9 Chapter 9 : Final Punch
When the blow from Yūri was about to hit him James was suddenly taken by an inexplicable fear, time seemed to slow down for him his heart rate would accelerate, angle of attack, power, speed, he knew that this punch was gonna kill him., unconsciously he leaned back slightly.
This unconscious movement had saved his life.
Thwack!
James was thrown to the ground with extreme violence.
"Yūri took James down! This time it is a great punch by Yūri! He can't mess up here! James, you can't break down here! This one doesn't get up, would that be the end... wait... the ref start counting down."
"1..2...3.."
James couldn't get up, he was beginning to lose consciousness, his eyesight was blurred, his whole body was screaming in pain.
"4..5..6.."
Using all his strength and willpower James rose abruptly, then staggered.
Yūri rushed towards him again, but the fight stopped abruptly.
Ding! Ding!
The stadium of almost hundred thousand was overcome with silence.
Everyone's heart leapt at the sound of the bell.
"End of Round 1!"
"Yeah !!!"
The spectators were delirious the entire stadium was drowned out by their screams.
Tôjo approached James, who was in a semi-unconscious state, and helped him to his feet and made him sit down at the ring corner.
"Agh!"
Tôjo poured a water bottle on James to help him regain consciousness, James then opened his eyes wide and took a deep breath, then took the towel from Tôjo's hand and wiped the blood from his face.
"I can't take it anymore, my bones, my muscles, my body... my whole body is in pain."
Groans James before vomiting.
His will began to weaken, he felt like he was falling off his pedestal, since his arrival in the world of Megalo Boxing, he hasn't stopped winning, and little by little the feeling of "invincibility" had taken hold of him.
Coming into this world for someone like him who had never won in his life was like a dream, but now he was awakened, he knew that the last blow from Yūri had almost killed him, it was the first time he had ever faced death like that.
He then remembered that He was in [Survival World] with a 99% death rate.
A slight fear began to take hold of him, but at that moment the sentence that Tôjo said, struck him like a hammer.
"Do you think champions are born with the champion belt?"
"Why be afraid, remember what I told you, give every blow with intent to kill, every move you make must contain your hunger for victory, if you understand this then I have nothing more to teach you."
"Kid, if you don't have enough courage to face death, then you'll never be a winner."
Tôjo looked James in the eyes with a casual but terrifying look, giving off a murderous feeling.
James' heart slowed down, he slowly got up, then his facial expression became indifferent.
"Thank you, Tôjo."
He advanced slowly in the center of the Ring, Yūri joined him quickly, the two of them stared into each other's eyes as they took an offensive position.
The referee then stepped forward and raised his arm.
"Ready?"
"YES!!"
"Fight!!"
Ring!
The bell rang.
Smack, smack!
James boldly charged at Yūri, hitting his guard in a clinch, even from the small space of the clinch, James's punch burst into his sides, Yūri had to retreat from the pain that made it difficult to breathe.
""What's going on?""
Yūri was completely overwhelmed by the situation, James' speed had increased, and even the power and speed of his fist was not comparable to before.
Then his eyes and James' eyes crossed and then he understood immediately.
"He wants to kill me!"
Smack, smack!
A one-two punch landed on Yūri as he was distracted by his thoughts, James' attacks were getting faster and faster.
"I'm Yūri! Champion of Megalonia, I won't lose!"
smack!
James got hit in the face with a one-two punch, he quickly put some distance between them, but Yūri rushed at him ferociously like a beast.
Another one of Yūri's one-two punch got in, followed by a hook. It had hitJames's guard, then began a frenzied exchange of blows between James Yūri.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
"What a fiery battle! It's extraordinary, both fighters give it all they've got, this fight is just fantastic!!!"
"Go Lightning Fist!"
"Yūri wins this fight!!"
"Lightning Fist! Lightning Fist! Lightning Fist!"
"Yūri! Yūri! Yūri!"
The public was up, the stadium trembled under the encouragement of the public, the atmosphere became warmer, even the television viewers and passers-by in the streets stopped and encouraged their fighters.
"Lightning Fist! Lightning Fist! Lightning Fist!"
"Yūri! Yūri! Yūri!"
"Lightning Fist! Lightning Fist! Lightning Fist!"
"Yūri! Yūri! Yūri!"
Bam!
James's left hook hit Yūri directly on his chin.
And like a madman he rushed to Yūri, using all his strength.
Bam!
All his determination!
Bam!
All the hardship he's endured in the last 18 years!!!
Bam!
Then he moved slightly backwards and his eyes those of Yūri crossed again, this moment seemed to have lasted a hundred years, James, still indifferent, rushed towards Yūri, raised his right fist slightly.
UPERCUT!!
In that punch were all his hopes !!!
Bam!
It was a chilling sound, Yūri got crushed into the floor.
The referee quickly approached and began the countdown.
"1 2 3.."
."..8...9...KO!"
DING! DING ! DING!
The audience was silent, the commentator was silent, the viewers, the passers-by, everyone was silent, but when the word Ko came out of the referee's mouth, everyone shouted.
"Lightning Fist! Lightning Fist! Lightning Fist!"
Clap-Clap-Clap
Tôjo rushed to the Ring and raised James' arm in the spotlight.
"Kid, you won!hahahahaha, you won!!!"
James looked up and smiled like never before, it was the smile of a winner.
"We have a new champion! Yūri lost to the man with unsurpassed speed, what a fight! What a battle! James Art's name will live on in the boxing world even after his death!!"
In the streets passers-by shouted his name, viewers were delirious and jumped into their living rooms.
Journalists rushed to him in the Ring followed by organizations with the Champion belt, and so on that night, James Art became a boxing legend.
. . . . . . . .
Outside the city, James was sitting on a motorcycle, watching Tôjo dressed in a fancy suit with a smile on his face.
"It's time to say goodbye, you old drunk."
"Good riddance, with a kid like you I wouldn't live long."
"Goodbye, Tojo."
"Goodbye, kid."
"Hahahaha!!"
The two laughed together for a while before James started his motorbike.
Then disappeared little by little on the horizon leaving Tôjo alone.
"Return" Whispered James
Then James woke up, lying on his bed as a series of notifications appeared in front of him.
[VOLUME BOXE END]
