Brugger chuckles and effortlessly blocks Saint's high kick.
'This pressure… he's strong!'
Without warning, he catches Saint's leg with overwhelming power and drills a palm strike right into his chin. The impact snapped Saint's head back violently, blood spreading through the air.
'His grip on me is tight… but Prince is stronger!'
Summoning his strength, Saint twists free and retaliates with a sharp spinning back kick aimed at Brugger's ribs.
The hit connected. Brugger barely flinched.
"Hmph."
Saint launches himself backward. They lock eyes, the silence between them intense and heavy.
"Your father isn't gonna forgive me for this. Oh well, beats me."
Making a hand sign, Brugger's tone shifted. "Spike Style: Enforcer Pole."
The white fabric shreds off his suit as muscle flexed beneath, his bare frame towered, tall, broad, and imposing. Saint's eyes widened, he instinctively falls into stance.
'I got this…'
Then came the transformation. Brugger's long hair and arms start morphing into sharp spikes, armor-like and deadly.
"I was gonna use this on your boy when we met at the school. He's one lucky son of a bitch."
Saint wastes no time and bursts forward, but was instantly countered. Brugger's body blurred ahead of him faster than before, a brutal clothesline slammed into Saint's chest.
The blow was amplified because of Brugger's spikes, sending Saint crashing through the wall like a meteor.
He tumbled outside, the wind knocked out of him, skidding toward the cliff's edge behind the auction building.
Brugger stepped through the ruined opening, shoes crunching the grass beneath him.
"Got any tricks up your sleeve?"
Saint didn't answer. His silence was resolve.
"No? Alright then."
Brugger lunged, targeting Saint's legs with a punch. Saint leaped upwards, barely avoiding it.
"Can't dodge now, can you?"
From below, Brugger unleashed a barrage of spike projectiles,
Saint's cheek was nicked, his arm grazed, a spike stabbed his leg, another nearly impaled him. He twisted, barely dodging the last one.
Just as he lands, Brugger was already behind him,
"Spike Style: Rocket Surge."
Saint's liver was struck by a blinding strike.
"GAH!-"
The force launched him far away, body limp mid-flight, grass and mud flying up where he landed.
Brugger approached slowly. He observed Saint's fallen figure before turning away and activating his earpiece.
"One down."
But movement caught his ear behind him,
Saint was rising… slow, shaky, and bruised.
"Wait." He said coldly,
Brugger turned.
"Hm? Oh, you're alive? I should give you props, not many can withstand that punch."
Saint clutched his side, breath ragged.
"I didn't forget…"
Brugger's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"
Saint took one step forward, breathing heavy.
"When we first met… you launched a punch at me. I didn't forget."
Brugger paused. Recognition flickered. The memory returned, that day he and Beretta met Saint for the first time. The day they escorted him to Sangre De Reyes.
"So?" He replies,
Saint chuckles under his breath.
"I'm gonna get you back for that."
Suddenly, red Mana erupted from his body.
'Sorry Prince… I had to.'
Brugger's eyes widened.
'What the hell is this presence!?'
Saint's eyes starts glowing crimson, and then, he vanishes.
'What?! He shouldn't be able to move!'
Spinning instinctively, Brugger spotted him, a blur of red, arm drawn back.
'This kid!?'
For Saint, Brugger's movements are in slow motion,
Saint's fist clenched tight, then he exploded it forward, a mirror of Brugger's original punch, hurtling toward his jaw.
…
Elsewhere, in the heart of the auction, Prince paused mid-fight, surrounded by defeated grunts.
'You dumbass!' He thinks as he feels Saint's presence,
…
Jovi and the others feel the tremor run through the building.
"Mela, was that Saint?" he asks while flooring two guards with fluid strikes.
"It appears so. He tapped into his red Mana."
Jovi drops another guard calmly,
"Prince trained him well."
…
Mari and Jane stood in a dim storage room, the floor beneath them trembling.
"Geez, Saint isn't playing, huh?" Mari said, half-smiling.
Jane's eyes lingered behind her, a silent worry written across her face.
…
Outside, Brugger knelt in the grass, blood dripping from his mouth, arms quivering, ribs shattered.
"How are you so strong?!" he growled, fear slipping into his voice.
Saint stood tall before him, red aura fading, staring steady.
Then Mela's voice broke through in his mind.
"Saint? Finish up and regroup with the others, the roof team is having issues."
The red Mana began to fade away, his eyes softening to their natural color.
"Yeah, I'll be there."
Suddenly, Brugger lunged, a last desperate act.
"On Instructor duty… I'm bringing you back… with me…" he said, breath ragged.
Saint sidestepped and brushed himself off.
"You're wasting my time."
The clash resumed instantly, fists flew, bodies shifted. Brugger came in strong,
Saint deflected, parried, redirecting each blow with flawless precision.
"YES! MORE!" Brugger roared.
He launched a left. Saint caught it, locked the arm, and countered with a high elbow that threw Brugger off balance.
With momentum shifting, Saint landed a clean punch, Brugger slid back, a thin cut splitting his brow.
Brugger stares at Saint fiercely, before spitting out one of his teeth,
Hegets in a sumo position,
"This is my last technique. You're capable of handling it." He says cockily,
"Brugger Style: Spiked Off."
The atmosphere is palpable, tension heavy, it feels like time has stopped for them both,
Saint is focused, he can't see anything else but Brugger right now, he takes a deep breath, prepared to meet him head on.
'I wanna… I wanna see my friends again.' Visions of Prince, Jane, and Mari flash through Saint's mind,
Wind blows debris and gravel all over the place, leaves, and trees cry across the battlefield,
Brugger takes off at a brutal pace, head first,
"THIS IS THE END!!"
He starts rotating midair, turning into a spike,
Saint's eyes widen, before he realizes it, he had instinctively sidestepped Brugger's launch and caught him in a standing rear naked choke,
Brugger starts clawing at Saint's arms, desperate to free himself, but the hold is too tight, and with the lack of oxygen and energy he already had lost, Brugger met his fate.
Saint drops Brugger's lifeless body on the ground,
He stops breathing heavy and stares down at him, before turning around, and heading back inside the auction building.
…
Elsewhere at that exact moment, while training, a black butterfly flies past Hazu.
…