It's the second day of matches, the number of competitors has dropped from 16 to 8. The most popular among them being Sebastian and Scott.
Scott's match earned him respect among the fighters but it was his friendly personality that captured the audience's adoration. His good looks may also have had a hand in it. When they saw Scott assisting Jack after their match, he was seen as a humble hero that completely embodied the true spirit of the tournaments. The only threat to his victory? Sebastian.
Rumors surrounding Sebastian always mention his ability to defeat his opponents with a single punch. In a world where humans can conjure fire and reshape the earth with their bare hands, this type of rumor can easily be accepted as the truth. For every individual who believed the rumors, there were three others to doubt the legitimacy of the stories. That is until yesterday. Apparently Sebastian's match had proven the rumors to be the real deal.
"And apparently his opponent's ability is to not feel any pain!" Lilee is making a fuss over missing Sebastian's match. "Just how strong is Sebastian?!"
This must've been the 5th time she's mentioned it since reading about it on the local paper. 'Sebastian Silences Skeptics!' Dimas was more interested in the headline.
[They're lucky his name started with an S.]
Dimas crosses his arms and rolls his eyes. "I needed to train." Staying to watch would've only taken up their time.
"I think that was more my training than yours!"
Lilee is right. While the training was meant for Dimas, it was her aiming that had improved. He didn't even break a sweat.
"Yeah… Maybe I should've gone for something other than a healer. You were no help."
Lilee stayed quiet for a moment before responding. "I was trying." She says quietly, her response barely audible over the display.
"Welcome everyone to Onaq's second round of matches." The moustached man greets the audience. "Our roster of fighters are now halved but our excitement isn't, right?"
The crowd cheers with the same vigor as the previous day. They can easily drown out a train's horn.
[I bet that's a good way of getting Tinnitus.]
"Fantastic. Let's not waste anymore daylight. Our first fight for today will be…" The moustached man reaches into the marble bag. "Clarke from 'The United' versus Dimas from 'Corvus'.
[Cool, let's get this over with.]
"...Good luck." Lilee tells Dimas, it sounds genuine but it lacked her usual enthusiastic tone.
Dimas doesn't notice it. He steps through the pink ring that manifests near the door.
Lilee hugs herself and slumps against the table. "Jerk…"
Dimas steps out to some angry glares and booing from the audience.
[What did I do?]
What Dimas didn't know was while Scott and Sebastian were the prominent subjects of conversation in Onaq, Dimas was not too far behind. Although any gossip about Dimas wasn't very flattering.
The most well-known piece of information about Dimas being passed around is his declaration to defeat Alastor. This alone has people believing Dimas is nothing more than another delusional egomaniac, coupled with the fact that his team is composed of himself and one other person can only mean inevitable failure. Which is why so many people betted on him losing the first match.
One story claimed Lilee is being forced to participate against her will and Dimas gave her the scar on her face because she once tried to escape.
Another claims the two are performers and are only participating as a way to garner attention.
One even claims that Dimas is the son of a criminal that Alastor defeated and is seeking revenge. This theory doesn't really account for Lilee but discrepancies have no place in gossip.
A lesser-talked about tale of the duo said they were eloped lovers and Dimas aimed to prove his love by defeating Alastor. A cute display of love but still stupid.
Easy to say, Dimas isn't exactly seen in the best light. However, it's still better than the truth that he's fighting to help a deity destroy Terrama.
The moustached man allows the booing. He understands that every tournament has its heroes and foes. Heroes are loved and everybody wants to see them win. Foes, like Dimas, are fun to hate and only serve to be a heroes punching bag. While this mindset may seem mean-spirited, it actually benefits every party. It helps the audience become more invested in the tournament while also increasing the popularity of both the hero and foe.
Clarke, on the other hand, is greeted with applause and shouts of encouragement. Usually, Clarke would be seen as a foe but against Dimas he falls into the hero category.
Scott is watching from his locker room. Him and his teammates are all huddled around the display. "Have any of you heard anything about Dimas's Brío Arts?"
His teammates shake their heads. Not odd since most of the participating fighters are newcomers and a lot of their skills are still unknown.
"Why do you want to know?" One of them asks.
"I want to know whether or not Dimas will be in trouble. Clarke is obviously capable of fighting from a distance."
"Does throwing rocks really qualify as fighting?"
"It does since he's using his Brío Arts." Scott continues. "However, all we know about Dimas is from his first match when he launched himself towards Daniel. It almost looked like Dimas flew but I could be wrong. Either way, he wasn't able to do anything before that which could mean he's a close combat fighter."
"Does that mean he's in trouble?"
"Maybe, guess we'll have to wait and see. I'm hoping Dimas is as good as he claims to be." Scott leans forward. "Don't let me down, Dimas."
[As long as I can reach him before he can gather some rocks, I'll be okay.]
There's an almost endless amount of rocks and stones littering the field. The insignificant objects now pose a real threat.
[It couldn't have been a field or a beach? Wait… would his Brío Arts work on grains of sand?]
The moustached man holds out a Crild.
"Tails." Dimas calls.
The judge nods and tosses the coin.
"Dimas has the support advantage."
[Looking good already.]
Dimas gets ready to run. Clarke remains perfectly still.
The bell rings.