Chapter 13: Smashing Showdown

Whoosh…

Raphael sent a punch toward Jon’s belly. However, Jon ducked and swept his right leg out.

Raphael immediately jumped to avoid the attack. He then aimed a fist at Jon’s face while landing.

Jon moved out of the way and punched Raphael’s stomach in the process.

Unable to deflect the attack, Raphael moved a few steps back due to the force but quickly recovered his footing. He then kicked sideways several times.

Jon stepped backward to avoid the attacks and countered with spin kicks towards Raphael’s head.

Raphael dodged them then threw a slew of punches forward. Jon swiftly blocked them using his arms but missed one as Raphael’s attack was too fast.

Raphael seized the opportunity to batter Jon.

Bam, bam, bam…

Jon instinctively raised his arms to block the punches and tried his best to roll with them. He also fired counter punches in the process.

Seeing that there was little progression in the current situation, Raphael intensified his attack by adding kicks to his set of punches.

Huff, huff, huff…

Feeling worn out, Jon jumped back and shot an energy ball at Raphael.

Taken by surprise, Raphael had no time to react and the ball hit squarely his body.

“Ah!” Raphael’s uniform tore open and was stained with blood. A small wound could be clearly seen on his well-defined abdomen.

“I will wallop this rascal!” Raphael angrily swore.

He then generated a large energy ball and shot it at Jon who took the shot head-on by firing a stream of energy toward the incoming ball.

Boom…

An explosion had occurred. Smoke covered the air, making it difficult to breathe and see what was happening.

Cough, cough, cough…

After the smoke cleared, both duelers were standing with their weapons raised and looked squarely at each other, anticipating their opponents’ next move.

Seconds later, Raphael and Jon once again exchanged several close contact blows.

Whoosh…

Jon stretched his right leg while sweeping it.

Wham…

Raphael kicked Jon in the face while spinning in the air.

The onlookers were riveted. The fighters seemed to be on par with each other.

“Who do you think will win?” one of them asked.

“Raphael of course! How could that bumpkin succeed at anything?” another confidently answered.

All this while, Melissa was silently rooting for Jon. She squirmed every time she saw Jon getting beaten by Raphael, “All this is happening because of me.”

Tears welled in her big blue eyes as she blamed herself, “Please be safe Jon!”

The fight intensified. Raphael took out his saber as he rushed toward Jon.

Shing, shing, shing…

Jon whipped out his sword just in time to defend himself against the attacks.

“This guy is out to do me in,” Jon warned himself as he retreated from the attack’s sheer speed and force. “I need to be careful.”

At every move, Raphael aimed his saber at Jon’s vital organs.

Plonk…

Jon tripped over a rock and fell on the ground. Raphael grabbed the chance to repeatedly stab Jon.

Jon managed to roll away but sustained severe cuts.

“Ah!” he winced and squirmed in pain.

Ha, ha, ha…

Raphael’s figure towered over him, “You should have known this would happen!”

However, Raphael’s smug smile soon turned upside down.

Just as Raphael was about to deal him a finishing blow, Jon’s injuries subsided and he rose to his feet.

Everyone at the scene was shocked, “How could this happen?”

“What sorcery is this?” Raphael spat as he prepared for another round of attack.

Instead of replying to him, Jon continued battling against Raphael.

“It must be the crystal’s power,” he thought to himself. “I wonder what else can it do…”

Shing, shing, shing…

The battle intensified as Jon became stronger after being healed by the crystal.

Raphael, however, soon found it difficult to sustain his attacks.

“I have never seen something like this before,” Raphael was in a daze. He then determinedly told himself, “This brat is using something to help him. I need to find out exactly what that is.”

Seeing that he was on the losing end, Raphael popped a special power-enhancing pill in his mouth to boost his strength, “If he wants to play dirty, I will play dirty with him!”

The two of them kept the fight’s momentum going.

“Oh no, Mel is still here!” Jon was concerned about her safety despite his predicament. “I do not know how long this battle will last. It is best for her to leave soon.”

Raphael then put a speed-enhancing pill in his mouth.

“This should do the trick,” Raphael smirked to himself. “He would not be able to hold out against me for long.”

Seeing that the battle was dragging out, Jon carefully thought about his next steps.

“I am not confident of defeating Raphael so I need to make an escape soon,” the odds were stacked against him and Melissa since they were heavily outnumbered. “I will tell Mel to leave once there is an opportunity.”

As if he knew what Jon was thinking, Raphael was now concentrating on cornering him against a rock wall so that he cannot escape.

Jon immediately counter-attacked to gain battleground but it was of no use.

As a result, he forcefully pushed Raphael away after blocking an attack.

“Yah!” he jumped and hit Raphael’s head, landing behind him.

Jon wanted to take the chance to attack Raphael from behind but Raphael quickly spun and swung his saber out before Jon could make a move.

“Ah!” Jon sustained a severe injury on his chest. Blood gushed out as Jon knelt on the ground in pain.

“You should have kowtowed to me long ago,” Raphael once again towered over Jon. He then placed his saber on Jon’s right shoulder, next to his neck.

“No! Stop!” Melissa shouted at Raphael with tears in her eyes while the rest of his gang cheered.

However, the next moment, Jon yet again rose to his feet. His deep wound had already healed.

“Impossible!” Raphael stared blankly at what was happening in front of him, unable to react.