Chapter 142 - My Uppercut for Your Sake (10) (1/2)

I can only assume that my body moved by itself because of the uncomfortable feeling I felt in the back of my nostrils.

Almost unconsciously, I twisted my body to the right and avoided the plummeting mass of wind that passed beside me by the skin of my teeth.

“… Hah?”

The one who was most surprised was, of all people, me.

For a moment, I was eye to eye with Atol, who looked at me sideways with astonishment in his eyes.

I’m sure he didn’t think I could avoid it.

His eyes were wide open, perhaps because he had missed out on certain victory.

Because there was no impact from the rear-end collision that should have come, the trajectory of the collision has deviated greatly from its original position.

The time between me and Atol flowed as if in slow motion.

“Aah! Guh!”

Time regained its normal flow.

After bouncing several times on the ring mat at breakneck speed, Atol bounced off the ropes gasping.

I watched that, dumbfounded.

“… Eh?”

What just happened?

How could I have avoided an attack of that speed?

I was half-heartedly trying to counter, even though it was absolutely impossible.

“Kuh! Kunpei! Stop spacing out!”

“Ah? Ah!”

The angry voice of my father standing at the ringside brought me back to my senses.

I put all my energy into my wobbly body and ran as fast as I could towards the collapsed Atol.

“Ah, Atol-sama!”

“Your Highness?”

Kayone and Utai’s voices echoed in the ring.

Their voices, laced with worry and surprise, was urgent.

“Guuuuh!”

Atol, who was supposed to have slammed his entire body hard into the mat, groaned as he stood up.

I honestly thought it was amazing.

That was not the kind of damage that you can shake off with just willpower alone.

But Atol stood up.

Why? What is driving you?

How can you, a self-deprecating, abject, helplessly negative person, stand up with that kind of damage?

“Ahhhhhhhhhhh!”

With a shout, I clenched my fists and readied myself, turning all the remaining air in my lungs into fighting spirit.

I was defeated by his spirit.

It was because I felt that way when I saw Atol.

“G-guh! I can’t lose!”

Atol bellowed determinedly.

There was no sense of negative thoughts in his voice, which was so strong that even the air seemed to vibrate.

Despite the blood spewing out of his mouth and the cruel red stain on his white wings, his fighting spirit had not been broken in the least.

He readied his fists, glared at me, and moved his heavy legs as best he could to face me.

“Aaaaaaaah!”

I was the one who made the first move.

My fist struck Atol’s face.

The upper half of Atol’s body was blown back by the blow. But he endured, and his fist immediately struck my right cheek in a counterattack.

My vision flickered white.

Barely grasping onto my blurry consciousness, I put all the strength I could into my waist and upper body and clenched my right fist again.

“Aaaaahhhhhh!”

“Ooooohhhh!”

Our spirits collided.

When I punched him in the face, he punched me in the stomach.

The pain almost took over, and I hung on to my consciousnesses, my will to not fall over overwhelmed my body.

“Guaah!”

“Hmph!”

Face, stomach, arms.

Face, torso, face.

The exchange of fists between me and Atol was like a turn-based battle in a video game.

I couldn’t even do my footwork properly.

We confronted each other with only willpower, and we exchanged blows with tenacity and persistence.

His puffed up face was so cruel to look at that I couldn’t help but wonder why Atol hadn’t collapsed yet.

But I’m sure he feels the same way, because I can’t even feel my face anymore.

If you don’t go down, I can’t go down, and the two beasts exchanged fists on top of the ring.

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

“Guh…”

“Gah…”

How long have we been hitting each other?

I don’t even know what time it is anymore.

The only sounds in both ears were the faint exhalations of me and Atol, and the unidentifiable screams coming from outside the ring.

Our fists were slowly losing strength, and we’ve lost all momentum.

Because I lost consciousness here and there, the scene changes immediately like a flip book.

I got hit, woke up, hit him, then got hit again.

The only thing that my noisy thoughts can lead me to, is to hit the man in front of me as many times as I can.

“Guaah…”

My right fist caught Atol’s left cheek, there was no power left.

Off balance, Atol clung to the ropes and put his left knee on the mat while holding his trembling right leg.

My mouth was full of blood, but I couldn’t stop being thirsty.

I felt a dull ache in my chest from breathing so heavily.

Still, I looked down at Atol, trying hard not to lower my raised fist.

“Guha… gah… haa… even I, understand…”

Perhaps unable to support himself anymore, Atol, who kept his head down, muttered.

He couldn’t give up and his right hand that gripped the rope was trembling, as if he was frustrated that he couldn’t even stand up.

I didn’t reply to his words, and just stared at him in silence.

No, it’s more accurate to say that I don’t have the strength left to reply.

“The reason why father lowered my right to the throne is to praise my younger brother Setol’s contribution to the country… My Dailan, who is pushing for modernization, can not afford to disparage those who have done excellent work… Even if father does not want it, those around will not allow it… For me who hasn’t accomplished anything, I don’t have the right to criticize it… It’s no wonder… In order to become the ‘Sea Dragon’s servant’, I only looked at myself. I didn’t think about it. So I’ve never hated father. I understand that…”

I couldn’t see his face, so I didn’t know what kind of expression he had on his face.

But his voice was firm, and I knew that he was speaking from his heart.

Glancing above Atol’s head, I saw Kayone, who had moved over some time ago, looking down at him with a pale face and a worried expression.

The tears in the corners of her eyes and the bite marks around her mouth were painful to look at.

The thin tanned hand clasped in front of her face was probably a sign of her heart that wanted to reach out to him, but hesitated to do so.

Utai had her hand on her back to support her.

“I know that he chose this town to study in because he was concerned about my overly sensitive skin… I have never hated or disliked father… He is a splendid king. I respect my father. Of course, I love my brothers, too…”

“A-Atol-sama… It’s okay, that’s enough.”

I guess she couldn’t take it anymore while listening to him.

Kayone collapsed while spilling tears, as if trying to cling to Atol’s back through the ropes.

“K-Kayo-san, hang in there.”

Utai’s voice lacked its usual energy.

The way she spoke to Kayone in a faint voice was very unreliable.

“So for me, all I needed was Kayone… Kayone has supported me since I was young, and that’s why I’ve never given up.”

“A-Atol-sama… Atol-sama?”

Kayone, her face contorted into a crumpled mess of tears, touched Atol’s back through the gap in the ropes.

Slowly, as if touching a fragile object. With great care.

“To me, her existence is already irreplaceable…”

I know. I’ve known that for a long time.

Because whether you were in the classroom or not, you never tried to look anyone in the eye except Kayone.