Chapter 184 A Rematch

"Are you all right?" Satoshi unhesitantly grabbed Shiroi by the shoulders, checking if she was badly injured. That attack by Fuuka was nothing short of underhanded, not to mention that it could've endangered Shiroi's hearing. It may not powerful enough to kill her, but it sure could injure her ears badly. With all those thoughts swirling in his head, Satoshi didn't even have the leisure to think about his usual impulse whenever he sees Shiroi. It was quite obvious that she likes her and vice versa, but somehow, they were as dense as a brick wall, and they couldn't even notice the affection they so blatantly show each other.

"Ye— Satoshi? What are you doing here?" Shiroi asked as the two of them stood up. Ever since Fuuka and Shiroi became friends, they usually fight by the school stadium early in the morning just to sneak in additional superpower practice before school starts. This was the first time they encountered Satoshi by the school stadium, not to mention that he was accompanying someone they don't know.

As for Fuuka, she quickly rushed to Shiroi's aid, about to apologize since she got too into the fight. Of course, had Shiroi been paying close attention to her slight movements, she would have been able to anticipate such an attack. Even Satoshi who was a few meters away from the fight perfectly saw what Fuuka was trying to accomplish. But then again, if Fuuka's opponent didn't know her superpower, then they'd get easily caught off guard.

"Um, Shiroi... I'm sorry. I got too carried away. I didn't know you won't be able to notice it." Fuuka hung her head as she apologetically spoke.

"No worries, there was no harm done and Satoshi saved me. And also, it was my fault that I didn't notice your attack." Shiroi warmly smiled. "Let's have another match next time."

"Sure!" After responding to Shiroi, Fuuka's gaze then landed on Satoshi. "In any case... "

"I'm Simon Cerberus. I challenged Satoshi for a match." Simon introduced himself with a slight grin on his face. He knew who Shiroi and Fuuka were since they were both famous in school, just like Satoshi. Unexpectedly meeting them out of nowhere really caught him off guard but fortunately, he managed to maintain his composure despite the anxiousness he felt deep inside.

"You challenged Satoshi?" Fuuka couldn't help but ask, wondering if the Simon in front of her was actually powerful. Had she thought harder, she would've realized that Simon actually fought Satoshi and won on the first day of school.

"We're done with our practice match, you two can go ahead and use the stadium," Shiroi said, muttering another thanks towards Satoshi before she and Fuuka went to the sidelines.

Without speaking another word, Satoshi and Simon both stood on both ends of the stadium, preparing for their first rematch. Satoshi summoned only one Familiar, Nailgun, since he was going to use him on this match to the fullest in order to have at least a small percentage of mastery over it. With the great boost in power that the Nailgun was experiencing, it could very well be an out-of-control familiar. At least, he would be forced to get used to Nailgun during the fight.

Simon nodded, relieved that Satoshi would fight him with only one of his familiars. He was well aware that he stood no chance against the Satoshi who uses everything in his arsenal. He'd seen videos online of Satoshi's fights and he could fight pretty well, perhaps better than most professional, licensed superheroes. That's why Simon was kind of hoping that Satoshi would turn it down a notch during their fight. And he did.

He figured that if Satoshi uses only the Nailgun, then he'd have a huge chance at winning. After all, he'd already defeated the Nailgun back on the first day of school. And he'd gotten stronger, a lot stronger since then.

A smile swept across Simon's face as he reached into his bag and got a few rods. After putting all those rods on his back, he clenched his fists, all prepared for the fight that would soon ensue. Satoshi, on the other hand, was more than ready as well. It was written on his face that he was looking forward to the fight.

"The fight will last indefinitely, and it will only end if one of you faints or gives up... or someone interrupts the match." Shiroi teased, staring at Satoshi who felt a pang of guilt after what he had just done. Even though he saved Shiroi from harm, it's still unacceptable to interrupt someone's fight.

"Both sides, ready? BEGIN!"

DASH!

A splash of dust erupted from Simon's soles when he charged straight at Satoshi, turning around as the momentum carried him forward. With one fluid motion, he threw one of his rods toward one side of the stadium, then he threw the other three rods just when he was about to come down on the ground.

Meanwhile, Satoshi wondered why Simon through all those rods on the four corners of the stadium. He knew they served some kind of purpose but as to what it was he could only wonder. There was no need to think about its purpose though because Simon was almost on his close combat range. He stepped back, allowing the Nailguns to position themselves on the soles of his feet and the palm of his hands, flying out of harm's way in the process. Since propping himself on top of two nailguns didn't help with his balance, Satoshi figured that riding the nailguns on all fours would work better. And it did, he noticed that he had better control compared to before.

Before Simon could make his next move, Satoshi then commanded the Nailgun to clone himself, and in a split second, eight nailguns roamed the entirety of the stadium, each of them aimed at Simon who was as defenseless as a newborn deer.

With no reprieve, Satoshi shot countless nails at Simon who decelerated as his attack didn't connect at all. The countless nails accelerated to the point where Satoshi feared that Simon's flesh would fly all over the place. He wasn't able to control the power output of the nails since he got a bit too excited. In shock, he closed his eyes, hoping that Simon survived the onslaught.

Had he opened his eyes all the way though, he would've seen Simon vanishing in sight in an instant and appearing on one corner of the stadium as if he just teleported.

"What was that?!" Shiroi, the acting referee of the match, exclaimed as her eyes grew wide.