Sirik's punch sent Aion flying away with so much strength that this one clashed against one of the arena's walls and was embedded in it while puking mouthfuls of blood.
Aion had incredible battle power, but just as everybody predicted when they heard about his Human Lineage, his body was not that impressive in terms of defense. Hence, the point-blank strike from an overpowered Sirik did severe damage.
That was a perfect opportunity for Sirik to unleash a barrage of strikes on Aion, but the Astral Fiend's legs trembled before his knees bent, pushing him to the ground. He might have resisted that counter, but that did not mean it did not affect him.
Still, Sirik was able to stand up very fast and restore his battle stance. The transformation increased his strength and speed but improved his defenses even further.
"You are not untouchable."
The Astral Fiend uttered those words as he saw Aion slowly standing up. Those words had a profound meaning as they sought to make the Neo-Demon with the Human Lineage understand that this battle would not be like the others where he always stood in control.
There were many reactions that Sirik expected to receive from Aion, but the one that he got surprised him.
"?Hahahaha!"
Aion began to laugh harder and harder, and he had not cleaned himself yet, so blood split from his mouth. That reaction confused people as they did not understand what was so funny until they heard what this one said next.
"YES! Finally! Someone that can grant me the pressure I need!"
Aion did not wait for a second or even bother to clean the blood across his face before flashing toward Sirik with a wild and bloody smile.
Sirik saw that, and instead of allowing confusion to affect his mind, silver flames appeared in his eyes as he erased everything from his mind other than the desire to defeat the man coming at him.
The Astral Fiend flashed at Aion even faster, reaching this one in a nanosecond before firing a powerful punch at his face.
Aion dodged the blow and waited for Sirik to start pulling back the punch before sending one of his own. A fist landed on Sirik's face, but it did little damage and nothing to hinder the left hook this one sent forward.
Aion could not use physical counters against Sirik since, while that would improve his striking power, it would also put him in a position where he could not dodge the Astral Fiend's blows. That is why he was just relying on simple punches and kicks now.
There was hardly enough strength in Aion's punches to overcome Sirik's defenses, but that small amount of damage was enough to push the Astral Fiend closer to exhaustion.
Aion was able to dodge Sirik's left hook, but again a small burn mark appeared on his face due to how close the punch came to his skin.
Any delay or flaw in Aion's defenses would allow Sirik to fire a barrage he would not endure.
This battle would be decided by what happened first. Whether Aion made a mistake or Sirik collapsed due to burning his soul.
The sense of danger and the pressure of not knowing what would happen did not push Aion down. On the contrary, a fierce smile full of battle intent emerged as he pushed himself harder than ever before and understood how easy it would be to lose this battle.
Sirik saw the smile on the Neo-Demon with Human Lineage, and he showed the same. Time was of the essence, and he came closer to defeat every second that went by, but none of that mattered since the only thing in his mind was to carry on with his attacks no matter what!
Aion continued using his superb speed and reflexes to dodge Sirik's attack while firing punches aiming at vital points so they could do the most amount of damage with the least amount of power.
Sirik felt the blows landing on top of his lungs, neck, heart, liver, and every single vital organ, making the reddish-blue vapor grow stronger, but he just kept striking forward.
No direct strike landed on Aion after that first one, but blood was all over his body in less than a minute due to the cuts left by the mere brush of Sirik's punches.
"?Boom!" "?Boom!" "?Boom!"
Those blasts did not come from punches or explosions but from the rumbling of the people's feet as they stomped the coliseum's grades due to the excitement burning inside their hearts.
There were no fancy skills, majestic spells, or shocking phenomena in the fight they were watching. The only thing they saw were two men firing a barrage of punches toward each other.
Even if they lived in a utopia and the notion of cruelty had faded from their hearts and minds, all those Neo-Demons, Depravitas, and Eldars were at their core members of warrior races, so the display the duo gave them made their blood burn!
Aion kept firing punches and kicks toward Sirik, even as a small puddle of blood had already formed beneath his feet due to the laceration and burns that now covered every corner of his body.
There was a focus in Aion's eyes that he had not achieved before in any of his fights, and the pressure of Sirik's endless strikes only heightened. He could see how the reddish-blue vapor coming from the Astral Fiend's body began to diminish, meaning that this one was coming closer to its breaking point, and he just needed to keep pushing forward.
However, just as Aion prepared to dodge a left hook, his legs trembled. It was just an instant, but it was enough for the punch to reach his head, nearly tearing it off, and before he could even process the damage, an even more powerful fist landed on his chest, shattering his sternum!
A mouthful of blood containing pieces of his internal organ came out of Aion as Sirik's right fist sent him crashing against the arena's walls again, and this time there was no time to rest.
Aion could not breathe as the blow collapsed both of his lungs, and his eyes widened when he saw Sirik right in front of him and was about to unleash a relentless barrage over his body.
One full-power punch almost shattered everything inside Aion's chest, and there was no way he could endure a barrage at point blank.
People across the entire Daybreak Universe held their breath when they saw that since it seemed that the epic tale of the undefeatable dark horse was about to shatter under the might of the Astral Fiend.
However, just as the idea of defeat finally emerged, a flash of enlightenment appeared in Aion's eyes as his arms moved on their own, and they were not alone since space and time moved alongside them.
Shock appeared on everybody's face when he saw how he generated a force field by morphing the space-time around him. That was a power Aion had never displayed before, and they were shocked to see him using it at this point of the battle.
Those in the coliseum were not the only ones shocked since even Aion was surprised by what he had just done. He had not used that power before because he did not know he could even do it.
Countless questions appeared on Aion's mind right now, but they all faded when Sirik's fists began to clash with the space-time force field.
"?BOOM!"
"Crack."
"?BOOM!"
"Crack!"
"?BOOM!"
"Cracks!"
Every punch that Sirik connected in the space-time force field generated a massive blast that echoed across the arena and caused cracks in Aion's defense.
Aion focused on the space-time force field protecting him, but he did not even know how it came to be, so he found himself unable to strengthen it. More and more cracks appeared in it, and it was only a matter of seconds before this one shattered.
"CRACK!"
Finally, the force field could no longer endure it, and Aion could only raise his arms as a barrage of punches began to fall on him. The bones on his arms broke near instantly, and just as it seemed his skull would follow the same fate, Sirik vanished.
Confusion and disbelief filled the hearts of everybody in the coliseum when they saw how Venganza had teleported Sirik out of the arena seconds away from attaining victory.
And those feelings only grew stronger when the Astral Fiend sent a punch toward the Revenge Thearch!
No matter how enraged Sirik could be, attacking a Thearch was heresy. Yet, everything became clear once Venganza grabbed the young man's fist and paralyzed him, allowing everybody to get a good look at Sirik.
The Astral Fiend's eyes were out of focus since he was unconscious. There was barely a fragment of his soul left, and the only reason his body was able to keep going was his willpower and desire to attain victory.
Venganza noticed when Sirik fell unconscious but allowed the battle to continue out of respect for the young man. He only stopped it once the damage to Sirik's soul was so significant that if he did not act, there was a chance this one would be gone forever.
The Revenge Thearch channeled his own life force and soul force into Sirik before sending this one into his Inner Universe to recover. He then turned toward Aion, who had fallen to the ground and could no longer stand up.
"Aion of the Human Lineage, you are the winner."
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m