Chapter 155 - Enough Playing
Zachary: Without a moment's hesitation, Gonzalez has effortlessly shattered Joseph's nunchucks!
Zenzo: A blindfolded man destroying a boxer's nunchucks, I've seen everything now!
Joseph's eyes trembled in their sockets as he backed down from Gonzalez. Gonzalez opened his hands as pieces of the chain fell to the ground. He took a step forward, sweat forming on the boxer's forehead. The air around Gonzalez was different. His attitude was different, he was more silent than before. Joseph raised his guard, his body tensing up as his opponent moved closer and closer.
Joseph's thoughts: What the hell do I do?!? He's like a Terminator! How… How is that even possible?! No wonder he's desired…
Gonzalez charged forward, Joseph responding with several desperate jabs in his direction. Each punch missed as Gonzalez moved elegantly around them. He struck Joseph's torso with a powerful elbow, sending the boxer stumbling back. Joseph gritted his teeth as he threw several fast straights, none hitting their target.
Zachary: Gonzalez has taken a clear advantage here! Joseph can't land a single punch!
Zenzo: He's probably still terrified from how casually Gonzalez destroyed that nunchuck!
Li and Hugo looked at the screen in awe.
Li: This guy is on another level! He's even more dangerous than before.
Hugo: I… I can totally beat him, but he's doing pretty well here!
Carrie: Beat his ass, Gonzalez! Get him back for Abraham!
Angel: I need to train with him more, his footwork is immaculate!
Theodore: As expected, he's done playing around.
Gonzalez swung his elbow up, slamming into Joseph's chin and sending his head flying up. Blood spilled out as Joseph fell to the ground. Gonzalez swung down a kick which Joseph rolled to avoid. Gonzalez turned to face him, dodging the punches that Joseph continued to throw. His ears heard the wind fly past him as each punch passed by him. Gonzalez let out a sigh of boredom as he slid forward and slammed a left hook into Joseph's side. Before he was given a chance to react, Joseph was sent to the ground with a downward elbow. He hit the ground with a loud thud, bouncing up before laying on the ground, struggling to get up. Gonzalez stood over him, eyes still covered. His right hand reached down, grabbing Joseph's hair and pulling him up. Joseph looked at Gonzalez in fear, his mouth opening.
Joseph: I-I SUR-
Gonzalez struck Joseph's jaw with two fingers, his jaw dropped limply. His eyes filled with fear as he stared at Gonzalez's covered eyes.
Gonzalez: You didn't give Abraham a chance to fight back. You didn't stop when he was down. So why should I do the same to you?
Joseph's breathing hurried, his mind racing as he tried to think of a solution. His right hand clenched at his side, throwing a punch faster as he fought for his life. It struck Gonzalez's chest, causing him to let out a grunt. Joseph's eyes filled with hope. Gonzalez's hold on his hair let go, allowing him to pull back his left fist and aim for another punch. Gonzalez's ears perked up, his arms flying past Joseph's fist and striking both shoulders. Joseph's arms fell limply, now aiming to slam his forehead into Gonzalez's face. Gonzalez caught his head in his hand, pushing it back.
Gonzalez: You got one last hit in. Consider this your last.
Joseph watched through Gonzalez's fingers as Gonzalez pulled back his left hand, his index and middle fingers fully extended. They tensed up as he shot them forward.
Gonzalez: Death Touch
Joseph's eyes bounced as fear overcame him. The fingers struck him over and over, Joseph's mind becoming overwhelmed with an indescribable fear. Gonzalez took his hand off Joseph's face and stopped the fingers just short of it. His hand clenched as he moved back.
Gonzalez: I was lying, those strikes did nothing, they were just meant to worry you.
Joseph did not hear a single word, his eyes rolled back as he had fallen unconscious from the fear of the strike. Gonzalez let out a single chuckle as he placed one finger on Joseph's forehead.
Gonzalez: Never hurt one of my comrades again.
Gonzalez pushed Joseph back, the boxer falling to the ground as the sound of popping was heard, his arms and jaws going back into place. The referee ran over to Joseph, putting a thumb over his wrist, and waited. He turned over to Zachary and Zenzo and nodded.
Zachary: WE HAVE A WINNER! THE WINNER OF THE FINAL MATCH OF ROUND TWO IS GONZALEZ MUERTOJOOOOOOSSSSSS!!!
The audience broke into a cheer, Gonzalez allowing himself to bask in the glory of the audience's cheers. He turned to Joseph's unmoving body.
Gonzalez: If you stuck to that one boxing style, I may have respected you with a more fair match.
He turned away, moving towards his entrance as paramedics ran through Joseph's entrance. They picked up his unconscious body and left the ring. Gonzalez heard the audience continue their cheers as he left the room. He stumbled, placing a hand on the wall. He grabbed onto his side, blood beginning to seep into his bandages.
Gonzalez: Dammit… That did more than I hoped… I can't let this hinder me. I still need to win this tournament.
Gonzalez looked up, hearing footsteps walking down the hall. He regained his composure as a woman wearing a maid outfit walked around the corner. Veronica bowed, Gonzalez could tell she was looking straight at him.
Veronica: The King requested that I picked you up after your match. It looks like he made a good call.
Gonzalez: I think you had a feeling to do that regardless. I won't bother trying to read you since you're somehow able to make telling your emotions hard.
Veronica: I'm glad you're aware of the situation. So please, let's return to the infirmary, Mr. Muertojos.
Gonzalez nodded and walked over to Veronica, placing an arm around her. She walked him back to the infirmary, opening the door as he heard steps go up to him. Carrie and Angel met him and Veronica at the door, their faces beaming with delight.
Carrie: YEAH! YOU DID IT!
Angel: That was crazy! You hardly took any hits!
Gonzalez: Yeah. I wasn't going to let what he did slide by. He hurt one of us, so I would take my revenge.
Ziyad: I hope that revenge was worth the trouble, boy.
Carrie: Of course it was! And look at him, it was hardly any trouble at all!
Theodore: I am proud you didn't use Death Touch. I would assume it was quite tempting.
Gonzalez: Definitely. I wanted him to pay for what he did, but I did enough. I'm just glad I was able to secure our second spot in the quarterfinals.
Theodore nodded before moving his body. He sat at the edge of the bed and stood up. He walked over to Gonzalez and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Theodore: It is now up to you and Daniel to bring us victory. You will lead the charge.
Gonzalez: I guess so. Don't forget that we are both up against the most dangerous foes of the tournament currently.
Carrie: What do you mean? The guy that beat Terry here is still in the running.
Angel: Yeah, it's pretty obvious that the biggest threat to us now would be Daymond himself.
Li: I think he's talking about the fact that out of the four fighters that are in opposition, Cero and Jason are in the healthiest position. While Cero took a beating in the first round, the damage he took from your friend is negligible.
Hugo: Basically, your friend is weak as hell. I'd gladly train him and make him just as strong as my student there.
Hugo pointed his thumb over at Thong laying in the bed, with Carrie and Angel growing faces of disbelief.
Mike: Don't believe a word this idiot says. But Li is right, Cero and Jason are the biggest immediate threats since those are Daniel and Gonzalez's opponents in the next round.
Theodore: Gonzalez, would you like to join us in training? I plan to work with both Daniel and Thong for this upcoming round. Their opponents are ranked one and two respectively.
Gonzalez: I appreciate the offer, my king. But the training you and they can offer isn't quite at the speed I'll need for my fight against Jason. He is undeniably the fastest fighter in the tournament.
Theodore: I respect your wishes. However, if you do wish to train with speed, I believe Ziyad would be of use.
Hugo: Who the hell is that?
Ziyad: That would be me, youngster.
Hugo shivered as he saw Ziyad stand up.
Hugo: Th-This grandpa is s-supposed to help with speed training?
Carrie: Wait, Terry, you don't mean…
Ziyad: He does.
Ziyad lifted his shirt slightly, revealing a firearm at his side. He smiled at Gonzalez, who only met him with a slight nod.
Gonzalez: It is true. My best bet against Jason is to train against something that'll be hard to sense like a bullet. It would be the closest to the sword in terms of usage.
Theresa: Can you men do nothing but plan your next war? Gonzalez's match just ended, you need to rest.
Eve: Th-The queen is right! I demand that you rest right away, please!
Gonzalez sighed as he took a seat. Theodore nodded before heading back to his bed. The rest remained standing, all looking at one another.
Mike: It sucks so much we can't do anything to help…
Angel: It does indeed suck, but there isn't much we can do. The opponents the rest are up against are out of our pay grade.
Carrie: We'll just need to believe in Theodore and Gonzalez's training to make sure these guys can pull through!
Carrie turned back to Remy, who was breathing faintly through his oxygen mask. An image of Abraham flashed in her mind.
Carrie: We need to win for their sake…
Mike: You're not one I'd expect to get sentimental at a time like this.
Carrie: What can I say… Things are just as dire as they are hopeful.
Theresa walked over to the group, meeting them with a gentle smile.
Theresa: There is nothing to fear. These boys will stop at nothing to make sure things are properly sorted out, so let's just give them the best support we can.
Angel: If the queen says so, guess we'll just have to believe.
Li: Man, I could use encouragement like this more often…
Hugo: Leave that me, new buddy.
Li: I'd prefer it if it wasn't from you…
The others let out a laugh as Li and Hugo stared at each other. The round finally came to a close. The final eight combatants resting after their intense matches.