The wind breezed through the dark forest's branches that looked like wooden fingers and rustled the leaves in a haunting melody.
The gray moon hung in the sky like a silver coin, casting an eerie glow over the shadows below, and without lanterns, the moon was the only reason it was possible to navigate through the thick forest at night.
With his black, leathery boots landing on the forest floor, Rein surveyed his surroundings, his sharp eyes scanning for any signs of movement.
However, there wasn't any sign of Gunwoo anywhere, as if he had skipped out on their fight completely.
A sound of a twig getting crushed under a foot sounded from a distance, and Rein snapped his head in that direction.
However, he only saw an apologetic-looking young man standing there, not the person he was expecting.
He was one of the spectators, trying to find a good place to spectate the rest of the match, but accidentally stepped on a twig and cracked it.
"Urgh. Fucking idiots."
Rein clicked his tongue, and as the words escaped his mouth, a blur of a person raced past him and hit him square in the chest.
Rein stumbled back, trying to regain his balance, and felt tightness in his chest as if there was a hole in it.
When he turned around to see the person who just hit him, there was no one there.
'Indeed. His speed is much superior compared to before, when he fought in the sand. I was able to see a slight blur with my peripheral vision, but there was no way I could've reacted that fast.'
"I've been running through rain, through mud, through snow, and even through fire to prepare for this moment.
"I am not a good fighter. I am a mediocre fighter. All I have is my speed, and without my speed, I shouldn't even be in this competition!"
Gunwoo's voice reverberated throughout the dark forest, but Rein couldn't pinpoint the exact location.
It was because the forest was echoing like a crazy hallway.
"You're strong, I give you that. You're the fastest person I've ever had the displeasure of fighting against. However, why are you hiding? Is that the extent of your trust in your speed?"
The forest carried the echo of his words, so he was certain that Gunwoo would hear him, wherever he was hiding.
"I do trust in my speed, but I am carrying the hopes of Yokai Dojo on my shoulders. I do not want to fail my master like I did against Ghoul Dojo.
"I won't lose anymore!"
Gunwoo's shout echoed through the forest, and at that moment, a twig cracked on the left side of the forest.
Rein turned his gaze over to them, but at the exact same time, Gunwoo ran from behind him and punched him in the back of his head.
Rein fell to the ground, dazed and confused. When he touched the back of his head, it had a slight dent in it.
'This time around, it wasn't some fool spectator that cracked a twig. It was Gunwoo. He is able to move so quickly that he was able to move from the left side of the forest to behind me in a blink of an eye.
'He intentionally cracked the twig so I would turn around.'
Rein stood back up and moved into a defensive stance that was solid as a rock boulder with no intention of backing down.
'Against Ghoul Dojo, he used his speed too much, and his body can't handle it. If I endure a few more of his attacks, his speed will definitely suffer, and then I'll make my move!'
He thought to himself.
At that moment, one of the trees near him split in half, and its top half came crashing down on Rein's head.
Rein stopped the falling tree with his bare hand, and at the same time, Gunwoo smacked Rein on the head with a stick, which prompted Rein to lose his balance and fall to the ground.
The tree landed on his back, and he let out a pained groan.
Gunwoo came to a stop and turned around to see Rein stuck under a tree and then tossed the stick away.
It was a heavy-looking stick that was as thick as a baseball bat.
Rein pushed the tree off him and stood up, brushing the dirt off his pants, and felt the sticky blood trickling down his head.
He looked over to Gunwoo, growled lowly, and started walking over to him.
Gunwoo glanced at his feet, which were bruised and trembling in exhaustion. It felt like his leg muscles were on the brink of exploding from overuse.
'Come on. A little bit longer. Do not fail me now, my body.'
Gunwoo breathed heavily and moved into his sprinting stance with his leg muscles ballooning like crazy with the intense strain.
Purple veins stood out prominently on his skin, and it didn't look good for his health.
Rein put his forearm in front of his body, as if he was going to use it as a meat shield, and rooted his feet firmly into the ground.
It looked like he was going to defend!
"…Yokai Style, Godspeed!"
Gunwoo vanished, and a split second later, he appeared in front of Rein with close to a dozen identical-looking figures hovering over him like a shadow.
It was hard to tell which one was real.
At that moment, Rein dropped his guard and punched ahead at the Gunwoo-looking person right in front of his face.
'The defensive stance was a feint. He actually planned to attack!'
Kiernan thought to himself while looking from a nearby tree, but while most didn't know which afterimage was real, he knew.
And he knew that attack meant trouble for Gunwoo as Rein focused his attack on the real Gunwoo, aiming for a finishing blow!
"I knew that's what you were going to do."
Gunwoo suddenly said, and stopped running, pushing his legs to their ultimate limit as he decelerated to a complete stop.
Rein's punch stopped in front of him. His arm's reach didn't quite reach him.
Rein's eyes shook with surprise and confusion.
"Yokai Style, Throat Crunch!"
Gunwoo jabbed his hand into Rein's throat, cut off his air supply, and as he did so, Rein crumbled to his knees in pain.
"Yokai Style, Temple Blow!"
Gunwoo drove his fist into Rein's temple, and the blow rocked his head to the side. It was too much for him, and Rein's eyes rolled back to his skull.
Slowly, he collapsed on the ground.