The fists kept flying against Kiernan's perfect defense!
In the eyes of many, Kiernan looked like a mighty fortress. A fortress that had never been able to be breached!
However, Kasimir's fists were relentless and powerful. A few of them passed the first line of defense, heading towards Kiernan's face, but before they could land, Kiernan moved his head out of the way.
When that happened, a few cracks appeared in the fortress walls. It was the first time that had happened!
It wasn't impossible to break his defenses after all!
When the Ambrossa High saw the punches almost land, they screamed in excitement and could barely sit still.
"Impossible!" Klaus's voice shook. "Kasimir can break through Kiernan's rock-solid defense?!"
'Kasimir keeps adapting at a scary rate.' Jin looked more serious than ever before. 'The longer Kiernan is on the defensive, the greater the chance that Kasimir will break through!'
Everyone watching from Irio felt like they had fallen into an icy pit of despair. They could almost taste the quarterfinal spot, but now it seemed like a distant dream slipping away.
In the eyes of many, Kiernan's defense was what led them this far in the nationals. Without that defense, the team was vulnerable and exposed.
"I can see it!" Kasimir grinned with his eyes widening as if he were on drugs.
In his vision, it seemed like he was able to see more openings in Kiernan's defenses. The mighty walls of the fortress were crumbling right before his eyes!
"This is the famous fortress that everyone has been talking about!"
Kasimir grinned and punched towards one of the openings.
"In the end, I will conquer it all!"
The punch was heading towards Kiernan's face, but before it could land, a hand came from nowhere and grabbed it, stopping Kasimir mid-swing.
"You all…" Kiernan, holding the fist, looked at him coldly. "Underestimate me."
With his left leg, he swept Kasimir's legs from underneath him, and he started falling towards the cement ground.
Kiernan's fist slammed into Kasimir's face and pushed him down to the ground with a flesh-breaking sound.
Kasimir's eyes shook, and he quickly kicked, but it only landed against Kiernan's right forearm.
The kick was perfectly blocked!
With the last bits of his fighting spirit, Kasimir flipped backwards to his feet, and with a final burst of energy, he rushed straight at Kiernan.
"Raging Engine, the Last Gear!"
With the entire power of High Stage Martial Fighter, he punched ahead.
Each punch packed an incredible amount of power!
Kiernan stepped ahead, and his hands encountered the fists of his opponents.
The hands and fists collided!
The mighty fortress walls, which showed signs of cracking, started to heal like they were never damaged at all.
The walls became taller, thicker, and stronger than ever before!
"?!" Kasimir panicked as he noticed that the previous openings weren't there anymore!
'Where did they go? No, could it be that Kiernan intentionally created those openings to lure me in so he could throw that punch? No, that can't be!
'I think I've adapted to his style…
'He let me believe that I'd adapted, but I never did. To give me false confidence. A false confidence of the possibility of victory!'
When that realization dawned on him, his punches turned sloppy and weak. The last bits of his fighting spirit left his body.
Kiernan jabbed one of his fingers at Kasimir's throat and cut off his air supply.
If he wanted to, he could've crushed his windpipe, but he wasn't planning to kill his opponent.
Kasimir fell on one knee, holding his throat as he had difficulties breathing properly.
At that moment, Kiernan grabbed him by the shoulder and kneed him towards the face, but Kasimir barely hid his face behind his block.
However, the knee still pushed through his block and hit him square in the nose, causing blood to gush out.
'Shit!' Kasimir stumbled back and barely was able to remain standing, but his legs then turned to jelly, and he fell down on his buttocks.
"Knocked down!" The referee shouted. "One!"
'Knocked down? Me?' Kasimir gritted his teeth and wanted to stand up, but his body was fighting against that idea.
With the lack of fighting spirit, his martial soul was taking control of his body slightly to make him stop fighting and accept defeat.
'No!' Kasimir screamed inwardly. 'How could I possibly lose? I have been carrying this shitty school for years, and I refuse to lose now!'
However, his martial soul could tell that all his words were fake.
While Kasimir was trying to fool himself, the martial soul knew the truth. He didn't want to fight any longer.
This was his third year at Ambrossa High, and it was becoming increasingly clear that he was not cut out for this brutal world of combat and competition.
He was incredibly talented, but he'd always been more interested in studies; that's why he was also ranked among the top students in the nation.
However, this world cared more about the strength of the individual. Thus, Kasimir had been put under torturous training since he was very young.
Because of his lack of interest in fighting, his fighting spirit was weak!
Without knowing, the countdown was already at six!
'Shit.' Kasimir looked towards the orange sky. 'I guess this is it.'
With that, the whistle rang throughout the stadium.
"I-Impossible…" Ambrossa High's coach collapsed on the ground. "W-we lost? N-no, we should've been competing in the grand finals, not losing before the quarterfinals!"
Tears rolled down Jin's face while the two reserve fighters sat silently on their bench, unable to comprehend the impossible situation before them.
"Huff…" Kiernan put his hands on his waist and looked towards the audience.
After trying to remember his father's seat number, he finally spotted him in the crowd, sitting next to his friends, who were celebrating as loud as they possibly could.
Kiernan raised his hand and waved.
In the crowd, Karma just smiled and waved back.
At that moment, Klaus and Timothy jumped on his back and surprised him with a big bear hug.
"You're the fucking greatest!" Klaus screamed loudly. "Quarterfinals, fuck yeah!"
Kiernan smiled and moved his gaze over to the screen that was hovering above the stage, showing the matchups for the quarterfinals since all of the round of 16 matches had ended.
[First Match: Karuza High vs. Tiamut High]