Martial Arts Worlds

Nightingale, Abracadabra Castle.

Bloodlust engulfed the room, and the air in the room became heavy as if there was an invisible man around who tried to suffocate everyone there with a pillow.

"B-Bella, can you stop?"

Nevaeh touched her throat and felt like even breathing was a chore while sitting next to her little sister.

Bella, while watching the fight, looked dangerous with her hair floating as if the gravity had flipped over.

"Bella!"

Nevaeh hugged her little sister from behind to try to calm her down.

At that moment, it finally worked, and her hair fell back down.

"Ah, I am sorry…"

Bella looked sorry.

"I am quite glad you are not actually there at the stadium in person. You might've already jumped into the ring and ripped Zachary's head off."

Nevaeh said with a wry smile.

"Hmph."

Bella crossed her arms on top of her breasts and didn't look quite happy after seeing her son get punched in the face.

"That bastard is aiming for my son's face, isn't he? Jealous of his good looks? I also saw what this little shit did to that poor girl. A genuine piece of shit."

"Leave it to your son, alright? He isn't defeated yet, and since he still has the record of the Game, I am sure that he hasn't shown everything he is capable of doing."

Nevaeh cheered her little sister and rubbed her shoulders.

"You're right… I believe in him."

…

With the crowd's roars tickling their ears, Kiernan moved back to his defensive stance, which surprised most.

"W-what is this? Kiernan is back on his defensive mode? But why? It clearly failed just a moment ago. Is he simply not confident in his offensive prowess against Zachary?"

"You cannot win without attacking, so I am not quite sure what Kiernan is planning to do!"

Zachary's corner of his lips curled into a grin, and he accepted the challenge with open arms.

Without further ado, he stomped forward and launched into his attack. It was another straight punch.

So far in the match, Zachary had been doing his strike tactics. It was the only thing he had really used in the tournament, as he had no need for anything else.

Kiernan looked like he was about to use Rendering Edge, but then it looked like he changed his mind and sidestepped to the side.

The punch missed him.

However, to everyone watching, it was clear to everyone that Kiernan had also lost his confidence in his defensive prowess!

He was completely lacking confidence!

"This is bad! Kiernan is not trusting his martial arts anymore! It can have life-lasting effects on his martial soul!"

Coach Jin screamed in shock.

'Kiernan, what the fuck are you doing? Are you really not trusting your Iron Style? Did I create my Metal Style for nothing if you're abandoning your style so easily?'

Julian stood up in anger.

"You're not escaping!"

Zachary suddenly grabbed Kiernan by his jersey and wanted to drag him towards him, but then Kiernan slid his arms off the sleeves of his jersey and slipped away.

But then, he grabbed the jersey and wrapped the sleeves around Zachary's throat, then tied it into a knot and tightened it so that Zachary couldn't breathe.

"Urgh!"

Zachary's face changed shades immediately.

"Fucker!"

Kiernan's fists came flying like lightning bolts and smashed into Zachary's face repeatedly

"Iron Style, Reigning Fallow!"

The unpredictable and fast attacks came from every angle possible, and since Zachary was busy trying to breathe, he struggled to defend himself.

Thus, the punches kept landing, and they did land until Zachary's face started bleeding.

"You fools. I thought you knew Kiernan. He acted like he lost his confidence so that Zachary would become careless, and he did.

"He grabbed his jersey, which was a stupid thing to do, as he could've just punched Kiernan instead, but he did that out of carelessness.

"You can see that it was planned, as Kiernan immediately knew what to do and slipped out of his jersey to use it as a weapon against Zachary."

Sabbath said with a smile.

"Unbelievable… How can he plan such risky tactics at this tense moment?"

Coach Jin asked, impressed by Kiernan's quick thinking under pressure.

"J-Julian, is Kiernan really feeling nervous? I know that he is apparently always nervous before fights and during, but how can he think of something so risky at this tense moment?"

Julia asked.

She felt like she would never be able to do what Kiernan was doing in the arena. One needed nerves as strong as steel to face such danger.

"I really don't know anymore. Why was Kiernan so confident that Zachary was going to go grab for his jersey instead of just attacking?"

Julian was starting to doubt whether he would ever be able to do what Kiernan was doing in the arena.

"It is the power of knowledge. I think Kiernan is the person who knows Zachary the best, which is quite interesting since they've had only a few encounters."

Rip~

At that moment, Zachary ripped off the jersey from around his neck and turned to look at Kiernan with a bloodied nose and teeth.

The anger rising inside him once again.

'Calm yourself!'

Alabaster screamed inside his mind.

Like before, a wave of calmness washed over Zachary, and the rising anger calmed down like it never even existed.

"Huff…"

Zachary took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and then opened them again. It was as if he was seeing the world in new colors.

He then raised his muscular arms in guard in front of him, and there wasn't any trace of his previous self left in him.

'The same thing happened.'

Kiernan noticed the swift change in Zachary's emotions and knew that there was something else going on here.

At that moment, Zachary suddenly stomped the ground, cracking the concrete ground below his feet, and then kicked the broken tiles towards Kiernan.

The broken tiles flew like bullets.

Cowardly Tactics!

For the first time in the tournament, Zachary resorted back to his cowardly tactics, and it took Kiernan by surprise momentarily.

"Rendering Edge!"

Kiernan slapped the broken tiles out of the air, and then Zachary lunged towards him, looking like a raging bear with his mountainous frame.

Strike Tactics!

Within an instant, Zachary shifted his tactics and unleashed punches that were stronger than ever before.

Kiernan wasn't facing just a mere muscle monster anymore. He was now using the strength of his muscles to their fullest potential!