Flat-Brim Samurai Chapter 43
The first round of the tournament had ended and the second started. Contestants waited for their names to be called for fighting. Apollo on the other hand was practicing his battle techniques and arts in his head, developing both his strategies and his energy usage. Sure, you got fully recovered after each match because of the recovery technologies developed in this city but you still had to conserve your energy within the matches. The thinning herd of competitors spelled many tough battles to come. One thing was confusing though, why did he fight in the first round so many times. The answer was that the "1st round" contained 5 rounds because of the overwhelming number of contestants. Going forward, it would be finished off like a normal tournament.
… Apollo jumped around and did dynamic stretches until the announcer called him ,"THE NEXT MATCH WILL CONTAIN THE FLAT-BRIM SAMURAI APOLLO MUSASHI AND KICKBOXING INFERNO ABEL!!!" Apollo stepped out from the tunnel and into the arena where he saw a giant of a man standing about 6 feet 4 inches tall (195 cm). (Oh god, am I fighting that guy. This dude is like the motherfuckn bfg without the friendly) Apollo thought, sizing up his opponent. Abel had the biggest muscles Apollo had ever seen, but he knew one thing. That was that this guy was not at Noah's level and thus if he couldn't defeat him, he had no chance against Noah. So willing himself to get through this he screamed out while having a shit eating grin ,"COME AT ME YOU LITTLE BITCH!!!"
Abel put his hand on his chin and cracked his neck both ways and then said ,"OK, we'll see about that." Apollo stood there and winked at him ,"Come and get me tiger," and Abel launched towards him, breaking the ground beneath himself. Apollo received a blow to the solar plexus BAM and Apollo threw a hook punch to the jaw and then to the liver BOOM BOOM. Abel, surprised at the power Apollo exhibited, increased the acceleration of his punches and threw a jab at Apollo but Apollo dodged to the side of it. Abel, anticipating this, had an uppercut that Apollo saw but wasn't fast enough to dodge without ki. BAM His head whipped back after taking the blow, but, clenching his teeth, he swung his head forwards with similar force breaking Abel's nose with a headbutt BOOM CRACK.
Apollo then hit him with a barrage of attacks that each caused massive damage to his ribs, femurs and the jaw. Abel used Art: Recovery and did what he could to regenerate his damage but Apollo just kept attacking him until Abel released his full force. A blue glow erupted from Abel, he reinforced his body while imbuing his fists with flames that burned at 100,000 degrees Fahrenheit (55537.778 degrees Celsius). In fact, If it wasn't for the barrier around the edges of the stadium, most people would be burned to dust in just the presence of his flames.
The intense heat was radiating around him. Apollo's skin was turning red and then turned a grayish brown as he took the heat. Apollo attempted to punch Abel but he deflected the attack and it hurt. Apollo's regeneration kept up with the destruction but his skin was on the verge of turning to dust as his now grayish brown skin was trying it's best to stay attached to his body. His lips were dry and every breath he took was nauseating, every part of his body hurt with a searing pain, he had to act fast. (HOLY SHIT, HOW CAN HE TAKE THIS HEAT) Apollo thought as he formulated plans on how to neutralize the fire while being pelted with high powered blows. Apollo activated Art: reinforce to negate some of the damage dealt by the intense flames + the brute strength and skill that Abel had. Abel's continuous strikes caused Apollo to start to melt. Apollo was analyzing Abel's technique and inputting it into his head in real time. He filtered what he could use and what were missteps with the knowledge that he had available.
The flow of his energy, the way he was able to manipulate it and the shifting of Abel's weight was fantastic. To combat this, Apollo then had an idea. If he imbued his skin with Art: Imbue and Art: Water he could cool down his body temperature near Abel. As soon as he activated both arts he breathed a sigh of fresh air. He healed his body and felt at ease as he readied up with anger for his next attack. With anger, pain and power coursing through his veins, Apollo weaved past Abel's attacks and punched Abel on the temple, on the liver and attacked him with a roundhouse kick which finally shut down Abel's brain. After Abel fell to the ground, the announcer screamed out ,"ABEL IS KNOCKED OUT, APOLLO IS THE WINNER!!!" Once again, the only ones cheering were Devan and Cias while the rich underground crime lords were the ones sneering and booing. One more match was all it took for him or his friends to take the price for doing nothing wrong.
Apollo got out of the arena exhausted as he thought (I think steak and corn sounds good about now). He went to the dining hall, placed his order and waited patiently for the free food he got as a contestant. A little while later a salty smell wafted to his nose, making him happy. When the food runner got to his table and set the steak down, he knew this meal would be good. The steak was glistening, steaming and glorious. Every bite of the steak that went into his mouth was savory and juicy. Every bite of the corn he ate popped in his mouth. After he had finally eaten, he went back to the arena and sat with Cias and Devan. Apollo said ,"What's up guys?" ,"Nothin much, just some AWESOME MATCHES" Devan said. Cias said ,"Yeah, you're doing amazing but I really gotta suggest not going easy on your next opponent, she seems really strong."