Matthew Atkinson & Natalie Russell
Third Layer of the Supernatural Realm
As Matthew swooped down from the sky, the first to sense his terrifying aura were the people on the stage.
That overwhelming sense of oppression was like a gigantic mountain, suffocating.
The expressions of everyone involved in the deathmatch changed drastically.
Everyone looked up at the figure descending from the sky, their faces filled with disbelief.
Even the three-eyed demon was filled with shock.
Then all the monsters and demons scattered with all their might, trying to escape to the edge of the ring.
Pity. It was already too late.
"Die, all of you."
A loud shout came from the sky.
The sound could be heard throughout the entire arena.
The next moment.
A crimson fist phantom, like a shooting star, fell rapidly and slammed heavily onto the arena.
[Galaxy Impact]
-Kaboom
With an unprecedented explosion, the entire arena trembled.
The intense light from the explosion was dazzling, instantly creating a colossal spectacle that resembled the blazing sun.
The blinding light pollution nearly dazzled everyone in the audience.
As the bright light faded, a terrifying shockwave from the explosion quickly spread in all directions.
-Snap, snap
Under the violent shockwave, countless solid floor tiles of the arena were blown away.
Those monsters, demons, and more than twenty humans couldn't even withstand a single breath before they died.
Blood splattered everywhere, and bits of flesh flew all over the place.
Together with the arena floor tiles, they created a scene of apocalyptic devastation.
Some viewers noticed that the powerful "Green Lantern" from the USA promptly used his superpowers to create a green shield around himself.
Unfortunately, under the terrifying shockwave, he only lasted a short while longer than the others before his shield shattered, and he perished.
The user's willpower determined the strength of a green light ring, and that freshman from the States was still lacking in willpower.
...
A violent shockwave lasted for quite a while before it ended.
When all the dust settled, there was a truly horrific sight on the ring.
Limbs, torsos, and blood were everywhere. It was like a hellish inferno.
Even the ring itself wasn't much better.
A massive crater, nearly 250 meters in diameter, appeared in the center of the stage.
All the paving stones around the giant pit were gone, revealing the soil structure beneath the arena.
The enormous stage was utterly destroyed, with not a single spot intact.
Where was this tournament stage anymore?
It was more like a battlefield ravaged by artillery fire.
-Thump
At that moment, a figure descended from the sky.
It landed next to the giant pit.
It was Matthew.
He appeared completely unharmed and in excellent condition.
Actually, even Matthew was surprised by the damage caused by his full-force punch.
The last time he tested "Galaxy Impact" was at a suburban area outside Oxford, when his strength attribute had just broken 600.
And he didn't use his full strength at the time.
Now, with the boost of Super Strength, his true attribute has reached three thousand. And at that time, his Armament Skill was at the beginner level. Now it was at the master level.
This Galaxy Impact was more than eight times more powerful.
Matthew was very satisfied with the effect of his punch.
He killed most of the thousands of contestants with a single blow.
Of course, it was still a far cry from Garp's Galaxy Impact, who could destroy a town with a single punch.
...
Just as Matthew was reflecting on his actions, many of the eliminated contestants stood in the audience seats, their mouths agape, eyes wide, and expressions blank.
They had been doing this for a while now.
No one spoke.
There was utter silence in the arena.
Everyone was deeply shocked by the destruction caused by Matthew's punch.
Because they couldn't believe that this was the destructive power a freshman could unleash.
'Was this what you call a freshman? Were you sure he wasn't a veteran powerhouse who infiltrated the third layer?'
'We were all supposed to be freshmen, so why are you exceeding the standards?'
Especially in the human zone, supernaturals were even more shocked.
Regarding Matthew, everyone had heard of him to some extent and knew he was Natalie's kept man, the strongest person in the new generation.
First, in everyone's eyes, Matthew was a person with a useless ability.
But after 10 elimination rounds, Matthew reached the final round, which changed people's impressions of him.
However, at most, he could be included in the ranks of newly emerging celebrities.
He was far from being among the top students.
But…
Holy crap…
He was way too powerful.
So that bastard was pretending all along?
Now that he had finally revealed his true strength, he really scared everyone.
Even now, many people still couldn't believe their eyes and thought they were hallucinating.
"I see…"
Suddenly, a freshman student spoke, startling those around them.
His teammate immediately asked, "Marcus, did you discover something?"
"I know now why, even though we both have Logia-type Devil Fruit abilities, Natalie was able to get SSS-grade mission ratings twice in a row, while my Devil Fruit ability is clearly stronger than hers, I can't even get an SS-grade mission rating..."
As Marcus Kelly finished speaking, his gaze was fixed on Matthew in the ring.
"It's all because of him."
"Only he could kill so many monsters in the first and second layers."
"We've all been fooled. He's not some useless pretty boy at all. He's the real hidden mastermind."
Everyone suddenly realized.
It seemed that this was indeed the case.
Following this line of thought, there was a more reasonable explanation for why Natalie consistently achieved SSS-grade mission ratings.
"Marcus, this gigolo... this guy is clearly so strong, why does he stay behind the scenes and willingly accept the names of a good-for-nothing, gigolo, kept man, simp?" a teammate asked.
Before Marcus Kelly could answer, another teammate said, "Are you an idiot? He's hiding himself so he can keep his ability's power to himself. Don't forget that the Holy Land serves as a breeding ground for superhumans. Once a superhuman becomes powerful enough, their ability will no longer appear in the Holy Land."
"This guy is a real idiot." Marcus Kelly said, "Thanks to my quick thinking, I didn't go on stage."
Upon hearing this, the burly man next to him broke out in a cold sweat.
If they were in the ring now, they probably wouldn't even be breathing right now.
"Marcus is wise," the burly man said.
"That bastard..." Marcus Kelly gritted his teeth as he looked at Matthew's figure, "So he was the strongest freshman, making me doubt myself all this time."
His teammate said quietly, "Marcus, even if you know now, it's useless. Don't forget, this is the Amnesiac Layer. Once we get out, we won't remember anything."
Marcus Kelly was taken aback upon hearing this.
Then his expression turned grim.
He wanted to say something, but in the end, he could only manage to say two words.
"Damn it..."
...
In other seating areas, there was a lot of discussion about Matthew at the time.
Those self-proclaimed powerhouses who had initially planned to participate were now sweating profusely and filled with lingering fear.
Just look at what happened to that "Green Lantern" from the States, and someone would know.
They weren't stupid. They all understood by now that Matthew was the main force and the true king in the Matthew and Natalie duo.
Natalie got SSS-grade mission ratings because of that guy.
"...Isn't this guy a bit too overpowered?"
"Yeah. Kryptonian Bloodline, is it really that powerful?"
"As far as I know, that Kryptonian Bloodline owner in South Korea has tried everything, but he's still a useless piece of trash."
"It's probably not just because of his Kryptonian Bloodline. That guy just now used Armament Haki, and at a very high level. Also, that punch that came down from the sky seems more like a supernatural skill."
Matthew's performance made everyone feel as if they had discovered some great secret, and they were eager to share it.
At that moment, almost everyone was talking about it, except for Natalie's team.
Seeing Matthew, like a god of war, unleash a powerful punch that seemed to descend from the sky, utterly crushing thousands of experts...
Filip Walker, Denis Read, and the others were utterly dumbfounded.
'Matthew is too fierce.'
When they came to their senses, they realized that the real king was Matthew, and Natalie was just a dazzling queen standing beside the king.
Of course, even if they knew this, they wouldn't dare to say it aloud or discuss it.
After all, Natalie was right there.
They dare not.
But someone dared.
"So, in the first two layers of the Supernatural Realm, getting an SSS-grade mission rating was actually thanks to Matthew?" Sam Harris said, "I knew it. No matter how strong Miss Natalie is, she can't possibly bring just one person... Ouch. Anastasia, you stepped on my foot."
'Good heavens.'
Sam's brain... was beyond saving.
If Mathew were here, he'd probably think, 'Exactly as expected from Luffy's successor.'
Everyone looked at Natalie somewhat embarrassedly.
Natalie, however, had a smile on her face and even looked relieved.
"That's right. I was able to get an SSS-grade mission rating in the first two layers of the Supernatural Realm entirely thanks to Matthew."
The girl said it very frankly.
Although she didn't remember what happened in the first layer of the supernatural realm, she could figure it out with her big brain that Matthew must have carried her.
"Matthew wanted to stay behind the scenes temporarily, so he pushed me to the forefront."
Everyone suddenly realized.
Seeing that Natalie had spoken frankly and didn't seem to care, the others relaxed as well.
Filip Walker immediately laughed. "No wonder Matthew insisted on becoming the Ring Champion. If I had that strength, I would dare to be the Ring Champion too."
"Matthew is really amazing." Bobby Burns exclaimed.
This statement received unanimous approval.
Suddenly, Natalie's pretty face turned serious as she looked towards the stage.
Seeing this, everyone knew that Natalie must have discovered something, and they quickly followed her to look towards the stage.
...
On the stage.
Matthew had been observing and judging which of the people lying on the ground were truly dead and which were faking it.
Although his perception was not as sharp as Natalie's, it was still quite keen.
Those who pretended to be dead couldn't fool him.
Suddenly, Matthew looked at the pile of corpses, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Three-eyed demon, how long are you planning to lie there? Or do you want me to pull you up?"
As he finished speaking, the pile of corpses began to move.
A figure rose from the corpses.
It was the three-eyed demon.
However, at this moment, the three-eyed demon looked somewhat disheveled. Almost all of its clothes were torn, and its exposed body was covered with numerous wounds of varying sizes, some of which were still bleeding.
Brown blood was flowing out of its injuries.
This was only because it managed to dodge quickly.
If it were to take Matthew's attack head-on, it would probably be destroyed instantly.
After the three-eyed demon stood up, his gaze was fixed on Matthew.
Its face once again betrayed its previous composure.
---------------
Author's Note: You folks can also read up to +50 chapters on my P@treon Pages as an early access privilege.
www.patreon.com/spell_merchant
P@treon Page Name: Spell Merchant
www.patreon.com/vanguard_v
P@treon Page Name: V For Vanguard
Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.98: Opening the Third Eye
Ch.99: A Devil's Smile