--- [Victor’s perspective]
“And with that, let the next match begin! Kuro vs Victor!” – Bob
I had a little chat with Lett between rounds, and apparently this guy beat Alex a few years back.
It was during the E-rank exam, and Alex has gotten a lot stronger since then, but he probably has too.
I need to watch out for him; I can’t take him lightly.
Especially not after seeing how convincingly he beat his last opponent.
One misstep and it might be over…
“You ready to get this over with, big guy?” – Victor
“Do your best.” – Kuro
He’s just standing there…
No guard up…
It’s like he’s inviting me to attack him.
If he thinks he can bait me into getting reckless, he’s very wrong.
He knows how strong I am; the announcers made that abundantly clear…
He’s not gonna want to take my hits head-on, so he must have a plan in mind.
I stay back for a little longer, studying his demeanor and looking for true openings.
“Letting you go first was a mercy. If you won’t take the opportunity I’ve given you, then I’ll finish this here and now.” – Kuro
So cocky…
He clenches his fist, and due to his massive body, one long step is all it takes to get in range.
As he throws his punch, I’m surprised by how fast it is.
Despite his bulky frame and unnatural height, he’s still significantly faster than me…
All this while supposedly not using Divinity?
Impossible.
That literally cannot be true, he must be lying.
It takes all I’ve got, but I barely dodge his punch in time.
Taking an attack like that head-on would not be good…
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This might be a case where the first person to land a solid hit wins.
So, who will it be…?
Who lands their punch first?
“You dodged… Not bad. I was sure I’d win after one punch. I guess the correct answer was two.” – Kuro
This guy…
Really, who does he think he is?
If he was an F-rank hunter at the same time as Alex and Lett, then there’s no way I’m going to lose to him that easily.
I’ll show him how strong a real D-ranker is…
“You seem confident…” – Victor
“Of course. Confidence comes naturally when you can back it up.” – Kuro
“… But when push comes to shove, I don’t think you’ve got it in you. Let me make a prediction. You will lose this match.” – Victor
“I’m afraid your prediction is wrong.” – Kuro
“We’ll see about that…!” – Victor
Before he can put his guard back up, I slam my fist into his chin as hard as I can.
Instead of getting blown away, he simply stands there…
He’s tough, but…!
“That’s it…?” – Kuro
A smirk stretches across my cheek.
He doesn’t know about my specialty!
“You’ll see.” – Victor
I put my hands in my pockets as I wait for the echoes to repeat.
Moments later, all ten of them repeatedly hit him in the face.
The force of my punch hitting him ten times in a row turns his head sideways…
And that’s it…
He turns back and looks at me with the same expression he has had the entire fight.
“Was something supposed to happen?” – Kuro
How is he unharmed…
That was the equivalent of 11 full power punches straight to his face…
I’ve never seen anything like it before…
Do I really need to use charged attacks to even put a scratch on him…?
Who the hell is this guy?!
“Ants think they’re strong because they can pick up breadcrumbs many times their size. If they ever met a tiger, they’d know their confidence was unfounded.” – Kuro
“Do you really see this as a tiger fighting an ant?” – Victor
“No. I see this as pest control.” – Kuro
He clenches his fist once again, but this time I can tell he’s putting a lot more power into it than before…
He’s not planning on letting me get away…
The muscles in his arm bulge out as he flexes them.
Here it comes…!
Before he throws it, I quickly calm myself down, and take a deep breath…
Like my life depends on it, I channel as much Divinity as I can.
I don’t have time to make a fully charged up attack, so this will do.
We throw our attacks at the same time, and our fists clash.
The ten echoes quickly kick in, but it’s all to no avail…
His overwhelming power is simply too much…
In the blink of an eye, my arm turns to a mist of blood, painting the arena red.
“GHHAAAA!!” – Victor
Had that hit my actual body…!
This guy is a monster…
I understand why Alex lost now…
He should not be a D-rank hunter…
Nobody here can beat him.
“I surrender…” – Victor
A healer jumps in and immediately starts regenerating my lost arm.
“Holy crap! Did you guys see that?! Kuro’s power was strong enough to make Victor’s arm explode!” – Barbara
“I can’t believe my eyes… That man is unstoppable! Kuro advances to the semi-finals!” – Bob
There’s no doubt in my mind he’ll win the next round too…
In all likelihood, the finals will end up being him against either Luna or Alex.
Before then, I should try to figure out the secret behind his strength.
I might not be able to win anymore, but they still have a chance if there’s some sort of weakness…
For their sake, I need to know how he got that strong.
Before walking away, he takes one final look at me.
“Like I said… Two punches.” – Kuro
“…” – Victor
After the healer finishes, I run after him.
“Wait! Can I ask you something?” – Victor
“Go ahead.” – Kuro
“How are you so strong as a D-rank hunter? Is it connected to your specialty?” – Victor
He lets out an annoyed sigh.
“Don’t compare me to you bumbling fools who rely on the power of the Gods. True strength comes from within, boy!” – Kuro
