4.28

“Well folks, we’re just moments away from our second match between Justice Punch and Guul’s team. I wonder who the next two fighters will be,” said the announcer.

“This one is my fight!” roared Guul. He stomped up onto the slate and started to flex. The crowd cheered as he banged his chest and roared.

“I’ll do this one,” said Hunter.

“Are you sure? It would probably be very hard for him to hit me,” said Freja.

“Yeah, I want to do it.”

“Just do your best,” said Stick. She had joined them down at the slate.

“I’d rather fight you,” said Guul. He pointed at Stick.

“Hey, would you look at that everyone. Its our own homegrown champ, Stick. It looks like she knows Justice Punch, which would explain why they’ve been doing so well. Give a cheer for Stick!” The crowd clapped and cheered. The energy in the room was exhilarating and Hunter felt alive.

“No. He’s your opponent. We can fight some other time.”

“You sure you don’t want to do some sort of exhibition match today?” asked the announcer, quietly. “There’d be heaps of money in it for you.”

“No. I’m here officially for support and as a mentor to my team. Today’s got nothing to do with me. Sorry, Winton.”

“Too easy. It looks like the fight is going to be between Guul and Mite. Everyone, cheer on. Its going to be an exciting fight for sure.” The crowd cheered like always and Hunter stepped up onto the slate. He was nervous, but at the same time, he was excited.

“This is gonna be too easy,” said Guul.

“We’ll see about that,” replied Hunter.

“Get ready. Go!”

In a flash, Hunter opened his flasks of dust. It swirled around him like a mystical cloak. Hunter stood still and focused on his breathing. His heart was racing and inwardly he was being pulled in a million different directions. But outwardly, he looked confident.

“Really. You think you can do something to me with some dust?”

“You wouldn’t be the first person bigger than me I’ve stopped with a cloud of dust.”

Guul slowly stepped toward Hunter. The closer Guul got, the harder it was for Hunter to remain standing. It was like an immense weight was being pushed down on him from above. Hunter could feel his knees start to buckle.

As Guul got closer, Hunter fell to his knees. He looked up at the mountain that was Guul. Guul looked down at him and smiled.

“You really thought you stood a chance?”

“I had to try.” Hunter pushed with all his might and was able to get one foot braced, but it was all he could manage.

“Nice try, kid.” Guul picked Hunter up by his head. Hunter could see with just one eye. He moved the dust into Guul’s nose. It was a cheap trick he had done before, but it worked on Rampage.

Guul dropped Hunter and stepped back. It was clear he was fighting off a sneeze. Hunter pulled all the dust out of Guul’s nose and directed it back in. Guul let out a roar of a sneeze.

“Cheap tricks? Now I’m pissed,” roared Guul. Hunter brought the dust back to him and swirled it around him. It wavered like an aura. He managed to pull himself back up as the weight pushing him down eased.

“Sorry. But I had to do whatever I could. The odds aren’t really in my favour.”

“There’s no skill or honour in such cheapness,” growled Guul.

“It’s all I could do. If you could switch off that power of yours.”

“And why would I do that?”

“So then we could have a proper fight. I’m sure there’s a way around it, but as it is now, I don’t know what that is.”

“No more cheap tricks?” Guul rotated his shoulder, and a sick, wet crack could be heard.

“No more cheap tricks. I will fight by giving it my all with my powers. But, like I said, you need to turn that pressing aura off.”

“Done. Now give me a proper fight.”

“He’s willing to meet Hunter’s conditions so easily?” asked Jimena.

“He’s tough and he’s ruthless. But he loves a fight above everything else. He never did it for me, but he sees something in Hunter.”

“You have my word then, Guul. Let’s do this.” Hunter formed his three lances with his dust. They circled around him like sharks.

Guul rotated his other shoulder and slowly approached Hunter. As he did, Hunter couldn’t feel the crushing pressure that Guul normally emitted. He braced himself as Guul approached him. He wasn’t too sure of what he could do, one clear hit from the giant could end Hunter.

In a flash, Guul closed the last few feet in and pumped his fist like a jackhammer at Hunter’s gut.

Hunter had never known such pain. He had tried to move with the hit, soften the blow. But Guul had moved faster than he planned. Hunter’s vision flashed red, and he fell to his knees.

“Come on, you’re not done yet. Where’s that fighting spirit I sense in you earlier?” Guul grabbed Hunter’s costume at his chest and pulled him back up onto his feet. Hunter rocked for a moment and steadied himself.

“Even if your opponent overwhelms you, believe in yourself. Trust your instinct and don’t let doubt grip you,” whispered Guul.

“Why are you telling me?” asked Hunter. It was difficult to speak. The pain echoed through his whole body.

“Because I like a fight. I can sense a lot of pain and doubt in you. But I can feel the spark of a warrior’s spirit in you.”

“What’s he saying?” Silas asked.

“Guul has sensed what I sensed within your friend. Guul wants to bring it out.” Silas jumped as he didn’t realise Tatsuta had been standing behind him.

“What do you sense within me?” Silas asked.

“The same. All of you have it, and you need to bring it out. But you all need different ways to bring it out.”

“When you’re ready, come train with me.” Guul walked away from Hunter. Hunter fell forward and the announcer counted to ten.

"The match goes to Guul, and Justice Punch has been knocked out of the tournament."