The punch landed with a thud, and then a snapping crack. The mantis slid back, a cavity open in its chest.
"Fuck!" Dreli exclaimed, forcing the mantis to move forward. It continued to attack Sin, but it was slower now—having more damage on its frame.
*BANG*
A lightning-fast jab at the chin.
*CRACK*
A devastating hook to the body.
*CRUNCH*
A lethal low kick to the hind legs.
By now, the mantis was heavily injured and far slower than normal.
No one had expected this from Sin, so naturally, they were amazed.
Bao was questioning what he was seeing, 'This young man has immense natural fighting ability. He can read his opponent extremely well while not telegraphing his attacks almost at all. In every species, including humans, there are those born in this world who are born knowing how to fight. Those who are born with an innate ability to attack efficiently, counter, read their opponents, and think about their next move are deemed to be monsters... born with an inherent ability to kill as Hunters of the pack.'
Even Magnus seemed to be slightly amused. How could one tell this? Well, it was simple. He didn't look unamused...
After another blow to the stomach, the praying mantis stumbled backward. Sin took this opportunity to his advantage, pouncing like a predator.
His eyes now glistened with a different look. His pupils were focused, as though killing was all he was made to do.
He grabbed the back of both of the mantis' arms, crushing them with his sheer grip strength before kicking the bug in the stomach and ripping the arms right off.
The mantis tripped and fell onto the ground, squirming around armlessly as it attempted to get up. Sin threw the arms away and suddenly changed his attention to Dreli instead of the bug.
'That thing can't do anything anymore even if it wanted to. Now... it's time to end this.' Sin said to himself, his intent clear from just one look in his viper-like gaze.
Dreli couldn't help but feel chills crawl up his back as he saw Sin stare at him like a piece of meat on a stick.
"Argh!" He exclaimed with frustration, "Fine... even without that thing, I can still win. You... you aren't weak. I'll give you that. Your physical strength is even higher than mine. But you're weakened now. Plus, I'm not a weakling either! I have worked for what I have!"
"Enough of your bullshit." Sin ran at Dreli with his fists clenched.
Dreli also clenched his fists, 'Just how powerful can he be!?' He ran at Sin.
The two reached back with their right hands.
'He wants to punch back? Fine... I'll show him the difference in our strength.' Sin thought to himself as he noticed this.
The two stopped in the center of the stage, their punches clashing with each other's in the middle.
When Dreli's punch made contact with Sin's, for a split second, Dreli thought that he had a chance to at least share any semblance of equal footing with Sin.
However, as Sin's punch continued to move forward, Dreli's eyes widened with a horrified look. This was because while Sin's punch was moving forward... Dreli's wasn't moving backward.
Instead, Sin's fist was crushing straight through Dreli's hand as if it was made out of cake.
For Dreli, time felt as though it had slowed down. He looked at his hand, and before the pain signals had even reached his brain, he saw broken bones, tendons, blood, ripped flesh, and fat all explode out of his hand.
In the end, he was thrown back like a fly swatted out of the air. He rolled against the ground before coming to a stop.
"ARRRGHHHH!!!" A piercing scream echoed throughout the arena as Dreli grabbed his shoulder. Down below he saw what was left of his hand.
His fist was gone, and so was half of his forearm. All that was left was a bone sticking out and the loose flesh wiggling around it.
"MY HAND! MY HAND IS GONE!"
The sight caused him to become so distraught that he nearly passed out from his gut-wrenching yells. Blood gushed out of his arm as he felt a wave of fatigue flush through him.
His limbs went limp, no longer thinking of shallow things like anger, hatred, or anything even close to that.
'I'm... so fucking stupid.' He said to himself, 'What the hell was I thinking!?' He looked up at Sin, who resembled a demon in his eyes right now.
'Why did I think I could beat him? He got a perfect score in strength, which was superior to my Spirit score by far. He was a monster from the start...'
As the doom-like feeling of emptiness and horror filled his heart, Dreli genuinely questioned his actions. Why did he anger Sin so much? If he hadn't, his arm possibly wouldn't have been blown off.
In that moment, Dreli faced his own words. He knew deep down that where he really came from was a place of privilege. Of course, he knew that his parents weren't strong in comparison to those of his peers.
Despite that, they were still nobles. He was still a noble. He only boasted to others about getting where he was to feel a sense of pride.
It felt good to put down his parents to exemplify just how great of a prodigy he was. But it seemed this false facade he had created around himself had led to an anger that blinded him to the reality of his situation.
He wasn't some prodigy. If anything, he was average for a noble. He only had a big mouth, so his name was better known than the others.
Right now, he felt an immense degree of regret. As if a mountain was resting on his shoulders, and his heart had sunk into the bottom of his stomach.
'Damn it... DAMN! I'm a damn fool! This guy is a monster... someone I can never hope to beat. To think I allowed my ego to ruin myself like this... damn it all!'
Dreli continued in his cycle of despair as Bao Huxin announced Sin as the winner of the bout.
Everyone was at a loss for words on seeing the decimation of the young noble who came in as the expected winner. The showing was brutal and gruesome.
But despite Dreli having his arm destroyed, the people in the crowd couldn't help but smile. After all, this was entertaining. It was a fight with an unexpected outcome. The thrill and excitement they felt during it was rare to feel in everyday life, and it wasn't like they related to how Dreli felt at all right now.
And the same was the case for Sin. As he went back to the group of examinees, he had a wide grin on his face, 'That... was exhilarating.'