Chapter 20

Tension brewed on the stage as there was a stare-down between Kris and Salim. Salim in his croc's stance breathed out steam as his eyes glowed. Kris closed his eyes as he took in a deep breath and silence followed. He opened his eyes and fired energy blasts rapidly at Salim. Salim started moving from side to side as he advanced while dodging the majority of the blasts. He got close to Kris and launched the croc's jaws at him.  Kris jumped back onto his left leg and created a blast from it which propelled him into the air thereby dodging the attack. While in the air, a larger croc's jaw was already enclosing him. He gritted his teeth and forced out two dense energy spheres from his hands and used them to stop the Jaws from grabbing him. He used the spheres as a lever to pull himself out of the croc's Jaw. The jaws closed on the spheres afterwards and exploded.

Kris blasted two spheres at Salim. After they travelled a bit, they both burst into three smaller spheres each and zoomed faster at him. Salim brought his hands in an 'X' position and the croc's body covered him while the spheres exploded on its back. Salim waved his left hand and the croc's tail cleared the dust cover. Kris dashed closer to him. Salim swung the croc's tail at Kris and just before it touched him, Kris jumped and spun his body in the air thereby dodging the attack. As soon as he landed, he boosted himself and in a blink, he was in front of Salim. His eyes thirsting to deliver a punch. Salim flicked his right hand and the snout of the croc wiped Kris into the ground. Before Kris could react to the pain, Salim kicked him into the air. He launched the Jaw at him but Kris created a blast from his left hand which propelled him away from the jaw but crashed onto the ground. Salim breathed out more steam from his mouth as he crouched to his croc stance. His body began to shiver a bit.

Kris staggered to his feet as he breathed heavily. His sight was bloody and hazy. He brought his two hands together and formed a sphere. After the sphere formed, His energy burst out a bit and the sphere began absorbing it. The sphere began to vibrate and thicken. He lifted it overhead in order to control the dense energy as its color deepened.

"Like I'd let you!" Salim scoffed and lifted his left hand into the air. The croc's tail was long and wide, stretching upwards. He crashed it downwards at Kris, who leapt backwards and avoided it. It slammed into the ground, creating a burst of wild blue energy that ripped through the stage, lifting debris with it. Kris spun in the air while dragging his hands in an arch, from above his head to his waist, splitting the sphere into twelve identical spheres within the arch. He squatted and fixed his gaze on Salim. The sphere beamed.

"Multiple canon spheres." Kris roared as they moved upwards and spread in the air, leaving a trail that looked like a tree with branches. Salim brought his hands in an 'X' position and the croc's body covered him. Kris lifted his right hand in the air, then brought it down sharply. The spheres shot at Salim. They moved so quickly that most people would have thought they teleported if not for the lagging trail that followed. A massive explosion ensued and rose to half the height of the hall. Once the lagging trails entered the fray, a second explosion ensued this time, spreading the explosion three-quarter the width of the stage. The force and wind from the second explosion were so much, that Kris fell to a knee and lifted his hand above his face to prevent himself from being blown back.

After the energy cover dissipated, there was a massive hole in the stage. Salim was at the center of it with deep holes on the croc energy form. He was bleeding from his arms, forehead, mouth, and knees. He fell forward as his eyes seemed to sink but he stretched out his right leg to prevent himself from falling completely. He breathed out steam and began to feel hazy. Shock, fatigue, and surprise soon changed to deep anger and frustration. He jumped out of the hole and landed to face Kris.

"Aren't you being a bit unfair? That was my strongest attack, you bastard." Kris chuckled as his eyes filled with despair. He rose shakingly to his feet.

Salim stared at him and began to clench his fists. So many thoughts ran through his head as he tried so hard to compose himself. The more he looked at Kris standing, the more he was beginning to lose it.

"This guy...This GUY..! WHAT, in the actual P(F)UCK!" Salim roared in frustration. His energy towered above him as his eyes raged. He condensed energy into a sphere on his right hand and the croc head formed covering the entire hand.  His eyes beamed and his body shivered as he breathed out steam.

Kris gathered energy in his right palm and squeezed onto it. He held the right hand with his left as he crouched a bit. His hand began to vibrate and the ground depressed. His aura swelled then his energy burst.

Salim pulled his hand back and with a thunderous roar, he launched a very large croc's jaw. After it travelled a short distance, a large beam the full length of the jaw was shot at Kris. Kris shot a beam from his hand. It boomed and became larger before it hit the center of Salim's beam. There was a huge struggle with the beams, neither gaining any advantage. Salim pumped more energy into his beam which pushed Kris back a bit, but Kris held firm. Kris' beam boomed a second time becoming larger and pushed with more force. Salim struggled to add more energy. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes to call up more power but it was no use. Kris had pushed back his energy beam into the jaws of the croc. The jaws began to shrink as Salim fell to his knees. He stretched his left hand to his side and created an energy explosion that tossed him out of the way of the beams which launched into the wall. A massive explosion ensued from behind which pushed him forward to land on his face. The wall behind was disintegrated. It revealed a red energy field that was supporting the stands for people.

Salim staggered to his feet when suddenly his face was met with a heavy right from Kris. Salim's eyes blinked multiple times as saliva and blood poured out his mouth. This followed with a left swing, a head butt, and then Kris dragged his head onto a knee before jumping and swiping his face with a back kick. Salim spun in the air and then landed on his side.

The crowd went crazy. Everything was just happening back-to-back for them and they could not help but yell praises and clap in the highest tone. Kris huffed out and charged energy on his hand. He saw Salim force himself to a crouching position as blood dripped from his mouth. Kris stomped his right leg on the ground. The pain from it ran through his entire body but he was determined to end the fight with this. He launched forward at Salim.

Salim changed his stance to that of Dambe. Kris noticed this and concentrated all the energy on his hand to his knuckles. Salim folded his left fingers leaving the middle and index bent in a praying mantis style. As Kris got closer to him, stretching the punch to his face, he touched Kris's hand and Kris' body staggered. Salim followed with an uppercut to Kris's jaw which flared his head upwards. Kris stepped back continuously as he was trying to prevent himself from landing on his back. He finally landed on his bum and placed his hand on his jaw. The crowd went with an ouuuuu. Both Kris and Salim were panting as they looked at each other.

AT THE VIP,

"That should have been a finisher but Kris augmented his cloak right on time. It takes a genius to master that especially this early." Louis commented as he rubbed his chin.

"Not only that but Salim is also exhausted. Even if Kris had augmented in time, a crushing blow ought to still send Kris flying." Elizabeth chimed in.

"But seriously this new-gen level of source manipulation is off the charts. The energy field has not been exposed since the day the walls were built around it. Now, look. I even forgot that it was red."

"Well, that's good news for humanity..." Elizabeth was cut short before she completed that statement by a soldier who whispered something in her ear. She nodded at the soldier and he saluted as he hastened his steps.

"Well then, things are about to get fun." Elizabeth smiled. Louis cracked his fingers as they turned their eyes to the stage.

Kris looked at his right hand and could see a thin blue energy rise and dissipate from it. He stood to his feet but his right leg shook a bit. Salim closed in on him and struck at his face. He blocked it then struck in retaliation but Salim used his left fingers to touch Kris's hand and his entire body staggered. Salim punched him in the face, then in the guts, followed by a strong right slug across the face. Kris regained himself and tried to hit Salim but Salim touched his shoulder with the two fingers staggering his body again. Salim kneed him in the guts and then used his elbow to hit the back of his head. He gathered energy in his right palm and blasted Kris away.

Kris touched the ground with his fingers and propelled himself to land on his feet. Salim closed in and tried to punch him but Kris deflected the hand. He launched the fingers to his body but Kris sidestepped it and aimed for a high kick with his left leg. Salim lifted his  hand to deflect it but Kris brought his leg sharply towards the back of Salim's shin. Salim fell sharply to his knees with a shocked expression. Kris tried to kick his face but Salim lifted his fingers in time to touch the kick and Kris' entire body staggered and fell forward. Salim used an energy blast to send Kris flying and landing on his scapula.

Kris lay on his back breathing heavily. His entire body was aching. Salim sat on his bum and was trying to gather his energy.  He looked at Kris and sighed as he rose slowly to his feet. Kris saw him standing and forced himself to his feet. Both stared at each other, exhausted.

"I have no words p(f)or you Wallahi. Gaskiya, no words. But I'll be ending this p(f)ight. I am tired." Salim declared as his energy rose. His cloak began to glow as his aura rose above his head. He took the dambe stance with the fingers on his left hand in the praying mantis style.

Kris smiled and nodded. "I feel the same. I'll be giving everything I've got." He took in a deep breath and his cloak dissipated. Everyone was surprised. "Does he intend to fight without his cloak?" They thought as all eyes focused more on him.

He let out a deep breath and burst a large amount of red energy. He gritted his teeth as he pushed more and more out. It rose to about half the length of the hall before he began to spin it violently. Veins popped from his head and arms as the entire energy divided into two layers based on the depth of the color. The lighter, closer to him, shrunk till it was just around his body. The deeper layer shrunk also till it was slightly above the lighter layer. After a brief moment, both merged onto him and formed a double-layered cloak on his body. Kris crouched a bit as his body shivered lightly.

AT THE SECOND round waiting room,

"Double-layered? Is he crazy? That's the equivalence of being in a pressured room without a cloak. Is he that desperate?" Francis spoke out.

"Kris didn't have a full-on course like us as such She doesn't think he would have had enough time to learn about the harm of a double-layered cloak," Su responded with worry.

"Never mind that, would he even be able to move under these circumstances?" Francis replied to her. Su didn't say anything. He looked at Fred but Fred shook his head.

BACK ON THE stage,

"You really want to throw this match away." Salim scoffed.

Kris smirked and forcefully shifted his right leg forward. He dashed and punched Salim. Salim didn't notice that Kris was in front of him until he felt the punch on his face. He bounced on his back and then landed on his face. He rolled to hold his face in pain.

"Don't lose focus." Kris said, his body still shivering.

Salim punched the ground. Blood was flowing from his nose and he was extremely pissed. He got to his feet and dashed at Kris. As he got close to Kris, Kris lifted his guard. He used his fingers to touch Kris but suddenly felt a punch in his face that spun him in the air till he landed on his back.

"Huh?" He was confused.

"Your attack is enough to penetrate the cloak and infuse source energy directly into the skin to disorient movement. But with a double cloak, the energy is resisted. As long as it doesn't enter my skin, it's useless on me."

"Tchh." Salim hissed as he moved closer to Kris. He hit Kris four times with the fingers and tried to punch his face but suddenly felt four heavy blows on his body, then a kick to his chest which shattered his cloak and sent him into the large hole in the stage.

"I told you, it wouldn't work." As Kris smirked. Suddenly he fell to a knee and his body began to ache. His breathing got difficult as he started feeling dizzy. Salim jumped out of the hole. He reformed his cloak and gathered energy onto his fists before landing furiously on the ground.

"Kkkkkkkkrrr. Your clock is ticking Kris!" He roars as he ran towards Kris. He jumped and zoomed downwards with a punch. Kris matched the speed and struck back. Their fists collided and red and blue energy dispersed. Salim struck with his other hand as he dropped to his feet but Kris clashed a second time. The two began striking at each other, with their fists colliding. Blow for blow, energy after energy dispersed and their speeds kept increasing. The more they clashed the more the energy ran through the stage cracking it as debris began flowing upwards. Both roared as they kept going faster at each other until Kris started outpacing Salim. Salim's eyes widened as he was being forced to go on the defensive. Kris roared as his punch finally broke Salim's defense and hit his chest sending Salim a few meters back. As he landed, Kris closed in. He struck a heavy right but Salim lifted his left hand and a shield appeared to stop Kris's fist. Kris didn't relent. His bones were aching and his body felt heavy but he refused to stop punching. His speed had gotten so fast Salim could see multiple hands attacking at the same time. Salim's shield began cracking but Salim clenched his left hand and the energy wall covered him. Kris kept punching the energy wall. His fists were too fast for the energy to trap his hand. The more he punched, the more energy waves kept bursting from behind Salim. Salim was beginning to feel a bit of fear as his energy wall started cracking. Kris kept punching till he hit with his left hand and felt a muscle pull. He bit his lips then yelled at the top of his lungs before giving one final heavy hit with his right hand which shattered Salim's wall, broke through his cloak, and hit his chest, breaking his ribs and shooting Salim far towards the wall.

Salim coughed out blood and for a brief moment, his breath seized but he had so much adrenaline that he stretched his hand backwards and created a blast that halted his movement before dropping to his knees. His voice squeaked as he got back up and formed an energy blast in his hand. Kris couldn't feel his left hand and the rest of his body felt heavy. Sweat flowed from his head as he grinned his teeth. He stretched out his right hand and created an energy sphere. He condensed so much energy in it that the sphere turned from normal red to blood-red in color as energy spiralled around it. His mind flashed back to the moment he saw Oumar punch an energy sphere at Naama bay. He mimicked Oumar's body movement and prepared to punch the sphere.

Salim's energy spiked and a croc's head formed over his hand. He released the energy and the Croc's jaw travelled while expanding before shooting the largest beam he had shot till date. Kris watched as the towering beam came closer. He gritted his teeth, looked in Salim's direction and struck at his sphere. Just moments before he hit it, Kris vanished and appeared behind Salim. The crowd gasped. The source soldier's eyes widened with shock. Salim felt an overwhelming and fearsome presence behind him. It was as though he was going to be devoured by a massive beast. Kris' second layer of cloak flowed into the sphere before Kris punched it. His hand dug deep into it and the sphere morphed into a rotating fist as it launched to hit Salim's back. It hit and took Salim into the air while Salim screamed in pain. It pushed hard till it shoved Salim to the side and climbed a few meters. It detonated as Salim was falling and a hundred fists split into the air before crashing down on him. For him, everything moved at a snail's pace. As all of the fists bowed towards him, his eyes shrank. They started striking him from all sides until he fell to the ground. More hit him deeper into the ground as his voice sank and when the last strike landed, a big explosion erupted shooting a massive beam of energy into the air.

The beam dispersed into small flame crystals as they spread across the hall dimming on contact with people, with each other, or with objects. The hall went silent. Kris was confused and he kept breathing heavily. The ref jumps into the hole in the ground to check Salim. Salim was bloodied and burnt on the ground with smoke emanating from his body. His camo shirt was no more while his trouser had patches with burns on them. He checked Salim's vitals and signalled for the medics.

"Winner KRIS!" The ref announced.

"I... I won." Kris spoke in disbelief.

The crowd rose in a standing ovation clapping, cheering, and screaming praises with their fists pointed into the air. Elizabeth smiled as she clapped. Louis was already cheering when he noticed her clapping.

"Someone is being a good sport." Louis laughed.

"Oh shut up." She replied but she couldn't hide how impressed she felt at the moment.

"But what is up with Kris? He actually used a double cloak to attain victory? I am speechless."

"Kris was said to have had unnatural human strength and speed. I assume that played a major role in allowing him to pull through despite the effects of the double cloak."

"Oh wow, the strong shall do the impossible." Louis chuckled.

"I'll like to see how far he goes. Oh yeah since Kris beat Salim, what do I win?" He added.

"What?"

"We made a bet, I won."

"No, I am sure it wasn't a confirmed bet. Besides, I chose two candidates. Su is still in play."

"Lizzy..."

"What?"

"You are actually being shameless right now."

"Shut up"

BACK ON THE stage,  

Kris's legs failed him as he dropped to his face. Medics rushed to him and began an emergency first-aid on him. Salim was stretched out of the stage first. Once the medics were done bandaging Kris, they took him to the second round waiting room. The MC announced that a thirty minutes break would be taken as they would use the time to repair the stage. Kris was lying on a seat in the waiting room. There was a brief pause as no one said or did anything for a while. Su walked up to Kris and pointed her fist at him with a smile. He smiled back at her and gave her a fist bump.

NEXT MATCH

SU MING VS FRANCIS ROLAND