Chapter 1007 - 1007: Rejection

As the final thirty seconds approach, Ryoma finally begins blending his defensive movement with counters.

After angling out of the line, he snaps a sharp jab into Umemoto's face without committing his full weight…

Dsh!

…then angles out, refusing to remain in range.

"Ohh! Finally!"

"He's fighting back!"

Umemoto continues hunting him down, but Ryoma now seems perfectly comfortable moving around him with that elegant footwork.

He angles out, then suddenly snaps two sharp jabs into Umemoto's face.

DSH! DSH!

Ryoma bounces backward once, and the moment Umemoto adjusts his angle, Ryoma steps forward again.

He makes a brief hesitation movement, deliberately provoking Umemoto into throwing something first.

The instant Umemoto commits, Ryoma sharply shifts outside the punch and fires a counter toward the side of his head.

DSH!

He immediately steps back in, draws Umemoto's guard high before going low and then sending two quick straight punches into the solar plexus.

BUGH! BUGH!

Ryoma angles out again before Umemoto can answer, leaving the challenger swinging at empty space.

"Wait… what just happened?"

"The entire balance of this fight suddenly looks different!"

"Umemoto was the one dictating the pace just moments ago, but now Ryoma is making him chase shadows!"

He begins picking Umemoto apart with precise hit-and-run attacks, never staying long enough for another brutal exchange to develop.

As the final fifteen seconds approach, Ryoma gradually begins slowing his footwork until he finally comes to a complete stop.

He simply waits for Umemoto to approach, leaning his head slightly forward as though deliberately inviting the challenger closer.

As if that were not bold enough, he even brings both gloves behind his back, leaving his entire upper body completely unprotected. He sways his torso and head from side to side, calmly waiting for Umemoto to make his move.

The arena gradually falls quieter as Ryoma brings both gloves behind his back, the sheer audacity of the taunt leaving the crowd almost speechless.

"What is Ryoma doing?!"

"He's actually standing there with both hands behind his back!"

"After everything that has happened tonight, he's still willing to provoke Umemoto like this?!"

"He's practically daring Umemoto to hit him!"

For more than a minute, Umemoto has been fighting through frustration and desperation. Now, seeing that exposed jaw, he cannot resist the provocation.

He steps forward, flicking his left hand toward Ryoma as a feint before suddenly lunging forward with his entire body behind a sharp, heavy cross.

Ryoma remains completely still until the final instant.

Then his head slips just enough for the glove to graze past his left cheek.

His body bends sharply toward the right as his right foot shifts and anchors firmly against the canvas.

At the same moment, his right hand moves from behind his back toward a low angle beneath his body.

The instant Umemoto's right hand sails past his left shoulder, Ryoma's right arm drives upward with explosive force.

His right leg springs against the canvas, transferring the momentum directly into the rising uppercut.

DHUACK!

The punch catches Umemoto squarely beneath the chin, driving his head violently upward.

Ryoma's movement is so sudden and explosive that his body almost appears to leap upward from the lowered position.

In less than a fraction of a second, he has reacted to Umemoto's punch, shifted his stance, anchored his right leg, and generated enough spring to unleash that single uppercut.

The impact sends Umemoto's head snapping violently backward, blood erupting from his mouth and scattering through the air.

"OOH!!! WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"HE JUST CAUGHT UMEMOTO WITH AN UPPERCUT!"

This time, Umemoto cannot force another dual exchange at all. Both arms hang lifelessly as his legs turn to jelly, his entire body slowly dropping beneath the force of the counter.

Yet strangely, instead of following with a finishing punch, the Cruel King throws two hooks into Umemoto's body, using an angle that forces him upright again.

BUGH! BUGH!

"No, this is not the end yet."

Umemoto's legs straighten again, and for a moment, he manages to hold his balance.

But his guard has become dangerously weak now, leaving his jaw almost completely exposed.

The Cruel King immediately sends two hooks into his jaw from opposite sides.

DSH! DSH!

The second punch sends Umemoto stumbling sideways.

The Cruel King is already moving in the same direction, waiting for the perfect moment.

Then another hook crashes into the body, sending Umemoto back toward the center.

BUGH!

The other Ryoma, still trapped inside that body without any ability to control it, can only cry out in desperate pleading.

He knows exactly what the Cruel King is trying to do.

<< That's enough! >>

<< Please! Stop it! >>

<< He can't fight anymore! >>

<< Just end this already! >>

Seven seconds remain, and normally, a fighter would try to drop his opponent before the final bell.

But the Cruel King deliberately keeps hurting Umemoto, carefully striking him just hard enough to make his body rise again.

<< No! I beg of you. End this already! >>

<< You don't need to do this! >>

"What are you talking about?" the Cruel King mutters.

He drives a cross straight into Umemoto's face, the impact sending him staggering several steps toward the ropes.

"You've turned him into a dangerous threat for both of us."

The Cruel King quickly follows, driving another body shot into Umemoto before he can collapse.

"I can't allow him to keep living and threaten our success again in the future."

DSH! DSH!

BUGH!

<< No! That's enough! >>

In the blue corner, Ishimaru continues watching the punishment unfold, his hatred for Ryoma making him cling to the hope that Umemoto can somehow survive until the bell.

But that only gives the Cruel King more time to land several additional punches.

Another four-punch combination follows, with two shots driven downstairs before two more come upstairs.

BUGH! BUGH!

DSH! DSH!

Umemoto instinctively keeps raising his guard, desperately preventing the referee from finding a reason to stop the fight.

And finally, the bell rings, bringing the tenth round to an end.

DING!

Umemoto remains standing against the ropes for several moments, but the reality is far worse than anyone realizes.

He has already been unconscious since that brutal uppercut.

His body finally loses what little support remains, and he slowly collapses toward the canvas.

The referee watches his condition for several tense moments, while the Cruel King remains standing nearby, coldly staring down at him.

For several seconds, the arena remains strangely silent, as though thousands of spectators are struggling to understand what they have just witnessed.

Then the referee finally waves his arms, officially stopping the fight.

The silence breaks apart instantly.

"IT'S OVER!"

"THE REFEREE HAS STOPPED THE FIGHT!"

"WHAT A FIGHT! WHAT AN ABSOLUTELY INSANE TENTH ROUND!"

The crowd erupts in a chaotic mixture of cheers, boos, screams, and stunned disbelief, with neither side seeming to know how to process the ending.

And in that instant, the Cruel King's expression changes completely.

The coldness in his face disappears, replaced by an anguished, tormented expression that makes him look like an entirely different person.

"No…" he cries. "What have you done?"

Meanwhile, the referee suddenly begins to look panicked. He frantically gestures toward the ringside area, waving both arms while shouting for medical personnel to enter the ring.

"Get in here! Now! We need medical assistance!"

The blue corner team moves first, scrambling through the ropes and rush toward Umemoto, their earlier composure completely gone.

They quickly surround their fighter, some kneeling beside him while others turn toward the ringside staff and desperately call for help.

"Get the doctors!"

"Move! Give him some space!"

"Someone get the medical team in here!"

The frantic movement around Umemoto sends a wave of unease through the entire arena.

Nobody knows exactly what is happening, but the panic spreading through the ring makes the situation feel far more serious than anyone expected.

Some spectators remain frozen in their seats, their eyes fixed on the cluster of people surrounding Umemoto.

Ryoma watches the commotion without saying anything, his expression becoming increasingly worried as he follows every movement around Umemoto.

His breathing becomes uneven, and the strength gradually drains from his legs until his knees finally buckle beneath him.

He drops onto the canvas, settling into a kneeling position. Tears begin running down his face, falling freely onto his gloves.

"What have you done?" he whispers, his shoulders shaking. "No... you didn't have to do it."

The strange sight is captured by everyone in the arena. Some spectators remain completely focused on Umemoto, while others keep looking back toward Ryoma, struggling to understand how the man kneeling before them could possibly be the same fighter they had watched moments earlier.

Only moments ago, Ryoma had been standing over Umemoto with a cold cruelty. Now he is kneeling on the canvas, crying while staring at his own hands with an expression filled with regret.

Even the commentators struggle to make sense of the bizarre contrast unfolding before them.

"What are we looking at right now?!"

"The blue corner has rushed into the ring, and the referee is desperately calling for medical assistance!"

"We still don't know the full extent of Umemoto's condition, but everyone around him is clearly extremely concerned!"

"And then there's Ryoma! Just look at him!"

"Moments ago, he looked like an entirely different person! He was smiling, punishing Umemoto without showing the slightest hesitation!"

"But now he's on his knees, crying and staring at his own hands as though he's horrified by what happened!"

"I've never seen anything like this in a boxing ring!"