How come Nath has lost 49 times against Ryan? How come he hasn't won even a single one?
Is it because he is weak? No.
It was because they knew each other too well. Ryan knew each move he was going to make before he even made it. Same with Nath, as he knew everything Ryan was going to do.
Still, he couldn't win because, in the end, it all came down to the pure strength of the individual. Ryan, as a natural fighter, had a natural advantage over him.
That's why Nath had created a few sets of moves and kept them hidden. It was so he could use them when the time was right.
His desire was to defeat Ryan at least once before graduation. When that time came, he would use these skills to defeat his rival.
Now, Nath came to one conclusion—he couldn't defeat Shura without them.
The crowd cheered on as the final showdown began.
Shura stood confidently at the center of the ring. She didn't plan to make the first move. All she had to do was wait and strike her opponent's pressure points.
Nath moved onward. His right arm was still worthless, but still, he was able to use his shoulder. It helped him swing his arm with some force. It was like a whip made out of flesh.
Shura sidestepped past the whip of an arm and tapped Nath's right shoulder with her index and middle fingers. It was only three light taps, but it caused his shoulder to completely paralyze.
"Shura's Tri-Mor-Art has again landed!" Rio used his microphone to commentate on the fight from the sidelines.
Nath felt the numbness spread from his shoulder to the side of his face. But he didn't care. Instead, he launched his punch with his left. It looked like a desperate attempt.
Shura moved her head out of the way and steeled her fingers into a thrusting stance. She then thrust her fingers into his exposed side, aiming for a pressure point that would incapacitate him.
Her fingers neared the pressure point, but at that moment, Nath's flexible body moved out of the way and dodged her attack. Her fingers landed only on empty air.
Nath quickly launched his elbow sideways towards Shura's face. It was as she expected it, and she immediately backstepped to avoid the blow.
The elbow missed.
Nath didn't look disheartened and pushed on. He again threw a punch towards Shura, who jumped to the side with a swift movement.
'His punch has no power because his posture is all messed up because his right side is all numb.' Kiernan thought with a frown. 'What is he planning?'
Nath's body snapped in Shura's direction. He rushed in and threw an uppercut. Swoosh. Shura pulled her head back to avoid it. Nath immediately followed up with a hook punch, but Shura sidestepped to avoid it.
It looked useless.
Shura was calm and collected. She knew exactly how to handle Nath's aggressive moves.
Irio High's supporters sneered and threw taunts in Nath's direction. He looked like a clown in their eyes.
Somewhere in the stands, a middle-aged couple watched intently, worried looks on their faces.
"Leonard…" The middle-aged woman whispered nervously. "Our son is..."
"It's fine." Leonard, Nath's father, said it with a stern look. "A while ago, Nath came to me—he said he wanted to learn new skills to defeat his rival—and he hadn't used them yet.
"Trust in Kamala Style."
Shura steeled her fingers once again. This time, she planned to go straight for the head. If she tapped on the head's pressure point, her opponent would get paralyzed for a whole day.
"Kamala Style…" Nath rushed in and grabbed his paralyzed arm's hand with his left one.
'What're you doing? There's nothing you can do with your right arm!' Shura thrust her fingers towards Nath's forehead.
"Melody." Nath released his hands and then clapped his hands together with a loud clap.
To everyone else, it sounded like an ordinary clap. Not too loud nor too quiet. However, in Shura's ears, it was a deafening thunderclap that echoed in her mind.
It was a technique that Nath made so that it would only affect his opponent and no one else. Otherwise, there would be over a thousand people currently covering their ears and moaning in pain.
"Ah!" Shura covered her ears tightly, trying to block the strange ringing. She felt disoriented and dizzy. The whole stadium looked like it was spinning around her.
However, this was only the first part of the technique. There were a total of three parts.
Nath walked casually towards Shura and then stopped in front of her.
"What are you afraid of, my lady?" Nath's voice echoed in Shura's ears.
It was like the voice of an angel.
"Ah…" Shura's face was distorted in pain, and she didn't know why, but she still answered. "I-I am afraid of heights."
"I see…" Nath snapped his fingers, and it created a strange sound that only Shura could hear.
The spinning stadium around Shura disappeared, and she appeared on top of a skyscraper. She was standing right on the ledge, a fall of hundreds of meters right in front of her.
She was immediately frozen in fear. Her face changed color to a pale shade of white.
"The second phase—Fear."
Shura was struck by a feeling of terror. All her thoughts were muffled by the overwhelming sense of dread.
Nath moved to a low stance and formed a fist with his left hand. "The final phase, Punch."
He took a deep breath, and the strength flowed inside him seamlessly and entered his fist. With a powerful burst of energy, he took a single step forward and punched Shura in the stomach.
The crowd screamed. Irio High's supporters were screaming for Shura to wake up. They knew she was having some strange hallucinations.
As the fist landed on her stomach, Shura was woken up from her fear-stricken state. She felt a sharp pain assault her body, and she saw that she was about to fly out of the ring.
Nath's fist was still in contact with her stomach, and her feet were about to leave contact with the ground.
At that moment, Shura quickly stabbed her fingers through Nath's chest. This time, her fingers went even through the flesh a little bit. The pressure point was hit!
Nath's eyes widened in shock, and his body turned limp. He fell to the ground on his knees, and his breathing turned very ragged.
Shura continued flying because of the punch and ended up falling outside the ring. The crowd roared in disbelief while Rio went to check on her condition.
"Nath!" Jin jumped to the stage and went to check Nath's condition. "Are you alright?"
"A-ah…" Nath grunted in pain and tried to move his body, but he couldn't. "S-she m-managed to l-land a hit. I-I can't move…"
Jin checked the injury. There was a small stab wound on Nath's chest. The finger went through his shirt and chest, but luckily, it wasn't deep.
However, one thing was clear.
"Alright, let's get you checked up." Jin said and patted Nath's shoulder. "You did great, but you're done."
"W-what?" Nath asked in pain and tried to stand up. "N-no, I-I can still keep going."
"Its alright." At that moment, Ryan walked over to him with a stoic look. "You plan to hog all the glory? It's fine; leave the rest to us."
"R-Ryan…" Nath sputtered weakly and then nodded in defeat. Jin helped him stand up and walked him off the ring.
Immediately, Nath was showered with cheers from Karuza High's supporters.
"Nath…" Nath's mother put her hands close to her chest with a proud smile. "He did it…"
"It looks like his technique wasn't perfected." Leonard said. "Shura woke up from her fear status because of the pain. If he had mastered the technique, the fear status would've been too strong for her to break it.
"It would've prevented her from counter-attacking."
"Come on, you doofus." His wife elbowed him on the waist. "It's not time for your teachings. Let's go check on our son."
"My bad…" Leonard scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
On Irio High's side, the mood was solemn. The supporters had grim expressions, silently processing the devastating loss. They only had one fighter left.
"Shura lost…" Madigan grimaced. He never expected that to happen—not against Nath. If she had lost, he thought it would be against Ryan.
'He didn't even go all-out against me…' Leon thought with a depressed look underneath the towel. 'If I hadn't lost so pathetically, Shura would've won…'
"Hmph." Kang scoffed and crushed his water bottle. "Both are useless. Fine, I'll do this myself."
"Kang…" Madigan's grim expression slightly changed, becoming a smile. 'Right, we still have Kang. We cannot lose!'
Kang stood up from the bench and slowly walked up to the ring. There, Ryan was already waiting. As soon as they saw each other, their looks turned into glares.
It was a battle between two of the strongest high schoolers—Ryan Lee and Kang Moon!