78 Overwhelming victory

They all looked stunned at the scene in front of them. Jason had managed to knock Byakusha down with a single kick.

"He's strong," Natsume muttered.

"Yeah," Lavinia nodded.

Vali looked at the figure of Jason with stars in his eyes, he wished he could already fight Jason.

Jason looked at Kouki and the tiger. The tiger managed to stabilize with difficulty, but it was evident that it had suffered damage due to Jason's attack.

"Not bad, you're a good duo with potential. But that's it, having the potential doesn't mean you're strong. You still lack growth," Jason told Kouki.

"Not yet," Kouki muttered.

"What do you say?

"We haven't lost yet," Kouki stood next to Byakusa.

Jason was surprised to see Kouki's determined eyes, he didn't seem to be one of those people who fight without having a chance to win. Jason wondered what the trump card he was hiding was.

"Byakusa: Transformation"

Kouki stretched out his hand. The tiger's body shrank again and finally took the form of a spear that Kouki seized with his hand.

"You keep surprising me" Jason smiled slightly.

Biri-biri

Little lights covered Kouki's spear.

"Be careful," Kouki said before he disappeared.

(Fast!) Jason thought, surprised.

Jason leaned his body backward, successfully dodging Kouki's stroke. The young delinquent was not surprised to have failed and continued to attack.

Jason dodged one attack after another as Kouki increased his speed with each strike.

(Was he hiding his speed before? No, this has something to do with the spear)

Jason kept dodging as he tried to figure out how Kouki was doing to keep increasing his speed.

"Governor, can Jason increase his speed like Kouki?" Tobio asked.

Azazel smirked, he was observing Jason's movements and was amazed at one particular detail.

"No, Jason hasn't increased his speed at any time," Azazel shook his head.

"So why can't Kouki hit any attacks?"

"Jason is dodging every attack for the least, he seems to be examining Kouki and is not taking the fight seriously," Azazel explained.

Jason, meanwhile, continued to dodge Kouki's attacks.

Biri-Biri

Jason dodged the umpteenth lightning bolt from the spear. An idea came to his mind when he saw the lightning.

(So that was it)

Kouki attacked again, but this time Jason didn't dodge his attack.

Kouki was stunned when he could not move his spear. He then saw a hand was grabbing the spear, the tip of the blade was inches from Jason's eye.

"I wondered how you could increase your speed, I didn't realize until I noticed the lightning coming from your spear. You're using the rays to increase your speed, aren't you?"

Kouki opened his eyes in shock, had Jason found his power source in less than a minute of combat?

"But that should have a side effect. I don't think your body can handle so much pressure on it, do you?" Jason deduced.

"Right now you won't notice anything because of the adrenaline, but it won't be the same once your body returns to normal. In fact, you should have reached your limit by now."

Kouki's body began to shake. The spear turned back into the cute white cat, and Kouki fell to one knee.

The boy was breathing heavily. The side effects of using Byakusa's spear form were already taking effect.

"I... can't give up" Kouki was forced to get up.

Jason frowned, why was this boy so insistent?

"Surrender, you have no chance of winning" Jason tried to persuade him.

"I won't give up..." Kouki insisted. He rose, his eyes were bloodshot. It was evident that Kouki could no longer fight.

"Sigh, idiot," Jason sighed.

"Bastard..." Kouki roared.

"Idiot, have you paid attention to the state your partner is in?"

Kouki stopped his movements.

"Byakusa?" Kouki called his partner.

Silence.

Seeing that his companion was not answering him, Kouki turned around. He saw his companion in the form of a cat, Byakusa was bleeding and seemed to have wounds all over his body.

Kouki approached his companion, crouching by his side and grasping him with his arms. He stroked Byakusa's fur gently.

"Sorry, Byakusa," Kouki whispered to his companion.

"I surrender."

After he surrendered, Kouki left the training grounds. He was probably going to the infirmary to have his injuries and Byakusa's treated.

In the bleachers. All the members of Slash Dog had heavy faces, Kouki and Byakusa had been easily defeated by Jason. It was naïve to think that anyone of them could defeat that monster on their own when Kouki had not even been able to force Jason to use anything other than brute force.

Even Tobio had doubts that he could beat Jason, even considering his Balance Breaker.

Jason looked toward the stands where the rest were watching the fight. He fixed his gaze on Vali and smiled when he saw the boy's starry eyes. His desire to fight Jason was the same as Jason had to fight him.

Vali might be smaller than at major events, but Jason was sure he was incredibly strong all the same.

Jason then looked at the remaining Slash Dog members. He smiled slightly as he examined them one by one.

Lavinia and Tobio were Longinus users. Tobio would be appointed as a bodyguard for Sirzechs and Azazel in the future, only that said how strong the leader of Slash Dog was. Lavinia was an excellent magician and was nicknamed Demise Girl, she was a member of the Oz magicians, one of the founding organizations of Khaos Brigade, although she had now abandoned it.

The only unknown to Jason was Natsume, but he assumed her strength was similar to that of Kouki. Jason intended to ask about these two beasts later.

"Are any of you going down there to fight? I wouldn't want to miss class tomorrow," Jason asked them with an innocent smile.

The remaining three members of Slash Dog formed a small circle. They seemed to be arguing about who would be next to come down and fight.

They didn't take long to come to a conclusion. The three came down and faced Jason.

"Well, well, are you going to bully me?" Jason smiled mockingly.

"Bullying? We just recognize your power," Lavinia smiled.

"Oh, I hope I don't disappoint you." The smile didn't disappear from Jason's face.

"Let's show you what the combined power of three members of Slash Dog is" Natsume confronted Jason.

"Jin, let's fight" Tobio called his dog.

"Awooo!"

The cute dog grew to take the shape of a wolf with a sword in his mouth. Jason recognized the sword in the wolf's mouth as Ame-no-Ohabari, the legendary Japanese sword used by Susanoo to kill Yamata no Orochi.

"Freeze our enemy, Absolute Demise."

A shadow appeared behind Lavinia, a three-meter-high doll made of ice in the shape of a woman in a dress with four slender arms. Her face had no nose or mouth, she had six eyes on the left side of her face, while the right side of her face was studded with something resembling the thorns of a rose.

The temperature on the battlefield dropped dramatically when Absolute Demise's avatar was summoned. Lavinia, Jason, and Tobio did not seem affected, but this wasn't the case for Natsume, she was shaking visibly.

"Lend me your power to be able to face my opponent, Griffon" Natsume called his falcon.

"Deviation Fiend: Kyuki"

The hawk underwent a transformation equal to that of Byakusa and Jin. Two lion's legs appeared at its bottom, and its two hawk's legs also changed to the lion's paws. A long-tail appeared on its back.

A layer of wind covered Natsume's body, protecting her from the cold. The faucet stopped in front of his master, ready to fight.

Jason watched calmly as the three members of Slash Dog prepared for a fight. Jason felt a slight pressure on his body as he faced all three at once.

Jason felt his arms shake.

"Am I scared? No, that's impossible. But then, what is this feeling in my chest?"

Jason brought his hand to his right chest, over where Nekohime had left her mark.

Pump-Pump-Pump

"This is... Excitement?"