Outside the main arena, the heavy atmosphere hung thick with the lingering scent of ozone, blood, and shattered stone.
The catastrophic showdown between Rihasa and Dark had left the stadium floor in complete ruins, but the conflict had not ended with the ring bell.
In the open corridor, Tez stood directly in front of DARK, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.
Heat radiating from Tez’s body caused the air around them to shimmer, his fiery aura flaring in direct response to the suffocating, pitch-black energy surging off the Master of Darkness.
[ AURA CLASH ENGAGED ]
* TEZ: Flame Brawler / Maana Flare
* DARK: Master of Darkness / Adaptation Aura
* THREAT ATMOSPHERE: CRITICAL
“Now you’ve crossed your limit, Dark!” Tez growled, his voice trembling with pure rage as he stared down the towering figure.
“This is just a game… don’t try to kill anyone!”
DARK looked down at Tez, a cruel, mocking smirk twisting his lips as his black aura pulsed like a dark heart.
He chuckled softly, completely unbothered by Tez’s fiery intensity.
“You moron!” DARK sneered, leaning in slightly.
“Can you really tell me what to do…? And I think you forgot—this is a Death Game. Do or die… And I think I need to give you some lessons… child.”
Tez dropped into a low, aggressive combat stance, his aura igniting into bright orange sparks.
“Bring it on… let’s see!”
The two monsters stepped forward, the ground cracking under their combined spiritual pressure as they prepared to tear each other apart right in the hallway.
BZZZZZZT!
Before either of them could throw a punch, the stadium speakers blasted across the entire facility with deafening volume, cutting through the high-voltage tension.
“ATTENTION ALL PARTICIPANTS AND SPECTATORS!” the host’s voice echoed loudly from above.
“SO MY DEAR CONTESTANTS AND AUDIENCE… THE DEATH GAME IS OVER!”
The entire stadium went completely dead silent.
Down in the stands, spectators looked at one another in utter confusion, whispering frantically.
“What?!” an audience member shouted.
“How?! Where?!”
“What…!!” a contestant gasped in disbelief.
Tez froze, blinking in confusion as his fire subsided slightly.
“What is happening?!”
“OH, SORRY! I MEAN… THE FIRST HALF IS COMPLETED!” the host corrected himself quickly, chuckling over the microphone.
“Now, we select 24 players to advance into the FINAL PHASE! But listen carefully—this final phase is gonna be a TEAM PHASE! Every team must consist of exactly 6 players! That means 24 divided by 6 equals 4 TEAMS! Simple math! Now, all qualified contestants have 24 hours to choose their team members!”
The host paused as massive floating crystal screens illuminated above the arena ring.
“AND ONE MORE THING! WE HAVE RANKED THE PLAYERS BASED ON THEIR OVERALL PERFORMANCE! HERE ARE OUR TOP 10 PLAYERS!”
[ TOURNAMENT LEADERBOARD: TOP 10 ]
* DARK
* CYBORG
* STARC
* JIN LEE
* TEZ
* SHA
* BENZ
* HUMA
* KARLY
* RIHASA
“DON’T WORRY, PLAYERS WHO ARE NOT IN THE TOP 10!” the host added boisterously.
“Your ranks will change after the upcoming battles! Now go, take a break, and form your teams!”
DARK glanced up at the leaderboard, then looked back at Tez with an amused glint in his dark eyes.
The oppressive aura surrounding him vanished in an instant.
“Interesting…” DARK said smoothly, turning his back on Tez.
“Now go, child, and get some rest… Meet me in the battleground.”
Tez glared at his retreating back, raising a clenched fist.
“Wait for me! I am gonna crush you!”
DARK stopped briefly, glancing over his shoulder with a sinister, mocking grin.
“I am so excited to be crushed by you…”
With those lingering words, DARK melted back into the shadows of the corridor and disappeared.
A short while later, inside the medical center of the stadium, the room was filled with the beep of heart monitors and the smell of antiseptic.
Rihasa lay wrapped in heavy white bandages from head to toe, resting on a medical bed.
Tez, Sha, and Weza stood around the bed.
Rihasa looked up at the ceiling, his voice quiet and filled with remorse.
“I am sorry… I couldn’t win the battle…”
Sha stepped forward, placing a reassuring hand on Rihasa’s bandaged shoulder.
“Don’t worry about it! Actually, your opponent was way too powerful… and literally, you did great out there!”
Tez nodded earnestly.
“Yes! You literally went insane in that ring!”
Weza crossed his arms, looking around the room.
“Now, we have to make our team.”
Suddenly, the door flew open.
HUMA walked inside casually, crossing her arms as she looked at the group.
“We are 5 already,” HUMA announced plainly.
“We only need one more person in our team.”
Rihasa raised his bandaged head in shock. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
“Hey! Who says you are in our team?!”
HUMA smirked, flipping her hair.
“Tez joined me in his team.”
Tez’s eyes went wide.
“WHAT?!”
Rihasa turned his head toward Tez, glaring dramatically.
“Hey, Tez! Without telling me?!”
Sha looked equally betrayed.
“Tez, you couldn’t even tell me?!”
Tez threw his hands up in sheer panic.
“Hey, hey! Calm down, I didn’t—”
“STOP!” HUMA yelled, cutting them all off with an authoritative stomp of her boot.
“We need to hurry up and find the 6th player for our team!”
Rihasa squinted his eyes at HUMA, examining her suspiciously.
“Our last team member needs to be someone really strong like us… not some unknown little girl…”
HUMA’s vein popped on her forehead.
“Why are you looking at me like that?!”
Tez stepped between them to keep the peace.
“Okay! We have to recruit a person who is both strong and trustworthy…”
“Hey… can I join your team?” a calm, youthful voice suddenly echoed from the doorway.
Everyone turned around instantly.
Standing at the entrance of the medical room, leaning against the doorframe with an unbothered posture, was a mysterious boy carrying a quiet, deadly presence.
* NAME: STARC
* RANK: Top 3rd Contestant
* STATUS: Unknown / Assassin
* ORIGIN: Zeuter Planet
Tez gasped, pointing at him in shock.
“Hey! You are that Top 3rd person!”
Rihasa and Sha immediately traded excited looks, their previous complaints vanishing into thin air.
“YES!” Rihasa and Sha shouted in unison.
“Starc sir, you are DEFINITELY in our team!”
HUMA held out her arm, blocking STARC from stepping further into the room.
“Wait! First, we need to ask security questions! Maybe he is actually our enemy…”
Tez narrowed his eyes, realizing the danger.
“Yes! Maybe he is working with TRACE FALGER!”
STARC raised his hands defensively, his face calm and unreadable.
“Hey! I am not with Trace… I am an assassin! I am only here because of that mysterious power… and to explore Powerland. I am from the Zeuter planet.”
Tez’s ears perked up instantly.
“Hey! That means you know Master Kaizo?!”
STARC nodded slightly.
“Yes, I know him. Master Kaizo is very popular back there… he is enormously stronger than everyone here.”
Tez smiled brightly.
“Oh! Really…!”
Without a single word of warning, HUMA suddenly lunged forward, thrusting a sharp dagger straight toward STARC’s throat at blinding speed!
“HEY, HUMA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Tez screamed in horror.
SWOOSH!
STARC didn’t even shift his footing.
He simply tilted his head back a single millimeter, letting the gleaming blade graze the air in front of his nose.
His expression didn’t change at all.
HUMA pulled her dagger back, her eyes sharp and analytical.
“I don’t believe a 14 or 15-year-old boy is an assassin. And if you are a real assassin… that means you are here to kill someone!”
STARC’s gaze darkened slightly, his voice dropping an octave.
“Yes. I am here to kill someone who is very strong… and that person is TRACE FALGER. And if you really know assassins… you know we don’t like giving out info about our missions.”
Tez scratched the back of his head, looking completely lost.
“Hey… can anybody tell me what an assassin actually is?”
Sha and Rihasa turned to Tez, nodding like experts.
“Tez! Think like Spy x Family… Anya’s mom!”
Tez’s eyes lit up in total realization.
“OH!!”
Tez turned back to STARC, clapping his hands together with absolute confidence.
“I don’t care what he is! He knows Master Kaizo, he has the same opponent as us in Trace, and he is super strong! So Starc, you are in our team now!”
Everyone in the room froze, staring at Tez in utter confusion.
HUMA blinked, pointing at Tez.
“Hey, Tez, really?!”
Tez grinned warmly.
“Huma, trust me! He is nice!”
HUMA’s shoulders dropped, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks as she looked away, crossing her arms tightly.
“If… if you, Tez… are saying it’s okay… then okay…”
Weza leaned over, whispering loudly to Huma.
“What does that mean? ‘If Tez says so’?”
HUMA instantly spun around, her fist flying into Weza’s metallic side!
Weza held his dented armor, whining in pain.
“This is not garbage! It’s my metal gear!”
Tez pumped his fist into the air, his eyes blazing with determination.
“Alright! So our team is officially decided! Now, Trace… we are coming to destroy you and your allies!”
The next morning, the grand stadium was once again packed to its absolute brim.
The atmosphere was chaotic as giant digital screens hovered over the newly reconstructed arena floor.
The announcer floated out on his platform, shouting into his microphone.
“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! ARE YOU READY TO SEE OUR OFFICIAL TEAMS?!”
The floating screens flashed wildly, displaying the names of the four final teams.
[ TEAM REGISTRATION ]
TEAM A
* DARK
* CYBORG
* JIN LEE
* GAMA 1
* GAMA 2
* VISI YANMA
TEAM B
* BENZ WICK
* KARLY
* KUMA
* JACK LOPEZ
* SUHOG
* YUHOG
TEAM C
* GIN CHI
* SEOM SEOUK
* ANDREW LEWIS
* QUEINA
* WILLIAM
* ERIE BELLA
TEAM D
* TEZ
* RIHASA
* SHA
* WEZA
* HUMA
* STARC
“NOW! LET’S SEE WHICH TEAM FIGHTS WHICH TEAM!” the host roared.
“REMEMEBER THE RULES! IF A TEAM LOSSES MORE THAN ONE MATCH, THAT TEAM WILL BE DISQUALIFIED! OR IF ALL MEMBERS OF A TEAM DIE DURING A MATCH, THAT TEAM AUTOMATICALLY LOSES! ARE YOU READY FOR THE SHUFFLE?!”
The massive digital wheel began spinning violently.
“3… 2… 1… LET’S SEE!”
MATCHUP RESULTS:
* MATCH 1: TEAM C vs TEAM B
* MATCH 2: TEAM A vs TEAM D
The host’s jaw literally dropped on live broadcast.
“WHAT THE HELLLL!! TEAM A VERSUS TEAM D?! I THINK THIS BATTLE IS GONNA DESTROY THE ENTIRE CITY!!”
The host gathered his composure, clearing his throat loudly.
“SO! THE FIRST BATTLE IS BETWEEN TEAM C AND TEAM B TODAY! AND THEN NEXT WEEK ….. IT’S GOING TO BE TEAM A VERSUS TEAM D!”
Down in the contestant holding area, Tez stared up at the board, his heart thumping hard against his ribs.
“I didn’t think I would be fighting you this fast, Dark…”
HUMA looked at the roster of Team A, her face pale.
“Are we even able to win against those monsters?!”
STARC rested his hands behind his head, his calm demeanor unbroken.
“They are actually more powerful than us… but if we put in courage, we will definitely win!”
Meanwhile, right behind them, Sha and Rihasa were violently rolling around on the floor, wrestling each other over an open bag of potato chips.
Weza walked up beside Tez, looking toward their team.
“Hey, we have one day! Let’s train ourselves and beat Team A!”
Tez turned to his team, his eyes filled with absolute, blazing resolve.
“Yes! Let’s win against Team A!”
High up in the dark, secluded VIP tower overlooking the city, Trace Falger swirled a glass of wine, a twisted smile spreading across his face as he stared at the bracket.
“Let’s see, Tez… what will you do in that match?” Trace whispered quietly.
Suddenly, the door behind him creaked open.
DARK stepped into the room, his pitch-black aura flaring dangerously as he cracked his knuckles.
“I am gonna kill them all!” DARK declared, his voice dripping with pure malice.
Trace turned his head slightly, his dark eyes glowing in the shadow as he laughed softly.
“Make him suffer for his death…” Trace sneered, his laughter growing echoing and maniacal.
“I love seeing children suffer for their deaths… HAHAHAHAHAHA!”
TO BE CONTINUED…..