Before the match started, Mako showed up and was grumbling to himself as he took a seat next to Serene. Terros sighed as he understood it was going to take Mako a long time to get over this hump. Getting beaten so one-sidedly by the Ares clone wasn''t easy to digest. There were no exaggerations in Ares'' words when he warned Mako beating him would be impossible. Terros estimated that Mako hadn''t even seen half of what Ares was capable of despite hitting his own limit. There was no way to raise Mako''s enhancement any more and there was no longer any passive pressure leakage so it was a matter of skill. It''s not even like Mako could claim Ares had more experience because it was only a day extra and nothing akin to the difference between him and Veteran. Ares started at roughly the same time as Mako and yet was infinitely more talented. Off to the side, Serene saw the dejection emanating from her son and nudged Terros in a bid to ask what was up. "The Ares clone in the pagoda is unbeatable and there''s nothing Mako can do about it."
"That''s not true!..." Mako kissed his teeth and yelled in defiance despite knowing it was all truer than true. "I just don''t have the tools to beat him right now... If I find some pressure related treasures I''m sure it would be possible!"
Terros looked at Serene as Serene looked at Terros. Serene trusted Terro''s opinion on the matter than Mako''s because she knew well of her son''s bias. When Terros shook his head, or rather rotated side to side, Serene also sighed before turning her head back to the arena. In situations like this it was actually better to just let Mako brood and either get over the problem in his own time or come up with a solution. If Ares was unbeatable via pressure then Mako''s logical conclusion would just be to not fight him on home turf. Mako should never be engaging in close quarters combat anyway and Terros had been hinting at that for some time now. Mako was stubborn and would inevitably cling to the idea of beating out Ares'' enhancement until the day of the fight. Then he would value the win more than his stupid idea and make a concession to give up on it. That was just how Mako operated; deny reality up until it would be costly to keep doing it, at which point he accepted the uncomfortable truth. He was a respectable kind of delusional because he at least saw the proverbial light when it truly mattered. Maybe ''delusional'' wasn''t the right word and he was more ''hopeful'' or ''optimistic'' instead. Either way, he was clearly showing up to this match to gather intel on Ares'' enhancement. Mako knew the Ares clone in the pagoda wasn''t using his full strength so he was hoping to catch a glimpse of it here instead and know the full extent of what he was going up against.
Down in the arena, the Red Sun group had just arrived at their starting positions and the Iciclops team, from the Isasz region, were walking over to do the same. They seemed somewhat confident even in spite of the Perish Wheel demonstration yesterday which meant they placed a lot of trust in that magic dampening rune. Were they stupid? Even half of that Perish Wheel would probably be enough to kill them... Whatever, these people were clearly inexperienced with fair combat and couldn''t analyse the situation they were in. They brought along the iciclops specifically because, even with the dampening, there was still a chance for them to lose. That was just how pathetic they were. People like this were the gum on the bottom of the shoe of the cultivation world. Experts would step on them without even realising half the time and then be hassled with cleaning up their bloodstains. In a way, this annoyed Ares even more. These people had put in no effort at all to get to where they were, and would never get any higher, and yet they were taking away opportunities from those with actual potential. None of the teams that lost to them were ''special'' but they were still better than the average cultivator otherwise they wouldn''t have made it this far in the first place. If Ares was top rung, Enyo was second, someone like Li Li was third, then those that lost to the Isasz team would be fourth rung. In total there were, hypothetically, maybe ten rungs? The fourth rung only looked low in comparison to the first or second but they were still more notable than over half of all cultivators. Maybe even more as the average was weighted towards the lower rungs like seven or eight. Top third would probably be a more accurate estimate and yet they were being robbed of valuable experience against those stronger than them. Winning wasn''t the point, just seeing what the rungs above them entailed and guiding them towards improvement was the real reward here for them at this tournament. The humans on the Isasz team were seventh, or maybe sixth, rung at best and didn''t deserve to even be here. Anyone and everyone involved with their international run should be ashamed of themselves and Ares would make sure they got their comeuppance shortly.
With both teams lined up, Ares could tell now for sure this iciclops was DUMB. Did this thing even classify as being sentient? Pets were allowed, and sentient monsters could become teammates, but this iciclops didn''t seem to be either... Surely the C.O should have put a stop to this at an earlier juncture?! Maybe whoever was dealing with this team was also in on the scandal... Ares being Ares, he decided to yell out to the other team and probe a bit. "Oi! Morons! What''s up with monster? I mean, it probably has more IQ than all of you put together but I would still hesitate to call that ''sentient''?"
"FUCK YOU!" was the shout Ares got in return from the captain of the team. Still, Ares was unfettered and pressed onwards.
"That doesn''t answer my question! Why is that monster here? It shouldn''t have even been allowed on the team!" Ares knew he wouldn''t get a response if he kept being a dick, as the captain would focus on retaliating, so he toned the snark down this time.
"He''s perfectly sentient and I don''t want to hear any complaints. He was vetted by the C.O themselves so take up your gripes with them if you have the balls!" This guy was way too confident in the rune to realise Ares was utterly unfazed by this nonsense.
"That dumb lug..." Ares pointed at the iciclops who was busily picking his nose like his life depended on it. "... Is obviously not sentient! That is demonstrably false! Emphasis on ''monstrably!'' Which stupid C.O member gave the ok on this garbage?! Someone needs to get their eyes checked!" Ares'' simple ploy turned out to be highly effective as calling out a C.O member in public, with everyone listening to his rant, was enough to make the culprit step forward and confidently make their own declaration. Unsurprisingly, the person responsible was exactly who Ares expected it to be... Shithead Lex! The guy who''d been eyeing up Enyo nonstop since her first international appearance. Ares knew in his heart of hearts this guy was Shady Mcshaderson. So shady, in fact, that when anyone said ''where the sun don''t shine'' they were referring to both assholes and this guy because there was basically no difference!
lex cleared his throat and gave Ares a disapproving look while shaking his head as if to imply ''what am I to do with the foolish youth of today''. "That iciclops was checked by myself, youngster. I deemed him to be of sufficient intelligence so I assure you there was no mistake."
Ares snickered in response. "Oh there was no mistake alright; no mistake in you aiding these cheaters, that is." Ares declaration of wretched conduct got the crowd whispering. The Isasz region''s bizarre matches had been a hot topic as of late so someone coming out and saying it in the open like this was like setting off a gossip bomb. This was a serious accusation and one that shouldn''t be levied without undeniable proof... It seemed things were going to get interesting here in the coliseum today.
Lex raised his eyebrow to outwardly feign innocence and confusion. He knew he needed to be careful here as Ares having proof would be disastrous if Lex confidently claimed there was no wrong doing. Now he needed to take a sort of ''I was blissfully unaware at the time and apologise for my negligence'' approach. He wouldn''t admit to anything just yet but he would pick a route that gave him plausible deniability later on if things went south. He could bail on the worthless Isasz lot safely this way. They may try to take him down with them but without irrefutable proof he could just assert it was pointless and petty bluster, lies concocted out of maliciousness. He could make up some story about them trying to reach out to him to get on the good side of the C.O and being jaded when he ignored them or whatever. It didn''t have to be real, it just had to be un-disprovable and he was good to go. Plus there was something else worth mentioning here... Enyo had a lie detector. She, and Ares (although Lex was unaware of this), could see through his ruse and already knew he was involved. It was fine though as his word against theirs was a stale mate. He could claim that Enyo was just biased and taking her husband''s side should push come to shove. He''d covered all his bases with one simple gesture and the next few words that were about to leave his mouth. "I have no idea what you''re talking about, Ares. I simply followed the typical approach to evaluating the iciclops. That, and the accusations you are levying, have nothing to do with one another. I am not involved with the Isasz team in any personal capacity. If, as you claim, they are cheating, that is certainly a travesty but one that does not implicate me as I have checked and double checked that iciclops. It was a close call, I''ll give you that, but he passed the minimum bar I set. Could it have been luck the iciclops passed my test? Well it would have needed incredible luck but that doesn''t mean it''s impossible. Regardless, I stand by my decision no matter come what may with the Isasz region. Speaking of, could you enlighten me as to what you mean when you say they''re ''cheating''? We, the C.O, are aware of the talks going on surrounding their matches but we have discovered nothing in our own searches. Please understand that this is a very serious matter so if you go through with this you will need irrefutable evidence or there''ll be drastic consequences for your allegations." Lex''s words admittedly did worry the Red Sun supporters. They almost wished Ares would just drop the matter here and now even if he was assured of his claim as anything going wrong here would be disastrous! Their team was finally a shoe-in to get good results and he was pulling this here and now?! A lot of them were starting to wish he hadn''t shown up again like the last match...
"First off, I appreciate your dedication to plausible deniability. When the Isasz teams sink, you''ll leap off their drowning corpse to reach land safely. You''re a sly one, I''ll give you that. Still, though you may officially escape, public perception of you will be atrocious, you know that right? Cheating aside, it''s pretty obvious to everyone in this coliseum that iciclops is not up to standards. OI! YOU! DUMBASS!" Ares'' shouts towards the iciclops were met with zero response. The creature was rolling its head around which was something these monsters typically did when bored. They were so stupid that making themselves dizzy was a fun game to them... "See that? No one is falling for it, Lex... Whatever, I don''t care what happens to you. As for the Isasz team, they''re using a magic dampening rune. Whoever set up the Training Field is working in tandem with them to reduce the output of the opposing team''s magic. Again, now that I''ve said it, it should be pretty apparent that''s what''s been happening. I think anyone and everyone here who can remember the Isasz matches will be able to tell the teams that lost weren''t performing optimally. It wasn''t ''stage fright'', it wasn''t a ''bad day'', and it certainly wasn''t them being outclassed. The thought is laughable. The Isasz cultivators are basically worms compared to everyone they''re sharing this stage with. The iciclops you allowed and the Training Field the runemancer tinkered with has gotten them this far and no one is stupid enough to believe otherwise."
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Lex''s mind was in turmoil here because everything Ares said was correct. Somehow, this kid figured out the trick. But how? Was Ares a genius runemancer?! There was no way someone of his calibre also happened to be a rune whizz? Wasn''t he a bit too multi-talented? Anyway, the major issue was that, if he could prove it, then Lex''s reputation would take an instant nosedive. If one of Ares'' claims was correct, the one about the rune, then the unprovable one about Lex''s involvement would essentially be treated as gospel too and he wouldn''t be able to shake the rumours... This damnable brat had cornered him... All Lex could do now was A; hope Ares couldn''t prove it, as the runemancer had put many layers of defence around the well-hidden dampening rune, or B; try and be as shocked as humanly possible when everything was out in the open. He could at least bring over some of the stupider members of the public to his side and that was better than nothing! If he had even a small group of supporters then, overtime, it would grow larger and larger. Repairing the trust people had in him would take countless years but he could do it if he remained low key for a long time. Ares had just set him back upwards of thirty or forty years... Lex wanted payback for this slight and he knew just the way to get it... Lex could deal with that some other time but, right now, he needed to progress the conversation and get it over and done with to shed the spotlight on him. He was about to respond to Ares, asking for proof, but before he could the runemancer in question, Donald, beat him to it... Clearly the guy was incensed by the accusations. As far as Donald was concerned, some greenhorn newbie had a snowball''s chance in hell of both locating and accessing his rune to prove it. If Ares asked him to remove the layer hiding it, Donald could just alter it without anyone being able to stop him so Ares had to do it himself. A mental accumulation brat exposing his rune? Donald didn''t believe it was in the cards so he stood tall and proud as he spoke.
"You damn brat! How dare you accuse me? Are you so scared of losing to the Isasz team you''re pre-emptively blaming me for your incompetence? They are a team of talented young lads, unlike you, and have earned their place here with hard work. Some people weren''t blessed with some kind of special pillar like you so pipe down and accept your loss you stupid ''prodigy''." The mockery with which Donald uttered that last word was palpable but what did Ares care? He already had proof and didn''t need to put up with this nonsense if he didn''t want to. Seriously, what on earth was this guy spouting!? Accept your loss?! A team of talented young lads?! Scared of losing?! This guy must have hit his head at least five times this morning if he truly believed any of the spiel he was spewing. Spiel he was shpewing... Ares accidentally got beaten by the tongue twister and had to shamefully admit defeat in that instance... But that didn''t mean he would back down from the argument, no sir!
"You''re a deluded and crazy man, you know that? Do you honestly believe this team is going to win regardless of whether they''re cheating or not? You have no idea the immensity of what a fundamental champion actually is. You''re so blinded by your own pettiness you fail to see it so how about I make it clear as day to you so you never forget it?"
"Just shut up already you idiot! Either start the fight and lose like the disappointment you are or prove your claims. Let me guess, you can''t though can you? Do you want me to unlock a specific part of the runes I''ve set up? I''ll damn well do it and expose you for the fraud you are. Showcasing my runes in public is a breach of my privacy but I''ll do it just to shut you up and make you pay the price you insolent fool." Up until this point, Donald still believed Ares had no way to access his runes without his support, and that was why he felt so assured of his victory here, but Ares'' next words hit him like a truck.
"No need, I can reach the rune myself. You hid it deep but I can still see and access it. I already told you once but you must have wax in your ears. You''re underestimating the fundamental champions, fool." Ares walked over the side of the arena and brought up a wall of runes. It was just a small part of a larger network but this was the spot the anomaly was located in. The fact that Ares walked over to it without missing a beat worried Donald as it meant the kid knew more than he thought he did... Donald assumed that someone like one of the matriarchs informed him about the rune but couldn''t tell him the specifics, resulting in Ares being at a loss at this point and seeking him out... If he already knew of the locations... What were the chances he could access it just as he said he could?! Donald was starting to sweat now as things were getting out of hand, quickly. The effects of runes were pretty easy to decipher as long as you could see them so it''s not like he could bluff and pretend it was something else. The second Ares pulled it up he was doomed with no way out of the current predicament...
"There''s nothing there! Stop wasting your time and go fight already!" Donald''s lie was so disastrous it backfired immediately.
Ares tilted his head confusion and asked a question that hit a sore spot for Donald. "If there''s nothing there, then why not let me find that out the hard way and lose the match? This should be a golden opportunity for you to pass by this round with ease? Everyone and their mothers saw that explosion yesterday and know the Isasz team don''t stand a chance against me. A free win here should be something you would logically be jumping for joy over, not trying to actively prevent." Ares shut Donald up as he went back to fiddling with the runes in front of him. His Omniscience pinpointed the issue and, as was about to be demonstrated, no amount of layers would keep Ares'' disintegration at bay! Julio, an arguably better runemancer, had been utterly defeated by this magic and so Donald had no hope whatsoever! As Ares'' finger sunk into the layers protecting the hidden rune, erasing them in milliseconds, Donald''s heart nearly stopped beating entirely. He almost had a heart attack watching this kid tear through his runes like butter as it was an unprecedented feat. In fact there was no one in the crowd right now who wasn''t gobsmacked by this display as it was incomprehensible. There wasn''t a runemancer in existence as talented as this kid was at dismantling runes! His earlier statement that the fundamental champions were being underestimated was, somehow, actually true... The fact that their powers spread beyond just their pillar and could bring about potential such as this was humbling. The champions were not specialists, They were just special. Yes they were unrivalled in their main path but that didn''t mean that others were closed off to them at all and Ares'' current speed was a stark reminder of that.
"S... Stop... STOP!" Donald was in full-blown panic mode now because it was only a matter of seconds until Ares dug out the dampening rune and exposed it for all to see. Donald may as well have his pants dropped too for good measure just to humiliate him thoroughly. The C.O were going to punish him, and the team, big time and there would be no coming back from something as egregious as this. Cheating during a tournament of this scale?! That was a recipe for disaster if and when caught. But what was Donald supposed to say? ''Stop digging because you''re about to find the rune''... Yeah, that wasn''t an option. He also couldn''t bribe Ares in broad daylight so that was out of the question. Attacking him would be even stupider as the number of people here that would stop him wasn''t small... In other words, he was screwed!
Ares'' reached forward with his hand, grabbed the dampening rune, and pulled hard to yank it out of its hidey-hole. He lifted it in the air and the jig was now up. The whisperings in the crowd started up again while countless glares were directed at Lex, Donald, and the Isasz team who''d all fallen silent. All Lex could do here was join in and glare at Donald and the team to try and save face but he alone had that luxury. Donald and the team were like frogs in boiling water and were dying a thousand deaths right now internally. It seemed like some of the team members were about to bolt when Ares, of all, people, offered them a lifeline... "Tell you clowns what..." Ares, with his Omniscience blazing away, started toying with the rune in his hand as he spoke. "We''ll still fight this match out."
...
Ares'' suggestion silenced the crowd as no one knew where hew as going with this. "We''ll fight the match out, with the rune in place, and if you win I''ll let you go. As in you can continue on in the tournament without the rune and act like none of this happened. Of course the C.O gets the final say here but seeing as how they''ve already blundered hard on the Lex front I think they can give me this? Let''s also not forget they employed Donald too, which I''m assuming was another Lex-induced problem. If the C.O wants to claw back some public reputation then they ought to let this slide. Anyway, point being, I want to make sure you idiots understand the folly of your actions." Ares lifted up the rune again and now everyone was baffled as to what Ares was up to. "In case you can''t see what this new rune does, it prevents magic entirely. Your dampening effect has been upped to 100% efficiency and no one affected by it can cast magic of any kind. Mana can flow internally but pushing it outside the body is impossible. Not only will I fight you all by myself, I''ll even prevent myself from using magic. If you win, this gets swept under the rug. When you lose, you face the punishment head on and nothing changes. There''s no reason for you not to accept this, right?"
After Ares finished speaking, another C.O representative, this one higher in the pecking order than Lex, floated above the arena and spoke down to Ares. She was a powerful looking woman wearing a red robe but Ares had no idea who she was so he just paid attention without fussing about her identity. "Normally we wouldn''t agree to this but the point you raised about regaining the public''s trust was despicable. If we say no now we risk the ire of the public who will feel disrespected. You are a devious person, Ares... So fine, you can have your match. I don''t know what you plan on doing or why you''re doing it but, if you lose, you and you alone are at fault. I cannot comprehend your actions but I will permit them nonetheless. Do as you please. If the Isasz team wins, they won''t be punished but they will have to compete fairly from now. If they lose we will deal with them as per our usual operating procedures. As for Lex..." The woman narrowed her eyes as she looked down on him. "... We will conduct an internal investigation into his behaviour... Though I imagine he has a convenient alibi... We will compensate all the teams affected by the cheating scandal regardless of the outcome of this match and we sincerely apologise for things having reached this point to begin with. We will issue a formal apology later with more details so please wait until then... As for the match, continue it normally..." The woman hovered for a few seconds longer as she stared at Ares, trying to figure out his motivation for his actions. Before she could fly away, he actually gave it to her without any beating around the bush.
"I''ve said it once, I''ve said it twice, and now I will say it one final third time. You are all still heavily underestimating the fundamental champions; me in particular. Truth be told I feel insulted these low-brow cretins thought they stood a chance against me just because of some silly rune. I want to make it clear to everyone that I do not fear this team. I do not want a free win nor do I need an even fight without the rune. The handicaps I''ve imposed on myself serves one purpose, to humiliate the other team. I want them, as they''re being punished, to remember they did all of this for nothing. That their endeavour to cheat was pointless from the very beginning and didn''t make a difference anyway. Basically, I''m rubbing it in. The fact that they''ll never amount to anything and people like me will stonewall them no matter what methods they resort to. They do not belong here and I will etch that into their thick skulls, that''s all."
"... I hope you know what you''re doing..."
Ares shrugged and gave a friendly chuckle. Anyone who knew Ares knew that what he was about to say was true. "Rarely if ever do I know the full extent of what I''m doing, but I am always capable of doing it." And with that, there was nothing left for the lady in red to say. She took a deep breath and flew away, back to her seat on the top floor of the coliseum where she would carefully scrutinise the upcoming match. She, like everyone else in the coliseum, wanted to see whether Ares was true to his word or not. His pillar was incredible, it was impossible to deny that after the explosion yesterday, but he was fighting without magic now... Just what did this wild child have up his sleeve, exactly?