Chapter 146 Third Round— Three-Way Fight Conclusion???

"Did anyone order popcorn?" Shidou asked, already digging in on the popcorn he just ordered.

"Yep, me," Midori called out, raising his hands enthusiastically.

"Shh! We're trying to focus here!" Sassu hissed between her bite on the hamburger she just ordered.

"You really think Satoshi could win?" Hiroshi worriedly asked, slurping on the soft drink that came along with the popcorn.

"He can't lose," Siril responded even though the question was not directed at them. "We've seen how he fights. There's no way he can lose. Besides, those two are muscleheads. They aren't even thinking about their attacks nor are they conserving their energy. All they do is plow their way through like a mad bull. I can't blame them though. If I had half their strength, I would be doing the same thing."

"Look at you, enjoying yourselves while our Leader is doing all he can to win the tournament." Someone behind them clicked her tongue. Surprised, everyone turned around.

It was none other than Kuroe, their telepath classmate. Shiroi was tagging behind her as well but she didn't speak a single word.

"Oh, Kuroe, Shiroi. What are you two doing here?" Midori greeted. "Are you here to fight over your man over there? Don't worry he's not flirting with anyone else, he's simply fighting for his life right now. Did you come here to cheer for him? In that case then you shouldn't be wasting your time. The fight's bound to be over soon."

As usual, Midori was as talkative as ever. Kuroe was tempted to use her telepathic ability to render him speechless, literally, but she figured she might attract unnecessary attention if she did so.

"No, we came here to spectate. The management told us that we can join the others candidates as long as we have the identification that proves we attend the same school. So we showed our IDs and they easily let us in." Kuroe explained, sitting beside Fuuka. "I've seen you fight, you're pretty cool. Where do the sound waves come from though?"

Fuuka was a bit surprised that Kuroe actually talked to her. Usually, Kuroe keeps to herself and doesn't talk much to everyone. But ever since she interacted with Satoshi, she became more talkative, bringing up small talks out of the blue no matter how weird the questions are.

What she didn't know though was that Kuroe was just as passionate as Satoshi when it comes to superpowers, she just couldn't bring herself to talk to anyone since she was too self-conscious of her superpower. But when Satoshi told her that she wasn't the odd one out— that everyone has a superpower in the USA, she became more confident to interact with others. Those small words may not mean much to Satoshi but to Kuroe, it changed her mindset quite a bit.

"I... I don't know either. I... I didn't really get my superpower when I hit puberty. I was born with the power to control and distort sound and space." Fuuka continued. "How about you?"

"So we're the same, huh. Yes, I was born with my superpower as well. How did you cope with it? I mean... space and sound manipulation are quite dangerous, you know. You could easily kill someone." Fuuka continued.

"Yeah, fortunately, I didn't kill anyone, hehe," Fuuka nervously laughed, trying to brush off the topic. But seeing that Kuroe was still waiting for her answer, she cleared her throat and narrated her childhood incident.

"We... I mean, I was five years old when I first encountered what my superpower was. But as for my parents, I think they already knew. My parents always reminded me not to raise my voice, or swing my hands when I feel something weird about them. That's why I never did. I was so stiff back then, for fear that something bad might happen if I disobeyed my parents."

"And then it happened. One time, we went to the local park where I played sandcastles with my kindergarten classmates. There was a boy, I could still remember his name— Ferdinand. He's an exchange student and until now, I still don't know why he was an exchange student at such a young age. Or maybe he just says that but his parents actually moved to Japan so he can study there. I don't know... "

"... he found us playing by the sandbox and he decided to mess with us for a bit. My friends and I were working on a beautiful castle where a beautiful princess lives, you know, typical kindergartner stuff. But he just had to run towards it and kick it. We worked for an hour to make it and yet he just destroyed it."

"Ooh, then it all goes downhill from there, huh," Kuroe commented.

"Yes, I cried. I felt angry at him. My cry was heard throughout the park and everyone's eardrums burst. Someone tried to stop me from crying but they couldn't even get near me. Whenever they tried, wounds would appear in their body as if invisible knives were floating in the air. Ferdinand also couldn't move in place, as if some sort of invisible box trapped him."

"That's when I found out I had the power to distort space and sound waves. Everyone in the park had to be rushed to the hospital for immediate treatment. Fortunately, the Nurse was around town. She was still a teenager back then and she was the one who healed everyone's eardrums."

"Up until now, I still remember what the Nurse told me. Even though she was just a teenager, she didn't resent me for what happened. She just patted my head and told me that it wasn't my fault. That any child would've responded the same after what Ferdinand did. She also told me that my powers are wonderful and that I should practice using them instead of locking them away after what happened."

"I did what she said, and now here I am. Hehe." Fuuka grinned. Even though her childhood memory was quite traumatizing, she found tranquility in the words of the Nurse and that's what spurred her to move forward. "In any case, how about you?"

"Ah... me? " Kuroe muttered. "I'll tell you, but don't expect it to be as cool as your incident. Hehehe~"

.....

"Oh, Shiroi and Kuroe are here too, huh," Satoshi said to himself as Saturn continued unleashing blows upon blows. At first, Satoshi was afraid that his blows would hurt but after getting hit on purpose a few times, he realized that Saturn's physical prowess was on the same level as him. That's why he didn't even bother using his summons. He just used his strength like usual. Of course, he didn't fight with him head-on since that would certainly injure him. What he did though was carefully anticipate every attack and redirect it. That way he wouldn't suffer any damage.

Meanwhile, the Ice Empress was slowly eating away at Aljier's stamina. He was getting tired by the second while the Ice Empress didn't show any signs of slowing down. Pretty soon, Aljier was cornered and there was nothing he could do but fight the Ice Empress head-on.

Aljier tried to look troubled but deep inside, he was glad that everything is going according to plan. He purposefully let the Ice Empress corner him so the Ice Empress would hasten her attacks. In turn, he absorbed every attack like a champ, planning to unleash it at an opportune time.

The Ice Empress didn't know anything about this though but she already realized a few minutes ago that Aljier was holding back while leading her so she could corner him. She didn't stop with her relentless attacks though even though she had an inkling feeling that Aljier was planning something. Whatever it is, she decided to face it head-on.

"Saturn!" Aljier finally shouted. "NOW!"

"RIGHT!"

Suddenly, Saturn twisted his core and crouched so low his chin almost touched the ground. He then enhanced his hamstrings and his legs, overcoming his limit as his muscles were overworked. In turn, though, it gave him such speed that even the Ice Empress was surprised she didn't see him.

One moment, Saturn was attacking Satoshi, the next moment, he was right behind the Ice Empress, charging at her at such incomprehensible speeds.

The Ice Empress was caught off guard and Saturn took it as his chance to lock the Ice Empress in an embrace. He assumed that the Ice Empress was all ice but when he felt the bounciness on her bosom as soon as he hugged her from behind, he blushed. The Ice Empress was actually not made out of ice after all!

Nevertheless, he continued charging, locking the Ice Empress in his embrace and going ever forward, until they reached the edge of the stage. Without the Ice Empress harassing him, Aljier smiled as he grabbed his right wrist with his left hand and rotated his hand. "I've absorbed enough power to pierce your heart, Satoshi." He continued, twisting his right hand and launching a focused shock wave straight at Satoshi.

All of that happened in a single second so Satoshi wasn't able to react. And before he knew it, the shock wave traveled through his chest, leaving a gaping hole on it. The shock wave continued traveling in a straight line, piercing all the way through the walls of the Coliseum. Figures, the shockwaves had the force of all the Ice Empress's physical attacks combined and multiplied by Aljier by more than his body could handle.

As soon as he did that, his arms were torn to shreds, but he was able to deal enough damage to pierce through Satoshi's heart. There's no way he could survive such a hit.

Everybody gasped upon seeing the gaping hole on Satoshi's chest. Blood spurted out from it. "Gah!" Satoshi opened his mouth and blood flowed from it, trickling down to his neck as he fell forward.

He wasn't breathing.