"So, what have I learned?" Lex asked himself as he stared down his opponent before their fight started. Lex had come to the decision that he, out of the two of them, had to make the first move to better understand his opponent. Now, he stood there after landing a cut into biscuit's left shoulder, he was deep in thought, going over the battle in his head.
"First, I learned that this guy is strong, much stronger than me. If it comes to blow for blow, I know I can't win. But I do know that I'm much faster and much more experienced. If I play my cards right, I can give Biscuit more wounds, like I just did, slowly chipping them away piece by piece," Lex eyed Biscuit like he did at the beginning of the match.
"I won't lie, the way they blocked my back attack caught me off guard and left me vulnerable. I must stay focused and be ready for any unexpected attacks. But I do know one thing for sure," Lex thought, getting into a battle stance. "Biscuit really doesn't want me hitting the wooden helmet. I can tell by their body language that they don't want that thing destroyed or damaged. So, I think I'll use that to my advantage. I'll attack again, throwing in some feints to throw Biscuit off. Then, when their guard's down, I'll strike and destroy the helmet. Then, in the brief moment when Biscuit hesitates when it's destroyed, I'll cut them down."
As Lex was going over the battle in his own head, so was Biscuit in theirs. "Damn it," they thought, feeling the sting of pain from their left shoulder as warm blood stained their sweatshirt. "I was too stunned when he jumped to get his sword that I hesitated, and now he cut me," Lex couldn't see it because of the wooden helmet, but Biscuit was gritting their teeth, silently cursing their own slow actions. "This guy's good, he's very skilled, and if I slip up, he'll easily overtake me." Biscuit grabbed their sword with their right hand, opposite to their wounded shoulder.
"Lex easily outdoes me in speed, no doubt about it, but I outdo him in the strength department. What I have to do is slow the guy down, if only for a moment, and make sure he doesn't leave my sight. Then, when I have the opportunity, I'll cut him down. He probably can't take a single strike from me, no matter how skilled he is, even with one arm." Biscuit then pointed their claymore towards Lex as they bent their knees a bit, getting ready for their second clash with Lex in their own way.
"Alright, Biscuit, it's time to use that big brain Mama says you have and win this thing," the two stared at each other continuously for a while, neither making a move. Lex bent his own knees, getting ready to break out into a sprint, but he would never get the chance because the first to make the first move this go-around was Biscuit. The mysterious applicant charged at Lex without warning, getting ready to slash their sword as they closed the gap. Seeing that his opponent made the first move this time instead of himself, Lex was forced to enter a defensive stance.
"Here he comes," he told himself as Biscuit threw their right arm back as far as it would go. Then, like before, shot it forward like a catapult, another downward slash, Zack thought, and so did Lex until he saw something that made him think differently. As Biscuit's arm was going forward, Lex realized that his opponent had changed how they held their weapon, and the way they were holding it now, Lex knew that they weren't about to slash. And he was correct because in less than a second, the mysterious applicant thrusted their claymore, done with power and speed. The claymore was plunged into a part of the ring, kicking up a large amount of dust and debris. It seemed as if a smoke grenade had gone off in the ring after Biscuit had finished acting out their attack.
"So, he made a smokescreen," Zack said, smiling. "Clever, clever," where Zack was excited seeing what he was seeing, Lex was less so. Being the one who was in the middle of what was going he had both hands on his sword. He was trying to be relaxed, keeping himself calm, but he still remained sharply focused, ready for anything. "Stay calm, Lex," he said, talking to himself in his mind. "Stay calm, no sudden movements." The buzzcut young man refused to let Biscuit's little smokescreen get to him, but for another brief moment, Lex's focus was shifted because he felt something, a sensation run down his spine. It gave him chills. This sensation was similar to what Gabby felt when Zack attacked her from behind in the second phase.
"Bloodlust," Lex felt Biscuit's bloodlust, and it was so strong and potent that goosebumps covered Lex's back. "Behind me," Lex told himself, "Their behind me." Without another thought, Lex swung his blade behind himself, but… Nothing. His blade didn't connect with Biscuit at all. It hit absolutely nothing, unless you include the dust, which the young man certainly didn't, Lex was confused. How did…. he knew for sure Biscuit was behind him?
But before Lex could think about what just happened, he felt his body being hit. This was confirmed to him when Lex was knocked straight out of the thick, foggy smokescreen. He tumbled on the ground for a while but soon stopped. Then he lifted his head up, ready to continue fighting. But his eyes caught something coming towards him. It was so small and so fast that Lex couldn't process it yet. And before he knew it, whatever was thrown at him collided with his face, making the buzz-cut young man close his eyes.
"Ow! What was that?" Lex screamed out loud.
This question is something those watching wanted to know too. "What hit him?" Jake wondered. "Did something hit him?" Zack questioned. Everyone was questioning: What did Biscuit just do?
But the first to figure it out was the tall, muscular man named Heracles. The man from the land of Eden was just as curious as the rest. Till what was thrown at Lex landed at his feet and everything made sense. But as Heracles was coming to his realization, Lex, at the same time, was snapping back. He regained himself and opened his eyes. And when he did, he was stunned. He was faced with Biscuit, his opponent, only a few inches away from him, swinging his sword. Lex's eyes went huge; he nearly froze up. But he didn't have the luxury to. He screamed at his body in his own mind to move, to just move. And by the gods, his body did finally moved.
Lex ducked under Biscuit's incoming slash, dodging it completely, getting off without a scratch, excluding mentally. The young man ran to put distance between him and Biscuit once again. But as he turned around, ready to take a defensive stance, he felt something hit him in the head again. As he turned, he caught a glimpse of it, but it was moving so fast that Lex couldn't react in time. Whatever Lex was hit with made him once again close his eyes in pain. And when he reopened them, he saw his opponent, Biscuit, right up on him. They had already closed the distance between them once again. "Shit," Lex thought. He had to think fast; he had to dodge Biscuit's next attack.
So, without giving it much thought, Lex jumped backwards, dodging Biscuit's next slash. But not without injury; the young man wasn't fast enough this time, and Biscuit's attack sliced his right leg. It wasn't an egregious wound, but Biscuit did land their first real attack on Lex. But as Lex was landing from his backwards jump, he readied himself for what he knew was coming. When his feet touched the ground, at the same time, Lex was bringing his blade up to guard his face. And the moment he did that, not a half a second later, something collided with his sword, bouncing on impact and landing in front of him. And when Lex got a good look at it, everything was made clear to him, just like it was for Heracles when Biscuit plunged their sword into the ground earlier. Not only was a smokescreen created, but chunks of debris were made when their sword destroyed a part of the ring. And Biscuit grabbed a handful of that debris with their left hand and was using them as projectiles, preventing Lex from keeping his bearings. And it worked. But sadly, Lex adapted fast.
The buzzcut young man gritted his teeth as he looked at Biscuit. As he thought, "So that's what you were doing." His face frowned in anger as he gripped his sword tight. "Well, it was a cute plan, but now it's over," Lex took off, charging right at Biscuit.
The mysterious applicant threw a few more projectiles at their opponent, but as I said before, Lex was now adapted. He blocked each projectile thrown at him with his sword without even slowing down. As he closed the distance, he thought to himself, "I can't beat them in a battle of strength, but I can't stay at a distance anymore. So, I'll just have to end it here and now."
As Lex was in striking distance, Biscuit thrusted their claymore forward. But Lex simply sidestepped the attack, getting into Biscuit's personal space. As he did, he swung his sword up towards Biscuit's helmet. And just as he suspected, Biscuit started to lean their head back to dodge the hit. But it was a fake strike; Lex wasn't trying to hit the helmet, not right now anyway. As Lex swung his sword up, he seemed to just let go of his weapon. This confused all watching, especially Biscuit. But then Lex grabbed the sword with his other hand and then changed its attack. Instead of slashing, he thrusted the sword down. Biscuit didn't react, believing Lex wasn't performing an attack. But they would soon learn not to take their opponent so lightly.
After a moment, Biscuit felt a sharp pain, equal to their shoulder wound, coming from below. When they tilted their head down to see what was causing them such pain, Biscuit saw Lex's sword pierced straight through Biscuit's right foot. The sight shocked the applicant, stunning them. And that is what Lex wanted. Lex, in one fluid motion, removed the sword out of Biscuit's foot, then slashed it upwards, aiming for the helmet. And unlike the other time, Biscuit wasn't fast enough to dodge. And a moment later, Lex's sword destroyed Biscuit's wooden headpiece as pieces were flying around. Lex wasted no time and got into a thrusting stance, then thrusted his sword forward.
But as he was doing so, he got a good look at Biscuit's face. And he didn't know how to process what he was seeing. He not in a million years expected to see what he was seeing. He was confused. So, on almost instinct, Lex decided to back away once again, putting distance between the two. And this action confused everyone watching. Why would Lex back away when he had the advantage? Why would he flee when he was just about to strike? This puzzled those in attendance. But soon, they all understood why Lex did what he did. Because just like Lex, they saw Biscuit's face, and they were stunned. Every single one of them, including the mighty man Heracles, they were all left speechless. The only person able to say anything was Zack, who only got out a frazzled, "You have got to be kidding me." And they weren't the only ones caught completely off guard.
In the viewing room, every assistant was shocked. But even more shocked than them was the announcer, Moon D, who was leaning fully in his seat, eyes wide. "Holy shit, no way," and leaning forward just as much as him was the beastman, Angus. But unlike the rest, he was smiling, a large smile, as he looked at what he was seeing. A simple "I knew it" came from him, almost like a whisper. When Biscuit's wooden helmet was destroyed, everyone saw what was under it. A head… They saw the head of a wolf, a wolf with gray fur and golden yellow eyes. In that moment, the applicant Biscuit was revealed to be a beastman… a canine beastman.