“Now then, let’s find out who will fight who.” – Leanne

She creates two new stone wheels.

On one she writes all the names of our team, and on the other all the names of Leon’s team.

She spins them both at the same time and soon enough, they stop spinning.

“In the first round, we will have Leon vs Jack.” – Leanne

You can see Leon smiling psychotically all the way from the other side.

Jack suddenly gets very nervous.

“Shit. Anyone but that guy…” – Jack

“You guys will be fighting shortly, but first, let’s figure out the rest of the matchups.” – Leanne

She spins the wheels again.

I didn’t think about it much for the first spin, but…

What if I end up having to fight Lett?

I’m not sure what I would do in that situation…

I don’t want to hurt her, and I definitely couldn’t fight with all my strength against a friend.

Even if it turns out she is stronger than me now, I just don’t think I would be able to do it…

But at the same time, if I don’t give it my all, that would screw over my own team…

Imagine if I take away not just my own, but also Shins promotion, just because I didn’t want to hurt her…

Not to mention that it would be very disrespectful to Lett if I held back against her.

It’s a tricky situation.

Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that…

“And in the second round we will have Lucas vs Vaman.” – Leanne

Me and Lett still haven’t been picked…

Please…

Leanne spins the wheels again, and the third round is decided.

“After that we get to see Shin vs Fei.” – Leanne

It’s looking worse and worse every round…

It’s fifty-fifty now…

She spins the wheels again, and my anxiety skyrockets.

“And for the fourth match, we will have Lett vs…” – Leanne

Please, please, please…

PLEASE!

“Lily.” – Leanne

…

Okay…

Good.

That was way too nerve-racking…

“Obviously that means the final round will be Alex vs Kuro.” – Leanne

The worst crisis has been averted, but…

Lett vs Lily…

That’s another matchup I’m conflicted on.

Who am I supposed to cheer for?

My good friend who is on the enemy team, or the person who helped us out when we were in a terrible situation, and who is also our teammate?

I’m not sure…

I think I have to stay neutral on that one.

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Whatever happens, happens.

“Now then, time for the first battle to begin, Leon vs Jack. Good luck to both of you.” – Leanne

Jack is looking even more scared than he did when the match was first announced.

It’s like he’s just now fully understanding the reality of the situation.

By the way he has reacted, he probably has some history with Leon himself.

Maybe it was something from before the exam, or maybe it was something during the first round.

I don’t know, but clearly, he knows how strong Leon is.

Back during F-rank exam, it took Shin and me giving our all just to barely win against him.

Even now, after getting much stronger, I still wouldn’t feel very confident if I had to go against him alone…

His specialty is just so strong.

If he isn’t knocked out or killed, he just gets stronger and stronger and stronger.

Eventually, you won’t be able to block his attack; they’ll all be lethal.

One misstep and you’re dead.

That’s the kind of guy he is.

“Come on Jack, where’s all that confidence of yours from earlier?” – Shin

“You don’t understand man, that guy is something else…” – Jack

“Oh, I understand perfectly. I’ve had to deal with that guy before.” – Shin

“Then you should understand why I-” – Jack

“Just surrender then. If you’re that scared, just surrender. Like I was saying earlier, our team has more than enough strong people on it already. I wasn’t planning on you winning anyways.” – Shin

Jack looks a bit frustrated.

“No…” – Jack

“No, what?” – Shin

“No. I won’t surrender. I will give it my all, no matter how small the chance is for me to win.” – Jack

“How heroic of you… Just don’t die. There’s no need to give your life for this.” – Shin

Leon jumps from his seat and into the arena, then starts yelling.

“Come on! Can you hurry up?!” – Leon

“… Wish me luck…” – Jack

“Good luck, Jack. If you ever think you’re in danger, just surrender. Please.” – Alex

“Alright.” – Jack

He jumps down too.

--- [Jack’s perspective]

I need to make sure not to get pinned down like last time.

He’s obviously stronger than me, so if I can focus on dodging his attacks and staying safe, then I might have a chance.

Don’t take too many risks, just get safe hits in and focus on defense…

I can do this!

Come on!

Leon just stands there with his hands in his pockets.

“Come on, do something.” – Leon

Is he so confident that he will win, he’ll let me attack him?

Or is this some sort of trick?

I need to be careful, but if he’s legitimately giving me an opportunity to get free hits in, then I need to take it.

I slowly walk towards him while keeping my guard up.

He’s still just standing there.

I get within attacking range, but I don’t hit him immediately, I need to make sure this isn’t a trick.

He suddenly leans forward, like he’s inviting me to hit him in the head.

“Hello??? Are you gonna do something soon? If not, I’d be more than welcome t-” – Leon

BAM!

I hit him with a right hook.

I can’t give up this opportunity I was given, I need to follow up.

I throw a punch from the left, then an uppercut.

“You shouldn’t have underestimated me!” – Jack

I continue to throw a barrage of attacks; they’re all hitting him directly in the face.

He fucked up!

No one can stay standing after getting hit this many times!

I throw one last punch with all my might that hits him directly on the nose.

…

“That’s it?” – Leon

What?!

How is he still standing?!!

“I knew you were weak, but come on… This is just pathetic. Here I was thinking you could power me up, but you couldn’t even hurt me…” – Leon

He looks…

Disappointed…

“Power you up? What do you mean?” – Jack

“I can’t be bothered wasting my breath on telling you.” – Leon

…

“I guess it’s time to end this already. If you’re not going to be any fun fighting, then I might as well get to the good part already.” – Leon

The good part?

What does he-

Before I get to finish the thought, he tackles me.

He doesn’t even bother to pin my arms down, so I try to push him off, but it doesn’t work.

Shit!

This isn’t good.

This is exactly what I wanted to avoid.

There is no escape now.

I have only one choice, I need to surrender…

It will be embarrassing to walk back to the others so soon, but it is what it is.

“I s-” – Jack

Before I get to finish my sentence, he cuts me off by shoving his left arm into my mouth.

What the hell?

He’s not letting me surrender!

“You’re not getting away that easily… No…” – Leon

…

His smile…

What the fuck is wrong with this guy?!!

He leans in and whispers into my ear.

“Do you remember what I told you earlier? Back when you tried running away with my flag…” – Leon

What he told me earlier?

I’m not sure…

I shake my head.

“I… Will… Crush… Your… Skull!!” – Leon

His smile gets even more twisted.

He’s drooling, and breathing heavily.

I need to get him the fuck off!

I need to surrender!

I try my absolute hardest to shake him off, but he’s not budging.

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!

He raises his other arm and starts charging up an attack.

He’s actually going to crush my fucking skull!!!!!

I start violently shaking my entire body, kicking, punching, and anything else to get him off, but it’s not working.

I try to poke his eyes out, but he just moves his head back, avoiding my attack.

Quick, think…

What can I do?!

Shaking him off doesn’t work.

Punching him and kicking him doesn’t hurt him enough for him to move.

I can’t reach his eyes…

I bite his arm with all my strength, and my teeth penetrate his skin.

Maybe he’ll get off now!

His eyes start glowing red, it’s so bright I can barely see him.

What is that?

“There we go! I can feel the power surging!” – Leon

What did I just do…?

The bite didn’t get him off either.

What can I do?

Quick, I need to…!

…

“Round one over, the winner is Leon.” – Leanne

--- [Alex’s perspective]

That bastard…!!!

He just…

Crushed his head…

There was no need for that!

He was clearly trying to surrender, but he didn’t let him.

Why didn’t Leanne stop him?

Was it because he didn’t say the words?!

How awful…

Leon isn’t right in the head…

How is someone like him able to walk around freely?

He should be in prison!

He’s an absolute menace to society…