Chapter 357 Jessie And James

Notwithstanding Kim Jin Seok's straightforward hatred towards Link's overall character, he still recognized his strength. Sure, he was capable of taking care of their two opponents without breaking a sweat, but he wanted to see whether Link is a man of his word or not. Judging from how confident he was when it came to his words, he wanted to how Link would manage when it comes to fighting two opponents at once.

After all, he had a hard time when he fought with a certain goal during the second round. There was no way he could deal with two beast tamers who could easily activate their dual beast integration.

"You can do whatever you want, all right? Just don't get in my way. If you can do at least that much, then I can guarantee you a nice spot in the fourth round." Kim Jin Seok teased.

"Oh please, I can take them on just fine. you don't have to worry about me." Link wore a smirk as he balanced a Gren in his hand. "In fact, you can just rest easy. I'll handle everything from here. Just so you know, you're not the only one who can fight two beast tamers at once."

"I'll show you." Link licked his lips as their third-round match finally began.

With a purposeful stride, Link walked towards the stage while waving toward the audience. He was a natural when it comes to his expressions, which made Jin Seok assume that he was used to the attention. Unbeknownst to him, however, it was quite the opposite. It wasn't because he was used to people looking at him, it was because he had always simulated being famous in his head, and now he was living in the moment.

Click!

Fwoooosh~!

A couple of gasps were heard after the silence befell the entire grand stage. Kim Jin Seok and Link, who was already jittery since the match was about to start, almost activated their dual beast integration. Fortunately, they managed to keep their composure even when the power went out.

"What's going on? Shouldn't the American Dome suppose to have backup power, or a generator or something? This shouldn't be happening right now, right?" Link muttered under his breath. He didn't raise his voice since he was intently listening to his surroundings. If by any chance, he detected some suspicious movements, he'd immediately activate his dual beat integration and deal with it.

"Yes, I figured... maybe this is a part of a show? There's no way the American Dome would lose power like that. This might be a setup." Kim Jin Seok answered.

The silence got even heavier as seconds passed. Cautiously, Kim Jin Seok and Link also waited. The referee still hasn't raised his hand to commence the fight so they decided to play the waiting game.

Flash!

Suddenly, two spotlights flash towards the other side of the grand stage, causing Kim Jin Seok and Link to flinch due to the instantaneous brightness. There were two figures in the middle of the spotlight, a lady and a man.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!"

The first two lines were enough for the crowd to go wild. Of course, everybody knew where the lines came from. It was from a famous animated series that had existed way back when. And of course, this is the Official Beast Tournament so it was only fitting that someone referenced a certain beast taming animated series. And it wasn't just the audience who started cheering for the newcomers, even those who were watching in the comfort of their own homes began cheering in their own way, totally getting the reference that the two were roleplaying as.

For one, the lady wore a long wig with a purplish red color to it. As for the man, he wore blue hair as his wig. And of course, their performance would all be for nothing if they didn't wear their own costume. Speaking the part and playing the part should come hand in hand, and that's what they intended to do.

"To protect the world from devastation,"

"To unite all peoples within our nation,"

While the spotlight tracked them as they moved, they proceeded to continue with their lines while striking a pose here and there. For some reason, those who were watching began feeling nostalgia... or rather, they felt connected to the distant past. Of course, the adults who watched the series when they were children, teared up as they remembered their childhood and their parents who watched the show with them.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love,"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie,"

"James,"

While the audience started cheering, Kim Jin Seok and Link could only feel cringe as they watched the entire scene up close. It would've been nice if they were part of the audience, but they weren't. Jessie and James were only dozens of steps away from him, they could very well be talking to each other now that they think about it.

Apparently, even though Jessie and James (and this was their real name, mind you) were both parts of the Black Fog Faction, they've never met each other at all. After all, James is always out and about, doing his covert operations in the beast dimension under the orders of their leader, Black Fog. As for Jessie, she was always by the dojo/shrine of the Black Fog Faction where she constantly trained her dual beast integration and sparred with other beast tamers.

It was all based on the pure chance that the two of them were paired up for the third round. And after introducing each other's names, they realized that they could pull off something that's never been done in the past. The idea came from Jessie, of course, since she was a die-hard fan of that certain animated series.

"Team rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare o fight!"

"Meowth's the name!"

At first, no one knew who spoke the third line, but when the lights of the American Dome returned and the commentator continued his monologue, they realized that he was the one who blurted out the missing passage in their play. With the surprising performance over, the audience hollered and screamed their cheers while Kim Jin Seok and Link looked at each other as if they've seen everything.

"You know what, you go take care of them. I'm sitting this one out." Kim Jin Seok muttered as he returned to their side of the grand stage. He then turned around and sat cross-legged.

At the same time, the referee finally raised his hand and gave the signal to start the match. "Begin!" He screamed, bringing his hand down before he ran away toward the edge of the stadium. One thing he learned during the previous matches of the Official Beast Tournament was that it'd be in his good judgment to stand as far as he could from the grand stage. After all, the fights were actually getting a little bit out of hand, and he wanted to be in a safe place if things got a little dicey.

"All right then. I guess it's time for me to show you just what I can do. I'm plenty strong myself." Link said as he adjusted both his wrists with his hands. He couldn't help but steal a brief glance towards one of the windows by the audience seats. Catching a glimpse of Luke Skyrunner, he nodded his head before he stepped into the ring.

"Oh hoh hoh, what is this? It seems like our candidate Kim Jin Seok is sitting this one out!" The commentator almost screamed at his mic. For once, Luke Skyrunner almost wanted to smack him on the head since he spat all over the mic. "Why is he doing this?!"

"I guess they reached an agreement, huh," Luke Skyrunner breathed in and out so he could hide the annoyance in his tone. If there had been two mics in the booth, then he wouldn't have minded if the commentator spat on the mic. Heck, it would've been fine for him if he spat on the mic as much as he could.

However, there was only one mic, and Luke Skyrunner couldn't help but feel disgusted when he needed to speak. In the end, he decided to wipe the saliva off the mic before while he continued speaking. "Personally, I do think that either Link and Kim Jin Seok alone is more than enough to take care of team rocke— er, I mean, Jessie and James. And by the way, to those who are wondering what their real names are... it's Jessie and James."

"I, I see," The commentator trailed off. As for him, he wasn't sure whether Link could take care of two opponents at once. Furthermore, he still had mixed feelings regarding his performance during the second round. While the audience was tricked that his murderous intent was just an intermission number, the commentator knew otherwise.