Dogyu bent his knees again, only this time his stance dropped even lower, his fingers almost grazing the tatami.
With that, Dogyu vanished from his line of sight. In an explosive movement, all Byeoto saw was the grappler's head descending to waist level.
Almost automatically, he launched an ascending knee, but Dogyu had already shifted levels. The knee passed over his shoulder, and at the exact same time, both of Dogyu's arms wrapped around Byeoto's waist. This time, he didn't target the legs—he went straight for the torso.
He squeezed with immense force. However, Byeoto didn't break; he kept heavy pressure throughout his body. Seeing that the initial push had no effect, Dogyu took a small step outward, then another, driving his hip in front of Byeoto's to pull violently.
Byeoto twisted violently, and his back slammed onto the tatami. Before he could even try to sit up, Dogyu was already on top of him again. His left knee sliced right through Byeoto's legs while his right knee followed the same path. In a fraction of a second... he had passed the guard.
Byeoto tried to push Dogyu's chest away, but it was useless. Dogyu didn't waste a single moment. He slowly slid his knee across Byeoto's abdomen, concentrating all his weight directly on his stomach. Byeoto grit his teeth, finding himself in a position where even breathing was a struggle.
With a clean movement, Dogyu pinned Byeoto's left wrist against the tatami, while sliding his other arm underneath to begin bending it. He immediately pushed the elbow down, only to release the arm a second later, making Byeoto's eyes widen—it was a feint.
Dogyu spun over him, wrapping his arms around Byeoto's head and one arm once more, crashing his chest down onto him. In the end, the feint was merely a setup to pin him down. Every movement Byeoto attempted was met with a minute adjustment. One centimeter. Two centimeters. Always just enough.
Byeoto had been trying to escape for almost a full minute. Yet Dogyu hadn't made a single mistake.
The grappler breathed out slowly.
"You should really submit by now. You've escaped way too many times."
Byeoto spat a bit of blood off to the side as he replied:
"Still got enough breath left to talk, huh?"
Without warning, Byeoto bridged with every ounce of power in his legs, twisting his hips and driving a knee between them, pushing against the chest to finally reclaim space. He rolled backward and stood up, breathing heavily as sweat poured down his face.
Dogyu surged forward into another attack. But this time, Byeoto was already airborne, spinning in mid-air to extend his leg directly toward Dogyu's face. Dogyu raised his forearm and reinforced it with his other hand. Even so, the impact forced Dogyu back several steps.
"You sure hit hard..." Dogyu said, shaking out his arm.
Byeoto attacked again, but with more composure, measuring the distance and throwing simple strikes to keep him at bay. Dogyu dodged and blocked with sharp precision. That was until he parried a straight punch and caught Byeoto's hand.
In that exact instant, Dogyu leaped, launching himself upward and spinning his body in mid-air to wrap his legs around the trapped arm, attempting to lock in an armbar.
Before he could squeeze, Byeoto rammed his head violently against Dogyu's unlatched leg, halting the submission before it could close. Dogyu arched an eyebrow, spun in the air, and landed clean on his feet.
Upon landing, Dogyu charged forward once more, hunting for a tackle. He clamped his hands firmly around Byeoto's right leg.
Seeing the intention, Byeoto lowered his center of gravity to stop him, but right at that split second, Dogyu shifted his movement. He released the knee, slid one arm behind Byeoto's back, and wrapped around him.
With his other arm, he secured the torso from the front, pulled Byeoto's body in close, and spun, driving his hip in front. He loaded Byeoto's weight onto his hip to execute a throw.
However, Byeoto reacted. He tensed his legs and dug his toes firmly into the floor, fighting the projection and preventing the throw from fully completing.
Byeoto was left semi-suspended, his body tilted while his feet fought desperately to maintain contact. Dogyu attempted to adjust his grip, but that small transition opened a split second of vulnerability.
Byeoto capitalized immediately, twisting his body in the opposite direction, shoving with his shoulder to force space between them. The struggle broke instantly, and both snapped apart.
Both were gasping for air. Byeoto had a cut over his eyebrow and felt a severe pain in his right arm. Dogyu advanced toward him, raising his arms to grab him.
Instinctively, Byeoto raised his hands, and that was the trap. Dogyu dove beneath, wrapped around both knees, drove his shoulder forward, and loaded through, blasting Byeoto flat onto his back. The impact was sharp. The tatami echoed loudly as his back crashed into it.
Before he could react, Dogyu was already on top, pinning him with his entire weight. Explosively, Byeoto bridged his hips up and drove a fist straight into Dogyu's chin, using that tiny opening to twist and break free.
He almost made it out, if not for Dogyu—gritting his teeth with blood in his mouth—moving with terrifying speed. He caught Byeoto's right arm, twisted it behind his back, and cranked it back with immense force. The pain was instant and brutal.
"Just submit," Dogyu said, his expression completely annoyed now. "I'm going to break your arm."
Byeoto grit his teeth as blood trickled down his mouth. The veins across his entire body bulged from the sheer pressure exerted against him.
Then, with a desperate movement, he rolled just enough to build momentum. He didn't complete the roll—he used it as leverage to push himself up. In that moment, the trapped arm was forced into an impossible angle. A sharp snap echoed through the air: the shoulder dislocated, and the arm hung completely useless.
Even so, Byeoto forced himself up, dragging Dogyu up along with him.
From the stands, Taehun clenched his fists tightly.
"That guy... he isn't crazy enough to do what I think he's doing, is he?"
Dowoon was pale as a sheet.
"Byeoto..."
And then it happened.
His opponent, still holding tight to the submission, was hoisted into the air by the very same momentum. Byeoto lifted him up and slammed him violently onto the tatami. The crash echoed through the entire arena. Dogyu's back hit full force, leaving him stunned and breathless for a moment.
Dogyu stood up slowly, wiped the blood from his face, and looked at Byeoto.
"You're ridiculously stubborn... but shouldn't you give up already?"
Sweating profusely and breathing with great difficulty, Byeoto ignored the agony in his arm and smirked.
"I'm just getting started, genius."
He exhaled deeply, relaxed his arms—though his right arm was practically impossible to move—and widened his stance slightly. He was going to fight using only his legs.
He launched a high kick that Dogyu blocked, but the sheer force knocked him back. Then came a low kick to the thigh that made Dogyu wince, followed by another to the ribs, before spinning quickly to target the face.
Dogyu was forced to step back. Byeoto grew faster. Reaching the front, he landed three consecutive instep kicks to the face, making Dogyu spit blood as his head snapped violently from side to side.
Dogyu thought to himself: What the hell...? Why is he so fast?
Byeoto leaned his torso and drove a front kick into Dogyu's stomach. Dogyu doubled over from the impact. Byeoto spun on his heels and delivered a back kick straight to the chin, driving Dogyu back until he dropped to his knees.
Byeoto raised his leg high to come down with an axe kick. However, Dogyu rolled to the side, dodging the blow by a hair.
Byeoto felt everything with total clarity... but he was also tiring out much faster than usual.
Dogyu grinned dangerously.
"Now you're actually fighting for real."
He charged in once more, trying to drag him back to the mat, but Byeoto greeted him with a chest kick that sent him staggering back. Dogyu tried again, ducking low and attempting to wrap around his waist.
Byeoto saw everything in slow motion. Everything clicked into place. He forgot about the excruciating pain, the broken arm, everything. All he felt was pure euphoria and a deep satisfaction with every kick he threw.
It was fun. He crouched slightly, loaded his weight onto his left leg, and compressed every muscle in his right leg. The veins bulged along his thigh and calf.
Dogyu was right there.
Without a single second of hesitation, Byeoto took a short step.
His right leg fired forward with terrifying velocity. Dogyu's eyes widened as he saw the kick coming straight for his face, throwing both arms up to block.
Right in mid-flight, the leg violently changed direction like a snapping whip. The instep heading for his face vanished from view, arc-ing up and over his shoulder instead.
Dogyu's eyes went wide as saucers.
The shin drove down in a crushing arc, striking the back of his neck with devastating force.
The hit was clean, brutal, and perfect.
Dogyu didn't even have time to defend. He didn't even comprehend what had happened. He simply collapsed to the floor.
The entire arena fell into total silence.
The referee was about to declare Byeoto the winner, but Dogyu began to push himself up. Barely. He braced his hands against his legs and forced himself to stand, dazed and swaying on his feet. He was at his absolute limit.
Though Byeoto was at his limit, too. With every remaining drop of strength, the two met face to face once more.
Dogyu grit his teeth, trying to execute one last takedown. Byeoto had almost no strength left, but he struck with his good hand. Dogyu tried to gain control, but he had no energy left either. As he closed in, Byeoto kicked him.
Collapsing to their knees, the two began trading brutal punches, elbows, and headbutts right there on the mat, completely unable to stand up.
Both bled heavily. They struck each other without restraint, as if nothing else in the world mattered, until the referee rushed in between them and separated them with the help of the assistants.
Neither of them could get back up, both left lying on the floor, staring up at the ceiling.
The fight had come to an end.