In a room, Van was glaring at his reflection in the mirror and recalled the face of Cloud.
"My target... My main victim..." Van said within himself, "No, you're all my victims; Cloud! Karma! Sting and all the rest of the contestants are my victims...!
I'm going to show everyone what a real winner looks like! I'm going to prove that I'm not a failure! And most of all, I'll be void of the word 'Mercy' and send all my opponents into the world of pain. Cloud! Karma! Sting! Dam! Onak! Killer bee...! All of you...!"
"Come dance with me in the depths of the abyss!" Van said within himself as his purple irises glowed brighter.
Back at the arena, the arena resetted itself, leaving Cloud and some of the audience amazed.
"Wow, the arena fixed itself?"
"The Keigras do have excellent inventions."
"Amazing..." Cloud said.
"Now that the arena has fixed, who is ready for another round?!" Trengal asked.
"The crowd responds with a massive cheer which made Trengal smile.
"Alright!" Trengal said, "Let us begin!!
At the right side and I know that i have a small build but damn, this guy makes me feel more ashamed of my height: Onak of the Graundar tribe!!"
The crowd cheered for Onak as he walks into the arena with a bored expression on his face.
"And at the left side and that is not a normal look: Van of the Tenplar tribe!!"
The crowd cheered for Van as he menacingly glared at Onak.
At the teachers center, Leorona stared at Onak and sighed with her eyes closed.
"Looks like the medicine i gave him is still in effect." Leorona said with herself, "There has been no case of Onak since we've arrived. Though, the effect can only last a few days, let's just hope it doesn't wear off during this round.... For Van's sake."
Back at the arena, Onak stared at Van with a bored expression and yawned.
"Hey, brainless! Don't give out me, you hear?" Van asked.
"Yeah, whatever, insect boy." Onak replied.
"BEGIN!" Trengal said.
Van immediately blasts a large lilac beam towards Onak which Onak easily evades. Van sprints towards Onak, trying several attempts to punch him with his hands engulfed with lilac aura but Onak easily evades them all. Van hops back and stretched forth his arms.
"Hornet light: Raging star!" Van said as he began to shoot out countless lilac beams from his palms towards Onak, creating a large smoke screen.
"Hornet light: Twin star experian!" Van said as he threw two twinkling lilac spheres at Onak.
"Fall down!" Van said as he drew down his arms, causing countless large lilac beams to rain down on Onak, creating another smokescreen.
"I'm not done!" Van said as he cupped his hands at his side and began to charge a lilac beam between his cupped hands.
"Hornet light:Go-ten Sho-zu!!" Van said as he released a powerful beam (which formed a gigantic lilac hand) towards Onak and created a massive explosion, leaving Cloud and the audience amazed.
"WOAH!" Trengal said with an amazed and excited look, "Van wasted no time against Onak as he wished to end the fight, right here and now!"
"Amazing..." Cloud said within himself, "As expected of an A rank candidate; Van really is strong. If he had fought me like this when i was granted the chance of participating under the condition of defeating him.... He would have ripped me to pieces..."
As the smokescreen cleared, Onak stood, completely unfazed by Van's attacks and was still staring at Van with his arms folded.
"Van, correct?" Onak asked, "I've heard a lot about you and your level of strength and what you've shown just proves it."
"Of course, it does." Van said with a smirk, "This goes to show why I'm unmatched and-"
"I'm not impressed." Onak cuts in with a raised eyebrow.
Yulin instantly spews what she was drinking from her mouth towards a Tenplar male that was sitting besides her and began to laugh while covering her mouth.
"REALLY?!" The Tenplar male asked in annoyance.
"Oh, sorry..." Yulin said.
Van stared at Onak for a while and clenched his fist.
"Get impressed!" Van said with a wild grin.
Van quickly propelled himself towards Onak by blasting his lilac beams on the ground; Van tries to deliver a reverse round house kick in mid air but Onak easily evades it. Van tries several attempts to punch and kick Onak but Onak still easily evades them all.
Van quickly hops back and creates two lilac spheres with his hands.
"Keep trying to dodge, huh?!" Van asked while smiling, "Well, let me see you dodge this!"
"Hornet light: Quizang Turag!!" Van said as he quickly threw the two spheres towards Onak (which quickly fused together during it's motion) but Onak easily knocks it away.
"Multiply..." Van said as he snaps his fingers, creating multiple lilac spheres surrounding Onak.
Van stretched out his right arm and clenched his fist while grinning, causing all the lilac spheres to instantly explode.
"You think I'm done?!" Van asked with a wild grin as he stretched out his arms and began to create lilac waves which were moving in a reverse motion towards Van's palms while creating another lilac sphere.
"Destroy..." Van said.
"WHAT?!" Cloud asked in shock.
Van released the sphere towards Onak but Onak easily caught the sphere with one hand and effortlessly crushed it, leaving Van and many others in shock.
"WHAT DID WE JUST WITNESS?!" Trengal asked, "ONAK IS OUT HERE FLEXING WHILE VAN IS GIVING HIS ALL!!"
"No way!" Cloud and Sting said.
"Impressive." Chief Tenya said.
"Truly impressive." Chief Ezgord and Chief Akuro said within themselves.
"This... This is crazy!" Killer bee said.
"That's one way to flex your manhood." Rish said within himself with a blank face.
"Humph." Karma said while looking unamused.
"Not bad." Zera said within herself with a devious smile.
Back at the arena, Onak yawned and resumes folding his arms.
"I'll ask again." Onak said, "Is that all?"
Van growls as he clenches his fists while emitting a lilac aura.
"This f**ker!" Van said within himself, "Don't screw with me!!!"
Van began to fire numerous lilac beams from his palms towards Onak while screaming.
"Van is descending into madness, isn't he?" Cloud asked with a blank face as Van screamed out of frustration with his purple irises glowing.
"He should be grateful." A feminine voice said.
Cloud, Sting and the others turn around and sees the person to be Pit, who happened to be standing beside them with her arms folded.
"Pit?" Cloud asked.
"Can i sit here?" Pit asked.
"Sure." Cloud said.
"Thank you." Pit said as she sat beside Killer bee, "I've been waiting for the perfect opportunity to speak to you, ever since you won the chance to participate in the rumble and got direct access to the semi finals. It truly is an honor to meet you, Cloud of the Stormwind."
"Thank you." Cloud replied with a smile, "I too, am honored to be talking to you, Pit of the Ripar tribe."
"Thanks." Pit replied with her eyes closed while grinning, "Oh! By the way, you are the second person, i am forward to fighting in this tournament."
"Of course you are..." Cloud said with his eyes closed while grinning nervously
"By the way, you said something about Van being grateful." Sting said.
"Oh... Yeah. You see, Van is fighting someone who has been affected by Leorona's medicine and has no interest in their fight." Pit said as she watches Van shooting numerous lilac beams from his hands, "If it was the Onak before he took the medicine, this fight won't reach this level. No, Onak would have beaten the crap out of him and ended the match, a long time ago."
"Yeah, no doubt about it." Rish said, "If you've seen Onak in a fight, you would know how terrifying he is.
Onak is like an unstoppable force, who uses pure rage and aggression to fight. In other words, he is nothing more than a monster."
"Onak doesn't have any skills or techniques." Pit said, "It's just violence... Pure violence."
"Okay, but isn't that supposed to put him at odds against others with skills and techniques?" Cloud asked.
"Yes ... But for Onak, that doesn't seem to be the case." Pit replied, "Do you know why he is called the 'Monster among mortals'? It's not just because of his rage or how he fights. There is something quite terrifying about him when you stand in his presence; And no, I'm not talking about his height, size doesn't really matter in a fight but still... He's... When i tried to read his soul, it felt as if it wasn't the soul of a human, i was reading. No, it was if i was reading the soul of a beast in a human form..."
"Aw, come on. He can't be that bad." Cloud said.
"Whatever you say, Cloud." Pit replied
Back at the arena, Van was breathing heavily while Onak was staring at Van with his arms folded while maintaining a bored expression.
"THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE!" Trengal said, "VAN HAS DISHED OUT SO MANY POWERFUL ATTACKS ON ONAK, BUT YET ... NONE OF THEM HAS FAZED HIM!! ONAK IS ON A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT LEVEL HERE, FOLKS!!"
Van clenches his fist and growls.
"Damn you...!" Van said, "Don't underestimate me, you f**king piece of sh*t! What, you think you are so cool just standing there and doing nothing?! Make a damn move! Come here and show me what you are made of, you damn monster!"
"... Or are you afraid that I'll make you cry and sh*t on yourself when I'm through with you, you little *******?!" Van asked with a menacing grin.
All the audience, including the Chiefs and teachers were dumbfounded at Van's words while Onak's demeanor still remains the same.
"Fool." Chief Tenya said within herself.
"What the heck did he just say?!" Cloud asked within himself with a wide-eyed expression.
"That Tenplar boy has got a mouth on him." A male said within himself.
"If he said that crap to me, i won't hold back at all." A Ripar female said within herself.
"This moron really has a death wish." Zotek, Leorona, Schroeder and Zera said within themselves.
Onak closed his eyes and sighed.
"Fine. As you wish."
"Yes...That's it... Come to me..." Van said within himself while grinning, "I haven't used my full power, neither have i shown all my moves; Once he makes a numerous amount of moves, I'll increase his fatigue and destroy him with my full power! You cannot win! Co-"
Onak interrupts as he appears before Van and quickly lands a double hammer fist on him, burying Van deep into the ground and causing him to scream in agony.
"He-he's fast!!" Van said within himself.
Onak quickly follows up his attack with a stomp on Van's chest which made him cough out blood and quickly follows up his attack with a brutal headbutt and a powerful punch to the face that buried Van's head deeper into the ground, causing some of the audience to wince in horror.
Onak lifts up Van from the ground with one hand as his hand completely covered Van's head and was staring at Van with a bored expression.
"Man, you're boring." Onak said.
Onak punched Van in the belly and smashed his face in the opposite direction, creating large craters on the ground and quickly stomped the back of his head, pushing Van's head deeper into the ground and continued to stomp it relentlessly, leaving Cloud and many of the audience terrified at the scene.
"Holy sh*t, this guy is freaking brutal!"
"Yeah, a total monster!"
"He's so strong!"
"Well, i can't say i feel bad for the Tenplar boy. He kinda asked for this."
"I can see what they were saying about this guy..." Cloud said within himself, "Leorona may have dampened his emotions but he is still freaking brutal. I can't even imagine him fighting with rage! It will be so scary...!"
"WELL, WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT?!" Trengal asked while watching Onak repeatedly slamming Van on the ground, "ONAK IS STILL SHOWING WHO IS THE TOP DOG IN THIS TOURNAMENT! VAN TRULY DOESN'T STAND A CHANCE AGAINST HIM!"
At the audience center, Hyle sighed and face palms himself.
"You really are enjoying this, aren't you, Yulin?" Hyle asked within himself.
Meanwhile at the the teachers center, Schroeder, Zotek and Zera were staring at Leorona, who happened to be staring at arena in shock.
"I actually thought that if i could at least make him calm for a few days, then his fighting style will at change..." Leorona said within herself, "But i was wrong! Calm or not, he is still extremely brutal."
Back at the arena, a bloodied Van rolled on the ground and began to cough out blood as he struggled to stand up but ended up falling down repeatedly.
"D-damn it!" Van said within himself, "My body... What the hell was i thinking when i told him that crap?! I-"
Van halts as he lifts up his head and spots a man who beared a striking resemblance to Van ( hair color and style) and a redhead woman, smirking at him from the audience center.
A flashback occurs as Van was walking on the road while observing the shops and their products.
"Hello, Van." A masculine voice said.
Van turns and sees the person to be the man from the audience center, who happened to be standing beside the woman from the audience center as well.
"Father... Mother..." Van said in shock, "You're here..."
"Yes, Van... We're here." The mother said while smiling, "And we wouldn't miss it for the world."
"I thought... You really came here to see me become a Pilgrim just like my big brother Egara?" Van asked.
Van's father and mother quickly bursts out in laughter, leaving Van a bit surprised.
"Man, i can't contain myself anymore!" Van's mother said while smiling and cleaning the tears from her eyes, "You honestly thought that we came to see you?!"
"You seem to have forgotten your place, Van." Van's father said with a stoic face, "We didn't come to see you. We came to see how worthless you've become under these 9 months and to see the students stronger than you."
"Like we would ever waste our time on a second option of a child like you." Van's mother said while smiling, "Remember this, no matter what you do, you'll never be as good as your late older brother. You're a failure, nothing else and when your time in the tournament will come... You'll do nothing but to prove us right."
After recalling that moment, Van closed his eyes and grinded his teeth while still laying on the ground.
"Yeah, right. Failure..." Van said within himself,"I was always deemed as a worthless person from the start. No matter how hard i tried, i could never please them. And to make things worse, they came here just to mock me...!"
"I'll show them..! I'll show them all!!!" Van said within himself while getting up and emitting a blazing lilac aura.
The audience began to murmur among themselves as they felt an uneasy presence in the air.
"What the-!"
"What's this?!"
"Look! The boy..!"
"His aura... It's changing!" Cloud said within himself in shock.
Purple beams began to spring out of the ground which Trengal was avoiding while screaming but Onak, however, was still folding his arms and standing still while maintaining that bored expression.
"No more child's play...! No holds barred...!" Van said within himself as his blazing lilac aura began to fluctuate while his eyes were completely glowing, "I'll crush them all! Every last one...! None shall be spared!"
"Wha-what is this feeling?" Trengal asked within himself while stepping back as the rocks in the arena began to levitate.
Trengal tries stand his ground as the pressure in the arena was getting stronger but was quickly thrown back and sent flying towards Onak, who easily caught him with one hand.
"T-Thanks..." Trengal said to Onak (who wasn't even paying attention to him).
Van's lilac aura took a head shape of a monsterous bug and Van screams echoed in the arena and created a purple explosion; Van walked out of the smokescreen while facing the ground and having a blazing purple aura glowing around him, leaving Trengal and many others in shock .
"His aura... It has changed!" Rish said within himself in shock.
"Hmmm." Karma said with her arms folded.
"This presence... It's completely ominous...!" Killer bee said within herself, "Is this truly Van?!"
"This doesn't look good at all..." Pit said within herself.
"Forgive me if I've been a blur..." Van said while facing the ground and walking towards Onak, "I made a promise that no one will spared and I'm going make good on that promise."
"Something is not right..." Trengal said within himself while shaking, "His terrifying presence seems to be getting stronger and stronger...!"
"With that being said... Come dance with me in the depths of the abyss, Onak!!" Van said with an echoing voice as he lifts his head and opens his eyes, which were completely glowing while emitting a purple streak of light.