"Holy shi—what the hell was that, hahahaha?!" Aisaka started laughing looking at the screen that was broadcasting my battle with the mohawk-head.
The atmosphere in the hall was completely dense after looking at the unexpected conclusion of the first match.
[THE WINNER OF THE FIRST BATTLE OF THE FIRST ROUND IS]
[!!RYOUMA SAIONJI!!]
"Was he hiding it all along?" Rize said while looking at the broadcast.
"I don't think so. From the way, he was fighting…it was a one-sided beating. That red-head should have been the winner in a normal situation but…" Jin speculated.
"But?"
"It seems that the Ego seed that bowl-cut gave to us is the key here. Well, I couldn't care less. Let's get over with it now, shall we?" Jin said while yawning but his eyes fixated on Aisaka.
"Couldn't agree more, uncle." Aisaka replied with a wide smirk on his face.
[THE FIRST BATTLE IS OVER AND THE PARTICIPANTS WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF BY THE MEDICS]
[UPDATING POINTS]
RYOUMA SAIONJI - 130 EGO FRAGMENTS
TAIGA AKABANE - 70 EGO FRAGMENTS
[SECOND BATTLE WILL COMMENCE NOW]
JIN SHIGURE | AISAKA REN
YOU BOTH HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED THE ARENA "LOKI'S SPELL"
TRANSPORTATION BEGINS IN 3…2…1…
Both of them close their eyes after having one last look of the hall before the battle.
"Hmm…that's interesting." Jin opens his eyes to a large construction range. Floating iron bars, huge metal parts and various other construction items lying around. It was an abandoned construction site.
"Ouhhh, I like the feels of it."
[RULES FOR THIS FIGHT]
—THE ARENA IS NAMED LOKI'S SPELL FOR THE UNIQUE TWISTS IT DISPLAYS TO THE USERS OF THE ARENA. BEWARE OF THE BELL SINCE THAT WILL BE THE KEY TO THE SPELL.
—LAST ONE STANDING WINS THE MATCH.
—THE LOSER WILL BE SENT BACK TO THE WAITING LIST AND THE WINNER WILL MOVE TO THE NEXT ROUND.
—THE LOSER WILL BE GIVING UP SOME PORTION OF THEIR EGO FRAGMENT ABSORBED BY THE WINNER.
-ANY EXTERNAL WEAPONS ARE PROHIBITED. ANY SUCH ACTION ATTEMPTED WILL RESULT IN SEVERE PUNISHMENT.
[BEGIN]
"Boom!!" Aisaka shouts as he accelerates towards Jin and tries to land a straight punch on his face.
"That was quite good, for a middle school student." Jin remarked, his tone calm but serious as he effortlessly stopped the punch. From the chill demeanor he displayed before, he looked serious.
"Well, of course, you'd say that, old man," Aisaka retorted, twisting mid-air and launching a roundhouse kick at Jin's blocking arm.
"As I said, that was quite good...for an elementary schooler," Jin's voice grew deeper, more intense. "Don't take it personally, kiddo." He swung his massive hand, slapping Aisaka's head with enough force to send him flying into a pile of iron barrels.
"Huh?" Aisaka's eyes widened as he found himself flying towards the barrel. his brain rattled by the impact as he crashed into the barrels.
"Did I hit him too hard?" Jin mused, examining his palm. "Well, no time to waste, given the situation." He sat cross-legged in the middle of the floor, closing his eyes.
"Ugh, what was that? Felt like a baseball bat to my head, old man. Aren'tcha strong?!" Aisaka said as he stood up and started walking towards Jin.
His head was bleeding and his right leg seemed to have a hole in it, the way he was walking. Maybe there were some rods among those barrels.
"Its pointless kid. Why don't we just end it while you can still walk? I was lenient with that slap, you know?" Jin said as he opened his eyes and looked at Aisaka walking towards him.
"I'd love to, but I can't pass up this chance."
"What chanc—?" Jin's question was cut short as Aisaka appeared in front of him in an instant. Too fast for normal acceleration. Jin's sharp senses couldn't even track his movement.
Aisaka's fist slammed toward him, but Jin blocked it just in time.
"What's next? Another kick?" Jin asked, one eye squinting as he absorbed the impact.
"You bet," Aisaka sneered, stabbing Jin in the gut with a rusted iron rod.
Jin's face darkened as realization dawned. "Explains the hole in your leg, you little shit."
"Bwahaha, wasn't I smart, old man?" Aisaka laughed, shoving Jin away. He prepared to launch another ki—
!!DING!!
"Ehh?" Aisaka exclaimed as his body turned upside down and the entire construction site changed into a swimming pool as they both began to drown inside it.
"Bwudududu…buuuduwuu.mmmm" Aisaka, as dumb as he was, let some of the water inside before closing his mouth whereas Jin was nowhere to be seen.
He swam to the top of the pool, trying to get some air to his exhausted lungs.
"That was a good one, not gonna lie, kid." Jin's voice echoed as he surfaced nearby, clutching his wound. Although the wound was not steep, it was definitely a grave one if left alone.
Aisaka swam with difficulty, finally finding a base to stand on. "Almost got you there."
"Well, what's the case with you now? Why doesn't your leg bleed even after a hole in it? Unfair don't you think?" Jin asks with a slight smile on his face.
"I didn't want to use it in a fist fight but well, we are long past that window now, aren't we?" Aisaka said as he raised his hands and twitched his fingers in the air.
"Aughh!!" Jin started to throw up blood as he pressed on his wound again to control the bleeding.
"What did he do just now? It felt like someone squeezed my entire body with a ton of strings." Jin thought, his muscles straining against the puppeteering.
"Cool isn't it? I am not that perfect right now, but it definitely works, keke" Aisaka said with a smile, but it was fairly visible that he was having difficulty even maintaining that power of his.
"Is this the difference? It definitely is unexpected. Looks like my choice was wrong." Jin thought as he fell on his knees while trying to gain back the control over his body.
Aisaka tightens his grip and throws his hands backward as if trying to move something. His body instantly teleports in front of Jin similarly in the abandoned construction site.
"I wonder what is the basis for this absurdity?" Jin bites his lip as he looks into the eyes of Aisaka. They were hollow as if he was looking inside a black hole and his entire body was emanating a weird amount of pressure.
"Insane." Jin shouted with a smile as if he was enlightened about something. He started to move his body with his entire strength, ignoring the loss of blood. His arms, legs, torso, neck, face, blood started spilling out from small cuts but he didn't stop.
"This is brilliaint, Eida. Absolutely brilliant." He said as he looked in the sky, as if he could see Eida outside this entire zone.
"I won't let you go, old man." Aisaka screamed as he pushed his entire strength towards the strings controlling Jin. The hole in his leg started to bleed again.
"That's not for you to decide." Jin said as he stood up, his huge stature completely covered Aisaka's small body. Slowly and gradually, one by one, each of the string started to break, as if they lost control over his body.
His entire body was bleeding but he didn't stop. The intensity of the pressure in the arena was insane. As if something had awakened in them, it was entirely different from the first fight. Jin opened his arms wide as if about to hug Aisaka and-
"Crack" He clapped Aisaka's skull from both the sides, bursting his ear drums, blood splurting out from his ears.
"That was a great fight, young man." Jin said.
"Aah…uh….ehhh…aa…" Aisaka's eyes rolled back as his brain got all mushed. He was done for, this was deadly. Aisaka fell on the ground, bleeding from his leg and his ears, and lost consciousness.
[WINNER OF THE SECOND BATTLE IS]
[!!!AISAKA REN!!!]
We could see Jin standing in front of Aisaka but he had long lost consciousness. It was instinct.
*
???
"Jin Shigure…very interesting." It was Eida Kisaragi, sitting in a white room all alone.
"This is going to be very interesting." He said while standing up from his chair and looking at the hundreds of screens in front of him, with a maniac smile plastered all over his face. Each of them seemed to display multiple scenarios occuring simultaneously and lots of characters and arenas yet to explore.
It was just the start.