Chapter 172 - Contract

Hugo and Mike assisted Thong through the halls as Li walked beside them. They approached the infirmary, pushing the door open as they carefully placed Thong down.

Mike: You've lost a lot of blood, yet you're still conscious. Ugh, are you sure you're human?

Thong: What else would I be?

Mike: I guess that's a good point.

Hugo: Why are we in a regular infirmary and not the fancy one?

Li: It'd be rude to just barge in there. Even if Thong is on good terms with Theodore, we can't just waltz into their infirmary.

Hugo: I don't see the issue. My student is basically the next one in line to be royalty.

Mike: I don't think you even understand what the process of becoming royalty in Virtus even entails.

Hugo: When you use that many big words, I usually tend to ignore them.

A doctor in the room walked over to Thong, carefully laying him down as they began to connect him to the sensors in the room. His blood pressure was low, but he seemed to be fine for the most part. Mike, Hugo, and Li let out a sigh as they turned to each other.

Li: Wait… Where did Gerald go? I thought he'd want to celebrate the most with Thong's victory?

Mike: He said he couldn't contain himself and left. I say that's for the best, I don't want to be near him and another one of his absurd plans.

Hugo: I agree! My student deserves much better than that!

Mike: Can you stop calling him your student? It's starting to piss me off.

Li: Let him have his fun, Mikey.

Mike: Don't call me that! Are you trying to fight too?!

Thong slowly began to drown out the sounds of his friends bickering, closing his eyes as he let his mind wander. He saw an image of himself before him, one with vicious red eyes.

Minh: So we barely survived another day.

Thong's thoughts: Yeah, I guess so. My body feels so heavy, I don't think I'm strong enough to even sit up from his bed.

Minh: It's because you can't.

Thong felt a sensation of confusion wash over him as he listened to Minh. He tried to move one of his arms but noticed that trying to make it budge felt like a monumental task. Even opening his currently closed eyes had felt impossible.

Minh: We're overwhelming our body. We hardly have any strength after that match. We were lucky Daymond's body failed on him before ours failed on us. If I tried to take over the body right now, we'd make no new ground. We can't train anymore from this point forward. We need to conserve all the energy we can for these last two matches.

Thong's thoughts: But without training, we'll be unprepared for future fights!

Minh: I know, but this is what we need to accept. If we train, we'll collapse before the fight is properly over. We'll become just like Daymond. We can't torture ourselves anymore.

Thong stared at Minh, who wore a longing look on his face. Minh looked up at Thong before shaking his head. He turned his back to his other half, walking into the void that was his mind.

Minh: Rest up. We need that body to survive.

Thong's thoughts: Yeah… We do.

To the others in the room, their small arguments came to a halt as they looked at the peaceful face Thong wore on the bed, his eyes shut tight.

Li: Only makes sense for him to sleep. We should give him some room.

Hugo: My student doesn't need rest. But I'll give him a break, he deserves it!

Li pulled Hugo out of the room as Mike stared down at Thong.

Mike: I'm surprised you're still going. You're nothing like the weakling I knew over a month ago. Who knew you were this strong all along?

Mike smiled as he pulled up a chair and sat beside his best friend.

…

Stomping was felt across the hallways of the tournament building. Staff that walked by grabbed onto the walls for support as Cero wore a face of absolute hatred. He clenched his fist as he reeled it back, slamming it into the door that led into Bodin's office. Across from him laid Daymond, who had just opened his eyes. Behind Cero were Tico, Mason, Vector, Bruna, and Kammy who had attempted and failed to stop the mad giant from reaching this destination.

Cero: DAYMOND! HOW COULD YOU?!

Cero slammed one foot into the room, the step digging into the ground. Bodin appeared several meters before Cero with his hands in the air.

Bodin: LoMatta, while I would love to look over you, you aren't part of my group. So I would like to kindly ask you to leave. The others won't take too kindly to your abrupt entrance.

Cero: LIKE I GIVE A SHIT! DAYMOND! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO MAKE IT TO THE FINALS SO I COULD FINALLY KILL YOU!

Cero took another step forward, the entire room shaking as Daymond weakly lifted himself up on his bed. From the shadows, the different members of the Arachna appeared. Yussuf, Magnus, and Nupan pulled out their swords and aimed them at the giant. Yussuf spun his scythe and aimed the blade at Cero. Arthur spun two of his bats before placing both on his shoulders. Simon moved his hands skillfully through the air before entering a cat stance. Shizu, Dianshi, Hiroto, and Sudu stood behind the combatants, both sides staring each other down.

Cero: AND NOW YOU HIDE BEHIND YOUR MEN! YOU SICKEN ME!

Bruna: C-Calm down, C-Cero! You're going to destroy the entire building if you keep this up!

Mason: Yeah, man! This is no way to act in front of your mortal enemy!

As both sides seemed prepared to jump into battle, a red-gloved hand stood between them. The glistening of the yellow lens and the red helmet made it clear to both sides who stood there.

Jason: I was just passing through and decided maybe I should prevent this from going any further. There aren't any direct rules against gang wars, but I'd rather not let everyone in this building die from all of you trying to kill each other.

Cero: Get out of my way, Bellthorne! I'd rather not have you die today.

Jason: I doubt I'd die. I've had my fair share of fights too, you know. But let's just say my contract basically prevents me from letting you go any further, Cero.

Cero: Contract? What the fuck do you mean by "contract"?!

Jason: When I was paid by the Arachna two years ago to counteract the assassination attempt on Daymond, I threw in a small deal to spare Daymond outside of any tournament or match-related fights. As far as I see it, that hasn't expired yet.

Cero: You continue to stand by the side of a man that no longer has any power?! His position is as good as forfeit! If you continue to stand in my way, I will kill you without hesitation.

Jason: Well. Even if I wasn't enough, there are these guys behind me. Are you sure you can fight them all that once?

Cero moved his gaze from Jason to the other members of the Arachna, who had spread out to circle the doorway and aim directly at Cero. He gritted his teeth before snapping was heard at the back of the room.

Daymond: Everyone, please. Stand down for a second.

It was as if the tension in the room was cut with a knife as Daymond forced himself onto his feet.

Yussuf: Boss!

Magnus: Don't push yourself. You don't have much strength left in yourself!

Daymond: No. I must speak now.

Daymond pushed himself back onto his feet and walked through the crowd, stopping behind Jason and before Cero.

Daymond: I understand your frustration with the results of that match, but it was simply how fate deemed it so. So while you didn't get the rematch against me, I do not fear having to fight you. Especially when your emotions are so easily flickered such as right now.

Cero gritted his teeth, lifting his fist as both Tico and Mason tried to pull it back.

Daymond: But are you sure you should be wasting your strength here? Your match will be in a few minutes.

Cero: Daniel will be of no concern to me. I can kill all of you then him myself.

Jason: Talk about harsh.

Daymond: While that may be true, how will that apply to the other matches? You will eventually need to face either Jason or Gonzalez.

Jason: That's actually a great idea now that you mention it.

Jason turned to Cero, placing his hand out.

Jason: Let's make a small wager. If we both win our matches, the end of our match will be the end of my contract. So if I fail, you'll be able to have your revenge. But if I win, you'll have to swear off on killing Daymond for the rest of your life. Deal?

Cero: What type of asinine idea do you have in that head of yours, Bellthorne? Not only will you be unable to defeat The Hyena, but any idea of you defeating me will also be nothing more than a dream.

Jason: Are you not accepting the deal because you're afraid? All your matches now are all of us fellow top ten fighters. So, if you truly plan to kill me, at least make it an official match. Would it hurt to wait a little while longer?

Cero stared in silence at Jason. Jason felt as if Cero were almost trying to burn a hole through him with that stare. He let out an annoyed sigh before turning around.

Cero: Our business isn't finished. But I will defeat Daniel, you, and whoever else makes it to the end of the left side of the bracket. When all is said and done, Daymond's head will be mine.

Cero walked out of the room, leaving behind the members of his group. Bruna and Kammy let out sighs of relief as they turned to Daymond and Jason.

Bruna: Th-thanks for helping the situation.

Jason: I can't really say I helped. The door is laying on the ground and now I have your friend's eyes on me.

Daymond: While I can't certify that you will win against Gonzalez, I hope you will attempt to stop Cero nonetheless.

Jason: Would be pretty sad if I couldn't hold up my part of the bargain. But I just wanted to say hi to everyone in the Arachna. Haven't seen a lot of you grouped up like this since that tournament two years ago.

Shun: It has been quite some time. So try to kill Cero for us, will you?

Jason: Who said anything about killing? But I think that's enough wasted time. My match won't be too long after, so I'll take my leave.

Jason walked out of the door, going in the direction opposite Cero. Everyone was left in silence as Daymond fell to one knee. The members of the Arachna rushed to his side as Nupan helped him back to his feet.

Nupan: You can be an idiot sometimes, but at least you know how to prolong your life as long as possible.

Daymond: It is sometimes my greatest trait and maybe even my worst curse.

Simon: C'mon, boss! You sticking around is better than nothing!

Dianshi: Only a matter of time until we see how your gamble pays off.

Everyone let out a laugh before falling into silence. The members of the Fallen Dispensary rushed after Cero before all eyes fell on Daymond.

Daymond: I am truly sorry I failed you all. In my greatest hour, I fell into desperation and failed to succeed.

Shizu: You made an idiotic move in a tournament that was for nothing more than your own amusement.

Yussuf: Shizu…

Shizu: You cost Arachna its greatest asset. It is only a matter of time before all of our connections begin to cut ties.

Nupan: Shizu, that's enough. Do you think he doesn't realize this already?

Simon: Yeah! He's hurting already!

Daymond: No, it is fine. I must accept this. I've hurt you all and I would not fault you if you decided to leave me now. I am a failure as a leader and cost something dear to all of you.

Daymond stared at the ground before feeling several hands rest on his shoulders and back.

Arthur: Even if we lost that power, that doesn't change that we're one of the best underground teams in the world. We wouldn't want to leave our leader for the world.

Hiroto and Sudu stood away from the group, watching as they all assisted Daymond back to his feet and over to the bed.

Hiroto: He truly made a loyal team. That Daymond is something else. I wonder how this tournament of his will play out now.