"If both fighters are ready! I will count you in!" The announcer's voice echoed through everyone's ears, and they answered by even louder cheering as they looked at the two nodding fighters below that took up a fighting stance.
"Very well! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, START!"
Both fighters bolted from their place at incredible speed, yet when they reached each other, Shadow abruptly decided to stop while his opponent continued with his fists headed for the face.
"ONE PUNCH!!" The crowd screamed as it seemed like his fists were about to make contact and put an end to all of Shadow's hopes and dreams.
But, like a shadow itself, it was as though he disappeared the instant before anything made contact. He, unbeknownst to everyone, ducked down and lifted his hands up for a devastating uppercut to the chin. Yet, despite the sudden shift in tempo, Joker did not hesitate nor falter as he maintained his same brilliant, keen-eyed gaze.
As his opponent's fists approached his chin, he dislocated his neck and jaw, snapping them backwards to promptly evade the attack and allow him room to counter by grabbing his opponent's wrist and slamming them on the ground with as much strength as he could muster, creating small cracks in the metallic ground.
*AHHHHKK*
Joker went to do another slam from the other side, but by then Shadow managed to abnormally easily escape his iron grasp and take a few steps back to recover, heavily breathing and wiping the blood from his mouth.
"Wow, folks! That was quite the first exchange! This match is far from over yet! Who knew Shadow had it in him for all of that!"
"..."
"Hmmmm… That's weird… That Shadow guy shouldn't be half as strong as he is now…" Hikari mumbled to herself, deeply analyzing the fight below.
"Indeed, Alas, that fellow is unquestionably cheating in some way… Whether he knows it or not."
"Huh?" Hikari was slightly taken aback by the sudden response she did not expect, one that oddly came from a rather familiar presence.
But, when she looked around, she found no one but the usual drunkards cheering all around her.
'What was that?'
*Pant* *Pant* *Pant* *Pant* Shadow held his ribs, looking up at his opponent's eyes.
"You're pretty good for a cereal cheater… I can't say the same for most of your kind… But… I'm gonna put you in your place… Mark my words…" Shadow's voice was faint, so the crowd could not hear it, but from Joker's reaction, he certainly did.
The second exchange began with Shadow taking the initiative, his speed somehow several times what it was from before.
He attacked from one side, and immediately switched his momentum mid-air to strike from a completely different angle that Joker barely managed to deflect in time before it delt any major injury.
To the trained eye, it was not that his movements were expert, but, compared to his opponent, it simply looked like that due to the difference in speed.
Joker was once again put on his back feet, simply deflecting all attacks coming his way as efficiently as possible while taking several steps back. It was honestly a miracle he was able to keep up with such a speed discrepancy.
"What the hell is this bullshit!! We saw this guy fight last time and he wasn't even half as strong! You telling me he got bullied in the first round against some random nobody and is even stronger than Joker!? I ain't buying it!"
"Maybe he was just pretending in the first rounds to make his opponent underestimate him?"
"Huh? If he did! Then that's some damn good commitment to get the shit beat out of him and barely win just to give a false impression!"
The tipsy crowd grew in complaints that they did not fear making vocal as they watched what was happening below. If anything, now, Joker was being pushed around even more whilst Shadow grew even stronger, some of his attacks making it through Joker's defences and hitting his vitals.
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"BOOOO!! You might as well quit you fucking cheater! I've never seen something more obvious in my life!"
"At least Joker has actual skill!"
"JOKER!! BEAT THIS CLOWN AND PUT HIM IN HIS PLACE!"
The crowd's restless cries managed to enter Shadow's ears, making his face turn red with a visible vein popping out of his forehead, screaming back as he continued fighting.
"I'M NOT CHEATING YOU MORONS! I literally passed the lie detector test! You saw it with your own eyes!! If anything, Joker is the one cheating and still losing to my superior skill and might! Open your fucking eyes! You overestimate him! He's not as strong as you think he is!" He complained, yet that only made the crowd berate him even harder.
*Tsk,* Shadow inwardly scoffed and cleared his mind. It was not time for distractions, he needed his full attention on the man ahead to ensure his victory.
Eventually, the exchange of blows led Joker to a dire position. He took his final step back and noticed it to be the wall directly behind him. There seemed to be nowhere for him to run and it appeared all but over.
However… That was when a mysterious atmosphere enveloped the entire Arena, and Joker managed to dodge Shadow's final blow seemingly before he even through it.
He ducked down, leading Shadow's punch to connect with the hard metal wall. But, when he did, he found another fist waiting for him down below, making him flex his muscles and slide in between his feet to circle from behind.
Shadow smiled like he expected such a move, and reacted by turning around to kick behind him. However, things did not go exactly as planned.
*Cough* *Cough* He spat out several mouthfuls of blood from the ground and a familiar pain once again resurfaced, only this time felt far more severe.
Shadow's attack that was mere inches from connecting suddenly fell short as he continued to cough blood on the ground out of nowhere, tightly clenching his ribs, exactly where he clenched at the start of the match.
And, this suddenly gave him the opportunity to attack for the first time in seemingly forever, one precisely on the ribs he so tightly clenched. As his fist made contact, he turned what was once whole into pieces, like splitting a chocolate bar in half, the cracks being heard and felt throughout the entire crowd.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!* Shadow's piercing, banshee-like cries filed the room with morbid gore, and was the switch that turned the crowd from adamant booing to excessive cheering once again.
Shadow collapsed on one knee, holding his bleeding, muddy ribs and looking up with his blurry, shaky eyes that had yet to fathom what happened. Nothing made sense in his wounded mind… All that he felt was an odd sensation in his lurching heart and an empty feeling in his stomach, signs of waterworks welling up in his eyes. But, his tears did not manage to travel far.
He wanted it to be all over. And, his wish was granted, but not in a way he hoped as he was greeted by a foot to the face that broke his nose and sent him hurling and crashing on the nearest wall like a bullet, hitting the wall and bouncing off like a corpse as he finally hit the ground for the last time.
There was only one man left standing as the dust cleared on this semi-final match, he was panting with several wounds on his body, but that did not stop his smile nor did it stop his now-signature fist in the sky to announce his victory, eliciting a massive reaction from the crowd.
"YEEEAHHHH!!"
"WELL! That was undoubtedly a match for the books! No one could have expected it to be this close and brutal! It was unclear for most of it! But, the outcome could not be more crystal! The winner here, and the person going on to the next round is! JOKER!"
The announcer's words did not elicit any reaction from the crowd… At least not one that he wanted as the audiences mocking ridicule filled the room.
"That was when he once again spoke in his same upbeat tone. "I know you all are concerned about the possibility of cheating from contestant Shadow! And believe me, I think so too! I want a fair fight just as much as you do! That is why we decided to deeply investigate him once he wakes up in a public trial in front of all of you! We might be considered a shady business! BUT! We here stand for fairness above all else and respect all of our clients!"
This time, the cries from the audience did not bear the same hatred as before, it shifted into that of excitement.
But… To Joker, HikariYami along with several other figures in the audience, they were more than aware that this was nothing but an attempt to damage control and manipulate the still drunken crowd.