Woah...
That group stage was more like an anime than I had previously imagined. I'm surprised that four hundred and ninety people could knock each other out in the short time of fourteen minutes. I guess most of them were beaten by the ten people who survived.
I certainly thought that Aaron Marshal guy was good, but that was all until Sakurako started beating him up. At first, she was measuring his strength, but, eventually, she continued beating him by hitting his pressure points. The one I noticed was when she pounded him in the solar plexus. Even then, she released some insane bloodlust.
Sirius was doing good by taking his opponents from a distance. Though he ran out of arrows, halfway through, he still got them with his aikido.
That Zacharias guy was good too. I mistook his technique for lightning–that's how fast and powerful they looked. Before each blow, there'd be a loud "bang!" similar to thunder. That technique was amazing...
Then there was that one woman. They called her an Amazonian. I asked Arcana what it meant and she seems to be from a secret society of battle-trained warriors. Apparently, they're trained by the one they call the Great Beast, Wrath. Maybe that's why she fought so erratically and wildly.
'We're back...'
I heard the exhausted voice of Sirius as they came in after eight others. Sakurako looked slightly bored, but she also looked conflicted. As if she regretted something. I could only imagine what it was. I noticed it during the group stage match.
Sakurako...
'I regret not fighting that animal woman.'
I know it was a tournament, but why always fight who's stronger? I bet she doesn't feel too content about passing through. Yep, doesn't look like she is. I turned to face Arcana. From her face alone, you could tell that she was deeply concentrating. I wanted to wish her good luck, but breaking her from her concentration would be bad for her, I guess.
Well, after seeing a match like that, she would naturally want to prepare if she can. Maybe I should as well, though my match is at least half an hour away. I'm not good at any kind of meditation.
'Ah, so will your next match be today?'
I asked.
'Did you not read the pamphlet properly?'
Sirius asked me, as he sat down beside me.
'No?'
'All the group matches happen today, then, after that, tomorrow, they announce who will fight who and then the matches will happen on each day for the following two weeks or so.'
Oh, that makes sense, I guess. A long term tournament. I thought I read everything that was essential, but apparently, I was wrong.
'Hmm? What? Are you trying to mess with me?'
A voice said. We all looked over, and there was a large guy, standing over at the weapon selection area. Another stood in front of him. He seemed completely unconcerned about his surroundings. That guy was smoking.
'Get out of my way! I need to choose a weapon!'
The big guy shouted. Still, the other guy didn't reply or pay any attention. I could slightly hear him muttering, but I couldn't quite make out what he was saying. Even my mouth-reading skills were useless. The big guy clenched his fist and raised it into the air.
'You joker! Get out of the way!'
His fist soared through the air toward the man. The next thing I knew, the big guy was on the ground. But, I didn't see how he got taken out.
'Ah, found it.'
I heard a hoarse voice say. It was the guy who was just the victim. Did he do that? But I didn't see him move... He picked out a spear and walked along, in front of the body and smiled wryly.
'Who's the joker?'
And walked away, casually, while bumming out his cigar against his hand. First of all, who bums their cigar using their hand, and secondly, it seems like he was the one who floored the guy. I wonder who he is to be able to do that in the blink of an eye.
The woman, from earlier, in red uniform, charged in and stopped the white-haired man.
'Participant #1499, Joker, you're disqualified.'
'Huh?! Wait, but wait, I didn't start the fight. It was him!'
She didn't look quite convinced yet. The woman gazed around and then set her eyes on me. A smile slowly appeared on her face.
'Little boy, is it true that this trash on the floor started the fight?'
I nodded. She made a "tch!" noise with her mouth and bowed to the man named Joker. The woman then approached the bulky guy on the floor. Her expression was indifferent. A kick was delivered to his stomach and he tumbled over.
'You trash. Now you've made me lose face. Participant, whoever you are, you'll get more than just disqualification.'
The woman picked him up and left. I was astounded by her strength... But anyway! She isn't allowed to torture him, right? She said he's going to get more than disqualification meaning that he'd be tortured. And she doesn't even care who he is... And she went to me because she probably believes that children don't lie! Ahhhhhhh! These children's stereotypes are getting to me.
'Thanks, little guy.'
The man walked up to me, this time, he lit another cigar.
'Uh, it's okay.'
'What's your name? Mine is Joker, as you just heard.'
'Altair. Altair Nox.'
'Nox, huh? You seem stronger than you look.'
I didn't say anything. Joker seemed to get my sentiment too. He smiled and left. I think he, too, is also stronger than he looks. Probably stronger than Sakurako even. That guy is definitely not human. No, saying he is not humane would be more accurate, though, this is all just a gut feeling. Man, it should be starting in around five minutes. I guess I should get into the mood before the end of the second group battle.
God, fucking, damn, I'm nervous! I hope there won't be too many challenging guys in my group.