Eric was warming up by doing stretches. His marked muscles were ready for the competition they would have to overcome.
"We will do the following: An endurance competition. We will beat each other until one of us falls down defeated or admits defeat. It is not allowed to defend oneself. It will be a test of endurance and power. Do you agree to these terms?" He asked his rival with total seriousness.
"I understand. If you win, we will leave you and your men alone, but if I win, all of you will work for me, right?"
"I give you my word. If you win, you will have my full respect, but don't expect it to be easy. The fact that you let me choose the competition greatly increased my chances of winning."
"What kind of bad joke is that?" Adel immediately accused Eric. "You are a fool. If you wanted to win, you would have chosen to flip a coin, because that would really give you a chance to win. Even after having seen your subordinate's poor attempt, you are too proud to back down."
"Shut up. This is between him and me. True men figure things out without taking a step back. I will take you seriously because I have every intention of winning."
Eric finished warming up by giving a few blows to the air. They were fast and accurate. You could tell he preferred to fight with his fists. Once finished, they both stood within a couple of meters of each other and stared down one another.
Eric had a challenging look ready for action. On the contrary, Thanatos had a look of curiosity to see how strong his opponent really was.
"Now let's decide who goes first."
"You can start. I have no problem."
"Oh, thank you very much. I hope you don't regret it." The whole atmosphere fell into silence when Eric took his stance.
He prepared his right fist, and in a moment, it shot like a cannonball directly into Thanatos's stomach. The sound of beaten flesh echoed in the building. Such a punch left civilians vomiting on the ground, clutching their bellies in pain or even crying in the fetal position. So, it was no surprise when he saw the poor man lying on the ground vomiting in pain. It was a pathetic sight, but he warned him, in fact, being alive was cause for celebration...
"Then it's my turn."
Eric couldn't believe his eyes. The man was standing without any pain. The image of the poor man vomiting had been his own mind that had made him believe that he had won in one fell swoop. The reality was the opposite. When his fist made contact, he realized that the man had a considerable amount of muscles in his abdomen.
At first glance, he was a merchant or some kind of aristocrat, but the musculature beneath his fine clothes indicated a soldier or a member of a syndicate. In fact, he had more muscles than any regular thug. Those muscles are only obtained by constantly training. Eric had no doubt now. This guy must be the head of a major syndicate.
"It is your turn to hit with all your strength." He left his body uncovered without any resistance.
Those present were excited to see someone endure their leader's blow so well, but they had no doubt that he could endure any attack without any problem.
"Ok, here it comes" Without even taking an attacking posture, Thanatos threw a punch at Eric's stomach. He was confident that he could hold it. Although it has a lot of strength, a shapeless blow is weak. If you only rely on your strength without any kind of technique, I never-
"AAAAAAUUGGHHHH" The vomit fell to the floor, followed by Eric's knees, which could not stand his weight. Struggling to breathe, he touched his stomach and face.
The men's mood went out as fast as a candle in a hurricane. Eric was the one who ended up sore vomiting on the floor.
"Then you give up?" Still struggling to breathe, Eric heard his opponent.
"AHH... AHH... No, not yet. That was just a tap. I can endure much longer." He stood up with problems and was still wiping the vomit from his face, but his determination had not wavered.
"It's... my turn..." This time he would have to be serious. Although he already knew the strength of his opponent, a part of him was still reluctant. Maybe it was his pride. If it were so, then the other guy was right; he was really a fool.
"Hey, why don't you hit me with everything in a row? If I knock you down before you decide to use all your strength, it will be boring. I want to see how strong you are, Eric." Thanatos spoke without consideration for his rival.
After hearing those words, Eric's pride was shattered. He gritted his teeth so hard that it looked like he was going to break them. This guy was making fun of him.
"I understand. Then it seems fine to you that I throw three blows in a row. And then you hit three times in a row. I say if you really want to see my full power."
"No problem" Still spoke with absolute confidence.
Eric no longer had any pride to protect, all he wanted was to teach this guy a lesson. Do not underestimate me anymore.
"Then here I go. [3 Points]" After saying those words, Eric's muscles began to contract to the maximum possible.
Adel immediately realized he was using a special ability. In the same way, Thanatos could see how the energy was concentrated inside Eric. It would not be advisable to receive the blow that he was going to suffer without protection, but he had already given his word to stick to the competition, and more importantly, this was the true potential he wanted to see.
In just a few seconds, his muscles finished accumulating power and he launched the "One" attack.
The blow went to the stomach like the previous one, but this time the flesh could not stand the impact. If the first blow was a shot from a cannon, this was the shot from a tank. Thanatos immediately vomited blood; the blow had broken some organs. The pain was clear, but he was still standing-
"Two" Immediately, the second blow touched his right cheek.
Eric felt the bone breaking to the touch, and he could see the blood coming out of Thanatos's mouth. Best of all was the expression he had. The smile he had on his face all the time had disappeared, and instead he had a painful expression.
[3 Points] was Eric's special ability that allowed him to gather as much strength as possible in all his muscles. While it wasn't an infallible skill, it was his hidden-sleeved ace that allowed him to survive several fights. He could throw up to three extremely powerful punches, but then his muscles would lose strength and be sore for the whole day. You thought you could hold on without defending yourself. I'm sorry, but you underestimated me. Special abilities are to be feared, so you should never let your guard down.
"THREE!" Mercilessly, the third blow pointed back to the stomach. He had launched the second attack on his face to cause his opponent to protect himself from that area, and thus leave the wounded stomach unprotected.
However, Thanatos was not yet protecting himself. Perhaps his reaction was too slow, or the pain was too much and had left him surprised. But Eric wasn't going to stop pushing, even if he killed him. He would accept the consequences.
The third blow was so much that he ended up breaking a part of the suit his opponent was wearing. The stomach had been completely crushed, and Thanatos vomited a river of blood.
Adel was surprised. In the worst-case scenario, Thanatos had died for refusing to defend himself. However, before he could act, he heard his master's words.
"Don't interfere... AGHU... Then it's my turn right" With bloodthirsty eyes, Thanatos looked at Eric, who felt the fear running down his back.
The expression he had right now was one of revenge. He really wanted to kill him, and rightly so after causing him so much pain. Although it was a miracle, he was still standing, and therefore, the competition continued.
If he wanted to, Eric could give up and save his life. But that wouldn't be the right thing to do for a man. Causing him so much harm and then cowering down and saying he gave up was too low. It turns out that he still had a little pride, and the price would be his life.
"Y-Yes, three blows, it's your turn." With cold sweat running down his back, he said those words, prepared to receive the blow.
The other men began to yell at him to surrender, that it had been enough, but he just ignored their words.
The green eyes, full of eagerness to kill, remained fixed, and from one moment to the next, the fist pounced on his head.
I won't even be able to survive one punch. He thought as the fist that brought death drew closer and closer to his face.
Images of his life began to pass through his mind. The memories of the orphanage, the life on the streets, the fights with guards, escaping from the syndicates, when he discovered his special ability. At least I tried to achieve my dream to the very end. Those were his last thoughts as his nose broke and his body flew out into the air. His consciousness faded.
Eric woke up with a comfortable feeling around him. He opened his eyes and realized that he was lying on a bed in a place he had never seen. Looking around him, the eyes of his companions fell on him.
"The captain woke up at last. Call others to come and see him."
In just a few minutes, all the men had gathered and expressed their joy at seeing him awake. Everyone was happy.
"What happened where we are?"
"We are in the bedroom of the Boss barracks. Now we work here. This is the base of operations. You have been unconscious for two days" One of the men explained.
"Boss?" It took him a moment to realize. "Of course, I remember. I lost the competition. Now you guys work for someone else" He said with a voice that fully admitted defeat.
"HAHAHA" Everyone started laughing in unison. Eric didn't understand what it meant. "You think that's why we would work for him. We don't care who wins. We care that you are alive" Replied the muscular man who had lost in the inn.
"What do you scumbags mean!"
They explained to him that after Eric flew out with his face destroyed. Thanatos took him to a doctor to heal his wounds.
"Why did he do something like that? Where he is, I have to talk to him." With no time to waste, he got up and went to find him.
In the middle of a large warehouse, in front of a table with tubes and plants, were Thanatos and his drug producer, Lui. They were talking while producing potions and drugs. Thanatos had bandages covering his abdomen. He also saw a blonde woman at the top who was looking at him angrily, but he didn't care about it.
"Your stomach is still recovering right." He announced his arrival without a greeting.
Ah, I see that you finally woke up. I would ask you about your face, but I have already made sure it was okay."
"Why did you help me?"
"You were in pretty bad shape. I just grabbed you and went to the doctor. Man, you don't know how much money Lia had to use as a bribe for the doctor to not call the guards."
"Money doesn't matter to me, but the fact that you keep getting into fights is what worries me" Lia said from upstairs.
"You almost died because of me, and you still want me to work for you?"
"It was just a competition. We both agreed on the terms. I don't hold a grudge against you. Of course, with how strong you are, I want you to work for me. Moreover, I promised you that the odds of your dream being fulfilled will be even greater under my command." Eric could see that there was no lie in those words. After exchanging blows, he finally understood Thanatos.
"My sincere apologies!" He knelt, putting his head on the floor. The others did the same. "From today, I and my men will swear allegiance to you! Boss we will work for your syndicate with all our being, right scumbags!"
"YES BOSS!"
"By the way, what is the name of our new organization, Boss?"
With a smile Thanatos looked into his eyes and replied. "Underworld."