"Today's stage is the notorious 'Valley of Misery'!"
Going back in time a bit, Grace and Adresin make themselves comfortable among the roaring crowd.
"Would you like something to eat, Miss Grace?" he asks as he waves a snack peddler over.
She shakes her head and replies, "No thanks. I'm... too nervous to eat."
He glances at her and notices that she's gripping her armrest tightly.
"Are you afraid that he would lose and you'll have to marry into the Von Sigmund family?" he asks.
"Wouldn't you?" she replies. "I know my grandfather knows him but I'm basically putting my fate in a stranger's hands! He even refused to wear a battle suit! If he was of the mixed race like I am, it should be fine but from what I feel about him, he's just a normal human."
In response, Adresin hands her a cup of soda.
"Believe in him," he says.
Grace gingerly takes the cup.
"Why are YOU nervous?" she asks.
"What? I'm not nervous," he replies.
"Your popcorn's scattering everywhere," she points out.
*shake* *shake*
"O-oh? It seems that I am. Hahahaha," he says shakily. "I'm just worried that he'll accidentally kill Sir Raymond."
"Now, coming from the blue corner, it is the challenger, the unknown figure, the Icarus who flew too close to the sun, Richaaaaaard Demaaaaaaain."
The two immediately crane their necks over to see Richard but immediately cringe at his sight.
"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!?"
"Hehehe, Grace Von Sigmund..." she mutters in defeat. "Yep, Grace Von Sigmund... that's my name."
"Miss Grace!" Adresin shakes her. "You can't despair here!"
"Five!"
"Four!"
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
*Bzzzt* *Crackle*
As lightning booms in the arena, Grace chuckles.
"Heh, it's over," she says. "No way a human could've seen that."
"No, Miss Grace, it's not over yet!" he insists. "Look!"
"W-wait folks! Don't leave yet!" the DJ backs up Adresin's words. "I-in the dust, there's a shadow! It's... It's... Richard Demain! He's vigorously flapping his red overcoat!"
Grace immediately jumps from her seat to confirm it.
*Flap* *Flap* *Flap*
And there he was. Her grandfather's best friend, comically flapping his coat all over the place.
"Impossible..." she gasps.
"Let's have a slo-mo recap of what just happened folks!" DJ Regenerate shouts in his mic as he points to the giant screen. "We see here, Sir Raymond charged him at full speed. But... But... He hit nothing but his cape!! Like a skilled bull fighter, Richard evaded his charge and what's this?! Slaps his ass?!"
Seeing the entire scene happen, the crowd is stunned.
"Is this for real?"
"How can he follow Raymond?"
"I know it's unbelievable folks! But here's an undeniable evidence that Richard can somehow follow Sir Raymond's movements!" DJ announces and injects the crowd with new energy.
"That's amazing!"
"How did he do it?!"
Grace looks at Adresin who's sighing in relief.
"I told you to believe in him," he says confidently.
Meanwhile, there's a guy with a sore ass who's angrily looking at his opponent.
"Hey," Raymond calls out to Richard. "You're a <
Richard looks at him quizzically.
"Stop playing dumb," he continues. "I've heard reports of you going in and out of the Lupinus state."
"Come on kid, you're gonna kill the crowd's excitement here," Richard says as he pick his ears.
Raymond scoffs and readies himself again. "I was wondering why you're so confident. Turns out, you're just a guy who became a demon's slave in exchange for some magic."
*Bzzt* *Zoom*
"And there he goes again folks!" DJ yells. "Sir Raymond's zipping all over the place! Will Richard Demain do the same thing or was that a fluke all along?"
*Zoom* *Flap*
"Hey kid, you seem to be misunderstanding something," Richard says as he evades Raymond's high speed assaults. "First of all, Mammon's MY slave. And second, it's cute that you think I need magic to beat you up."
"I-it wasn't a fluke folks!" DJ peaks the mic again. "Richard Demain is consistently evading Sir Raymond's attacks!!!"
"Wooooooh!" the crowd responds to DJ Regenerate's high energy commentary.
"How is he doing this?" Grace wonders while her eyes are glued to the fight.
"Believe it or not, he's not using magic right now," Adresin chimes in.
"What?!" she exclaims.
"If he did, Sir Raymond would've evaporated the moment Sir Rorschach slapped his ass," he replies.
Grace raises an eyebrow. "Rorschach? I noticed it earlier but why do you call Uncle Richard by that name," she asks curiously.
"Oh! It's because Sir Mammon calls him that,' he replies. "Seems he responds to both names anyway so I just use the name I used when I first met him."
Meanwhile, Richard is starting to get bored of evading Raymond's attacks and decide to hide among the rocks.
"What's this?! Richard runs towards the rocks! He can only hide for 5 seconds though!" DJ continues his commentary.
"Finally running away huh!?" Raymond shouts. "Fine, I'll give you your 5 seconds of rest. Those will be your last 5 seconds here after all."
"Five seconds is about up! What is Richard planning?!"
*fwip* *splat*
"Wh-what?! From out of nowhere! It's Richard! He got rid of his matador outfit and is now wearing a paintball attire! He's shooting Sir Raymond with paintballs!"
"What kinda joke is this?" Raymond growls as he speeds up again.
*Zip*
As Raymond chases through the web of rocks and dead ends, Richard darts in and out of sight while making sure to send a paintball or two. Raymond is indeed faster, but Richard's expert use of the terrain is making it impossible for him to catch up.
"It seems that Sir Richard is using a Von Barbarosa acting suit!" DJ continues to report to the audience. "It's an outfit that can give you the best disguise at a push of a button!"
"Har har har! This is certainly entertaining!" a gruff man's voice invades DJ's solo commentary.
"Wh-what!? Ladies and gentlemen! You're in for a treat! Right beside me is none other than the head of the Von Barbarosas and the owner of this arena himself: Jack Von Barbarosa!" DJ presents the muscular man sitting beside him.
At once, the entire crowd turns its gaze to the man wearing a full Victorian Attire who grabbed a mic for himself.
"Hey, Von Sigmund kid!" Jack shouts in the mic. "You're getting your ass kicked. Or wait, slapped huh? Har har har!"
"Sir Jack! As the owner of the acting suit, what are your thoughts on Sir Richard's performance?" DJ asks.
"Well, the acting suit doesn't do shit in battle," Jack replies. "So whatever that Richard guy's doing, it's all him."
"Such amazing insight!" DJ shouts to the audience. "How will this battle turn out?"
Back to the battlefield, Raymond is still chasing Richard around.
"Damn old Jack running his mouth like that," Raymond grumbles.
*fwip* *splat*
"Ugh! Will you stop running around and hitting me with those paint balls?!" he complains as he stops his chase.
"Hahahahaha," suddenly, the crowd bursts out laughing.
"Har har har!" Jack's losing his mind.
"Hahaha we couldn't see it since Sir Raymond was going so fast but on his chest, it's a... it's a.... it's a penis!! Sir Richard managed to draw a penis on Sir Raymond using his paintballs!" DJ manages to say through stifled laughter.
"Hahaha that suits you kid!" Richard taunts him from a boulder. "Since you know, you're such a dick."
Raymond stands there as the laughter rains on him. It's defeaning. He's used to praise, adoration. This experience is a first for him. He grits his teeth in frustration and sends Richard a murderous gaze.
"Oooh! I like those eyes!" Richard says. "Come at me!"
"YOU PEASANT BITCH!!" Raymond bursts as he speeds up once again.
*Booom*
"W-wait! Raymond!" Jack calls out in alarm.
"What's going on Sir Jack? Is something the matter?" DJ asks.
"Stop this match right now!" he ignores DJ and calls out to the two in the arena. "Either of you could die!"
At those words, the crowd murmurs. Some in horror while some in curiosity and excitement.
*Zip* *Zip* Zip*
Using the terrain, Raymond starts to bounce all over the place at dizzying speeds.
"Th-that might be difficult right now Sir Jack because Sir Raymond just unleashed his ultimate move: [The Ricochet]!" DJ announces. "Using each bounce as a launching pad, Sir Raymond increases his speed the longer he continues. But this is the first time I've seen him go this fast!"
"Of course this is your first time," Jack comments. "This speed is still in development. If he's successful, Richard will die, if he fails, then he does. Either way, I hope you can cut off the cameras fast enough since the result of this won't be pretty."
"Hey you heard that kid?" Richard calls out to his opponent who's nothing but a blur at this point. "I like your gusto but I just don't feel good seeing a kid die you know."
No response.
"Haaaah, fine. Suit yourself," Richard sighs and taps his chest.
"Wait a minute! You seeing what I'm seeing folks? Richard is changing his outfit once again and this time, it's a baseball player's outfit!" DJ shouts excitedly.
"I-is he planning on hitting Raymond in mid air?" Jack stutters in disbelief. "He's running close to Mach 15 right now."
"That's nuts! That's why I can barely see him anymore," DJ gasps. "But if he manages to do that, what will happen to Sir Raymond?"
"Ready the stretchers!" Jack yells at the standby medical team. "And cut the cameras!"
"Ok," Richard mumbles as he assumes the batting position. "I haven't batted since high school so let's see how this goes."
"Oh?! Richard Demain is signaling for a homerun! Is the conclusion of this fight near?" DJ is beginning to lose his voice from all his shouting.
*Zoom* *Crackle*
"Alright, ready kid?" Richard asks as he digs his foot in the boulder he's standing on. "Batta, batta, batta, batta, swing!"
*Ping*
With one fluid motion, Richard swings the baseball bat as soon as he sees Raymond accelerate towards him. At that moment, Raymond's vision slows down. All he sees during this time is Richard's smiling face and the bat that ever so violently kisses his face.
*Booooom* *Crash*
Shockwaves burst from the arena and sends dust and debris all over the place. Then, as the dust settles, a shocking sight meets the audience.
"I-it's over!!!" DJ excitedly jumps on the table. "With one hit, Richard Demain has clutched the victory! He's no Icarus! He's the sun god himself who grabbed the sun with his bare hands!"
"Wooooooh!"
While everyone is celebrating, Raymond lays motionless under the crater he made on one of the cliffs with his body.
"Don't you dare come after me or my niece ever again," Richard says and walks away.