[Pinnacle Academy, Stadium 1 - Arena A: VIP Suite 4#]
Yuka Azira leaned back in her seat in the VIP box, her gaze locked on the brutal scene unfolding on the arena platform.
"Well," she spoke, observing the grueso scene occurring on the platform, "that mage certainly seed like he needed a good beating. Can't say I disagree with the kid on that front."
Julian George, seated beside her, shifted uncomfortably. "Yuka, I can't recall the exact tournant rules, but isn't this… a bit excessive?"
Yuka snorted. "Excessive? Hardly. Tournant rules are clear: a match is over when a competitor is knocked out of bounds, knocked unconscious, or forced into an outright surrender."
"But look at him," Julian gestured towards the battered Carlos, "he's clearly in a position to force surrender..."
"A mage unable to patch himself up at least a little, despite all that blood? Please." Yuka scoffed, giving a dismissive look in her eye. "Besides, he's still moving. Might be in agonizing pain, but that just makes it all the more interesting."
As the two watched Rel slaughter Carlos they had just seen him pick up Carlos from the ground and hurled him towards the arena's edge. It looked like he wasn't going to slow down.
Julian winced. "Okay, that… that was intense. But honestly, Yuka, I like the kid. He's got potential. But…"
"But nothing like you, is that it?" Yuka finished his sentence for him, a teasing lilt in her voice. "Especially back in our Academy days, that gloomy kid everyone was too scared to approach."
Julian scowled. "Hey, what's that supposed to an? And weren't you the one begging for help on crafting components for your Dungeon Theory exam back then?"
Yuka waved a dismissive hand, her attention already back on the arena. "Ancient history. Besides," she grinned, "this match is almost over. Might as well see how our mysterious underdog finishes the job."
"Now, what was his na again?" Julian asked, scratching his chin. "That kid... sothing about him. He caught my eye back in the hallway, when he was with Jan. Could be an unknown asset for either of our guilds."
Yuka's gaze sharpened. "You think he's more than just an archer, don't you? Could be soone overlooked even by Oberon."
Julian stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Seems like he and Jan are good friends as well. Maybe you can get two for the price of one, offer the kid an internship..."
A sly smile spread across Yuka's face. "That's... not a bad idea. Now, don't tell you were thinking back to that whole hallway staring contest with him, were you?"
Julian's blank face now seemingly more focused turned to Yuka. "Absolutely not." (He absolutely was.)
***
[Pinnacle Academy, Stadium 1 - Arena A: Student Section Stands]
Jan watched from the stands, with horror twisting in his gut. This wasn't the Rel he knew. This was a side of his casual acquaintance he'd never seen before – a raw, ruthless brutality he couldn't comprehend.
While Jan couldn't stand watching Rel beat a helpless man without any feelings or regard he tried to jump towards the stage to stop him.
"Stop it Jan!" Camila yelled holding him by his arm.
"No one's stopping him!" Jan's voice cracked with desperation. He leaped forward, trying to break free from Camila and Lyra's grasp.
"Jan, it's no use!" Camila said, her voice strained as she struggled to hold him back.
"There must have been a reason!" Lyra pleaded, her usually bright eyes filled with concern. "Maybe... maybe you can talk to him afterwards, calm him down."
Their words barely registered. Jan's gaze was fixed on the scene below. Rel, relentless and emotionless, was advancing onto Carlos. The crowd was a roaring ocean of noise, a bloodthirsty urging Rel to keep going.
Tap... Tap... Tap...
He was going to do it. He was going to keep beating Carlos, long after the point of victory. The thought sickened Jan. Could this truly be the sa Rel he'd crossed paths with, shared occasional smiles and polite conversation? Jan began to feel doubt about Rel.
With a final burst of strength, he almost broke free when sothing he saw stopped him from moving...
Rel stopped. His face, twisted in a mask of rage a mont before, seed to soften. It was as if so sense of reason had returned to those terrifying eyes. Slowly, agonizingly, he unclenched his fist, and his crossbow reappeared in his hand.
Jan's heart pounded in his chest as he watched Rel walk towards Carlos's crumpled body. He lowered the crossbow, its tip aid squarely at Carlos's head. It seed like an eternity before Rel made eye contact with the announcer.
Carlos whimpered, his broken body barely able to utter a sound. Yet the ssage was clear.
The announcer's voice bood through the stadium, a jarring note of normalcy amidst the chaos: "Rel Laurence wins by forced surrender!"
The tension snapped. Jan sagged, relief and remaining horror washing over him in equal asure. What had just happened? What darkness had taken hold of Rel, the Rel he barely knew? But for now, it was over. The questions, the terrible answers...
those could wait.
For now, soone needed to be there for his friend, even if he was beginning to question if he knew that friend at all.
***
{Rel's POV}
[Pinnacle Academy, Stadium 1 - Arena A: Main Stage]
[ALERT!, ALERT!, ALERT!]
[Warning! If any further damage is inflicted on your opponent there's a possible chance of altering the story!]
The system notifications appeared before when I was in the middle of my beatdown, against this ratty mage. But telling to stop hitting him sounded like the system was pitying such a person.
I don't know whether I should keep going or not. The blood on my hands was still dripping from all this pent-up rage.
His face looked pathetic an absolute ss. I clenched my fist once ready to swing down on his already beaten body.
...
ZING!
...
Under a sudden restraint, I could feel sothing stopping my body from any type of movent and I felt as if I was frozen in place. Why was the system doing this?
"System...Stop this." I spoke within my mind, requesting that the system would undo all these restraints and let continue beating him down.
[Mr. Axel... Carlos Muller is closer to death than unconsciousness and if you keep beating him down he will really die if you land another critical hit.]
Even when my body was stopped my mind did not. seeing the word 'Death' was what made truly think about the situation. But I had forgotten about the fact that people could die and that the concept of death was still real regardless of whether this reality was a dream or not.
haah...
I had no choice at least. I did let the anger get to , but If I were to go up against him again.
I'll kill him.
"Okay... System. I understand."
Looking over his ssed-up features it was clear to my eyes how bloody and swollen he looked. A sense of grim satisfaction washed over . I'd proven my point.
With a growl of disgust, I lowered my fist. A forced surrender would be humiliating enough. I took my crossbow out and took a step closer.
"...!"
His eyes, wide and filled with terror, focused on the weapon now pressed against his temple. My own eyes swept over his battered face. I was capable of this... this ruthlessness. Although that urge to kill him was gone I knew that these feelings would still remain.
"I'm... a bit scary," I muttered to myself.
Looking towards the announcer's box, My eyes locked with the startled announcer and he knew the rule that ca with this position.
The announcer, his voice shocked, bood across the stadium: "Rel Laurence wins by forced surrender!"
The crowd sounded a bit strange there was a mix of cheers and uneasy applause. There was respect, certainly sothing else like hate maybe. I ignored them all.
As I watched the dical team rushed onto the platform, carrying a stretcher to bring Carlos away to the Hyperstasis chambers. They all shot a look like they had seen a monster.
Who cares what they think anyway, They should be grateful that a healing chamber is capable of healing the majority of external statuses.
He may recover, but the fear I had injected in him would remain.
With a final, glance at the stretcher, I stepped back and turned away. The fight was over, But I already knew that my loss had been determined after this stage.
Valencia, Jae, Louise, or Jan. A lineup designed for maximum humiliation. Sure, I could forfeit, but wouldn't they take that as an even bigger insult? They'd scoff, knowing I'd saved them the trouble of personally crushing . Still, the alternative was getting grounded into paste... not exactly appealing.
FWANG!
[548 PPP Has been added!]
Sweet! I Guess Carlos was worth a decent bruise or two after all. More points ans more options... maybe even enough to create a whole new ability. Still, better play it smart. I'll just have to see how far I can get before I go spending crazy.
_______________
Authors Notes:
- The system has a restraint ability capable of stopping Rel from changing an important crucial factor of the story. However, this intervention would be used in the case that Rel had lost all sense of reasoning when attempting sothing dangerous.
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