Despite the guard's attempts to stop me, he's already too late. I'm now inside the arena in full view of every participant there.
The moment I'm seen by the crowd, the collar around my neck tightens enough to stop my breathing completely. Despite this, I look around to see who controls it. There she is.
Right by the Lord's side stands the woman who is controlling all these collars. When my collar tightened, her hands moved unnaturally.
Besides her, I see Mito in the front of the crowd with a solemn expression on his face. He's looking at me and the boy who fell victim to this arena. His eyes are telling me to avenge that kid without jeopardizing the mission. After all, we only get one shot at this.
Announcer: "What's this?! It looks like The Torturer has two opponents in one night! I guess the previous was just an appetizer!"
My collar loosens, and I step forward into the light. It looks like they'll let me fight him.
The Torturer: "Oh, hello there. I remember you."
The Torturer stomps the boy's lifeless body into the ground once more.
Announcer: "Oh no! The Torturer isn't quite done with his previous opponent!"
Adachi: "Stop that."
The Torturer: "Stop what?"
Adachi: "Touch him again, and there won't be anything left of you."
The Torturer: "Big words for a little man! I can still see some scars from our last meeting, kid! Don't act like you've suddenly become brave."
I click my tongue and ready my legs. I can't look him in the eyes, or I'll lose my cool.
Adachi: "Words are cheap. I'll show you just how far I've come."
Without further ado, I rush towards the target of my hatred. However, there's just one thing I need to do first. While "The Torturer" prepares for my attack, I can see his skin tense up. He must be using that guard technique Master taught me about. Little does he know that my intention isn't to attack.
While he prepares for impact, I grab the boy's lifeless body and jump to the edge of the arena. I lay him down and place my overgarment over his head. If only we had been a little faster…
No, I don't believe that I'm to blame for this. The one to blame is the beastly man standing right in front of me. Seriously, he must be over two meters tall. The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
After paying my respects to the victim, I bound off the wall towards my target, but I'm really going to engage this time.
I decide to test the waters with a typical physically enhanced punch. Landing it straight in his stomach, I can feel his guard technique absorb the impact. It's just like what Master taught me.
Suddenly, I'm swatted to the side. He's quicker than I thought!
I skid backward on my feet, using my weight to kill my momentum. Then, as I'm about to make another move, I can feel something pop. My ribs are cracked on the first strike! I shouldn't allow another hit like that, or I could really be in a poor spot.
Announcer: "The Torturer is playing with his meal once again! Looks like that strike did a lot of damage!"
The Torturer: "Is this how much you've 'changed?' If so, I've got nothing to worry about."
I pay his words no mind and advance once more. I lower my weight to the minimum and leap into the air. Once I'm almost touching The Torturer, I send my weight to its maximum. The impact my penetrating punch makes with his head would kill any midstless immediately.
He miraculously stays on two feet and skids backward into the wall. The wall cracks, and his expression is blank. He's still conscious, but he definitely felt that.
Announcer: "STOOOOOP!"
What? Are they stopping the fight? But I haven't taught him a proper lesson yet!
I try to make another move on the man, but my collar tightens up immediately, this time tighter than the previous. I drop to my knees, yanking at my collar and gasping for breath. Before I can do anything, the world turns dark once more.