A blinding flash of light illuminated his face, causing him to shield himself with his hand.
Then, cheers resounded across the region.
A cacophony of roars—a mixture of cheers and boos, each supporting or opposing the champions—sounded across the entire region. Listening to them, Jake felt his insecurity returning, urging him to retreat home.
Then, he remembered.
He remembered how Druis, Beebo, and Biba had sacrificed themselves to save him and Grud, and how helpless he had been. He remembered Armandrill, Soldier 149, and the Secretary, and how they had sacrificed themselves.
He remembered how weak he had felt, powerless to change anything.
Using this as fuel, determination ignited within him once more, and his legs no longer trembled. Steel-like legs marched from the changing room, his mask oscillating constantly—the only sign that the being within was organic.
At the stage's top right corner stood a lean, muscular fae. His angled jaw bore many scars, trophies of his many hard-won battles. Though scarred, they did not diminish his beauty but only accentuated it further, giving him an aura of masculinity.
The arena, quite basic, was a plain circle covered with nothing but sand. Invisible barriers surrounded the stage, ensuring that no stray attacks would land on the audience. Though nothing fancy, this seemed to aggravate the audience further, for they knew that only newcomers would fight here.
No showmanship, no gimmicks, just pure punching.
As Jake entered, the fae turned his head toward him. He sneered (while still looking absolutely dashing) and trash-talked, "What, never seen something so beautiful? Well, I'll give you the satisfaction before sending you to heaven, you ■•○■○■○."Unable to understand it, Jake still managed to figure out he meant: calling him a bitch was the last thing he should have done. Punching both hands together, he returned simply with a robotic voice, "You're on..."
Just then, the referee came onto the stage.
Its metallic head, devoid of any openings, held a microphone to open the show:
"Tonight, we have a feisty match for you all. On the right, we haaaavvvee... wait for it... the Leafinator!" A round of applause rang out in their area, with the loudest coming from those of the opposite gender; some even fainted in joy, something liquid flowing down their pants. The Leafinator did nothing, except wave and blow kisses to his audience.
The emcee returned, this time turning toward Jake. "Now, now, keep your hands in your pants, for tonight, we have a new contender! No one knows who he is, no one knows what he looks like, and no one knows how good he is in bed. All we know is his name, Annooooonnyymoussss!"
Feeling embarrassed, Jake still forced himself to receive the standing ovation, showing bravado for the sake of showmanship. Crackling his knuckles, Jake got into form. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this. Let's... roll."
The bell rang.
Immediately, without any hesitation, Leafinator jabbed his hands, using them as blades, aiming straight at Jake's jugular, trying to incapacitate him. Sensing this, Jake covered himself using Prathee Sanrak, using the qi-covered fists to land straight punches at the Leafinator.
Just before impact, a thin layer of water emerged from Leafinator's skin, causing the punch to slide right off. At this unexpected result, Jake slipped. Leafinator, not wanting to miss an opportunity, unleashed water qi to reduce the friction beneath Jake's feet, using it to immobilize Jake.
Raising his right foot, he then went for the kill.