The entire audience erupted in cheers at the last exchange of blows that ended in blood and a final takedown that no one expected, but it was brutal.
Devon was worried about Dash, but knowing there was a rival waiting for her, she turned around and stepped onto the combat platform.
Kim was watching her, her eyes filled with anger at seeing Jack lose, so she made sure she would at least defeat Devon in this bout.
"Ready? Fight!" The referee shouted loudly before stepping aside.
"This time you won't run away."
"You'll find out." In the center of the combat arena, Devon had a serious expression as she stared at Kim, her muscles tensing with force. In these moments, she was ready to fight with all she had.
Devon knew how strong Kim was, so she didn't want to hold back as she extended her fists. The force in her muscles exploded with terrifying strength, giving her a fierce appearance. In an instant, her posture became even more serious.
"Begin!"
"This time, I have nothing to lose," Kim said as she also prepared herself.
"You've never been my rival, not then and not now." Devon's casual tone made Kim feel annoyed.
Now, regardless, Kim had to prove to Devon that she had improved to the point where she could match her to win.
"We'll see about that..." Kim smiled coldly.
Boom!
Kim glared menacingly at Devon. Suddenly, her foot shot forward, bursting with impressive speed, advancing towards Devon to start the fight.
The fact that they had advanced to the quarterfinals meant they were at a similar level, and now what would play an important role is the experience each of them had.
Devon knew she could have much more battle experience than Kim, given their previous fights. 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.
Despite being negatively influenced by Devon's words, when she entered battle mode, the displeasure 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 focused her eyes slightly on her target. She finally understood that Kim wasn't as simple as years ago or their fight that took place a month ago.
She would be a formidable opponent, but it's not like the battle would end in something new when they faced off recently.
Boom!
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; her hands were ready to unleash powerful attacks as she stopped firmly less than a meter away from Devon. Kim's right fist was clenched, and in an instant, it seemed like an ordinary punch heading towards Devon's chest.
This ordinary punch from Kim seemed just that, but it was miscalculated due to the speed and power with which it was directed at Devon.
Boom!
Devon received this blow head-on, and as she felt the strength of the attack, her mind wavered a bit. She didn't know how strong Kim had become before, but now that she felt her first blow, she knew that she hid a terrifying strength.
In terms of strength, regardless of whether Devon was superior or inferior to Kim, it would be foolish to receive direct attacks as she had initially done. Therefore, in the next attack, Devon wasn't foolish enough to face it directly. Immediately, her feet began to retreat as she dodged some blows with her defense.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Facing Devon's defense, a look of doubt crossed Kim's face. With a shake of her fist, she tried to attack Devon's face.
Crack!
But Devon deflected Kim's attack, and while countering the blow, she knew that Kim's defense wasn't as strong, so a series of blows landed on various parts of Kim's body, but they didn't contain enough force to score a point.
Faced with Devon's aggressive attack, Kim tried to retreat quickly. Meanwhile, she thought of a way to land a good blow.
Boom!
While Devon stood firmly on the combat platform, her body was poised for action. Her eyes turned to an empty space between Kim's defenses. In that space, she could sense that she would have the opportunity to land a blow.
"There again," Devon thought as she deflected some aggressive attacks from Kim.
Devon took a deep breath into her lungs, narrowed her eyes slightly, and, while dodging some last attacks, she suddenly took a step forward.
She adjusted her stance and calculated her movements to avoid being hit before even getting close to Kim.
Boom!
Extending her palm between Kim's arms, she struck Kim's chest, pushing her back.
"Ah!" Kim cried out, feeling a burning pain in her chest.
"Point!" The referee shouted, giving Devon a point with the effective blow she had delivered.
Ignoring the crowd's cheers, Devon knew she had been too slow to score a point, and that would mean a lot for the scoring if Antoni didn't manage to score a point throughout the 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!"