NOVEL WEB Chapter 71
Chapter 71. An Abnormal Boy
Finally, it’s my onii-chan’s match.
The other spectators are chatting away, ignoring the match. They probably think it’s not even worth watching.
But that’s fine. They’ll soon be captivated by my onii-chan’s fight anyway.
“Ah~ I’m so nervous.”
I want to see my onii-chan fight seriously for the first time in a while.
A pure battle, not one where he’s risking his life or protecting something.
In this fight, there’s nothing holding my onii-chan back.
He might not go all out at first, but he should gradually unleash his power. After all, his opponent is the Absolute One. He’s not someone you can beat without giving it your all.
“Mom, who do you think will win?”
I ask my mom, who’s sipping lemon tea next to me.
“There’s a 60% chance Hayato will lose.”
“Huh?!”
I’m shocked by the unexpected answer. I thought she’d say, “Of course Hayato will win.”
“It seems he hasn’t fully mastered his power yet. The only way he can win is if he grows dramatically during the fight, or else…”
[And now, the second match of the semifinals begins! The Absolute One, Abel Leon, who single-handedly defeated 43 ability users in just a few minutes! His opponent is Hayato Yanagi from the Japan branch! At just 16 years old, he’s the youngest competitor to reach the semifinals!]
The narrator’s voice echoes through the venue, cutting off my mom’s words.
“Well, let’s just cheer for Hayato and hope he wins.”
“Y-yeah…”
I’m curious… so curious, but for now, I’ll cheer for my onii-chan with all my might!
My onii-chan moves onto the field, and the countdown approaches zero.
“Onii-chan, do your best!!”
“Yanagi-kun, you can do it!!”
My loud cheers overlap with Suzuna’s voice from behind. I turn around and see Suzuna waving a flag with my onii-chan’s name on it.
(Onii-chan is so loved~)
I feel deeply moved, tears welling up as I think about my onii-chan with those dead fish eyes.
Suzuna and I exchange smiles and quickly turn our attention back to the monitor.
And finally, the countdown reaches zero.
How many people could even perceive that speed? Onii-chan closed the distance in an instant, leaving afterimages, and with a brief pause, he sent his opponent flying.
He didn’t just send some random nobody flying—he sent the strongest human in existence flying.
The entire venue falls silent.
When faced with something incomprehensible, people instinctively freeze.
Everyone stops moving, staring at the monitor, blinking repeatedly as they try to process what they just saw.
That figure isn’t the Absolute One.
It doesn’t resemble a seasoned warrior.
It’s just a young boy, who doesn’t even look like he possesses immense power.
But his eyes, the overwhelming aura, the determination to move forward—it all swallowed up the entire audience in an instant.
◇ Natalie’s Perspective
“””…Huh?”””
I was drawn to Jack’s excited demeanor and came to the tournament with Alisa and Nano, his other wives, to kill some time.
As expected, Jack and Leon dominated the preliminaries.
After they finished, I checked out the other two fields, but there was no one as absurd as them. The matches were just strong fighters taking their time to defeat the other competitors.
Of course. There’s no way there’d be someone like Jack around.
I feel bad for Jack, who’s so excited, but I thought this tournament wouldn’t satisfy him except for his match with Leon… at least until a few minutes ago.
And now.
[He—he sent him flying!! In an instant! A brief moment of combat! Yanagi closed the distance and sent Leon flying with a single punch! A 16-year-old boy just sent an Absolute One flying… I can’t believe it!]
“This… can’t be.”
The words that escape my mouth are ones of denial.
I know the strength of an Absolute One, how absurdly powerful he is.
For a normal person, even getting close to him is nearly impossible.
But that boy—with his wind-swept, discolored white hair—easily, carelessly stepped into that domain and even landed a blow that worked against that absurdity.
Am I dreaming?
I look to Alisa and Nano, hoping they’ll snap me out of it.
“N-no way…”
“That boy… is abnormal.”
But it seems this isn’t my dream.
Alisa tilts her head, forcing a bitter smile, while Nano, the usually expressionless blue-haired woman, is wide-eyed in shock.
“What is that boy… huh?”
I turn my gaze to Jack, who’s probably watching this match from the VIP seats. And I see something unbelievable.
—He’s smiling.
The man who usually only smiles faintly, never revealing his true feelings, is now grinning ferociously, the corners of his mouth curled up.
His lips move.
I can’t hear him from here, but I can tell what he’s saying.
—That’s right, I’ve been waiting for you. So don’t get taken out before you face me, okay?
◇ Lyle’s Perspective
What… the hell is going on?
That brat was supposed to be a weakling with a combat power of 100.
And now he’s fighting the Absolute One on equal footing?
[Rush, rush, rush! Yanagi’s fists won’t stop! It’s like a meteor shower! Can even Leon handle this?!]
“Mana! There’s no way that brat’s combat power is 100! What the hell is going on?!”
I shout at my partner, but she’s trembling, her eyes shaking as if she’s seen something impossible.
“W-what’s wrong?!”
Her reaction is so intense that I look around, thinking an enemy might be nearby, but there’s no one.
“A-ah…”
“What is it, Mana?! Is there an enemy?!”
Mana points a trembling finger at the monitor showing the brat’s fight.
“It’s… rising… that’s not human…”
“What? Leon’s numbers rising is common knowledge, right? What’s the big deal…”
“No! It’s… the boy’s numbers that are rising!”
A fighter whose numbers are rising.
I thought Leon was the only one observed to do that, but it seems there’s a second.
The strength that easily brushed me aside.
I suddenly want to know just how high those numbers are.
“…Just how high is it?”
Before I realize it, the question slips out.
Mana takes a deep breath and slowly opens her mouth.
“Right now… it’s over 600,000.”