Hugh's body was thrown away due to the force of Tanner's expansion. Everybody in the classroom saw Hugh's body crash in the chairs until he collided with the wall.
The students all stepped away from the line of fire, letting Hugh get the full brunt of the collision. They did not want to help him because they did not want to get in trouble for fighting.
They all cringed as they thought that Hugh was knocked out cold. The last time that Hugh fought, it did not end well for him.
Aric was able to beat Hugh until he had to be carried away in a stretcher towards the hospital. They did not expect anything less in this situation.
Even Tanner was proclaiming his victory over Hugh by pumping his hands in the air. Only Brad and Chip had serious expressions as they looked at Hugh underneath the mess of chairs.
Nobody had noticed that Tanner was only able to land a hit on Hugh because Hugh was preoccupied with fighting against Brad and Chip. It was a three-on-one, so there was a clear advantage for Tanner and his group.
Brad and Chip both looked at each other and affirmed their suspicions. They both attacked Hugh with all of their powers but somehow, they could not land a hit on him.
It even seemed like Hugh was stronger than them, which was impossible because Hugh was only an F-level talent. There was no way in hell that Hugh got stronger than them.
Even the calm and collected Jane had her jaws to the ground as she tried to recall Hugh's movements. It was fast and every bit of movement from Hugh exuded power that was way beyond what he had usually produced.
In addition to that, Hugh was able to react with such speed and reflexes that made it seem like he was looking at the whole situation in slow motion.
Even Jane was not sure that she would have perfectly dodged Brad and Chip's attack with pinpoint accuracy like Hugh.
She looked towards Hugh and knew in her heart that he was now way down for the count. She had a chill in her neck as she saw the pile of chairs start to rumble from the inside.
The rumblings took everyone's attention and soured the mood of the celebrating Tanner. They all thought that the fight was over, but Hugh was only getting started.
*BOOM*
The pile of chairs exploded and chairs flew all over the classroom. Everyone was out for themselves as they tried to dodge away from the incoming chairs.
From the explosion came Hugh who had his head down. His uniform was squeaky clean without any creases nor dirt. His whole body did not have any indication of injury at all even though he had been thrown away like a rag doll.
Tanner gulped as he looked at Hugh. Hugh's face was hidden and they could not judge his current state of mind. For some reason, he was worried for his safety from Hugh.
It felt like there was a bomb in front of him, and he had to get out of the splash zone as fast as he could. His instincts were telling him to run, but his pride got in the way.
He was facing against Hugh, the man that Aric beat up with ease. There was no way that he was afraid of that guy. That would be insane. As he thought those words, his hairs stood on end as he saw Hugh take a small step forward.
Hugh's step was like a drum that reverberated in his heart. He tried to hide away his anxiety but his body betrayed his emotions.
Sweat started to form in his forehead until it dropped to the floor. As soon as the drop of sweat hit the floor, Tanner saw Hugh disappear from his vision.
In a split second, Hugh was able to close the gap and reach towards Tanner. Tanner was none the wiser and was caught off guard from the explosion of speed and power from Hugh.
His mind still could not process the idea of Hugh being stronger than him, and it led to his downfall. He activated his Desire and his whole body blew up like a balloon.
Spikes started to form around Tanner's inflated body, much like a pufferfish that is threatened because of predators. This was his trusted defense that would always deter an opponent's attack.
He knew that Hugh had armor around his fist, which would collide with the spikes on his body. In a battle against Desires, those with the highest rank always win.
As a B-level talent, Tanner was confident in overpowering Hugh's armor. He watched as Hugh's armored fist collide with the spikes along his inflated body.