Sasha came alone; she hadn't officially joined a Dojo and didn't believe it was necessary since she had learned enough to never be defeated, especially in this place.
"Do you need some motivation from your boyfriend to stop feeling like you're about to lose the match?"
Devon raised her guard, didn't need to respond, and took a deep breath, regaining the calm that she had when the fight began. In the moment the referee approached, she thought about what she would do to win this match.
"Ready? Fight!"
Just as the referee's voice faded away, Devon's eyes narrowed. In a single step, she moved fiercely towards Sasha, clenching the five fingers of her right hand and attacking her opponent's chest.
Approaching with Devon's attack, Sasha did not retreat. Furthermore, to the amazement of the crowd, she took a step forward, her extended right hand moving quickly to the side to stop Devon's fist. The palm of Sasha collided with Devon's fist, sending the latter backward.
Just as Devon's fist was deflected, her stance changed abruptly, all just to evade the next attack Sasha had sent her way. With a new posture, she clenched both fists and, after dodging a few kicks, launched a fierce attack.
Devon's fists were much faster; there was no need to consider her kicks, as in close combat, all she needed was to target a point.
"Remember, Devon, let's improve our speed, and we'll win..."
Sasha was desperate. If her defense wasn't enough to stop Devon's attacks and failed even once, she would lose the entire match, and that was something she couldn't let happen.
When she finally managed to establish a clear distance from Devon, she saw in a fraction of seconds that she was at a distance where her rival's fist wouldn't reach. Sasha thought she would win in this exchange of blows.
Pum!
But when the blow echoed, Devon, who had thrown a punch with her left hand, stopped halfway and instead, with her right leg, launched a spinning kick, exposing her body, which could have played a very bad strategy.
Devon was betting it all; this blow would determine whether she won or lost. And the moment Sasha saw Devon's spinning kick, she thought it would be aimed at her face. She thought that for a few seconds, giving her the opportunity to penetrate her defenses and hit her stomach.
"Point, Lee wins!"
There was a dead silence for a few seconds as the crowd processed what they had just seen. But after that time, everyone cheered and celebrated Devon's victory achieved through pure strategy and instinctive fighting.
"I won!"
Devon, with an excited face, ran towards Dash, who was ecstatic about her incredible advancement to the final. It's not that he didn't believe she could win; it was just incredible that she had defeated someone superior in this fight.
By the time Sasha could get up from the kick to her ribs, she looked at Devon, and after a few seconds, she turned and walked away. She had lost, and the shame and humiliation she had felt today were new sensations, so she couldn't stay a moment longer in this place.
"You were amazing, Devon, congratulations!" Mr. Kim was more than surprised; he had seen something he didn't think would happen, going beyond the limits of talent.
After that fight, the next one was Marcus's, leaving Dash and the guy named Silva from Kruske Karate for the last in the semifinals.
Dash was supposed to face Marcus in the final if he made it, but first, he had to worry about Silva, as he wasn't an ordinary warrior.
Looking back, during the qualifiers for the quarterfinals, Dash had observed the fights of the participants who had many more chances to advance, and it wasn't difficult to see how they won.
During this period, the strongest rivals were always in Kruske Karate, and that's something he had to be very attentive to because of the Karate style they used. Dash could clearly feel that none of the participants were weak, but compared to Silva and Marcus, those two were really good.
In just a few minutes and quickly, Marcus had crushed his opponent Oliver and had advanced to the final. His arrogant gaze fixed on Dash, and he smiled slightly, murmuring that he looked forward to meeting him in the final.
"His Karate is used to cause harm; you must be careful not to get hit in the muscles because they focus on hitting, trying to numb the nerves."
Listening to Mr. Kim's words, Dash nodded and said, "Maybe Oliver didn't take it, but Marcus's first hits were to slow down his movements, and he ended up scoring points by taking advantage of it."
Devon, who had returned, saw Dash's fight was about to begin, so she focused again to see if she could be of help.
"I'll win quickly and leave everything for the final; that's the only option to have the advantage." Dash thought as he walked towards the arena.
The referee looked at the competitors and nodded, extending his hands straight up, saying, "Look at me, Bow."
"Look at each other, Bow!"
Dash and Silva greeted each other. Then the referee started the match.
"Fight!"
When Dash raised his guard, the crowd began to cheer excitedly. His fights, especially after eliminating that big participant, had caused an incredible sensation, making everyone like the male fights even more.
Dash closed his eyes slightly, and when Silva moved towards him, he attacked fiercely with his right leg aimed at his opponent's face!
Pum!
His high kick was unpredictable. Silva, who wanted to close the distance, received the fast