CHAPTER 328: DOUMEKI AUN VS. ONIGAWARA GANTETSU③

 

I’d finally shaken off all my hesitation.

The doubts I’d felt just moments ago vanished as though they’d never existed.

Zombie-senpai is right.

What the hell have I been thinking?

Afraid of the backlash? Worried my body might not be able to take it?

That’s bullshit. Since when is my body that fragile?

And even if it is, chickening out and refusing to go all out is exactly the kind of pathetic crap I hate most.

Besides, this is power I’ve fought to earn. There’s no way I can’t control it.

「…Haha.」

A laugh escaped me before I knew it.

「What’s wrong, Aun? Lost your damn mind?」

Gantetsu tilted his head in puzzlement.

「Nah… Just thought I owed you an apology.」

「What for?」

「I’ve been trying to hold my own power back.」

「…Oh?」

Gantetsu’s gaze sharpened.

「But I had it wrong.」

Lightning began coiling around my body.

—Crackle.

—Crackle, crackle.

「Controlling it doesn’t mean holding everything back from the start.」

I took a step forward.

「I’m getting nowhere if I don’t even consider squeezing out every last drop!」

I slowly took another step.

Then I raised my fists and lowered my stance, and Gantetsu laughed.

「Gahahaha!! Then I’ll surpass even that full power of yours!!」

「Just try it.」

I planted my left foot hard in front of me, and the lightning surrounding me crackled louder than ever.

「Come on!!」

—Baaaang!!

The ground exploded, and my body left sound behind.

「—!!」

Gantetsu’s eyes instinctively shifted to the left, and he placed his fist in the path of my attack, just as he had before.

But I didn’t let that stop me.

「Oraah!!」

I twisted my body.

His fist grazed my cheek.

I kept going, swinging my right fist through.

「Ngh!!」

Gantetsu brought his arm up just in time.

—Kaboom!!

My fist slammed into his arm, but his body sank slightly under the impact.

Unlike before, he hadn’t managed to redirect all the force.

「Guh!」

I wasn’t stopping at one hit.

I wasn’t giving him a chance to stop me.

「I’m not done yet!!」

「NUOOOAAAH!!!!」

We both stepped in at once.

A massive fist bore down on me… but I didn’t dodge.

「I’ll hit you—!!」

I clenched my fist.

「HEAD-ON!!」

—KABOOOOOM!!

Our fists smashed into each other’s faces, and the shock wave blasted through us, violently shaking the mana barrier surrounding the stands.

「Wh-What an impact! THIS IS A TRUE BATTLE BETWEEN MEN!!!」

The announcer’s voice sounded distant.

Gantetsu and I kept throwing punches, over and over, laughing all the while.

「Gahahahaha!!」

「Hahahahahaaa!!」

To anyone watching, it might have looked like nothing more than a contest of stubbornness.

But the two of us knew. Whoever backed down here would be overwhelmed.

「OOOOOOH!!」

「NUUUUUNGH!!」

The instant we launched one attack, we were already stepping in for the next.

Fists.

Elbows.

Kicks.

Knees.

Then fists again.

Our punches sank into each other’s bodies, leaving red, swollen flesh wherever they landed.

But things were different now.

I was no longer afraid of Gantetsu reading my moves.

—Eliminate my preparatory movements?

—Throw in feints?

—Change how I move?

—Make up for a lack of speed with technique?

Screw all that!

If he reads my attacks, I’ll smash right through his counters!!

Strength is power!! Quickness is speed!!

If my attacks aren’t fast enough, I just have to punch even faster!!

I can draw out more. Way more! This isn’t all the power I’ve got!!

And then—

As Gantetsu’s fist closed in, I took another step forward and ducked low.

His fist passed over my head. At the same instant—

「—Raaaah!」

My fist buried itself in Gantetsu’s stomach.

「Ogh!?」

His massive body lifted slightly off the ground, but even as his face twisted in pain, he reached out and grabbed my shoulder.

「Hah! Got you now!!」

「Ha! I’m not even close to done!!」

I twisted, grabbed the arm holding my shoulder, and pulled him toward me instead.

Then—

「Oraah!!」

I slammed a headbutt into his nose with everything I had.

「Guhb!!」

Gantetsu’s head snapped back.

But…

—Thwack!!

At that very same moment, his rising kick caught me square under the chin.

He might not even have been conscious of it.

But after thousands upon thousands of battles, Gantetsu’s body seemed to move before he could even think.

「Guh…!」

The kick to my chin lifted me off the ground, but I twisted in midair and somehow managed to land.

「Ain’t it a little early to be catching your breath!?」

By the time I looked up again, Gantetsu was already right on me.

He had to be taking damage too. Yet he showed no sign of it at all.

「—!」

A fist was right in front of my face.

I can’t dodge this.

I crossed my arms on reflex.

—Kaboom!!

「Guoh!」

The impact felt like being smashed with a massive boulder. My soles gouged the stone floor as I was driven backward.

「Gaaahahaha!!」

Gantetsu kept pounding away with his fists, laughing.

「Fighting ain’t so easy that you can win just by cranking up the power!!」

「…Ha!」

I laughed too, deflecting an incoming fist.

「Then I just have to crank it up till it’s enough!!」

I knocked Gantetsu’s fist aside and lunged inside his reach.

「Oraah!!」

I drove my fist at him, but he deliberately took the blow on his forehead without guarding, smoothly shifting his weight and lowering his body slightly.

「Nuungh!!」

Shit—

The instant that thought crossed my mind, Gantetsu’s knee buried itself in my chest.

「Guh!」

It hurt this much even with the passive skill 【Pain Resistance】.

And with all the attacks I’d taken so far, my side, shoulder, chin, cheeks, arms—every part of me was screaming. I’d taken some serious damage.

But so has Gantetsu!!

I immediately kicked off the ground, and we clashed again.

Neither of us backed down.

Neither of us fell.

「Gahahaha!! This is it!! This is what a fight’s supposed to be! Right, Aun!?」

「Hahaha!! I can’t get enough, Gantetsu!! I’m having the time of my life!!」

—Kaboom!!

Our fists collided.

The impact sent both of us flying backward at once.

I let out a long breath, calming my pounding heart.

At some point, the stands had fallen silent.

The announcer who’d been desperately shouting himself hoarse, the spectators who’d been roaring at the top of their lungs… Everyone watching the fight was holding their breath.

I slowly walked toward the center of the stage. Gantetsu quietly steadied himself and started toward me too.

Blood ran from both our mouths, but neither of us could hide what we were feeling. Our grins said it all.

「You seriously don’t know when to quit. What the hell is that body of yours made of?」

「Gahaha! I could say the same damn thing about you. Never thought your speed and power would shoot up this much!」

As he spoke, Gantetsu’s gaze sharpened.

「But, Aun. I can still see how you’re moving, you know?」

There was no bluff in those words. Even in that last exchange, he’d made sure to block the attacks I’d really meant to land.

Gantetsu’s technique, experience, reflexes, physique—every one of them was top-class. In close-quarters combat alone, he might well have been better than anyone I’d ever fought.

…Then… All the more reason to—

I took a deep breath.

I sorted through my thoughts.

What I needed to beat Gantetsu here and now wasn’t a more complicated technique.

It wasn’t a better feint or more skillful hand-to-hand combat, either.

—Don’t hold your power back.

—Don’t be afraid of it.

「…Gantetsu.」

「What?」

「Let’s settle this with the next one.」

The corners of Gantetsu’s mouth curled upward.

「…Oh?」

「We’re getting nowhere trading these little punches, right?」

I lowered my body and sent lightning racing through every part of it.

「So—I’m gonna smash right through you with everything I’ve got.」