Chương 49: Amusement

Ch 49 - Amusement

"Victor Osborn! Have you no shred of dignity?" Brooks shouted.

"You're targeting children now?"

"What's wrong with that? Aren't they Awakeners?" Victor asked.

"They'll have to fight monsters sooner or later. Besides, haven't these two fought before? It was quite an entertaining match, if you ask me. Although I do agree with everyone that it was terribly unfair. So I thought, why not give little Reika another chance?" Hiroto's grip tightened around the armrest while Carmen bit down on her lip. Beside her, Reika sat rigidly in her seat.

"Do you two need a little encouragement?" Victor asked, slowly curling his fingers. The crowd reacted instantly.

"Get up!"

"You're Awakeners, aren't you?"

"Do what he says!"

"You're supposed to protect us!"

"Get on the stage!" Once again, thousands of terrified voices turned against the chosen participants. The academy students, who had become the latest targets of the crowd's fear and desperation, shrank into their seats as the shouting echoed around them. Evan clenched his fists until his nails dug into his palms. This piece of shit. Of all the people Victor could have chosen, he had targeted Hiroto. There was no way Hiroto could beat Reika.

He had improved by leaps and bounds over the past few weeks, but she was still an A-rank Awakener. Reika abruptly rose to her feet.

"Fine. I'll go."

"Reika!" Carmen grabbed her wrist, but Reika gently pulled free.

"What else am I supposed to do?" she asked quietly.

"That madman called for my brother and me." She turned toward Hiroto, whose face had gone deathly pale.

"Get up, brother. Or are you going to continue to cower?" Hiroto flinched before lowering his head. After a long moment, he stood, and together the siblings made their way toward the stage, passing the two instructors, both of whom looked ready to explode with rage. Evan wanted nothing more than to charge up there himself and punch every last tooth out of Victor's mouth, but he forced himself to stay seated. They couldn't do anything while Victor still held the lives of thousands hostage.

Somehow they had to stop him from detonating the civilians, but how? Pulling out his phone, Evan saw that Reid had called and messaged him repeatedly. [Evan!] [Are you okay?] [Answer me!] Evan quickly typed a reply. [I'm fine. I wasn't chosen.] He deliberately left out the word yet. Ignoring the stream of replies that followed, he closed the messaging app and searched for everything he could find about Victor Osborn's Awakener ability.

"Isn't this wonderful?" Victor asked as Reika and Hiroto stood before him.

"A rematch of one of the academy's most memorable fights. An F-rank versus an A-rank." He spread his arms theatrically.

"Only this time, there won't be any of those silly rules getting in the way. You're free to maim each other, use any weapon or item you like, and if one of you happens to die... Well, that's simply how the match ends." Evan glared at the terrorist.

"Alright then," Victor said, raising his hand.

"Let's begin. Three... two... one... Start!" His raised hand dropped sharply, signaling the start of the fight. Reika burst forward, launching a punch at Hiroto's face. He barely dodged in time, but she stayed glued to him, unleashing a relentless barrage of strikes that forced him to keep retreating with his guard held high.

"Are you just going to keep dodging?" Reika demanded, sweeping a kick toward his legs. Hiroto narrowly avoided it by jumping back.

"You can't win by running away. Fight back!"

"I don't want to fight you!" Hiroto shouted.

"Too bad. You don't have a choice!" Lightning crackled around Reika's body, arcs of blue energy dancing across her arms.

"Great! Great! That's what I want to see!" Victor clapped enthusiastically from the side. Reika unleashed a barrage of lightning bolts, forcing Hiroto to weave and duck as he desperately avoided each attack. Victor continued taunting them, but Hiroto refused to retaliate, focusing entirely on staying alive. Watching the one-sided battle unfold, Mehra covered her mouth in horror. Electricity exploded beneath Reika's feet, propelling her forward in a blur before her fist slammed into Hiroto's stomach.

The impact sent him flying across the stage, where he crashed onto the floor and rolled several times before coming to a stop. Reika was already upon him. Lightning wrapped around her raised fist as she prepared to deliver the finishing blow.

"No!" Carmen cried, shooting to her feet. Reika swung downward, but at the very last instant she twisted her body, changing the direction of the attack. Instead of striking Hiroto, the gathered lightning erupted from her fist and shot straight toward Victor. KRAKABOOM! Victor raised a hand, detonating an explosion that swallowed the lightning before it could reach him. Yet Reika had already closed the distance, lunging through the smoke with her hand aimed straight at his throat.

"Heh. Brave girl." Victor snapped his fingers. KABOOM! An explosion tore through Reika's shoulder, sending blood spraying across the stage. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

"Aaaargh!" She collapsed to her knees, clutching the mangled wound.

"Reika!" Hiroto scrambled to his feet and rushed to his sister's side.

"Did you really think I hadn't planned for something like that?" Victor said.

"I've been keeping an eye on every one of you little Awakeners. That's why I went out of my way to get so friendly with all of you during the Wildlands exercise." The academy students froze. Evan's eyes narrowed as he recalled Victor, disguised as Darius, constantly finding excuses to pat them on the shoulder or ruffle their hair during the field exercise. At the time, Evan had dismissed it as nothing more than the man's overly friendly personality.

Hiroto pulled a healing potion from his pocket, but before he could uncork it, Victor flicked a knife through the air. The blade shattered the vial, scattering glass and glowing liquid across the stage.

"No can do, kid." Victor tutted as Hiroto glared at him.

"That girl broke the rules by attacking the referee. And what should I do with the two of you? Technically, you're both guilty of refusing to fight properly. Bad kids deserve to be punished, don't they?"

"Osborn!" Brooks stepped forward, only for several stadium guards to restrain him before he could get any closer.

"You spineless piece of filth!" he roared.

"Fight me if you have any guts!"

"Why would I?" Victor shrugged.

"Fighting you sounds terribly boring. I'm having much more fun with these two. Now then... should I gouge out an eye? Or maybe cut off an arm? So many options." As Victor strode toward the siblings, Hiroto instinctively stepped in front of Reika, shielding her with his body as though he could protect her from what was coming. Around the stadium, spectators turned away or covered their eyes, unable to watch what they feared was about to happen.

Evan refused to look away, his mind racing for a way to turn the situation around. Ring! The ringtone cut through the tense silence.

"Go on, answer it," Victor said.

"It must be important if someone's calling you at a time like this." Hiroto pulled his phone from his pocket. The moment he saw the caller ID, his eyes widened, but before he could answer, Victor snatched the phone from his hand and accepted the call.

"Hello." A voice replied, though Evan couldn't make out the words. Victor glanced at the screen and chuckled.

"Actually, let's put this on speaker so everyone can enjoy the conversation." He tapped the display.

"What were you saying... Thunder Wolf?"

"... Osborn." Masaru's calm voice echoed throughout the stadium.

"This is your final warning. End this madness and surrender. There's no escaping what's waiting for you. You'll only end up back in prison." Victor nodded.

"You're probably right. That government mad dog definitely won't let me get away after I escaped their cozy little prison, and I doubt you're in the mood to forgive me after everything I've done to your children."

"I don't understand what you're trying to accomplish," Masaru replied.

"If you know what's best for yourself, surrender now. Cooperate, and perhaps your sentence will be lighter." Victor snorted.

"A lighter sentence? You mean spending the rest of my life staring at four walls instead of three? Do you have any idea how boring that place was? Now that I'm finally free, I intend to make the most of it. Don't get me wrong, I know full well I'll be hunted down the moment this is over. They won't care whether I'm dead or alive. But since I'm already living on borrowed time, I figured I might as well enjoy myself." His eyes settled on Hiroto and Reika.

"And what could be more satisfying than tormenting the children of the man who put me behind bars?" A faint crackle of lightning came through the speaker before Masaru spoke, his voice colder than before.

"You're going to regret laying a hand on my children, Osborn." Victor shivered dramatically.

"Ooh, scary. Maybe I'd take that threat more seriously if you could actually get through the barrier. Unfortunately, unless you're willing to sacrifice everyone in this stadium, you're stuck outside. So while all of you put those brilliant minds together trying to catch me..." He gave a theatrical bow.

"... I'll keep having my fun. See you later." He ended the call and tossed the phone toward Hiroto.

"Where were we? Ah, right. Your punishment. I'll let you choose. Would you rather lose an eye, or should I tear off one of your arms? As for little Reika... she's already had a rough day. Maybe taking one arm will be enough."

"Don't touch my sister!" Hiroto shouted, pulling Reika closer.

"Aww, how touching." Victor drew a knife and pointed its tip inches from Hiroto's eye.

"In that case, I suppose I'll take yours instead." Hiroto held his ground, glaring at Victor with undisguised hatred despite the blade hovering inches from his face.

"Excellent," Victor said.

"Keep looking at me like that while I gouge it out." Just as he started to move, a voice rang out from the academy section.

"Victor Osborn!" Victor paused and turned toward the sound, his eyes meeting Evan's across the stadium.

"I, Evan Whitfield, challenge you to a match!"

"Mr. Whitfield!" Mehra shouted.

"Sit down!" Evan remained standing, pressing the send button with his thumb before slipping the phone back into his pocket. Ignoring the horrified stares from every direction, he held Victor's gaze.

"This F-rank demands a match," he said.

"Just like at the academy. Two F-ranks, Hiroto and I, against one A-rank. You. So, what do you say?" Victor's grin slowly spread across his face.

"Really?"

"I'd like you to fight with a handicap. One minute. During that time, Hiroto and I get to attack freely while you remain on the defensive. Once the minute is over, you can do whatever you want." Victor threw his head back, his laughter echoing across the stadium.

"An interesting proposal, but why should I agree to that?"

"Because you said it yourself," Evan replied.

"You're bored. What better way to pass the time than fighting the same two F-ranks who once defeated an A-rank?"

"Hmm... and what exactly do I get in return?"

"If we win, you leave Hiroto and Reika alone. No punishment."

"Sounds fair enough," Victor said.

"But if you lose..." His expression turned vicious.

"... I'll kill you." Carmen grabbed Evan's arm.

"Idiot! Take it back!" she hissed.

"You can't beat him!" Evan ignored her.

"Deal." Victor beckoned with a finger.

"Alright then. Get up here." Carmen still refused to let go, forcing Evan to pry her hand away before walking toward the stage. He passed the two instructors, both of whom were being restrained by the stadium guards, then climbed onto the platform where Victor waited.

"Can you give us five minutes to talk?" Evan asked.

"You certainly like making requests, don't you?" Victor said.

"Fine. Five minutes." Evan nodded before hurrying over to Hiroto, who was still supporting Reika. Blood continued to seep through her fingers despite how tightly she pressed against the wound, leaving her face frighteningly pale.

"Moron," Reika muttered weakly.

"You're going to die."

"This moron is going to save you," Evan shot back before turning to Hiroto.

"I need your help if we're going to win this."

"... Evan." A storm of emotions flickered across Hiroto's face, but after a long moment he simply nodded.

"Okay. I'll trust you."

"Good." Evan leaned in and quickly whispered his plan. The five minutes vanished far too quickly, leaving him only just enough time to explain everything before Victor clapped his hands together.

"Alright! Time's up!" Hiroto carefully carried Reika to the edge of the stage, well away from where the fighting would take place, before returning to stand beside Evan. The two faced Victor shoulder to shoulder as the terrorist waited expectantly.

"Oh, right. We need someone to keep time." Victor looked around until his eyes landed on Yeon-ah.

"You there, little miss. Start a one-minute timer when I say 'begin' and turn the volume all the way up." Though visibly tense, Yeon-ah obeyed, pulling out her phone and readying the timer. Victor rolled his shoulders before stretching his neck.

"One minute," he said.

"That's all you've got to beat me before I stop holding back. And remember, this isn't first blood. I'm not going easy on either of you."

"We know," Evan answered. Beside him, Hiroto drew a slow breath and steadied himself. Victor's expression sharpened.

"Alright then. Three... two... one... Begin!" The two F-ranks lunged into action.