Dan didn’t know how long his eyes stared at the holographic text floating above the arena. The match he wanted was close to happening.

He glanced over to the two female agents standing next to him and his unbroiled excitement turned to concern when his eyes laid on Angie. The strawberry blond was still breathing hard after her previous match when she was forced to use her berserk mode.

Angie didn’t have the same level of endurance or willpower to power through another match. She barely maintained the berserk mode for a few seconds before feeling the extreme effects of fatigue and aches throughout her body.

“Angie, you’re up next. Can you do it?” Dan asked. He walked up to her and grabbed her by the shoulder.

“I’m still sore all over Dan,” she said, exchanging looked with him. “We both saw how good that Clark guy was. That jerk would demolish me. I don’t think I can go on, sorry.”

“Don’t be. You gave it your all. At least you know when to quit when things look grim. Unfortunately for me, I don’t.”

Zara huffed at this exchanged. “It’s not like you to back down from the action, Angie.”

Dan looked at Zara with serious eyes. “She’s reached her limit and is quitting while she’s ahead. But don’t worry, I’ll put on a good show. When I kill Rachel, expect to fight me next.”

Zara covered her mouth and laughed softly. “How romantic.”

Dan raised an eyebrow at her but didn’t give a response. He redirected his gaze back on Angie. “So… you’re forfeiting then?”

She nodded. “Yeah, the option just popped up on my HUD.”

Angie Bloodliner has forfeited the match.

Winner by default: Clark Dagger!

Moving to the next match…

10th match up: James Vandal (AC) vs Adriana Skill (PS).

Zara crossed her arms as she watched James enter the arena once again. The memory of how Adriana brutally defeated Li was still fresh in Dan’s mind and he felt the same anger ignite once again within him.

While the big man proved to be a tough agent from his showing during the eighth match, Dan wondered if James could contend with Adriana’s speed. Speed that was beyond a typical tier one.

James made it to the kiddle of the raised arena along with the other Prime Sword.

“Your team is dropping like flies,” Adriana taunted. “Ready to join them?”

“Not without giving it my all, lady,” James shot back. The big man raised his fists up and took a basic combat stance before the official start of the match. Everyone had seen how Li was overwhelmed by the Prime Sword in the second match.

Fight!

James moved with surprising speed and opened the fight aggressively, throwing a punch that never landed. However, Adriana was forced back a few steps from the sudden attack right out the gate. Dan stared with fierce intensity as Adriana regained her footing and countered with her own barrage of attacks.

The fight became a blur of thrown punches and blocks and redirects as James seemingly fought the Prime Sword on even terms.

“Holy shit,” Dan muttered. In utter awe of the fight in front of him, his jaw hung open underneath his mask. “I knew the big man was strong, but he’s fast too.”

Dan glanced over at Zara to gauge her reaction. Miles’ female teammate watched with similar intensity while still keeping her arms crossed. She lowered one of her arms and placed her hand on her hip.

“It’s an impressive display for sure, but spectacle is only one small part of a fight between agents.”

Angie gave a sideways glance at the dark-haired agent. While Zara paid close attention to the fight, her reaction appeared more reserved than Dan was expecting, especially towards a fight ionvolving her last remaining teammate.

A sudden loud punch that reached all corners of the room caught Dan’s attention as he redirected his gaze on the arena. To his shock, James was sent skidding back on his feet a few meters by Adriana. The Prime Sword’s strength was truly no joke.

“James, you got this!” Dan shouted. “Do not let up.”

“Easier said than done. That chick is on something, I swear,” James said while huffing.

If Adriana was tired, she gave no indication as she stood in place like a statue staring at James. On the other hand, James was already breathing heavily from his blinding fast exchange with the Prime Sowrd.

Zara’s intense gaze on the arena devolved into a bored, unamused expression. James caught his breath and charged back toward the middle of the arena and the two combatants continued exchanging blows, neither gaining a complete advantage over the other.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

While Dan was impressed at the combat speed between the two, Zara still kept her bored expression. Angie decided to make a comment.

“Wow, your concern for your teammate is really touching,” she said, poking fun at Zara’s lack of excitement. “If your boy here stepped on a mine and got his leg blown off, what would you do, take a nap?”

Zara slowly turned her head toward the strawberry blond. Even Dan could sense the tension between the two women.

“I’ll be supportive to my comrades just like any teammate would, but I know a losing battle when I see one. There’s no use in feeding someone’s ego when they’re about to get their asses kicked. Didn’t you see how tired he was after the back and forth bout they just had? He’s getting worn down quickly.”

Dan didn’t respond to Zara’s comments because she was right. James was catching his breath after being pushed back while Adriana didn’t show any signs of fatigue.

The Prime Sword had enough of the exchange of fists and suddenly lept upward and over James’ head. Adriana landed swiftly behind James before he could register what had happened and she dropped down and swiped out the big man’s legs.

When James hit the floor, the Prime Sword wasted no time in following up with a punch right down into her opponent’s abdomen. The punch had an extra crunch to it that made Dan cringe. James’ limbs flailed wildly from the gut punch before they went limp.

Adriana picked up the agent with only one hand and brought him back to his feet. James hadn’t recovered from the damaging blow to the stomach but the Prime Sword wasn’t finished. She delivered a barrage of punched and kicks, so fast that even Dan’s eyes could barely follow the action.

James could do nothing but take all the hits before Adriana briefly paused, took a few steps back, and rushed her opponent. She lept into the air and smashed both her feet into James’ torso, sending the big man flying out of the arena and landing at the corner to Dan’s right.

Combatant out of bounds.

Winner: Adriana Skill!

Dan could only stare in disbelief at yet another win under Adriana’s belt. “Shit…”

He ran over to James who laid sprawled on the floor. A crouched down to his knees and grabbed the big man by the shoulder.

“Hey, can you hear me?” Dan said. Angie and Zara walked up and stood behind him.

James’ eyelids cracked open and he made eye contact with Dan. The big man coughed a few times before he said, “She’s a fucking monster. No wonder Li got his ass handed to him. She’s in a whole ‘nother league compared to the rest of us.”

“James…” Zara said.

“Sorry Dan,” the big man said weakly. “I couldn’t get that match between you and I like I wanted.”

Dan patted the agent on the shoulder. “Next time.”

James gave a weak chuckle before the medics picked him up and placed him in a stretcher. Dan watched another agent carried off who had fought and failed against the Prime Swords.

11th match up: Dan Orion (AC) vs Rachel Cutter (PS).

Combatants, please enter the arena.

Dan heard a low growl behind him. He looked back and saw it came from Zara. The dark-haired agent stared down at the floor before she locked eyes with him.

“You’re up next,” she said with a quiet edge to her voice. “I don’t know if I should call you lucky, seeing as how most of my team got decimated by those Prime assholes, but my match won’t be anything remarkable compared to who you’re about to face.”

“Yeah, looks like I’m up,” Dan said quietly. He clenched both of his fists, remembering the anger he felt towards Adriana for tossing Li like a piece of trash. And now the fresh rage at seeing James defeated by the same asshole. He would need the anger to maximize the destructive output of his glare ability against Rachel.

“Do me a favor,” Zara said. She playfully punched him in the upper arm. “Demolish Rachel Cutter. Not just for your own personal glory, but do it for my team. I’m sure they’ll appreciate the story of your victorious match once they recover from their injuries. If they take anything away from their defeats, they’ll at least get some inspiration from you to train harder for next time.”

Dan nodded, aware of the extra burden he carried on his shoulders to win his match against Rachel and whoever else he would face on her team.

“I will,” he said.

Before he hopped onto the arena, Angie walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his upper body.

“Good luck,” she said.

“Thanks, I won’t need it,” Dan said confidently. “I’ll destroy her.”

Angie opened a private channel with him.

“So… what’s your plan against Rachel?”

“Simple, I go all out and give her no time to counterattack. You saw how her and I fought and she somehow matched my speed and strength even against my berserk form. But now, it’s a one on one fight without any interference from anything. I’ll have to go into berserk right away and put my glare to use.”

“Wait, you mean the power that let’s you fry people alive? Isn’t that a bit excessive?” Angie said.

“I need to use every tool I have against those guys,” Dan said, locking eyes with Angie. “I just know something isn’t right about them. For all I know, they could still be holding back their true power.”

“Won’t the staff think your abilities are suspicious and disqualify you?”

“They didn’t can you when you used your berserk ability,” Dan replied.

“True, but…”

Dan cut her off. “Don’t worry about me. Just sit back here and play nice with Zara while I wipe the floor with Rachel.”

The moment Angie released him, Dan jumped onto the raised platform and walked on the arena to meet Rachel in the middle. He saw the Prime Sword agent also hop up and walked toward him.

“It looks like we’ll finally settle on a proper outcome,” Rachel said as she approached. “Soon, this entire trip will be worth it.”

“You’ll be going home with disappointment,” Dan shot back. “I don’t know who trained your teammates, but after I get you out of the way, I’m going to teach both of them a lesson on etiquette.”

Rachel placed her hand over her chest. “My, my. I didn’t realize you were so sensitive on such matters. I thought you came here to win.”

The two agents stopped and only two meters of distance separated them.

“I did, but at least I treat the other competitors here like proper opponents rather than enemies. What your two comrades did during this match was uncalled for, especially what Adriana did to Li,” Dan said.

Rachel placed a hand on her hip and gave a response that shocked even him. “Maybe your teammate deserved to be beaten and humiliated in front of everyone here. He needed to learn the harsh lesson that there’s always someone out there who’s better. And the same will happen to you. Even your female companion threw her match against my boy Clark because she knew she was outmatched. Our fight in the third round didn’t properly meets its natural outcome because a timer stopped us. But you won’t be saved by the bell this time.”

“I won’t have to be saved by the bell,” Dan spat. “I’ll just destroy you and move onto to those chucklefucks you call teammates.”

Fight!