章節 15: Killing Machine
There was a change in the air only perceptible to Vincent. A foul wind accompanied his opponent's before the man took methodical steps toward Vincent. His measured steps kept the audience on their toes as they waited for the conflict to start up again. So much so that they didn't even realize they were holding their breaths.
Vincent noticed Reiichi's eyes lacking any prior annoyance. There was only the composure of an emotionless machine. He could feel the dampness on the back of his neck.
At that instant, the sound of of the Kure's breath vanished along with the sound of his footsteps. Vincent had to rely on his eyes to keep track on him. His enemy's fists flew with an odd trajectory.
They darted with explosive force, like a lunging viper. They also had the ability to change their direction right before they made contact with Vincent's hand to block them. As a result, they slipped through the durable man's guard and hit him in several critical spots, nearly putting him on his knees.
The diaphragm, the kidney, the windpipe, the knee: these were the true targets of his deceptive fists while they gave the impression they were aiming straight for the heart, temple, stomach, and groin.
A great force was felt on both the inside and outside of Vincent's body. The skillfully executed strikes penetrated his tough skin and muscles to reach the vulnerable organs. Vincent couldn't tighten his defenses quick enough.
It was impossible to avoid internal bleeding. He coughed up blood, making this opponent the quickest person to deal this much damage in the Kengan Matches. Sweat and blood mixed as he switched from defense to offense on a dime and threw a careless punch.
"Too many wasted movements." Vincent recognized his motion. It was something out of aikido that the American had to praise even as he had his arm broken. His elbow was forced out of the socket and his arm was facing the wrong way just from a simple application of force on his straightened arm.
When Vincent tried to back away, Reiichi sent a front kick at his center to destroy his balance. It succeeded and he fell on the ground. Vincent noticed a growing shadow, prompting him to look up at Reiichi's leg.
'He's not giving me a chance to breathe!'
Vincent still had a working arm. He slammed his palm on the ground, twisting his body from the stomp and giving him the momentum to slam his shin into Reiichi's other foot. Striking straight on the Achilles heel, the man couldn't prevent himself from slipping.
Vincent was rising from the ground and Reiichi was falling; both of their eyes met each other in that moment. The American brawler had a nervous smile plastered on his face while the Japanese killer had no readable emotions in the slightest. They both backed away from each other, which gave Vincent a chance to finally breathe.
'What a rough rhythm.' He lost the use of an arm.
He snapped it back into place in front of everyone and bent it back and forth before deciding it was as good as new.
He regained the use of the arm.
Not even the emotionless kill-happy Kure member could keep the surprise off his face. He made sure to break it so cleanly, it would require surgery. He then realized that all the points he targeted with his murderous style should've had him down harder.
'His body is odd.'
There were more peculiarities during the exchange as well.
'This man shouldn't have been able to unbalance me after having his diaphragm struck by my elbow. More than that, he shouldn't have been able to back away in the first place so quickly after all my attacks.'
Reiichi hit the man with his full might. Even if he was coughing up blood and looking miserable, it wasn't enough to diminish Vincent's fighting capabilities. The killer got the impression that this opponent is the annoying type whose fighting ability doesn't decrease with additional injuries.
"Hehe," Vincent chuckled. He knew what he had to do. His opponent was extremely mobile, so he'd have to target the lower parts of the body. He didn't have a full read on his opponent's rhythm, but he has enough to predict his very next move.
'Rising kick to the groin.'
Reiichi moved like lightning and then his leg slammed on the ground with the force of a hammer. In his eyes was shock. His leg that was about to rise was stomped down straight on the knee, which Vincent used as a platform.
The American's heavy knee struck the Kure man's face, bloodying his nose and sending him back. He was about to press the advantage only for the distance between them to shorten faster than expected.
'Shoulder slam.'
It came extremely fast. The surprise factor was due to how quickly the man recovered. Could it be that Vincent's leaping knee did nothing more than superficial damage?
Vincent stood his ground and caught the man's charge, which made him bowl over. His feet left the ground, but not before he lifted the man over his head in the motion of a suplex. Reiichi was dropped on his head, the force shattering shattering a part of the arena.
Blood was pooling from the head wound, but Reiichi got up, undaunted by the injury. They were simple scratch wounds. Vincent's rhythm reading failed to predict his next move. He couldn't keep up with his recovery speed. As a result, the Kure man escaped from the American's line of sight until he felt the man behind him.
Vincent turned with prodigious speed, but Reiichi was stuck to his back, like his own shadow. When Vincent tried to dash forward, an impact struck him straight on the back of his knee, forcing him to kneel.
After that, a strike to the collarbone, broke his clavicle. Next was a a spinning elbow right to Vincent's left temple. His vision began tilting, but his legs refused to buckle. One final strike to the top of Vincent's head made his legs feel light.
He was like a tower that had the top part of its supports break, so it was going to collapse in on itself, yet Vincent refused to fall.
Reiichi had to begrudgingly praise the man. 'It's too hard to knock him out the normal way.'
His version of praise, however, is switching up his strategies. After using one of the Kure Clan techniques to stick to his body, he reached around Vincent's neck and pulled of a standard chokehold. He pulled as hard as he could to make Vincent lose the match faster, and if his neck snapped in the process...well, that wouldn't be a problem either. As oxygen was being prevented from reaching his brain, Vincent should pass out soon, yet there was only one thought running running through Vincent's mind.
Though oxygen couldn't access the brain, the brain was still functioning and it was incensed by a perceived contest of strength.
Vincent pulled with great vigor and loosened Reiichi's grip just enough for him to breathe. "You...really think you can challenge me in a strength contest?"
Vincent might have weaker strikes and his martial arts aren't nearly as practiced as Kure Reiichi, yet in terms of pure strength and durability, he'd refused to lose to a man that couldn't strengthen themselves. Skill improves strength, so normally, using strength on its own would be folly in a fight.
However, this is one of the few times — one of the few types of strangles — where Vincent could just use pure strength to pull himself free.
"I somewhat expected a surprise like this, though it doesn't make it any less irritating."
Kure Reiichi is a killer. He prefers death matches over regular fights that must have both parties survive. Being used to test a person means that his clan wants to see if a person can survive a true-blooded Kure member going for the kill.
And when going for the kill, neck snaps are far more efficient than depriving somebody of their ability to breathe. Vincent still didn't have a hold on Reiichi's rhythm, so he was delayed in figuring out what he was going to do.
The American could only widen his eyes in surprise before his vision tilted. He heard the crack and his consciousness switched off like a light. He crumpled like a sack of potatoes to the ground face-first.
The arena was damaged and Reiichi was bleeding from his nose and head, but he looked otherwise coherent enough to judge himself the winner. He wasn't really all that damaged. He wiped the blood from his face and stared at the judge.
If Vincent survives, then Reiichi guesses he's barely passable as a fighter.
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票