Chapter 340: Round 1

Moby heard his name being said from the other side of the gate, that along with the cheering crowd.

And, not too long after, the gate slowly opened revealing the bright light of the outside space. With a confident smile, Moby marched out into the vast area, raising his hands up as he heard the crowd cheering his name. 

It caught him by complete surprise, when he looked up towards the bright light and the blackened faces of the masked masses, he noticed that even the ones that seemed to previously envy or despise him were cheering his name. 

'Hmmm… It seems like they probably bet all of their money on me to gain a quick buck…' He thought of the only conclusion that made sense in his mind. 

As he scanned the dense crowd, he came across the short, fedora-wearing man with a black mask holding a microphone along with the mammon himself on a specific stand in the arena. But, his eyes did not last there for long as he managed to make out the figure of a single person, hanging on the railing and jumping and cheering him on almost like a little kid, her voice completely drowned out by the rest of the masses. 

He looked her in the eye and waved back at her. Of course, it was non-other than Hikari. But, when he looked around her, he could not help but notice something missing. 

'It seems like Regrit still hasn't come out of the washroom yet… It's kinda weird… I assumed the part of him being stressed was some sort of joke. I thought he would be stoked to examine my fighting style…'

'Or, he just has a really heavy shit.' He heard Avilia speak in his head. 

'Oh yeah! Or that...'

"And, on the left side! We have, Raven! He is several points in debt and is looking for redemption! And! What better redemption than possibly beating the tournament's favourite in the first round!" The announcer yelled as the gates of the other side opened, revealing a brown-haired man wearing a mask resembling a purple bird. But, unlike a bird, he did not seem to possess any of its grace or elegance.

His introduction was rather tame compared to the one Moby received and the crowd's excitement reciprocated that.

He was several inches taller than Moby, his shoulders were broad and his build was far more muscular. Yet, it was not to the point where he would be considered stout. What made him stand out was his massive hands that looked like they could strangle a bear.

From his looks, Moby could assume him to be fairly slow, he was more than used to taking out people like him so it should not be a big deal even if he could not utilize everything up his sleeve. 

"So, we meet again you cheating bastard!" His opponent spoke with a heavy breath and a raspy voice.

"Do I know you?" Moby scratched his head. 

"OF COURSE YOU DO YOU COCKY BASTARD!" He roared. "You robbed me blind for everything I had in the beginning matches of that poker tournament!" He raised his voice; he couldn't believe that someone who just ruined his life could so nonchalantly forget about him, it made his blood boil. 

"Oh! That had a lot of people in it! You probably got out early in an elimination round before the tournament even started. No wonder I didn't recognize you! You can't blame me now can you?" He chuckled casually. 

"Hmph! Just you wait! I'll take those words and shove them up your ass! I'll fuck you over ten times harder than what you did to me!!"

Raven was mad… Really mad… But, it was no big deal in Moby's eyes. If anything, out of the many people Moby met today, he seemed to be on the tamer side. Moby yawned in his face— he could not care less about showing respect to such an opponent, victory was almost assured. 

"Cocky son of a—"

"Ladies and Gentlemen! The final match of the first round is about to begin! If both combatants are ready! I will explain some of the rules!" The announcer interrupted Raven's sentence with an upbeat voice that even drowned out the cheering of the crowd.

"First off, no abilities! Ki is allowed, no weapons of any kind! Pure fists! Taking off your opponent's mask is prohibited, and the match ends once the opponent's watch starts beeping! Now, before the match starts! I have a few questions for both of you! Starting with Raven! Are you in this to win!?"

"Yes!" He quickly answered, a massive lie detector crystal lighting up from above the arena like a brilliant chandelier, visible to the entire crowd. 

"Do you plan on cheating or using any underhanded tactic?"

"No!"

And just as expected, the answers came out as positive. 

That was when the announcer shifted his vision towards Moby and asked him the same questions. 

"Now! Joker! Are you in this to win!?"

"Yes!" 

"Do you plan on cheating or using any underhanded tactic?"

"No!"

"Alright, folks!!! Bets will be closing in 50 seconds so make sure you've submitted everything you want! Now in the meantime, can I get one of you to send an anonymous duel invite to the other! Once that's all settled we can finally begin!"

"I'll do it…" Moby took the initiative, and just like that everything was set. 

"Okay! That settles it! As you can see! Both combatants are set! And without further ado! Let's get this party started!" The crowd's cheers multiplied, yet the actual exchange between the two fighters was dead silent.

It was an interesting sight, it almost looked like a raging bull and matador ready to brawl. 

And like that, the announcer began to count down from five and the crowd followed speaking right after him in a matching voice.

"5!"

"4!"

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"BEGIN!"

The match officially started, and both combatants took the initiative by boosting to the center at full force, clashing their forearms together.

'Huh? How can this guy keep up with me after all of my buffs!?' Moby couldn't believe his eyes.

That was when he noticed a liver punch coming from below, so he evaded with a demon flash almost teleporting from behind him, going for a kick to his ribs. 

His opponent was startled and it was a nearly confirmed hit to connect… However, when he did what he wanted, there was absolutely no contact, he hit nothing but air... instead, his opponent had suddenly moved faster than he even dreamed of and caught him in the middle of his attack.

Moby gawked slightly as he felt a heavy punch to his stomach that sent him hurtling towards the metal walls.

There was visible damage on the walls and Moby was clearly shaken up. He took several huffs of air to catch his breath and spat out a small mouthful of blood as he redirected his gaze at his smirking yet still raging opponent in the distance. 

'This makes no sense! I'm buffed with demon magic and I'm using my impure demon energy! I should be winning in every way! So how the hell is this guy catching up!' Moby's brain spun in high gear and he began to slightly panic. Never in a million years did he expect himself to be on the backfoot in such a fight. 

There had to be an explanation for this… But, the only thing he could think of was that he simply underestimated the Ki output of Elite school students. No matter how much he didn't want to believe it, he might have to swallow the pill that his opponent's Ki control was better than his own. 

"Stop toying around with that fatass! How's he so much faster than you!? Finish him!"

"Joker! You can't lose to this guy! Come on! You're undefeatable! I bet good money on you!"

"Hey! Don't rush him! That's Joker's specialty! I swear he's almost like a demon giving his opponent's false hope before he rips out their souls! I've seen it with my own eyes!"

"That's true! I'm not worried!"

Moby heard the cheers of the crowd behind him. They were mostly right, but the fact of the matter was that their assumptions were not applicable to his current situation. 

A small scene flashed in his mind, of a reality where he lost due to his carelessness and greed just like what happened with Alex and Abby… But, he immediately clenched his fists and teeth tightly, shaking his head and once again stealing his gaze on his opponent. 

It was more than clear to him now. If he wanted to win, he had to take risks... push past his limits and attempt something he hadn't tried in a very long time…

Moby dusted himself off and calmed his mind, focusing deeply on his energy. 

"Open your eyes and face me, coward!!" A loud voice came from ahead of him, followed up by a smashing sound from his opponent's initial step to rush towards him. 

The crowd held their breaths in anticipation as it seemed like Raven's fist was going to make contact with Moby's face… But, just like before, Moby flashed out of the way, but, unlike last time, Raven was prepared and followed up with a barrage of punches from his massive fists. 

They were lightning quick, yet Moby was able to seamlessly dodge all of them like they were in slow motion. The crowd cheered at the sight they did not expect to see. Moby's speed increased several times over. It was indeed a funny thing to witness, Moby had several chances to fatally counter-attack Raven, but he seemingly chose against it. Now it was more than clear, he was undoubtedly toying with Raven all along, it was almost disrespectful. 

"STAND STILL YOU BUG!!" A visible vein was popping out of his red face, he was not about to stand for such an embarrassment after he had come so far. But, all his opponent did was smirk. 

Raven's rage intensified, and along with that, his attacks became more sluggish and barbaric. He eventually slowed down so much due to fatigue, visible sweat on his face. Compared to before, he was almost in slow motion.

But, unlike his opponent, Moby did not seem to show any fatigue at all. Yet, his movements slowed down relative to his opponent. However, eventually, Moby's movements were so slow to the point where hints of struggle were seen on his face. In fact, it was so slow that the only reason he managed to keep up was that he was able to read his opponent's predictable wild attack patterns and the way he prepared his attacks to dodge before he even threw them. 

"STOP PLAYING WITH ME!!"

That was when finally, he took an unusually deep breath that was followed by an abnormally large bulge throb throughout his entire body, dodging a large attack by ducking his shoulder, and punching straight at the liver with all of the energy in his system…

Despite the attack seemingly only being that of a power level of 5000, it was still felt deeply through the hearts of all the spectators to the point they instinctively staggered on the inside like it was them who was punched.

"Wa- AHHHH!" Raven's shriek pierced throughout the entire arena as though he felt like there was an intense earthquake erupted in the middle of his body.

Raven's whole system and internals were rocked and broke down like a sudden car crash, and after barfing out what he had for his morning breakfast, he broke down like a mountain cracking and falling to the ground…

"..."

"..."

"..."

The crowd was silent for a few seconds as they took in what just happened and how someone like Raven could be taken out with one hit. But, as soon as his body fell on the ground, their cheers began, completely wild even surpassing when he had entered. 

"WOW, FOLKS!! That was quite the match! What a finish! Joker really showed his moves! It wasn't even close but I couldn't help but be on the edge of my seat watching all of it! There we have it! Your final first-round winner! JOOOKKKKERRRR!!"