The Questions

"It makes it look very interesting." Anton walked to the side with Akira to observe this process before the duel began.

El Márquez was furious.

"Under the ancient laws, only one of you will survive; do you both understand?" The man in the cap glanced briefly at both and nodded.

"Very well, the rules; the challenged chooses first; what time?"

El Márquez looked at John and said, "At dawn."

He had his own knowledge about this duel, so he needed time to prepare, and doing it at that moment would increase his chances of survival. So, when he made his request, he raised a token with the number eight.

"Now!" John said, raising one of his tokens, but this time the number one was shown, making him the loser.

"At dawn, location?"

El Márquez looked at John's arrogance in his gaze and asked, "Did you come here believing there was a way out of all this? There isn't... the center... the sacred heart!"

John said this without looking at the token that El Márquez had raised. This time John's token had the number ten, so it beat El Márquez's number six.

"Sacred Heart, weapons?"

"You've been lucky that an Archbishop of the Association of Light decided to speak for you. If you win, it's obvious that the order will keep its word. You'll have your freedom, but we know you won't accept it. Knives," El Márquez said, raising one of his tokens with the number five.

"Pistols," John said, extending his hand towards one of the tokens, showing the number twelve.

The man supervising the duel nodded and said, "Dueling pistols, thirty paces. In case both survive, each will step closer to the other by ten paces until one is left standing."

"Rules of engagement?"

John looked at El Márquez and said, "No quarter!"

"Do you know why you won't take your freedom? Because this is who you are and who you've always been. You're a killer, an orphan we took off the streets and turned into a blade. Killing is what gives you purpose, and a man without purpose is nothing." El Márquez looked at John and said, "No quarter."

With two unanimous decisions, the man supervising the rules made it clear with his words that there was no need to raise the tokens. "No quarter, if there's nothing else, gentlemen..."

"I want to nominate..." El Márquez looked at John.

"It's your right."

"Do you have a second?"

"Caine..."

"So be it, dawn, Sacred Heart, dueling pistols, and no quarter. If Mr. John emerges victorious,

"John and his second will be free of all obligations with the order; his second will be reinstated as the manager of New York."

Looking at John, the man supervising the duel said, "If El Márquez wins..."

"John and his second will die."

"That's correct. Now, if there's nothing else, I'll see you at dawn. Failure to adhere to the assigned time will result in immediate death," said the supervisor before leaving.

Anton, seeing that everything was now in order, said, "Well, I definitely want to see this, so I'll see you at dawn."

"Why so much trouble?" El Márquez looked at Anton and asked.

Anton turned around and said, "You know very well what I'm tasked with eliminating. It seems you've never lived through these things in your life, so you'll never understand my motives."

"But it's your family's duty, a duty that has been for thousands of years."

"And soon it will be everyone's duty; you and John will have to get involved. That's called fighting for our planet, for reality, and for the world," Anton said as he walked away from this place.

Only those who haven't touched darkness yet will know what the Association of Light has prevented everyone from seeing.

"Your arrogance will end up killing you," Akira said as she watched the people guarding the exit.