Chapter 19 - Another Fight

The audience is stopped by their chanting when Red slowly raises his hand above his head. They stare in anticipation at what Red's next actions will be. The next moment, they see something they least expect.

Red folds down the fingers of his raised hand except for one.

"…"

The audience are stunned that they are given the middle finger. Not only a simple middle finger, but a middle finger from who they thought of as a sophisticated and elegant old man.

"…"

Blade Tornado is also stunned seeing Red's actions. He does not want to die, but he cannot fight back either and he sees Red's gesture as a hope that he will be spared.

No one knows who instigated it but, "BOOOO!!!" the audience starts to give out loud jeers to Red.

As if their jeers are not heard, they continue to see Red still proudly holding his middle finger above his head.

The announcer, fearing things will become more chaotic, goes to action.

"EVERYONE, PLEASE CALM DOWN. BLADE TORNADO, PLEASE TAP THE GROUND TWICE IF YOU YIELD." He says in a commanding tone.

Hearing the announcer's words, Blade Tornado feels slighted. This insult however gives him strength to successfully prop himself up on his knees. He then raises his head to Red's direction, and looks at Red in the eyes in defiance.

He then sees Red lazily walk towards him while "KILL… KILL… KILL…", the audience resume their chanting.

Soon, Red is now right in front of him and contrary to the audience's feelings, he somehow feels that Red does not want to end him. Before he can feel hopeful of his survival, *whoosh* a blur then zooms in towards his face and before he can even blink, *thunk* he sees a familiar helmet hanging on the handle Red's cane.

His face and head feeling cooler, he realizes that Red just took his helmet off.

"…" He grits his teeth in anger, seeing Red's action as a huge insult.

While his face is already known to many in the crowd, someone removing his helmet except for himself, is a huge offense to him. This gives him a huge boost of adrenaline, and he manages to get up off his knees, ready to fight back once more.

Before he can assume his fighting stance however, *THWACK* his lights go out.

For the next few seconds, the audience watch in silence at the unconscious Blade Tornado on the ground. The announcer then jumps off from his boot to the ring to take a closer look at Blade Tornado.

"IT LOOKS LIKE BLADE TORNADO IS OUT." He announces to the audience as he gestures to some staff on the side.

"WE HAVE A WINNER! LET'S GIVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO OLD PHANTOM!" The announcer addresses the audience.

*APPLAUSE*

*CHEER*

"OLD PHANTOM! OLD PHANTOM! OLD PHANTOM!''

While many in the audience are disappointed at the outcome, they still enjoyed the fight.

As the medical staff carry Blade Tornado out with a stretcher, the announcer turns his attention to Red. "Congratulations for another win, Old Phantom. How do you feel?" He asks.

"It feels good to work these old bones once again. Blade Tornado did well." Red says.

*Applause* The audience feels the honor in Red's words.

"I see. This is the first time that someone wounded you. Were you surprised?" The announcer asks.

"I was, not because Blade Tornado drew my blood. These are just scratches anyway. What surprised me is Blade Tornado's battle sense. But too bad for him, I have decades of battle sense on him." Red says.

*oohh* The audience nod at Red's explanation.

"When the audience was chanting for the kill, it seemed that Blade Phantom was ready to fight than yield. Why didn't go for it?" The announcer asks.

"I've taken enough lives in my prime. All I seek is a bit of fun and challenge. Besides, I want to fight him again. I want him to remember this humiliation so he can give me a good fight next time." Red says.

The audience smirk at Red's twisted logic.

"I LOVE IT!" The announcer cackles at the reply. "Anyways. Before I let you go back to your waiting room, do you have anything else to say?" He asks Red.

"I do." Red nods, knowing what the question really means. "I saw Fire Colossus earlier in the corridors. He's around, right?" he asks.

"*murmur* *murmur*" The audience immediately get what Red is saying.

"Do you want to issue a challenge?" The announcer asks.

"Yes." Red nods.

*MURMUR* The audience stir in anticipation.

"Are you sure? Fire Colossus is the Seventh Seat of our Champions' Row and a B-class superioris. Why not start with Tenth Seat first?" The announcer asks.

"I am certain." Red says as he turns to the balcony area of the arena where the VIP spectators and the champions who decide to watch the matches, are seated. "I challenge you, Fire Colossus for the Seventh Seat of the Champions' Row." He challenges.

*CHEER* The audience goes wild at the proclamation.

The spotlight operator and camera feed switch to display on the screen a Japanese man who looks to be in his 30s, fashioning a red mohawk hairstyle, adding further length to his already 190cm height. He is wearing a black leather vest, ripped jeans, and combat boots.

This man is Fire Colossus, the fighter who is sitting on the Seventh Seat of the Champions' Row for five months now.

After receiving a microphone from a staff member, Fire Colossus clears his throat before speaking.

"Old Phantom. When do you want it?" In contrast to his punk aesthetic, his words and tone are polite.

"…" The audience wait in anticipation at Red's answer.

"Do you have a few minutes to spare right now?" Red answers.

"I do." Fire Colossus nods and he jumps off the balcony.

While in the air, he materializes a pair of oversized orange-colored crystalline boots around his feet to cushion his fall. As soon as his feet make contact to the clay ring *FWAHHH*, the boots explode producing a blast of orange fire around him.

Even though Fire Colossus landed quite a few meters away from Red and the announcer, and that the fire blast does not reach them, they still feel a breeze of hot air blow their way.

The announcer especially cannot help but cover his eyes.

He is quick on his feet however. "LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A FIGHT ON OUR HANDS!" He proclaims.

"RRAAHHH!!!" The audience go wild once again, the change of events greatly exciting them.

"Unfortunately, the match cannot start immediately. Ladies and gentlemen, we will take a thirty-minute break while you all go refresh yourselves and place your bets." The announcer addresses the audience.

"Fire Colossus, Old Phantom. Please return to your waiting rooms and wait for the staff to call you back in." He then addresses the two combatants.

Fire Colossus however walks towards Red and he slowly extends his hand for a hand shake. Red simply responds with a tilt of his head, however, making the atmosphere throughout the small arena tense and awkward.

Fire Colossus, remembering that Red is 'Blind', shrugs off the awkwardness.

"Uhhh… Old Phantom. Let's shake hands." He says as he snaps the fingers of his outstretched hand for Red to hear.

Red indeed intentionally ignored Fire Colossus' gesture to maintain his cover.

"Oh…" Red reaches out his hand to hold Fire Colossus', and they shake hands.

*CLAP CLAP CLAP* The audience are relieved and they applause at the two fighters' gesture.

"EVERYONE, LET'S SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN IN 30 MINUTES."

…

"Boss.. Holy shit! Are you okay?" Fumio barges in Red's waiting room, finding Red sitting on his chair, absentmindedly stirring his tea with a spoon.

"I'm fine." Red says.

"… You are…" Fumio then realizes that Red was in disguise throughout the fight.

"But… you were bleeding." He is once again mystified as he gives Red a once over.

Just like before the fight, Red is still wearing his kimono, all ironed out, as if he was not in an intense fight.

"It's all illusion…" Red shrugs.

"Wait… It's all for show?" Fumio asks in realization.

"Yeah. You said so yourself that even your clan head who is a top-level Class-B might not move as fast as me. Blade Tornado is moving slow motion in my eyes." Red says.

"Pff… haha…" Fumio mirthlessly chuckles realizing that his worries earlier were useless.

"If I knocked out Blade Tornado immediately, the audience will actually think that I have a chance to beat Fire Colossus." Red continues.

"T-that's right!..." Fumio's eyes widen. "Just like you asked, I just bet your winnings back to your next match… A-and and… I saw t-the odds against you is 1-7. I-if what you bet on yourself is multiplied by seven… then…" his mind spins at the zeroes of the possible pay-out he cannot calculate.

"But boss… Can you really beat Fire Colossus?" He asks however, not forgetting the most important thing. "I mean… Even if you're a class-A superioris and Fire Colossus is class-B… If your powers are not as strong as his, he can still beat you." He adds.

"Hey. Even if I lose, I'm still rich." Red says.

"…" Fumio is worried at Red's attitude. "It's not just money you might lose." He says.

"*Hnn*" Red responses with a simple shrug.

Fumio can only shake his head.

"Anyways, boss. How long have you been fighting here?" He asks out of curiosity.

"Two months. Why?" Red asks.

"Oh… Well… I saw your record here. 27 fights. 19 wins… oh. 20 wins now. 20 wins, no losses, and 3 draws. Even if you didn't lose, and even if they're draws, you were still knocked out 3 times here before. Do you really want to go through this fight against Fire Colossus?" Fumio asks again.

"PUHuP…" Red almost spits his tea. "Haha. Kid, I was never knocked out. I'm using illusion for our disguises. It's not much different tricking the audience eyes or even the cameras." He explains.

Fumio decides to accept the explanation before, "Oh…", lightbulb sparks in his head.

"You were laying low… Therefore, not impressing the audience… therefore… odds against you… So, when you win… more payout from your bets." He connects.

"Precisely." Red confirms with a nod. "And by the way. Those draws were my largest pay-outs." He adds.

"Wow… I didn't think you're like this, boss." This turns Fumio's impression of Red upside-down.

"Oho?~ Like what?" Red smirks.

"This… sly and… Someone who would go this far for money." Fumio says.

"Here's a lesson while you're working for me." Red changes the subject.

"Be careful of what you say." He says.

"… I'm sorry boss." Fumio realize he just said something potentially offensive.

"I'm not offended by what you said. But be careful of your tongue to others, alright? Or you might get hurt." Red continues.

"…" Fumio is reminded by how he taunted Hideki, resulting to his near death. He however gets the difference between his words with Red and Hideki.

"As long as you know it. Anyways. There is something I like about fighting and it just happens that I can make money from it. There are also reasons as to why I need some resources." Red says.

"Reasons…" Fumio is curious. From what he has seen, Red seems to be living a luxurious life, so he has no idea what Red needs the money for.

"Reasons. Yes. Another reason is added today. And that reason involves you, kid." Red says.

"Me?…" Fumio points at himself out of confusion and a weird sense of flattery.

"Yes. Don't ask anymore about it. It's better if you figure it out yourself." Red says.

"O-okay." Fumio can only accept the vague explanation.

He already feels thankful that he is not reprimanded or punished any further. Red giving him an explanation he feels he does not deserve, is very generous.

"I see… Boss. Do you really fight blind?" Fumio changes the subject.

Red simply responds by putting on a blindfold.

"…" Fumio does not even know what to say.