The Von Frederick Family. In New York City, it's a multibillion dollar entity that towers above all others. Decades before <
I stare at Adresin blankly as he explains to me the intricacies of the Von Frederick history. I never really cared for their politics but now that I'm somewhat involved, I wanted to at least try.
"Sir? Are you listening?" Adresin calls out.
Suddenly, I snap back from my daze and nod at him.
"Yep, yep, tooootally listening," I reply absentmindedly.
"Haaaah," he facepalms. "You do remember that you were the one who asked me to tell you everything I know about the Von Fredericks right?"
"Ugh! I know. But halfway through, I realized that I. Just. Don't. Give a fuck," I reply.
After the fight last night, the nasty kid challenged me to a fight.
"Tomorrow! In Von Barbarosa's Arena! We're gonna have a duel, peasant. If I win, Gracey here marries into MY family," he says with childish anger.
"And what if you lose?" I ask nonchalantly while picking my ears.
He scoffs at my question. "That's not needed since I won't lose," he replies arrogantly.
"Ooh?" I grin. "If you're so confident, put it under a magic contract that if you lose, you'll dance naked in front of your family's house for a week."
"Wh-what?" he exclaims.
I then put my face uncomfortably close to his.
"Or what? You chicken?" I taunt.
He purses his lips and glares at me.
"Fine!" he says. "I'll send you the contract tomorrow! You better show up or I'll hunt you down myself."
Back to the present, I'm holding said contract in my hands. Seems legit. Paper's magical and everything. Says here that if the other party doesn't fulfill the contract, they become slaves to the other for life. Quite heavy for a childish fight but it works just fine for me.
"What are you going to do for today's fight?" Grace enters the room with a tray of goodies and tea.
Michael was gracious enough to let us borrow one of the classrooms in his corporate building. But as expected of an organization called <
"Thank you, Miss Grace," Adresin greets her as he helps her set it up.
I take a cookie and lie on one of the tables.
"I don't know man," I reply. "I know I accepted the fight but I'm not feeling inspired you know?"
"Well, you better be inspired soon," Adresin chimes in. "We only have a couple of hours before you have to show up."
"Ugh..."
Beating up a kid's no fun at all. I look around the room and see that it has a lot of fancy gadgets. But try as I might, nothing stands out to me.
"Miss Grace, could you tell us more about this Raymond person," Adresin requests as he sips his tea.
Grace rolls her eyes as if to say, "Where do I start?"
"Well," she begins, "Raymond is the head of the Von Sigmunds. Out of all the families, they're the only one who perfected their battle suits."
"Oh, they're what humans wear on the battlefield since they can't use magic," Adresin clarifies to me in a bit of a condescending way.
"The Von Sigmunds specialize in their speed augmentations," she continues. "I've never seen it in person but rumors say that their latest suits can go up to Mach 10."
"That's fast!" Adresin exclaims, almost spilling his tea.
"Really?" I chime in doubtfully.
"Yes! Are you kidding me?" he shouts. "It's as fast as a modern fighter jet!"
I think for a second. He's that fast huh. I could think of a couple of demons who went that fast and they were hell to deal with.
"So what weapon do you recommend against him?" he asks.
Grace thinks for a bit and replies, "If you could use his speed against him, any weapon would do."
And with that, inspiration hits me like lightning.
"Eureka!!" I shout, surprising the two.
"Wh-what?!" Adresin yells in alarm.
I ignore him and address Grace.
"Do you have clothes that can turn to other clothes?" I ask excitedly.
She cocks her head and replies, "Yes? But I don't see how that's-"
"Perfect."
[In The Arena]
"Laaaadies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Von Barbarosa Arena!" the energetic caster riles up the crowd that filled the seats. He's a handsome African-American man who's wearing a baggy hoodie and pants that have branding all over them.
"Wooooooh!" they shout in reply.
"I love you DJ Regenerate!" a female fan sends her love.
The energy in the entire arena is electric. Colorful ad banners flutter in the wind while throughout the seats, vendors sell their snacks and drinks to the excited crowd.
"It was a sudden notice but we somehow filled up the stadium!" DJ Regenerate continues. "Today, we're here to see a fight between Sir Raymond Von Sigmund..."
"Wooooooh," the crowd cheers.
"Raymond!" some girls shout in unison.
"And the challenger, Richard Demain!"
"Booooooo," they jeer.
"Wow, tough crowd for someone named after a national hero," DJ chuckles. "Well whatever. I just hope that this fight won't be done in an instant so we can get our money's worth. Amiright?"
"Hahaha," the crowd replies.
*Doooosh* *Dududududu*
The crowd goes silent as the arena suddenly shifts. They watch in awe as gigantic rocks form this massive network of cliffs and valleys.
"It always amazes me everytime I see it folks!" DJ comments. "The Von Barbarosas are the GOAT when it comes to entertainment."
*boom*
The seats shake as the arena finally rests.
"Today's stage is the notorious 'Valley of Misery'!" DJ continues. "There's a lot of hiding spots so ambushes are common. But since this is a 1v1, hiding could turn into a snoozefest pretty fast. So in order to avoid that, each player will be notified of the other's location after 5 seconds has passed without contact!"
"Wow, never seen this stage before," an audience member marvels.
"Isn't this Sir Raymond's favorite stage?" an old guy chuckles. "How much does he hate this Richard guy?"
"Well, now without further ado, let the match begin!" DJ excitedly screams into his mic.
"Wooooooooh!"
"Coming out of the red gate, it is the playboy, the model, the all-round genius speedster of the Von Sigmund family, Raymooooooond Von Sigmuuuuuuund!"
Hearing his cue, Raymond comes out of the red gate on one side of the arena. He's wearing a tight-fitting, navy blue, battle suit that accentuates his muscular figure. It's giving off a faint glow that trails in the air everytime he moves. He flashes a smile to the audience as he waves at them.
"Wooooh Raymond!"
"Beat his ass!"
"As expected of the charismatic head of the Von Sigmunds! The crowd is bursting with energy!" DJ says as he wipes his sweat. "Now, coming from the blue corner, it is the challenger, the unknown figure, the Icarus who flew too close to the sun, Richaaaaaard Demaaaaaaain."
"Boooooh!"
"Why'd your parents have to name you after such a cool guy you lamo?"
The insults fly as soon as his name is mentioned. However, their voices turn mute as Richard steps on the battlefield.
"Wh-what's this?!" DJ jumps from his seat. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing folks?! Richard Demain is wearing... he's wearing... a matador outfit!?"
"Ole!" Richard greets the crowd with a flourish of his red cape.
The crowd is stunned. Their excitement turns to confusion as they try to process the sight they see.
"Pathetic bastard," Raymond scoffs. "If you were gonna give up, you could've just called us."
"Do not fear, my young bull," Richard replies in the most horrible Spanish accent. "Ole!"
Raymond feels a headache approaching.
"W-well, this is certainly an unexpected turn of events," DJ tries to recover the excitement of the crowd. "Well, let's start the countdown shall we?"
"Five!"
"O-oh we counting? Five!" the crowd takes a little bit to catch on what's happening but eventually joins DJ's countdown.
"Four!" the arena shouts in unison.
"I'm sooo excited to be the Von Frederick head," Raymond smirks as he readies himself.
"Three!"
"Shoot for the stars kid," Richard replies.
"Two!"
"One!"
"Fight!"
*Bzzt* *Crackle*
As soon as the countdown ended, lightning flashes all over the arena. The audience coughs as dust fills the air and the smell of ozone tickles their nostrils.
"Woah! And that's it folks! It's Raymond's signature lighting," DJ Regenerate pounds the casting table excitedly. "No way he got outta that!"
"Eh? That's it?"
"Well, I guess my afternoon's free now."
The crowd murmurs with dissatisfaction. But as the audience start to leave, DJ Regenerate stands on the table this time and leans over the edge of his podium.
"W-wait folks! Don't leave yet!" he shouts into the mic which causes feedback. "I-in the dust, there's a shadow! It's... It's... Richard Demain! He's vigorously flapping his red overcoat!"
The curious audience shifts its focus to the dusty scene in the arena.
"Woah!"
"Wooooooh!"
"Richard Demain survived Raymond's lightning assault!" DJ announces as the audience roars with excitement.
Meanwhile, in the battlefield, Raymond grits his teeth at Richard who's still flapping his cloak around.
"Ole bitch!" he says with a taunting smile.