"One more! One more! One more!"
With new life pumping in their veins, Karuza High's supporters jumped to their feet and shouted 'one more' constantly.
After all, they were one victory away from reaching the finals!
Julia whispered and felt her eyes moistening as she couldn't believe that they were so close.
'We're so close to being able to fight for my father's dream…'
In the VIP room, Azer slammed his fist into the window and couldn't help but laugh like a child. It was so close.
He hoped that his father would've been here to see it, but nonetheless, he knew that his father's dream was finally within reach.
"I will give you one minute to converse with your coach."
The referee said to Kiernan.
Kiernan headed off to the ring, and when he stepped down the final step, he received powerful pats on the back.
Jonathan said with a smile.
After seeing the victories, even his mood improved after his quick defeat. It would've been very bad if Kiernan had struggled to defeat the two fighters, and Jonathan would've blamed himself for not being more competitive.
However, the worries were unfounded as Kiernan had completely destroyed his opponents so far.
"How are you feeling? Need a drink or towel?"
Coach Jin asked in a hurry as they didn't have a lot of time to talk, as Kurogami High's last fighter, Dietmar, was almost ready to enter the ring.
"No, I am feeling good. I didn't really need this short break."
The two fights didn't take a lot of energy out of him. It was easier than his usual warmups before his training sessions.
"Return to the ring!"
"Alright, you got this. Come on!"
Coach Jin patted Kiernan on the back, and he quickly made his way to the ring, taking his spot by his corner.
Dietmar arrived in the opposite corner and tightened the black tape around his knuckles as he mentally prepared himself for the fight ahead.
This was the worst kind of situation for him and for his team.
'I have to fight this monster while he is in his top condition. This blows. I don't think those previous fights made him drop a single bead of sweat.'
Tiamut High's locker room.
Ariadne stood in front of the screen, wearing a sports bra with her school's symbol on it and tight black shorts.
She looked very youthful and beautiful in her sports attire, making the young men of Tiamut High have problems looking away from her.
'Dietmar is basically the leader of our generation, as it was easy to see during our Punch Ball match when he took the lead.
'I know that he'll be a great man one day and will become one of the leading figures of our government, but he is facing an obstacle so strong that it might be the hardest one he will ever encounter in his life.
'If he happens to win… it will be a victory that he truly deserves.'
"The last match—Dietmar Dent versus Kiernan Hunter!"
The referee said and then asked whether the two of them were ready.
Dietmar lifted his black-taped fists in front of him and moved into a pouncing stance.
He was one of the most offense-oriented fighters in the tournament, and it didn't matter who he was facing—he usually came out swinging and didn't let up until his opponent was down for the count.
Kiernan curled up his toes, moved his feet so that one foot was in front and another at the back, and then raised his fists in a defensive stance.
It was his famous defensive stance of Iron Style!
The referee thought to himself and then swung his arm down.
Without waiting a single second to pass, Dietmar crossed the distance as soon as possible and launched a simple yet powerful straight punch.
He was a striker—simple as that.
Dietmar wasn't the type of person who had flashy techniques or anything like that. He simply punched and kicked, but those basic moves were all he needed to take down his opponents.
He had trained for those basic moves for years and perfected them to a point where they were unstoppable.
At that moment, a powerful-looking fortress appeared behind Kiernan with a storm cloud raging over it like a blanket of darkness.
'What the hell is that?'
Dietmar blinked, thinking that he was hallucinating or something.
Kiernan parried Dietmar's straight punch with ease, but the striker didn't stop and repeatedly brought his fists forward.
The hands of Rendering Edge slapped and swatted all those punches away with such ridiculous ease that it looked like he wasn't even trying!
None of the punches came even close to hitting!
'I… can't break through?'
Dietmar's eyes shook.
This was the first time ever that he was stopped so easily, and he felt an air of oppression crash over him as if the gravity around him had increased.
At that moment, the shadow of the dark fortress fell over him and made his knees shake like never before.
'What insane pressure! I thought we would only need to worry about Kiernan's defense and his tricky attacks, but we also need to fight under this pressure!
'This is actually a joke! How can he generate this kind of pressure while only defending?!'
Hook, line, and sinker.
Kiernan punched forward, and hit Dietmar squarely in the face.
Kurogami High's bench couldn't believe their eyes. They couldn't understand how Dietmar wasn't able to dodge such a simple-looking straight punch.
It wasn't like the punch was incredibly fast. It was mediocre speed!
Dietmar's face crunched, and he swung his fist in retaliation, but Kiernan smacked the fist away and kneed Dietmar in the stomach.
Dietmar screamed in pain.
"Why isn't Dietmar dodging?!"
Loralei cried out in shock.
Since Dietmar was a striker, he had mastered the art of kicking and punching, but he was also expert at dodging any incoming attacks.
It was one of his strongest skills as a martial artist.
A few months ago, Loralei wanted to test just how strong his dodging skills were. She punched at him a hundred times and managed to hit him zero times.
Yet, now in this match, Dietmar couldn't dodge two easy-looking attacks!
"It is the pressure…"
The coach said with a dark look.