At the time, Asahi had dismissed the meeting. Kenji and Pierson had exited, leaving just Leo and Asahi in the room."Are you certain you don't need our help, Asahi? You must not underestimate him--Even though he's just the first Emperor, he's far too strong-" Asahi shook his head steadily, and suddenly Leo ran outside the room and caught up to Kenji and Pierson, who hadn't gone too far."Kenji, Pierson- I know Asahi said he didn't need our aid, but we have to do something! Kenji, you know that HE shouldn't be taken lightly!" Pierson seemed all for it, but Kenji was skeptical."I don't know, Leo, The captain was pretty assertive. I don't know if we should--" "Come on, big bro!",Pierson chipped in suddenly, "White-haired guy makes a lot of sense! Asahi wants to look cool infront of us! We have to help him out! I never fought him- but the White-haired said this Emperor guy is real tough!" "Uh....My name is Leo-" " I don't care- plus we are a team now, So if we're doing something stupid, you have to do it too!", Pierson exclaimed whiles crossing his arms. Kenji, looking at their eager faces, sighed deeply and gave in,"So- you got a plan buddy?". Leo smiled at this and began to relay his plan to them.
The next day had arrived faster than anyone had expected. The long awaited Reign was here. All the Awakened in the first lab stood outside in the compound. The large terrain was mostly grass covered. The was a blue transparent barrier surrounding the whole area, supported by large metallic pillars. The barrier was able to nullify Awakened abilities, so no one could break out of them. Then there was the strange battle ring, a platform elevated above the ground, hovering slightly above it. It was also surrounded by the same transparent blue barrier. All the Awakened were gathered around the platform, awaiting the Emperor. Suddenly, he stepped onto the scene. A path had opened for him as he walked gracefully towards the arena, his blonde hair billowing due to the slight breeze. A stair case, began to form leading towards the ring hovering above. It was made from the same materials the blue barrier was made of. He continued to walk without looking behind him, with a smirk plastered on his face. The barrier disabled as he reached it, and then he got into the ring, before it closed up again. He then turned to the Awakened, cleared his throat, and proclaimed in a loud voice, "Those who don't know me deserve a proper introduction. Yes, I'm indeed the Emperor of the First Valhalla Laboratory, and the name is Matteo,Matteo Cambello Moretti." There were whispers heard in the crowd suddenly, but then Matteo motioned them to stop. "I don't appreciate the murmurs...Now let's begin shall we? I welcome any challenger, anyone who wants to leave this lab onto the next- step up here....and fight me!"
The place was silent before someone started to walk onto the ring as the stairs formed for him. It was Reggie. Gail clenched her fists seeing him go up. He strutted confidently, but when Matteo saw him, his looked disappointed and also very disgusted. "What is this? Who are you? Such a terrible day to have eyes, I feel like gouging them out right now." "Huh? What was that?!" "Are you deaf on top of¹ that? Looking at you is giving me a headache. You lack flash and class, you don't have any promises of perfection. I'd rather not fight someone like you." Right then, Matteo turned away, leaving his back towards Reggie, not wanting to look at him. Hearing the insults, Reggie became furious as bolts of lightning shot out of his body. The lightning gathered in his fist as he sprinted towards Matteo at lightning speed, but before his punch had even landed, something happened. No one had taken their eyes off of them, but in the next moment, Reggie's body had been shredded into nothingness, as his blood splattered all across the ring floor, with no traces of his body left behind. Everyone was left in shock, awe and fear, trying to comprehend the Emperor's power and how he had attacked so swiftly without even looking at his opponent. "Now...If I'm done here- I'm going to--" "Not so fast." Matteo turned to see who still had the courage to fight him after his feat. His eyes sparkled when he realized who it was. His dark hair had blue streaks running through it and his hands were in his pockets. He didn't wait for the stairs to form for him, but jumped all the way onto the ring. "Can I have a minute of your time, Emperor Matteo?", Asahi stared at him with a calm smirk and then Matteo smiled confidently at him. Leo looked upon Asahi and then turned to the Horsemen. "We are going to win, together, Asahi!"