Yasoke inhaled and exhaled rapidly, his eyes locked on the redhead as he continuously bounced from side to side. His thoughts raced at a frantic pace, searching for a breach in his opponent's relentless defense.
"I tried waiting, I got hit! I tried attacking, I got hit too! What the fuck do I do?"
He kept moving agilely, circling the arena until the answer finally flashed across his mind.
"Eureka, dammit! I'm gonna rush in and stop right on the spot, he'll miss his attack! Then I'll dodge to his weak side and beat the absolute crap out of him! Perfect!"
Gathering his strength, Yasoke drew a deep breath and bolted forward like a cannonball.
Jhony, maintaining a firm stance, merely braced for the imminent impact. "He's up to something. I'll just wait!"
However, when the young man in jeans abruptly braked just a few feet away from the redhead—a razor-thin distance where no punch thrown by Jhony could possibly reach him—the plan revealed itself. Jhony deduced the intention in that exact same millisecond.
"What a cheeky brat... Now he's gonna come at my weak side!"
Yet, Yasoke himself was caught off guard by his rival's static reaction. "Wait... he didn't attack me!"
Yasoke's expression twisted into pure bewilderment, while Jhony remained motionless, patiently awaiting the next move of the golden-eyed youth.
— Are you going to attack me, Yasoke? Let's get on with it! Why are you just standing there? — Jhony flashed a confident smile.
— It's a tactic... DAMMITTTTTTTTT!
In the blink of an eye, Yasoke vanished from sight, reappearing in a lightning-fast assault from the right. Jhony, anticipating the movement, readied his counter.
"I'm gonna take a little risk. When he throws the punch, I'll roll with it and land a kick."
The young redhead threw the punch with full force. Yasoke ducked, but positioned himself just a few centimeters away from Jhony's extended arm. Bending his own body impossibly close to the ground, he gained the necessary leverage to deliver a devastating kick straight to the redhead's chin.
"Damn! He hit me! But this kick won't stop me!"
Jhony smiled, forcing his head back into alignment, and took advantage of Yasoke's awkward, unbalanced posture to sweep his legs with a clean low kick.
— TOO BAD, JHONY!
"Say what?!"
Before the redhead could complete the sweep, Yasoke firmly grabbed Jhony's arm, using his own body weight to drag him to the ground. In a fluid motion, he mounted his opponent. The golden-eyed youth looked around, processing the position they had ended up in.
— This is pretty weird, right?
— Obviously it is!
The two remained static for a long moment, staring intently at each other in that highly compromising posture.
Outside the arena, Liangri and the announcer watched the scene completely speechless.
— I didn't know they swung that way! — the woman commented, arching an eyebrow.
In the stands, Yuji and Zulmy looked at each other and exclaimed in perfect unison:
— They're gay!
Henrique, however, attempted to analyze the situation from a strictly technical perspective:
— Guys, Yasoke has the advantage in that position. There's nothing weird about it.
— I know, but like... they've been staring at each other in that position for way too long! — Zulmy shot back, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. — I could write a beautiful romance about those two! Hehehe.
"Freaky girl..." Henrique thought, subtly stepping away.
Back on the arena floor, Jhony broke the silence:
— So, Yasoke, when are you going to start punching me?
— Man... I don't even know! You want it now?
— Works for me.
Witnessing the bizarre dialogue, Liangri lost her patience and screamed at the top of her lungs:
— GUYS, WHAT THE FUCK IS WITH ALL THIS FRUITY SHIT?! FIGHT INSTEAD OF MAKING OUT, YOU CAN DO THAT OUTSIDE!
"The woman actually said it... She's a bit brutal, but she's got the body of a hot warrior." The announcer lost himself in his own lascivious thoughts for a brief moment.
Liangri, noticing the man's gaze, turned to him with narrowed eyes.
— Do you want me to send you to another continent?
— What do you mean?
The woman smiled with purely murderous intent. Suddenly, a dense aura of Pure Macogo, glowing a vibrant green, began to emanate and coat Liangri's body. The announcer turned pale instantly, recognizing the very real danger and opting for absolute silence to preserve his own life.
In the arena, Yasoke looked down at Jhony, who remained pinned beneath him.
— So let's get started, shall we?
— Let's.
Yasoke raised his fist and delivered the first blow. The impact was so severe it drove Jhony's face directly into the concrete floor. Without giving him a moment's respite, the youth continued to violently hammer away at the redhead's face, who seemed unable to react immediately.
"Seriously, am I just going to lie here and take a beating?! I need to act fast, but how?"
Jhony tried to throw a punch back, but the highly uncomfortable position caused him to miss his target miserably. Yasoke continued the onslaught, pounding his opponent's face against the shattered structure.
— Better close your eyes, because this is gonna hurt!
The redhead's eyes widened as he saw the golden-eyed youth concentrate a massive amount of Pure Macogo into his fist. A transparent, distorted aura began to imbue Yasoke's knuckles.
"Alright! I gotta do something!"
In an act of pure desperation and resilience, Jhony focused all of his Pure Macogo directly into his own forehead. Yasoke brought down the final blow. The resulting impact triggered a devastating explosion, pulverizing the ground and turning what was left of the arena into absolute rubble.
Surprised that Jhony was still resisting, Yasoke didn't stop; he unleashed a frantic sequence of relentless punches and kicks, maintaining an absurd pressure that prevented the redhead from even drawing a breath.
"Times like this, it fucking sucks being big..." Jhony thought, attempting to mitigate the damage. Though he resisted bravely, deep bruises were already becoming visible on his snow-white skin.
— STOP RIGHT THERE!!!
An incredibly raspy, exhausted voice with the unmistakable tone of an elderly man echoed through the venue. Upon hearing the command, both youths ceased their attacks and immediately backed away from each other.
— LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID TO THE ARENA! NOW I HAVE TO REBUILD IT!
Jhony slinked over to Yasoke and whispered in his ear:
— This old guy is the one I met at the hospital who was talking about soccer.
— It's that crazy old man! You can't understand a single thing he says.
The elder stepped between the two competitors, grumbling loudly:
— DAMN BASTARDS, ME HAVING TO BUILD THIS THING, OTHERWISE IT WON'T WORK LIKE THIS!
Yasoke and Jhony shared the exact same confused thought: "What the hell did this old man just say?"
The man was considerably fat, had greyish hair, and possessed a visibly advanced age. With a single heavy movement, he finished destroying the little that remained of the previous arena. Then, he extended his hands and began to manipulate the leftover cement, mystically expanding the volume of the raw material to erect a brand new, imposing arena.
— NOW YOU CAN GO BACK TO FIGHTING, YOU BASTARDS!
The two youths merely nodded at the same time, thoroughly intimidated by the exotic display of power.
In the stands, Liangri observed the scene with evident confusion.
— Who is this obese old man?
— He's one of the oldest people in LutherKing, — the announcer explained, recovering his voice. — According to him, he was the one who built the walls of this city 700 years ago.
Liangri looked at the announcer, then at the old man, returned her gaze to the announcer, and stared back at the elder once more.
— And what's his name?
— He calls himself... CEMENT MAN!
"This shit cannot be real." Liangri thought, incredulous.
The two combatants stepped back into the center of the newly molded structure.
— Now we're just gonna trade blows, no strategy at all.
— No fucking way, Yasoke! Just because I predicted you every single time?
— Obviously not...
"Hell yeah I did!" Jhony thought.
— It's all tactics and strategy, — Yasoke insisted.
— I disagree with you, Yasoke.
— Seriously, Jojo?
The two stared at each other for a brief second, their grins widening in unison. Together, they shouted:
— Let's do this shit then!
The two charged simultaneously, preparing a maximum-power punch imbued with the absolute peak of their respective Pure Macogo. Their fists collided directly with each other's faces at the exact same instant.
The resulting kinetic shockwave unleashed a gale so resounding and violent that it swept across the entire coliseum. The blast of air was strong enough to blow up the skirts and dresses of every single woman present and, curiously, completely tear and strip away the shirts of absolutely every man in the stands.
Zulmy flashed a wide grin as the gust of wind hit her dress, revealing that she was wearing shorts underneath.
— Lucky for me, I was already prepared, hehehe. — She looked to her side and found Yuji and Henrique completely shirtless, while Rokko remained impeccable in his suit. A genuine doubt arose in her mind. — Why does this wind have enough force to strip the shirts off men, but doesn't have the strength to rip away the women's?
Outside the arena, Liangri merely felt the air pressure whip against her body, laughing at the situation of the others:
— Good thing I don't even wear dresses or skirts, hehehe!