---
In the present:
(Finsil) - "Fear you? My ass!"
(Jonas) - "I guess I have to teach you a lesson!"
(Finsil) - "Like you can!"
Jonas suddenly stepped in front of Finsil and landed a knee strike to his lower abdomen. A small amount of blood spurted from Finsil's mouth.
Finsil thought to himself, "He's not the same person anymore. He's faster and stronger."
Jonas didn't stop there; he executed a 360° kick on Finsil. Although Finsil managed to block it, he still took some damage.
Meanwhile:
(Thomas) - "Looks like things have started over there!"
(Kazel) - "Yeah, Finsil might have taken that little fella down!"
(Thomas) - "We'll see."
(Kazel) - "Enough chit-chat. How about we start as well?"
Kazel walked towards Thomas, suddenly speeding up and landing a punch. But Thomas, unexpectedly swift, countered with a low kick.
Kazel thought, "A low kick?"
But it wasn't a low kick; it was a question mark kick that landed on Kazel's face. Kazel's nose and mouth started bleeding.
(Kazel) - "It seems it's going to be fun!"
But Thomas immediately retaliated with a punch to Kazel's face. Kazel didn't back down; he punched Thomas back. It seemed Thomas was matching Kazel blow for blow.
On the left side of The Devil's House:
Andrew and Scorpen were fighting against Targut. Scorpen had already beaten Jackson.
Andrew, wielding a piece of glass, was dueling Targut, who was dodging and blocking with numerous cuts on his body. Targut waited for an opportunity to take down Scorpen, which could turn the tide, but it was risky; even a glance towards Scorpen could result in a throat cut.
Now, there was only one option left for Targut: run towards the 'J' base.
(Andrew) - "Now you're running away?"
On the right side of The Devil's House:
Kazel and Thomas continued their battle. Kazel and Thomas fought almost evenly, though Kazel was taking more hits.
Suddenly, Jonas attacked Kazel.
(Kazel) - "A flying knee? Not bad, but why are you here?"
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
(Jonas) - "What do you mean? Oh, I see, it's because I've already taken the guy down!"
(Kazel) - "So Finsil is down? I guess it's my time to shine. Be prepared this time; I won't hold back!"
Thomas rushed at Kazel, saying, "Stop bluffing!"
Kazel immediately punched Thomas, hitting his ribs and sending him flying. Thomas spat blood from his mouth.
Kazel felt like he'd been hit by a truck, but it was Jonas who hit him with a back kick, sending Kazel flying. Kazel redirected his flight path and punched Thomas again, but this time Thomas also landed a punch on Kazel. Jonas kicked Kazel's leg, making him lose balance. Thomas punched Kazel's chest, and Kazel landed a high knee attack on Kazel's head. This knee attack could potentially kill a human skull in an instant, but it damaged Kazel. His head shook and bled, but he managed to grab Jonas's right leg tightly, using Jonas like a ball to throw at Thomas. Kazel used all his strength to throw Jonas and Thomas, both of them flying into and breaking a wall. The wall broke, but it wasn't enough to take them both out. Meanwhile, Kazel's stamina was almost depleted.
Jonas ran toward Kazel. Kazel performed a front kick, but Jonas dodged and grabbed Kazel with both hands. He then attacked Kazel's jaw with both knees.
Kazel's consciousness started to fade, but suddenly, he gritted his teeth and grabbed Jonas's face, slamming him into the ground. The floor was destroyed, and blood came out of Jonas's mouth. Kazel fell to the ground but stood up immediately, feeling a cut on his back with blood constantly flowing from the wound.
Andrew was there too, holding a piece of glass.
Jonas stood up and asked Andrew, "Why is he here?"
(Andrew) - "We took care of Targut. Now, Scorpen is heading towards the roof. We've seen which card Jebi has!"
(Thomas) - "So he's the one still standing!"
Suddenly, they all heard a voice. They were all shocked. It was Finsil's voice.
(Finsil) - "You can rest now. Kazel, you did well."
(Jonas) - "Why are y-"
(Targut) - "Sorry I'm a bit late!"
Kazel was lying on the floor, and Jackson had also arrived.
Jackson was wearing a mask covering his face, and his head was bandaged. Jackson's black hair and black eyes were visible.
(Thomas) - "What's going on here?"
(Jonas) - "We've been tricked!"
(Finsil) - "Targut, did you set the explo-"
Suddenly, an explosion occurred.
(Finsil) - "Good job!"
(Jackson) - "Looks like the opponents are confused. Let me explain. We used the same trick you guys used in the first round. Finsil pretended to be knocked out and defeated because he was defeated. Obviously, you would go to help Thomas, and during that time, Finsil was going to the 'V' base, to see which card Vincenzo has. The problem was that Andrew and Scorpen were at the 'V' base, and that's where I and Targut came in. Well, Scorpen really beat me up. After fighting a bit, Targut ran toward the 'J' base. Andrew and Scorpen both started running after Targut. That's when Finsil saw Vincenzo's card!"
(Jonas) - "Still, how did you guys contact Jebi?"
Jackson said, "That's where the genius idea comes in. Remember there are four trees inside The Devil's House, but there's a pipe outside linked to the trees. The pipes exist to give the plants water so the plants can be alive and healthy. Jebi told us if Vincenzo had the gold card, then we should destroy the left corner tree. If he had the silver card, we should destroy the right corner tree. If he had the platinum card, we should destroy both trees. Jebi gave us a chemical called Herbicide. This chemical can kill trees in just 10 minutes. We just had to put this chemical into the pipes. That's how we were able to contact Jebi!"
(Jonas) - "Still, that doesn't explain the explosion part!?"
(Jackson) - "That explosion was to equalize the manpower. Jebi predicted that you guys would corner us by force since you guys have much more manpower than us. So Jebi told us that when Scorpen goes to the rooftop to contact Vincenzo, we only need to destroy the stairs so that Scorpen is trapped on the rooftop. Targut did that part. He was also pretending to be knocked out, but when Andrew left, he set explosive materials on the stairs, which destroyed them. UOF provided us with the explosives before the second round started."
Every member of Vincenzo's team was shocked. They were all thinking the same thing: "Jebi Astry, he predicted all of our moves!"
(Andrew) - "So, you guys are at a disadvantage. We have three fighters, and you guys only have two. Kazel is completely exhausted!"
(Jackson) - "Let me finish. Another part of the plan was to avoid unnecessary fighting. We had already taken damage, so we couldn't fight because the round was about to -"
The leader of UOF announced, "Both Mr. Jebi and Vincenzo have given their answers to us. Now it's time for me to announce the winner and the loser!"
Inside The Devil's House:
Jebi had already explained his strategy, but Vincenzo was shocked.
(Vincenzo) - "Hey, Jebi! This was supposed to be a draw. Why are they announcing a winner?"
The leader of UOF said, "The winner is Jebi Astry (+40), and the loser is Vincenzo (-40)!"
(Vincenzo) - "You had a platinum card this whole time?"
Jebi had a smile on his face as he showed the platinum card.
(Jebi) - "I explained half of my strategy to you."
Vincenzo suddenly realized something.
Jebi noticed.
(Jebi) - "It looks like you've realized. Let me explain. When I lost in the first round, what do you think I did with the silver card in that round? I hid that card in this room; it was under the table. Then in the second round, I swiftly took that card in my hand. I used that silver card as a cover for the platinum card since both cards have the same back, which is why you didn't notice there were two cards. Eventually, your teammate saw the silver card and reported it to you, but what they didn't see was the platinum card, which was right behind the silver card. Since a card can be used only once, the silver card wasn’t valid, but the platinum card was used for the first time, which made it valid. It didn't violate any rules since I placed my card in a direction that could be seen from my base!"
In that moment, the writer and Vincenzo thinking the same thing
"This bastard Jebi is growing much faster than before!" both of them thought as they stepped outside of the Devil's House.
The writer approached them and said, "Congratulations on your win, Mr. Jebi."
(Jebi) - "Thank you!"
The writer continued, "I have to inform both of you that there's a new rule being added. One can't enter the Devil's House with two separate cards anymore. Do you have any problems with that?"
(Jebi) - "Since Vincenzo already knows this strategy, I don't have a problem with that rule."
(Vincenzo) - "Neither do I!"
The writer concluded, "So that's it!"
The writer used telepathy to talk with Vincenzo.
(Writer) - "I am one of the Gods who sealed your intelligence, but from now on, I release all of your intelligence!"
The writer didn't reveal that he was the one who sealed Vincenzo's power and even released him.
Vincenzo said to Jebi, "Mr. Jebi, you really have terrible luck. Be careful for the next round!"
Vincenzo smiled calmly. With this, the second round ended.