Chapter 187: Tournament Preparation

Chapter 187: Tournament Preparation

Narrator: The heroes find themselves being forced to participate in the Chaos Tournament. Now they must prepare for it.

*The mysterious boy takes the heroes to their private room that is built into the arena building*

Emily: This whole place makes me feel uneasy but I will say this is a nice room.

Boy: This will be your team’s personal room. When a round of the tournament is not happening, this is where you will stay and rest but there is no rule saying you can’t go out and spend your time wherever you like, be it for further training or anything else. Now, it’s about time you learned the rules of the tournament. Observe the television screen.

*The TV in the room automatically turns on. On the screen is a woman sitting in a chair. She has glowing orange eyes and she looks humanish, though her skin looks demonic by being rough and dark gray. She has straight black hair that goes down to her shoulders. She wears a business suit and a gold top hat on her head. She is 6 feet, 2 inches tall*

Narrator: Queen of the Undead – Zonbi.

Zonbi: All of our participants in this Chaos Tournament are now gathered in the building of this arena. Hello. My name is Zonbi. I am the Queen of the Undead. It’s time to let those of you who have never participated before know the rules of the tournament. This is a team tournament with teams of 6 each. There are 32 teams. You will fight one-versus-one battles, though you can choose to do group battles. You will fight in a large arena. Unlike your traditional tournament, there are no out-of-bounds losses. If you are knocked out of the ring then you will fall in a 6-foot-deep pit full of zombies.

*Zonbi chuckles*

Zonbi: Gives new meaning to the phrase, “Six feet under”, huh?

Kurt: I’m glad she finds this all so amusing…

Zonbi: Of course, they will try to kill you so you will have to fight your way out. If you are unable to, you will be killed by the zombies. Starting with the second round of the tournament, you will see some “changes” added to the arena. Some might call them gimmicks but it certainly will make fights more interesting.

*Zonbi smiles*

Zonbi: After all, the chaos tournament needs some chaos, right?

Joe: Watching people fight for their lives just for her amusement. I hate this already.

Zonbi: The only way to lose and not die is if you surrender. The tournament begins in 6 months. You all may want to train because you will be unable to leave the Undead Underworld until the conclusion of the tournament.

*Zonbi starts waving her hand*

Zonbi: I wish you all luck.

*The TV shuts off*

Zeth: We can’t leave in the meantime? But the Dark Goddess—

Boy: You’re worried about the Dark Goddess invading Earth? You don’t need to worry about that. The tournament will be over before she begins an invasion and you would need to train anyway.

Zeth: How do I know you’re not some agent for the Dark Goddess?

Boy: Mother and the Dark Goddess are not on the best of terms right now. You don’t need to worry about that.

*The boy starts to leave the room. Before he steps out, he stops and talks*

Boy: Just so you know, Crimson is participating in this tournament.

*The boy leaves. Zeth opens his eyes wide*

Zeth: Crimson will be in the tournament?

Emily: I hate that we are being forced into this tournament but it sounds like it will provide the best opportunity for finally consuming Crimson.

Zeth: …Yeah.

Sasha: We’ll crush everyone we face so that you will get that opportunity.

Kurt: But what if Crimson loses before we face him?

Zeth: I don’t think he will. There is more to this tournament than just simple amusement for Zonbi. There is definitely an ulterior motive here. As for what that motive is, I don’t know. But I think that Zonbi and that boy want me and Crimson to meet in the arena. I will bet that the bracket will be set up so that we meet in the final round.

***

Narrator: Later.

*The Boy meets with Crimson in Crimson’s room*

Boy: Will you be ready?

Crimson: I will. The question is if the team you gave me will be ready.

Boy: Don’t act cocky! Do you know why Zeth dominated you in your last fight? It’s because he has been training and getting stronger while you did not improve at all.

Crimson: Why you…!

Boy: But I’m right. You need to train! Do not waste these 6 months!

Crimson: I’ll show you!

*Crimson rushes towards the boy*

Crimson: You have some nerve treating me like a chump!

*Crimson tries to punch the boy but the boy easily dodges and then gut punches Crimson and then follows that up by swipe kicking him into the wall*

Boy: You are a joke right now! There are 32 teams and you would get dominated by all of them! Zeth will consume you easily! Start training!

*Crimson just lies against the wall*

Crimson: Damn it… Fine.

***

Narrator: Over the next 6 months, everyone participating in the tournament trains. The heroes put their bodies through strain and push themselves to new limits. It is now December, Year 119. Zeth, Sasha, and Emily are now 19 years old. Joe is 20, Keith is 23, and Kurt is 24.

*All of the teams start entering the stadium*

*Zonbi stands on the arena*

Zonbi: We have now placed all teams in the tournament bracket.

*Zeth looks at the bracket. They called their team “Heaven’s Destiny”. Their first-round match is against team “Underworld Reptiles”*

Zonbi: We will be beginning the tournament in 5 hours so get ready! Our first match will be team “Stranglers” versus team “Hot Plate”!

*The heroes head back to their room*

***

Narrator: Back in the heroes’ team room.

Emily: Well, this is it.

Kurt: Time to get going.

Sasha: I will execute every opponent I face. They’re all demons.

Joe: I’m interested in trying my improved magic.

Keith: And I will have more than just portals.

Zeth: I’m confident in you all. Let’s win this and get RAG back!

All Six Heroes: Yeah!

Narrator: The heroes are ready to fight. What new fighting abilities have they developed?

Chapter 187 END

To be Continued in Chapter 188: The Chaos Tournament Begins