"Mekna is down!" Zang's voice boomed as the crowd cheered.
"This has been an extraordinary match, and frankly, I couldn't see half of it."
"Well, well, seems that boy is something special after all," said King Gorges.
"Indeed," Duke Philip replied.
"Me- Mekna, how could he be defeated so..." Duke Cassiel said in disbelief, rising to his feet. "You cheated," he accused Philip.
"I did not. I hope you're not going to make excuses for your loss," Duke Philip replied.
"Anyway, I hope preparations for the export of 70% of minerals extracted this year are in order."
Cassiel grit his teeth. "Why you..." He wanted to protest, but a rune on his neck prevented him from refusing. He sat back down.
"Fine," he said, crossing his arms and looking away.
"Excellent," Duke Philip said cheerfully.
"He won. Thank the gods," Adriana said with relief.
"He managed to win and with a marvelous show of raw power too," Rey said. "I think this time we actually can win the tournament."
"Kojo!" Lin yelled, getting to her feet and waving at him.
"I knew he could do it," Sharone said.
"I'd have killed him if he'd lost," Koniko added.
"He managed to win. By using guerilla tactics and taking hits until he separated Mekna from the Grimoire, deliberately taking hits so his enemy would think he was trying to separate him from his source of power, making him careless, and then taking advantage of the situation to deliver the deathblow," Yuki thought.
"One would think he's got two brains instead of one." She looked at Kojo and smiled.
"So, what now?" Kojo wondered.
(Wave, you idiot.)
"I am waving."
(Like a champion, not a depressed monkey.)
"Do you have to ruin the moment? Geez."
A figure clad in black stood on top of the roof of the arena, looking down on Kojo. He smiled. "I think it will be worthwhile to monitor this new variable and plan my next move carefully," he said, vanishing in a puff of black smoke.
"So," Zang said, floating down and hovering a few feet above the ground.
"As per custom, the winner has to take something from the loser as a war trophy. What are you going to take as a prize? Maybe the remnants of his spine perhaps?"
"Ew, gross. Why would I want that?" Kojo said.
"Then a leg?"
"You seem awfully enthusiastic about body parts."
"Well, it is proof of your victory. Personally, I would have taken his skull, but you blew it away."
Kojo took a step back away from him.
"Weirdo," he muttered and looked at what remained of Mekna.
"I really don't want anything. I already got a truckload of new skills from that GRIMOIRE plus Sysia has been able to fully assimilate me into this world's environment," Kojo thought, squatting and touching the body. There was a flash of bright violet light. There was a collective gasp as the light faded.
Mekna opened his eyes. Then looked at himself in surprise.
"What the how did...., I was sure I was dead," he said in disbelief.
"Yeah, you did die," Kojo said, turning to walk away.
"Wait, you can't do that," Mekna said. "Or you did that because you didn't kill me well enough the first time."
"Whoa dude, chill. There aren't any laws here that permit you to kill your enemy. You aren't my enemy, so there's no point in killing you." He turned around and smiled.
"Now you've got a second chance at life. Don't screw it up."
Mekna bowed.
"Master."
"Wait, what?" Kojo said, surprised.
"I wish to dedicate my life to you. However, as I am now, I am not strong enough to be of any service to you. Please, permit me to get stronger so that I may serve you to the best of my ability."
"Um sure, so whatever you want, just stop kneeling, it's kinda embarrassing."
"Kojo has decided to take Mekna's loyalty as his prize. For the first time since the tournament began," Zang yelled suddenly, startling Kojo.
"I can't have this guy as my subordinate," Kojo thought.
(Scared he'll make a move on your girlfriends?)
"Shut it."
"That was an amazing performance," Duke Philip said cheerfully.
"I honestly thought you'd be beaten to a pulp," Rey said. "When you got hit with that death punch, I was sure you were a goner."
"Gee, thanks for having such strong faith in me," Kojo said sarcastically, pretending to smile. Sharone rushed over and hugged him, forcing his head between her breasts.
"I was so worried," Sharone said.
"Well, it all turned out alright," Kojo said, freeing himself only to be caught by Lin.
"I'm glad you're ok," she said.
"You almost gave me a heart attack, you jerk," Koniko said, punching him the moment he detached himself. He dodged but tripped and went head first into her chest.
"Mmmm. You're such a pervert. Although I guess I wouldn't mind since you did manage to survive," she said, blushing.
"Oh, are you busy?" Yukio asked as she walked in upon the scene, Leo coming beside her.
"No, not at all," Kojo said quickly, freeing himself.
"Well, I just wanted to congratulate you on your first victory. You truly put on a spectacular show," she said. Leo just crossed his arms and looked away.
"Also, I wanted to know what you used to heal Mekna. No healing spell or potion could bring back the dead."
"Well, he wasn't fully dead," Kojo replied.
"What do you mean?" Sharone asked.
"Well, his cells hadn't died yet. I just shared my healing with him so his cells would put themselves back together."
The room was silent.
"I don't get it," Koniko said. The others nodded.
"I see," Yukio said.
"Wait, you do?"
"Well, you need to rest up. You must be tired after using that much magic. I'll see you around," she said, walking away.
(She was studying you.)
"I know."
(Think she knows about us?)
"Can't say. We'll just need to be careful."
(Agreed.)
Kojo then walked back to the inn with the girls, all the while being mobbed by the citizens of Ekron who came to congratulate him.
When they got to the inn, Kojo was beat. He dropped on the bed the moment they entered the room.
"Are you sure you're ok? That punch seemed painful," Lin asked, sitting beside him.
"Nah, I'm good," he replied.
"Still, we need to make sure," Sharone said, attempting to take off his shirt.
"Wait, what are you doing?" he asked, trying to resist.
(They know you're a perv. Your lynching is imminent.)
"What!"
The girls ganged up on him and took off his clothes while pushing him into the bathroom.
"Seriously, what are you guys doing?" he asked as he'd been stripped to his underwear.
"We're gonna give you a bath, silly," Lin said, taking her clothes off.
"A bath?" Kojo said, suddenly realizing the girls were stripping too.
He tried to run, but Sharone caught him with Blood chains, took off his underwear, and forced him into the tub. They got in too and began to sponge him.
(So you're not afraid to take a punch with enough force to destroy the city, but girls giving you a bath turns you into a vegetable?)
"I've got friend troubles, ok?"
(I thought you had 5,000 friends on WeChat.)
"That's my life online. Outside that, I haven't got many friends."
(So you're a social vegetable.)
"Ok, now you're being harsh."
(I did some digging and now I know why you're so afraid of girls. So who's Patricia? Or should I say Patrick?)
"I don't know what you're talking about."
(It must have hurt. Dating someone online for a year only to realize your 'girl' is actually a jobless 40-year-old man who lives in his mom's basement.)
Kojo was about to respond, but someone else entered the tub, and he felt something soft touching him.
"Don't turn, don't turn," he tried to resist the urge. He calmed down. Then he turned.
"Gah....!"
"Hope you don't mind if we joined you," Lin said.
"No, I don't mind," Kojo said, his face reddening.
(What a wimp. Looks like I got my work cut out for me.)