Chapter 203: Unhinge?
"Wait," Luke said as he looked at Basile walk towards him. While what he was about to say was risky, it was something he was dying to try. People would call him a fool, someone with a death wish even. "I want to fight both of you at once. I am not looking down on you, it just doesn't make sense for me to go against you, especially when you're obviously slower than her. If I can dodge her attacks, then yours wouldn't be an issue. We all have our strengths, so let's end things at once,"
"...." Basile who was buttoning up his sleeves stopped and looked at Luke. He was a martial artist as well and could think rationally, at least at the most basic of levels. There was truth in what Luke just said, and wasting time would be bad for him, especially considering the fact that Luke could be hiding something. "Alright then..." Basile replied as he took a deep breath.
It was exciting, more so than scary. These two opponents were the toughest fight he had faced in a while, as a matter of fact, Luke even considered Elena to be stronger and more capable than K, his own master. However, according to him, she relied too much on her technique, making her inflexible and rather rigid.
The thought of fighting both of them at the same time was somewhat weird. Just looking at the way Basile carried himself, Luke could say that he was dangerous, but as a fellow martial artist, he couldn't simply walk away without witnessing his monstrous strength and the reason behind his unending confidence, which now radiated more so than ever, thanks to Luke surprising him that is.
"I really hope you're ready, I won't be holding back, Imma go all out from the beginning. It's unfortunate, but it seems that you've caught the attention of Basile Covencut, so….prepare yourself," Basile announced as he stretched his neck muscles.
"Wait a second…..Covencut???" Luke exclaimed in shock. It was as if he had heard the name previously. His eyes were wide open, and his lips trembled, he raised his shivering hand slowly and pointed towards Basile.
"Hah! So you've heard of my family. Surely you must be shive-"
"That's the stupidest last name ever," Luke interrupted Basile who for a second felt greater than ever. "Shut up and attack me jesus christ, both of you guys sure do yap a lot,"
"Uh….." Basile was left speechless. This was the first time someone dared to make fun of his family in such a manner. It left him stupefied, to the point where words wouldn't form.
"What were you gonna talk about how your family excels in martial arts, and how I shouldn't disrespect anyone from your family?" Luke guessed as he recalled the millions and millions of cultivation novels.
"Uh no….I absolutely was not, pfft, you were the one who was going to do so," Basile gulped as he tried to play it off without making it awkward. 'Nailed it!' he thought as he was under the impression that nobody caught onto his act. If Nate were awake, then surely he would recognize how out of character Basile behaved.
"Enough! Stop messing around!" Basile roared as he realized Luke was simply fooling around. While it was amusing to watch him do so with Elena, it was a different case now that it was with him.
"Alright then, guess I'll go all out, or do I have to, hmmm," Luke thought, however, his opponents weren't kind or foolish enough to wait around. Even before he could finish his sentence, Basile's right hook had already sliced the air in half, while Elena cut off his other side.
If there was one thing that all three of them could agree on, it was the fact that the punch that Basile threw held more than enough power to knock Luke out. Blocking it wasn't an option, the attack would simply break Luke's bones. Dodging it was difficult with the whiny bitvh blocking him, which left him only one realistic option, it was to divert the attack. Even in this choice, he had other micro choices to make.
Was he to use his secret art that could disperse energy? Or would he resort to a normal counter? Every decision he made in that one second would all contribute to his future. Every single move he made, multiple micro choices were made. Which was why he nearly made the perfect counter every time. Although, perfect according to Luke was whatever seemed easier and relatively safer.
'Guess I'll show off a little bit,' he thought as he decided to use his own technique. Luke analyzed Basile's body as the whole world slowed down. He could see the huge waves of energy gushing throughout Basile's body, however, what he noticed that most people didn't have was the fact that new waves of energy were created every second. Naturally, all this energy was only heading towards one place, and at the moment it was his right hand.
Perhaps the reason he was able to dish out so much damage was due to his innate ability to focus nearly all his energy into each of his attacks. Normally it wouldn't work, but Basile had a constant flow of energy in his body, which could be explained considering he went through years of training that normal athletes could never accomplish.
Luke slightly leaned back to allow the hook to pass by. It was tricker than he had thought especially because of the angle of the hook. Basile's hook was something pro boxers consider the best hook. Not because of how he performed it, but simply because of the angle of his hands. Boxers would usually keep the hand completely horizontal, however, according to many, when the hook is thrown from a higher angle while it was bent slightly lower, it had a better chance of connecting.
Basile's knuckles scraped Luke's body, tearing away the material of his shirt with it. A mistake. A silly one at that, it seemed as if Luke found himself in a situation where he felt slightly ashamed, much like how Elena felt when she was hit by Luke.
He could feel something cold and rather sticky. It was wet and weirdly heavy. Blood. It was something Luke wasn't particularly familiar with, especially considering the average human could barely even keep a track of his movements.
"Tch! Cockroach," Basile commented as he looked at Luke more or less safely getting away. Elena remained in his position with her eyes wide open. If she was being honest, the wind was literally knocked out of her body, and the reason for this was simply Basile's punch. "Don't just be standing there, we could've gotten him good if you moved with me,"
"Y-yes…" Elena replied. It was pointless to refute, especially because what Basile said was true. Even if they couldn't knock him out, they could've at the least injured him. Now that Luke faced both of them together, he had to come to terms with the fact that he had a chance to lose.
"Hmm….." Luke hummed as he looked down at his body. The stinging pain annoyed him, but at the same time, he used it to ground himself and make decisions based on safety. It was now crystal clear that a single wrong move could quite literally cost him his life.
"My turn," he suddenly announced as he shot towards Basile. Which caught the blond Covencut by surprise. The obvious and safer choice would be to attack Elena first. Pushing her out of the picture for even a second would give Luke enough time to properly focus on Basile. However, this wasn't the case, the first person he went for was Basile.
Usually, all he would require to neutralize an opponent was dispersing their energy. However, that wouldn't exactly work in Basile's case, or even Elena's for that matter. If he kept at it for minutes together then it might, but that was absolutely out of the question. So what was Luke going to do that was different? It's pretty straightforward and simple. He was going to temporarily unhinge Basile's arm. While it may sound absurd to try such a thing against someone as physically gifted as him, there were a few methods, and one such method was to throw a feint or a fake.
Luke closed in the gap and raised his leg to kick Basile in the face. Seeing this Nate's brother immediately used his left hand to guard it. It was at that second, the entire flow of the match would be decided. Luke immediately shifted his body weight and aimed for Basile's leg, although it wouldn't do much, it would at least make him lean towards that side, even if it was slight.
As soon as the kick connected, Basile felt a numbing feeling pass through his body. If someone had Luke's ability to see the innate energy in people, then the fireworks taking place in Basile's body would surely mesmerize them. All the energy in his body was dispersed, it was like a chain reaction. However, new waves of energy were created just as fast. Unfortunately for Basile, it was too late.
Taking advantage of Basile's weight and physique, Luke grabbed onto the arm Basile used to defend, his leg behind Basile's, to trip him. However, he wasn't falling on his back, it was his hand. Basile's entire body fell on his own hand while it was twisted backward. Leaving nothing but his screams echoing throughout the silence.