Her entire body was in excruciating pain, and her consciousness was beginning to blur. Even the effort of propping herself up was exhausting, as a searing pain from her abdomen radiated through her entire being.
If she hadn't blocked that side kick with her arm just now, her entire body might have been shattered, making it impossible for her to remain conscious.
Looking at the blurry black figure before her and hearing the heavy footsteps in her ears, Natsuhi felt no fear—only endless fury.
Her pride would not allow her to be trampled by a third-rate fighter. If her physical attributes were even slightly stronger, she was certain she could break through the opponent's shell.
What a pity...
"I admit, your fighting skills are indeed superb, but unfortunately, the gap in our physical conditioning is far too wide."
Old Black strolled over leisurely. During their brief exchange, he had realized that while his opponent was highly experienced in combat, her body was largely untrained.
Looking at Natsuhi's current state, unable to even stand, she truly looked pitiful.
Sigh, he really didn't know how to be gentle with the fairer sex. She was just a young girl; why did he have to take it so seriously?
Looking down at the panting girl leaning against the counter, Old Black's smile became even more nauseating.
He squatted down, reached out with his large, rough hand, and actually "gently" patted Natsuhi's cheek.
Slap! Slap! The two crisp sounds were filled with humiliation.
"Look at this little face. It must hurt, right? I'm telling you, a delicate little girl like you—why pick a fight? Why try to play at being an adult?"
Natsuhi's teeth were clenched tight, and her heavy gasping made it impossible to speak.
"Ptooey—!"
Saliva mixed with blood sprayed onto Old Black's face. Natsuhi's gaze didn't waver in the slightest; she even let out a playful, mocking chuckle.
"Heh, when I first started fighting, you were still playing with mud. When you provoke me, you'd best watch your words, brat."
"Otherwise... I'll slaughter you!"
The atmosphere shifted in an instant. Clearly, she had no strength left to fight back, but why...
Old Black felt a momentary flash of dread. He swallowed hard and instinctively backed away from Natsuhi.
He was terrified by her eyes, unable to meet her gaze. What he feared was the soul within that shell... a soul that looked down upon the world with utter disdain!
It was the feeling of a superior looking down from the bottom of their heart at the ants of the world!
His breathing had become erratic at some point. When... when had his entire body started trembling uncontrollably?!
Cold sweat dripped from his chin onto the floor.
Strange. Facing this weak, severely injured girl who had no power to resist, he was actually flinching?!
You've got to be kidding me!!!
He shook his head violently. The situation hadn't changed; he held the absolute advantage.
Having no desire to figure out the source of that eerie atmosphere, Old Black deceived himself to comfort his fearful heart. He gritted his teeth and feigned indifference.
"Ha, ha~ I have to say, your ability to bluff is top-tier. But if you think I'll be scared by something like that, you're too naive!"
He stood up and then... actually straddled her, sitting heavily upon Natsuhi's waist and abdomen!
Regaining the high ground and a dominant position allowed Old Black to recover his confidence.
His massive weight bore down instantly, causing a wave of agonizing pain to surge from Natsuhi's already battered abdomen, nearly making her black out. Breathing became even more difficult.
Looking down at the girl pinned beneath him, unable to move, Old Black's primal desires were fully ignited. He used the back of his hand to provocatively stroke Natsuhi's chin.
"Do you see the gap now, little wildcat?"
"With this level of skill, you're trying to play the hero? You can't even protect yourself!"
"Someone like you only deserves to be... pinned down by a man!"
"I hope you can survive the second round. I'm going to give you a proper lesson in grappling!"
[It seems... this is all my current strength can do. I wanted to save that combat power card for a more critical moment.]
Natsuhi acted as if she hadn't heard Old Black's insults, lost in her own thoughts.
She had to admit that with her current abilities, she was still quite lacking when facing a third-rate martial artist like Old Black.
She had intended to keep it for some major event later, but if she didn't use it now, she might never get the chance.
[System, hurry up and use that trial card. I'm about to hit my limit.]
Seeing the rough hand getting closer and closer, Natsuhi urged the system repeatedly in her mind. She truly had no strength left.
[Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry!]
[[Peak Combat Power Trial Card (15 minutes)] activated!]
The system's notification rang out at the critical moment. Simultaneously, Natsuhi felt her entire body grow burning hot. Endless energy surged through her blood vessels, flooding into her limbs and bones.
Her red blood cells tumbled and raced. The feeling of weakness was swept away, and the agonizing pain vanished instantly, like mist scattered by a gale.
Her pupils, which had begun to lose focus, suddenly constricted into a dangerous, predatory state.
Taking a light breath, Natsuhi flashed a confident smile once more. Her feet slammed into the ground, and her hips exploded upward and forward.
"Huh?!"
Old Black suddenly felt a change in the girl beneath him. In the instant he realized it, he was already flying through the air.
A bridge to break the mount.
Relying solely on the power of her glutes and legs, Natsuhi had bucked the nearly two-hundred-pound Old Black off of her.
Old Black stumbled forward several steps before barely managing to steady himself. He turned back toward the girl in disbelief.
The sensation just now felt as if someone had used a hydraulic jack to lift him directly; there was no room for resistance.
How is this possible?!
Wasn't her stamina exhausted? How could she still explode with such formidable power?
And this power... it was so violent it felt hopeless!
In the moment Old Black turned his head, his pupils suddenly shrank as a fist grew larger and larger before his eyes.
The moment Natsuhi bucked him off, she had immediately stood up and lunged after him.
Left foot forward, right foot back. As she pushed off the ground, she pivoted her body and rotated her shoulders, delivering her body weight and forward momentum all at once.
Just as Old Black found his footing, Natsuhi unleashed a sinking rear heavy punch straight into his torso!
In his desperation, Old Black could only cross his arms in front of his chest to block.
Boom!!!
A bone-cracking explosion echoed through the hall. It was as if a bomb had detonated at the point of impact.
Even though the blow was blocked, Old Black was still sent reeling back by the unparalleled impact, only stopping when his body slammed into the wall!
[It hurts! What is wrong with this woman?!]
Old Black felt as if his arm had been struck by a massive sledgehammer. A dark bruise immediately surfaced on his dark skin.
It hurt so much he could barely lift it; he felt as if the bone had been cracked by that single punch.
With strength of this magnitude, blocking made almost no difference.
When he looked at the girl again, his entire body was already trembling uncontrollably. A cold chill soaked through him, and his expression was as if he had seen a ghost.
He finally knew what he had been afraid of earlier.
It was the pure, bottomless Madness radiating from the person before him!!
How terrifying and horrific it was!
The girl no longer had her usual calm and composed appearance. Her glasses lay on the floor, crushed under her foot.
Her expression was bizarre in the extreme—both sinister and terrifying—and an irrepressible sense of excitement seemed to overflow from her body.
My god!
The corners of Natsuhi's mouth were pulled up to the limit in a near-tearing, wild grin, revealing her bone-white teeth.
Her eyes glowed with an eerie white light, devoid of emotion, like a predator watching its prey.
Blood seeped from her forehead, mixing with her distorted features.
She didn't look angry; rather, she looked like she was enjoying all of this!
Enjoying this pleasurable violence that nearly overwhelmed the nerves!
This was not an expression a human being should be able to make!
She was simply a demon crawled up from the depths of hell!
He was terrified, yet he couldn't help but be drawn in by that extreme power and Madness.