Chapter 122: Resolution

Merc was absolutely concerned at the moment. He didn't know what he could do to be able to win the match. On the other hand, Noah was surprised that Merc had not fallen to the ground screaming in pain like the other fighters he had faced.

'If he can still stand, despite being burned by [Hell Flames], the only explanation I can think of for that is that he actually doesn't have as many sins as the others did. The skill makes it very clear that the more sin someone or something has, the more exp points I will receive, and the more purified the person will be. So I can't think of any other reason for him to endure so much pain...' Noah thought, as he looked to Merc who was controlling his own pain to continue the battle.

This, however, would not be a reason for Noah to stop battling the man, as it would mean that he would have to give up Maggy's well-being for a person he didn't even know. But at least he didn't feel like torturing the man now; apparently he was a good person.

'Fortunately this type of cut can be recovered with the right amount of money. Probably with just over $20,000 he will be able to pay a healer to be able to grow that hand back again. If only Maggy's disease were so easily treated... it would be much easier,' Noah reflected.

But Noah didn't have time to mourn or worry during the battle, as Merc, who was feeling the flames continue to consume his arm, was once again trying to attack him to try to win this match.

The spectators were finding this incredible. Merc was the first fighter to be able to resist Noah's flames (that in itself was already a wonderful thing in their battle), and now seeing him going up against Noah with the desire to win the battle made many there look at him with new eyes.

'Not even Bobby, with that big amount of fat he had, could resist without his Blessing, but Merc is doing it... He's better than the others.' That's what most viewers were thinking, but unfortunately they were wrong as to why Merc could resist the flames.

Merc was running around wanting to advance on Noah, but he was not an idiot; he still remembered that strange barrier around Noah that slowed him down. Finally, he understood why Bobby seemed so strange whenever he was going to attack Noah. So this time he tried a different strategy: When he realized that Noah appeared to be a little distracted by something, he threw himself completely at Noah, using one of the most risky and difficult skills to use in a confrontation, but at the moment, Merc saw no alternative for what he could do.

'Shit, I know I may be making the worst move of my life, but that's the only thing I can think of doing. Throwing myself at a psychopath like him who likes to torture his opponents may cost me my sanity, opening me up to possibly be tortured by that damned flame, or maybe even costing my life depending on what he can do to me with it, but I need that money. Even if I have to spend half the prize on hospital bills, it will still be worth it if I get the remaining 42,000... Shit, I hope I won't regret it later,' Merc thought as he lifted his legs and prepared for the attack he would unleash on Noah.

When Noah realized what was going on, he saw two feet coming towards him. Lilith, who was unable to recover energy like him during the battle, did not have much energy left. To handle the high-speed attack Merc had previously done had been very difficult for her. Now that he was practically throwing his entire body weight at Noah, Lilith felt a little desperate.

'Noah, I don't know if I can handle this,' she said through the mental link they shared.

'Shit, from the speed he's coming, I won't be able to dodge this flying kick, and if it hits me, the blow to my chest alone will leave me vulnerable to other attacks... I didn't think I would have to use this ability so soon...' Noah thought to himself, feeling a little bad for having to use one of his trump cards before the final.

--- Noah Pov ---

Fortunately, the mental link allows me and Lilly to talk whenever we want in a fraction of a second, since the important thing is just the exchange of intention of what we are going to say, without words being necessary.

Because of the speed of our conversation, I now knew that I would have to teleport, and that's exactly how I did it.

When Merc's feet were close to hitting me, I immediately burst into flames and felt the familiar, comfortable sensation of going through a tunnel through hell pass over me, sometimes it even made me want to teleport straight to hell and stay there for a while, since just being there for a small fraction of a second was so good, staying there for a few hours must be like going to a spa.

Unfortunately I'm still afraid of that, even though it is very comfortable in hell, it is worrying to think that might sometime go there and never have the chance to return, after all, I don't know how teleportation would work back. The skill said that I could go through a tunnel through hell to be able to go somewhere in the normal world in a much shorter time, that time was further reduced after the skill leveled up, which I can't even say if it was something good or bad, since the time I spent in that comfortable place was now reduced even more.

When I left the other side of the tunnel, I felt from my Pyakugan that I had my back to Merc, who had passed me and hit one of the walls of the arena. But because of his high agility, he graciously managed to support himself with his leg on the wall and throw himself with an acrobatic maneuver back through the air and stop, standing perfectly upright.

I have a good spatial sense now and high agility, and even though I might be able to make a move like this if I were in a similar situation, I'm sure I wouldn't be able to do it with the same subtlety and grace that he had done, almost as if it was as normal as walking.

When he stood up, I was already squeezing my flame dagger, preparing to attack him, when he didn't even prepare to dodge or deflect and raised his hands in surrender.

For a moment I was confused. Why was he surrendering now? I know he wouldn't be able to win against me in this battle if it lasted any longer, but I also hadn't put him in a pressure situation yet. He still had possibilities to test and try to beat me, but why was he suddenly giving up.

"I quit." Just as I thought, he said he would give up while keeping both arms up, trying to resist making an expression of pain, probably because of my flames still burning what was left of his wrist.

As I knew he would not pose any threat, and as the judge had already accepted his resignation, I stopped supplying energy to the flames that were burning him so that he no longer had to feel pain, since according to the flames, he had few sins and didn't deserve something like that.

I received a look of thanks from him as soon as he looked at what was left of his arm and saw that it was no longer hurting or burning, much to the surprise of most of the people around, which I just responded with a wave back.

Probably, the others were not understanding why I had just stopped burning him before the judge asked me to do this, but I don't care.

Seeing that he was just leaving the arena without saying anything else, I couldn't stop myself from asking, but of course, still keeping my voice cool and confident so as not to reveal my true feelings to others, "Why did you give up?"

Upon hearing me say that, Merc stopped at the exit and turned to look me in the eye. "Could I have hit you with a blow?" he said in a serious voice.

I thought about the possibilities of what could have happened before with his Blessing, and now that I had already decided to show that I can teleport, and I answered sincerely, "If what you have shown so far was all you had, probably not."

"There is your answer," he said before leaving the arena and probably going to seek medical treatment.

---

Looking at him leaving the arena calmly, Noah heard the spectators, who had been so surprised, now screaming with emotion for the first time. They were already very excited about Noah's battles, since Noah always managed to find a different and unusual way to escape from risky situations and win the victory, and this time, even though he did not have a bloody and violent battle like the others, he once again showed an overwhelming presence over his opponent. And unlike the other times he had fought in the previous battles, this time it was against a peak Blessed Rank D, which was worth a lot more.

But Noah, on the other hand, had another thought at the moment. Merc's speech made Noah have a new conception about himself, and about what he would end up doing from now on in his own life...

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Please read the author's notes down here! he he :3 ↓↓↓

I am writing a novel with my girlfriend called "I became a Necromancer Cat". About the greatest Necromancer who became a cat after dying and transmigating to modern earth.

Give the novel a try, just look for "Necromancer Cat" on ReadNovelFull that you will find.

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