Piers charged.
And Osric stepped into him.
The crowd reacted instantly.
"What?!"
Instead of retreating—
Osric moved closer.
Directly into the monster's range.
Piers' grin widened savagely.
"That's it!"
A massive fist crashed toward Osric's ribs.
Osric twisted slightly—
Not fully avoiding it.
The impact still slammed into his side hard enough to rattle his entire body.
Pain exploded through his damaged ribs again.
But this time—
he didn't get launched away.
He endured it.
His feet stayed grounded.
And while Piers' punch was still extended—
Osric attacked.
A brutal strike drove straight into the same liver area again.
"THUD!"
Piers' grin twitched.
Another strike followed immediately—
Then another.
No wasted movement.
No hesitation.
Osric's Combat Instinct pushed everything unnecessary away.
No fear.
No panic.
Just reactions.
Pressure.
Survival.
Piers swung again violently.
Osric ducked under it—
Too slow to escape completely.
The fist scraped across his back like a hammer.
Pain shot through his spine.
But he stayed inside.
Stayed close.
Another strike slammed into Piers' throat.
Then a vicious punch toward the damaged eye.
This one landed cleaner.
Piers' head jerked slightly.
A real reaction.
The crowd erupted.
"He hit him again!"
"What the hell?!"
Even Piers' expression changed now.
Not anger.
Not amusement.
Irritation.
His massive arm suddenly wrapped toward Osric again.
Another grab.
Osric saw it coming—
But instead of retreating—
he stepped even closer.
His shoulder screamed in agony from the movement.
Then his fist crashed upward directly beneath Piers' jaw.
"THUD!"
Piers' head snapped back slightly.
Not enough.
Never enough.
But his grip loosened for just a fraction.
Osric tore himself sideways immediately before the grab fully closed.
Breathing violently now.
Blood still running down his face.
Across the pit—
Garrick's eyes narrowed.
'…He changed.'
Osric wasn't trying to avoid damage anymore.
He was minimizing losses.
Trading pain for opportunities.
And somehow—
against someone like Piers—
it was starting to work.
Not because Osric was stronger.
Because he was adapting faster.
Piers rolled his neck slowly.
His breathing had changed slightly now too.
Still powerful.
Still monstrous.
But heavier than before.
His damaged eye blinked once.
His liver area tightened subtly when he moved.
Accumulated damage.
Small.
But real.
And for the first time since the fight began—
the arena felt it.
The impossible no longer looked impossible.
Piers stared at Osric silently now.
No laughter.
No mocking.
Then—
his grin slowly returned.
But different this time.
More dangerous.
"…Now I get it."
Osric steadied his stance again.
Barely keeping his breathing under control.
Piers cracked his neck once.
"You're not fighting to win anymore."
His grin widened monstrously.
"You're fighting like someone who already accepted dying."
Then he stepped forward again.
Heavy.
Certain.
Like nothing had changed.
But Osric saw it now.
The slight tightness around his breathing.
The subtle delay whenever he twisted his torso too sharply.
Small signs.
Tiny.
But real.
'He's accumulating damage.'
Piers suddenly exploded forward again.
A monstrous swing tore toward Osric's head.
Osric slipped underneath it immediately—
Then drove another brutal punch into the liver.
"THUD!"
Piers growled.
This time louder.
Osric moved again instantly.
A fast strike toward the damaged eye—
Piers reacted immediately.
His head jerked away hard.
Exactly what Osric wanted.
'Now.'
Osric planted his foot violently against the stone floor and twisted his entire body into a full-force kick.
Not toward the eye—
Lower.
Straight into the liver.
"BOOM!"
For the first time in the entire fight—
Piers' body folded.
Not fully.
But enough.
A deep, ugly sound escaped his throat as one knee slammed against the stone floor.
The entire arena froze.
"…What?"
"He dropped him?!"
Even Garrick's eyes widened slightly.
Osric didn't hesitate.
Couldn't.
This was the only opening he had gotten the entire fight.
He moved behind Piers instantly—
His right arm locking across the massive man's throat while his other hand forced the hold tighter.
Not clean.
Not technical.
Desperate.
Brutal.
A chokehold forced onto something too large to properly control.
Piers roared immediately.
The entire arena shook with it.
"GET OFF!"
His massive hands clawed backward violently.
Osric tightened the hold harder.
Every muscle in his damaged body screamed.
Piers forced himself upward anyway.
Still carrying Osric on his back.
Still standing.
The crowd erupted into chaos.
"No fucking way!"
"He's still getting up?!"
Piers staggered once—
Then another—
His huge hands grabbing at Osric's arms with terrifying strength.
Osric felt his grip starting to fail.
'Too strong.'
Piers' neck was too thick.
Too powerful.
He couldn't hold him much longer.
Then Osric did something else.
Something ugly.
His knee slammed violently into Piers' damaged liver again from behind.
"BOOM!"
Piers screamed.
A real scream this time.
His grip loosened for just a second—
And Osric immediately bit down into the side of his neck.
The arena fell silent.
Not shocked.
Disturbed.
Blood filled Osric's mouth instantly.
Not deep enough.
Piers' neck was too thick.
But painful.
Painful enough.
"RAAAAAAGH!"
Piers thrashed violently like a wounded beast.
His hands tore at Osric desperately now.
Osric barely kept his position.
Then he saw it.
The moment before Piers would throw himself backward.
'Shit.'
Osric released the choke instantly—
But not before driving his fingers straight into Piers' eyes.
Not deep.
Just enough.
Enough to tear.
Enough to blind.
"AAAAAAARGH!"
Blood ran down Piers' face as he staggered violently.
Both massive hands flew toward his eyes instinctively.
Osric hit the ground hard behind him—
Then forced himself back up immediately.
Pain exploded through his entire body.
His shoulder.
His ribs.
His skull.
Everything screamed at him to stop moving.
He ignored it.
Piers swung wildly.
Blind.
Violent.
Uncontrolled.
Osric slipped around the attacks with desperate movements.
Barely avoiding them.
Then attacked again.
A kick slammed into Piers' knee.
A punch cracked against his throat.
Another strike into the liver.
Then the ribs.
Then the elbow joint.
No rhythm.
No elegance.
Just nonstop damage.
Piers roared and swung again wildly.
Osric ducked underneath it by centimeters.
His vision blurred again.
Too slow.
Too injured.
But still moving.
Still attacking.
The entire arena had changed now.
No cheering.
No excitement.
Only tension.
Because this no longer looked like an arena fight.
It looked like two men trying to tear each other apart.
And in the middle of it—
Piers finally stumbled backward blindly.
For the first time since the fight began.
Osric didn't let this chance go.
He took a deep breath—
And swung his right leg straight upwards with basically all the strength he had left.
"Crack."
It went right between the legs.
"ARGHH!!!"
"You fucker!"
Every man in the arena clutched their crotch.
"Damn."
"That was even more ruthless than the neck bite."
Piers dropped on his knees.
Barely any strength left.
A faint voice coming out. "I'll kill you."
"I won't let you." Osric answered.
He looked down at him coldy—
And dropped his foot.
"Pah!"
Straight to the face.
Piers fell on his back, barely conscious.
The crowd couldn't believe their eyes.
"He did it."
"That's crazy!"
Garrick was just as shocked.
But he, as well as Alice and Adam knew—
This wasn't necessarily over.
'Piers will definitely hunt him down after this.' They thought.
Garrick's eyes narrowed.
He remembered Osric's plan.
'Will he do it?'
Osric now stood next to Piers his head.
The spectators were curious on why he was just standing there.
"Whoosh."
He lifted his leg.
And dropped it without blinking.
"CRACK!"
The entire arena froze.
"Ghh."
Piers couldn't breathe but was still alive somehow.
'His neck is really durable.'
The referee jumped into the pit and was about to intervene.
"Whoosh."
"Crack."
His throat and neck were completely shattered.
The life in Piers his eyes faded.