Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Tl: Sam

…

“Gaaaaah!!”

The monsterized Suda charged forward, throwing a punch at me with all his might.
Both in appearance and in the magicules cloaking him, he was completely different from the original Suda. The effect of that cube is truly immeasurable.

“Die, Tanakaaa!”

Suda’s fist struck me dead in the face.
The impact surged through my body, and the aftershock sent cracks running across the ground beneath my feet.

“Haha! Can’t even dodge, can you?! …Hm?”

Suda pulled his arm back and looked at me.
Then, his expression gradually warped.

“No way… Why the hell didn’t that do anything to you?!”

「Shachiken is totally fine lol」
「I knew it」
「Looked like a pretty huge power-up, but I guess it’s still hopeless」
「He just picked the wrong opponent」
「Even Cthulhu’s punch couldn’t do it, after all…」
「He didn’t even budge an inch, his core strength is way too insane」

“What’s the matter? Are you done already?”
“Guh…! Don’t you mock me!!”

Furious, Suda rained punches down on me again and again.
Without dodging, I took every single blow head-on. Last time, I had ended things by unilaterally punching him out, which left bad blood between us. This time, so that there wouldn’t be any lingering grudges, I intended to humor him to the fullest.
After throwing about fifty punches, Suda’s fists finally stopped.

“Haa, haa…”

Suda was breathing heavily with his shoulders heaving. Apparently, his stamina had run out.
Punching is exhausting work, after all. Throwing blows with every ounce of his strength like that, it was only natural to get tired. Besides, with a body different from his usual one, his stamina consumption was probably even higher.

“If you’re finished, then it’s my turn…!”

Returning the favor, I punched Suda right in the face.
Letting out a choked cry of “Fugwoh!”, Suda went tumbling across the ground. I walked up to the fallen Suda, hoisted his head up, and sent him flying with another punch.

「Whoa」
「Completely merciless lolol」
「Looks painful」
「Suda-kun is getting beaten to a pulp lol」
「Hit him more!」

“D-Damn… you…!!”

Having taken two punches, Suda pressed his hands against the ground and somehow managed to get up.
It seemed mutating into that aberration had made him even tougher. It looked like he could take a few more punches without any problem.

“You can still keep going, can’t you, Suda? Come at me!”
“You bastard… Bring it on, oraah!”

Suda and I traded blows head-on.
To the stomach, the shoulders, the face. Without either of us bothering to defend, we relentlessly hammered our fists into each other.
It couldn’t even be called a “battle” anymore. If I had to describe it, yes, it was on the level of a middle school brawl. A pure contest of stubborn pride.

「Whoa, brutal lol」
「Now that’s a manly showdown」
「But why doesn’t Shachiken just finish him off quickly?」
「True. He could end it in one hit, right?」
「Still, this kind of feels like youth, I kind of like it」
「Suda’s face is swollen like a balloon from getting punched so much lol」
「Suda-kun is actually hanging in there」
「Wish they’d just settle it already」
「For real」
「Both of them have pretty great looks on their faces, though」

No mind games, no techniques, nothing of the sort… just a plain brawl.
Strangely enough, as we kept trading blows, it felt as though all the various grudges and bad blood between us were fading away.
If I said something like this, the comments would make fun of me, so I won’t say it aloud, but it really felt like fists communicate better than words.

“Gahah!”

Taking a punch to the cheek, Suda tumbled across the ground.
Having taken so many blows, numerous bruises and scratches covered Suda’s body. It looked like he had very little stamina left, yet Suda stood up once again and raised his fists.

“What’s wrong…? I can still keep going.”

Though he bluffed like that, his body seemed to have reached its limit, and he collapsed onto his knees on the spot. Even so, the sight of him glaring desperately at me overlapped with the Suda of the past.
Suda had always been an obstinate, self-assertive guy, but he was never someone who hurt others so casually like this. And yet…

“Why, Suda? Just why on earth did you end up like this? The old you was never this kind of guy.”
“…Shut up. I’ve always been this way.”

Suda spat out.
I thought that if we talked through our fists, even if we couldn’t reconcile, I might at least hear his true feelings, but it seemed that didn’t go so well.
Seeing no other choice, I was about to step forward to knock Suda unconscious… when Adachi stepped in front of Suda a step ahead of me.

“I get it, Suda.” “…What is it, Adachi? What the hell do you know…?” “I understand. You were anxious, weren’t you? Watching Tanaka get stronger and stronger.” “You bastard…”

Suda reacted distastefully to Adachi’s words. Suda was anxious? Having thought he was completely detached from such feelings, I was taken aback.

“Tanaka, let me talk to him for a bit. Could you stop the stream for a moment?” “Yeah, got it.”

Just as Adachi asked, I ended the stream.

「Eh?!」 「Wait」 「Hold on!」 「Let us see a bit mor」

Alright, that stopped it. It’s true that we can probably have an open, heart-to-heart talk this way. Still, what on earth is Adachi planning to say?

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter