The next day, the crowd gathered in the arena once again.
The coliseum was filled to the brim, to the point that those who were unable to get in had no choice but to watch the battle on the projectors that were placed in various places of Barbatos Academy, so that everyone could watch the battles unfold in real time.
Nero stood in the arena as he faced his opponent. A confident look was displayed across his face. The battle should've been yesterday, but because of what had happened during Gerhart's and Enlil's battle, his match was postponed and moved to the next day.
As soon as Judge Dredd gave the signal to start the fight, Nero and his opponent charged towards each other.
A moment later, his opponent collapsed on the ground, unconscious.
"Winner Nero!"
The audience wasn't able to react in time, not expecting the battle to end so quickly. All it took was a single exchange for the good-looking brown-haired boy to win his match, without even breaking a sweat.
Nero turned around and walked steadily out of the arena. He was projecting an expert's attitude, which made the audience remember that he was one of the Five Overlords, who wouldn't just lose to anyone.
'Well played, Nero,' Gilmore, one of the last two Kings, mused. 'We definitely gained a bit of our dignity back after this quick win.'
Yesterday, the two remaining Kings and the Five Overlords had met and discussed a strategy for how to regain the dignity that they had lost.
It was Nero who proposed that they should end their battles as quickly as possible so there would be no room for doubt that they were truly the strongest members of the young generation.
His proposal gained the agreement of everyone present, so all of them decided to end their matches as quickly as they could.
As Gilmore was thinking that they had regained a bit of their fame, a gloating laughter that was magnified by a special artifact spread in the surroundings.
"Hahaha! He managed to win so fast because he was facing a weakling!" the Boar said with arrogance. "If I was the one who faced him in battle, that brown-haired wannabe wouldn't even last five seconds!"
"Hah? What crap are you talking about?" a chubby teenager asked. "If that was me, before the match can even start, I would have immediately kicked him out of the arena!"
Judge Dredd, who was standing in the arena, glared at the two clowns that were saying a bunch of bullcrap in his presence.
Beat Nero in five seconds? You barely passed the Qualifiers, yet you, stupid Boar, dare to say that you can beat Nero in five seconds?
Utter nonsense!
Kick him out of the arena before the match even started?
Do you want to get disqualified? That's foul!
Do I look like a joke to you?
Just as Judge Dredd was about to tell the two to shut up, the stupid Boar raised its voice and made a stupid declaration.
"Hmph! Remember this, members of the Four Monkeys and Five Baboons!" the Boar declared. "The moment you face me in the arena is the day that all of you will know what true strength is!"
"Um, I applaud your boldness, but you made a mistake. It's not Four Monkeys and Five Baboons. It's Four Clowns and Five Buffoons. Please apologize to all the Monkeys and Baboons in the world. Having them compared to those weaklings brings shame upon their good names."
"You're right! Um, sorry dear Monkeys and Baboons. I didn't intend to bring shame to your good names! Please forgive my ignorance."
As if waiting for that cue, a Monkey Beastkin stood up from the audience and shouted.
"On behalf of all the Monkeys in the world, I accept your apology," the Monkey Beastkin said. "Make sure to not make the same mistake again."
"I also accept your apology." A Baboon Beastkin stood up and made his presence known. "Being compared to them brings shame upon our race. Can't you see how handsome we are? We're the ones losing out from being compared to them."
"That's right!" the Monkey Beastkin nodded his head in agreement. "They just can't compare to our awesomeness!"
The Boar and chubby teenager praised the two Beastkins who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Clearly, this was not part of the script. This unexpected combo attack almost made Nero slip as he walked towards the exit of the arena.
A second later, the boar's neck and the chubby teenager's neck were grabbed by Bruno whose face had already turned beet red due to anger.
"Are you two going to shut up first, or should I shut you up personally?" Bruno asked.
The Boar nervously chuckled as he handed the artifact that magnified its voice to Bruno who took it with a grumpy look on his face.
"I'm watching both of you," Bruno stated before releasing the two troublemakers, making both of them land on their bums.
The audience roared in laughter after seeing the two's comedic act, and had completely forgotten Nero's dominating performance. The prestige that they had tried so hard to regain turned into a joke, which made the Boar and the chubby teenager Public Enemies Number One and Two for the two remaining Kings and Five Overlords, who were still in the competition.
"You're up, Norman," Gilmore said while facing one of the Five Overlords. "End the battle as fast as you can."
"You don't have to tell me; I know what to do," Norman snorted as he jumped towards the arena from the contestants platform like a Madlad.
His next opponent was none other than the skinny swordsman, who had been with Lux and the Boar during the Qualifying Matches.
The skinny teenager calmly walked towards the arena, while Norman looked down on him with his arms crossed over his chest.
"I don't know who you are, or where you are from, but I will end you quickly," Norman declared as soon as the skinny teenager walked up in the arena. "Nothing personal, okay?"
The skinny teenager nodded his head and stood in place, waiting for Judge Dredd to start the match.
"Are both of you ready?"
Norman raised his hand with confidence. "I was born ready!"
"Yes," the skinny teenager replied.
"Battle Start!"
As soon as the battle started, a soft, yet resounding clinking sound spread in the arena.
A moment later, a cry of pain, followed by a shower of blood was heard and seen in the place where Norman stood.
His arms, and legs were cut off from his body. The young man, who was one of the Five Overlords, found himself lying helpless on the ground, with blood spurting from the severed limbs of his body.
"Nothing personal, okay?" the skinny teenager said before turning around to leave the arena under the dumbfounded gaze of the audience who couldn't believe what they just saw.
The skinny teenager didn't even bother to wait for Judge Dredd's declaration of his victory. In his eyes, his opponent was simply too weak for him to consider him as a serious opponent.
"Nice!" the Boar said with a smug-look on its face before turning to the chubby teenager beside it. "Do you think we can invite him into the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen? He has what it takes to be my sworn brother!"
Lux rolled his eyes at the shameless, thick-headed boar, who would pester strong people for them to join its organization.
He had long known that the skinny swordsman wasn't simple.
His performance alone was enough to shut up all opposition, leaving Gilmore's and Nero's group of elite prodigies, unable to stop themselves from treating the mysterious swordsman as a serious competitor in the tournament.
