After Victor stood up, he immediately vanished from his spot and lunged toward Illumi.
Seeing Victor's approach, Illumi extended his fingernails into sharp claws, ready to strike. But the moment Illumi attacked, his hands hit nothing but empty air.
Confused, illumi suddenly saw five Victors surrounding him, all preparing to strike at once.
Is this the Rhythm Echo? Illumi wondered, before quickly dismissing the thought. No, I know how the Rhythm Echo works. This is the result of pure, raw speed.
The audience was in shock. "Look! There are five of them! How is a kid doing that?" someone shouted. "That kid is a monster!" another yelled.
The commentator, struggling to find words, finally announced, "Victor is moving so fast that we are seeing five of him at once!"
In the ring, the five "Victors" attacked simultaneously. Illumi knew most were afterimages, but he was forced to defend. He swung at the first Victor, but his hand passed through thin air. The missed strike left him wide open.
Victor immediately seized the opening. He delivered a brutal side-kick into Illumi's ribs. The power was so great that Illumi skipped across the floor like a stone on water, bouncing twice before stopping at the very edge of the ring.
The referee raised his hand. "Clean Hit! Two points for Victor!"
Illumi stood up and glanced at his ribs. A deep red and purple bruise was formed, but he ignored it.
He looked at Victor with a truly serious expression for the first time before vanishing into a blur.
Victor braced himself, sensing the sudden shift in Illumi's speed. The two of them began clashing at incredible velocities, exchanging dozens of blows in every encounter.
They bounced from one side of the ring to the other, fighting with savage intensity.
The audience and the commentator could only see two blurs and hear the constant, thunderous sound of impact.
At first, the referee was able to keep up, but as Victor and Illumi steadily increased their speed, even he couldn't follow them.
Due to the intense clash, both of them suffered injuries, but Victor was the one who was more seriously hurt.
Despite his [Steel-Vitreous Physique], Victor's lack of formal combat experience which was beginning to show. Illumi, who had been trained from birth in the art of killing, held the natural advantage as the fight progressed.
Suddenly, Illumi spotted a momentary opening.
He unleashed a technique Victor had never seen: his arm seemed to strike with the precision of a snake, his fingers rigid and sharp.
Victor couldn't dodge in time, and the strike left a significant mark from his shoulder down to his abdomen, resembling the sweep of a predator's claws.
The referee, noting the impact, shouted, "Critical Hit! Three points for Illumi!"
Illumi gave Victor no time to recover and immediately pressed the attack.
They exchanged blows again, and though Victor was beginning to adapt suffering fewer direct hits than before but Illumi remained the dominant fighter.
The referee continued to award points as the exchange intensified.
Ten minutes later, the match concluded. Illumi reached ten points first, while Victor finished with seven.
As Illumi walked away, Victor remained standing, focused on his recovery. He noticed a woman in a sharp butler's uniform waiting at the edge of the arena. He realized she was likely a butler of Zoldyck Family.
The woman noticed Victor's gaze and gave him a polite smile before walking away with Illumi.
Victor stepped down from the ring and walked away, exiting the arena. He headed straight to the hospital provided by the building.
Since so many fighters get injured, Heavens Arena provides free medical services for its contestants.
As soon as he entered, a doctor checked him over. They quickly stitched his deeper wounds and bandaged him up. Although Victor's talents allow him to heal fast, deep wounds can still heal unevenly or take too long without help.
The stitching would ensure his [Steel-Vitreous Physique] recovered perfectly and even faster than usual.
Fortunately, because of his incredibly dense body, all of the injuries Victor suffered were only flesh wounds.
Illumi's fingers had been sharp, but they couldn't reach Victor's bones or organs.
Once the bandages were on, Victor left the Arena and walked home. Ten minutes later, he reached his house.
After entering, he washed his face and hands. He then took a prepared lunch box out of the fridge, ate until he was full, and went straight to bed to let his body rest .
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Somewhere in the city, inside a posh office, a man sat smoking a cigar while watching a match.
He watched as two fighters clashed for ten minutes until one finally collapsed.
The man turned off the TV and leaned back, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.
Knock, knock.
The sound of the door brought him back to his senses. "Come in," he said.
A man with a scar on his face opened the door and stepped inside. He looked at the boss sitting in the chair and bowed respectfully. "Boss," he said.
The man smoking the cigar nodded and asked, "Did you do what I asked?"
"Yes, Boss," the scarred man replied. "I checked his background. He isn't affiliated with any major forces."
The Boss looked satisfied. "Good. Send someone to contact him."
The scarred man nodded, but then asked cautiously, "But Boss, that brat looked strong."
The Boss gave him a confident look. "So what? He only reached the 90th floor at his highest, and he just lost to another kid. He's already been demoted to the 80th floor. He's just a brat. Even if he gets stronger in the future, he's nothing to us right now."
The scarred man nodded again. "I understand. I will send one of my men to make contact." He turned, left the room, and closed the door behind him.
The Boss took another puff of his cigar, once again lost in his own thoughts.
- - -- - -- -- -- - - -- - - ------- -- - ---------------------------------------------------------
After an unknown amount of time, Victor woke up. The pain was gone. He removed his bandages and saw that his wounds had already scabbed over; in a day or two, even the scars would vanish.
Victor stretched his muscles and drank a ton of water before taking a shower to clean himself.
Once dressed, he headed outside to have some fun. Since he had been injured, the Arena had delayed his matches until he was fully healed.
Victor explored the local food outlets. Because of his past in Meteor City, he had truly grown to love eating. He found a popular spot with a long line, bought a burger, and began eating it while he walked.
Suddenly, Victor felt someone following him. Having survived in the Meteor City, Victor never lowered his guard, Instead of acting Victor remained calm and continued exploring shops and eating.
Gradually, he led the one who is following him towards a quiet, narrow street. After five minutes of walking in the deserted alley, Victor stopped and turned around.
"Come out," Victor said.
A man wearing a suit emerged from the shadows.
As he approached, he said, "Mr. Victor, hello. My name is Marco. I work for Don Veretti."
"Why are you following me?" Victor asked bluntly.
"Mr. Victor, I think we can help each other," Marco replied.
"You can help my boss by losing certain matches. In exchange, we will provide you with generous compensation."
Victor thought for a moment. I love money, but Heavens Arena has very strict rules. If the management finds out I'm losing matches on purpose, they'll ban me for life. Heavens Arena was the perfect place to harvest talents, he couldn't risk a ban.
Victor looked at Marco and said, "I don't want to be part of this."
"Mr. Victor, please think about it more," Marco pressed.
"I will come back in three days for your final answer."
"No," Victor replied. "This is my final answer."
Marco's expression turned icy. "My boss, Don Veretti, might not like this decision."
Hearing the naked threat, Victor looked at Marco coldly. Suddenly, Marco felt a chill run over his entire body. Panicking under Victor's icy gaze, he stammered, "Mr. Victor... I—I will send your reply to Don Veretti!"
With that, he turned and ran away.