A sound like the sky rumbling tore through the arena as Kaelen's scream choked when Tiger 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 hush, like that of a cemetery. It wasn't just a match they were watching; it was a game meant to rip humans into pieces.
In Leon's row, a thin voice rose from behind him and caught his attention. Two guys placed a bet on the boy whose name was flagged as 'Unclassified' by the Shattered Land grading beside each participant on the match bracket.
"I bet that Unclassified boy matched to fight tomorrow would win the match against that reckless Tiger."
"Man, you're wasting your hard-earned money on someone you know nothing of."
"I've seen three scans like that in historical records. Two of them are dead. One became an Emperor. So I will burn all my money even if he's just a kid."
When Leon shifted his attention from them, the proctor's voice came in flat, breaking the silence. "Victory, Kang T."
All those in the crowd stood on their feet and began tilting shocked faces at each other while Leon remained seated with a fast-beating heart.
He had heard the crowd mentioning Tiger's strategy, but now he saw and knew how perfect Tiger was in brutal dominance.
Tiger's first act of breaking the strongest physical opponent's hands publicly sent a message to everyone on his list, including Leon. 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 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 who still wanted to fight. Rather, he was the sacrifice that had already been marked and was 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, the crowd lost their warmth as they watched him exit completely.
After two minutes, Leon saw Jade climbing up the platform with a stance that looked as if 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.
When a white-haired girl stepped onto the platform, the crowd's cheers rose again as they watched her stretch her arms and neck.
After a few seconds, she lifted her hands in the air and summoned a concussive sound wave that blasted every face, including those of people who were not in the building yet.
One third of the crowd screamed in pain as they covered their ears, while keeping their eyes locked on the arena.
On the other side of the arena, Jade's hands were in his pockets as he smiled, watching the girl showcase her powers. "Weak human."
As soon as the girl lowered her arm, she screamed and hurled another concussive wave, then dashed forward for a counter-attack without waiting for the start signal.
Jade didn't flinch or dodge when the wave reached him; he simply raised a finger and flipped it downward. An invisible barrier absorbed the wave and turned it into vapourised air.
The girl's eyes widened as she halted abruptly and watched her strongest first entrance go to waste. Without hesitation, she hurled multiple ones and began running in circles around Jade. She sent shrieking blasts that made the audience recoil in discomfort.
Jade kept on flicking his fingers, shattering the blasts which could have shattered stone, like they were just air from a toddler's exhale.
"Fuck, why won't you just kneel!" The girl screamed and dashed for a direct attack.
A faint smile formed on Jade's face when he saw her moving toward him. Joy shimmered in the girl's face when she saw herself hitting Jade. But Jade's calm expression shifted into a grim grin.
He watched her move past him in slow motion, placed a hand on her right shoulder, then whispered softly in her ear. "Surrender."
In the crowd, everyone thought Jade had finally been hit, but Leon was the only one who saw Jade's swift move.
The girl's face turned pale when she rolled forward, paddling her hand in her wasted wave. She turned, looked at Jade who now stood far from her, stared at the audience, then collapsed on her knees.
"I… sur… render."
Her words sent a chill down the spines 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 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."