Chapter 148.

PART 1.

Before Josh and Hatori can have their match, some things have to be done to set it up. first, the ring has to be created. James worked on the enchantment on the wooden boards, creating the enchantments according to Hatori’s specifications. “It has to be bouncy, but not too much. we don’t want to end up three meters up in the air!” he explained to James.

Then, they needed some stylized clothes. Shin was the one who procured the clothes for them, which Josh and Hatori enchanted to protect themselves from injuries during the match. indeed, these enchantments do not provide 100 percent protection, but some protection is better than none. Besides, it would be criminal to not take advantage of magic before they go into the ring to protect themselves.

Then, the remaining tasks were to create posters and make announcements to build up this match. Hatori enjoyed the grumblings of people, as Shin took his role of an announcer like a duck to water, disrupting the peaceful meal time of everyone. The posters were stuck everywhere, even in the girl’s lavatory. Hatori doesn’t want to know how those posters got there. if he doesn’t know, he cannot get in trouble.

Finally, the day of the match arrives. Behind the curtains, Josh and Hatori prepare to give the performance of their lifetime, as this is the only chance which they have to do something like this in their lives.

PART 2.

The crowd roared, as Raven and James sat in an improvised commentary box. Most of the students have no idea what’s going on here, but judging from this elaborate setup, they are expecting to have a good time.

“Welcome, welcome everyone, to this important exhibition match. today, two fighters who have made their names across the world will collide in this very ring, and beat each other into a bloody pulp, just for your own sick enjoyment!” said Raven, warming up to his role of a sarcastic commentator.

“On one side, we have Josh, a lumbering giant,” a picture of Josh appears on the screen, who is very much not a giant. Tall for his age? Certainly. But not a giant. “Known for his brute force, this man has destroyed his competition and has won hundreds of championships!” said James, concluding the introduction of Josh.

“On the other side, we have Hatori Eagle, who is no slouch in the height department either,” another picture is shown, of a boy who is just a few inches shorter than Josh, the camera focusing on his two missing eyeballs. “This man is known for his dirty tactics, the cowardly begging, and no duplicitous way is too low for him, as long as he can get a victory.” The crowd booed the figure on the screen. Raven is furious, but he reminds himself that this is not true, it is all fake.

PART 3.

“Welcome ladies and gentlemen, to the main event of the evening!” announced Shin. The sun was shining brightly outside, and of course, this was the only event which is taking place currently. “Introducing first,” Josh walks to the ring from the curtains, “Weighing at 120 kilograms, Josh Fernandes!”

Josh glared at Shin. He is nowhere near that heavy. his real weight is seventy kilograms, which he feels is normal for a 16-year-old who stands around 181 centimeters, or 5 feet 11 inches, for those of you who cannot calculate.

“And, introducing his opponent, weighing at 100 kilograms, Hatori Eagle!” Hatori also glared at Shin, as he threw the curtains aside, and walked in the ring. His weight is 65 kilograms, which he feels is normal for a guy of his size and age, being just two inches shorter than Josh.

Both fighters take their corners, and the bell rings, signaling the start of the competition.

“The match begins, both fighters have locked their arms to test their strength.” Said Raven.

“And it seems Josh has the advantage, he has managed to push Hatori to the ground!” said James, playing the role of an excitable announcer perfectly.

“But remember, Hatori has a strong submission game. He might be not on the top, but this won’t stop him for too long,” said Raven.

True to his prediction, Hatori gets out of the pin attempt by bridging and nearly turning his body on the head, and dislodging Josh from his top position. He then scrambled with him, trying to grab his leg, then his arm, failing in both, he grabbed his head.

“Hatori tries to crank the neck, but Josh is defending well,” said James.

“True, but he is not relenting on his attacks. how long can Josh defend?” asked Raven.

Abandoning his attempts of cranking the neck of Josh, Hatori works on his arm, pulling it behind him, and torquing it with both hands. “And here it goes. Will we see an arm snapping tonight folks?” asked James, while the sun continues to remind everyone of its brightness. The star is enjoying this farce it seems.

Hatori didn’t have a proper grip, so Josh managed to extract his arm from his grip. Both of them reset to a standing position. Instead of a test of strength, Hatori tries to take Josh down, but fails. Josh scoops him up and dumps him to the ground with a large thud, the crowd gave a cheer as he did so. He then tries to stomp on him, trying to pin him with one foot to his chest. But Hatori rolls away.

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“What’s that?” said Raven, watching Hatori attacking Josh’s knee when the referee Yantra was conveniently looking away. “What a dirty tactic. He deserves the disqualification!”

“But what will these people think then? They want a proper match!” argued James.

“But they are not getting that anyway,” said Raven, as Hatori rolled Josh over, trying to pin him.

But the larger fighter defends himself, so Hatori switches to his legs, trying to break them with a hold. Despite the booing of the crowd, the hold is perfectly legal. But given what he did just a minute ago, Hatori is not exactly loved by the fans right now.

As Josh gets away, he gets a frustrated look on his face. When Josh comes to attack him, Hatori just puts him against the rope and strikes him with closed fists, a blatant violation of the rules. “What bullshit. That yantra is clearly created by Hatori,” said James.

“I didn’t leave my preparation to watch this farce!” condemned Raven.

Despite this beating, Josh is in high spirits, sure of his victory. Just to piss off Hatori, he poses in the ring, delighting the crowd, and angering Hatori. taking advantage of his angry fog, Josh tackles him, lifts him up, and after spinning him around a few times, drops him headfirst to the ground. Quickly putting his shoulders to the ground, the yantra slaps the ring three times, as Josh pins Hatori.

“One, two, three!” the commentators counted along with the crowd. the bell rings, and Shin comes to announce the winner.

“The winner of the match, Josh Fernandes!” the loud music starts to play, which gets cut off in the middle, right when it was building up to a good part.

“What’s this? What could he possibly say after his despicable acts in that ring today?” asked James.

“Maybe some songs of sadness for losing?” suggested Raven.

But Hatori has nothing in mind. “You think you’re so good? well, guess what. You’re bloody, while I’m still pristine and clean. So, you can celebrate with these degenerate whores, but mark my words, they will leave you when you stop paying them!” with his nonsensical rant over, Hatori drops the magic amplifier, and escapes through the angry crowd, causing a riot in the process.

PART 4.

Avinash leaves as the riot begins. He is disgusted by this entire farcical event. He thought that Hatori had respect for his fighting skills, but he was cheapening them by participating in this circus.

In this narrator’s opinion, this kid needs to learn the important lesson of food on the table. You must perform in a circus if need be if you do not wish to go hungry. The narrator is confident that Avinash will learn it soon enough.

PART 5.

Porus was initially planning to go to Keralam, but he changed his mind in the middle. Instead, he is enjoying himself in the mountainous regions, looking at the beautiful scenery of ice and snow peddles flying through the air in the frigid air of the winter season.

“Zeko, since I’m already here, what do you say if we go to the Academy as well?” he asked with a hopeful smile.

“Why not?” agreed Zeko. “It’ll be interesting to see their reactions.”

“Yes indeed.” Said Porus. “And maybe Corvus will stop complaining that I don’t visit him anymore.”

They decide to attend the final day of the winter festival. Until that day arrives, the king decides to explore this area further.

PART 6.

Manoj is furious. After he got injured by Munshi, he realized that the necromancer had poisoned his soul. He could not maintain his physical form anymore. thus, he finds himself flying around as a furious wraith, not knowing what is going on in the world.

This continues until he finally regains enough of his strength to possess a pig and try to find a way out of his current predicament.

PART 7.

Nandan enters the grounds of the Academy with Dimitri. “If they ask me about my experience, I’ll tell them about all the teaching roles I have served. If they ask me about my successful students,” he looked at Nandan, “Well, I don’t think I would have to convince them much in that department.” He continues to mutter in this fashion, as they go inside of the school.

“Relax master,” said Nandan, “You’ve got this.”

“You think so?” asked Dimitri, not sure.

“Of course! Remember, they haven’t got a coach for the last ten years,” said Nandan. “And suddenly someone like you comes here, they won’t let you go, I promise you that.”

While Nandan cannot predict that with 100 percent assurance, it is important to give his master some confidence. Really, the man has been nervous about this interview ever since they arrived in the Subcontinent. On one hand, it is amusing to see this feared dueler behaving like that. but on the other hand, Nandan does not want his confidence issues to botch the interview for him.