The setup for the current match wasn’t something that Jayden was used to. The octagon was bigger, around three times the size, allowing for much more movement.
This was the ring that the top ten fighters fought in. It was designed to give ranged Altereds more of an advantage compared to the close-combat types.
There was no referee for the match in the ring itself; instead, they would observe the fight from the outside.
It wasn’t as if a referee could stop a fight between two Altereds. Instead, there were hard-set rules in the AFC, and if anyone broke them, they would be subject to a personal ban.
Because of the person who ran the AFC in the first place, no one dared to break the rules unless they happened to turn into a crazed.
The venue would then have personnel that might be able to handle the matter, just like what had occurred at Gary’s debut match.
The ring itself was painted in two colors: one side called the red zone, the other the blue zone, where part of the fence’s pillars were painted.
The two had gone to their side of the ring, and everyone had been waiting for the bell to ring. Inside the VIP area, various guests from the top gangs in the world were watching. Would they see a glimpse of Harvor’s real strength? All of them wanted to know.
Meanwhile, Gary and Xin couldn’t help but feel nervous.
“AFC fights are pretty much all the same these days,” Apollo said. “The contestants focus on going into their Altered form as quickly as possible.”
“So it became something that AFC fighters would practice—whoever got into their Altered form first would have an advantage over the other. After all, an Altered form is stronger than just a regular human form.”
“But Harvor is the exception to that rule—a person whose Altered form has never been seen before. If he wants to, he can just jump right out of the gate and take out his opponent. Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn’t.”
Gary started to think about Jayden’s story and what he would do if he were in his shoes.
“If it were me…” Gary said, “then I would fight in a way that would humiliate Harvor as much as possible.”
The bell rang, and right off the bat, Jayden dived in. He was moving faster than he had ever done before. Hit after hit was landing on Harvor, and everyone was left speechless until a large, solid hit landed on the side of Harvor’s face.
Harvor was sent to the canvas, his head hitting first and bouncing before falling right to the floor. The entire stadium fell silent. There weren’t loud cheers like usual when a knockdown occurred, because no one had predicted this outcome.
“Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time ever, Harvor has been knocked to the ground!” the announcer screamed at the unexpected upset that had happened in mere seconds.
Jayden continued to stand over Harvor, looking at him. His body felt lighter than it ever had before, and it was the same for the strength in his fists.
“This can’t be it. I know you aren’t this weak, get up!” Jayden said.
The crowd had a delayed reaction to the knockdown and erupted in cheers, shaking the entire place. There were plenty of people that supported Harvor, but when an underdog did something that no one believed was possible, there were those who would support it no matter what.
“What’s happening, though? Harvor has never been knocked down before, right, in any of his fights?” someone said from the crowd.
“Is he knocked out for real? Is the fight over?”
Just as someone spoke those words, Harvor’s eyes opened, and he pushed himself from the ground. He was in a pushup-like position and pushed his hands so explosively from the ground that he lifted his entire body up.
Seeing this, Jayden went to deliver another punch, but this time, rather than a block or hit, the fist went right past Harvor’s head. A strong current of wind was felt, showing just how powerful Jayden’s strikes were, rattling the cage a few meters behind.
Jayden went ahead, trying to do the same as before as he shifted his position and bent his knees, throwing consecutive strikes, but each one Harvor avoided, taking a step back.
“Your strikes are strong, very strong. You are definitely deserving of your position in the AFC,” Harvor said as he continued to dodge strikes. “In fact, I would say you’re deserving of a position in the top ten.”
Jayden screamed with all of his might, and then threw a punch that aimed for the side of Harvor’s head. It was the same strike that had placed him on the canvas.
Just before it hit his head, Harvor moved his hand and knocked Jayden’s to the side, hitting it away.
“You have achieved a first inside this ring, so I should give you credit for that. Since you weren’t transformed, my body didn’t even feel like reacting. I thought you might have been more of a threat to me… but it seems you didn’t activate any instinct inside me to try and defend.”
“Which means you need to try harder!”
Before Jayden could do anything, or even see Harvor move, he felt a heavy impact dig deep into his stomach. His legs were lifted off the canvas floor, and he was sent flying through the air.
‘I can’t breathe,’ was the thought going through Jayden’s mind as his back crashed against the cage, bending it slightly, before he fell to the ground.
“I did some research into you,” Harvor said as he bent his neck to the side. “I can speak quietly and know you’ll hear me because you’re an Altered, but I saw that you’re a retriever, and an S-rank retriever at that.”
“Which is very impressive. You know, I’m a retriever as well, and NIRV has a few more rankings for their retrievers. They have double SS rank, they even have triple SSS rank retrievers.
“And then there’s me, someone who can’t even be ranked by their standards. This is the wall that you are now facing,” Harvor claimed.
****