Chapter 101 The Tournament (17)

"Do you think Erik is going to win?" Floyd asked Amber.

"Yes," She replied while Gwen nodded.

It was clear for all to see. Erik was able to take advantage of his opponent's mad rush to attack, successfully getting rid of Euan's distance advantage. By masterfully parrying, deflecting, and avoiding every attack Euan made, Erik was able to keep his strength while slowly making his opponent burn his stamina and mana.

Though, the fight was not as simple as one could think since Euan's bladed tail was basically like fighting another person in terms of stats.

The tail's strength was much higher than Eduan's. Its speed was incomparable to his, so Erik took quite a bit of effort to dodge those attacks, which were coming at high speeds with great power behind them.

In addition, he had no armor on his body, only clothes. So when Euan attacked, Erik risked serious damage if he didn't parry or deflect the move properly. He was already hit on the chest by one of such attacks making him bleed profusely.

"Though Erik must pay attention as this is the most crucial part of the fight. He must be able to exploit Euan's tiredness and push further while keeping himself safe. Dodging that tail seems like no easy task," Gwen added.

In the meantime, Erik was parrying, dodging, and deflecting non-stop Euan's attacks while attacking him at the same time. He used punches and kicks, but since Erik covered his arms and legs in sharpening mana, his punches were as dangerous as knife slashes. Though, even his movements started to become slower due to fatigue.

Erik's movements became sluggish as he dodged the deadly bladed tail with agility. In the end, he couldn't avoid everything. Some blows did manage to find their target, even though they weren't lethal. One particularly hard strike landed below Erik's rib cage, leaving a deep wound.

It wasn't fatal, meaning Euan wasn't out of the fight. However, it would definitely complicate things for Erik from that point onward.

Slowly but surely, Erik started wounding Euan more and more. The young man couldn't gain distance since Erik trapped him near the ring's edges.

"He is almost there," Amber said.

"Yeah, he just needs to push a little bit more, and Euan will be his," Gwen replied.

"Why do you say so?" Floyd asked.

"Because Erik is clearly faster and stronger than Euan, and his power is a melee one, meaning that he has an advantage in close-quarters, while Euan is a mid-range fighter. It doesn't matter that he is better than Erik in terms of martial might since Erik, by using his power on himself, basically made Euan unable to attack him with his bare body, lest injuring himself against his opponent's sharpened arms."

"C'mon, Euan! Make that asshole cry!" a woman from the crowd shouted.

"Make him suffer, Euan!" a man said.

Most of the people who saw Erik's previous fights looked at the match, hoping he would lose. Clearly, there was also Euan's opposition. The parents and friends of the opponents Euan defeated came to see the match too and were currently swearing at Euan, hoping he would lose the match.

They were delighted to see the same man that took away from their friends, sons, and daughters the opportunity to join the Red Palace in an unfavorable situation.

Though, they were less vocal than Erik's haters since they were much more than Euan's due to his previous status as the school's trash. Many people thought Erik didn't deserve his awakening, but only because they didn't know him.

Whoever saw Erik train knew very well that the guy didn't rest a little bit and was very serious about training. Not only that, but Erik showed remarkable fighting skills during sparring sessions and even during actual fights.

Those who saw him train knew how much the young man had improved; that was no easy feat. Besides, Erik also showed impressive battle senses, which only people who trained for years and had many life-or-death encounters could have.

Many people who saw Erik's behavior before his awakening didn't know this side of the young man, and they saw him as a coward because of it.

Someone so feeble and helpless that all he could do to stop Logan, Conal, and Orson from hitting him was plead. He was a man who wouldn't respond angrily to insults or stand up to bullies. So, they had no idea the young man possessed such extraordinary skills.

The truth was that Erik's maltreatment throughout the years had planted the seed of something dark within him, something that had been emerging gradually since he received the system and something that would ultimately burst forth anytime the young man got into a physical altercation.

After Euan's last attack missed its intended target, Erik had the opportunity to attack. He suddenly burst toward him in a short but insanely fast dash that ended up in a kick in the stomach that knocked his opponent off balance.

Before Euan was able to understand what had happened, Erik grabbed his head between both hands and slammed his forehead into Euan's nose, breaking it cleanly.

This resulted in blood gushing everywhere and Euan having trouble standing. Erik, though, didn't waste time.

He immediately followed it up with a knee straight into Euan's face before grabbing hold of his arms and slamming him down onto the ground, pinning the boy under his feet.

During the fight, Erik's face slowly morphed into a smile, which soon turned sadistic as he was finally able to attack Euan.

A punch in the throat came upon Euan, which made him lose control over his bladed tail and force his mouth open in a vain attempt to catch his breath.

Erik looked at his opponent with an evil glint and a sinister look. He was enjoying the fight and was going to beat Euan into submission. Another punch was launched and landed on Euan's gut, forcing him to spasm uncontrollably and gasp for air.

But he wasn't done; after putting his knee on his opponent's neck, Erik delivered three consecutive punches in the head that caused Euan to go unconscious.

Gasp of shock resounded through the crowd. As Erik kept beating Euan despite him having already lost consciousness. The referee and the healer had to quickly jump inside the ring to stop Erik from trashing his opponent further.

"Erik, STOP!" Amber shouted.

Many people shouted in outrage against the young man, but he was basically deaf to their rumblings.

Who knew the old Erik was witnessing a different side of him. He no longer was the pitiful wretch begging for mercy, that was true, but he wasn't even someone who merely dared to stand up and fight back, whose heart beat strong and true, who was confident and brave.

He was a ruthless demon who didn't even stop attacking his unconscious opponent. The people who saw him fight against Priya already knew that, but they were not many. Not even Amber, Floyd, and Gwen knew this side of him since he never showed it.

"What the hell is he doing?" Floyd said. The referee was finally able to stop Erik from going further. At the same time, the healer rushed to Euan and started treating him.

"STAND BACK! OR I WILL DISQUALIFY YOU!" The referee said. It was at that moment that Erik snapped back and regained clarity. He observed a bloodied Euan on the ground being treated by the healer but was unable to say anything.

He stepped away from the boy, who was still out cold. Erik knew he had done something terrible, but something inside of him prevented him from feeling sorry for the man. Not only this, but he was slightly ecstatic about the outcome.

Inside him, a feeling of freedom and accomplishment spread. It was the same thing he felt when he killed Logan. There was no remorse whatsoever nor any sense of guilt.DiisCoover pdated novels on n(o)v./e/lbin(.)co

Erik quickly jumped off the ring without looking anyone in the eyes nor talking to anyone, not even Amber, Floyd, and Gwen.

"THE WINNER IS ERIK ROMANO!" the referee said without enthusiasm with a raging crowd around the ring.

Chapter end