A man with a body full of scars is entering the arena. His name is Krister Steffenson. In the infirmary, Aleksandr Jovovich decides to get closer to Katsuya Masamichi.
- "So, Mr. Masamichi, do you know who this guy is?"
Katsuya looks confused as to why he'd be approached but looks back at the screen.
- "Yeah, I do. He's the head of a rival school of Karate; his brand of Karate is named Iron Fist Karate."
Aleksandr notices that Katsuya doesn't particularly like talking about him.
- "What's so different about his Karate?"
- "He's vicious. He prioritizes brutality over practicality. Students of his art undergo much harsher training than students at ours, and honestly, it feels like he's training his students wrong. There's a limit to how much partial training will help before it starts negatively affecting them."
- "Ugh, he sounds like a dickhead."
Evan Armstrong overheard their conversation.
- "He's right. That guy is a piece of shit, but that doesn't discredit his achievements. After all…he did beat me at one point."
Another man enters the arena. He is of average height and build, wearing a Chinese martial arts uniform. He's sporting silver hair.
- "Next up, round 1, match 15! Qiang Gang Wei "The Touch of Death" versus Krister "The Ravager" Steffenson!"
Wei looks up at Krister. Krister looks down in return.
[https://imgur.com/7iqQHGB] - Illustration of their stare down
- "Fighters are you ready!?"
Both fighters get into position.
- "Then…BEGIN!!!"
Krister rushes in for a straight punch, but Wei ducks under and counters with a kick to the torso. Krister takes the shot and pushes forward with an elbow, but Wei backs off before it could connect.
- "Seems like that kick didn't have much of an effect on Krister!"
Krister feels the area where he got hit. He flinches.
- "This little guy packs a punch that's for sure."
Krister goes for a Nukite, or spearhand strike. Wei parries and counters with an eye poke. Krister moves back in time, but Wei follows up with a palm strike to his chest. A shockwave sends Krister back.
- "Oh damn! Wei just sent Krister flying!"
Krister wipes the blood off his lips and looks at his hand.
- "Fa Jin, eh?"
He asks. Wei goes back into position.
- "It is."
Krister recomposes himself and gets in a more defensive position.
- "Damn, I won't be able to take more shots like that. It seems like he can attack the internal organs directly. I'll have to be careful."
He takes a deep breath before reengaging. He rushes in once more and attempts a Quadruple Median Line Strike.
- "A Quadruple Median Line Strike! Wei's not gonna be unharmed after this one!"
Wei was in fact unharmed. He parried the shots. Krister clicks his tongue and goes for a Nukite to the face. Wei slips slightly and elbows Krister's solar plexus. Krister flinches but attempts another Nukite to the face, this time barely grazing Wei's eyes. Wei kicks him away.
- "Krister's managed to get a hit in! But it's too shallow!"
Wei wipes the blood off his face. Krister recomposes.
- "I see. That palm strike is the thing to watch out for."
Krister once again goes in with a flurry of strikes. Straight punches, elbows, Nukite, and a crescent kick to finish the combo, but Wei parries them all. Wei then counters with a Fa Jin palm strike once again to the solar plexus. Krister isn't sent back, instead he the palm strike with a straight punch that sends Wei back.
- "Wei's been hit with a devastating straight! Has Krister figured out the trick to the palm strike!?"
Krister drops to his knees. He was able to dampen the impact by moving slightly backwards, but it still hit. Wei is back on his feet, rubbing blood off his lip. He was able to disperse the force of the punch, but he's still taken some damage.
- "Looks like the palm strike still had some effect, and Wei looks just fine after that straight!"
The two circle around each other.
Jacques, in the infirmary, analyzes what's going on.
- "That punch from Krister should've dealt some damage, but all it did was cut Wei's lip. Power dispersion? It could be. Wei seems to have an arsenal of weird moves."
Jitae, in the stands with Adam and Sang who are eating ice cream, analyzes the fight too.
- "That's going to be a pain to fight against. Then again, it's not like Krister's about to be beaten just yet."
Krister inches closer, Wei stands still. They're staring each other down, both in each other's striking range.
Elegance, efficiency, and agility, that's Qiang Gang Wei's way of Wing Chun. He makes use of his thin build with his speed. His training consisted of learning the weak spots and pressure points of the human body. His mastery of his art has allowed him to turn even his regular strikes into fight ending blows, and with his knowledge of the human body, he was able to figure out how to disperse power throughout the body to avoid lethal damage from most blows. Like many others, he joined the Paraiso Grand Tournament to defeat the man we call the strongest, Jitae Won.
Brutality, power, and defense, that's Krister Steffenson's Iron Fist karate. Enduring partial training on the knuckles, the shins, and even the forehead until his mind was numb. Despite his brutish nature, he is still a martial arts genius. He combines his brutality with his skill, creating his monstrous fighting style. His body has also been hardened by his training, allowing him to take many blows that would be considered fight ending. Like many others, he joined the Paraiso Grand Tournament to defeat the man we call the strongest, Jitae Won.
Now, these two fighters are in each other's way. Their goal of facing Jitae Won is so close, but first, they must take care of each other.
Krister goes in with a straight punch, Wei dodges but it was a feint for a front kick to the chest. Wei gets sent back but pushes forward with a palm strike to the solar plexus. Krister goes for a reverse punch, but Wei parries and hits him with a palm strike to the jaw. The two back off again.
- "A heated exchange from that quick break! Wei's showing off his unusual durability too!"
Wei clenches his chest and spits out blood.
- "I couldn't disperse it properly, damn!"
Krister shakes his head and wipes the blood coming out of his nose.
- "This headache's killing me."
The two locked eyes again.
- "But…I must push forth if I want to face that man!"
They both thought. Wei goes for a front kick, Krister dodges and tries to grab his leg in order to break it. Wei pulls back and goes for Krister's throat. Krister chokes but catches Wei with an eye poke to his left eye. Wei counters with a punch to the jaw, but Krister counters his counter with an elbow to the temple. Both fighters fall on their knees.
- "Damn! It's really heating up now!"
The two get back up. Wei launches a barrage of strikes. Krister blocks it with a Mawashi Geri, or a roundhouse block. Krister hits him with a headbutt, but a strike slips through the gap and hits Krister's heart, paralyzing him for a second and causing him to cough up blood.
- "A strike to the heart! How will Krister recover from this!?"
Wei jumps up in the air.
- "Go to sleep."
He proceeds to spin kick Krister's face, sending him to the ground. Wei drops to his knees. He wipes off the blood covering his eyes.
- "Looks like Krister's down! But Wei isn't doing so hot either."
Krister gets back up, but he's dizzied from the kick. He puts his guard back up anyway. Wei blows air through his nose and gets back up as well. Both fighters get closer, with labored breathing.
- "These are the fights we come here to see folks!"
Krister makes the first move with an Awase-Zuki, or a two-handed punch. Wei steps to the side and strikes Krister's temple. He's caught off-balance.
Wei shouts a battle cry as he starts assaulting his weak points. A barrage of blows strikes his temple, philtrum, throat, jugular, solar plexus, and heart.
- "An all-out bombardment on the human body! Krister's iron defense will be able to last much longer!"
In the midst of these blows, Krister reminisces his time as a student. The first time he threw a perfect straight punch. The barrage has ended, and Krister is still on his feet. He can barely see now, but he shouts a battle cry, as he goes for one last straight punch. Wei jumps up and balances himself on Krister's arm. He then descends with a kick to the back of Krister's neck, knocking him out.
- "WHAT WAS THAT!? WEI JUST USED KRISTER AS A SPRINGBOARD!!"
Wei brushes himself off.
- "Rest now, warrior."
The referee calls for some emergency assistance before calling the match.
- "And the winner is…QIANG GANG WEI "THE TOUCH OF DEATH"!!!"
As Wei approaches the hallway, he feels two clashing auras, one from the hallway he's going to and the other from the opposite hallway. Two beasts of men are about to clash.