Vale Arena

Daniel looks at his raised hand and quickly tries to force his body to lower it, but it doesn't respond. It doesn't take him long to deduce what's happening. Frustrated, he mutters under his breath,

"What are you doing?" he murmurs.

"Collecting my part of the deal," Aegis replies, as if it were the most obvious thing.

"Your what?" Daniel retorts, confused.

Aegis sighs, disappointed, and begins to move Daniel's body toward the arena. "The big promise you made me when I arrived. Remember? That deal that would benefit both of us."

Daniel remains silent as Aegis continues speaking. "The big promise you made: in exchange for me training you, you would take me to great battles. That you would put your body at my disposal to use and fill me with glory."

"OH!… oh," Daniel says, remembering.

It had been quite some time since he said it, and he had forgotten that detail. Daniel struggles to think of something he can say, an excuse to avoid entering the arena, but the more he reflects, he knows that Aegis is right. Aegis fulfilled his part; he trained him from day one, every single day without fail. Daniel may be a coward, a thief, and perhaps promiscuous, but he never breaks a promise made from the heart.

[A/N: That's so gay]

"Ah... oh well," Daniel murmurs, stopping his resistance and relinquishing full control of his body.

Aegis, controlling Daniel's body, feels him stop resisting, giving him complete control. Knowing he wasn't tricked makes him happy.

While all this is happening, Neo, somewhat anxious, follows Daniel from behind, trying to get his attention. She would prefer he not fight; she's growing fond of him, and if something happened to him, she would feel sad. Where would she find such a violent and vulgar guy, and more importantly, someone who could understand her ice cream requests?

She doesn't believe the arena is particularly dangerous. None of the fighters down below have their aura activated; no one with aura would kill each other over coins in the arena. Sure, people get knocked out or bruised. Yes, some people get injured, and usually, there's always some death each day, but that's what's expected in a place like this.

Neo can't continue her thoughts because Daniel interrupts her. "Watch my bag," he says, pointing a finger at her. "And don't open it. A man's bag is a treasure; I'd kill for it." His tone is serious, making it clear he's not joking. Neo rolls her eyes at his words.

With that, Daniel moves away from Neo and enters the arena. Neo watches him go. "Ah…" she sighs. "Well, in the worst-case scenario, I'll shoot his opponent." With that last thought, Neo sits as close to the arena as possible, ready to see how the fight unfolds.

Daniel walks across the sand, as the crowd's noise fills the air with shouts like "WUUU!" and "FUUU, SO MUCH CLOTHING!" Nothing out of the ordinary.

When he reaches his position, the woman with the microphone approaches him. "What's your name?" she asks in a whisper.

Daniel takes a moment to think before answering. "Aegis." He could have revealed his real name, but after all, it's Aegis who's going to fight. Besides, why would he give his real name to this bunch of criminals?

The woman nods, and without hesitation, shouts into the microphone: "WE HAVE CHALLENGER AEGIS!" The crowd erupts in cheers, resonating with a thunderous "WUUUU!"

The announcer doesn't forget to add, "DON'T FORGET TO PLACE YOUR BETS BEFORE THEY CLOSE!" As she finishes speaking, the crowd gathers around the betting officials. It doesn't take a genius to realize they are betting against Aegis. The reality is that with everyone betting against him, the winnings will be minimal. But for these gamblers, a little is better than nothing; it's a safe bet.

Hearing about the bets, Daniel turns to the announcer and asks, "Can I bet on myself?"

She looks at him incredulously but finally responds, "Pfft, sure, why not?" She's surprised; she can't believe this naïve guy came up thinking he was going to win.

"Great! Bet me 100,000 that I'll beat all these losers!" Daniel says firmly. One hundred thousand lien is a considerable amount, more than half of all his savings, but he's willing to trust Aegis... and maybe he's developing a gambling addiction.

The announcer stares at him, dumbfounded. "Are you serious?" she asks, her surprise evident. Daniel nods in confirmation. "Well, it's your end," she replies.

She speaks into her earpiece; this type of bet is usually discussed with the boss. The boss, who is in her balcony protected by several guards, hears the bet and, without much thought, tells her to go ahead. She doesn't care if he has the money or not; he's a cute guy and, one way or another, he'll pay.

The announcer gives Daniel a thumbs up, confirming that his bet has been recorded. Meanwhile, the other fighter, a very robust woman, watches him intently, licking her lips as she devours him with her eyes.

With both in position and the bets closed, the announcer doesn't wait any longer.

"LET THE FIGHT BEGIN!"

With that, the robust woman lunges at Daniel, screaming, "AHHH!" as she charges forward. Aegis scoffs. "PFFFF. Well, this is called cannon fodder," he says, as if teaching a lesson. "The first ones to fight are usually the worst. An example is this punk; she has no idea how to fight, but this is necessary to separate the best from the trash."

As Aegis speaks, Daniel's body moves swiftly. He jumps, spins, and delivers a direct kick to the woman's head. "BAM!" The sound of the kick silences the entire arena. His opponent falls to the ground, bouncing several times.

After such a display of skill, the arena falls silent. The spectators, the announcer, the boss of the arena, and even Neo, who is beside the platform with her weapon ready, poised to shoot the fallen woman between the eyes.

"Let out a scream!" Aegis taunts. "Show them you're the boss of this dump!"

Daniel raises his hands, challenging the crowd. "COME ON, NEXT!" he shouts, encouraging those present.

Hearing his words, the people erupt in cheers. "YEAH! WUUU!" The arena returns to its normal state. For Daniel, the noise is just annoying, but for Aegis, it's strangely reassuring.

"AEGIS! AEGIS! AEGIS! AEGIS!" the crowd chants, echoing the name of their new favorite.

"YOU HEARD THEM, NEXT!" the announcer shouts as several people drag the robust woman off the platform.

Quickly, another woman appears, looking more serious. Aegis sizes her up; she has a sharp gaze and a fighting stance, ready for action. "See, we're leveling up," Aegis says, laughing. "Hahaha!"

"LET THE FIGHT BEGIN!"

The woman launches the attack, approaching and throwing quick punches while trying to maintain her defensive stance. Aegis dodges the blows; there's no need to block them. He lets her throw a few more punches to gauge the skill level of the fighters in this arena, but he quickly gets bored.

Seeing that she's nothing out of the ordinary, he decides to end this quickly. He deflects a punch, creating an opening, and strikes her stomach with a punch. The woman loses all the air from her lungs; the force of the blow makes her double over, lowering her guard.

"Remember, Daniel, never let your guard down!" Aegis shouts as he delivers a punch to the woman's face, sending her several meters backward, now unconscious.

"YEEES! WUUU!" the spectators in the stands cheer. Many also yell insults: "SCREW YOU, I LOST MY MONEY!"

Aegis takes this opportunity to measure his strength. It would be annoying if he killed all his opponents; he'd likely gain many enemies if he did. Daniel's body is superhuman; it's well below that of the hunters, but superior to these aura-less people.

"Well, let's continue," Aegis says, getting ready for the next fight.

"NEXT!"

Quickly, a tiger faun woman appears on stage, her claws glistening menacingly instead of hands. Weapons are not allowed, but since this is part of her body, it's permitted.

"AHHHHH!" With a fierce roar, she charges at him, claws outstretched.

Aegis ducks agilely, dodging her attack and delivering an uppercut that sends her spinning across the floor. Without giving her time to recover, Aegis swiftly approaches and lands a kick to her stomach that sends her flying off the platform, likely with some broken ribs.

"WUUUUU!" the crowd cheers, rallying him on.

"AJAJAJA!" Some laugh at how easily he defeats them. Many think these fighters are worthless.

Neo also cheers him on, waving a flag with Daniel's face that she created from his likeness. She has been in this arena many times and knows the level of these people. From what Daniel has shown, she's confident he should be fine. Seeing he's not in danger, she decides it's best to encourage him.

"NEXT!"

Aegis kicks her leg. "AHHHH!" the woman screams, her leg clearly broken. Without stopping, Aegis delivers a kick to her face to silence her; her body collapses to the floor, unconscious.

"NEXT!"

Aegis strikes rapidly and repeatedly at his opponent, as if she were a punching bag: a punch to the stomach, another to the chest, a fist to the liver. He repeats this several times and finishes with a blow to the jaw. With that last impact, she remains standing for a few seconds before crashing down.

"NEXT!"

Aegis throws an elbow to the solar plexus, cutting off his opponent's air. Desperate, she loses sight of Aegis, who grabs her by the hair and slams her head against the ground. With that, she is out cold.

"NEXT!"

Aegis delivers a sweeping kick. His opponent loses balance and falls forward. Before she can touch the ground, Aegis stops her fall with a knee strike, and she collapses like a sack of potatoes.

"NEXT!"

"NEXT!"

"NEXT!"

"NEXT!"

Aegis deflects a punch with his left arm and launches a counterattack. "Cross hit to the cheek!" She takes the hit and staggers, but Aegis doesn't let the opportunity pass. "Unbalance!" He delivers a double strike with open palms to the sides of her head. The force of the impact damages her inner ear, and in desperation, she tries to attack.

She throws a horizontal punch. "Use elbow block and hit the torso." Quickly, Aegis blocks her punch with his elbow and counters with a hook to the torso. She attempts another side punch, but her coordination is compromised, and she misses.

With a swift movement, Aegis dodges her attack and moves in to deliver an elbow strike to her jaw. The impact is strong and precise. She doesn't have time to recover. "Break her!" A solid left punch fractures her jaw with a sharp crack. She groans in pain, unable to move her jaw.

"Break the injured ribs!" Aegis throws a hook to the torso, breaking the remaining ribs. "Traumatize the solar plexus!" A direct hit causes devastating pain. "Completely dislocate the jaw!" A final blow, charged with all his strength, dislocates her jaw.

And to finish, "Kick to the diaphragm!" The kick sends her flying a few meters, crashing to the ground completely devastated.

In summary: tinnitus in the ears, fractured jaw, three splintered ribs, four broken, diaphragm hemorrhage.

Physical recovery: 6 weeks.

Psychological recovery: 6 months.

Ability to make inappropriate requests: neutralized.

"WUUUUUU!" The crowd jumps like crazy in the stands.

"AEGIS! AEGIS! AEGIS! AEGIS!"

Neo feels excited watching how brutal it was.

"Are you happy now?" Aegis asks.

"Yes, very much. Thank you," Daniel replies with a smile.

"NEXT!"

Most of the people in the arena are having the time of their lives, well, everyone except the fighters and, of course, the arena boss.

She looks somewhat alarmed. Tonight has been quite lucrative; basically, everyone who bet that the guy would lose in the first round has already lost their money. The problem is he bet on himself, so if he wins, he'll lose a good amount. It's not an amount that will leave her broke; today's winnings would cover most of it, but she really hates losing money.

It takes her a moment to find a solution, and she signals to one of her guards. "Go and end this," she orders in a tone that allows no discussion.

"Yes, boss," the guard replies, leaving the balcony.

Meanwhile, back in the arena, Daniel is panting. No matter how easy the fight seems, his body has its limits. "Only one left," he murmurs. "We should finish this quickly. I don't think he can take much more." Aegis nods, realizing he might have overdone it bragging about his moves.

"READY FOR THE FINAL ROUND!"

"WUUUUU!" The crowd screams excitedly; everyone has a new favorite.

A woman in a suit without a jacket steps onto the arena. The crowd is confused; she isn't the champion. Quickly, the arena fills with whispers. The announcer, realizing she couldn't deceive them, speaks up, "BUT, UNFORTUNATELY, THE LAST CHALLENGER WITHDREW!" This unleashes a wave of discontent among the audience.

"BOOOO! GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK!"

As everyone shouts, Aegis speaks with Daniel. "Be careful," Aegis warns, "she has aura." Daniel focuses on her, trying to see the aura.

"I don't see anything," Daniel says, attempting to distinguish the glow of the aura. "She doesn't have it active, but she has aura."

"Seriously, we need to make that list of what you can see."

"START!"

 -/-

Author's note: two chapters in less than seven days? Am I going crazy? Maybe you won't get used to it, this one was short, so I'll post the next part during the week if I finish it. See you, kisses and hugs.