"GENTLEMEN, LADIES, AND DEMIES, ARE YOU READY FOR ANOTHER EXCITING SPECTACLE? NEXT UP, A TIER 2 MATCH FEATURING COMBATANTS MUSA AND WANG! PLACE YOUR BETS NOW FOR WHO YOU THINK WILL COME OUT ON TOP!"
The announcer's voice echoes throughout the arena that is filled to the brim with eager spectators. No matter the time or day, these events are always packed. Some consider this to be Avarice's unofficial official sport. I can't say I disagree with them. Although the constant screaming and yelling is enough to make you envy those who are without hearing. Doesn't help that the announcer himself is cursed with a booming voice. Guess he was born for this kind of thing.
"A tier 2 match, huh."
Tier 2 matches tend to be mildly interesting; especially compared to Tier 1. The power level of curses is higher, the fighters are more experienced, and the earnings are higher. I'm not dumb enough to gamble my wages on these guys…not any more at least. Debt is a brutal teacher.
"ALL BETS ARE IN; IT'S TIME FOR A CURSE MATCH! LADY AND GENTLEMAN, GET READY TO TUSSLE in 3-2-1, FIGHT!"
Musa and Wang? I have not heard much about them, but apparently, they are among the most skilled fighters in the tier 2 division. For a woman her size, Musa is fairly muscular. Given that she is staying grounded and distant from her opponent, I suspect that her curse is physical, or ground based.
As for Wang, this guy is tall and lanky. His leg muscles are far more toned than any of his other frankly lackluster muscles. Perhaps some airborne curse? If that's the case, then the match is between opposing forces with opposite win cons. This will be more interesting than I thought.
"What's the matter, you coward? Gonna keep playing leapfrog or finally approach?"
"I ain't falling for your taunts, I play to win! Why don't you try to get me? What's wrong? Can't jump?"
The combatants trade provocations with each other; it's a reasonable tactic to feel out your opponent and buy time for yourself. As expected, Muda is remaining grounded, creating shockwaves with her stomps. It's not very effective against Wang since he is mostly remaining airborne with his jumps and air mobility. They are very much aware that whoever is the first to leave their domain loses, thereby creating a stalemate of sorts. I can feel all of the gamblers on edge. I'd hate to be in their shoes right now, if only they could feel the freedom from gambling stress.
"OH, AND IT LOOKS LIKE OUR COMBATANTS HAVE YET TO LAND A SINGLE HIT! REMEMBER, IF NOBODY IS KNOCKED OUT WITHIN 9 MINUTES, THEN THE ONE WHO LANDS THE FIRST HIT WINS THE MATCH! WITH ONLY 1 MINUTE LEFT, WHO WILL FINALLY NAIL THE FIRST HIT?"
"Come on Muda, knock that coward into the ground already!"
"Wang, you've got to close in on her man!
As the clock runs out, several members of the crowd are ramping up their support–and frustrations–towards their respective candidate. Muda excels with grounded combat, but can't jump at all, conversely, Wang excels at aerial approaches, but one of those grounded shockwaves could spell the end for him. Now that the win con is to land one hit, someone will need to break the zone and approach. Their patience is that of skilled fighters of their caliber, but in the end, the aggressive maneuver will secure the win.
"YAAA-EEH!"
Growing increasingly frustrated, Muda puts all of her might into a double stomp, creating two huge shockwaves that approach Wang at high speed. Wang, noticing the bit of recoil Muda inflicted on herself, seizes the opportunity and jumps directly above her for a whiff punish.
"Have a taste of my finisher move, air drill!"
Wang rapidly spins in a downward spiral of colors, only less than a second from victory.
"Gotcha!"
"Wha-?!"
Just before Wang's drill attack could land, Muda anti-aired him by grabbing his feet–nullifying most of the impact of the attack.
"Grand slam!!"
Muda slams Wang into the ground, causing him to cough up a bit of blood upon impact. Needless to say–
"AND THAT'S A WRAP! THE WINNER IS MUDA, MASTER OF THE EARTH!"
The crowd erupts in cheers, drowning out the ones who were cursing the results. I must say, baiting Wang to approach her by throwing out a recoil move and countering the punish attempt was a genius play. These are indeed respectable opponents; I'd better keep that in mind.
"WE WATCHED AN EPIC TIER 1 MATCH AND WE JUST WITNESSED A NAILBITER TIER 2 MATCH. AS GREAT AS THOSE FINALIST MATCHES WERE, THEY ARE NOTHING COMPARED TO THE POTENTIAL PROWESS WE WILL HAVE THE PLEASURE OF WITNESSING IN THIS TIER 3 MATCH! COMBATANTS, ARE YOU READY?"
Whelp, it looks like it's finally that time. I dislike being the center of attention, but it can't be helped sometimes. Wearing this eye mask helps alleviate the pressure, but not by much. I take a deep breath.
"Here we go."
I've managed to make my way up to the battle arena without much trouble. I'm glad that combatants get a reserved section, but it is inconveniently placed towards the back of the stadium. I get that it builds up hype for the spectators, since they get to see us slowly make our way to the stage but come on.
"Come on Vex, you've got this!"
"You better not lose, or I'll make your head explode!
"Lose lose lose, you filthy cheater!"
Among the scattered voices of the insufferable audience, I could make out some cheers–positive and negative–for me. Best way to manage them is to keep walking forward and never make eye contact. Besides, there have been instances where spectators sabotaged fighters with their curses; when it comes to money, humanity is off the table with these creatures.
"THE COMBATANT TO MY LEFT IS A FIGHTER WHO QUICKLY CLIMBED HIS WAY TO BEING AMONG THE BEST OF THE BEST, YOU KNOW HIM WELL, THE MASKED MYSTERIO, VEX!"
By the gods, that title makes me cringe every time I hear it. My name alone would suffice.
"AND ON MY RIGHT, A DEMI-HUMAN KNOWN TO BE FASTER THAN A CHEETAH, A TWO-TIME CHAMPION, GIVE IT UP FOR ZOME! PLACE YOUR BETS NOW!"
The demi-human across from me, Zome as he's called, has nothing short of a formidable appearance. His gaze is sharp as a predator looking at his prey, his physique is slender but not lacking in muscle mass. Honestly, I'm quite jealous of his build–minus the cheetah tail of course.
I take a look at the broadcasting screen high above us; the display features Zome and me, as well as other stats such as betting favorability. As I expected, the majority of spectators are betting against me, with only 9% in my favor. I mean, it's logical to support a proven champion over a guy like me; heck, I would even bet against myself. Still stings my pride a bit though.
"ALL BETS ARE IN! WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, IT'S TIME FOR THE MOMENT WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR, VEX VERSUS ZOME. COMBATANTS, GET READY IN 3, 2, 1, FIGHT!"
"?!!"
Not even a second after the word "fight", Zome zoomed towards me, breaking my zone. I only narrowly avoided the brunt of his burst attack, but only instinctively–not reactively. I anticipated a burst option like this, but I still couldn't punish it. Gotta stay on my toes; he's looking to overwhelm me with his speed!
"BAM! ZOME IMMEDIATELY OPENED UP WITH A SPEEDY ATTACK THAT CAUGHT VEX OFF GUARD! LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A FAST-PACED MATCH ON OUR HANDS!"
Before I could fully recover from his first attack, Zome charged at me again.
"Flurry Fists!"
Zome unleashed a barrage of punches at me at high speed, leaving me no choice but to block. His individual hits are rather on the weaker side, but the sheer speed and number of strikes becomes gradually overwhelming.
"Tch!"
I managed to parry a hit and use the momentum to push myself away with a backflip. As I figured, his strategy is to overwhelm me with numerous low power high speed attacks, not giving me a chance to react or hold my ground. Now I see how he wins; he forces his opponents into defending, gradually draining their stamina.
"Man, this match-up sucks!"
Fortunately, my parry seemed to have caught him by surprise and put a reactable distance between us. Zome looks at me in the distance and snickers.
"Heh, not bad. I never expected someone like you to be capable of parrying my flurry attack; you're one of the very few who has ever done so."
"Is…is that so…? L-lucky…me…"
My stamina is drastically depleting, leaving me no choice but to catch my breath. I need to find a way to activate my curse. Money's on the line!
"You know, I've heard a lot about you, Vex. I've even watched some of your matches. You may have managed to get by with your luck with the lower tiers, but you don't stand a chance against opponents who can outmaneuver you. After your defeat, I suggest you go back to Tier 1 and let the fighters who've actually earned it take your stolen place."
Zome's intense gaze all makes more sense now; this guy hates my guts. A look of frustration and disapproval in one–a look that I am too familiar with. Honestly, it's ticking me off. Time for me to return the favor!
"You are really fast, I'll give you that, but your offensive power is pathetic. One kick. Just one kick is all I need to win."
"What did you say?!"
"You heard me. I can do something you can't–win with one kick."
Zome's eyes flare so intensely that his irises disappear. The idiot took the bait; time to test my theory.
"Are you calling me weak?! You, a mere human, calling a demi-human WEAK?!
"I didn't say that. I can beat you with one kick–that's all I'm saying."
"Bastard, I'll remind you of your place; I won't let you land a single kick on me! AHHHH!"
"Is that so?"
Zome's yell gradually shifted from human range to the deep octaves of a beast. Dotted fur began to cover his body, as his limbs grew, and muscles expanded until there were no traces of human left.
"WOW FOLKS! FOR THE FIRST TIME, A NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN PHENOMENON, ZOME TRANSFORMS INTO HIS BEAST MODE! THINGS MUST BE GETTING SERIOUS DOWN THERE!"
Standing before me now is a fully transformed beast Zome. He looks like a bigger, more animalistic version of his standard self. The "human" part of "demi-human" is completely gone. I'd imagine that his human reasoning is too.
"RAAAAH!"
With even greater speed than before, Zome charges towards me as if I were fresh meat. At this point, I'm not sure if he's trying to KO me or kill me. Either way, if my theory is correct, then–
"RAAAR??!!"
Just right before he could get to me, Zome trips over a piece of the shattered floor–presumably the aftermath from the previous match–launching him above ground. The shattered piece wasn't very big, but it was enough to throw off the balance of a big beast traveling at the speed of a bullet. He may not be running anymore, but all of his momentum remains intact–in my direction.
"Perfectly aligned."
Mustering up all the strength I could, I unleashed a dropkick onto Zome's face, launching him into the wall at the other end of the arena.
THUD!
Although the wall has a large cheetah man sized imprint, it remains intact fortunately. Battle damage repair is deducted from earnings! More importantly–
"AND IT LOOKS LIKE ZOME IS OUT FOR GOOD! WE HAVE A WINNER, A NEW CHAMPION, THE MAGNIFICENT MASKED MYSTERIO, VEX!"
______________________________________________________________________
"Vex, you were amazing out there! How did you manage to pull that one off?"
"Who knows, maybe the goddess gave me grace today."
After the tournament, Crawley requested that I meet him at his shop. I was surprised to see him at the fighting arena, given that he is usually busy operating his business during those times. Apparently, he snuck out, using "an extended lunch break" as an excuse to his wife. They are such a power couple.
"Nah, no way! Grace for a guy like you? After all the work you've done for me alone?"
"To be fair, I didn't say which goddess. I wouldn't be surprised if it were the goddess of hell."
Crawley snickers at my sarcastic retort. To be honest, I don't fully understand how it works, but I'm more confident that the result is a work of my curse. As far as I know, most curses have an activation clause that must be met in order to trigger the curse. In school, we spend our early years learning about the particular quirks of our curses. For the life of me, no one could help me understand how my curse functioned, but its impact was apparent.
Misfortune. I can trigger misfortunate events on others if they contradict my assertions. The very thing that they didn't want to happen, happens. This theory makes sense, but it still doesn't explain some of the other inconsistencies…
"Hey man, why do you look like you got mugged? Celebrate for once! Got something on your mind or somethin'?"
"It's none of your concern. So, what did you call me here for? To waste my time over a pointless discussion? If it's not business-related, then there's no point in us interacting."
"Straight to the point is the way with ya, huh. Remember the special gig I told you about the other day?"
"Nope."
Crawley takes out a sack of gold coins and places it on the counter.
"Now that you mention it…."
"Tonight's the night. It's time.