Punishment

Nox couldn't do anything, Alex's fist was too fast, so he just closed his eyes and prayed that Alex's fist wouldn't carry much strength in it.

Alas, his prayer went unanswered, and when Alex's fist connected with his cheek, he was sent hurtling forward!

The punch carried so much strength that Nox's body ricocheted several times on the ground before finally being stopped by one of the walls of the Arena.

"...."

"...."

"...."

The eyes of everyone, except those already aware of the unfolding spectacle, widened as they observed the incredible scene.

Those that were below level 3 couldn't even comprehend what just happened, and it wasn't just them, some of the participants also didn't see what happened, only the most sharp of them knew what happened, but even them struggled to follow what had happened.

Only those above level 4 clearly saw what just happened, and it was because of that that they were the most astonished.

They had witnessed Alex turning around to throw the punch, but what truly shocked them was not the action itself. It was the remarkable ease with which he executed the movement that left them astounded.

Alex moved with precision, avoiding any unnecessary or wasteful gestures; his simplicity in motion proved remarkably effective.

All those that had attained level 5 or more are experts on their own, so they understood very clearly that it wasn't his first time, but it was when they came to this conclusion that many of them frowned.

They had never seen or heard Alex train, but if he had been training from last year then it was possible for him to possess a decent amount of knowledge and experience, but it shouldn't explain his speed.

Alex's speed clearly surpassed that of a normal level 4, how was it possible ?

They all glanced at Grace, trying to seek an answer, but their lips twitched when they saw her whistling and shouting Alex's name like she was a fan girl.

'You are the head of the branch, how can you act like that' thought everyone.

Meanwhile, Nox's body slumped to the ground, but surprisingly, he was still conscious.

"You are quite tenacious..." complimented Alex as he approached Nox's that was laying on the ground.

"...but, you should give up right now" advised Alex.

"N-Never, I won't...l-lose to a t-trash like...you" Nox spat with great effort.

"Sigh, you're being quite unreasonable here," Alex remarked, shaking his head.

He stopped above Nox's body, then bent to pick him up with his hand around the latter neck.

"Well, as I said, if my junior is getting out of line, it is my duty to keep him in line, so..." Alex raised his other hand and then...

*Slap*

He delivered a resounding slap to Nox's right cheek; however, Alex hadn't controlled his strength, causing a few teeth to fly out of Nox's mouth.

"Oops, I used too much strength, let me try again"

"Y-You b-bastar-"

*Slap*

Another slap landed on Nox's left cheek. Fortunately, Alex controlled his strength this time, preventing Nox's teeth from coming out. Nevertheless, the powerful slap left a red palm trace on Nox's face.

"S-Sto-"

"It seems that you still didn't learn your lesson, you shouldn't try to order your seniors. You have been bad and bad boys get punished" said Alex with a devilish grin, then...

*Slap* *slap* *slap*

Alex continued slapping Nox every time he attempted to speak. Eventually, Nox realized the relentless onslaught wouldn't cease, prompting him to surrender the fight and end the humiliation. Yet, Alex didn't permit even that respite.

Each time he tried to speak, a palm got in contact with his face and stopped him from speaking.

The most shocking thing in this situation is that he had used his ability against Alex, but the response he got was "it tickles".

It was at that moment that he realized that he was utterly fucked.

'This guy is a monster, Father, HELP!' Nox shouted inwardly, unable to do so outwardly.

The father he was praying to save him could be seen seething in his place, not due to his son being beaten black and blue, but due to the humiliation he felt right now.

"Stop this fight right now!" Demanded Robert as he stood from his chair.

However, all that met his demand was Adrian's stern eyes.

"Boy, don't try to tell me what to do"

Robert immediately shut up and sat down, not just his son, even him was afraid of this old man and didn't want to get on his bad side.

'I know that I should stop the fight, but I'm enjoying the show' chuckled inwardly Adrian.

As mentioned earlier, he doesn't like when a junior disrespects his senior, so, when a senior was putting his junior in his place, it was a very enjoyable event for Adrian, which is why he didn't stop the fight even though he knew that it ended after Alex punch.

Meanwhile, Alex persisted in slapping Nox from right to left until he stopped, sensing that nearly ten minutes had passed since the fight began.

When he stopped slapping Nox, Alex used his hands to pinch his swollen cheek, then spoke to him with a bright smile.

"I hope that you learned your lesson, if not, then I will gladly return to teach you some manners, but I must warn you..." Alex's smile faded, and it was replaced by a cold one.

"...the next time your punishment will be one hundred times harsher than now, so, think carefully the next time you try to insult or even look at me the wrong way."

With that warning, Alex delivered a final, much stronger slap, rendering Nox unconscious.

'Guess the show is over,' sighed Adrian with disappointment before declaring:

"The fight is over, victory for Alex."