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Before his words had even faded, Ilumi crouched low and swiftly darted beneath him, leaping into the air.
"Boom!"
A dull thud of flesh colliding echoed as a beautifully executed uppercut struck Niou's chin, sending his body involuntarily tilting backward.
"Ugh…"
Niou groaned in agony, blood streaming from his mouth. He staggered backward, "tap, tap, tap," retreating seven steps before finally stopping.
"You bastard!!!"
Niou roared, crouching low with both fists clenched at his waist. His body blurred into a streak as he charged toward Ilumi.
"Boom!"
A thunderous sound erupted. Just as Niou was mid-sprint, his body suddenly jolted, his head snapping to the right as blood sprayed from his mouth. He collapsed sideways.
At the spot where he had been standing moments ago, Ilumi landed gracefully from mid-air, a faint smile on his face.
In that fleeting instant, Ilumi had moved with blinding speed to position himself beneath Niou, launching a powerful kick aimed squarely at his chin.
"Cough, cough…"
Niou scrambled to his feet, shaking his head in pain. With a sharp "spit," a bloody front tooth flew out of his mouth.
"Do you understand now?"
"Who between us is truly the stronger one?"
This time, it was Ilumi who looked down at him from above, a slight smirk tugging at his lips.
"Arrrgh…!!!"
Niou didn't respond to Ilumi's words. Instead, he let out a primal roar, charging furiously toward Ilumi.
"Anger clouding your judgment?"
"Just what I wanted."
Ilumi calmly watched as Niou barreled toward him, his fist swinging wildly. Raising his right hand, Ilumi acted with precision, timing his counter perfectly.
"Slap!"
His small palm landed on Niou's thick right arm. His fingers tightened, gripping firmly onto the bulging muscle, and with a sharp tug, he pulled Niou's arm toward himself.
"Crack."
The sound of a dislocated joint rang out as Niou let out a pained scream, spitting blood from his mouth.
His forearm bent unnaturally backward at a ninety-degree angle, his elbow tearing open to reveal glimpses of white bone.
"It's not over yet."
Ilumi's childish voice, laced with menace, reached Niou's ears like the whisper of a demon.
To his horror, Niou saw Ilumi shift his grip to Niou's upper arm just as his forearm snapped. The same scene replayed in an instant.
"Crack."
Another joint dislocation followed, and Niou's shoulder sagged limply.
"Aaaah~!!!"
Niou let out a piercing scream of agony, his right leg buckling as he collapsed to one knee. His right arm hung uselessly by his side, swollen and mangled at the elbow and shoulder.
"That was a clean disarm."
Ilumi stepped out from behind Niou, looking down at him with a satisfied smile.
"S… still…"
Niou raised his head, his voice trembling and broken.
"Still?"
Ilumi's smile vanished, replaced by an icy glare.
"Boom!"
With a sudden kick to Niou's nose, Ilumi shattered it with a sickening "crack."
"Ugh…"
Niou's head snapped back, blood gushing from his nostrils. A guttural moan escaped his throat as the excruciating pain left him unable to think.
"Not quite right?"
Ilumi's expression remained cold as Niou's body gave out. On his knees, he slowly collapsed forward toward Ilumi.
"You…"
Ilumi's eyes narrowed. Before Niou could hit the ground, Ilumi delivered another thunderous kick to his chin, sending his body flying backward.
"It's over!"
But Ilumi's assault didn't stop there. Lifting his right leg high, he unleashed a flurry of kicks targeting Niou's upper body.
"Thud, thud, thud, boom…!!!"
Niou's body convulsed violently, resembling someone having a seizure. His eyes rolled back, his limbs twitching uncontrollably.
Ilumi's kicks rained down relentlessly on Niou's abdomen, chest, neck, chin, nose, and cheeks.
"Enough… enough!"
"Stop!"
The referee, seeing Niou's blank, rolled-back eyes, rushed to Ilumi's side and shouted for him to cease.
"He's unconscious! Do you want to kill him?!"
Ilumi glanced at the referee before slowly lowering his leg. Only then did people notice that his right shoe was completely soaked in blood, dyed crimson.
"Thud!"
Niou's blood-soaked body fell backward, finally collapsing to the ground. Not a single part of his upper body remained intact.
In such a short span of time, Ilumi had landed at least five hundred kicks on him.
"K… KO!"
The referee, gazing at Niou's horrifying injuries, swallowed hard before announcing Ilumi's victory.
"KO~!!!"
"Niou Yamashita has fallen under Ilumi's relentless barrage of attacks!!!"
In the announcer's booth, the commentator sprang to her feet, declaring Ilumi's triumph. The arena erupted once more in fervent cheers.
"With this, Ilumi has achieved an uninterrupted streak of victories since entering the tournament this week."
"Eleven consecutive wins without a scratch."
"The victorious Ilumi will advance to the 160th floor."
"The prodigy, Ilumi Zoldyck."
"Just how far will this unstoppable onslaught of his continue?"
"And who, if anyone, can halt his march forward?"
"Ladies and gentlemen, please stay tuned for his upcoming matches."
Ilumi's match marked the grand finale of the day's events, and the audience began to file out.
As Ilumi climbed higher in the tower, the level of competition grew fiercer.
Even so, none of the skilled fighters among the common folk could land even a single blow on him.
"The prize money from today's match has already been transferred to your designated bank account."
Ilumi stood at the registration window on the 150th floor, accepting the receipt handed to him by the registrar.
"One hundred twenty million Jenny."
Gazing at the figure on the receipt, Ilumi muttered softly.
With his hands in his pockets, Ilumi strolled down the corridor toward the elevator. Just a week prior, he had been penniless. Now, he was a multi-millionaire.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Ilumi's brow furrowed as he turned to glance behind him. The corridor appeared empty save for himself.
"No one?"
Ilumi murmured softly, though his question was merely a ruse to mislead others.
Through his keen senses, he could clearly see two figures shrouded in dense black smoke hiding behind a wall in the corridor. That black smoke reeked of malice and evil intent.
"So, someone's finally taken an interest in me."
Ilumi chuckled softly, continuing to walk forward as if he hadn't noticed a thing.
Since reaching the 150th floor, treachery and deceit among competitors had become increasingly common.
Each floor drop resulted in a halving of their welfare dividends. Thus, to protect their own interests, participants often resorted to breaking the rules of the Sky Arena Tower.
That is—doing whatever it takes to secure their victories.