NOVPUBKiernan reached out his hand to the empty air in front of him, then grabbed the air, and pulled back his arm.
It didn't look like anything special to onlookers, but at that moment, the air exploded within his clenched fist.
It looked like he had actually just grabbed the air and turned it into an explosion within his fist.
It was clear to everyone watching that this wasn't just going to be any ordinary punch, but something mighty.
'Oh no! My machine is going to be blown to bits!'
The owner cried out inwardly, and the cost of repairing his machine was already going to make him tear up, but at this rate, there was nothing to repair!
"?!"
Leon crossed his arms in front of his body with an ugly expression spreading across his face.
He wasn't sure that even he would escape unscathed when that punch landed at the machine, even though he wasn't the targeted victim!
"Iron Style…"
Kiernan whispered, took one step forward, and readied his body for the impact.
At that moment, one of the three etched words on his fingers disappeared.
It was the word "Iron!"
"Abandoned Arts…"
Kiernan's eyes turned dark, letting the punch's chaotic energy take over himself, and then, he launched his punch forward.
"Magnetar Smash!"
The punch landed at the machine, and the ground shattered—it didn't matter that it was made from cement. It shattered like glass—and the chaotic power of the punch dispersed in all directions.
"My machine!"
The owner cried out, but once it was clear that the punch was over, he looked at the machine and noticed that it was still intact.
Its gears were all smoking still, but it wasn't because of Magnetar Smash.
'W-what is the score?'
He looked over, and his eyes bulged.
[SCORE: 9999]
'9999?! I think that is the theoretical limit of what my machine can calculate, so that punch could've been even stronger, and once again, he dispersed the energy so my machine wouldn't break immediately!'
"…"
Kiernan frowned and looked at his right wrist—it was purple and bruised, with some bones poking through his flesh.
It didn't matter that he used the power of the Tattoo of Kiernan. It still broke, but it wasn't because of Magnetar Smash.
The Tattoo of Kiernan made it so that Magnetar Smash wouldn't shatter his entire arm, but when his punch landed at the machine, he twisted his wrist to the side so he wouldn't actually punch at the machine so it was easier for him to disperse its energy.
When he twisted his wrist, some of the punch's energy smashed into his wrist. It was something he didn't expect, so he was quite unlucky in that part.
"Kiernan!"
Aoi's scream sounded, and she came running to his side, almost crying when she saw his wrist broken, and could only imagine how much pain he was in.
When she thought about him being in pain, she gritted her teeth angrily and wanted to immediately help his pain go away.
However, she didn't know how!
"Bone Harmony."
Kiernan snapped his bones back in place, but since those bones had stabbed through his flesh, he was still bleeding profusely.
"We need to get back to the dojo. W-we need to bandage you, give you some medicine, and then you need to rest!"
Aoi stammered with worry, her eyes wide and frantic.
"Soon. I want to see how this match ends."
Kiernan said.
"This match is dumb! I should've never agreed to it in the first place."
Aoi said with a pout and stomped the ground angrily. She knew she couldn't leave now, not when Kiernan was so intent on staying.
Leon looked at the score with an unease creeping into his stomach, and he wasn't quite sure whether he was capable of doing that score.
It was the first time for him to feel so uncertain about himself, and he then looked at the bucket of water above him.
"Shit…"
Leon took off his shirt, tossed it aside, and reeled back his arm with the roaring of the lion echoing throughout the streets.
The fist of his turned into the face of a silver-furred lion, and it snarled back, its eyes filled with fury.
"Ghoul Style, Frangor Animae!"
His lion fist smashed into the machine, and without holding back, the machine exploded into shrapnel with broken gears flying in every direction.
"Ah!"
"My machine!"
The crowd gasped in shock and hid from the flying debris.
A flying debris headed towards Aoi, but Kiernan snatched them from the air before they could reach her.
"Sweeping Catch…"
"Thank you…"
Aoi thanked him with a soft voice and a grateful smile while blushing like a young maiden in love.
Kiernan squeezed her soft-looking cheek, causing her to pout jokingly, and then he turned to look at the score.
Despite the machine being now completely broken, the score was still working.
[SCORE: 9221]
"Ah…"
Leon wryly smiled, shook his head, and turned up to look at the bucket of water, which suddenly tilted, and water poured down on him.
'Not even close…'
It drenched him completely.
"Bwoah!"
Leon combed back his drenched hair and shook his legs vigorously to get rid of some of the water.
"Unbelievable. Leon lost…"
"It wasn't even close. However, both of them are monsters, as a score above 9000 is just disgusting."
"Where the hell did the Arakawa family find this young man? Is it a coincidence that Miss Aoi just happened to get engaged to talent that high, or was it a plot from Master Arakawa to get someone that talented into his family to someday succeed him as the master of his dojo?"
When she heard all the whispering conversations, Aoi sharply turned to look at the gossiping women, who flinched under her gaze and quickly started walking away.
They didn't expect her hearing to be that good!
"I'll be seeing you tomorrow."
Leon said to Kiernan and then walked away, leaving behind wet footprints.
Within the crowd, members of other dojos also disappeared into the night as they had now received good information about Kiernan.
No matter what, don't get punched, as that alone could be the end of the match.
