40 MINUTES AGO - LOWER SIDE OF THE ARENA
A silent stare-down ensued as Cyro, Nobu, Zane, and Khayjin stood in the arena. Suddenly...
Khayjin: "Man, forget this dude! I wanna punch that stupid Kyll guy in his face."
Nobu: "Well, we need to focus. They started fighting up there. We need to start figuring out this guy."
Zane: (sleeping)
Nobu: "WHAAAAAAAATTTTT? He's asleep! Are you ready, Khayjin?"
Khayjin: "I'm gonna punch this dude out of his underwear! I can see it now!" (imagines Cyro getting punched out of his drawers)
Nobu: "Hey, what's wrong with you, weirdo? And where's your shirt been all tournament?"
Khayjin: "Doesn't matter! I'm gonna hit this dude!"
Khayjin jumped high into the air, cocking his fist back. "SM WIND BREAKERRRRRRR!" He punched forward, but Cyro sidestepped, making the air punch miss.
Cyro pulled out a notepad. "Hmmm... let's see... Main punch, air density, pressure... about a Category 2 force behind it. Seems close to an F1 tornado impact."
Khayjin landed, looking puzzled. "Hey, are you taking information?"
Cyro: "Why, yes! I like to know my limits and strengths, plus weaknesses. But please, attack again! I need more data!"
Khayjin grinned mischievously. "WABOOOOOOOOO!" He unleashed a powerful after-shock wind that hit Cyro spot-on.
Everyone was shocked. The impact created a massive dust cloud.
Khayjin: "HAHA! It feels good being able to hit someone full power."
Nobu: "Guard up, Khayjin! He's gonna be perfectly undamaged when the smoke clears."
Khayjin: "What? How do you know?"
Nobu: "You ever watch anime before? It never fails - person gets hit head-on but ends up unscathed and does a villainous laugh."
Khayjin: "Nah I think he's gonna feel that hit."
Cyro: clapping, (clap, clap, clap, clap) "That was cool!" He pulled out his notepad. "Hmmm... about a Category 3 with a huge impact. So, his force is behind his punches, almost like an air aftershock."
Khayjin: "What? He's unscathed?"
Nobu: "Told you, fool."
Khayjin: "Well, he didn't have a villainous laugh."
Nobu: "Doesn't matter; he's still unscathed."
Khayjin's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait a minute, do you see that? His left hand is huge, just like before!"
Nobu's eyes followed Khayjin's gaze. "TTHS!" Cyro's left hand was now lifted, and he continued to take notes, seemingly unfazed.
Nobu's voice was filled with awe. "It appears that his left hand blocked the full wind effect damage."
Khayjin's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Okay, time to move in on him while he's still taking notes..."
Nobu appeared behind Cyro, his bow fully charged with a point-blank range arrow. "SM3 - Flash Strike!" Cyro sidestepped the attack with incredible agility and grabbed the arrow with his enormous left hand. He threw the arrow back into the sky, where it exploded harmlessly.
Cyro pulled out his notepad and jotted down some notes. "Okay, other kid's arrows are more of a ranged fighter, it seems. Very quick on top of that."
Khayjin chuckled. "Haha, he's writing down your moves, hahaha!"
Nobu summoned strings to erupt from the ground, but Cyro backflipped away, avoiding the attack with ease. Khayjin seized the opportunity to strike, leaping from the sky with a full-powered punch. However, Cyro's enormous left hand grasped Khayjin's fist in mid-air.
Cyro's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Okay, that's the first punch. The aftershock should beeeeeee now!"
Cyro sidestepped and backflipped away, using the momentum to throw Khayjin toward his own aftershock. Khayjin was hit by the aftershock, which sent him crashing through the ground, twenty-nine feet below the arena. The impact was tremendous, leaving a massive crater in the ground.
Nobu continued to unleash a flurry of wire attacks, but Cyro dodged and weaved with incredible agility, avoiding every strike with ease. Cyro's movements were a blur, as he backflipped, rolled, and sidestepped the wires with precision.
Cyro's eyes narrowed, his mind racing with strategy. "Hmmm, there must be a pull point. Let's observe..."
As Cyro dodged the wires, he simultaneously searched for a weak point in the attacks. His eyes scanned the wires, searching for a vulnerability. Suddenly, he spotted it - a small, almost imperceptible gap in the wires.
Cyro seized the opportunity, grabbing the wires at the vulnerable spot and pulling with all his might. The wires snapped taut, pulling Nobu toward Cyro at an incredible speed.
Cyro's massive right hand cocked back, ready to deliver a crushing blow. "This is it!"
Just as Cyro was about to punch Nobu, a bolt of lightning struck the ground right between them, sending a shockwave through the air. The force of the lightning sent Cyro stumbling backward.
In the chaos, Zane appeared out of nowhere, standing in front of Cyro. With a swift and deadly motion, Zane kicked Cyro dead in the throat, sending him flying across the arena.
The impact was tremendous, the sound of Cyro's body crashing to the ground echoing through the arena. The crowd gasped in shock, stunned by the sudden turn of events.
Zane: "Hahaha, wow! That punch would have taken your head clear off! Lucky, I saved you, huh?"
Nobu: "Don't get cocky! He's super smart, this guy is incredible. He observes every..."
Nobu's warning was cut off by a sudden cry of "WATCH OUTTTTTTT!"
Zane turned to his left, but it was too late. Cyro charged at full speed, his fist flying toward Zane's face. "SHUOUPBOOOOOMMM!"
The impact was colossal, Zane's body bouncing off the floor as he flew across the arena. The crowd was left stunned, their jaws dropped in awe.
Cyro pulled out his notepad, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Hmmm... Kid number three has lightning ability, it seems. But I don't believe he creates it... it's almost as if he manipulates it. Hmmmm I think I have all the info I need on these three. Now it's time to go on the attack."
Chapter ends
NEXT THURSDAY CONTINUED