Psychopathic Smile - Great Encounter Battle Arc

The first game of the quarter finals was about to begin. Tomokazu prepared himself as he stepped up to the arena, facing his foe. Ali the Boxer had also gotten to this point of the Tournament very comfortably. Hiroshi was extremely curious about how this fight was going to go.

“Just before this match starts! The rules! Anything goes! You can use any form of magic or any weapon! The winning condition is simple! Either beat your opponent until they surrender or knock them out of the arena! The choice is yours!” Alexander yelled into the microphone. 

The crowd was constantly in fine form, cheering the whole time.

“Firstly, we have Number One, Tomokazu Onuki! The man whose father gives us hope and makes us want to never give up! The man who leads the wonderful eight Gods of the world! The God of Light himself! His son fights today to prove that his power can be passed down through generations to come! That someone will always be there for us! Give it up again for Tomokazu Onuki!” the presenter continued his speech. The crowd roared into life once more.

Hiroshi was stunned into shock. Alexander’s words were felt in his core, and even more questions came into his mind.

“So, it seems as if the Gods are very well known. It explains how Kuro-Yami knew so much about them. Gods in this world are common knowledge, just as politicians are in my own world. Why was he so defensive about sharing information after them, then?” Hiroshi thought to himself. He was so absorbed in his own thoughts, he never even noticed Alexander describing Ali the Boxer’s achievements.

Not that it mattered to him.

His eyes narrowed on Tomokazu. That young man was his only ticket to meeting the Gods.

And killing them all.

Hiroshi decided he needed to examine Tomokazu’s fighting style. If Hiroshi won all his games, and Tomokazu won all of his, they would meet in the final. If Tomokazu was the child of a God, he must be very strong. Hiroshi decided not to underestimate him.

“Begin!” Alexander announced, throwing his hand down to signal the start of the match. Tomokazu grinned, drawing his blade. It was a very sleek, thin blade, almost like a rapier. However, it wasn’t just sharp at the end of it. It was continuously sharpness all the way down, so it was more like a katana than a rapier. 

Its tsuba was in the shape of the sun, and was so beautifully colored, Hiroshi swore it was real gold.

Maybe that’s because it was pure gold.

“I want to make this quick. There’s somebody I want to have a chat with. I hope you don’t mind. But make sure to do your best, ok?” Tomokazu told his opponent, while once again representing his over-the-top smile.

“Underestimating me, huh kid?” Ali grinned to himself. “Just because you’re some “God’s child” doesn’t mean I will back down or run away in fear.”

“Then show me what you got,” Tomokazu smiled, launching himself forward at Ali. The concrete lining the arena tore up at just his run alone. Hiroshi’s eyes bolted open. How hard did he have to sprint just to break off concrete!?

However, surprisingly, Ali was able to dodge and weave the strikes aimed for his face, although not unscathed. A single mark of blood formed on his cheek. Despite that, Ali’s boxing techniques were working for the most part. Hiroshi knew that Ali was exhausting all of his energy just to dodge Tomokazu’s relentless attacks.

Ali lunged in for a quick jab to his opponent’s gut. Tomokazu sidestepped and slashed another mark on Ali’s face. Ali turned and faced the crowd. The two cuts on Ali’s face looked like lucky misses to everybody else. Nobody had noticed it.

Nobody except Hiroshi.

Tomokazu had made the exact same precise cut on either side of Ali’s face. Exact same position, the length of the cut, everything. Hiroshi knew at that moment that he was a lot stronger than he realized. Despite his humble nature, Tomokazu was only toying with Ali. It wasn’t even a challenge. The God's child had hardly broken a sweat.

The God of Hope…

Hiroshi suddenly began smiling like a maniac. What a wonderful term. A man that gave so many people smiles on their faces. Everyone being happy and overjoyed just from him existing. Hiroshi always tried to help people in his old world, and never once received a ‘thank you’ or even a smile.

Why did this people love this God so much? What did he do to deserve that praise? Why did they idolise him?

“Why couldn’t I be like that?” Hiroshi thought to himself, beginning to descend even further in his delusions. “Damn selfish people. Love one person and hate another that does the same thing. Worthless…If I kill the God of Hope…no longer will people want to spit at me or ignore my pathetic existence. I will be respected. I will become the villain of this new world. It will be ours, won’t it, friend?” he switched the topic back to Kuro-Yami, who was also grinning from ear to ear.

“It’s a wonderful thought, buddy,” he responded simply. The thought of being respected.

It must be a nice feeling.

Eventually, Tomokazu stopped playing with his food and landed a back-kick to Ali’s stomach. The man coughed and struggled to get air as he flew out of the arena. Alexander’s eyes beamed, mostly caring about Tomokazu’s crazy moves than the welfare of the man crumpled in a heap on the ground.

“Was it ever in doubt? The winner of Match One of the Quarter Finals  is Tomokazu Onuki!” he announced to the crowd, who could not stop cheering.

“Is he even beatable?” someone from the crowd yelled out.

“He’ll win for sure!” another person cheered.

“Nobody stands a chance against Tomokazu Onuki!” a fanboy squealed in excitement.

Hiroshi was still smiling to himself psychopathically.

He couldn’t wait to prove them wrong.