"!"
That Lucas dodged by some miraculous coincidence, forcing his body to lean back, and then pulling himself back and driving his elbow deep right below Leon's shoulderblade.
"!?!?"
The crowd let out a shocked gasp as the reddish-brown-haired hero stumbled away with the wind literally knocked out of his sails, or rather lungs!
But the miraculous comeback of the feeble debtor wasn't over just yet!
Lucas clenched his hands together and rushed at Leon, swinging his arms like a mace and slamming at Leon's head, causing the hero to spin around…!
"...!"
Only that he realized all too late that the spin was voluntary and not something he caused, and his triumphant expression turned into panic as he saw Leon take a firm step and use all the force of the momentum to throw a monstrous uppercut at his completely unguarded abdomen!
"!!!"
The audience gasped in awe and cheered, being spoiled by the marvelous sight of someone actually being thrown into the air from a punch!
Hitting the ground on the way back was probably just as devastating as the hit itself, and this time it really seemed it was over.
"..."
Leon stood up tall, straightening his back while moving his shoulder around to confirm the severity of the hit he received.
A drop of blood from his burst eyebrow - the clear sign that he didn't completely dodge the debtor's last attack made its way to his chin, but he didn't wipe it off, keeping his eye on the fallen man without as much as blinking.
"The fight is…! Oho…?!"
"...!"
And lo and behold!
As the announcer was about to step in to declare the outcome, Lucas the debtor flinched and pushed himself up onto all fours, shocking everyone without exception.
A man who appeared more like a sack of broken bones stood back up once again, making even his opponent stare at him wide-eyed, unable to understand that level of tenacity.
"...what in the world…? Why? You're going to die! Money can't seriously be that important to you! It's not like you're a criminal who will be put to death!"
Leon shook his head and ended up asking, but it seemed Lucas wasn't able to hair him anymore.
The vacant look in his eyes made it clear that he wasn't completely there anymore.
…?
Could it be that he was actually knocked out and standing while unconscious?
…was the question that began to circulate amongst the engaged audience…
But that hypothesis was discarded within the next few heartbeats.
Lucas bit his lips until blood sprayed out and reached to his back.
As he pulled out a knife that he held up awkwardly in front of himself with both hands, the audience let out a gasp - the fight was getting even spicier!
"...give up…"
"Huh?"
For the first time since the beginning of the encounter, Lucas spoke up coherently, causing Leon to stop in his tracks and successfully prevent another charge.
"Do you give up?"
The hero asked with a hopeful expression.
"..you give up… or I'll kill you… your last chance…"
"...!"
But that hope was shattered instantly with the feeble man's declaration - almost no one from the audience heard it, but it certainly reached Leon.
"They… have my wife… and daughter… I will kill you… to save them… if I have to… so… give up…"
"!!!"
Lucas closed his eyes for a moment, but when he opened them, they were burning with almost otherworldly determination, and, for the first time, Leon felt chills of fear running down his spine.
If the fight was a duel of willpower, Leon would suffer a crushing defeat then and there.
He even broke eye contact and looked to the side towards the audience…
"...!"
And then, as if noticing something, he flinched, tensed up, focusing back on his opponent.
"I'm sorry, but I also have people I want to protect."
"It's not a want for me… I will do it…"
Leon took a deep breath and declared but got instantly shut up by Lucas's response.
"..."
The hero gulped down his saliva, a cold feeling in his guts telling him that something bad would happen, but what choice did he have?
The next moment, he was already charging at the knife-wielding debtor!
The feeble man swung his weapon too much, almost knocking himself off balance, which the hero took advantage of immediately.
Leon's right hook was meant to completely disarm his opponent, but Lucas' sheer will made him hold on to the knife even when his arms and entire body were rotating… although that fact escaped the hero's attention…
Without a second of hesitation, Leon kicked at Lucas's legs, sweeping him clean of his feet!
The debtor involuntarily spun in the air and was then slammed back to the ground by a finishing downward punch!
Leon did show mercy, though - he hit Lucas's back instead of his head to prevent fatal injury.
That's why when he stepped away from the debtor crumpled down like a scared pillbug about to roll away, he saw nothing to be concerned about.
"Battle is over! And what a fight it was! Now, to make things clear…"
As the seconds passed and turned into a minute, the announcer declared, stepping onto the arena and approaching the fallen debtor…
"...!"
Flinching as he spotted an enlarging puddle of crimson liquid pooling up from under Lucas's head.
"!?"
Slowly but surely, others began to notice his hesitation and, in turn, the blood - that included the absolutely shocked.
"..."
The announcer's face turned calm in realization, and he simply grabbed the loser's shoulder and toppled him, revealing…
"!!!"
A dead man with a knife sticking out his throat.