In the center of the combat arena, Devon had a serious expression as she stared fixedly at Kim, each of her muscles tensing with strength. In these moments, she was ready to fight with everything she had. Devon could gauge how strong Kim was, so she didn't want to hold anything back as she extended her fists. The strength in her muscles exploded with terrifying force, giving her a fierce appearance. In a blink, her stance became even more serious.
"Now!" "Now we can prove who is better, remember? Like the last time, but this time, you'll lose," Kim said as she also prepared.
"You're no match..." Devon's casual tone irritated Kim.
Now, no matter what, Kim had to show Devon that in all these years, she had improved to the point where she must be capable of defeating her.
"We'll see about that..." Kim smiled coldly.
Pum! Kim looked menacingly at Devon. Suddenly, her foot shot forward, exploding at impressive speed, advancing toward Devon to start the fight. The fact that they had advanced to the final meant they had a similar level, and now what would play a crucial role is the experience each of them had.
Devon knew she might have much more battle experience than Kim. Furthermore, her methods spanned across different martial arts. Therefore, if Kim made the slightest mistake, she would be easily defeated.
That's why Kim's expression was quite serious. Even though she was negatively influenced by Devon's words, once she entered battle mode, the disdain in Kim's eyes disappeared. In its place was a cold and calculating expression, like that of an experienced martial artist.
In response to Kim's initiative, Devon slightly focused her eyes on her target. She finally understood that Kim wasn't as simple as she was years ago or in their fight a month ago.
She would be a formidable opponent.
Pum! Just as this thought crossed Devon's mind, at that very moment, Kim chose to attack directly. Her figure was as fast as a leopard, and her hands were ready to unleash powerful strikes as she came to a firm stop less than a meter away from Devon. Kim's right fist was clenched, and in an instant, it seemed like an ordinary punch heading for Devon's chest.
This ordinary punch from Kim seemed just that, but this was miscalculating due to the speed and power with which it was directed towards Devon.
Pum! Devon took this hit head-on, and while feeling the force of the attack, Devon's mind wavered a bit. She didn't know how strong Kim had become before, but now that she felt her first strike, she knew she concealed a terrifying strength.
In terms of strength, regardless of whether Devon was superior or inferior to Kim, it would be foolish to take direct hits as she did initially. Therefore, in the next attack, Devon wasn't foolish enough to face it directly. Immediately, her feet began to retreat as she dodged some punches with her defense.
Pum! Pum! Pum!
Facing Devon's defense, a look of doubt passed over Kim's face. With a flick of her fist, she tried to attack Devon's face this time.
Crack!
But Devon diverted Kim's attack, and while countering the punch, she realized that Kim's defense wasn't as strong. Therefore, a series of punches landed on various parts of Kim's body, but they didn't conceal enough strength to score a point.
Faced with Devon's aggressive attack, Kim tried to retreat quickly. Meanwhile, she thought of a way to connect with a good hit.
Pum! While Devon stood firmly on the combat platform, her body was perplexed. Her eyes turned to an empty space between Kim's defenses. In that space, she could sense the possibility of landing a hit.
"At that point..." Devon thought as she dodged some aggressive attacks from Kim.
Devon took a deep breath into her lungs, narrowed her eyes slightly, and, while deflecting some last-minute attacks, suddenly took a step forward.
She adjusted her stance and calculated her movements not to be hit before even getting close to Kim.
Pum!
Extending her palm between Kim's arms, she hit Kim's chest, sending her backward.
"Ah!" Kim screamed, feeling a burning pain in her chest.
"Point!" The referee shouted, giving Devon a point with the effective hit she had made.
Ignoring the crowd's cheers, Devon knew she had been too slow to score a point, and that would mean a lot for the score if Antoni didn't manage to score a point in the entire round.
"Faster," Devon murmured, returning to her initial position.
The referee nodded, looked at Kim, who was in front of Devon, and asked, "Ready? Fight!"