[10 seconds earlier]"Before we start, I must apologise, Lars... You don"t mind me calling you Lars directly, right...?"
Lars shook his head with a blank look on his race. Some trash talk before the fight? But the s.h.i.+ny-headed baldy with a cape Sai Kana looked rather polite and well-mannered...
"Erm... I don"t mind and, I"m supposed to ask you why you"re apologising, right?"
Sai Kana looked slightly sheepish as he rubbed his smooth head and smiled.
"Err... Yeah haha! T-thanks for playing along. Well, I"m apologising for two reasons. The first because what I"m about to do is despicable..."
Lars smiled and didn"t mind playing along with the pre-match bragging. He asked, "I"m supposed to ask you what the second reason is right...?"
Sai Kana still continued smiling, but now there was a dangerous gleam in his eyes as he reached into his cloak and began to pull something out as he kicked off and charged forward.
And when Lars saw what was in Sai"s left hand, his heart skipped a beat and his mind became blank with terror. His fingers trembled and he went into a daze, before he began to scream in panic!
Before he could recover his spirit and even realise what was happening, a swift and sharp fist slammed into his unprotected chin, sending him flying and tumbling to the edge of the stage!
As Lars rolled over the ground and came to a stop just before falling off the stage limits, Sai Kana was quick to follow up. The caped baldy rushed over to pursue the blonde-haired boy and end the fight in the blink of an eye.
"AHHHHHH!!!!" Lars regained his awareness of self and screamed out furiously.
"HOW DARE YOU SOIL MY BEAUTIFUL FACE!!!" Lars" trembling hand shakily rose to his face and subconsciously touched the brown substance stuck there - then froze once more and began to retch. His soul threatened to fly away as he tried his best to shut off his sense of smell and ignore the slimy and slightly firm texture of the disgusting stuff.
"Gotta finish it quick!!" Sai Kana frowned in consternation and rushed forward.
Then his fists ignited with crackles of mana as he screamed out, "SERIOUS PUNCH!!!"
But just at the moment that his punch was about to land, Lars" body flickered and blurred before he disappeared. Sai Kana"s punch whistled through thin air and he struggled to control his forward momentum. He spun round on the spot and barely managed to avoid falling off the arena.
He desperately turned around and put up a defensive stance as he cursed - he had missed his best chance to win right there! He scrunched up his eyes and wished he had been just that little bit faster to end the fight!
Now how was he going to prevail against a monstrous talent such as Lars...?!?
And right now, Lars was floating in mid-air above the arena, eyes dilated as he repeatedly mumbled soundless words: "It"s... s.h.i.+t... S-s.h.i.+t... S-s.h.i.+t..."
Then weaves of mana began to spiral around him, soothing and cooling winds with growing amounts of moisture. The mana began to turn into water droplets that violently washed over his body, clothes and skin.
The turbulent winds buffeted not just Sai Kana but also the contestants in the surroundings. They covered their eyes as the strong gusts with dense moisture and water droplets whipped across their faces and left them breathless!
It was almost as if a young Lord of Wind and Rain were descending from the heavens!
The only thing missing from the scene was the fact that the mid-morning sun still shone cheerfully in the late-autumn sky.
Then without warning, the water droplets evaporated instantly and rings of flames began to surround Lars, enveloping him as the air began to heat up to dry him off.
Just seconds later, as soon as he was dry, Lars pointed one finger down at Sai Kana and said, "I understand... Everyone wishes to win..."
He closed his eyes as the brown waters around him began to converge before his finger. Of course, about 3 metres away from his body - there was no way he was going anywhere near the sh*t!
"I also understand... Not just you, but I too would do what it takes to win..." Lars spoke slowly and measuredly, his soft but clear voice ringing through the Gorun Stadium.
"BUT!!" Then his eyes snapped open as he exclaimed loudly. "There are some bottom lines you should not have crossed!! I can forgive you... But you need to face your PUNISHMENT!!"
Then with a final roar, Lars drew back his pointing finger and then thrust it outwards, drawing a straight line towards Sai Kana and bellowed.
"Receive your just desserts! Eat this!!"
And the spinning vortex of wind, water, heat and filth gathered into a stream before gus.h.i.+ng at Sai Kana...
Straight at his mouth and face!
"Oh my gos.h.!.+ Ughhhh!!!!" Sai Kana"s face twisted with disgust. Despite the fact that he had himself wielded the animal excrement against Lars, he had made sure to keep it in a non-spill container and then wear a water-proof, particle proof glove when handling it!
But now it was a completely different story when the brown waters were shooting straight for his face!
Throughout the display of mastery over magic and the elements, Sai Kana had stood with mouth agape and in awe of the boy"s advanced control... But right now he wanted to get and run for his sanity"s sake!
"I GIVE UP!! I GIVE UP!!!! I GIVE--BLERGHHH--" He managed to yell anxiously that he conceded the match, but before the organisers could intervene, the soiled waters found their mark...
Snaking its way between the sharp-featured baldy"s fingers...
Past his lips...
And bullseye!
Suffice to say that it was not only Sai Kana who was throwing up crazily after that.
A choking and coughing Mr White held a hand pressed against his face as he ran for his life to the toilets before he spewed out projectile vomit...
While the many spectators were gagging and moaning in disgust...
Though it *WAS* Sai Kana"s fault for using such a dirty tactic first on the germaphobic and mysophobic boy...
This was a little bit too much wasn"t it...!?!
At least don"t let us see if you planned to get your revenge like that!!!!
Nevertheless, the crowds had to admit... This kind of payback was f***ing cool! A rockingly good face slapping given to such a dastardly baldy who did not have any moral bottom line!
To think that he would stoop so low as to use Lars" greatest weakness - to actually harvest and keep a pile of dung in is cloak pockets just for this fight...
All those one time fans who had shaken his hand or, even worse, embraced Sai Kana roared in distress and soon the washrooms and washbasins were all jam-packed with people scrubbing their skin, hands and bodies raw.
And still they s.h.i.+vered in revulsion. They couldn"t get over the fact that they had touched hands with Sai Kana who handled and kept literal sh*t in his person!!!
And Lars sighed heavily, body still trembling from stress and upset from the texture, warm and smell that were still fresh in his mind. His eyes threatened to roll up in his head as he teetered in mid-air.
It was only by force of will that he managed to land and return to the contestants waiting room to sit and take a break.
And only after Mr White returned from turning his innards inside out and vomiting did he manage to declare Lars as the winner and start the draw for the next match!
Mr White cleared his throat after the finish of the first two matches and announced the victor of the other match held simultaneously that had just been completed.
"The winner of round 1 match 2, Jun Marda! Contestants Lars and Jun Marda, you may rest until your next match is due... We shall now have a slight rest between rounds for the ground crew to... Clean up the battle ring... Ugh..." He groaned as he saw the filthy brown liquid staining the ground and thanked G.o.d that he was far enough not to catch a whiff of the evil scent.
With the brief but emotionally intense interlude past them, the tournament went into a short break.
* * * * *
After the ten minutes break between matches, Mr White returned to the stage. Since the interlude was pretty short, the majority of the spectators had not left their seats, instead they were discussing heatedly about who would be fighting next and who their next favourites after Lars were. But when they saw the Acting Head Administrator ascend the stage, they quietened down quickly.
Mr White quickly paced to the centre of the stage that was between the two match arenas and clapped his hands twice before he spoke, "Without further ado, I shall draw the lots for the next two matches. Now, Mitsui, would you do the honours please..."
Mitsui, who was standing beside him, nodded and offered the bag of lots to Mr White, who then proceeded to draw the pairings for the next matches: "Round 1 match 3, Michael Vinas versus Deejay Kardel! Round 1 match 4, Reshmont versus Runiel!"
He waited as the contestants made their way to their respective rings and then declared loudly, "Let the next battles begin! Round Two: Fight!"