The Arena

The bright lights and loud cheering completely contrasted with the dark void the group had just been in. The ground was completely made of sand and around them were tall walls with wooden spikes placed around the edges as if to keep anyone from escaping.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the event you've been waiting for! As you can see, with the entrance of three new participants, we can finally get this battle started!" A well dressed man wearing sunglasses stood near the end of the arena. Behind him was a large metal gate.

"Why was I the one to get placed at the center?" Gayto asked, looking back at Satoru and James who had been positioned on the bottom two spots of the arena.

Next to Satoru was a bandit carrying a large double edged axe. He wore a fur cloak around his chest and had an animal skull cover his face. Despite such a menacing appearance, the way he stood made him seem like a klutz. In fact, he looked like he could barely even hold up his axe.

On James's side, a winged female figure stood. Every man in the stands was cheering her on while she just stood there with a smile plastered on her face. She had bright blonde hair and her wings were also a bright yellow. In James's eyes, she was most likely a demihuman bird.

The closest things next to Gayto weren't even people but instead creatures. One was a long blue snake while the other was a giant bird which had been staring at the snake since Gayto and the others had got there.

"As for the rules for this place? Only the last person, or creature, standing may leave this place? So let me hear you folks. Are you ready?!" The announcer asked in a loud voice.

"Yeah!!!" The crowd cheered, pumping excited fists into the air.

"Then let this death battleeeee begin!" The announcer shouted, bringing his arm down to signify the start of the fight.

Within seconds, the bandit charged at Satoru, swinging his giant axe down in the attempt to cleave Satoru in two. With how predictable and sluggish the bandit was, Satoru easily managed to dodge the attack and counter it with his own. Satoru pulled out his quarterstaff and whacked the bandit in the back of the head, stunning them for a brief moment. The bandit soon quickly turned around and swung his axe again, this time also being slow enough for Satoru to easily dodge.

"Have you ever actually swung an axe before?" Satoru asked, slamming his quarterstaff into the bandit's stomach.

The bandit let out a painful groan as he stepped back to create some distance between him and Satoru. The distance wasn't enough though because Satoru almost instantly got up close and whacked him with his quarterstaff again, this time connecting with the side of the bandit's head.

"W-Who the hell are you?" The bandit asked, clearly struggling to hold onto his own weapon.

"I should be asking you that. For someone dressed up so menacingly you're turning out to be quite the bore. You're pretty weak, huh?" Satoru said, an arrogant smile covering his face.

"What did you say?!" The bandit shouted, dashing towards Satoru with a violent look in his eyes.

It was almost as if time slowed down in that instant. Satoru had put away his quarterstaff and had taken up a defensive stance. Satoru used the back of his hand to redirect the axe's trajectory by pushing against the flat side of the weapon. The motion left the bandit wide open for Satoru's next attack. Keeping the same smile on his face, Satoru clenched his open hand into a fist and slammed it into the bandit's gut.

The impact caused the bandit to drop his weapon, allowing Satoru to use his other hand to strike the bandit's face. With the bandit having no way to defend himself, he had to put up with an onslaught of hand strikes, each one hitting him harder than the last. With one final strike, the bandit fell over, leaving Satoru to be the only one left standing in that area.

"Well I guess that wraps up this fight. Man, and I didn't even need to take off my blindfold either." Satoru groaned, stepping back from the bandit and looking over at James to see how his fight was going.

"Don't you think you went a little overboard on that bandit?" The demihuman bird asked. James was standing right behind her and looked as if he was being controlled.

"Nah, if he can't handle me at one hundred percent then he should've never challenged me to begin with." Satoru said, grinning as he began to raise his blindfold.

"I'm surprised you can even fight with a blindfold on. Would you be a dear and tell me how you did it?" The demihuman asked, giving Satoru a curious look.

"Interested, are we? I can see anything around me from a fifteen feet radius. Side effect is that I have to wear this blindfold so I don't overload my brain. Doesn't fully stop the ability though but you don't need to know that part." Satoru explained, occasionally glancing over at James who was still standing there silently.

"Worried about your friend? I've taken over his mind so he'll do my bidding. I've never once come across someone with enough willpower to break free from my spell so you can kiss that friend of yours goodbye!" The demihuman shouted, laughing maniacally.

"Sure, he might be lazy most of the time. But I wouldn't advise ignoring his dedication to getting into a comfy bed." Satoru shrugged.

The demihuman gave Satoru a confused look, "what in the world are you talking about?"

"That was certainly a surprise." James's voice came from behind the demihuman.

In the brief moment before the demihuman turned around, Satoru could see a look of panic cover her entire face which he couldn't help but smile at. He lowered his blindfold and stood back so he could watch the fight between James and the demihuman.

"How did you do it? How did you break free from my spell?!" The demihuman shouted.

"Satoru already told you. Don't ever underestimate my dedication to getting into a comfy bed."

The demihuman gave James a disgusted look before letting out a loud piercing screech. She suddenly took to the sky and began flying down towards James at full speed. James just let out a tired yawn before reaching down and grabbing his metal pipe.

"Do you think a metal pipe can really stop someone as strong as me?!" The demihuman shouted, a cocky smile covering her face as she continued to dive down towards James.

"You'd be surprised how many times that line has been said to him." Satoru sighed.

That small comment froze the demihuman up for a split second, allowing James to fully aim his metal pipe towards her who only now was starting to continue her dive.

"Catapult."

The metal pipe was launched towards the demihuman at such a speed that it left a trail of light in its wake. The pipe pierced through the demihuman, leaving a giant hole on her torso as her lifeless body fell to the ground. With the elimination of the demihuman, the crowd began cheering for James who had just let out another tired yawn. A couple seconds later, his metal pipe finally fell out from the sky and landed next to him.

"I don't believe it! Not only has our beloved bandit fallen, but the fan favorite demihuman bird has fallen too! I can't believe this is happening! This match really could go to anyone!" The announcer shouted, creating even more excited cheering from the fans.

"So all that's left now are those two monsters that are fighting each other along with Gayto. I'm sure he can handle them but what do you think?" Satoru asked, walking over to James who had just put his metal pipe away.

"I think we both know the answer to that." James said, tiredly rubbing his eyes.

"Still wouldn't hurt to go over there and watch though, right?" Satoru asked, starting to walk over to where Gayto was.

"I'd rather be sleeping but since I've got nothing better to do, why not?" James responded, shrugging his shoulders as he tried to catch up with Satoru.