[16:40, 05/02/2022, The Next Day]

It's the next day, and only four people remain in the waiting room. These makeup up Malala Hawk, Treybulk Thorns, Marco Danny, and Denarrow Ace. Almost a day and a half later, Ace keeps his meditation. Not even eating breakfast and lunch. Neither does he move once, raising the concern of all those around him, including the staff. Most people took to sleep over the night, provided with blankets and pillows by the tournament's staff. But Ace remained in the same position throughout.

Malala- "Oi."

She stands in front of Ace, holding a plated sandwich and chips. In her other hand, she holds a water bottle.

Ace opens his eyes, something he hasn't done in many hours.

Malala- 'His eyes are silver.'

Denarrow- "Yeah."

She puts the food and water on the ground in front of him

Denarrow- "I don't need-"

Malala- "I don't care. I don't want to beat someone who's on an empty stomach."

Speaker- "Gladiators Twenty-Three and Two Hundred Thirty-Three, enter Tunnel Three for battle. Repeat. Gladiators Twenty-Three and Two Hundred Thirty-Three, enter Tunnel Three for battle."

Malala- “What’s your number?”

Denarrow- “Forty- four.”

Malala- "Then nevermind. I thought it was going to be you for sure. Eat or not, I don't care."

She walks away to and through the door labeled '3rd' above it. Treybulk Thorns does as well, thus spelling out that Denarrow Ace and Marco Danny would be the last fight of the first round. Marco's confidence arises now knowing he wouldn't have to face some of the best known fighters in the tournament.

[16:45]

Nami- "Brooklyn."

She peeks through the door, opening it slightly and steadily. She sees Brooklyn sleeping in her chair with a computer in front of her on and open. She quietly reverses her steps and closes the door.

Nami- "Busy and tired. I'll check on her later I guess."

She goes down the stairs and gets closer to the bottom floor. There is a collective sound of awe from both adults and children, prompting her to move faster.

Nami- "What happened?"

The group of Hostel residents crowded around the living room look at Nami.

Mr. Miyagu- "She won."

Mr. Queen- "Fast as hell too."

The two men then bump their beers in celebration. They then turn their heads, looking at Mrs. Miyagu and Mrs. Queen. The two women roll their eyes in reaction.

Wallace- "Damn, y'all always be losing."

He laughs and then leans back to chug a large amount of unknown, unlabeled clear alcohol.

Mr. Miyagu- "I expect my money in the mattress by tomorrow morning."

Mr. Queen- "Mine in my bank account dear."

The many Queen children run around in excitement, reenacting the quick but entertaining fight with exaggerated detail. As the next fight starts, everyone leaves except for Nami, who's still surprised that she missed the entirety of the most anticipated fight of the day.

Nami- 'Oh well.'

She sits on the couch, lying on it, and is about to go on her phone.

Nami- "Who's The Untitled?"

[16:50]

Speaker- "Gladiators Forty-Four and Eight-Six, enter Tunnel Three for battle. Repeat. Gladiators Forty-Four and Eight-Six, enter Tunnel Three for battle."

Minutes later, Ace finds himself in the Ƶ-Simulation's armory once again.

Denarrow- "Back again."

He looks at himself wearing nothing but a full-body black spandex outfit. Around the armory, he goes 'shopping', finding pants and a sword to take into battle with him. There are significantly more options to choose from so he takes his time with only five minutes until the match starts. Near the end, before time is up, he gets an outfit together different from the outfit he wore in the Netherly Arena. He gets white baggy pants made out of cotton and linen. The pants have a wide crotch area and baggy leg sleeves with a lot of air inside; however, the waist and the ankle portions are tightened to the skin. Such baggy pants are a slight inhibitor to one's agility, but Ace isn't just anybody. Compared to heavy cargo pants before, they're more comfortable and lighter to move in.

Ace leaves the torso and arms without accessories, just as before. He goes for the mask section looking to hide his face once again. Once coming across it, he remembers the mysterious man he had fought the other day, though his mask was black. He touches the white mask, and it appears on his face. For safe measure, he looks in the armory's mirror, confirming the mask properly covers the entirety of his face.

Denarrow- "Perfect."

He turns his head to check the time in which only less than thirty seconds are left. He makes a hurry to find some shoes and a sword.

[16:55]

On television, the competitors appear before the viewers.

Nami- "Is that… Ace?"

[16:56]

Geo- "Welcome back again. It is I, Geo, and my partner Theo again, here to host this match. Coming off that quick defeat, we have one more match, the final match of this so far hectic first round."

Theo- "Can we just talk about the previous match real fast. That was probably the fastest match I've ever seen. It ended faster than the three matches that were simultaneously happening already."

Geo- "Indeed, but let's see what the record books tell us tonight. But what can you tell us about the fighter before us? And sorry folks we have a delay of the match due to broadcasting issues. It should be finished in a minute."

Theo- "There is the Frenk man known as Le Grande Dragoon, Marco Danny. He's won over a hundred fights exclusively in the Uropean fighting districts. For his matchup goes by ‘The Untitled’, that's it. I don't know anything else about this guy."

Geo- "And it appears here in Gladiator report he doesn't even have a Paradise?"

Denarrow- 'It looks realer. These graphics are better than my own eyes.'

He walks over to a car and touches it.'

Denarrow- 'Feels real too.'

He punches it, breaking the glass.

Denarrow- "Woah."

He looks up, looking around once more to see the city-like environment created by the Ƶ-Simulation. The city copies that of Jahanese hyper-urban architecture, and it's completely empty of life, aside from Ace and one other.

He sees Marco Danny down the street looking at him. Marco is a light brown-skin young man with a big curly black-brown afro, thick eyebrows, and he has the signature spiffy Frenk goatee. He has a muscular build, a superhuman one, and stands at seven feet tall. He doesn't wear any accessories or clothes above the standard full-body outfit, and thus anyone can see his defined muscular body like a sculpture.

Demarrow- 'I'm supposed to kill him in thirty minutes. What can he do?'

Suddenly a buzzer sound originating somewhere from the bright blue and sunny sky goes off. Without seconds to waste, Marco speedily jumps forward in an attempt to land a game-ending punch on Ace. He misses as Ace easily pivots out of the way, standing in front of the car he punched just earlier. Marco stops himself and tries to kick Ace, but he misses kicking the car behind him instead. Ace had sidestepped the attack quietly. The car Marco kicked flew like a soccer ball into the building.

Geo- "Not even thirty seconds in and an explosion has already been set off. Surprisingly, The Untitled dodges both attacks and stands perfectly still without his guard up."

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Theo- "He can't get too confident because here comes the game plan. If it's true he has no Paradise ability, then there is no way he can possibly damage or even hurt Dragoon but he just proved that he can dodge him. This can be seen in many past matches where a fighter has low firepower against superior opponents and instead of trying to fight they instead waste out the time. The Untitled is in a fight of attrition."

Geo- "It sounds like you're getting into it, Theo."

Theo- "I have to if this is the last fight of the day."

(Marco originally thinks in Frenk)

Marco- 'He dodged quickly. Is he confident? Clearly. But I don't get any such energy from him. I can't see behind that mask but his body language is relaxed. What is the expression behind that mask?'

Behind Ace's mask, his right eye is closed shut, and his left is open to an eyeball that is completely pitch black. Serving as a sign that his Sin has been activated but, of course, not visible to anyone else behind the mask.

Marco- "Oi, whatz yuur Paradise?"

There is a momentary pause before Ace speaks.

Denarrow- 'The hell is that Inglish? Is he asking for my Paradise?' "I have none."

Marco- "Hmm…" 'Was that a lie? But his record says he doesn't so why make that face? Americans can be weird.'

They then stand quiet without any current intentions of making a move on each other.

Marco- 'For a person without a Paradise ability I shouldn't rush. He's good enough to dodge some of my attacks and he can't actually hurt me. But I should keep active so when a chance to strike appears I can take advantage of it. And there is a time limit.'

Denarrow- 'I thought he had power of speed but it's strength and that's probably all he has. He uses his strength in his legs to jump and leap fast and far. Good thing that each time he does, I can hear the ground tremble and it's not like he's invisible. I can see and hear this man to his own disadvantage, I can go against him blind folded. Except I can't go against him. If he's a Valial Paradisian, super strength, then his body is most likely strengthened to the point where he's ultra durable. None of my attacks will have an effect. Unless this sword can penetrate his skin, but it's not my sword so it'll most likely won't. Since he can hurt me by just laying a finger, I'll keep on dodging and keep a short distance. If I remember, if there is no clear winner, they count hits landed to score the winner.'

[27:11 Remaining]

Geo- "If you're just tuning in folks, in the first five seconds, Le Grande Dragoon made the first and second move leading to an unexpected stalemate between the two. Almost one hundred and eight seconds have passed since anything since those fast first five seconds. Now they stand looking at each other not doing anything. What's your take Theo?"

Theo- "Well I think the both of them are thinking out their gameplan right now. I think Dragoon is seeing something different than what I or anyone is seeing right now and that Untitled is someone to not be underestimated. With Dragoon's Strength, it only takes one hit to settle the match. If he was able to land a hit on him now, Untitled will not be able to come close to-"

Geo- "Hold that thought, Le Grande Dragoon makes a move."

Ace dodges a barrage of punches from Marco. Following his failed attacks, the Frenkman is in a state of vulnerability due to. Ace finds the opportunity and unsheathes his sword, and goes for the neck from below. As predicted, the blade breaks upon impacting Marco's skin.

Denarrow- 'It was worth a try.'

Ace drops what's less than half a sword and hurriedly leaps away to avoid being grabbed. Marco leaps after him, misses, and crashes into a building. Without break, Marco leaps again to try and land a punch, but Ace is successful again at shifting his feet around, avoiding the attack.

Denarrow- 'Like a bull fight.'

Ace continues to dodge and make seperation from Marco, causing the area around them to get destroyed due to the failed attacks. They run around the city playing the same game of cat and mouse. They end up going through different structures, causing more than a few to collapse. All throughout, Ace is unharmed and unscathed, which can be almost said for Marco. Around Marco's every tenth attack or so, Ace would counter with an attack of his own by lightly hitting or kicking his opponent. Lightly or otherwise, he'd break his bones against Marco's durable skin.

[12:55 Remaining]

Denarrow- 'I have to increase the durability of my leg and foot muscles. With the amount of pivoting, shifting, and jumping I'm doing, my lower muscles are shredding themselves. My bones are also going through stress fractures. Even though I can't feel the pain, I can feel and hear them tearing and healing at the same time. Without Sin, my legs would have torn itself apart three times over already. Usually I wouldn't be doing this, but I'm taking so many precautions and technical movements to continue untouched. I'm not only dodging my opponent but the artificial blasts of wind and the scraps he creates and throws around from punching and kicking. He’s also throwing random shit too. It's demanding and annoying to fight a Paradisian like this.'

Marco leaps at him again but again misses Ace, destroying a building's pillar. The same thing happens twice over. Ace can hear and feel the building about to collapse after Marco destroys another piece of its integral infrastructure. He swiftly runs out of the parking lot placed underneath the building and gets out onto the open street. The building collapses on top of Marco, who is just about to make it out. A heavy fog of smoke surrounds the block and then disperses after Marco breaks out of the building's ruin. He fans out the smoke by aggressively waving his arms around.

Denarrow- 'This is like the sixth building he destroyed so far. And the third one to collapse directly on top of him, but he seems to shrug it off so it doesn't seem to be that effective.'

Right on cue, Marco pushes the concrete on top of him, sending the materials flying out. He then stands rather than attempting to go after Ace again. Most likely revising his game plan.

Denarrow- 'On top of my own issues, he's learning where he is effective during this fight. I can tell from the kicks and punches that he has competent basic combat skills. But he's far too slow for me, I can predict his moves so well it's as if I'm looking into the future. If his body wasn't so indestructible I would've… No use in complaining now. But because I can only dodge, it gives him time to try out new strategies knowing I can't fight him back. He's adapting slowly. He realized that leaping for attacks and the element of surprise is getting him further than trying to actually fight me straight up. If I only had my real blade with me… Again complaining, stop it.'

Marco- 'I can't even lay a finger on him. It's obvious he's trying to wait out the time, but if he really wanted to do that he could just hide? No, he's been hitting me too. Now I think it about, one match I saw back in Durmany was decided by points. I didn't really understand it and I was told it was rare back then too so I didn't have incentive to further look into it. But when the winner can't be decisively determined after time is up. Then points are rewarded to those who successfully landed the most hits. Maybe that's what this man is going for. He knows he's not making a dent in my health bar.'

Marco looks at his right forearm and taps his arm’s sleeve. A digital holographic screen appears showing the timer. Denarow does the same.

Denarrow- 'I didn't know that was there.'

Marco- "Look Amerigan."

Marco's Frenk accent captures Ace's attention immediately. He looks at the Frenk man standing on top of the rubble.

Maro- "We due nut heev muuch tim luft. As a warnin, I will cume at fill strength neow."

Denarrow- 'That was Inglish I heard. Why is it that bad?'

[04:44 Remaining]

Geo- "Past the five minute mark, Marco has been able to land a single hit on each other. Le Grande Dragoon, the Valial, has destroyed buildings, cars, and streets and is still unable to land a hit. His health bar dropped just two percent because he had a couple of buildings crash onto him. The Untitled on the other hand has dodged everything Dragoon has thrown at him so far. His health bar is at a near one hundred percent and he has yet to show any signs of tiredness. Can he pull through until the buzzer, Theo?"

Theo- "I think he will but that alone will not result in a win for him. I think Untitled one hundred percent knows this. Which is why every once in a while, he's lightly fighting back with a kick or punch here and there to go there for the unconventional victory."

Geo- "We have yet to commentate on one of those yet. And the points make sense because if a man without a Paradise Fruit fights a durable Valial Paradisian such as Dragoon, it's without contest. He has no way to penetrate the skin. The sword from earlier might have been his only hope and it broke like a saltine cracker."

Theo- "Exactly. This game is determined by two outcomes now, if Marco can land a hit, it's over making it Dragoon's victory. I don't think The Untitled has a chance to come back from a Dragoon hit. The other outcome is the one playing out right now, if The Untitled can just waste the clock out of minutes and seconds he'd most likely guarantee his victory."

Geo- "Well it's an unfortunate matchup for The Untitled in just the tournament's opener. And similar scenarios will continue to follow him if he makes victory. But right now, he can touch the guy, he just can’t hurt ‘em."

Theo- "There is one thing going for him and it's The urban metropolis environment they are in. It gives Untitled opportunities in not only dodging and hiding but in environmental attacks. If Untitled is able to use cars, buildings, light poles, hell anything with significant mass that he can cunningly utilize against Dragoon, it might give him the boost he needs to win this."

Geo- "Now it looks like Marco is going on a furious offensive after taking a little break."

Malala steps out of the locker room. Though her match ended some time ago, she likes to recuperate and analyze her strengths and weaknesses post-fights. She looks at the wall-mounted televisions on the walls seeing the last fight of the tournament on screen. It takes her a moment to realize that pajama man is the masked Gladiator.

Malala- 'He's still alive?'

She heads towards the arena where the fight was taking place. Along the way, her older brother appears. With him are three others. One woman, one man with impeccable contemporary fashion, and a half-man half-cyborg individual.

Maximus- "Good job."

There was a smile on his face as he spoke.

Malala- "Thanks."

As she spoke, her face didn't change expression, and her tone was just as cold as ever. She doesn't even look at him and continues walking like nothing was ever said. Maximus stops and turns his head as his little sister goes by him.

Trinidad- "What was that about?"

Jabari- "I guess all little sisters are cold."

Luke- "Shut up."

Upon entering the arena, she notices there are only less than ten people in the stands. In the middle, there is the holographic fight between The Untitled and Le Grande Dragoon. The fight is displayed by an invisible camera in Ƶ-Simulation taking multiple different views, mainly an isometric view, of the fight. It zooms in and out, sometimes even splits the screen, to properly cover the fighters gladiating. Malala stands in the back, watching the intense fight unfold.

Malala- 'He moves fast. But why isn't he fighting back?'

Waldu- "You're interested too?"

She doesn't have to look. Just by voice can she recognize the character. Waldu leans against the wall right next to her.

Malala- "Not really."

Waldu- "In case you wonderin, he don't have any typa Paradise Fruit, or any we know."

Malala- "Hmm…" 'No wonder why he can't go on the offense. So can he only dodge? Why is he even here if he doesn't stand a chance? Can non-Paradisians…' "What does the last part of what you said mean? '...or any we know.'"

Waldu- "My dad was a mercenary in da Southern Campaigns. Being a single father and myself was about to be a teen, I had to live with him, sometimes in the barracks. There's a couple of individuals I've seen who this world considers to be 'worldly'."

Malala's eyes widen, breaking her cold expression for the first time today. It signals to Waldu that she knows what he’s talking about, which in return makes him grin.

Waldu- "They often meditated and they had an eerie aura surrounding them. Almost a mystical typa feeling. When I confronted The Untitled which is the title he goes by, fitting to be honest, I felt a familiar feeling. And then a feeling of fear. I connected the dots while I was going through the tunnel, it was the same back then as it is now. But that's just my theory."