Chapter 89 - The Title of The Fastest

Jason stood in the middle of his entry corridor, performing some basic stretches while he waited for Zachary to make his introduction. As he limbered up, Jason heard light footsteps approaching from behind him. Jason turned around to the sight of a face he has seen many times. Before Jason was a woman with blonde hair tied into a ponytail, wearing a blue armor set commonly donned by members of the Azufield family.

Jason: Hey I knew you guys would come. How's it going, Alexia?

Alexia: Better now that I've gotten a chance to step away from my family's business. Though this will probably be the only free moment I have.

Jason: Your father's really making you work up the charm to kiss up to potential clients.

Alexia: The Eclipse Grand Tournament is an event far larger than The Eclipse itself. Leaders from around the world have gathered in one place and it's the perfect time for our family to establish new connections and maintain old ones.

Jason: It is kinda amazing how many people these tournaments manage to reach. Even though it's my second time participating as a fighter, it still shocks me. I've heard that this time they were even able to get my teacher here as a spectator.

Alexia: Midori is currently with Moll. It seems the two of them are old friends.

Jason: Well glad to hear he's doing alright. Would hate it if anything bad happened to the man. He's the reason I am standing here today.

Alexia: I'm still surprised that you were the lucky person that ended up becoming his student.

Jason: You and me both.

Jason and Alexia continued to stare at each other, any expression being shown by Jason getting covered up by the red mask on his face. A short moment passed, and then Jason turned back around to face the arena, continuing his stretches from before.

Alexia: Why are you fighting?

Jason: Because it's good for business. I have nothing against Daymond, but as long as Arachna spearheads this organization The Basement will receive far less work.

Alexia's thoughts: Liar

Alexia: You don't need to work though. We could just settle down, and live the rest of our lives together in peace.

Stopping in the middle of his stretch, Jason looked back at Alexia once more. Alexia had a slightly wary look on her face as she stared into the yellow eye slits on Jason's mask.

Jason: You know I can't do that.

Alexia: Then promise me…

Alexia grabbed onto Jason's hand and gripped it tightly. A pleading look starting to well upon her face as she continued to stare at Jason's expressionless mask.

Alexia: ...that you won't get hurt like that again.

Jason lightly pulled his hand from Alexia's grasp and gently placed it on her head.

Jason: You have my word.

Zachary: IT'S FINALLY TIME FOR THE 13TH MATCH OF THE TOURNAMENT TO BEGIN!!! THE FIRST TO ENTER IS THIS MAN! SPEED IS SOMETHING ALL WISH TO ACHIEVE, BUT ONLY FEW HAVE MASTERED! AND THIS MAN SHOWS THAT HE IS THE VERY DEFINITION OF SPEED! HIS INTUITION IS UNMATCHED, HIS STRIKES CAN STAGGER GIANTS, AND HIS SWORDSMANSHIP PUTS MIYAMOTO MUSASHI TO SHAME! STANDING IN AT 180 CENTIMETERS AND WEIGHING 77 KILOGRAMS WITH A RECORD OF 47 WINS AND 1 LOSS... INTRODUCING, "THE RED REAPER'' JASON BELLTHORNE!!!!

Alexia: Good luck out there.

Jason: Thanks. And same to you with your family business.

Jason walked out towards the center of the arena, both of his hands placed in the pockets of his red long coat. Briefly glancing back at the corridor he came from, Jason noticed that Alexia was no longer there. Obscured by his mask, Jason smiled.

Jason: What a busy woman.

Lorisian: KICKETH HIS RAMPALLIAN SQUIRE!!

Among all the cheering in the audience, the one voice that overpowered everyone in the audience was the booming spirit of Lorisian. The knight puffed out his chest, and the people sitting adjacent to him shifted one seat over, giving Lorisian confused and judging looks.

Jason: Good to see he is still as lively as ever.

Across the way from Jason, Vector looked on towards him and scoffed.

Vector: Look at him, eating it all up. I guess it's time to see how useful that information Alexander gave me before will be.

Zachary: AND HIS OPPONENT IS SOMEONE WHO BELIEVES THAT THE TITLE OF THE FASTEST SHOULD BE GRANTED TO HIM! HIS MOVEMENTS HAVE BEEN COMPARED TO THE CLAP OF THUNDER, WITH HIS RECORD BOOSTING THIS CASE! STANDING AT 10 WINS AND NO LOSSES, HE MEASURES IN WITH A HEIGHT OF 173 CENTIMETERS AND A WEIGHT OF 60 KILOGRAMS. HERE COMES "SPEED DEMON" VECTOR HASTE!!!

Vector walked out wearing a pair of shorts that had a flame pattern lining the lower half of them. As both fighters faced each other in the center of the arena, each of them really just wanted to know the answer to one question, who really was the fastest?

Jason's thoughts: It's not like I care about the title, but for him to so boldly try to contest me for it makes me curious about what he is capable of.

Vector's thoughts: He looks so weighed down. Maybe claiming the title from him won't be too hard after all.

Daymond: Shun, Yussuf, as the men whose combat style is similar to both of theirs, what are your thoughts on this match?

Shun: I get what you mean, but just because we are all speed based fighters doesn't lead to us having similar combat styles. Well, either way I have seen multiple matches from both of them.

Daymond: And?

Shun: Both of them are pretty scary. Out of everyone that fights in The Eclipse, those two are probably the only people that match or even surpass me in speed. I know most people have their eyes on Jason, but Vector has been causing quite the stir within our world.

Daymond: I have heard some of his feats. For only joining the association around 2 months ago he has garnered a 10-win streak. Even I didn't rise in the ranks as fast as he has.

Yussuf: That's not even the most terrifying of his feats. While Shun has seen some of his fights I have been a witness to all of Vector's battles, and not a single battle of his has lasted more than one strike. The winner of this fight should be determined once the first move is made.

Daymond's Thoughts: It looks like you have quite the battle ahead of you. It's been two years since your defeat at my hands and one since you last appeared in the Eclipse matches. Let's see if you can overcome this, Bellthorne.

Referee: FIGHTERS, TAKE YOUR STANCES!!

Neither fighter seemed to take a conventional stance. When the referee raised his arm, Vector got extremely low to the ground, leaning forward preparing to charge. In contrast to this, Jason kept his upright stance with his hands kept tucked in his pockets.

Jason: Quite the surprise that you intentionally chose to fight against me. Guess you really wanted to lose that quickly huh?

Vector: I joined this organization after you took a hiatus from the matches and focused all your efforts on the assassination business. With how quickly I rose through the ranks, people just kept comparing me to you. I'm here today to show those rumors I far surpass you.

Jason: So you've been keeping tabs on me. Well luckily for you I have noticed your escapades as well. Sorry to say but from what I've seen, you've got a long way to go before you surpass me.

Vector: We'll see about that.

Vector's thoughts: It seems Alexander was right, Jason won't draw his weapon against an unarmed opponent. Now as long as I blitz him the match will be mine.

Thong's thoughts: I haven't seen Jason since we took that job together. I've seen with my own eyes how powerful you are as a mercenary, now how stronger are you as a fighter?

Referee: BEGINNNNNNN!!!

The moment the referee swung down his arm, Vector vanished from everyone's sight. For less than a second, the results of the match seemed like it was up in the air. However, when Vector appeared again once more, he was lying on the ground with his back arched in pain. Jason stood above Vector, his hands no longer being in his pockets.

Jason: Wow. You have a lot to learn.