Martial Arts Worlds

Again.

It didn't take long.

The celebration lasted less than a day, as humanity was again in the losing position after Seo's loss to Alistark.

With dark expressions on their faces, humanity's representatives headed back to their rooms while the medical staff took away Seo and Alistark in a hurry.

While Seo was going to survive, as none of his injuries were lethal, Alistark was in a completely different situation.

Even though he won, he was much more injured. It was shocking that he was even able to move after getting directly hit by an air bubble.

Hour of the Lynx ended, but Alistark showed to the entirety of the Animal Kingdom that lynxes were braver than most.

A respect was earned in the land of Animal Kingdom, and Alistark earned that.

…

The next morning, in Irio, Karma was brewing some coffee and was slowly starting his day with a tightly lipped expression on his face.

On the television, the news of the tournament was playing. It was the only thing that had been shown since the tournament started.

The news reporters and analysts were discussing how humanity could win and how they should pick their fighters.

They think that choosing Seo to go against Alistark was a massive mistake. They should've sent Karmea, but they didn't know that they didn't know beforehand who Animal Kingdom was going to send.

They had to write the names of their representative on a paper and then give it to the organizer. They couldn't just change their fighter after seeing their opponent.

[Humanity 1 - 2 Animal Kingdom]

This title was shown at the top of the screen. It was a dire reminder that humanity was only two losses away from losing the entire tournament.

"Fen, come eat!"

Julian stumbled to the kitchen, got some dog food out of the cupboard, and filled Fen's dish.

Fen came running and buried his face in the food.

"Coffee?"

Karma offered him a cup, and with a short 'thank you,' Julian accepted it and drank it all without adding any milk or sugar.

He hadn't slept much in the last couple of days. How could he? He couldn't stop thinking about the tournament.

"You think that today is the day that Kiernan will fight in the tournament? Humanity cannot afford to lose this match because if they do, the score will be three to one."

Julian asked.

"…I don't know. If they could just choose whoever, I am sure they would've already sent one of the High Stage Martial Grandmasters to fight.

"There might be something that we don't really know about the tournament, like how humanity has to choose their fighters."

Karma said.

"…Mmh, maybe so."

Julian finished the coffee, went to the living room, and started watching the television, but while doing so, his eyelids turned heavy.

Without intending to, he actually fell asleep and started snoring softly.

'…Kiernan.'

Karma couldn't help but think about his son. How was he doing?

…

On Black Rock Island, in one of the bedrooms, Kiernan stood shirtless in front of a window, sweat falling off his toned body.

With his eyes closed, he started doing some Iron Style techniques. They weren't the normal techniques that he had performed thousands of times.

They were Mastered Iron Style techniques.

They still looked rough and awkward, as if he didn't really know what to do, but slowly, he was getting the hang of it.

SQUEEZE!

In that moment, Kiernan's eyes jumped in shock, as in his right arm, a black sleeve appeared out of nowhere.

It was tightly squeezing his arm.

"What the hell is this thing?"

He tried ripping it off, but the sleeve was tough. It wasn't ripping. It wasn't budging.

In that moment, the black sleeve disappeared. There were some bruise marks on his right arm as a reminder that it wasn't a dream.

'…What in the world was that?'

Kiernan wondered and then asked.

"Hey, System. What the hell was that?"

[…You are evolving. You are standing in the doorway of the Martial King door, and your right arm is reaching through the door]

[…Your right arm caught something from the other side. The black sleeve. It is a good thing; it means that you are very close to making that leap]

"…Really? Interesting."

Kiernan rubbed his hands together, then resumed training in Mastered Iron Style, and he moved around the bedroom with speed so insane that the air seemed to ripple around him.

Slowly, his body was becoming that of beyond mortality. The cells were regenerating at a rapid pace, each one becoming stronger and more resilient with every passing moment.

'…I can feel it. I am close. But there is something I am still missing. The heat of a battle. I must fight to make that final push!'

Kiernan thought with gritted teeth.

'…Please, don't lose before my match. If you manage to make it all the way to the final match, I promise that I will win!'

…

In the evening of the day, everyone gathered around the televisions and watched as the cameras circled around the throne room.

Everyone had gathered for the fourth match of the tournament, and the referee was already taking his place at the ring.

"Fighters, come forth!"

"Yeah~"

With an energetic shout, Shafira appeared in the ring. It was almost like she appeared from thin air as she moved so fast.

She had the energetic smile of a cheetah on her face.

"…Hmph!"

From humanity's side, Karmea took the ring. His muscles rippled. The youth champion of boxing had taken the stage!

Speed versus boxing!

"Are you both ready?"

The referee asked.

"Yeah…"

Shafira said with a giggle.

"I am."

Karmea said.

"FIGH—"

While the referee was in the motion of swinging his arm down, Shafira crossed the entire ring in less time than it took one to blink.

She landed a blow at Karmea's temple, and with his eyes rolling back to his skull, he collapsed to the ground.

"Ah~"

Shafira grinned, and the world turned quiet as everyone looked at Karmea, who wasn't moving a muscle with his eyes looking blank.

"Ah… So quick!"

The referee ran to Karmea, raised his arm, and started the countdown. It didn't take long for him to reach the top of the countdown.

"F-Fight is over! Winner is Shafira!"

Despair fell over humanity.

Humanity 1 - 3 Animal Kingdom.

The loss was near.