A sickening crack echoed through the arena, followed by Kaelen's choked scream. Tiger's grip broke his hands with a precise cruelty.
Then, Tiger continued, sending a kick at his knees, causing Kaelen to collapse onto the ground like a chopped tree.
But even as he landed on the ground, Tiger added a final stomp onto his back, ensuring he wouldn't rise. Not even after the tournament was over.
Silence turned the crowd's cheering into a quiet, stunned face, like that of a cemetery. It wasn't just a match they were watching; it was a game meant to rip humans into pieces.
The proctor's voice came in flat, breaking the silence. "Victory, Kang T." Everyone there turned and stared at their partners' faces in shock.
Leon's hands turned sweaty instantly as his heart beat like a desperate drum against his ribs. This time, it wasn't a rumor, nor was it a claim by someone else.
Instead, he saw it with his own eyes and felt the feeling they described when he heard the rumor. Right now, he knew Tiger's strategy was a perfect, overwhelming, brutal dominance.
Tiger's first action of breaking the strongest physical opponent's hands publicly sent a message to everyone who was on his list, in which Leon was a part.
Surrender immediately, or be dismantled.
After that fight, all the buzz that rang across the platform wasn't about bets anymore; instead, it was about who would survive.
As Leon stretched himself, trying to gaze at the other opponent climbing the platform, whispers flew into his ears.
"Just forfeit…"
"No one can beat that beast…"
"He's not even using any supernatural ability yet…"
"Yeah. I can just imagine what would happen if he uses his supernatural abilities…"
"Man, if I were on his list, I would just run out of here, or do the worst…"
Leon knew he was no longer just someone with low odds and who still wanted to fight. Rather, he was the sacrifice that had already been marked and was just waiting to fall.
His eyes scanned through the crowd, relentlessly seeking the next victim, as he saw Tiger barely acknowledging the win.
The moment he saw Tiger whirl around, their eyes locked. Even in the distance between them, Leon felt a sense of fear as he saw Tiger's vicious smile while he drew a finger across his throat.
Watching that movement, only one message crossed his mind; Tiger wasn't just going to win against him, he was going to save him for the last.
And after that, he would walk into the ring and consume every last breath and little spark in Leon.
With that in his mind, the path Mr. Lee had shown him felt impossibly narrow. The scalpel seemed useless against the tsunami Tiger was carrying.
Leon's bones began to shake rapidly, triggering the brewing power inside him. Seeing Tiger's face alone made him feel the bridge he was building under Mr. Lee's guidance was terrifyingly weak.
His breathing seemed forced as he tried to shift his gaze from Tiger's.
The moment Tiger stepped out of the platform, Leon saw Jade climbing up. His stance alone on the platform looked like he was unbothered by whoever he was about to face.
His posture didn't look like he was even about to fight, based on all the opponents Leon had seen on the platform.
The crowd's cheers rose again as a girl stepped onto the platform. The moment she positioned herself, she generated a concussive sound wave, causing even one third of the audience to cover their ears.
But strangely, Leon saw Jade standing with his hands in his pockets. As soon as the sound died down, she screamed at Jade without waiting for the starting signal.
But just as the sound reached Jade, he didn't flinch; he didn't dodge; he just raised a hand. As the wave flew toward him, an invisible barrier absorbed the wave and turned it into vaporized air.
The girl's eyes widened, but still, she insisted and sent another one. She continued sending shrieking blasts that made the audience recoil in discomfort.
Still, Jade neutralized them with his hand and stepped forward calmly, one after another. The force that could have shattered stone did nothing to Jade, just ruffling his perfect hair.
Then, as he reached her, he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and leaned toward her ear. A few moments after Jade drew his head back, the girl's face turned pale.
Her scream, that kept echoing, shattered instantly. Slowly, she turned and stared at the audience, trembling. "I… sur… render."
Her words sent a chill down the spine of every student watching, causing their cheers and whispers to end.
Leon's eyes widened as his mind replayed Jade's technique. The technique was effortless.
Among the opponents, Jade was the only one who didn't even throw a single punch, but still won by nullifying his opponent's ability with just a whisper or something unknown.
The technique was far more terrifying than the brute force Tiger had used. Then, the moment the girl turned, two huge metallic rods shot from the floor and struck her from nowhere.
Leon cursed under his breath upon seeing that coming. All the faces in the audience went pale as the 'X' the rods formed quivered violently, tearing the air with a hiss of gears.
As Leon tried to give meaning to it, the rods retracted, dragging ribbons of flesh and blood into the air.
Then, with a screech of metal, they merged together into a single horrifying strike that ripped her heart out in a brutal pull.
Blood sprayed like crimson ribbons, coating the floor and hanging in the air.
Jade shook his head and stepped off the platform, but kept his eyes on the girl's lifeless body.
"Listen. No matter what, fight to kill. Or be killed." The proctor's voice boomed across the arena, sending chills through every spectator.
Whispers flew around Leon:
"What? That's not what we signed up for!"
"This is above what we were told."
"What if I decide not to stay here any longer?"
"My family is expecting me to come home alive, even if I don't pass."