Chereads / Acolyte / Chapter 12 - "The First Round"

Chapter 12 - "The First Round"

The first thing Gentarō does is palm Mobo in the chest, pushing him back somewhat due to the force of my boost and his combined, but he quickly jumps back and waves his hand right after. "Ow!"

"W-What's wrong?!" I ask as I continue boosting him.

"E-Even with the boost, feels like I'm punching a rock..." Gentarō hops up and down a few times, waving his hand before his hair and eyes shine brightly once again. "I guess I'd better take this more seriously." Mobo doesn't flinch nor look worried, his gaze remaining focused as he holds his stance. Gentarō dashes at him once more, so fast he just looks like a white blur, and he seems to just appear above Mobo as he spins and swings his leg down on Mobo. Despite Gentarō's speed, Mobo reacts and grabs his leg, turning around and slamming him into the ground with a shout.

Gentarō grits his teeth as he gets slammed into the ground, but uses his full boost ability and kicks Mobo in the gut, making him release his foot and sending him up into the air. Mobo actually grunts somewhat, and Gentarō grins, but his eyes quickly widen and he rolls out of the way just before Mobo slams his feet into the ground, his hard and heavy body easily cracking the arena floor. "Alright, definitely wanna avoid hitting him up into the air..." Gentarō mutters.

"You think I can't jump?" Mobo asks bluntly.

"I know you can, but judo is maximum efficiency with minimal effort, and you seem like the type to follow your art. So, unless I kick you into the air again, you won't be doing that unless you need to, am I right?" Mobo doesn't respond, but he does chuckle, just holding his stance. Gentarō dashes at Mobo once again, moving around him rapidly and trying to palm and kick Mobo in a variety of places, but Mobo's reaction speed is even faster than Gentarō's movements. Mobo always manages to catch Gentarō's wrist or foot just before he makes contact, and Gentarō uses his strength to break free every time.

At some point, Gentarō breaks free and kicks Mobo's body to get away from him, flipping through the air a few times. I don't know what he's thinking, but the expression on his face is intense. "If I can't avoid being caught...then I'll charge in head on!" Gentarō shouts as he dashes forward with every ounce of speed he can, breaking up the ground a bit as he charges.

"D-Don't yell out your plan, idiot!" I yell at Gentarō, but it's too late. Mobo holds out both hands, catching Gentarō, but he greatly gets pushed back, to the point he slams up against the cube wall with a grunt, but manages to keep hold of Gentarō. Before Gentarō can free himself, Mobo lifts him up and slams him into the wall, immediately flipping him over his shoulder next and slamming him into the ground. Gentarō grunts, trying to get away, but Mobo roughly presses his foot against Gentarō's chest.

"Gentarō!" I move forward, but Mobo's ram suddenly comes flying at me and headbutts me. "O-Ow!" I whine, swatting trying to swat the ram away like a pesky fly and keeping my focus on Gentarō so he doesn't lose the boost he's getting from me. I know for a fact Gentarō is only holding up so well because of our combined boost power, so if I were to lose my focus on boosting him, there's no question Gentarō would end up getting badly hurt. Gentarō notices me struggling and swatting at the ram, so he flicks his finger in our direction, a tiny burst of air hitting the ram right in the butt and it smacks right into the wall behind me, falling to the ground.

I hold back a laugh and Gentarō grins, snickering a bit before Mobo grabs his arm and pulls. "Ow ow ow ow ow!"

"Do you give up?" Mobo asks.

"What..? Hell no..!" Gentarō growls, but groans louder as Mobo's foot presses into him harder.

Mobo also pulls Gentarō's arm harder as he speaks. "It's only going to get worse. Listen, I have nothing against you boosters. I honestly feel bad for you. However, I'm not going to give up my honor and lose this fight for you."

"...Honor...and nothing against boosters huh..?" Gentarō coughs as he speaks, turning his wrist and grabbing Mobo's arm. Mobo reacts by pulling Gentarō's arm even harder, but he doesn't react this time. In fact, Gentarō's hair and eyes glow much brighter, as does the aura around him. "Don't you realize that just calling a booster a booster...is a great sign of disrespect!" With a sudden burst of strength, Gentarō rolls, pulling Mobo down and slamming him into the ground beside him. Mobo's eyes widen in slight pain, but he quickly rolls and stands back up.

The instant he stands up though, Gentarō is moving around him so fast it looks like he's cloning himself. "Nothing against booster my ass...you all look down on us because you think we're weak. Allow me to show you how wrong you are!" Gentarō strikes Mobo all over, and Mobo is forced to take a defensive stance, looking as if he's just being consistently shoved back and forth as the color white swirls around him. Gentarō stops right in front of Mobo and quickly kicks him in the chest, sending him flying into the air much higher than before, and Gentarō even jumps up after him.

Gentarō uses a variety of palming, chopping, and kicking techniques as he and Mobo get higher and higher in the air, Mobo doing his best to parry and defend until the point they start falling down. Once they start falling, Mobo manages to grab part of Gentarō's blazer, keeping him from escaping as he focuses all of his hardening ability on just his arms, and his arms visibly start to look like crystals almost. Mobo lets out a shout as the two of them fall, thrusting his other arm down on Gentarō just as they reach the arena floor once more, shaking it heavily and causing it to crack quite a bit as well.

As the dust cloud clears, Mobo is crouched down on the floor, his arm stuck in the ground, and he's alone. When I look up, I see Gentarō with his feet against the barrier's roof. "This is the power of a booster...at maximum boost!" Gentarō kicks himself off the ceiling and slams down into Mondo, punching him with all of his might and the force even disperses the white aura around Gentarō momentarily. The arena floor cracks much more heavily, and when the dust clears, Mobo's eyes are rolled back into his head and he's out cold.

Even through the thick rock that separates us from up above, I can hear the voice of an announcer of some sort. "And what a shocker..! The booster team Genta and Gentarō have beaten Mobo..!"

The other six acolytes awaiting to fight are in shock. Gentarō slowly stumbles over to me, wearing a bright grin. "Looks like I've secured us a council spot, huh?"

I stare at him in awe before smiling and nodding myself. "Great job, Gentarō..!"