Red and white striped tents, the excited banter of children, that old familiar tune; The Ringding Sisters Circus was the boon for excitement it typically was. Throughout the day, people from all different walks of life gathered to watch men and women alike perform feats of the near superhuman. A flamboyant man commanding a pride of lions, a heavy-set fellow tanking multiple cannonball shots, a couple dancing through the air on trapeze swings, and this man. When the time finally came for him to make his appearance, the circus' ringmaster took center stage to give him a grand introduction.
Jamie McGinnis: Those were some fantastic performances that we have had today, but I hope you all haven't made yourselves too comfortable because this next act will launch you onto your feet!
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Zachary: AND FIRST TO MAKE HIS WAY OUT, HAVING OVERCOME THE PRELIMINARIES HE CONTINUES HIS FIGHT IN THE NAME OF HIS BOSS. A PROMINENT MEMBER OF ARACHNA, WILL HE BRING VICTORY OR DEFEAT HOME TO THE HEAD OF THE SPIDER? STANDING AT 185 CM, WEIGHING IN AT 85KG, HE IS RANK 131 WITH 16 WINS AND 2 LOSSES. HERE COMES "THE CIRCUS" ARTHUR HICKORYYYYYY!!!!
Arthur Hickory: Quite the audience I have today, guess I can't disappoint.
As Arthur made his way to the center of the arena, he was seen wielding within each of his hands 3 metal baseball bats. While a few of the fighters present were familiar with how Arthur fought, to the majority the sight before them made the man out to be quite an enigma.
Arthur's grip on his weapons tensed up for a moment before he relaxed his grip once more. Anyone familiar with the man could tell that at this very moment, he was in his peak condition. Within the stands of the audience, Nupan could be seen watching Arthur as he made his entrance. From behind him, Simon poked at his shoulder and drew away his attention.
Simon: So this is where you left after suddenly walking out on the group. Guess you really wanted to see this fight.
Nupan: As this is the first match with an Arachna combatant we all should want to watch this fight. Other than that Hickory is looking better than ever. He must have really been looking forward to this day.
Simon: He picked this fight himself so it makes sense that he was anticipating today. But why would he want to choose such a powerful opponent for his first fight?
Nupan: Knowing him, he probably just wants to prove how strong he is as quickly as possible. And what better stage than the first fight of the tournament.
Simon: I place my faith in him, but from my own experience I know he is fighting an uphill battle.
The two members of Arachna continued to overlook their fellow peer. While this was happening, an immeasurable presence could be felt oozing out of the entrance Masked would be emerging from. The Masked Man could be seen pridefully looking on towards Arthur. From behind him, a large heavy hand could be felt settling on his shoulder.
The Masked Man: Ah so it's you Ryan, here to wish me luck?
Ryan Magni: No I know you don't need it. I just want to watch my friends fight from up close that is all.
Masked: Guess I gotta give you quite the show.
Masked pushed on towards the arena, strengthened by the support of his friend. However whilst Ryan was cheering his friend on for victory, he felt something off with Masked. It had been a few months since the two of them had gotten that physically close to each other and under his mask, Ryan was able to see Masked's eyes glowing red. Clenching his fist closed, he buried his worries and decided to just look forward to the fight to come.
Zachary: AND FACING OFF AGAINST THE CIRCUS, A DARK HORSE WHO REMAINS NAMELESS AND WITHOUT A KNOWN HISTORY OUTSIDE OF THE ECLIPSE. AFTER HIS LOSS IN THE SEVENTH TOURNAMENT, THIS MAN HAS ONCE AGAIN RETURNED TO THE ECLIPSE GRAND TOURNAMENT IN ORDER TO STAND ATOP THE COMPETITION. STANDING AT 190 CM WITH A WEIGHT OF 84KG, HIS CURRENT RECORD IS 102 WINS AND 3 LOSSES. RANK NUMBER 9, "THE EXILED", THE MASKED MAN!!!
Masked walked towards the center of the arena and to contrast Arthur's 6 blunt weapons, Masked wielded what appeared to be a large broadsword. The weight of such a weapon must have been tremendous, yet he carried it with only one hand while having it hoisted over his shoulder. The two fighters begin to approach each other, Hickory having grown an even larger grin across his face.
Arthur: I couldn't have asked for a better first opponent. I'm going to defeat you and show everyone how strong the king of the clowns is, and that is a Hickory promise.
Masked: Your words are meaningless, let us settle this with our strength.
Masked's eyes carried a hint of a red glow with them. Arthur could tell they were implants of some sort, however any idea of what those eyes allowed Masked to do was foreign to Hickory, but he didn't let that kill his optimism for this match.
Zachary: The audience is beginning to heat up as expectations for this first match are high. The Masked Man has held a spot in the top 10 of the Eclipse for many years now, his only losses being against the most legendary of combatants. Will Arthur be the next person to make that list, or is he just a stepping stone for The Masked Man to push onwards?
Referee: FIGHTERS TAKE YOUR STANCES!!!
The referee proceeded to raise his arm into the air, both fighters entering their fighting stances in tandem with this gesture. Arthur began to lean forward whilst extending out his arms. Masked gripped onto his blade with his free hand, swinging the weapon in front of him.
Referee: ARE YOU READY TO GET THE ECLIPSE GRAND TOURNAMENT STARTED!!!
The audience roared in excitement for the upcoming events that were about to unfold.
Referee: BEGIN!!
The referee swung his arm down, signaling the start of the match. Arthur made the first move and charged towards Masked, who prepared to intercept the attack with the swing of his sword.
While charging towards Masked, Arthur threw all six of his bats into the air, briefly drawing Masked's attention from the fighter to the airborne weaponry. As the bats fell back to the earth, Arthur grabbed the first bat to fall into his right hand and swung it at Masked with full force.
The two of them clash their weapons, Masked blocking the swing of Arthur's bat with the lower half of his weapon. However, Arthur still had 5 bats freely airborne and without hesitation Arthur chucked the bat he was currently wielding into his left hand, allowing him to catch the next bat to fall in his open right hand.
Masked's thoughts: This is definitely a unique way to fight.
Arthur swung at Masked with the weapon newly gripped in his hand, aiming the strike higher than before targeting Masked's head. The swing hit Masked, but at the last moment, he was able to dodge the blow enough to prevent it from being a fatal strike. Masked was able to quickly recover, deciding to make some space between him and Arthur.
The moment that Masked was making this decision, Arthur threw the bat in his left hand into the air, once again chucked the bat in his right hand into his left, and caught a newly fallen one in his right.
Arthur: Running away are we? Didn't know that being a coward was part of the requirements for holding a top ten position.
Masked took a few backsteps before swinging his sword at Arthur, the attack only cutting the fighter skin deep as Arthur stepped out of the path of the sword. Once the swing fully passed Arthur, he charged forwards with his fighting style now on full display for everyone as he pressed forward.
Daymond Theraposa: The circus is full of some interesting people, many of whom would be strong challengers in the matches. But out of all of those people, the strongest man I have run into was a practitioner and master of one of the simplest acts. Arthur Hickory is a juggler.
Juggling is an ancient physical skill that relies on a person's hand-eye coordination and reflexes to master. Studies have shown that as one becomes better at juggling, the cerebral connectivity performance of a person improves drastically. This improvement allows the brain to relay messages to other parts of the body faster. This faster reaction time along with the added acceleration of the juggled items falling allows for Arthur to strike his opponents harder without needing to put as much strength into the swings themselves. So with every one of his swings being at full power, Arthur could even smash stones with ease.
As Arthur closed the distance between him and Masked, he began putting a spin into his attack, coming at the Masked fighter like a metal tornado. The additional pivotal acceleration now made Arthur's attacks more powerful, even if the striking power was only increased slightly.
Arthur: Try to keep up with this.
The first of these pivoted strikes was easily dodged by Masked, but Arthur's flow remained uninterrupted. Arthur almost managed to strike Masked with the full force of the next attack, but in the moments before the strike could connect, Masked blocked Arthur's attack with his sword, the impact sending Masked sliding along the arena floor.
Masked: Alright, I see how I have to deal with you now.
Masked didn't let this attack slow him down and immediately following Arthur's strike, Masked threw one of the razors he had hidden in his clothing at Arthur. The blade managed to lodge itself deep in the fighter's shoulder.
Arthur: Isn't that a cute trick?
Arthur winced at the pain but knew that if he even let his attack up for the slightest moment it could spell his loss. Before Arthur could close the distance between the two of them once more, Masked re-sheathed his sword onto his back and proceeded to take a boxing-style stance.
Ryan: It's this soon into the fight and you already have to use that? For Arthur Hickory to be too much for you to handle with the sword alone speaks volumes to his strength. However, let's see how he is able to handle your true terror.