"Alright then... my turn now."
Noah’s voice cut through the stunned silence of the arena, carrying a cold finality that made several spectators shiver despite the warm afternoon air. The casual tone contrasted sharply with the intent visible in his eyes as he finally decided to shift from defence to offence.
The transformation was imdiate and devastating. Noah’s sword moved with speed that made Kenzo’s previous attacks look sluggish by comparison, the dull blade striking with against joints, pressure points, and vulnerable areas that would cause maximum pain without risking lethal injury.
The first strike caught Kenzo across the ribs with enough force to drive the air from his lungs. Before he could recover, Noah’s blade cracked against his sword arm, numbing the muscles and weakening his grip on his own weapon.
The one-sided slaughter had begun, and nobody present would be able to stop it.
"What... what is this speed?" soone gasped from the spectator stands as Noah’s blade beca almost invisible, striking multiple tis before Kenzo could even attempt to raise his guard.
Kenzo tried desperately to mount so defence, but every attempt was imdiately punished with another precisely placed strike. Noah’s training had elevated his swordsmanship to a level that transcended even talented humans like Kenzo, making the match feel less like a competition and more like an execution.
The dull blade struck Kenzo’s knee, buckling his leg and forcing him to stumble. Before he could fall, another strike caught his shoulder, spinning him partially around.
"Arghh!!"
A third blow slamd into his lower back, arching his spine in agony.
"Stop this! The match is clearly decided!" soone shouted from the crowd, unable to watch the one-sided brutality continue.
But Noah showed no signs of stopping. Each strike was calculated to inflict maximum pain and cumulative damage while remaining technically within tournant rules. The dull blade couldn’t cut, but the force behind each impact was leaving deep bruises and possibly cracking bones beneath Kenzo’s increasingly battered body.
Kenzo’s face had gone pale with pain and shock, blood trickling from his split lip where an upward strike had caught him across the jaw. His breathing ca in ragged gasps as his ribs protested with each attempt to draw air into his lungs.
But Kenzo’s pride wouldn’t allow the word to form, even as his body scread for rcy. He had built his reputation on never showing weakness, never admitting defeat. Not that he ever needed to anyways. That sa arrogance that had led him to poison Noah now prevented him from saving himself through simple capitulation.
Noah knew this about his opponent, had calculated it into his response. Soone like Kenzo wouldn’t surrender even when defeat was absolute and continuing ant severe injury. So Noah ensured that Kenzo would be unable to even utter the word of surrender near the end, his body too damaged and his consciousness too fragnted to form coherent speech.
Another flurry of strikes battered Kenzo’s defenses completely apart. His sword that was about to fall from his fingers was imdiately held by Noah. Noah closed his hands on Kenzo’s hands and made sure that the sword did not leave Kenzo’s hand, signalling the end of the match.
"You think I will let you off so easily?" Noah whispered into his ears as he continued hamring him with strikes.
The damage accumulated on Kenzo’s body with each passing second—welts forming across his arms where he’d tried to block, bruises darkening his torso where the blade had struck repeatedly, his legs barely supporting his weight after targeted attacks to his knees and thighs.
Everyone watching was shocked by the ease with which Noah was destroying soone who had been considered a championship favourite. The fighter who had brutalised Ichigo without rcy was now experiencing the receiving end of overwhelming force, and the poetic justice wasn’t lost on the more perceptive spectators.
What was even more shocking was the way that Noah had ensured that Kenzo could not admit defeat.
The referee was unable to intervene. Whilst Noah had indeed done that, he hadn’t broken any rules, and Kenzo could still theoretically call for surrender.
"This is... I’ve never seen soone completely outclass their opponent like this," one of the eliminated competitors whispered in awe and horror. "It’s like watching a master swordsman practising against a beginner...at the finals."
The three judges looked at each other with growing worry as the beating continued. They had the authority to stop the match if they believed one fighter was being seriously injured and could end up as a casualty, but Noah’s strikes, while devastating in their cumulative effect, remained technically within the bounds of tournant rules.
More concerning to them was what would happen after the match concluded. If anything serious happened to Kenzo during this public humiliation, his master’s retribution would be swift and terrible. The ramifications of this beating extended far beyond the tournant itself.
Kenzo’s master was not a normal martial arts instructor—he had reached a level of swordsmanship that even these experienced judges hadn’t achieved. Master Hideaki was a grandmaster in the truest sense, soone whose blade work transcended conventional technique to touch upon sothing approaching the supernatural. His reputation throughout the Sword Arts community was legendary.
And his love for his students was equally well known. Hideaki treated his two disciples like his own children, and anyone who hard them faced consequences that went far beyond simple revenge. He had destroyed lives and made examples of those who dared to seriously injure his students.
"If Noah doesn’t stop soon, Master Hideaki will consider this personal," one judge muttered quietly to his colleagues. "The boy’s skill is impressive, but he’s making a powerful enemy. He might be cutting his journey short...this isn’t good."
"Should we stop the match?" another judge asked, uncertainty clear in his voice.
"On what grounds?" the third responded grimly. "Everything Noah is doing is technically legal within tournant rules. We have no justification to intervene unless Kenzo surrenders or loses consciousness."
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