Martial Arts Worlds

The power of the Destruction Beam shot out of the fluffy tails.

A feeling of oppression crashed down on Antigone. She felt like the death itself was heading her way.

The referee tensed up. A few beads of cold sweat fell off his forehead. He was able to sense with his danger sense that this attack was dangerous.

It could gravely injure Antigone if landed, but he couldn't just end the match because one of the fighters did a dangerous technique.

He was also certain that if he made a move, the Beast King Vladimir would genuinely just kill him and toss his corpse to the sea.

'…Be brave!'

Antigone shot forward, like an arrow released from a bow. She met the destruction beams of light, and with her white qi hugging her petite figure, she made her move.

A quick duck. The first destruction beam flew over her head. She then stood back up and twisted her body to dodge the second beam.

In that moment, the third beam scratched her shoulder. Her gi tore at the shoulder, and the flesh reddened like it was burned.

The last beam. It headed straight to her face. She was too close to dodge it anymore, as its destructive power was making her hair flutter like it was caught in a hurricane.

'…Brave!'

Antigone gritted her teeth, and then she thrust her palm into the destructive beam to stop its flight.

The beam landed in her palm. It felt like she was trying to hold a ball of fire. It was immensely painful, like her hand was being scorched by the sun.

"Ahhhh!"

She shouted in pain, but she held on and then swung her hand to the side, sending the beam flying across the room.

The beam flew to the spectators. They all jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding getting hit. The beam destroyed few chairs and eventually stopped at the rock wall of the throne room.

"Haa! Haa! Haa!"

Antigone breathed heavily, sweat of pain falling down her pretty face, and her right palm was painful to look at it.

Its red skin was blistered. It had white patches starting to show at the edges, and it was clearly painful to the touch.

…

All around the world, seeing the young girl and her injured hand broke the hearts of those who saw her.

She was trying her best for humanity, and it ashamed those who initially mocked her, and said that the match was already lost before it even began.

The cheers for Antigone resounded through the households, and the internet was filled with several fan clubs of Antigone appearing all across the web.

It was not over yet. Humanity was still trying to win. They hadn't lost yet!

…

Percival lashed forward, and his strike came fast—fangs flashed from his mouth, and his claws swiped for Antigone's throat.

'Stupid human… Your kind deserves nothing more than extinction!'

He didn't know since when, but he had always hated humanity. Whenever he read newspapers, they always told more about humanity's evil deeds.

Surfing through the internet was always filled with more examples of the same. He felt like humanity must be the worst species on this planet.

What he didn't know was that it was Animal Kingdom's propaganda. They monitored newspapers and the internet and only included things that would paint humanity in a bad light.

This propaganda had been at work ever since Beast King Vladimir took the throne, and he approved it.

One could even say that it was Beast King Vladimir's idea to do that!

Antigone dropped her hips, slid her sandals down the stone floor, and dodged the swipe of the claws.

However, the tips of the claws scratched the side of her neck, and blood began to trickle down her skin.

In that moment, the four tails slashed at her. They crashed down at her. She raised her arms in guard, but they were no match for the force behind the attack.

She dropped on one knee, and then the tails started whipping at her arms relentlessly without stopping.

The tails, though they looked fluffy, were extremely hard and left painful welts on her skin with every strike.

"Ahh…Argh… Ouch!"

Antigone wanted to cry. Her eyes itched and stung from the sweat dripping into them. She was so close to breaking down into tears.

She had never been in so much pain before in her life and never wanted to feel this ever again.

Whenever Xerxus taught her, he was rather gentle with her. He taught her the wonders of World Judo, and it was a style that she fell in love with immediately.

It was a style that focused on grappling and submission techniques, which she found both challenging and exhilarating.

Those who practiced World Judo didn't get injured every day. They practiced to avoid getting injured.

'It hurts…!'

Antigone slid her sandals backward, moving backward to avoid the tails, but then her back touched on the ropes.

She was pushed to the corner, and it was Percival's strategy after all. He noticed that she was getting quite close to the corner, so he swiftly started pushing her back.

In the end, he had to resort to some of his fox trickery.

"It's over!"

Percival followed with a punch. A giant grin on his face. It was over, many thought, as they watched the fist head in her way.

This was the punch that he planned to end the match with.

In that moment, Antigone saw a ray of hope. A chance at a final counterattack. Her body was burning with pain, but it was also pushing to keep fighting.

She turned around, let his fist slide over her burned shoulder, and then she grabbed his arm—one hand grabbing his forearm and another grabbing the elbow.

Antigone suddenly dropped her hips. She seized Percival's momentum, redirecting it with the elegance of water finding its course.

The world seemed to hang in silence as Percival was lifted from the ground, spun, and hurled, crashing into the stone floor with a thundering throw.

Boom!

The back of Percival's head slammed into the stone floor. A crack sounded. It immediately made his eyes roll back in his head.

Everything turned silent.

"Haah… Haah…"

Antigone stood over Percival, flashed a beautiful smile, and then lifted her thumb for the cameras.

In that moment, humanity rose to their feet in unison. Screams of victory sounded in houses. The humanity responded to their loss with a bang.