Chapter 19

Time stretched to infinity. Fred was falling into the explosion as it started, Beatrice at its heart, The ref dashing into it. Everything came to a complete stop for everyone when suddenly, large white chains surrounded the stage while spiraling around the explosion. In an instant, it shrunk with the explosion to a tiny dot at the tip of Louis's finger. Louis who was now standing at the center of the stage blew at the tiny explosion and it quenched. Beatrice and Fred found themselves laying comfortably in a white energy bubble.

"You kids continue to intrigue me. That was a superb battle." He smiled as he looked at them. The crowd, the contestants, the ref, and the MC were all confused and surprised but one thing was for sure.

"Winner Fred! by ermm... uhhh" The ref wasn't sure what to call it.

"Let's say by interference. That's if you are okay with it, Beatrice." Louis spoke softly and Beatrice didn't even realize that she nodded in agreement. Her heart had skipped many beats at the fact that she just had a near-death experience and also at the handsome figure she saw smiling at her.

"Sir! Winner Fred by interference!" The ref called and the crowd went wild with cheers and claps.

The medics moved quickly into the stage to meet the contestants. Louis lifted them gently with his chains and placed them softly on the stretchers. The medics began first-aid and with a step, Louis was back on his seat at the V.I.P section.

"Your injuries are enormous. With your hands as it is, you will not be able to manipulate source energy for a while. My advice is that you drop out from the tournament now." A medic whispered to Fred. His eyes fell with a bit of sadness.

He smiled at the medic and said, "Thanks for the advice, but I am not giving up just yet."

"Alright then. Best of luck." The medic carried him with a stretcher to the waiting room while the others carried Beatrice off the stage. Su walked up to Fred as he was laid on a seat.

"You did it, she knew you could. She's so happy" Her eyes became watery as she hugged him.

"Ah chi chi chi..." Fred reacted due to the pain.

"Oh shit, she's sorry"

"Don't fret it." He chuckled a bit.

"You are a lot more frightening than you look. For a white source to step in. That's got to be a crazy feat man. Maybe I should actually be watching out for you!" Francis praised.

Fred laughed again although it made him feel more pain. The two laughed also. Then there was a brief silence. The stage was in a ravaged state as such the final fight was pushed back for ten minutes while they repaired the stage.

"The final fight for the first round will soon begin" Francis mentioned as he saw them fix the stage.

"You guys are the only ones that have seen Kris's current prowess, do you think he stands a chance?" He asked and a serious mood took over their waiting room.

"If she's speaking objectively, then she highly doubts. Salim is incredibly strong and driven." Su responded.

"I feel Kris on the other hand still has a lot he is yet to show us. Salim stats are higher but Stats don't always determine the winner of a battle." Fred replied with a smile.

"I see. Allow me to rephrase the question a bit. Who would you like to face in the next round, Fred."

Fred and Su's eyes widened, then they looked at each other. Fred's eyes fell as he couldn't answer the question.

"Well then, I guess we'd have to wait and see," Francis concluded.

AT THE VIP section,

"To think our choices would meet in the very first round of the final stage." Louis chuckled.

"It's good this way. They are both in a refreshed state and looking at the opponents they are facing, they might have to push to their limits just to qualify. Especially Kris."

"It's the excitement for me." Louis laughed. Elizabeth chuckled because he was right.

"Well let's see how this battle unfolds" She responded.

AT THE FIRST round waiting room, Kris sat down with his fist in his palm. Salim, on the other hand, leaned against the wall, eyes closed.

"Your first match is a tough one. His presence is quite intense." James spoke to him.

"No point thinking too much about it. I'll just have to take him down regardless."

"Funny how you didn't say you would win proudly."

"At this point, it's less of pride and more of what I'm fighting for. The winner gets to choose where they would serve? Your mom gave me the only chance I needed to serve in the American base. That way, I'd be closer to Mr. Darwin. In the light of this new info, nothing is going to stop me from winning this thing"

"I see that your resolve is solid. I'll be watching from here, best of luck."

"Hmph, thanks," Kris replied with his eyes glaring at Salim. Salim opened his eyes and stared back at him.

The MC announced that the stage was fixed and called out the last two contestants. Salim and Kris walked without uttering a word to each other. Kris could feel his heart beating as he moved until he got to the center stage.

SALIM DAN ALI VS KRIS

"Ready!"

Kris took a boxing stance and his cloak began to form from his fists till it covered his entire body. Salim took the Dambe stance and his cloak began to form from his feet till it covered his entire body. The final match of the first round was about to begin. Kris' eyes glowed as he kept a corky smirk on his face while Salim kept a straight face as his eyes glowed.

BEGIN!

Kris dug his left leg into the ground and propelled himself at Salim with a heavy right swing. Salim's left hand formed an energy shield and Kris struck hard on it. The sound resonated as red energy dispersed around Salim. Salim crouched on his right leg as it seemed as though Kris was overwhelming him. He pushed Kris' hand leftwards then jabbed his gut with a heavy blow from his right. Kris' eyes widened as the punch blew him away and he landed on his back. Salim looked at his left hand, it was numb. He clenched it a few times before he could feel it again. He retook the Dambe stance as he saw Kris get to his feet.

Kris dusted the area that was punched before retaking his boxing stance. Kris stomped his right leg and dashed quickly at Salim with the same right swing. Salim formed the shield with his left but this time made it thicker and larger. As Kris was about to strike it, He stepped on his left and quickly circumvented Salim. Salim's eyes widened as Kris was behind him ready to strike. Salim clenched his left hand and a blue energy wall encircled him just before Kris could hit him. As Kris struck the wall, blue energy from it wrapped around his fist to hold him firm to it. The wall rotated such that it brought Kris directly in front of Salim. Salim's eyes glowed brighter as he struck Kris. Once his fist passed through the wall, all the energy of the wall gathered and spiralled on it. He hit Kris on the chest and a large burst of blue energy flowed like a wave which sent Kris crashing into the wall behind him. He coughed out as he fell flat on his face. Salim retook his dambe stance and watched as the energy cover dispersed.

The crowd went wild with cheers and praises when suddenly Kris's energy burst forth. The flow was calming yet threatening as silence followed briefly.

"I see..." Kris spoke as he clenched his fists and stood up. A trail of blood coursed down his mouth but he wiped it. He cracked his knuckles and smiled at Salim. Salim, the crowd, and the soldiers were all shocked with widened eyes and some mouths agape.

Kris charged an energy sphere on his left hand and formed them into flash shots. He gathered and merged them into a thick sphere at the tip of his middle finger while he folded his hand like a gun. The sphere started vibrating as it formed into a bullet. Salim formed his shield on his left hand as he watched carefully.

"Bang." Kris spoke softly, and in that instant, the bullet smashed against Salim's shield with a thunderous sound. Salim felt the impact on his shoulder as he struggled against it. His right leg began dragging backwards as the bullet began penetrating his shield. He grit his teeth as he clenched his fists forming the energy wall. As soon as he did this, the bullet expanded and exploded shattering the energy wall in the process. Salim's head swayed backwards from the explosion and his eyes closed.

Kris swooped out of the explosion and struck Salim's face with a heavy right launching him. Salim landed on his feet and they dragged a bit. Kris closed in again, to his surprise, and struck his guts with a rising left punch which made Salim's hands and feet sway forward but before he could be launched by the impact Kris flowed with an elbow to his back which sent him into the ground. He coughed out with his pupils dimming as red energy spread across the ground. Kris kicked his head to lift him back into the air. He landed on his feet which dragged on the floor. He gritted his teeth when suddenly Kris was in front of him with a left swing.

"Ina wasa de kai ne? (Is it because I am playing with you?!)" Salim roared with anger as he caught Kris' swing, lifted him to the air, and slammed him into the ground. Blue energy flowed as the ground depressed. He dragged Kris closer to him and slugged his face. Then he  grabbed Kris' face with his right hand, jumped and slammed it with much force which caused them to drag across the ground on Kris's back. Kris bent his knees then kicked Salim back while also flipping to land on his knees. Salim landed and took a breath before launching towards Kris with a charged right fist. Kris struck back and their fists collided dispersing energy. Salim attacked with his left fist but Kris dodged it and attempted a knee strike. Salim lifted his left knee to intercept it before swinging his hand back at Kris who tilted back to dodge it. Salim flowed with an energy sphere that blasted Kris back. As Kris landed, he saw Salim zooming with speed at him. He let out a breath and as Salim struck with a right hook, he ducked into a horse stance and dug his palms into Salim's guts sending him back. Salim touched the ground with his fingers and sprung to his feet. Kris closed in quickly and struck twice at Salim who dodged both and punched him in the face. Kris stepped back a bit and swung at Salim but Salim caught his hand, lifted him, and slammed him into the ground for the second time. Kris noticed blue energy surrounding where he landed, but before he could react it exploded lifting him into the air. Salim sent an energy blast to hit him in the air and as he fell, Salim jumped and kicked him away with both legs. He bounced twice on the ground before rolling to his side.

Kris punched the ground with his fist as he forced himself up. Salim scoffed then dashed closer. He attempted a high kick by stomping  his right leg on the ground in order  to give him much-rising energy for his left kick. Kris ducked to dodge it and a wave of blue energy cut above. Salim pulled back his leg then straightened it quickly for a second strike but Kris used both hands to push the leg down. Salim closed in with a second high kick from his right but kris blocked it with his left hand and blasted his face with an energy sphere. Salim took a few steps back and noticed Kris left fist coming to his face but he caught it by the wrist. Kris opened the hand and a harmless energy wave fell across Salim's face which was enough to make him flinch. Kris struck Salim's face hard with a right punch which dazed him. He continued with repeated right slugs on Salim's face before switching to a blast on the left. This made Salim take a few steps back. Suddenly red energy exploded upwards from Salim's feet. The impact forced him to lean forward and Kris closed in with a heavy fist.

At that moment, Salim's left hand rose and the energy wall appeared. Kris's eyes shrieked but he couldn't stop his punch. As it hit the wall, blue energy wrapped his hand firmly to it. Salim dragged his right fist into the wall, the energy of the wall gathered on it and he struck Kris in the face releasing a large wave burst of blue energy which launched Kris into the wall. As Kris was falling out, Salim dived in with a spiraling flying kick to hit him in.

Large blue energy burst around Kris as he coughed out. His eyes shrunk on impact. Salim began kicking him with both legs repeatedly as blue energy dispersed behind him. Kris gritted his teeth and released an energy burst that pushed Salim back. Salim hissed as he dashed closer with a heavy right arm. Kris saw it and ducked to his left while Salim crashed the fist into the wall. His eyeballs glowed with a death stare as they turned to look at Kris. He began trying to hit Kris but each time he tried Kris ducked further left while he kept crashing his fists into the wall. After five attempts, Kris placed his hand on the wall and pushed himself away just before Salim could hit him.

Salim's fist hit the wall and red energy exploded in his face but it had minimal effect on him.  He closed in on Kris with a heavy right swing but Kris dodged leftwards and landed an uppercut to Salim. He tried jabbing Salim's face but Salim headbutted his hand and sent a blast to his face. Kris blocked the blast but while in the dust cover of the blast, Salim used a roundhouse kick to the back of Kris' neck to drag his head to the ground. The ground glowed and Salim took a leap backwards to avoid the explosion happening around Kris. In that instant, Kris closed the gap between he and Salim. He attempted a high kick but Salim lifted his left hand as a shield to block it. Salim charged in with a fully powered right and thrust at Kris' chest but Kris put his hand together to receive the punch. Once Salim's hand came in contact with Kris, a red sphere of energy engulfed Salim and restricted his movements.

"This is going to hurt," Kris muttered with a smile. He punched the sphere with his right hand and it flew with speed to hit the wall, then bounced back to Kris. As it got to Kris, he punched it with his left hand and it went back to the wall and bounced. The more he punched at it(while alternating his hands), the faster it bounced and returned to him till he punched it with his right and his hand dug deep into it. It shot it into the wall with a massive explosion ensuing. Red energy sent cracks cutting across the ground from the epicentre. Kris was breathing heavily and standing while the crowd went wild.

AT THE VIP seats,

"Hoo... they are really gunning at each other. Salim may have a better defense than Kris but Kris managed to use it against him in the end." Louis commented with a smile.

"Where are you looking? Kris is the one with the better defense. Even after tanking all those heavy hits, he has far less damage than Salim. That could only mean one thing..." Elizabeth responded.

"You are not suggesting that he has achieved his astral armor form, because then I'd say you are seeing things."

"No, but he is focusing his aura at the points of contact to augment the portion of his cloak being hit to the maximum. What's even more impressive, is the speed at which he does it which I dare say is on impulse."

"Hoo... and you are sure he only had the crash course for only a week?"

Elizabeth nodded with a smile.

"You see Lizzy, my choices are never wrong!"

"The battle is far from over; I think the real deal is about to begin."

A large burst of blue energy rose violently from where Salim was. He stepped out of it cracking his neck. Part of his camo was burnt and the shoulder parts were thorn.

"Kai(you). You call yourself Kris Ko(right). You are actually fretty(pretty) strong. Ama(but) ZAN CHU U BANKA (I'll fuck you up)" Salim spoke with his eyes closed as he crouched with his knees bent forward. He lifted his right hand to his ear level in a claw manner while he placed the left slightly above the ground in the same manner. The energy swelled round him until it shaped itself in the form of a large crocodile. Its head and jaws surrounding his right hand, while its tail surrounded the left. Its forelimbs were on his left shoulder and back while the hind limbs were on his left lap and back.

"HANNUN KADA (Croc's fist)." He called out as his eyes opened with a sinister glow. The pressure from him was immense and Kris could feel it in his very bones.

He dashed at Kris with blinding speed and before Kris could react, the Jaws of the energy croc had caught him. Salim closed his right hand gently as the Jaw dug deep into Kris's cloak beginning to crack it little by little. Kris tried an energy burst but it wasn't working. The Jaws were sinking in. Salim formed a concentrated energy blast on his right palm and blasted Kris away. This made Kris lose control of his cloak. It became rough as he was launched away. Salim stretched the croc's Jaw to catch Kris' right leg. The Jaws sunk deep into his cloak and got a hold of the leg. Blood splattered out as Kris yelled in pain. He began shooting energy blasts at Salim but they had zero effect. Salim dragged him in the air and slammed his face into the ground. While Kris screamed out, Salim dragged him into the air and slammed the back of his head into the ground then repeated slamming his face and head for five consecutive turns before tossing him in the air and using the tail of the croc to wipe him into the ground. Kris briefly lost consciousness before Salim released an energy beam that sent him into a wall.

Kris coughed out as he tried to roll out of the wall. He rested on his back as he began to breathe which was excruciating. Salim retook his croc stance.

Kris got to his knees and forcefully rose to his feet. His right leg was wobbling but he still stood regardless. Salim smiled as he began moving forward in a zig-zag manner. He moved so fast it resembled a croc swimming quickly to catch its prey. As he got close to Kris, he launched the jaw at him but Kris created blasts from his hands to propel him upwards. He turned to shoot energy blasts but what his eyes met was a giant croc jaw-closing in on him. Before he could do anything, the jaw locked in on his body and dragged him onto the ground. He bounced on it and what followed was the tail of the croc which tore his cloak, camo, and skin as blood flowed out. Kris's eyes sunk in as his head swayed back coughing blood before Salim launched an energy beam at him which pushed him some distance before exploding. Kris was seen in the air free falling before he landed head first onto the ground.

Everywhere was silent for him. He wasn't unconscious but he wasn't moving either. Slowly the sound of a cheering crowd began to resonate in his ears. He turned his eyes to look at Salim. Salim was back to his croc stance. He gritted his teeth as he staggered to his knees. His body was bleeding and so was his right leg. He clenched his left fist tightly then held his right leg. His eyes glowed red as he glared at Salim

"Tchh... You have had all of that and you still want to pight (fight)" Salim's eyes widened with surprise.

"You speak funny..." Kris chuckled a bit.

"Regardless, my resolve is not so weak that a few bruises would stop me." Kris beamed as he stood to his feet. His body shook but his eyes were filled with excitement as his energy rose. The crowd began to cheer for him.

"Hmph, alright then." Salim smiled.

"Let me break that resolve...COMPLETELY!"