Stargazers: World stage

After the match, Vahn made his way back to Marco's room, a bit exhausted. He opened the door to find Marco waiting, a skeptical look on his face.

"Hey, are you sure you haven't awakened your ability, but just don't know it?" Marco asked, eyeing him critically. Vahn's speed in finishing his opponents had increased with every visit, and Marco was beginning to wonder if something had changed.

"I'm sure I haven't," Vahn replied, shaking his head. If he had awakened, he would have felt different, but he still felt, human.

"Hmm…" Marco stroked his chin thoughtfully. "You've been progressing faster than expected, though."

Vahn's eyes suddenly lit up with an idea. "Hey, what if I fought a D-rank next?"

Marco's eyebrows shot up. "What?"

"Listen, hear me out. People need intense emotions to awaken, but I don't feel that when fighting E-ranks. Maybe if I face a D-rank, the stakes will be higher, and I'll feel that push I need."

"Vahn, D-ranks are dangerous," Marco warned, his tone serious. "They're faster, more adept with their abilities, and tougher. How are you going to get past that?"

"That's exactly what I need, those moments to be on the edge. I don't need to win; I just need to feel the rush."

Marco groaned, clearly torn. After a moment of silence, he muttered, "Fine, but if you end up crippled, it's on you."

Vahn smiled slightly, grateful despite Marco's grumbling. He knew Marco wasn't entirely on board, but he still respected his decision to help.

…

In a secluded corner of the arena, the masked woman observed the woman dressed in red.

"Crimson Witch?" she blurted, recognizing the figure.

The Crimson Witch turned to her with a playful smile. "Oh, you know me?"

The masked woman's mind raced with information. 'Crimson Witch assumed to be a high B-rank and the leader of the Crimson Corsairs. Why is she here, in a place like this?'

"Why would the Crimson Witch be at an underground fight?" she asked, not able to contain her curiosity.

The Crimson Witch seemed amused. "Curious? I just heard about it in passing and thought I'd check it out."

She paused, then gave the masked woman a probing look. "Let me ask you something. Is this how the famous Void Collective gathers its information?"

A slight rustling behind the masked woman signaled the movement of her hidden guards, but she raised a hand to signal them to stay back. Without a word, she continued to stare at the Crimson Witch, assessing her every move.

The Crimson Witch shifted her gaze back to the ring unbothered by the hidden guards. "By the way, can you find out more about this 'Underdog' for me?"

…

Hours later, and after about 20 matches, it was Vahn's turn again.

The announcer's voice boomed through the arena.

-AGAINNNN, OUR VERYYY OWNN UNDERRDOOGGG

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Upon getting to the area's ring, the announcer continued,

-OUR UNDERDOGG IS SOO HELLBENT ON AWAKENING, SO FOR HIS NEXT MATCH, WELCOME, D-RANK HEAVY BREAKERRRRR

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Maybe because of the absurd situation and the difference in the levels, the skates in the betting were raised and the spectators didn't care,

"Take 1,000 silver"

"Take 1 Gold"

"Hey, move away, take my 10 Golds"

They began shoving their currency card to the smiling faces of the betting officiators.

Entering the ring after Vahn was a huge man, over 2 meters. He was shirtless and just wore a helmet.

Before long, they were facing each other.

-READYYYYYYY….GOOOOOOOO

The match had started,

And without wasting time, Heavy Breaker immediately jumped into the air and spread his body wide,

-IS HE ABOUT TO USE HIS HEAVY BREAKER CRUSHING STRIKEEE...HOW WOULD OUR UNDERDOGGG HANDLE IT?

And he was falling back to the ground.

'Leaving the ring will get me disqualified, but this attack will leave me half-dead no matter where I run.' Vahn's brain was speedily thinking of a solution.

'Then, let's risk it.' With that last thought, he watched the heavy breaker landing without moving and put his back foot backward.

-HAS OUR UNDERDOGG GIVEN UPP.

"Moveee"

"Idiot…"

"What is he trying to do"

The spectators were screaming at him to stop his madness and move, well most were getting annoyed because they had bet on him, however, he drowned all of their shouts. He only focused on Heavy Breaker landing on him with extreme focus.

The speed of the descending Heavy breaker wasn't to be underestimated as he was already above him.

Vahn's heart raced.

Heavy Breaker was a massive man, over two meters tall, wearing nothing but a helmet and a pair of gauntlets. 

With a deep breath, he drowned out the crowd's shouts turned to boos and insults as Vahn stood still, staring up at the descending giant.

He focused all his energy on the timing.

At the last moment, as Heavy Breaker plummeted, Vahn pushed off the ground with a sudden surge of strength. In a perfect flip, he soared above the massive fighter, narrowly avoiding the devastating blow.

Banggggg...

The force of the impact on the Heavy breaker landing back rattled the ring, sending shockwaves through the ground and snapping apart the ropes around the ropes.

However, Vahn who had landed gracefully behind Heavy Breaker wasn't fully spared. His body rattled heavily, however that wasn't his focus.

With intense determination, he spun around with his fists slamming into the back of the giant's knees and spine in a rapid barrage of strikes.

The Heavy Breaker crumpled under the relentless assault, and the crowd fell silent.

After what felt like an hour of hitting, Vahn stood over the unmoving body of Heavy Breaker panting.

"Haa... Haa..." His chest heaved as exhaustion and pain wracked his body.

The announcer was speechless, and the audience gaped, unsure whether to cheer or not.

…

In the VIP section, a glass clinked as it fell to the floor in shock. The Crimson Witch stood visibly shocked at the performance, likewise the masked woman, however, it was covered beneath her mask.

"That was..." the Crimson Witch murmured; she was practically boiling with excitement. The fight had been nothing short of extraordinary.

What Vahn had just done was incomprehensible, No one would have thought of that.

-T-THE WINNER-

"Gahhhhh…" However, the announcer was interrupted by Heavy Breaker's scream as he stretched his hand and gripped Vahn's leg.

'What?' Vahn was wide-eyed as he was gripped by the leg. As one could guess, Vahn's fighting style involved dodging all attacks because each of them could harm him.

However, a grip like this was,

The last thing he remembered was his back hitting hard against the floor.

BANGGG…

Silence….

The silence that followed the last sound was loud.

Eyes were about to pop out at the situation, mouths were left hanging at the absurdity.

How did the situation reverse in an instant?

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The crowd shouted more and cheered at the top of their lungs.

This was the kind of plot twist they spent their money for, and although it was sad underdog might be crippled after this, as they had brought stretchers to carry him. It was among the risks people took to become awakened and powerful.

In the VIP area,

"T-That was…" The crimson witch could feel her blood boiling at the intensity of the fight she just watched, and the situation just got reversed.

The masked woman was also frowning,

'Underdog will become a cripple after today. He isn't an ability user; he can't survive that kind of fall.' She shook her head and sighed in pity.

Just as he had been important to her a few hours ago, he was now useless to her.

In this world of ability users, a crippled was even worse than a non-ability user.