Spotting A White Rabbit

[Eyes on the arena!!! If you're a fan of MMA, you'll recognize this well! Only few have ever brought this out of the legendary heavyweight! The Cruficier awakens!]

"He's coming!"

"The 'Cruficier' is here!"

He wasn't familiar with it, but by the sounds of it, something different was arriving within Samuel Robinson; the crowd seemed to go wild for whatever was coming.

Suddenly–he felt it.

A pressure exuded from the man's position; that crimson cross that stretched down from the middle of his chest was indeed shining with a vibrant red.

Chimon was sweating from the stands as he leaned in, watching closer, "...You want to know why I lose at such an early stage? That's why right there."

"What?" Ishikawa blinked, confused.

"Can you see it? Look closely," Chimon said.

Tadashi adjusted his glasses, squinting towards the arena. It was faint to the young man's eyes, but he did see it; like a light blume of fire, surrounding the body of the muscular goliath.

"...A red glow? What's that? Is that…?" Tadashi mumbled.

"It's what I meant with that Baskoro fellow; it's that untapped part of martial arts I never could reach. It's 'supernatural', I'd say," Chimon said.

"Will Touma be fine…?" Ishikawa asked.

The former boxing champion rubbed his chin, "Maybe. Probably."

"Huh?! That's not reassuring!" Ishikawa barked.

"I can't answer for sure. Just watch," Chimon said.

–

The Overseers didn't seem surprised, but only interested further in this development. Though once more, the interest was more on Touma as if posing the question: "How will you respond?"

Touma kept his guard ready as the translucent, scarlet aura clad itself to his opponent, who seemed like a different person entirely.

It's the same as that first guy. This energy…I remember Gramps talking about it before, Touma recalled.

There was no comparison; everybody else he'd fought until now weren't in the same realm. The swirl of aura elevated the man before him into a new territory of strength.

"--!"

That explosive dash came at him with newfound speed; just as his eyes registered that the colossal MMA champion was moving, Samuel was already in front of him with the aura cascading off of his steel-like body as if he were a flaming bull.

It was only thanks to his unique eyes that he reacted to the monstrous shift in speed and aggression: [Heavenly Daigo Style: Pace of The Void!]

The phantom-like footwork that allowed him to gracefully move like an astral spirit through the space of the arena was necessary as Samuel managed to keep up with him, following his perplexing footwork.

He's totally different now. This level of striking–I thought he specialized in groundwork…? He thought.

It wasn't as if Samuel's footwork had suddenly improved drastically; it was sheer physical capabilities that were altered. In raw strength alone, he'd exploded–using explosive bursts to continually match wherever Touma moved.

Each fist that came his way was packed with that volatile aura, causing the air to expand and heat up as he could feel that same heat press against his skin each time he dodged.

Still, he managed to slide through one of the blows, closing in on Samuel's space and countering with his own blow–[Heavenly Daigo Style: Down To Hell!]

The double-fisted attack utilized his entire body weight behind the blow, though as his fists rocketed against Samuel's chest–the man didn't budge.

"Huh–?"

Being in direct contact with the goliath's body, he felt it; the nature of that aura swirling from his position. It was wrapped around the Cruficier's body like a set of armor, ingrained in his flesh and ignited within his body like an engine.

"Touma's attack failed…?!" Tadashi let out in disbelief.

"Oh no!" Ishikawa added.

After his blow resounded in failure, he was left wide open as Samuel finally caught him, unleashing a massive haymaker that sailed towards him with a spiraling wind pressure–FWOOSH.

The impact sent a cascading wind through the arena, rippling the ropes and producing a heated pressure felt by even some in the audience.

–

Overseer Adamas smiled, watching the battle from the judge booth, "...Touma Daigo. He's impressive."

"I'm surprised you're praising him and not the Crucifier," Overseer Myung-Hwan replied.

"The Crucifier is strong and all, but he's nothing special at this stage. Anybody with the usage of 'Chi' can mimic what he's doing, but…" Adamas continued, watching Touma in the ring, "...Being able to keep up with somebody using 'Chi' without using it yourself? I'd say that's a thousand times more worthy of praise. Even a child wielding 'Chi' would kill a grown man with a half-baked punch."

"I suppose that's true…" Myung-Hwan said, "Still, it doesn't mean he'll win."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Yusei corrected his colleague.

"--?" Myung-Hwan looked over at him.

Yusei smirked, holding his hands behind his hand as he lounged back, "You'll see. Touma Daigo isn't going to fall here."

–

[Is the "King of Brawling" out cold from that one?! Who could blame him! I doubt anybody would want to be on the receiving end of the "Crucifier's" fist!]

Being laid out on the ground on his back, he was simply staring up as the spotlight blared down against his gilded irises.

…I get it now. Half-assed attacks won't work anymore. Chimon was right–this isn't any place for half-measures. I have to attack each time as if meaning to finish the fight, he thought.

With that decided, he kicked his legs up to jump back to his feet, wiping the blood that dripped from his nostrils.

"...Quick recovery," Chimon said in surprise.

Yusei whistled again from the Overseer booth, to which Adamas also smiled, feeling vindicated for his earlier words.

Readying himself with a side-turned stance, Touma looked forward as the Crucifier stared him down.

"I think it's about time we end this," he said with a serious expression as blood leaked over his lips, glancing over to see Gento still in the stands.

Samuel exuded air from his flared nostrils as his mountainous body flexed, rushing forward as if responding in agreement to his words.

A fist backed with a sea of strength behind it sailed his way like an incoming cannon, yet he stood in the same spot, patiently waiting before–

[Heavenly Daigo Style: Bane of Strength.]