Before that hundredth of a second passed, Satoshi impulsively shut his eyes tight. He was about to become a murderer in front of everyone. At this point, there's no way he could face his parents with a clear conscience. He overestimated Link's power, thinking that he was just as powerful as him. Well, he was, but his energy reserve was significantly less than Satoshi's... and that led to his inevitable demise.
'Please, someone... anyone... stop this... I can't stop it!' Satoshi thought to himself, hoping that a miracle would occur at that very moment. He didn't want to become a murderer, and furthermore, he didn't want to do it in front of hundreds upon thousands of people. Just the mere thought gave him severe anxiety.
Clang!
"Right, that's enough." An unfamiliar voice called out.
Satoshi felt his spears hitting an impenetrable metal, causing his hand to stop its follow-through in an instant. Every joint in his body vibrated as soon as his attack was stopped.
Opening his eyes, Satoshi noticed a man in front of him. He was in his late twenties, wearing a white robe that looked more like a yukata. His long white hair shimmered against the floodlights, and his gaze was gentle, thanks to the white pupils in his eyes.
"And that ends our intermission. Please look forward to the next match." The man announced as all cameras pointed at him. After raising his hands in the air, he bowed down before grabbing Satoshi and Link off the stage.
This was when Satoshi noticed the gauntlet that the man wore. No, it was more like a part of an armor set. The gauntlet had a yellow sheen to it, almost gold, but its dominant color was silver. There were chinks in some parts of it, and Satoshi realized that it must've been his fault.
"I'm sorry for damaging your armor. It must've been expensive." Satoshi apologetically said.
The man turned around and let go of Satoshi's hand. Judging from the fight, he concluded that Satoshi had already expended considerable energy. But seeing him walk straight made him realize that he still hasn't expended enough. 'He was able to damage Wormtongue's armor. This kid's pretty good.'
"Don't worry about it." The man brushed it off as if it was nothing. "This is, Wormtongue, my tamed beast. As you can see, I'm currently integrated with it."
In response, Satoshi nodded. He couldn't believe that the man in front of him had managed to block such a powerful attack. Satoshi put all his force into it, but he blocked it without breaking a sweat. 'Is he a Disciple too? He's strong, probably stronger than Link.'
"Anyways, I should thank you for what you did back there. It would've been bad news if a murder happened in the Official Beast Tournament. That would really tarnish my name as the main head of the event organizers." The man explained. "Thanks to your intervention, we were able to hide the fact that this Link here got out of control. You're probably wondering why I announced your fight as an intermission, right? We didn't want to cause a panic... although some people in the audience could probably tell that it was far from being an intermission."
"Pardon me, I haven't introduced myself. The name's Luke, Luke Skyrunner." Luke said, extending his hands towards Satoshi.
Satoshi incredulously looked at the man. Based on his expression, Satoshi couldn't tell whether he was joking or not. After all, his name seemed really familiar. "Shouldn't it be Skywalker? Never mind." Satoshi asked, shaking his head.
"I get that a lot. My father probably thought the same thing. That's why he named me Luke. Quite an amusing name isn't it." Luke let out a chuckle.
"More like, out of this world. I'm sorry, that was a lame joke." Link spoke behind them.
"You've finally snapped out of it, huh? You should rein in your tamed beast a little bit more; otherwise, they'll go on a rampage, and you won't be able to control them." Luke advised, patting Link on the shoulder. "It's easy to deal with a tamed beast, but not when you're integrated with them. The moment you activate your Beast Integration, you and your tamed beast actions fall solely on you. If your tamed beast is a cold-blooded killer, and it killed while you're integrated with it... you're the one responsible for it. I hope you remember that next time."
"And another word of advice, don't take the easy way when it comes to beast taming. I've seen countless beast tamers ruin themselves because of that." Luke continued.
Once he was done talking, he gestured for the two of them to come inside his office. Link and Satoshi were surprised that they'd already walked a long way from the Grand Stage and were now on the farthest corner of the American Dome. This was the office of the owner of American Dome.
As it turned out, Luke Skyrunner was actually American Dome's owner. The reason why not so many people know him is that he preferred keeping a low profile. Right now, the people only know him as the event organizer, whereas he's actually the American Dome owner himself.
The office was spacious, almost two times the size of a basketball court. Both walls to the side were filled with books, and a staircase led to the second floor, which was filled with even more books. In the middle of the room was a sofa set surrounding a small table where a Newton's cradle sat in the middle of.
"Have a seat." Luke gestured before seating himself as well.
Confused, Link and Satoshi stared at each other before sitting down. They had no idea why Luke invited them to their office in the first place. Initially, they thought that he'd lead them to their respective waiting rooms, but now, they're here— and they had no idea what Luke wanted to talk about.
"Ehrmm... you're probably wondering why I brought you here." Luke began. "But before all of that, I need to talk to you, Link."
Link fidgeted in his seat as he intently listened to Luke. He was fairly certain that Luke was going to bring up what happened in the Grand Stage a moment ago, but as to what he specifically wanted to discuss, he could only wonder.
"I'm banning you from using the Beholder in your future battles. If you don't want to accept this term, then you can kiss that first place goodbye. What I mean is... either you give up on using the Beholder, or I disqualify you right here, right now." Luke continued.
.....
Jana's Backstory, continued.
The Alexis family continued to run towards the forest by the edge of the village. They didn't bother heading towards the road since they could tell that it was already cut off by the aliens. At the very least, they should be able to hide behind the lush trees of the forest.
Jana watched in horror as people she knew died one by one. Her eyes witnessed the merciless killings of the aliens that should've only existed in her dreams. She was frustrated. There was nothing she could do but watch while her dad dragged her out of harm's way.
"Get it together, my dear daughter!" Jana's dad exclaimed. "I know what you're thinking right now... and all I can say is... you should never think that way. If you're weak and helpless, then survive to see another day. That way, you'll have a chance at getting stronger when the sun rises the next time."
BOOM!
The explosion made Jana and her mom instinctively duck, but they didn't slow down. It was a different case for the dad, however, since he turned around— only to find that there was an alien right on their tail. And that said alien fired a projectile that sounded like a bomb.
Thanks to his superb reflexes, he managed to see the bomb in mid-air, aimed at the three of them. He had no idea what the projectile would do, but he could tell that it was dangerous. If he didn't do anything, all of them would die.
Without hesitation, Jana's dad decelerated, aiming to catch the projectile. Or, if worse comes to worst, act as a shield so his wife and daughter wouldn't get affected by it.
BOOM!
Jana and her mom only had a split second to react. When the second explosion was heard, they already thought of the worst thing that could happen. Then they heard a soft 'plop' on the ground as if a lifeless body just fell down.
"Dad!" Jana exclaimed, running over to her dad. Her mom followed suit, but she was too disoriented to even let out a shout.
Apparently, the projectile was actually a small bomb. And it exploded the moment it hit her dad's arm. When they came to, their dad was already lying on the ground, his arm blown to bits. The explosion knocked him unconscious.
DAD! Jana screamed a second time. But this time, she woke up from her dream and found herself on a hospital bed.
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