The Real Power Matchup

Frozer could roughly tell that although this Young Man was no ordinary opponent, his fighting style seemed to rely on Physical Type attacks.

And if he was a Physical Type, Frozer was all but guaranteed not to lose.

He loved the feeling of someone hating his guts but being unable to do a thing about it.

So he taunted him again. "Seriously? Is that all you've got?"

"I'm giving you a chance, and you can't even make use of it!"

The words had barely left his mouth when Serizawa brought the bat down on his head again.

This blow carried several times the force of the last.

Clang!

The bat struck Frozer's forehead with a piercing metallic ring.

Frozer was unharmed. Blood trickled down from Serizawa's hairline.

Serizawa seemed utterly unaffected by his injury. Instead, realization dawned on his face. He rested the bat on his shoulder and muttered, "I thought so."

That second probing attack confirmed his earlier suspicion.

His opponent's Psychic Powers returned damage to him exactly as it was dealt.

It seemed this fat bastard really did have the perfect power to counter his own.

Among superhumans, there were two ways Psychic Powers could interact: they could complement each other, or they could counter each other.

When two users' Psychic Powers complemented each other, they worked together so well that they could achieve astonishing, unexpected results in battle.

One plus one became far more than two.

Years ago, Lamplighter and Stormfront had used that principle to become the most famous duo among Vought International's many superhumans.

Lamplighter could control fire, and he was already formidable in a fight. With Stormfront boosting him, his strength could multiply several times over in an instant.

When Psychic Powers countered each other, as the name suggested, one held an advantage over the other.

Take Lamplighter. His Psychic Powers were fire-based, so wind-based Psychic Powers strengthened them, while water-based Psychic Powers suppressed them.

Used well, that kind of advantage often allowed a weaker fighter to defeat a stronger one by surprise.

Frozer's Psychic Powers clearly countered Serizawa Masao's.

So even though Frozer was useless in a real fight, that advantage alone made him virtually unbeatable against Serizawa.

Of course, a sensible opponent could still choose to flee instead of fighting. In that case, there was little Frozer could do.

That was why he excelled at provoking people with words. Opponents with especially strong pride were prone to losing their judgment under his taunts.

The boy before him certainly didn't look like someone who could always keep a level head.

Seeing realization on Serizawa's face, Frozer grinned. "What's wrong? Starting to feel hopeless?"

He never passed up a chance to get inside an opponent's head, so he added with a sneer, "Attacks as weak as yours could never hurt me."

Serizawa had been frowning, struggling to think of a way forward.

At Frozer's taunt, his gaze suddenly sharpened.

"What did you say?" Serizawa looked at Frozer. "Attacks as weak as mine?"

Serizawa had spotted a flaw in Frozer's words.

Attacks at this level can't hurt him. Which means...

If I hit him hard enough, I can.

Serizawa seemed to have found a way to win.

It appeared the advantage between their powers was the exact opposite of what he had first thought.

He was the one whose power truly countered this middle-aged man's.

The sudden confidence on the Young Man's face only reinforced Frozer's opinion of him.

Good. I like idiots like you.

Come on. Hit me.

Give me everything you've got with that bat.

Frozer soon got his wish.

Serizawa's blows rained down on him.

Every swing left a terrible bruise on Serizawa's own body.

In the blink of an eye, Serizawa was covered in injuries, his shirt soaked with blood.

Frozer began to sense that something was wrong.

With that much blood loss, the Young Man should have collapsed by now.

Yet to Frozer's astonishment, Serizawa's attacks hadn't weakened at all. Every swing came faster and hit harder than the last!

What kind of monster is he?!

The boy's attacks still hadn't hurt him, but that relentless ferocity sent a chill through Frozer.

After more than a dozen blows, Serizawa finally fell, gravely injured.

Watching the Young Man lie on his back, gasping for breath, Frozer felt his fear subside.

Serizawa had broken bones in several places. With every breath, his fractured ribs grated against his chest.

The pain would have been unbearable for most people, but it left Serizawa extraordinarily clearheaded.

He planted the metal bat against the ground and struggled upright.

Frozer panicked.

"Why? How can you still stand?"

Serizawa gave him an arrogant look and said coldly, "What do you mean, why? It's fighting spirit. Do you even know what that is?"

Fighting spirit was the resolve to do what seemed impossible.

It was the courage to press forward despite knowing you would be hurt, might even die, and to stop only when your opponent was beaten.

With every blow Serizawa took, with every worsening injury, his fighting spirit rose.

And as long as it kept rising, his attacks would grow stronger.

Strong enough to break through the limits of what his opponent's Psychic Powers could withstand.

Serizawa tightened his grip on the bat once more.

Blood loss hadn't clouded his mind. On the contrary, he had never been more clearheaded.

His fighting spirit had reached a height it had never known before.

Serizawa swung the bat down hard at the middle-aged man's head.

It was the strongest blow he had ever delivered in his life.

Serizawa knew that if it still failed to break through the man's defense, his own skull would shatter and he would die.

But he was fearless.

Without the courage to risk death, what right do I have to win?

Frozer was terrified. His instincts told him this blow had already exceeded the limit of what his Psychic Powers could withstand.

Frozer had never known where the limit of his Psychic Powers lay. Moments before his death, he finally found the answer.

"Stop..." Frozer cried in despair.

The metal bat slammed into his head.

Frozer's skull burst like a smashed watermelon.

The bat kept going, tearing down through his body along his spine.

With unstoppable force, it shredded everything in its path.

This was a man whose Psychic Powers naturally countered physical attacks, a man who had never lost to a Physical Type superhuman.

A single swing reduced him to a heap of pulp.