“Denied!” Vex shouted with a cruel grin. “You can surrender once the game starts, and ten seconds after the gong at the earliest! Any respectable combatant should be able to last that long!”
His features became even more sunken.
I see. So they deliberately made this rule knowing that the rats won’t want to fight like this. While it was true that they were here for a tourney, they never expected to have to face the strongest contestants while we were fully fresh and in brimming health.
The Consortium wanted to give the champions a chance to display their might and put the cowards in their rightful places. We had ten seconds to do so.
“It’s good to see you, Devil! You disappeared on us so suddenly… This poor big sister thought you abandoned her.” Vex brooded once she turned the microphone off.
“Things happened. It’s good to see you too, Vex. Did you put that heart-piercer lady in her place?” I asked, referencing the woman who shattered the mighty axe-wielding Gragan’s robust armor and killed her effortlessly.
“Nah! Mordecai used some strange method to teleport them all away once the tides turned in our favor.” She pouted in a rather adorable manner if I may say so.
“Better luck next time.”
“Thanks!”
Eugene started shaking from head to toe when he heard the tone I used to converse with this legendary woman. Vex turned her microphone back on, “with that out of the way, let’s get the ball rolling! We do have some prestigious people to entertain, after all! To that effect, all contestants must make their way to the waiting room! Don’t think you can escape, by the way, we’re aware of all your current positions. Now, Devil and spineless scumbag- I mean Eugene, take your position at the indicated spots and wait for the gong! There are no rules! Everything goes!”
I did as told and couldn’t help but have a good laugh as I watched my opponent turn his back on me. He very clearly intended to bolt in the other direction so that he could survive the ten seconds and surrender.
Now I fully understood why the Consortium chose to have the first round of the tournament like this. It was best to get rid of such eyesores, they would just ruin the epic events that would surely follow.
*Gong!*
The instant the gong echoed through the air, Eugene bolted as I expected him to do. His desperate flight was comical – his scrawny arms were flailing, his thin legs scrambling, and his ashen face drenched in sweat. The crowd erupted into laughter and jeered at his pathetic display as their voices rose in a chorus of mockery and disdain.
Almost none of them could do a better job at standing up against me, but that didn’t stop them from looking down on Eugene.
I let him get a head start so that I could make the moment I made my move even more dramatic. I was selected to be the opener to the event and for a good reason. They wanted me to put on a show, and I was game.
It was time to begin. Ten seconds wasn’t much to work with.
My boots dug into the ground as I crouched low, forcing every muscle in my body to tense like a predator preparing to pounce, and with a burst of extreme speed, I surged forward.
The wind roared in my ears as the distance between us closed in an instant. Eugene must have heard me coming because he screamed – in a high-pitched, pathetic wail of terror. “I surrender!”
My saber lashed out like a bolt of lightning. The first strike was swift and precise. The blade carved through his calves, severing both legs just below the knees. His body crumbled forward, hitting the ground with a thud as he fell face-first onto the arena floor, leaving a smear of blood in his wake.
The crowd roared with sadistic joy, their bloodlust was officially ignited.
Eugene howled in agony while he was clawing at the dirt with his hands, desperately trying to drag himself away. “I surrender! I surrender! I surrender! I surrender! I surrender!” he repeated with a terrorized voice, hoping that Vex would intervene but I still had some time.
“A spineless coward has no place among the Phenoms! Disappear from my sight, you wretched rat!” I shouted with as much theatrics as I could gather.
<Master is so good at getting the crowd going! Blossom’s heart is beating so fast!> I heard my adorable dog-girl decree with childlike excitement.
<He certainly has a way… His enemy is a nobody who doesn’t even want to fight.> Ayame murmured.
<This is just an execution, but a pretty sensational one at that. No wonder the audience likes it.> Lucille added.
<You humans are still barbaric cavemen I see. Maybe I should’ve been worried about master hitting me in the back of my head and dragging me away to his cave all this time…> Seraphiel chuckled.
Another roar of approval erupted as I approached his writhing form. He reached out with trembling hands as his fingers dug into the dirt in a futile attempt to pull himself forward. I stepped on one of his hands, pinning it beneath my boot. His terrorized screams were music to the crowd.
With a flick of my saber, I severed his hand at the wrist. Blood spurted in every direction, painting the ground in crimson streaks. I stepped back to let him flail around helplessly. It was a miserable sight to observe.
Eugene tried to crawl again while sobbing and babbling incoherently. “No! I surrender! No! Please, I’ll do anything! Mercy! I surrender! MERCY!”
His words fell on deaf ears.
The crowd was a thunderstorm of applause and cheers now as they chanted my name in unison. “DEVIL! DEVIL! DEVIL!”
I stood over his pitiful, broken form as he trembled under my feet. I delivered the final blow – a clean, decisive cut through his neck.
Once I was done with my work, I turned to face the roaring crowd while raising my saber high into the sky.
The arena shook with deafening cheering.
