Gideon desperately clawed at his throat as blood poured from the open wound. His mouth was agape, gurgling blood as his legs went limp and his body collapsed.
Dion spun the dagger in his hand for a moment before dropping them both back into his Storage Realm and pulling out another sword identical to the Giant's Night Blade. He sheathed the weapon into the flame covered holster on his back.
The announcer seemed ecstatic. "Wow, that's some power! Gideon was taken out faster than I could even see!"
From the stands, Lett stood with wide eyes.
"You good, Lett?" Dave asked.
"T-that power he had, it was unlike anything I've ever seen before. It was... horrifying."
Dion began to walk back towards the sidelines where Sachi and Ray waited. A voice called to him from behind.
"You bastard! What the hell was that!? That was supposed to be a duel, no outside interference allowed! Those portals seemed outside as hell to me!"
Dion turned to face him. Before him stood the strange man with a mohawk. Dion shook his head.
"Those portals are my own power, and therefore allowed."
The man spit on the ground. "'Allowed', my ass...".
Dion returned to the side, locking eyes with Sachi.
"I thought you said you didn't have any practical weapons, Dion?"
Dion sat down beside him. "I never said that, I just said that it was practical."
Sachi lightly shook his head and stood up. "I'm up next..."
Dion tilted his head. "Next is Ray, isn't it?"
Sachi nodded. "That's precisely why."
The announcer's voice called for the next combatants. "Would Ray and Hawke please step forward!"
Ray tugged on Sachi's sleeve.
"S-Sachi... I don't want to go out there..."
Sachi patted Ray on his head. "You don't have to."
He began to enter the field. The guards at the side stepped in front of him to stop him. "The next battle is Ray, not you."
Sachi narrowed his eyes and he pushed against them. "He's just a kid! You're not going to kill him for sport!"
The guards pushed back. "You have no idea if that's a kid! Champions don't age! That boy could be three hundred years old for all we know!"
Sachi bit his lip and shoved through the men. "I know damn well he's just a kid!"
The announcer leaned forward with interest to their conflict. "Uh oh, it looks like team captain Sachi is a little too eager to fight!"
Sachi stormed the field, all eyes of the stadium were fixed on him.
Hawke - the man with the mohawk - stared at him through his iridescent goggles. "The fuck you doing here? It ain't your time yet."
Sachi glared at him. "Are you really so keen on killing a defenseless child in a 'duel'?"
Hawke scoffed. "Defenseless? We saw what he did in the derby, that kid can do some damage. So no, I'm only keen on killing another Champion."
Sachi's voice was filled with anger. "He's just a kid! He has no capacity to fight for himself!" He drew his sword, and pointed it to the suspended booth that the announcer and Lady April sat in. "You would know that, wouldn't you, Lady April!? Your rain should be able to tell, isn't it!?"
Several guards stormed the field. "Don't you dare point a weapon at the Lady!"
Sachi swung his sword around him, causing the guards to back up. He looked up to the stands and shouted.
"You all came here because you want a spectacle, right!? There's no enjoyment in watching a child helplessly slaughtered, so I'll propose to you a new challenge!"
He pointed his sword at Hawke.
"I'll fight you and your captain together. Right here, right now!"
The announcer stood up from his seat in disbelief. "What a ludicrous demand! The games have never changed-"
The announcer was suddenly cut off, and another voice rang through the stadium.
It was Lady April's voice. "I'll allow it as long as the opposing team consents."
Whispers and murmurs flooded the crowd. The people in the stands seemed restless and uneasy, while some others seemed to sympathize.
"Sa-chi! Sa-chi! Sa-chi!"
Hawke laughed. "You must be stupid as shit to make that kind of call." He walked up to Sachi in leaned in close.
"My captain has already killed more Champions than I can count, even if it was just a duel, you're already good as dead."
Hawke stepped back. "I accept your challenge."
The stadium erupted in cheers as the guards returned to their stations. From the side, a hooded man began to take the field.
Malik walked slowly to the center of the field, removing his hood as he walked.
A dark skinned man with a bushy beard and long hair. More than just his hood, he dropped his robe entirely. A red button up shirt and fancy black pants revealed themselves in the light, along with a sword stationed on his hip.
He walked up to Sachi, looking him up and down. He must've been a few inches taller than Sachi.
"So this is what you look like up close... You look a bit more appealing than from afar."
He backed up with a smile, showing off his shiny white teeth. "I can't smell a whole lot of strength off of you though... It's like a whole different scent. Who's your god, may I ask?"
Sachi slowly holstered his weapon. "...The Goddess of Luck and Fortune."
Malik let out a hardy chuckle. "That's who you're paired with? No wonder you don't have much of an aura about you. But that doesn't mean you got here on a fluke either."
He pulled a coin out of his pocket. "Heads or tails, Sachi?"
Sachi stared at the coin. "...Heads."
Malik smirked as he tossed the coin up in the air. The coin spun for a few moments before landing on the back of his hand.
Malik laughed once more. "Heads it is, must be some real luck you've got there."
He tossed the coin into the air once more. "But luck doesn't mean anything when you have the power to control the game."
He quickly pulled out his longsword and slashed at the coin midair. The coin began to spin much faster, and landed on his hand.
"...Tails, just like that." He tossed the coin to Sachi.
"Your luck won't save you anymore."