Chapter 18 – Viral
3:25 PM – Jean's Bedroom – Grand Arena, Round 2
> [ROUND TWO – FIGHT!]
"Back for more?" Jean's clone smirked at the screen.
> MagusQuinn: You lucky punk. That last round was lag.
> JH_Executioner: That lag must've had fists too. Weird.
{His blood pressure's probably spiking. Wanna send him a fruit basket?}
"Maybe just a pineapple with git gud carved into it."
> MagusQuinn: No more Mr. Nice Wizard!
James's avatar charged—casting faster this time. Lightning surged through the abandoned factory, bolts crackling off rusted beams and broken conveyor belts. Jean's clone rolled forward, fluid and calm, weaving through the barrage.
{He's changed his combo order. Smart. I'm smarter. Blocking route plotted. Hit back in... 3, 2...}
"Now!"
Jean's clone ducked under a conjured mana blade and spun into a low leg sweep—crack. James's knees buckled. Jean followed with an uppercut that launched him skyward like a sack of potatoes.
> KO! – Round 2 Complete. Time: 2:01
> MagusQuinn: THIS GAME IS RIGGED.
> JH_Executioner: It's not the game. It's you.
{He's so tilted he might start a wind farm.}
Jean chuckled, folding his arms behind his head.
Then—ping.
> New Player Joined: BloodScythe
New Player Joined: SeraphMage
New Player Joined: PunchN_Pixie
Three avatars spawned in—one wielding dual reaper scythes, another glowing with floating sigils, and the last a fairy brawler in mech boots.
> MagusQuinn: Let's see you 1v4, freak.
> JH_Executioner: Cheating? Mid-match? Bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it pays off.
{Should we report them?}
"Nope," Jean said, tapping the record button. "We're going live."
The screen split. A stream overlay appeared in the corner—JH_Executioner: Casual Massacre – Live Now—with viewer and like counts ticking upward.
> [ROUND THREE – FINAL ROUND – FIGHT!]
As the countdown hit zero, the clone sidestepped a barrage of demonic flames, ducked the fairy's flaming rocket punch, and slid beneath a beam of holy light.
> BloodScythe: What the hell is this movement??
> JH_Executioner: Skill. Look it up.
{Okay, we're doing this Matrix-style. Activating Advanced Prediction Mode. Syncing bone strikes with pain feedback simulation.}
Jean's clone vanished in a flicker—reappeared behind PunchN_Pixie, grabbed her wings, and suplexed her into a pile of virtual rubble.
BOOM. First KO.
BloodScythe charged, swinging twin scythes like a blender. Jean caught one handle, yanked him off balance, and turned the blade into his spine.
KO. Second down.
> SeraphMage: I'm a healer, you jerks!
> JH_Executioner: You entered a deathmatch. Get baptized in fists.
The clone leapt from a broken ledge, dropped like a missile, and drove a diving punch into her mid-cast.
> KO! Triple Finish!
Only James remained—his avatar now pulsing with a fiery demonic aura.
"Demonic infusion," Adrian noted dryly. "A desperation skin. Real original."
"Cute," the clone said. "He's playing edgy anime boss now."
> MagusQuinn: Time to DIE.
> JH_Executioner: You already did. Twice. I'm just here for the encore.
James began casting his ultimate—a planetary destruction spell that darkened the whole map, blood-red sky flashing, eerie winds howling.
{He thinks he's the final boss. That's adorable. Wanna blindside him mid-monologue?}
"Oh, absolutely."
As James screamed the final syllable of his chant, Jean's clone dropped from a dangling chain above—elbow first.
CRACK!
> KO!!! – Perfect Finish. 1:48
> Match Over: 3–0 Sweep
James's avatar flickered, then rage-quit mid-respawn.
> JH_Executioner: GG EZ
JH_Executioner: Tell your friends thanks for the warm-up.
{And the crowd goes wild. Or at least mildly entertained. 3,200 views already.}
"Caption it," Jean said, stretching. "Let's go with: 'When four mages walk into a beatdown.' Hashtag CheatersGetCheated."
> Upload complete. Viral prediction: 92%. You're welcome.
Jean reclined in his chair, a devilish grin spreading.
"All in a day's work."
{You know they're going to cry about this at school.}
"That's fine," Jean said, already drafting a meme. "They should be glad I didn't send the real me."