The Arena (Part) 3

"READY!? BEGIN!"

Satisfied with the attention, the announcer roared, waving his hand down!

"Oh, baby! Let me cop a feel!"

The nameless rapist cheered out, spreading his arms wide and rushing at the reddish-brown-haired man who seemed way too calm.

Instead of getting out of the way, Leon went ahead and even began walking towards the approaching threat!

And then, out of nowhere, the hero took a firm step forward and… jumped…!

"?!"

The audience gasped, and even the nameless rapist stopped in place with his face twisted with the -what the…!? - expression when Leon's frontflip turned into an overhead kick and the heel of his left foot dug into his opponent's cheekbone and eyesocket!"

"!!!"

With the cheer of the amazed audience, the moment Leon's left foot lost contact with the rapist's head, his right foot replaced it, turning his opponent's face into a jump pad!

The nameless rapist's head jolted back, but Leon didn't stick the landing and desperately tumbled away expecting a swift counter…!"

*thump*

"...!"

That never arrived as the nameless rapist fell to his knees and barely managed to support himself with one hand as the mixture of blood, snot, and broken teeth generously splashed onto the arena!

"GO, MY BOY!"

The overly excited gentleman in the audience couldn't handle it anymore and stood up, cheering out while waving his cane.

"!!!"

Whether encouraged by the cheer or not, Leon rolled up and then jumped back on his feet, causing the eruption of applause and cheers from the excited audience.

Seeing his opponent struggle to see anything, with his nose pulverized and a crushed eyeball half pouring out of the cracked eyesocket, the hero clenched his fists and approached him with a quick but cautious step, expecting a counter.

"Gfgh...!"

But instead, the nameless rapist let out a pathetic squeal and raised both arms trying to protect his head.

"M-mehscy…!"

"!!!"

The nameless rapist pleaded, and it was the first time Leon's expression changed, twisted with righteous fury.

The next moment, the hero kicked up his foot high above his own head and…

*WHAM*

Drove it down onto his opponent, forcing the crossed arms out of the way and smashing his heel into the top of the rapist's head, driving it down into the bloodied ground.

"..."

The fight was definitely over; the burly man was down for the count, with his face planted firmly into the arena, his but up high as he was still kneeling, and his arms flopping to the sides powerlessly - but Leon wasn't done.

Without a moment of hesitation, he leaned down, placing one hand on the arena, seamlessly transitioning into a headstand…

*CRACK*

Only to lean forward and drive his knee into the back of the rapist's neck, causing it to let out a nauseating snap….

"!!!"

And the audience went wild!

"BELOVED GUESTS! THE FIGHT IS NOW OVER!"

The announcer stepped back onto the arena with a roar, not less excited than everyone in the stands.

"What a glorious opening match for the evening! Hero Leon has WON! Now then, let's check, although it is purely a formality at this point…"

The announcer managed to compose himself, approaching the almost headless body and leaning over it.

"DEAD!"

"YES!"

"NOOOO!"

After a moment, the announcer stood up and straightened his back, taking a look around the stand before declaring - his words causing quite the disparity in the audience reaction.

Them being mostly despair of those who either betted on the rapist, or on the non-lethal end of the fight.

"Shit! The new heroes never go for the kill! Never! Fuck! Did he have a grudge?!"

Someone seated close to the overjoyed gentleman with a cane threw down his hat and cried out in distress.

"Congratulations, Sir."

"Why, thank you~!"

The jolly croupier leaned over and whispered to the gentleman with a cane, and he chuckled back with a proud expression.

It seemed that the desperate reaction was in the majority. After the initial hype for the spectacular and overwhelmingly one-sided match died down, the betters who realized that they didn't expect a newbie hero to actually finish off his opponent, blinded by the righteous pride of being better than the ones they fought.

It really did seem that only the gentleman with a cane and a handful of others made the correct prediction, of which only a single one was someone from the more orderly side of the stands…

An unassuming brown-haired man with a weasly face who certainly looked as if he didn't belong to the more sophisticated crowd.

"Good job. Go take a breather."

"..."

The announcer patted Leon's shoulder, and the hero nodded silently, returning to the way he had entered the arena.

On his way, he was passed by a group carrying cleaning supplies.

"The next fight will be between the veteran hero, John the Iron Head, and a debtor, Henry, a local carpenter! You get one and one-fifth payout if the hero wins, and you have a chance to make one and three-fifths of your input if our dear carpenter manages to brave through!"

As the body of the dead rapist was being carried over and the center of the arena was being cleaned, the announcer declared, causing the audience to grow busy again.

"Seems peaceful enough… Young lady~! Heart twenty-one, one big silver on the hero. No death this time!"

"As you wish, sir!"

Once again, the gentleman with a cane placed his bet last as the croupier and her guard approached him after others orderly returned to their seats.

"Are you sure, though? You don't have to bet on every fight, sir. Most don't do that, actually."

Only after taking his be,t the friendly croupier pointed out.

"Nonsense! If I'm here, I'm going to bet a lot!"

The man with a cane laughed and declared proudly, making the croupier smile.

After all, she did get a small commission from every bet.