Epilogue: Are you ready for Pandemonium?

After Altair's battle, he rested up, for a while, and then proceeded back to the stands. He watched his friend's match, Arcana's. Arcana was having trouble at first, but she led Aarya by the tail and caught her off guard, resulting in Arcana's absolute victory. From then, she left the arena, not trying to look for Sakurako or Arcana.

He had quite frankly enjoyed his match, despite how hard it was. The feeling of death he was receiving from Nyuri Nayami during the match had ultimately encouraged him to do more. In terms of ability in close combat, Nyuri Nayami had the advantage. The way she had fought against him was erratic. During the fight, her fighting style resembled a wild beast–or so Altair thought.

When it came to strength, when Altair ran through the battle once again in his mind, he was sure that he was stronger than her. Speed, he wasn't sure, but he thought about her relentless assault and thought that she had the advantage.

Overall, Altair believed that if the battle had no limits on physical ability and if she didn't underestimate him, he would lose, maybe even with skills. Altair sighed, thinking it was lucky that the last move made by Nayami was a headbutt. If it was anything else, he would've been out for the count.

Later, Altair reached Silver's Inn and walked inside. The moment he opened the door, many started to stare at him. They started cheering and clapping in the direction of Altair. They all were at the tournament arena and saw his battle. All of them were impressed. None of them had expected the child to win, especially like that.

The little boy tried to circle around them but wasn't able to. He slipped through seconds after he saw a small opening, Altair then rushed up to his room, locking the door behind him. The boy was tired–incredibly tired. All that he wanted to do was peacefully sleep in his bed, helping him regain a natural mindset after that intense battle. He wanted to prepare himself for tomorrow, he would be going to watch Sirius' match. Another match that Altair wanted to see what Joker's match. He was fighting Caris, from what he remembered. Would Joker use his ki on Caris, or not?

'I guess that's a question for tomorrow. For now...'

He jumped out of bed and took off his clothes, laying them on the ground. He nabbed a white towel and linked it around his waist, to cover his private area, though, it's not like there is anything there for Altair, anyway.

◈◈◈

The next day approached quick, and Altair took an additional shower in the morning since he felt uncomfortable and stiff. It was probably because of the beds. He walked downstairs and met up with everyone else. The only one who wasn't out of bed was Sakurako, though they all left her to sleep since her match would be tomorrow and it would cause trouble for them if they attempted to wake her up.

'So, Sirius, how are you feeling?'

Arcana asked cheekily as the three left the stadium. (Arcana carried her two daggers and Sirius' bow because they would be going hunting after.)

'I'm feeling good. I think.'

Altair looked at Sirius with a quizzical look. They continued walking until they reached the coliseum. The attendants asked for their tickets, but they simply got a free entrance because they are participants. Altair felt dumb for attempting to sneak into the coliseum yesterday, however, he simply used his height and physical age as an excuse.

They all sat next to each other in the stands. Arcana sat on the left, Altair in the middle, and Sirius sat opposite Arcana, on the right.

'Who do you think will win the tournament?'

Altair asked, feeling claustrophobic, sitting in between two people larger than him. (It felt like he was sitting next to two walls with only a three feet gap between each.) Arcana thought about it openly and answered.

'I think it'll be Sakurako.'

Sirius didn't seem to agree with that one. He stroked his chin with his fingers and stared at the ground intently.

'Really? I think it'll be Joker.'

'Joker?'

The little boy asked, confused.

'Why him?'

'Well, I just feel like he has more to him than meets the eye. On top of that, you have his ki, which is practically a whole different system of mana. He seems like the most mysterious participant.'

'I see what you mean there.'

Arcana says, giving Sirius' ideas a bit of thought. There was a loud mic check and the commentator started talking

['Hello, everyone, and it's Alex Vincent! We're back for another day of 1v1s, and it's the final day of the round of 32! We'll be having a one day break after today and we'll have the round of 8 on Tuesday! Now, to introduce the order!']

The order showed on screen. Everyone seemed fascinated by the list, though some thought that they'd be seeing something more unexpected. One of the reasons for this was the starting pair.

'Joker is starting.'

Altair said, intrigued.

The first match displayed Joker vs Caris, which would be held shortly. Joker became famous over that short time mainly because of his ki abilities. People were dying to see what he'd do with it.

['On the left side we have, Caris!']

Grey smoke and confetti exploded outwards, simultaneously, and a man came walking out. He looked proud as if he knew he would win from the start. There were lesser cheers in the crowd as he raised his hand into the air, triumphantly.

['And on the other side, we have the wild card, Joker!']

White smoke popped out and confetti followed in suit. Joker walked out, though, he looked slightly different from before. His hair was longer and he wore a black jacket, almost like he was going for a late-night stroll. His white hair and yellow eyes are still the same.

['Joker looks intimidating to–']

Alex Vincent was silenced by Joker raising a hand in the air. He sauntered around the arena and the whole crowd watched him, including Prince Eustace, who was referring, and Prince Guist.

'Everyone. I'm sure you've all enjoyed this tournament so far.'

Joker dug into his pocket and pulled out a box of cigars. He began fiddling to open it, but he still continued his speech.

'Well, I've been wondering ever since I qualified. Why don't I show you something more interesting?'

The crowd began to murmur–they weren't sure what Joker was referring to. No one knew, in fact. Some only got a bad feeling. Joker lit his cigar, with a gold lighter, and tossed that into the air. It spun fast, but then, it slowed down until it stopped midair. An illusionary clock formed around it, using the lighter as its catalyst and medium.

Prince Guist barged into Alex Vincent and took his mic. Prince Eustace started charging at Joker. Joker simply gave an unchallenged smile as he addressed the crowd with a cigar in his mouth.

'So!'

['EVERYONE! GET OUT OF HERE!']

The clock went haywire. It began blasting the areas around it, destroying the areas of the stand and area. Portals began appearing out of thin air. From the dark portals came different looking creatures, but they were all humanoid. The most common type was a bald, lanky red humanoid with wings. Black eyes and red irises. A low-ranked demon.

The stands around became ruins and invoked in smoke and fire. They were like a hell of their own.

The majority panicked and attempted to run, while others, like Altair and the Oni siblings, stayed, still listening to Joker. He turned toward the three of them, and his unparalleled smile became a wicked one.

'Are you ready for Pandemonium?'