Its body stopped thrashing.
The python saw the opening.
It opened its jaws wide and lunged
RIP!
The tiger's fangs struck first.
In the instant the python moved in, the tiger bit straight into its vital point.
Purple-black blood spilled in a steady drip.
Szzzz…
Even the ground hissed as the poisonous blood corroded the soil.
The python endured the pain, muscles bulging.
It tightened with all its strength
Crack.
The tiger's ribs shattered.
A broken bone pierced its heart.
That final bite had been a last flare a dying spark.
The python was gravely wounded, barely alive.
The tiger was dead.
And the man hidden in the shadows finally moved.
He burst out like a predator.
His hand formed a blade of demonic energy.
One clean strike.
The python's head flew.
Its body writhed wildly, but the light in its severed eyes had already gone out.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
"Well played," a voice said lazily. "A perfect 'mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.'"
The man whipped his head around. "WHO?!"
A razor of demonic energy shot toward the sound.
"Yep no talking, straight to fighting," Gohan's voice came, thrilled. "What a place!"
A dark-gold ki blast flew from Gohan's hand.
BOOM!
The man twisted aside and barely dodged.
The blast struck the dead Dark Demon Tiger instead.
With the explosion, the tiger's corpse disintegrated into ash.
"My prey!" The man's face twisted in rage but he didn't dare relax his vigilance toward Gohan.
"Who are you?" he demanded, eyes sharp. "You're not from the Demon Realm. Are you from the Holy Realm? Or… an outsider? A heretic?"
"Oh?" Gohan raised an eyebrow. "How can you tell I'm not from here? 'Holy Realm' is that what you guys call yourselves?"
"Hmph." The man spat. "People of the Holy Realm don't talk this much. Fight!"
He roared and charged.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gohan lifted his arms to block
And immediately realized this guy's style was disgustingly dirty.
Eye gouges.
Groin kicks.
Strikes to the temple, the jaw, the back of the skull
Even the kind of sneak attack that made you want to swear your ancestors into the afterlife.
"…Damn," Gohan muttered, genuinely speechless. "This shameless?"
If their power levels were even remotely close, Gohan knew he would've lost in technique within a few dozen exchanges.
Not because he was weaker.
Because this guy fought like he'd crawled out of a gutter and brought a knife.
The man didn't slow down, attacking like a madman.
Gohan's playful mood vanished.
Clang!
The man's full-power punch landed on Gohan's lower abdomen
And it rang like metal striking metal.
The man's eyes widened.
Gohan's expression turned flat.
"I'm done playing," he said coldly. "This is boring."
The man understood instantly.
If his strongest punch couldn't even scratch Gohan, then staying meant dying.
He backflipped repeatedly, fast and clean, creating distance in a blink
Then turned and fled in a straight line, flying at full speed.
The reaction was so sharp it made Gohan stare.
"…How many life-and-death ambushes has this guy survived," Gohan muttered, stunned.