Chapter 22: Fate's Joke
Purple lightning continuously flashed and large swaths of purple thunder repeatedly struck the surface of Raijin Island, forming a terrifying thunderstorm.
On the east side of Raijin Island's surface, 300 meters from the sea, a purple-haired woman stood in front of a man lying on the ground with his whole body charred black, looking down at him from on high.
The man lying on the ground had wisps of purple electric arcs constantly dancing all over his body, occasionally twitching, looking like he had been badly electrocuted.
"Sigh~ I didn't expect this person to be so weak, I originally thought he was some powerful expert from somewhere."
The purple-haired woman - Ka Mili - changed from standing to squatting, propping a hand on her cheek, looking a bit helpless. Then she began to lift open the man's cloak, intending to see if there was anything inside.
"Hmm? This is? From the Bounty Association?"
Just as Ka Mili lifted open the cloak, her eyes suddenly noticed something like a medal on the man's left chest.
This medal-like object was quite small overall, about the size of a coin, golden in color, with the letter E on it.
"I see, so he's from the Bounty Association? Hmph, probably here to find the Demon God's Power Core, what a pity."
Seeing this medal, Ka Mili instantly understood many things. She knew who the other party was and their purpose for coming here.
The Demon God's Power Cores, also known as Demon Cores, contain power that drives people mad. Just obtaining one is enough to have a say between the various major realms.
The fact that Demon Cores are scattered throughout the major realms is no longer some little-known secret. Rather, among the major realms, Demon Cores are already a widely known existence.
Many desperados, bounty hunters, and even some organizations or countries are all searching for Demon Cores. As long as they possess one, their status and power will rise in a straight line.
"But to dare come with just E-rank, is the Bounty Association out of people? Even if dimensional realms are usually very normal, there's no need to send an E-rank over, right? How ridiculous."
Looking at the other party's shiny golden E-rank, Ka Mili couldn't help but reveal a cold smile of mockery.
"But when will that inheritor finally come? I've already been in this world for nearly two months. Could it be this inheritor is taking the cautious route? Or the leveling route? That would be troublesome."
After mocking him, purple lightning danced on Ka Mili's left hand as a bolt of nearly a billion volts of purple raging thunder struck the man. The man instantly turned into black smoke and dispersed into the air. Then she began to mutter to herself.
***
After leaving the competition venue, Zavia arrived at the contestant rest area, which was the locker room. After all, this wasn't some large-scale competition, just one held internally by the navy.
As soon as he opened the locker room door, he saw Robbie stretching his body.
(Oh right, my next match is against him...) Suddenly realizing his next opponent was Robbie, Zavia closed the door and sat on a chair, his face full of boredom.
"Yo, bro, you're here. I watched your match, still utterly dominating as always." Seeing Zavia arrive, Robbie greeted him, followed by the usual chatter between bros.
However, Zavia wasn't in the mood to pay attention to Robbie. He just wanted to quietly wait for the finals two hours later.
The final match didn't use a one-on-one competition format. This time the finals adopted a one-versus-many format.
That is, first it would be one-on-one with two people fighting. After the battle ends, the loser withdraws from the stage while the winner remains on stage to face the next opponent until all the challenges are finished.
"Next up, contestant Robbie, please get ready."
After a while, a navy announcer came to the locker room to notify Robbie that it was his turn to go on stage.
"Alright, it's my turn. Zavia, wait for me to return victorious!"
Hearing this, Robbie psyched himself up and said to Zavia with full confidence, seeming certain he would definitely win.
Zavia just waved his hand to acknowledge it and didn't bother with Robbie anymore. Robbie didn't say anything either. Although they hadn't known each other long, Robbie basically understood some of Zavia's mannerisms. He just gave a confident glance back and left.
Although for an instant Zavia had the illusion of seeing that man, he quickly came back to his senses. He still had his palm propping up his face, waiting in boredom. In the end, feeling too bored, Zavia began to meditate.
Two hours later, the meditation ended. Zavia exhaled, feeling extremely refreshed now. Only when his meditation finished did he get this feeling.
Right as the meditation ended, the announcer came to the locker room to notify Zavia to get ready to head on stage. Zavia just replied and took out his wooden sword to follow the announcer out.
Arriving at the competition grounds, it was still a sea of cheers. Two people were still battling on the circular platform, just different people - this was the last group of contestants.
It was now past 1pm in the afternoon. The scorching sun baked the earth, raising the ground temperature very high.
Zavia glanced to the side and noticed over a dozen contestants standing in the shade under the spectator stands, watching the last match on stage.
"It's over! The winner is Morris!"
Accompanying the end of the referee's words, the final match also came to a close. Next, the finals would begin.
"Next we will hold the finals. Will the over a dozen victorious contestants please move to the center stage."
As soon as the elimination round ended, the referee immediately announced the start of the finals, seeming to want to finish the competition today.
Moving to the center circular platform, Zavia suddenly discovered that among the over ten contestants, his three roommates weren't present. Instead, there was Ross whom he had fought before.
(This really is fate's joke.) Looking at Ross, Zavia couldn't help but laugh inwardly. Right at this moment, Ross's gaze happened to meet Zavia's. Suddenly, a hint of fear appeared in Ross's eyes.
It seemed Ross still hadn't recovered from the shadow of being defeated by Zavia a month ago.
"I believe you all have some understanding of the finals rules, so I won't explain too much. I'll say it again - no deaths allowed, no beating people until they are heavily injured or crippled.
The contestant who won the last match will go first. The rest of you can take the stage at will, with the loser leaving the stage."
The referee gave a general explanation to Zavia and the others. Then he designated the final round's victor Morris as the first contestant for the finals. The remaining contestants could take the stage voluntarily, but could only go up once. If they lost, they withdrew on their own.
"Then I'll go first." However, right as the referee finished speaking, Zavia directly raised his hand and said to let him go first.
This sudden statement shocked the over a dozen contestants present, as well as the audience and the five judges above.
"Looks like this Zavia intends to take first place, and although it hurts the navy's face to say it, there's really no one in the Elite Camp who can compete against Zavia." Vice Admiral Crane looked at Zavia with arms crossed as she analyzed.
"Mm, Tsuru, you're right. This Zavia indeed has that intention. No, it should be said that was his goal from the start." Garp continued along Crane's words.
"Is that so..." After hearing this, Sengoku revealed a pensive expression and refocused his gaze on Zavia.
After Zavia said this, the entire venue was shocked, but there were quite a few people who were more hot-blooded. They had long wanted to have a contest against Zavia but never found the chance. Now there was finally an opportunity.
If Ross, who had fought Zavia before, heard the inner thoughts of these people, he would definitely mock them as idiots.
Among the over ten contestants present, only Ross had a deep understanding of Zavia's strength. It definitely wasn't something the people in this Elite Camp could contend against. It would take at least Vice Admiral level to compete.
"Then let's begin. The first match - Morris versus Zavia. Match, start!"
With all preparations complete, the referee declared the start of the match. Zavia and Morris faced each other.
As soon as the match began, some audience members showed excited expressions, wanting to see how Zavia would perform this round.
Some had looks of disinterest, believing Zavia would definitely toy with his opponent like before and then land a fatal blow to win the match.
However, Zavia didn't have the interest to know what the audience was thinking. Since the referee wanted to quickly end the competition, then Zavia would help him end it.
Therefore, under everyone's watch, Zavia put away his wooden sword into his spatial bag. Then, amidst everyone's puzzled gazes, with a BANG! Zavia vanished from his original spot, leaving behind a black footprint where he had been standing, with dust flying up around it.
Puff————!
Boom————!
Across from Zavia, Morris's originally vigilant face due to Zavia's disappearance instantly distorted.
The next second, a feeling of pain spread from his abdomen as a fist wearing a fingerless glove appeared on his stomach.
The powerful force shook his stomach, causing a feeling of nausea to well up in Morris's throat.
After being hit in the abdomen, Morris's entire body flew backwards in a V-shape, crashing into the wooden wall of the rear spectator stands, smashing a hole through it and throwing up a cloud of dust.
Amidst the shocked gazes of everyone present, Zavia, who had disappeared, stood in Morris's original position. His right arm was extended straight with five fingers clenched in a fist, slowly retracting.
One hit KO!
This was the only explanation in everyone's minds after coming back to their senses regarding the current situation. That's right, within two seconds, Zavia had ended the battle, completely exceeding everyone's expectations.
"Not good! Could this brat have gone all-out?!"
Coming to this realization, the referee cursed to himself. Then he wanted to run over to where Morris had crashed into the wall to check his life signs, lest Zavia had killed him.
But just as the referee lifted his foot, a hand stretched out from beneath the broken wooden boards, scaring some of the female spectators into screaming.
"Huh? I'm fine?"
Then Morris's whole body sat up from under the wooden boards, looking at his own condition in surprise.
"This... How is this possible!?"
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