King wanted to use his Sage Arts; unfortunately, Ray didn't give him any chance.
In close combat, Ray still had more advantage than King.
Whenever King punched, Ray would counterattack almost immediately.
Although King's strength was almost equal to Ray's, the same could not be said about their speed.
Ray's speed in the short term is comparable to an average aeroplane.
Every time his fist landed on King's body, at least one of King's bones would fracture, and a sense of numbness would spread.
For a time, Ray really played King like a fiddle.
"What's wrong, King?"
"What's wrong, King?" Ray sneered, his voice dripping with disdain as he deftly swatted away King's attempts to strike and then launched a precise hand strike to his neck.
King was overtaken by a jolt of numbness before he could even process the hit. Ray, moved with swiftness, ducked low and delivered a crushing kick to King's shin.
Ahhh!
