they elected to enter Che into the tournament in hopes of confronting Rokash in the finale. The tournament... didn't go as planned. During his match, something awakened in him, like a fire igniting his very soul. It turned out in his dying moments, Leo passed his talent to Che, and now he has the literal heat to take on the world. Instantly recognizing his flames, Rokash called him out and challenged him head on. However, since he confessed to murder on live television, he was forced to flee and go into hiding.

For the next couple years, Che and his brothers trained under Leo's granddaughter Andrea to face Rokash once he shows up again. Since the controversial event, there has been a global ban on kimyos using their talents publicly, but the wolfpack has such a good reputation among the Trinidadian police that they're permitted to act as vigilantes against kimyo criminals. However, a far greater threat than Rokash was revealed to the world when a terrorist group unleashed cybernetically enhanced kimyos called titans throughout the world. It's a retreading of the past, with the group aiming to annihilate humanity so only kimyos remain, and they've started taking out high profile kimyos that side with humans. Unfortunately for Che, he's on their hitlist, so he and his squad plan a counterattack. While the pressure and responsibility thrust upon him makes him feel like he isn't worthy of carrying on Leo's legacy, all the people he cares for help him embrace his new role.

The wolfpack goes to the capital city Port-of-Spain to locate the hideout of the group, only to learn that Rokash had the same plan and the two have a heated reunion. All of Che's training has been leading to this moment. It was a tough battle, both earning each other's sympathy in the process, but karma finally caught up to Rokash and Che killed him.

Now, his new opponent is the mysterious leader of the terrorist group, Vaal Vajezatha the Shadow, who he eventually learns is the murderer of his parents and lineage. Now working as an agent for K.O.D.E., the global organization that deals with kimyo threats, he and his brothers are being put on missions to stop the titan threat. However, they failed a crucial mission in which the titans were able to obtain information about the location of the life and death boxes, boxes that contain serums of the talents of May Heart and Thanatos Adamos. If the titans got a hold of both the life and death talents, the direction of the world's history would drastically change.

As Che gears up to protect the enigmatic artifacts, Che is granted permission by K.O.D.E. to learn about his parents' origins. There were two life-changing takeaways Che learned from the conversation. His father was the previous heir of the Heart Clan, making Che its new prince. The other revelation… is that Che wasn't born human. When he was a baby, his mother forcibly removed his talent, a crime punishable by death. The pain Che frequently experienced before being bestowed Ilios was because his body never adjusted to the human state. While Che was outraged, it all became clear as to why his own mother would risk his potential death to remove a talent.

Che was supposed to be the next vessel of Thanatos. The Great Talent once wielded by the strongest and most threatening kimyo and history Cain.

Despite learning such starling news, Che decides to join his allies to aid them in protecting the life and death boxes from the Shadow. He underwent training under the seventh most powerful kimyo, Bjørn Grimsson, to prepare for the incoming attack. Through rigorous practice, he exponentially improved his skills and durability and created new devastating techniques. During the last trial of his training, he had a vision where he was approached by an archangel named Mahalelel, who claims he is now Che's servant. Che's mind was transported to this ethereal realm when he became strong enough to access it. Mahalelel helped him come to terms with his past and stance as the bearer of Ilios. Che agreed to let the angel bestow all his power onto him, which helped him push through the final test. At the rate he just exponentially grew, he may even surpass the god tiers.

And so the titans invade. Che jumps into the fray to aid in battle, but he didn't expect to confront the leader of the titans Vaal himself. In the end the K.O.D.E. forces are able to push the titans back, but the box of death is stolen by the titans and Bjørn is killed in battle. And during all this, mass genocide was committed against kimyo orchestrated by the new vessel of Thanatos, Abel. By the time he made it back to Trinidad and the life serum was used on one of his allies, Che was burning with rage at the ones responsible for this terror attack. Not only were thousands of innocent people killed, but his little sister was almost killed there as well. Mahalelel attempts to deter his temper, but the biggest thing on his mind now is revenge. K.O.D.E. has failed too many times for him to trust them anymore. As he forms a plan for vengeance, it seems there are now two presences in his head. Not only is the spirit of Ilios there, but as is Thanatos. Even though he doesn't bear his talent anymore, he still lingers. Now, Che can tell him to his face that he won't win.

For the next eight months, he trains in a secret area to prepare himself for the return of Thanatos. He isn't the same man he was before, and his allies at K.O.D.E. have noticed this. Despite his isolated life, he prioritizes keeping track of how his loved ones are fairing along with his training.

While this is the story up to this point, glimpses of the future reveal what becomes of Che in many years.

Ever since he gained Ilios, it's been leading him down a dark path, with hints towards his eventual downfall scattered throughout. Che slowly gives in to his violence and is fed ideologies bit by bit that slowly make him lose trust K.O.D.E. But learning the secrets of his past and the genocide agains tkimyos is what set him down the path to become the greatest threat to humanity since Cain. He's now an extremist with a robotic arm who goes against all of his master's teachings, his purity and morals forever tainted. He even seems to have regained some semblance of the Thanatos talent. It leads to him becoming an enemy to not just his former allies, but humanity as a whole, as he has the capacity to wipe everyone and everything out. Ché Heart is no more. Now, he is The Ronin.

Equipment

Regulators

Straps outfitted on his arms that regulate his fire output, lest his intense flames cause collateral damage.

Mask

Che often goes into fights wearing this mouth mask, which helps protect his jaw. The mouth area can open for Che to breathe fire.

Chainmail Vest

Made by one of his teammates Azar, it withstands a lot of the heat he can produce.

Shield

The shield which belonged to the archangel Mahalelel in his realm, Che brought it into his world to use it as his own. Not only is the shield highly durable, but he can channel huge bursts of fire through it to decimate his enemies. He can generate this shield at will, appearing on his arm in a flurry of flames.

Helmet

Another gear Che can summon. More on how he's able to do that in the following section.

Vinter

In his dying breath, Bjørn bestowed one of his axes onto Che. As it serves Che now, he can throw the axe can call it back to him like a boomerang.

Abilities

Ilios the Phoenix Flame

As mentioned previously, Che bears Ilios, the Sun Fire talent. With it, he can shoot fire from his hands, feet, and mouth, imbue fire into his attacks, completely set his own limbs on fire, and create fiery weapon constructs. He mainly sticks to creating fire javelins. If he is wielding a weapon, he can channel fire into it. Previous wielders of Ilios have been able to turn into fire phoenixes and alter the day-night cycle, but Che has yet to exhibit these abilities yet.

Ilios State

Talents always come with classifications to specify what they specialize at. Ilios is a state talent. State talents are a rare type that allows the user to enter a state/mode—basically a super form—and gains special attributes while in that form. In this form, Che's flames burn hotter than ever before. They're so hot, that before he learned how to control its heat, entering Ilios State would burn the skin off his body. In this state, he can grow wings, but he can still fly even without them.

Resistances

• Fire immunity (Anyone that bears the Ilios talent is immune to fire. Andrea was gifted a small fraction of Ilios by Leo, and it provided her with fire resistance along with a weaker version of Che's talent.)
• Electricity resistance (At least during his time as the Ronin)
• Blood and disease manipulation resistance (The Shadow can manipulate blood and infect others after a single injury. Mahalelel can burn the cells of the infection before they even reach Che)

Regeneration (High-Low)

All kimyos have a minor healing factor, so he's able to regenerate the skin lost during his Ilios state (which doesn't happen to him anymore now that he has reached such a powerful state). He's also able to heal internal injuries he had sustained he had prior to gaining his powers. When he enters Ilios State, he can heal bigger wounds faster. And with Mahalelel by his side, it makes him heal twice as efficiently. His greatest regeneration feat at the moment is when he regenerated a hole shot straight through his leg. He had to enter Ilios state to heal it.

Chi Manipulation

Chi is the energy flowing from souls, that kimyos use to manifest their powers. If they run low on chi, their powers weaken. All kimyos are able to sense the amount of chi in each other, which gauges their power level.

Enhanced Strength and Endurance

As a kimyo, he has a small boost to strength and durability compared to other humans.  However, Che is a special case due to originally housing the Thanatos talent. As a human it made him much tougher to crack than the average human. But now as a highly trained kimyo, his power and durability potential is off the charts. Even his cells burst with power with every surge of his flames.

Flight

As mentioned before, he can only fly while in Ilios State.

Swordsmanship

Che is trained in swordfighting. It's unconfirmed if Andrea has gifted one of her swords to him yet, but she has taught him how to use it.

Explosion Manipulation

With one of his attacks, he can shoot a fireball from his mouth that explodes afterwards.

Blue Flames

His blue flames are a stronger variation of his usual flames. Not only are they way stronger than his orange flames, but he's able to alter them so his allies are completely unharmed by them.

Mahalelel's Domain

After pushing himself to his limits, Che became powerful enough to access the domain of Mahalelel the archangel at any time. This entire location is Mahalelel's mind itself, as he has no physical body. Within the realm are projections of the previous wielders of Ilios (fun fact, some of the previous wielders of Ilios were Achilles, Abraham Lincoln, and Florence Nightingale). Since all of Mahalelel's knowledge belongs to Che, he knows every technique of the former Ilios vessels. For Che, it seems that time stops so he can enter Mahalelel's realm to talk with him. His helmet and shield reside in this realm, and he's able to summon both from it at will.

Super Jump

Che can focus the fire into his soles to launch him into the air like a firework.

Techniques

Mixed Mixed Martial Arts

Che is trained in a variety of martial arts, but being skilled in MMA on top of being able to fight other kimyos makes him a MIXED mixed martial artist. There's a whole underground fighting rink dedicated to MMMA fighters, and Che was able to consistently hold his own there against kimyos before he received his powers.

Akontio

He can create one or two javelins he wields, fighting with a naginatajustu style or tossing them like throwing javelins.

Untitled Omega Burst

He can unleash a burst of fire that scorches the targeted location in an Omega sign, the symbol of ancient talents.

Decimation Closing

A combo attack with his best friend Tevin, where Che forms a fire vortex, Tevin suplexes the target and throws him back at Che to destroy them with his javelins.

Trochos Armaton (Chariot Wheel)

A midair kick that has a flaming arc. There is a projectile variation of it that is shot from his javelin.

Sun Spear

Usable during Ilios State, he flies towards his opponent, surrounded by fire, and the impact creates the shape of a spear tip, sending the opponent flying.

Tomas

Named after the one of the Hebrew words for sun, he can conjure a miniature sun. He performs this by pouring all of his flame into a singular point. The longer he puts his flames into it, the bigger it builds up. At four minutes, his sun can reach the size of a building. Who knows how bigger it could grow if he spends even more time putting his fire into it. At its greatest size, the sun has its own gravitational pull that pulls everything in its proximity towards it. Anyone that isn't a kimyo would've already succumbed to its immense heat just by being near it, even when it's small. To alter its size, he can control the layer of chi that surrounds the sun to shrink it. He can maintain it at a tiny size. Even when it's small it's incredibly deadly, it was once likened to compressing a nuke into the size of a grenade.

Unnamed Omega Spiral

In this move, Che jumps into the air and crashes down. The landing causes a large explosion that forms an omega sign and surrounding rings.

Unnamed Shield

Che can create a light shield out of fire, which can function as a stylish umbrella

Unnamed Blue Fire Ring

When he has a lot of allies in a big fight, he can form a ring of blue flames around them so they can escape. Any enemy that tries to pass through will be scorched.

Ilios: David's Sling

A technique inspired by the first wielder of Ilios, King David. Like how David once beat Goliath, he makes a sling out of chi and uses Tomas as his ammo.

Ilios: War State

Che calls upon Mahalelel to lend him his overflowing power—and the power of the Ilios users before him—increasing his chi and firepower tenfold.

Chi Shrouding

This man's chi is so powerful, that it has a weight to it capable of stopping people in their tracks. What's even more impressive, is that he's able mask the presence of his chi. The sheer AURA of this man is staggering.

Feats

Overall

• An established strong MMMA (mixed mixed martial arts) underground fighter

• Defeated Quill, a kimyo fighter with a quill ability with 15 wins and 4 losses, right after 3 consecutive wins against humans
• Che is an excellent strategist on the battlefield. During his fight with Quill, he was able to bait him into guarding his chest with spikes while throwing a kick, but withdrew his kick and landed on the ground to punch his exposed middle.
• Trained by Leo Thomas, a war veteran who fought in the Kimyo war and killed the #1 ranked strongest kimyo, and afterwards trained by his granddaughter Andrea, who is in the top 150 kimyos.
• Beat Nanaku, a mutant kimyo fighter specialized in Brutal Context (BC) training (where fatal blows are encouraged) whose instinct improves the more he draws blood
• Wields Ilios, one of the first four kimyo powers.
• Defeated the Samal Brothers, golem kimyos capable of tossing cars
• Killed Rokash, the 97th ranked kimyo who could shoot corrosive projectiles that negates durability, has wards that protects him in the range of an invisible pyramid, and has an immensely durable state form.
• Che killing Rokash led to the kimyo ban being lifted
• Was stated that as the Ronin, he has the power to decimate the human race
• Used a diversion attack by throwing a sword—which was spinning like a propeller—at Andrea while his body was in smoke
• Became a member of the Trinidad and Tobago Police and a member of K.O.D.E., an organization dedicated to dealing with kimyo threats
• He killed the titan general Souta, who could fire air so concentrated and dense that it can blow holes clean through his targets. Their fight was so heated that it activated Che's blue flames
• In the future, became a vigilante known as the Ronin, who killed K.O.D.E. officers that unjustly threatened kimyos, but said path would lead to him becoming a threat and enemy to humanity
• Went through the seventh strongest kimyo on Earth's—Bjørn Grimmson’s grueling month-long training, which involved Che getting his bones broken weekly
• Held his own against Vaal Vajezatha, leader of the titans, current ranked #0 kimyo, and murderer of Che's parents, with chi that's equivalent to Mahalelel's
• Rescued many K.O.D.E. soldiers during Vaal's invasion to claim the life and death boxes

Strength

• He suplexed Nanaku so hard the impact cracked the ground
• He engulfed a giant fight cube in fire. The fire would have broken through it had other kimyos not prevented it from shattering.
• By the time he was done fighting Nanaku, he was nothing more than a charred corpse
• Scales to the large Samal Brothers, one of which threw a car and caused this small explosion (wall level)
• Easily slices through training dummies
• A titan has a vision of the future that as the Ronin, he would burn a city to the ground
• He destroyed a rooftop
• Che scales to Louise Hemlock, one of his brothers who contained a spirit bomb that would have destroyed a large portion of Trinidad, and was stated to have the power of three nuclear weapons. Given the small size of the country, the range of destruction caused by the spirit bomb would have been small island level.
• During his fight with Rokash, his attack sent Rokash down many floors from the top of a building, creating a large explosion at the bottom
• Che's Sun Spear created a crater this large
• As the Ronin, he caused a city block-sized explosion
• He can create a miniature sun the size of a building. That may not be anywhere close to star level, but Bjørn warned him that he could wind up destroying the continent with it (keep in mind Che was in Greenland at the time)
• Tossing a medium-sized Tomas into a lake made a giant mushroom cloud erupt from it
• Che carried 152 wood logs as he ascended a staircase during training
• When entering War State, a massive fire pillar formed around him that shot out into space from Greenland (this link contains a calc for continental)
• Shot the Shadow to a mountaintop
• Obliterated an army with Tomas
• An off-screen fight of his resulted in a mountain being sliced in half

Speed

• Scales to Leo, who can easily evade the electric attacks of Azam, one of Leo's trainees (MHS+)
• Dodged Rokash's corrosive beam, which left anything it passed through scorched
• Scales to Andrea, who can channel lightning into her attacks and move as fast as it
• Scales to Tevin, who fought a speedster who can create after images, and can slice missiles (supersonic)
• Fast enough to dodge and defect concentrated air, powerful enough to tend walls
• When entering War State, a fire pillar formed around himself that instantly shot out of the Earth's atmosphere. Assuming it takes 5 seconds to reach its peak given its instantaneous nature, it would likely be 

  4559120 m/s or Mach 13292, AKA 1% lightspeed (sub-relavistic)

  .

Durability

• Has been trained by Leo, a man who could destroy city blocks in his hayday, and still has the firepower to destroy the interior of a building
• Endured as slash that pierced his protective vest
• Was punched so hard, the punch sent waves through the wind
• Was punched into the ground, causing a wall-level explosion
• As the Ronin, he shrugged off multiple 70-volt electric shocks. 42 is enough to kill someone.
• Scales to Rokash, who had an entire building dropped on him
• Scales to Andrea, who tanked this explosion
• Lived after having a hole blown straight through his leg
• Survived having his talent forcibly removed as an infant. There's a high chance that having one's talent forcibly removed can instantly kill them, even highly capable kimyos aren't safe. Note that whenever May uses her powers, visuals of universes are illustrated. The meaning behind this is currently unknown
• Withstood punches from God Tier Bjørn, which hit so hard that they cracked his ribs and skull, before being punched through many trees. He was able to regenerate from his grave injuries with his talent
• His shield blocked an attack that left a large crater behind him due to its sheer force

Weaknesses

• Che’s greatest weakness is that he fights without fear. He acts recklessly during fights, and the healing factor added by his Ilios talent only fuels that
• He can still heal and regenerate, but he can still experience injuries that leave scars
• Ilios State is powerful, but difficult to control, because all restraints are removed
• While he may be able to draw power from Mahalelel, he has to rely on his own skills to carry him. It should be noted that there are some attacks that not even Mahalelel can protect Che from, like attacks that bypass his healing

Matchup Potential

Che Heart vs Kazuya Mishima (Ordeal vs Tekken)

(thumbnail by Vibe Check)

Dick with a D

Very glad to have contributed to the "Epic Webcomic Matchup" for the first time since Blip, yw Vibes.

Connections are simple: Powerful but Violent H2H fighters who go on a revenge quest against a horrendous Billionaire CEO hosting a fighting tournament who they share a connection to (Heihachi being Kazuya's father and trainer/Rokash having the same master as Ché (and killing said master)). In that time they would lose any semblance of heroism (Though Ché's came much later) and became "An Enemy of the World" due to their inherited Godlike powers (The Devil Gene and The Ilios State).

The real kicker here is the animation potential however. If you read the blog (Which I hope you did), I think you can understand that Ché 100% has the H2H skills and the abilities to contest with Kazuya's skills in addition to having a form that can compete with Devil Kazuya. It has a ton of potential to be absolutely RAW, especially with how high the scale can easily get into the Tectonic range, a true battle of titanic powerhouses. You can also get pretty violent here with how gorey Ordeal can get, this is in my opinion the PERFECT idea for both. I particularly like how much you can show off battle damage with all the armor Ché has or having Ché use his weaponry to great effect only for Kazuya to just use his hands or the environment to counter. An EWGF combo is a must but I love the idea of Ché breaking the combo with Ilios State giving him electricity resistance, allowing him to grab Kazuya's fist and throw him aside. I could mention more but I think I've said enough for now, this matchup goes HARD.

Vibe Check

After searching far and wide for a good Che MU, my pal came up with this and I'm already loving it. The general theme is fallen heroes who start out on a quest for vengeance against a guy who hosts a fighting tournament. They put a stop to them, but eventually become the main antagonists in part because of powers they inherited.

Admittedly my knowledge of Tekken is lacking, but from what I know and see, Kazuya seems like a very fun fit for Che. I'd imagine it'll improve over time once we see more of Che transitioning into the dark side in season 3. It has the potential for a very badass martial arts fight with some interesting powers thrown into the mix. Devil Kazuya vs Ilios State goes insanely hard.

As mentioned prior, idk enough about Tekken to determine the result of the MU. However, it's looking like Che's gonna get star-ish level scaling at the very least thanks to Kevin Morales' feat in episode 112.

NEXT TIME ON WCAB… whenever I feel like it