Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System

Chapter 636: Good Match

[Dante, be careful.] Volcan’s voice rose above the loud cheering of the spectators. [This individual has increased his Threat Level to 4. You can no longer-]

Before his resident AI could finish, a clawed hand appeared in front of Dante’s face.

TANGG

A metallic clang echoed through the underground level, followed by a blast of air. Wolf was leaning back, his fangs gritted, the hand he swung reaching away from its target. The speed at which he moved surpassed anything the human eye could see, and the power of his strike would have been enough to rip a car in half. Even then, it still got parried.

Dante failed to counter, his body remaining paralyzed for the second it took for his opponent to recover. Not wasting the chance, Wolf followed with four slashes from his hands and another from his leg, but all of them were evaded.

Though he was almost a second late in accelerating his perception, Dante still caught the werewolf’s attacks in time. His reactions caught up right after, and he quickly adjusted to the speed of the fight. Despite Volcan’s warning, he didn’t use all of his computational power, allowing his opponent to appear a little faster.

Wolf launched a flurry of attacks, not slowing even when each of them got parried. The cacophony of impacts resembled the sound of countless pullets striking a metallic surface. Unable to follow the fight with their own eyes, the crowd went silent until the screens above the arena displayed a slowed-down version of the clash.

Dante kept on evading and parrying, gradually absorbing the werewolf’s fighting style. Eventually, he got comfortable enough with it that his reactions were no longer hurried. Wolf caught on to that pretty quickly and tried increasing the variety of his attacks, but it was to no avail.

’Alright...’

Switching gears, Dante went on the offensive. He slid to the side, letting a clawed hand pass in front of him. His fist shot up, striking true, but the impact didn’t feel right. The next second, five claws closed around his fist, holding him in place. The hand he dodged came back, leading an elbow to his head.

Dante was forced to lean back to evade, but with his arm stuck, he ended up in an awkward position. He failed to anticipate the low swipe Wolf followed, and before he knew it, his body was floating in the air.

Time slowed down to a crawl, but the furry hero still moved at normal speed. His fist came like a rocket, and for an instant, it felt like Dante could do nothing about it. Just then, his legs curled, his body folding just in time to block the blow.

With no footing, Dante couldn’t disperse the force behind the blow. His body was launched to the floor, bouncing off it like a basketball. The spectators gasped in unison, having heard the loud bang. Despite having his Absolute Awareness off, Dante still felt the impact in his bones, which left him paralyzed as he landed.

’Damn...’

Through it all, the grin on Dante’s face never faltered, and even after that last hit, it only grew wider. As he looked up at him, he saw that the werewolf was grinning as well. The bastard figured out the best way to deal with him, and that showed in the change in his stance.

Rising up, Dante took a deep breath. He began walking toward the furry hero, his steps slow and measured. Wolf was confused for a moment, but he quickly dismissed the feeling. Channeling power into his legs, he lunged forward. Dante switched stances mid-step and charged forward as well.

Their clash was felt by all the spectators, just like the start of the fight. This time, they refused to part, and their fists rained on each other. More than once, Wolf tried to catch Dante’s. evading becomes very difficult when you’re restrained, let alone parrying, so the hero’s win condition now rested on whether he’s able to trap his opponent. Of course, Dante was well aware of that fact. His teacher had switched to grappling the moment it became clear he could keep up with him, and because of that, he went back to having his ass handed to him pretty quickly.

Things were different now. The furry hero was good, but not that good. Having trained with a much more skilled opponent, Dante wasn’t about to get caught a second time.

’This was fun...’

Dante could tell that the werewolf had shown him everything he had in terms of martial arts. Of course, they could always ascend to the next level, using their powers to their fullest, but that wasn’t the purpose of their fight.

"It’s about time we end this."

Just as the words reached the furry hero, Dante shifted his posture. He dodged a hand aimed to grasp his shoulder, but instead of countering, he grabbed it by the wrist and pulled, preventing it from retracting. His left foot slid over the white floor of the arena, but the werewolf jumped before it could rob him of his balance. That was a miscalculation on his part. His entire body was lifted by his restrained arm, and before he knew it, he was floating upside down.

Before he could comprehend what happened to him, the furry hero felt pain shoot through his nerves. Dante’s fists vanished, and dents appeared on the hero’s chest and arms simultaneously. Before the force could blast him away, Dante took a firm step forward and twisted his body. His fist exploded forward, and an instant later, it sank into the hero’s stomach, bending his body around it.

Time seemed to stop at that moment, then it moved again, spurred by the rattling of the cage surrounding the arena. Built for fights between Enhanced individuals, the cage held even when the werewolf’s large body slammed into it, creaking and groaning as it bent around him.

Once again, silence filled the arena. The stillness filling it lasted a few seconds, and once it became clear that the hero wasn’t about to stand any time soon, the spectators went crazy once more.

Panting for air, Dante slowly straightened himself. His bionic lungs provided him with all the oxygen he needed, which isn’t much, so it was almost impossible for him to run out of breath. He didn’t sweat all that much, either, so the way he wiped his chin was nothing more than a force of habit.

The match was over. Though it lasted only a few minutes, it was far more enjoyable than he had expected.

’I... I didn’t kill him by accident, did I?’ He looked at his unmoving opponent, worried that the last punch had been a little too much.

It was then that he recalled what happened when they fought in the hotel and became worried about the werewolf losing control once more.

[It does not seem like his internal organs had been damaged.] Volcan said. [In fact, his injuries are healing at an incredible rate.]

’You got to be kidding me...’

As much as he had enjoyed their match, Dante didn’t want to have another right after. He could only ignore his mental exhaustion for so long.

’I want to sleep...’

Dante fought to suppress the urge to yawn as he finally noticed the cheering crowd. He wished they would stop chanting "Cyberpunk", but at this point, he could only accept his fate. Turning to face them, he raised his right arm in the air, declaring his victory.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!"

The announcer didn’t get to offer any commentary, with the fight moving at a speed he could barely keep up with. Dante wondered if that would make the match less entertaining, but it seemed like most didn’t mind keeping up through the slowed version playing on the screens above the arena.

’Well, would you look at that! They really like you, don’t they? And here you have been thinking about murdering them not that long ago.’

"Ugh..."

The werewolf regained consciousness soon enough, prompting Dante to raise his guard. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like he had lost control, going by the way he remained seated while rubbing his head. His transformation reverted, and he gradually returned to his base form, losing his fangs and the fur covering most of his body.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Dante walked over to the hero and offered him a hand. Wolf stared at it for a moment, then wore a resigned smile, deciding to take it.

’And now you’re getting along with those freaks.’

"Guess it’s my win this time," Dante said, ignoring the voice in his head. "Good match."

Wolf let his shoulders drop.

"I still have a long way, huh?"

"You’re doing pretty well. Plus, it’s not like this was a real fight. Who knows how things might turn out if we used everything we had?"

"I..."

Wolf rubbed the back of his neck, looking unsure. Just then, the cage’s door creaked open, drawing their attention. A black suit Dante didn’t recognize stood by the side, and a man with short blonde hair walked in as if he owned the place. The blue suit he wore was worth more than what all the spectators could earn in an entire year, and his shoes seemed far too expensive to be used for walking around such a place.

Arriving at the center of the arena, he let his smile broaden a little as he raised his head, his gaze locked on Dante.

"Impressive. That was a truly splendid match." He said. "To think that-"

His words halted at the sight of a glowing green fist, and the explosion that followed sent quakes through the entire underground arena. Cheers turned into screams at the suddenness of the disaster, and the few who got to glimpse what happened turned to the ceiling, watching as rubble fell through the hole that had just been blasted through it.