Femi ditched all thoughts of trying to kill or knock Gabriel out. Without his hunch telling him, Femi knew his best bet was to cut the rope. Gabriel was already deemed one the strongest after all.
Gabrel was unarmed, one hand in his pocket and the other one with the rope attached to it was out in the open.
Femi dashed at Gabriel, a dusty trail appearing as he moved.
He ran in a zigzag motion, closing the distance in an instant. Approaching Gabriel, he began launching a series of slashes.
Gabriel's face had a look of boredom as he dodged the slashes without stress.
Femi was relentless in his assault, not giving any room for Gabriel to counter.
"Wait, wait. Is this all?" Gabriel said with hints of disappointment.
Femi didn't register what Gabriel said, he paid only attention to his sword.
In Gabriel's hand was his sword. Gabriel had gripped the sword so tight with his bare hands that Femi couldn't pull it out.
Femi decided to ditch the sword, planning on retreating.
As he took steps backward away from Gabriel, Femi entered the [Lagged Planes] where the world drastically slowed down.
He stretched his senses to perceive Gabriel's location. He was startled as he felt Gabriel's presence in two places.
One was where Gabriel stood before and the other Gabriel was right in front of Femi who had believed he had successfully retreated.
Femi mentally smiled as he understood what occurred.
Gabriel moved so fast that he had left an after image. Femi's hyper-senses in the [Lagged Planes] wasn't enough to follow the Mad Freak!
"Damn." Femi said as he left the [Lagged Planes].
He knew it. He had already lost.
The world moved at normal speed again.
Femi's eyes couldn't trail Gabriel like this, but at the last moment, as if intentional, Gabriel's speed slowed as he appeared with a devilish smile.
He saw Gabriel's eye color change, the green color overshadowing the yellow.
As the Mad Freak cocked his leg back ready for a kick, the devilish smile only became more menacing.
"Ah… So that's why he's the Mad Freak." Femi thought.
Femi closed his eyes as he felt a heavy impact on his chest.
Dust rose as Femi felt his body cut through the air. His body bounced on the floor without stopping.
His body hit the solid wall.
He struggled to hold his consciousness as the pain swelled up in his chest.
He didn't need to check his bodysuit to know. His tether battery's energy wasn't drained… It was destroyed.
Femi's thoughts synced with the announcer's voice.
'I lost.'
"Scarlet Lost!!"
With blurry and shaky vision, Femi looked at Gabriel who approached him with elegant steps.
Gabriel bent, bringing his head to Femi's.
"Your swordsmanship isn't fit for you. You can't kill." Gabriel smirked.
Femi grinned in amusement.
"Yeah? Just wait, I'll kill you." He said as his consciousness slipped. He fainted.
Gabriel smirked at the now unconscious Femi, his eye color turning to its regular yellow overshadowing green.
"You really are interesting," He smiled.
Using his hand to comb his hair back, ignoring the cheering crowd Gabriel glanced at the announcer's room that was situated above the arena.
In a tired tone, he sneered, "Damn fools. Don't you guys see he needs a medic immediately."
The announcer grew tense as he read Gabriel's lips, immediately rushing the medic to go.
Away from the mics, the announcer mumbled, "This madman! Aren't you the one that injured him!"
After waving a thumbs up at Gabriel, he continued his job.
"With this, Scarlet lost his 21st match in the Arena while The Mad Freak is still on his win streak of 28 wins."
"Now, the event featuring the rookie has ended!"
"Ladies and gentlefolks, will this be the last time we see Scarlet?"
"Will he hide in the face of such humiliating defeat?"
At the announcer's statement, Gabriel hissed.
He walked towards the Center Stage exit since he was done with the Arena.
He muttered, "That fella? Nah, he has no shame in him. It may be the last time for you guys in the Arena but whether he likes it or not, it wouldn't be the last time the world sees him."
*****
Femi woke up in the same room as last.
Immediately after registering where he was, he wore his clothes that were arranged on the table.
He grabbed his sword and headed for the door. It was also at that instant Hyla, the woman in charge of him walked in.
"Sir Scarlet? Are you okay? You shouldn't be walking right now. The damage you took not only destroyed your battery but it also damaged your bodysuit. It's surprising how you didn't die from that hit to your chest," She immediately explained.
Femi didn't bat an eye at her, trying to pass by her and leave.
Seeing she wasn't leaving, he hissed in a cold tone, " Yeah, yeah. Take the bills from my payment and all." He moved closer to her, dwarfing her. Through the mask, his eyes looked blood filled as he ordered. "So Move. Miss Hyla, I want to leave."
Hyla felt shivers go down her spine. Her assistant noticed the nervous look on her, instantly, he brought out a pistol, shoving it to Femi's throat.
"Make the wrong step and die," He declared.
With the woman now behind her assistant, Femi stood looking at the assistant straight in the eye. Not a single bit of fear was radiated.
He chuckled as he clenched his sword tighter, "Really? I'd like to test that." he provoked.
~SMACK!~
The sound of a slap sounded, Hyla slapped her assistant before scolding. "Who ordered you to do such a thing?" She snapped, making the assistant withdraw his gun.
She then turned back to Femi, "Ah, sorry, please forgive my assistant. You can go now. We'll just deposit the rest of your earnings into your card as usual."
Femi didn't reply as he immediately headed out of the room. He didn't want to waste any time. He needed to meet the Mad Freak again.
As Femi left, the woman fell to the ground while the assistant leaned on the wall.
"Why'd you do that? You should know some people don't handle defeat well," She asked.
"It's reflex ma. If I didn't do something, I felt like our heads would have been rolling on the ground by now. The air around him was suffocating alone…" He sighed as he replied.
"I almost couldn't breathe. Ahhh, I don't think I want to see him again after that." She said, cleaning sweat off her forehead.