Isaiah slammed his hands on Ryan's shoulders to stop his tackle.
"How pathetic." Isaiah said with a grin. "So, you came to the conclusion that you can't defeat me, so you tried to push me off the ring?"
"Just go down, bastard!" Ryan screamed and kept slamming his body against Isaiah's chest.
"Haha, as if!" Isaiah raised his fist high. "I can't let Tyler do all the work. I still have to bother Kiernan, y'see!"
"You don't get it, do you?"
"Huh?" Isaiah frowned, wondering what he meant by that.
"In this match, we were just the opening act!" Ryan shouted and suddenly wrapped his arms around Isaiah's body.
"We shouldn't delay the main event any longer. After all, everyone wants Kiernan versus Tyler!"
"?!" Isaiah's widened in shock.
With a scream, Ryan ustered every bit of his strength and lifted Isaiah off the ground. Then, with a desperate move, he started falling off the ring with Isaiah in his arms.
"No!" Isaiah tried to keep his contact with the ring, but it was no use.
Both young men crashed on the ground outside the ring.
"The fight is over!" The referee shouted. "It ended in a tie!"
Karuza High's and Liberty High's supporters exclaimed at the same time.
It wasn't supposed to end !
Liberty High supporters looked quite disappointed, as it was supposed to be an easy victory for them!
However, they swallowed the bitterness and started to cheer for Tyler Karnage, the hero of their city!
It was becoming extremely close, but their faith in Tyler never ceased. He was the ace of their school and had never let them down before!
"Ah!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Good job!" Louie clapped his hands loudly.
"Why're you cheering, dad?" Mia asked. "Didn't brother lose?"
"No, your brother did amazing!" Louie shouted with a grin. "If he had lost, Kiernan would've had to fight two Martial Fighters back-to-back. One of them, Tyler, is especially strong!"
Ruby prayed with her hands. "I hope they can pull off the win."
"Oh, I see!" Mia turned back to the screen. "Next fighter is Ryan's friend?"
Louie leaned closer to the television. "If Kiernan wins this, Karuza High will be in the top 16 of the nation!"
"It is time," Azer said with a serious look. "Ryan did amazing."
"I am…" Julia looked at her shaking hands. "Nervous."
"Top 16 in the nation is only one win away." Azer took a deep breath and looked at the open ceiling towards the sky.
Somewhere else in the crowd, Karma's friends were cheering for Karuza High.
"Karma, it is time for your son!"
"Oh shit, I am so nervous!"
"…" Karma nodded without making a sound.
While he'd been trying to act calm, his trembling legs weren't fooling anyone as they kept tapping the ground in a nervous rhythm.
All the eyes at Karuza High's bench landed on Kiernan.
It was a very nervous moment.
They knew that if Kiernan lost, the citizens of Irio would be very disappointed.
After all, they had given them hope of reaching the top 16 in the nation. If suddenly they lost, it was clear that the amount of disappointment would be overwhelming.
Klaus and Timothy were too nervous to speak a word.
'I would like to say something, but…' Jin gritted his teeth. 'I am failure as coach. I don't want to accidentally say something wrong and ruin Kiernan's concentration!'
"Alright, I am off." Kiernan suddenly stood up and put his fist near Nathaniel. "Watch me."
Nathaniel looked at the fist and then at Kiernan. After seeing his look, he nodded firmly and bumped his own fist against Kiernan's.
As he turned around, Kiernan slowly walked over to the ring.
While he was making his way over to the ring, Ryan was walking back to the bench, and as they walked past each other, Ryan gave Kiernan a confident smile, silently wishing him luck in the upcoming match.
With slow steps, Kiernan arrived at the top of the ring, and at the same moment, Tyler arrived at his spot.
When the two looked at each other, the tension in the ring was palpable.
'This match is insane!' The referee thought. 'I want to watch it immediately. Not because I am a fan of one of the teams, because, as a martial arts enthusiast, I want to see who wins!'
"The last match between Karuza High and Liberty High!" The referee shouted.
"Kiernan Hunter vs. Tyler Karnage!"
"I, Tyler Karnage, challenge you." Tyler moved to his fighting stance.
"Challenge accepted." Kiernan moved to his defensive stance.
"Are the both fighters ready?!"
"Yes!" Tyler shouted.
"Of course," Kiernan replied.
Liberty, at the lounge of the Police Force.
Dozens of the police officers stopped whatever they were doing and turned their attention to the television screen.
The chief of the Police Force watched from the top floor.
After recruiting Tyler to their Combat Force, they started teaching him their very own martial arts.
It was called "Force Combat."
It was one of the oldest styles in New Rakuya history, spanning centuries of tradition and discipline.
'Tyler is a true monster.' The chief thought.
'While injured, he still wanted to learn Force Combat, and after just a couple of months, he learned the basics.
'While still green, he'd already learned some of the advanced techniques. I don't think there are many people in the nationals that can defeat him in martial arts skills.'
With a lunge, Tyler left behind the broken cement ground.
'What a powerful acceleration.' Ryan thought. 'Stronger than mine, that's for sure.'
"Force Combat…" Tyler arrived within the attacking range. "Criminal Onslaught!"
The fists launched forward like bullets.
"Iron Style, Rendering Edge!"
With the sides of his hands, Kiernan smacked Tyler's fists away. It was a battle of defense and offense!
Like a relentless machine gun, Tyler kept throwing and throwing punches without a break.
However, Kiernan's defense was impenetrable!
"That's it…" Nathaniel smirked. "Rock-solid defense!"
"Haha, shit!" Tyler grinned. "You're truly amazing. This is truly frustrating. I am inches away from hitting you sometimes, but they keep missing!"
With a sidestep, Kiernan moved to Tyler's flank. It was such a smooth and fast move that no one expected it!
'He stopped defending and is going for offense?!' Ryan looked shocked. 'This isn't the same Kiernan that we know. He usually stays on defense till he discovers a weakness!'
"Iron Style, Majestic Lacerator!"
With his fingers that were as strong as knives, he cut through Tyler's chest and left five deep, bleeding wounds that would scar Tyler for life.
The blood spewed out like a fountain.
"?!" Tyler looked shocked.
Kiernan looked calm and said, "Sorry, I got a little bit bored of defense. I don't mind offense for a change."
"T-this is!" Jin laughed loudly. "Kiernan's true strength!"