Daredevil was caught completely off guard by Peter's punch.
The impact sent him flying backward, and he tumbled across the ground several times before finally coming to a stop.
Shaking his slightly dazed head, Daredevil felt an overwhelming urge to curse.
He could no longer tell whether this mysterious stranger was simply a battle-crazed lunatic or a psychopath so far gone that he didn't even care about the lives of his own subordinates.
Looking up, he saw Peter standing quietly where he'd landed the punch.
The masked stranger made no attempt to press his advantage.
Instead, he simply waited for Daredevil to get back on his feet.
Matt gritted his teeth.
Finally, he made up his mind.
'Fine! If you want a fight, I'll give you one!'
'Let's see if you can keep acting so arrogant after I've beaten you!'
Matt Murdock's grandmother had once said that every member of the Murdock family carried a devil inside them.
And right now, Daredevil was allowing a little of that devil to come out.
He climbed to his feet, no longer intending to hold anything back.
Drawing upon everything he'd learned throughout his life, he charged at Peter once again!
The battle immediately intensified.
Daredevil's techniques were no longer limited to boxing and joint locks.
Staff fighting, judo, aikido—he seamlessly combined different martial arts into a relentless series of attacks.
His movements flowed together like an unending storm, leaving Peter with almost no opportunity to breathe.
The specially designed billy club in Daredevil's hand seemed to come alive.
At one moment, it struck with the speed and precision of a venomous snake.
The next, it shifted through a dazzling series of unpredictable angles and combinations.
Then, with perfect timing, Daredevil would retract it to defend himself, turning the weapon into an almost impenetrable shield.
But as the fight continued, Daredevil gradually noticed something strange.
No matter how fiercely he attacked or how frequently he changed his techniques, he couldn't defeat the mysterious stranger.
Worse still, his opponent seemed to be improving at a truly astonishing rate!
At the beginning of the battle, when Daredevil hadn't yet unleashed his full abilities, he'd been able to suppress Peter.
He could regularly identify openings during Peter's transitions between techniques and exploit them with well-timed counterattacks.
But now?
Daredevil was fighting with everything he had, yet the stranger continued defending himself with remarkable composure.
He appeared to be on the defensive, but beneath the seemingly chaotic exchanges, his movements remained controlled and deliberate.
Moreover, his transitions between attack and defense were becoming increasingly refined.
The openings Daredevil had exploited earlier were gradually disappearing.
It was almost as though every technique and every experience he'd accumulated throughout his life had become nourishment for his opponent's growth!
Even more terrifying was the stranger's extraordinary endurance.
Daredevil had landed several heavy blows during their fight.
Yet the masked man continued moving as though nothing had happened.
Matt himself was already beginning to feel exhausted.
His breathing had grown heavier, and his muscles were protesting under the strain.
But his opponent's movements showed no signs of slowing.
It was as though the man didn't understand the meaning of fatigue!
'What the hell kind of monster am I fighting?!'
Finally, after another fierce exchange, Daredevil's exhausted body failed to keep up.
Peter landed a powerful blow that sent him crashing backward.
For a moment, Daredevil was convinced that he was about to die.
Yet once again, his opponent stopped attacking.
The mysterious stranger simply stood there, silently watching him.
Almost as though he were waiting for Daredevil to get up and continue their fight.
This time, Matt's patience finally snapped.
Instead of immediately standing, he remained on the ground and demanded hoarsely,
"Who... who the hell are you?!"
By now, he was almost certain that the stranger didn't work for Kingpin.
If the man were one of Fisk's enforcers, he would probably have torn Matt's head off long ago and delivered it to Kingpin in exchange for a reward.
But if this stranger wasn't working for Kingpin, then what was the point of fighting him for so long?
What exactly did he want?
Faced with Daredevil's question, Peter didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he carefully reviewed everything he'd experienced during their battle.
After such an intense confrontation, he'd finally absorbed Makoto Kyogoku's karate expertise in its entirety.
The techniques and fighting instincts he'd purchased from the system were no longer merely borrowed knowledge.
They had become completely integrated into his own abilities!
Peter had officially stepped into the realm of genuine martial arts masters.
If he were to assign a numerical rating to his current combat skills, he'd probably give himself a 5.5.
That placed him roughly half a level below Daredevil.
Matt Murdock had mastered a greater variety of martial arts, but his proficiency in each individual discipline was around the A+ level.
Peter, meanwhile, currently knew only karate.
However, he'd already elevated his mastery of that single discipline to the S level!
Of course, that comparison concerned martial arts techniques alone.
If he factored in his superhuman physique, the Horse Talisman's terrifying regenerative abilities, and a finishing move like the Rasengan...
Forget Daredevil.
Even if the Hulk showed up, Peter was confident he could teach the green giant a painful lesson through a combination of unlimited healing and repeated Rasengan attacks.
Having obtained the answer he wanted, Peter finally returned his attention to the exhausted vigilante.
Daredevil had served his purpose as a whetstone.
There was nothing more Peter needed to learn from him tonight.
Which meant...
Peter looked at Daredevil, who was breathing heavily and watching him with obvious wariness.
Then he smiled innocently beneath his mask and spoke in an almost cheerful voice.
"Daredevil, you're pretty good."
"I had a great time tonight."
"But I think it's time for our little game to end."
Daredevil was dumbfounded.
'What?!'
'Hold on! You can actually talk?!'
'And what the hell do you mean you had a great time?!'
'Don't tell me...'
'Have you seriously been using me as a sparring partner this entire time?!'
The realization struck Matt like a thunderbolt.
An unprecedented sense of humiliation washed over him.
Unfortunately, he had no time to dwell on it.
Because the moment his attention faltered, Peter moved!
And this time, Peter no longer restrained his strength or speed.
Whoosh!
His figure vanished like a ghost.
Before Daredevil could even process what had happened, Peter had appeared directly behind him.
'So fast!'
Daredevil's heart lurched.
Every instinct in his body screamed a warning.
He desperately tried to assume a defensive stance, but it was already too late.
Thud!
A swift, precise knife-hand strike landed directly against the carotid sinus in his neck.
Daredevil's vision instantly went black.
He lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.
Looking down at the unconscious vigilante, Peter nodded in satisfaction.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, he approached and began stripping Daredevil of his equipment.
Within moments, he'd removed the entire dark-red suit, including its mask, along with the specialized billy club.
The moment he handled the costume, Peter could tell that its material was exceptional.
'Not bad at all.'
'If I modify the colors and change the design a little, I should be able to use this directly.'
After putting away the suit and billy club, Peter glanced at Daredevil.
The unfortunate vigilante was now wearing nothing but his underwear, curled up on the cold ground as the night wind blew around him.
Peter considered the situation for a moment.
Then he selected one of Kingpin's men who hadn't wet himself in terror.
He stripped the gangster of his clothes and dressed the unconscious Daredevil in them.
Afterward, Peter dragged Matt into an abandoned shipping container and thoughtfully closed the door behind him.
This would prevent any of Kingpin's reinforcements who arrived later from discovering and killing him.
It would also keep Daredevil from catching a cold.
Having completed that little act of kindness, Peter searched one of the gangsters' pockets and retrieved a cellphone.
He dialed the New York Police Department.
"Hello? Yeah, there's a group conducting a dangerous goods transaction over at Pier Nine in Brooklyn..."
After reporting the incident, Peter ended the call.
Then he picked up the two metal briefcases filled with American dollars.
Carrying his newly acquired fortune, he leisurely strolled away from the abandoned dock.
As he walked, he couldn't help sighing in satisfaction.
"Man, I'm such a kindhearted, wonderful person!"
Tonight had certainly been profitable.