Billy monstrous form blurred as he lunged at Jesse with incredible speed, before Jesse could react, sharp claws raked across his chest, tearing through his shirt and leaving deep gashes, but there wasn't time to feel the pain, not fully.
[HP - 295/300]
The infected in front of him wasn't giving him any breathing room. Billy pressed the advantage, his monstrous form moving with unnatural speed for its size.
Jesse barely managed to stumble backward, narrowly avoiding another swipe aimed at his throat. The arena echoed with gasps and cheers, students entranced by the brutality of the fight.
Jesse could hear nothing but the pounding of his own heart. His mind raced—Billy wasn't just fast; he was overwhelming, stronger than anyone Jesse had ever faced. Billy snarled, the sound low and guttural, filled with mockery. "Come on, Jesse Louis! Show me why you think you can kill me!" He slashed again, and this time his claws connected with Jesse's arm. The blow sent Jesse skidding across the stage, barely able to stay on his feet.
[HP - 289/300]
Blood dripped from his wounds, staining the floor beneath him.Jesse clenched his fists, forcing himself to ignore the searing pain. He had to think—he had trained too hard to be outmatched like this.
He couldn't rely on brute strength alone, not with Billy. His mind raced through possibilities, desperate to find an opening. Billy was already charging again, his massive frame thundering toward Jesse. This time, Jesse ducked low, narrowly evading another lethal strike. In one swift motion, he delivered a powerful uppercut to Billy's ribs, followed by a spinning kick aimed at his head.The blows landed, but they did little more than make Billy flinch.
His transformed body absorbed the attacks with a resilience that bordered on invulnerability. Jesse's strikes weren't enough.Billy grinned wickedly, teeth sharp and predatory. "Should I let you on a little secret? I feel no pain."
Before Jesse could react, Billy slammed into him with a shoulder, sending him flying back into the arena's boundary wall. The impact knocked the wind out of him.
Gasping for breath, Jesse struggled to stand, but Billy was on him again. A brutal punch crashed into Jesse's side, and he heard something crack—a rib, maybe more.
[HP - 272/300]
The crowd erupted into cheers, half of them screaming for more blood, the other half in shock at the one-sided brutality. Jesse's vision blurred for a second, his body screaming in pain as he collapsed to one knee, struggling to stay conscious. Billy leaned down, grabbing Jesse by the collar and hoisting him up like a ragdoll. His eyes glowed with a malicious hunger. "You should've stayed hidden, Louis. Now look at you."
Jesse coughed, blood splattering from his lips. He couldn't muster a reply. His body felt like it was shutting down, his limbs heavy and unresponsive. But in the back of his mind, there was still a spark of defiance.
He had fought his way to Rank 20 for a reason. He couldn't die here -no, not when he finally had the chance to reach the top of the world. Not yet.
Billy tossed Jesse across the stage like a toy, his body skidding along the ground. The audience watched in anticipation, some even laughing at the futility of Jesse's struggle. But to Jesse, their voices were drowned out by the pounding of his own blood in his ears, and the continuous dings from the system.
[HP - 259/300]
With a grunt, Jesse forced himself to his feet, wiping the blood from his mouth. He wasn't done yet. He couldn't be.
Billy cocked his head, curious. "You can barely stand, and you still want more? You really are a fool."
Jesse narrowed his eyes with a pained smile on his lips. "Why? My health point isn't even below ten yet."
He charged forward, this time weaving between Billy's attacks with renewed focus. His movements, while slower than before, became more calculated, dodging instead of trying to overpower. Billy swiped again, but Jesse ducked under his arm, delivering a sharp punch to Billy's midsection.This time, he focused his energy—channeling everything into precision, striking at weak points instead of brute force. His fist connected with Billy's kidney, and for the first time, Billy grunted.
"You felt that, didn't you?" Jesse growled, sweat mixing with the blood on his face.
"Didn't I tell you? I don't feel pain!" Billy yelled in annoyance, his body shifted, his claws elongating further, his teeth sharper, his eyes turned with his sclera turning grey.
Jesse could see it—the true form of the monster, and the spectators could see it too; Billy had no will to hide what he was.
Billy lunged forward again and Jesse sidestepped the attack and countered with a powerful kick to the side of Billy's knee, forcing the beast to stumble.
Jesse moved in quickly, landing a series of punches aimed at Billy's head, each strike backed by the full force of his power. But Billy roared in fury, swatting Jesse away with a backhand that sent him sprawling to the ground, like an annoying little bug, fracturing his sternum in the process.
[HP - 214/300]
The infected was done playing games. his claws sank deep into Jesse's side, lifting him off the ground like a prize.
[HP - 199/300]
Pain exploded in Jesse's body, his vision dimming. He couldn't breathe, couldn't think. Blood poured from the wound, pooling beneath him as Billy sneered, tightening his grip."Look at you now," Billy hissed. "Pathetic."
Jesse coughed, choking on blood, his body limp in Billy's grasp.
Billy could not feel pain, so he couldn't hope to divert his attention with pain. Instead, Jesse clenched his fist and pushed off Billy's head, pulling himself out of the sharp claws that were holding his body up.
Jesse gasped as he landed on his feet, blood dripping from his wounds, but his eyes were sharper than before.
"Flame." Calling out to his new skill, flames wrapped around his fists, burning them due to his lack of fire resistance, but he cared not.
"Keep strike activated." He said to the system, activating the skill he had gained during his lessons with Alexander.
His hands ignited with flames, flickering around his fists like a dying sun. He knew Billy couldn't feel pain, but pain wasn't what he needed. He needed precision and diversion.
The crowd gasped when flames wrapped around Jesse's hands, the student could use two abilities. However, Jesse preferred exposing a few of his hidden cards in exchange for his life.
Billy charged again, a monstrous blur of claws and teeth, but Jesse was ready this time. His mind raced, recalling the pressure points he had learned from his master. Infected has the same body structures as humans since all of them were once humans, despite, their monstrous form, therefore, they had the same pressure points.
As Billy's claws slashed toward him, Jesse sidestepped, ducking low and driving his flame-infused fist into the side of Billy's neck—just above his collarbone. The effect was immediate. Billy's arm twitched violently, his swipe going wide.
Jesse didn't waste a second, he moved swiftly, dancing around Billy's massive form, landing another strike on the inner part of Billy's elbow, locking the joint.
The infected's arm went limp at his side. Billy roared in frustration, swiping wildly with his other arm, but Jesse ducked under the attack, delivering a spinning kick to the back of Billy's knee.
The blow hit just behind the joint, a perfect strike to collapse Billy's leg. The infected staggered, his monstrous form faltering for a moment.Jesse's hands burned brighter as he channeled more energy into them. He wasn't fighting for survival anymore—he was fighting to win.
[HP - 177/300]
His health points, however, was dwindling due to the burns that healed itself every minute.
As Billy lunged, Jesse dodged to the side and slammed a flaming fist into the back of Billy's skull, hitting a nerve cluster at the base of his spine. Billy's body locked up for a split second, and Jesse capitalized on it, driving his fist into Billy's lower back, just above the kidney, severing another critical point.
Billy growled, his movements slowing. He wasn't down, but his body was no longer responding the way it should. Jesse darted in again, his fists moving in a blur as he targeted Billy's remaining pressure points—the side of the jaw, the base of the neck, and the ribs. Each strike was precise, disabling Billy's movements one by one. Billy's once-overwhelming speed and power diminished with each hit. His body moved sluggishly, no longer able to match Jesse's agility.
The crowd's cheers had turned into stunned silence, watching as the tide of the battle shifted. Billy's eyes burned with fury as he swung his remaining arm, but Jesse caught it, twisting his wrist and delivering a final, devastating punch to the nerve center just above his heart. The infected's body froze, his muscles locking up entirely.
Jesse stepped back, breathing heavily, his fists still burning as Billy staggered and fell to his knees, unable to move. The once invincible infected was now paralyzed, every pressure point blocked, his monstrous form trembling as it struggled to respond.Billy snarled, straining his body in an attempt to fight back.
Jesse panted, his claws grew out but were hidden behind flames.
And for the first time in his nineteen years of life, Billy O'Malley felt fear. His body could not move, no matter how much he tried, his fangs and claws were also retracting by themselves as he had expended too much energy in an attempt to swat this annoying bug away. If he had succeeded in killing this weakling and consuming a part of him, he would have grown a lot of stronger, stronger than even the acclaimed world's hero.
Jesse stabbed his claws into Billy's chest, falling alongside him.
The crowd cheered as to them, it looked like Jesse was trying to punch a hole into his opponent with a flaming fist.
"Consume." Jesse murmured inaudibly.
[Using this skill leaves your opponent at the risk of death. Do you still wish to use?]
Jesse glanced at Billy, who was glaring at him with frenzied but menacing eyes.
"Yes."
Billy screamed. Black veins popping out of his head as he slowly transformed back into a normal human-looking being.
[Extracting Pure Ceteorin.]
"Ragh!" An inhuman scream escaped his lips as he struggled to move. His body growing greyer and thinner.
[...]
[Pure Ceteorin has been extracted successfully.]
And finally, Billy stopped moving.
[You have killed a level nine evolved infected.]
'A level nine? Which means he was no different from a level one advanced tier ability user. Thankfully, I don't have to eat him.' He cringed as he remembered the first evolved infected he killed.
Jesse let out a sigh as he retracted his claws before letting the flames consume Billy's whole body.
[Steel Mentality has been implemented.]
The crowd remained silent for a while until Jesse stood up, unbothered by the fact that he just killed a person.
"Yes!"
"Lucky One!"
"Lucky One!"
They erupted into cheers as Jesse limped his down the stage, leaving Billy's burning body behind.
"-The winner is Jesse Louis!-"
As the announcement was made, certain personnels ran up the stage to collect Billy's body while Mei ran to Jesse. She outstretched her hand and healed Jesse with her vines.
"Thank you." Jesse flashed a genuine smile, patting her head as he walked past her. At least, instead of his body healing on its own and causing more suspicions, it's good that she came out first.
Mei smiled in response before running after him.