Divinity

--- [Alex’s perspective]

“Alex and Kuro, you may now get into the arena.” – Leanne

Kuro doesn’t hesitate at all and jumps in as soon as Leanne said we could.

“Go get him, Alex.” – Shin

“I won’t let you down.” – Alex

He gives me a smug smile.

“Good. Imagine how embarrassing it would be for you if you lost when both me and Lett won our matches.” – Shin

“Heh, well you don’t have to worry about that. I’ll beat him so convincingly that you’ll be embarrassed by your close call.” – Alex

“Hey! I won, okay?! That’s all that matters!” – Shin

“Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that!” – Alex

“Ugh… Just kiss already.” – Lily

“W-what?!” – Alex

“No thank you.” – Shin

“It was a joke… Wait… Are you… Blushing?” – Lily

“No?” – Shin

“Not you, Ale-” – Lily

Before she gets to finish her sentence, I cut her off.

“A-anyways! I need to get going. My match is starting!” – Alex

Immediately after saying that, I jump down.

“Now then, let the final match begin!!!!!” – Leanne

Let’s just focus on the match.

I saw him fight a little back at the colosseum, but that’s it.

His power is quite mysterious…

He’s supposedly using only his muscles, no Divinity at all…

There have been lots of other strong fighters here, so I can’t afford to take him lightly.

Even Shin almost lost…

“I have one piece of advice for you, kiddo.” – Kuro

“What?” – Alex

“Surrender.” – Kuro

Huh?

Why would I just surrender like that?

Is he right in the head?

“Surrender, or you won’t be leaving this arena alive…” – Kuro

“You don’t have to worry about me, buddy. You should worry about yourself instead.” – Alex

This guy…

“I warned you…” – Kuro

He starts slowly walking towards me.

With every step he takes, the whole arena shakes.

I rush at him, punch him in the stomach, and he goes flying into the wall.

He then casually starts walking towards me like nothing ever happened…

This is exactly what happened when he fought in the colosseum…

He let himself get sent flying, but ultimately, he was fine.

“See? Your power is nothing compared to mine. True strength can not be achieved with Divinity. I’ll show you that you were foolish to ever think you could take me on.” – Kuro

This is all happening exactly like how it did back then…

What was the next thing that happened again?

Oh, right…

He pierced his opponent’s chest with ease…

Kuro clenches his fist, and it makes a noise loud enough to be heard from hundreds of meters away.

He raises his arm and continues to walk towards me.

But it’s not gonna end like it did against the gladiator…

I start charging up my own attack.

I concentrate as hard as I can, putting every ounce of strength into this attack.

When he gets within attacking range, he launches his attack, and I launch mine.

BOOOOM!!!!!

Our fists collide and the shockwave is deafening…

“Hmm. Not bad.” – Kuro

What?!!

He’s still standing?!

I put everything into that attack!

He casually pulls his arm back.

It doesn’t seem like he has taken any damage.

“Was that your full strength?” – Kuro

“…” – Alex

“Well, then I guess I was right. You will die after all. Just now, we clashed equally, but… I couldn’t throw a weaker punch even if I tried. I’ll show you what a real punch looks like now.” – Kuro

He throws yet another attack towards me.

I don’t have enough time to fully charge up an attack like last time, so I jump backwards to get away instead.

His punch misses, and I make it out in one piece.

He’s…

He’s a monster…

When charging up an attack, you need to put all your concentration into it.

You can’t move around when doing that.

It’s like when you first learn BDM; you can’t move at all while using it, because any movement will break your concentration.

That’s the catch, but the pay-off is that your attack will be significantly stronger than usual.

However, that’s not an issue for him; he doesn’t use Divinity at all.

My normal attacks don’t hurt him, and my charged attack only matched him.

That alone would be enough to make it almost impossible for me to win, but…

If he’s not lying when he says that he was barely putting in any effort for that punch, then I’m truly doomed…

How the hell can there be a monster like him among the F-rank hunters???

But…

The bigger question, the more important question, is…

How do I beat him?!

Because I’m not giving up.

Not yet.

I’ve been at deaths door before, and I didn’t give up then.

Even back in that dungeon with Luna and Shin…

I fought a monster who was stronger than me, faster than me, and more durable than me.

But…

I NEVER gave up!

I couldn’t slay the monster on my own back then, but I will now.

Even if he breaks my bones, I won’t stop.

I want to catch up to my brother, and winning this match is how I’ll do it!

Maybe I’ll awaken my specialty just like Shin did!

Wait a minute…

I think I know how to beat him!

Charged attacks is my only option, that much is clear.

I’ll need to be creative with how I use them.

I can’t move around while using them, so I’ll need to make the most of the one attack I get.

If he stops it, I can’t throw another one.

I can’t guarantee that he’ll let me jump away like that again either.

I’ll have to strike him somewhere sensitive so that I can maximize the damage I do.

If I can hit him with a charged attack in the temple, the jaw, or maybe even the balls, he may get knocked out.

He should at least be shaken enough for me to get another hit in, or at least get away from him.

If I have to do it multiple times, it’ll be easier for him to counter, so I hope I don’t have to…

But how do I make sure I can hit him with my charged attacks again?

Wait…

I got it!

I’ll take a page from Lett’s book.

I jump as high into the air as I possibly can.

When I start falling, I yet again put my full focus on channeling Divinity into my fist.

He doesn’t seem like the type of person to dodge.

He’s too proud, too cocky.

I won’t have to worry about him moving away from where I’m landing.

I continue to charge up my attack.

My concentration is so deep that I even forget to breathe…

When I get close to the ground, I release all the energy I’ve built up, all in one ridiculously powerful attack.

I swing my fist and aim right for his temple.

He throws his own punch, but…

Suddenly he stops, and pull his arm back.

Why?

Why is he not counterattacking?

My punch slices through the air and lands straight on his temple.

Even after the punch landed, I continue to put my all into it.

Every fiber of my being is fully focused on doing as much damage as possible; an attack like this would not be possible while thinking of the consequences of potentially taking a life.

It’s exactly the kind of power I need to knock him out yet…

He doesn’t budge…!

He’s completely unscathed…

“Silly me. I almost counter-attacked on instinct. There’s no need for me to do that against a mere love tap.” – Kuro

What the hell is this guy made of?!!!

I’m breathing heavily; charging up multiple attacks like that drains your stamina a lot.

“Anyways…” – Kuro

For the first time ever, I see him actually run…

He runs straight towards me.

Before I’m able to react, he picks me up by the throat.

I grab his arms and try my best to get free, but he’s not letting go.

I…

I can’t breathe!

“I warned you.” – Kuro

His fist moves straight towards my chest.

It’s like I’m seeing it in slow motion, but…

I can’t move my body!

Isn’t this what people say happens when you’re about to die…?

His fist slowly inches towards me, but I’m completely helpless.

Am I actually going to die?

When the fist is just a few centimeters away from me, I close my eyes.

I guess this really is the end…

…

…

“That’s enough.” – Leanne

Huh?

I open my eyes, and Leanne is standing right in front of me.

She stopped his attack…

She stopped his attack with just her index finger…