Kill The Old Ones!

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The fight continued, and Adrian was still in his single-track mission to keep slashing Ren until one finally broke through his defenses.

Adrian was so focused that he almost went into a trance while doing this. He never had the pleasure and stress of this kind of scenario before. Usually, it only takes a few slices from him to defeat his enemies.

If that’s not enough, then that means he’s fighting someone or something that’s way out of his league, and he usually doesn’t find himself in that kind of situation.

Even the audience was at the edge of their seats, waiting, hoping, and wishing...these people were Adrian’s fans and supporters. They too were hoping for Adrian to finish this monster, this nightmare that came out of nowhere to terrorize everybody.

But then...

BOOOM!!

Out of nowhere, the arena was rocked by a massive quake that shook Adrian, and the audience, out of their trance-like state.

Adrian himself felt his grip over his sword become unstable. The flow of his chakra was strongly disturbed which made him deeply uncomfortable, even the pulses of his sword heart and his sword intent were disrupted by that earthquake.

This erupted from Ren, no doubt, and when the smoke cleared, they all saw him with a slightly cold expression.

They then heard him say, ”Aren’t you getting a little too ahead of yourself? Treating me like some kind of training dummy? What? You think I don’t have a temper?”

That was then followed by a massive swell in his presence that drowned out the whole arena.

All of sudden, Adrian’s eyes bulged. Veins popped out of his forehead, and he suddenly looked constipated. The audience watched as Adrian was pressed down by the pressure emanating from Ren.

His back bent just a bit; although not enough to make him kneel, it made him deeply uncomfortable. It’s as if he were suddenly carrying a massive boulder on his shoulders.

Even his hold on his sword became unstable. His chakra flow slowed down to a crawl, his sword heart and his sword intent were completely and utterly suppressed.

All of this was because Ren felt peeved that he was being treated like a training dummy. He released just enough of his presence, and this was the result.

”I’ve let you attack me for so long. It’s only fair that I get to have my turn, right?”

Ren wasn’t asking a question, nor was it some kind of permission. It was a declaration. He will return the favor from here on out, and Adrian has to be wary.

Adrian and his supporters felt their hearts clench in fear. Somehow, they all felt a bad omen arriving pretty soon.

Some disillusioned themselves, thinking that Adrian will be fine. They’d give it to Ren; he’s tough, but that should be it. He must’ve paid a price for having this kind of toughness. He must’ve sacrificed his firepower for it.

The nine echoes, or whatever he used on Seraphina, must be the peak of his power, right? Adrian could easily endure that and fight back. He’s no push over like Seraphona so he should be fine.

Alas, their disillusionment was dispelled when Ren began moving.

BOOM!!

Ren broke the sound barrier with his speed. He shot forward like a missile aimed towards Adrian.

His speed made Adrian’s eyes bulge in their sockets. He barely had the time and strength to raise his sword and defend himself.

When he did, he almost regretted it. Ren’s punch felt like somebody hurled a whole damn mountain at him and asked him to catch it. It was too damn heavy, too solid, and compact. Ren felt the impact reaching his bones, rattling them so bad that he felt like death was practically glaring at him.

The protection of his sword intent on his sword, which increased its durability from the standard, shattered upon impact. Even with the boost coming from his Heavenly Sword Heart, it wasn’t enough.

That speed and that strength? Nobody was expecting that from Ren. They all thought that he was just physically tough. Sure, he had displayed some strength in his previous matches, but not this much.

Adrian was sent flying towards the very edge of the arena. He almost lost control. In the end, he had to use his sword to slow himself down by stabbing it on the ground.

In just a single attack, Adrian came dangerously close to losing.

He also understood something just then; Ren had shown him mercy. He knew that Ren could’ve easily used the same technique he used against Seraphina with that attack just now, and if he did, Adrian would definitely be knocked off the stage.

It’s unknown if he’d have enough strength to return within 15 seconds after that, but that would’ve been the worst scenario.

It was Ren who chose not to do that, for some reason.

”Nah, man. You can’t lose just like that. We have to entertain some folks, yeah? I mean, this is the Grand Finals of this tournament; we have to show some spectacle.”

”This whole thing has been very predictable so far. The strong ones are already determined; the rest were just extras. Even a fight between you four heavenly kings was somewhat predictable, too.”

”That’s until I came along and made this thing a bit more lively.”

”But seriously, I can’t let you lose that easily; that would’ve been a massive upset.”

”You have to be defeated. Soundedly and so thoroughly that nobody would could argue about my victory. That’s the best way to end this thing.”

It’s like Ren could read his and the audience’s minds. He directly responded to their concerns. Of course, not in a flattering way.

In the end, what Ren wants was a thorough and unquestionable victory. Anything less was intolerable for him.

Adrian grunted. He picked himself up and held this sword tightly again.

He was about to attack when all of a sudden, Ren could no longer be found.

Adrian looked around him in panic and disbelief. How the hell did Ren disappear all of a sudden?

That’s when he felt a tap on his shoulder, which made his blood run cold.

”Hey, what are you looking at?”

Ren was behind him. Don’t ask Adrian how or when, Ren just revealed it to him and he had no idea about the rest.

”Now, you seriously didn’t think that my turn was over right?” Ren sounded playful here. ”Alright, up you go.”

He then felt an irrisistable force lifting him up to the air. He had no idea if Ren punched him or threw him into the air, and he really couldn’t care right now because Adrian was reminded of one of his major flaws.

He’s helpless in the air.

Then, the audience watched as Ren once again disappeared from his previous spot, soundlessly at first, then leaving a thunderclap produced by the sound barrier breaking.

The next thing they knew, Ren started ascending. It’s like he’s hopping up an invisible flight of stairs.

They’ve discovered yet another thing about Ren with this. And whether that is grounded or not, for Ren, there’s practically no difference.

Ren then started zipping mid-air like he was a streak of light.

It’s as if he’s stepping on air pockets like launchpads that increase his speed exponentially with more he steps on.

Adrian was in agony. He was disoriented, defenseless, and helpless.

Ren was juggling him in the air. With every zip, Ren intersects with Adrian’s falling body. Adrian would try to defend himself but Ren moves too fast for him, and he’s not used to fighting upside down.

Whenever Adrian falls close to the ground, he feels a strong impact lifting him to greater heights again, preventing him from making contact with the ground.

Ren was playing with him, that’s for sure. Because truthfully, Ren had so many opportunities to punch him so hard and put him in a coma, but Ren didn’t do that.

He was leaving bruises and cuts. His punches were denting Adrian’s armor, turning it to something that resembled crushed soda cans.

Ren kept juggling him there for what felt like years. Adrian was barely holding on to a sliver of his consciousness at this point.

Not a single inch of him was spared, and yes, Ren, that asshole, didn’t spare what’s under the belt too. Sure, he didn’t hit him there as hard as he did in other areas, but still...

Anyway....

Adrian was hurt all over, and it’s only because of Adrian’s stubbornness that he’s still conscious, barely, at that.

Then, he felt his back hitting something hard. The pain was enough to wake him up.

He could only look up in despair as he saw Ren above him, falling like a world-ending meteor with his fist cocked back.

In his eyes, Ren’s size magnified. It’s like he’s witnessing a massive titan attempting to destroy the world with a single punch.

BOOOM!

Adrian felt strong winds above him. The impact practically embedded him in the arena’s stone-cold floor.

He saw as two pairs of arms held onto the heavily inked arms of Ren, catching it mere inches away from Adrian’s face.

Two referees appeared out of nowhere to interfere, but they’re not the only ones.

Another two wrapped their arms around Ren’s body, and the final one was standing not too far from them, waving his arms and blowing his whistle, signaling the conclusion of this match.

”Night, night, pretty boy.”

That’s all Adrian heard before he passed out from exhaustion.