Trey's body seized up violently as he let out a stuttering yelp of pain, spasms erupting across his skin as his eyebrows twitched sharply, before I swiftly backed away as he spewed out blood with an excruciating, wheezing gasp of pain.
Tears of blood streamed down his eyes, as crimson trails trickled out of his ears and nostrils, his body continuing to spasm all over as he cried out in agony, clutching his solar plexus and shuddering before collapsing onto the floor.
"Wh-Wha...what...what did you...do to me...?" He whimpered, his body stiffening in pain with every slight attempt to move.
The white of his left eye was a deep red, looks like that attack really messed him up. Good.
"I defeated you, that's what. And if you refuse to accept it, well, I'm happy to do it again. And again. And again. Just say the word, demand a rematch. Go on, what are you waiting for?" I inquired, before poking his solar plexus with my foot, eliciting a sharp cry from him as he writhed around.
I held back with Mana Pulse, by the way, and by a lot, given his low Vitality and HP. What I hit him with was probably a bit weaker than the one I hit Ariella with during our first sparring session, and looking at how much damage it inflicted, I might have actually ended up killing him if I used it at full power.
"Okay, since Trey clearly can't fight anymore, the match is over. Kai wins," Announced Glenn, as he walked over, Ariella bounding over beside him.
"Gotta say, sir, I thought you'd call the match before my last attack. Thanks for that, I appreciate it," I remarked with a smile, giving him a thumbs up.
"Well, it seemed like you were keeping a level head, so I trusted that you wouldn't go overboard or do anything foolish. And besides, Trey...your arrogance and baseless overconfidence is a serious problem, keep it up and you'll wind up getting yourself and those around you killed.
That's why I didn't put a stop to the fight sooner, because frankly, you needed a bit of humbling. That said, I didn't expect this much damage...that last hit, it wasn't an ordinary strike, was it?" Inquired Glenn, as he glanced at me.
Yeah, no point in denying that when it's so blatantly obvious.
"I'd rather not get into the details, but yes, it's a new Skill I've been working on. Tempting as it was, I did hold back to avoid killing, or even permanently injuring, him, but it still ended up inflicting more damage than I anticipated," I replied sheepishly.
"I-I don't understand. H-How...how could I lose...?" Mumbled Trey, a stunned look in his eyes, his body continuing to tremble in pain.
"Because Kai's stronger than you, obviously. At the very least, he's a bad match-up for you," Ariella informed him bluntly.
"I have to say, I was surprised. I knew Kai had the advantage, but I didn't think it'd be so...so one-sided. Those jaws of white energy, that power may well make you a natural enemy against Mages," Remarked Glenn, as he glanced over Trey, whose expression was wracked with pain, his face scrunched up while his body trembled from head to toe.
"D-Damn it, I...I can't move. E-Everything hurts...," He uttered with a whimper, tears welling up in his eyes.
Huh, he's actually crying. I'd mock him, but I don't need to stoop that low. Yeah, I think it's safe to say I got my point across.
"Yeah, that attack is pretty nasty, definitely the worst pain I've ever felt," Recalled Ariella with a wry smile.
"Wait, you've used this on her too?" Responded Glenn in surprise, as he began to help Trey up.
"O-Ow...ow, fuck, stop! P-Please, don't move me! It hurts!"
"Okay, I know you said you'd rather keep the details of this technique to yourself, but, uh...," Trailed off Glenn, as he slowly set Trey back down.
"Fine, I'll explain a little bit about how it works. Basically, I disrupted the stability and flow of his Mana, basically sending what should feel like a powerful jolt through the network of Mana spread out across most of his body.
And, for some reason, that inflicts physical, internal damage. It shouldn't be too severe, the pain will eventually begin to subside," I replied, before clamming up.
"Mhm, I fully recovered within about two hours when he used it on me. Though, I'm pretty sure I didn't take as much damage as Trey just did," Chimed in Ariella.
"F-Fuck...," He whimpered in pain.
"Hm, I see...well, when it comes to Hunters, the higher your Power Level rises, the greater your body's innate, natural healing grows. So, while a couple of hours may have been enough for you, it'll probably take a good while longer for him to heal from this naturally.
I'm going to need to take him to a Healer. And Kai, maybe don't use this attack on another person," He suggested, before picking Trey up and putting him over his shoulder, holding him down as he began to struggle.
"N-No, stop, it hurts-...!"
"Just bear it for now, I'm taking you to a Healer and get you all fixed up. Unless you'd prefer to stay in this state for several hours while waiting to heal naturally?"
"..."
Trey didn't say a word in response, going limp and letting his body slump to try and minimize the pain, before Glenn began carrying him out of the room.
Heh, he's making a conscious effort to avoid looking at me, he must be feeling real humiliated right now.
Not gonna lie, while I did feel good about finally shutting that asshole up, I don't really feel all that satisfied.
It was just...way too one-sided, I figured he'd be able to put up at least a little bit more of a fight than that.
"Huh, thought you'd look happier," Remarked Ariella, giving me a slight nudge.
<...>
Heh, come on, no need to be jealous.
Yeah, sure. We'll talk about it later.
"I did too, but with how easy it turned out to be, I don't know, I feel kinda disappointed. I was confident that I'd win, but I expected at least a little bit more of a challenge than...that," I sighed wistfully.
"Yeah, I didn't think it'd be so anticlimactic either. Well, it's like Instructor Glenn said, Devour kinda makes you a natural enemy against Mages. I mean, Mages with higher levels of control and output could probably slip some attacks around it, but anything straightforward won't be much of a problem," She pointed out.
"True, but even so, that was still a letdown."
"Hm...oh, I know! Wanna stop by Decadence on the way home? Nothing like some quality desserts to lift the spirits," She suggested with a grin.
"Sure, sounds good. Count me in," I nodded in response.
Come on, don't be salty about her stealing your line earlier, she has no way of knowing you even exist. It'd be childish to hold a grudge.
If you say so.