“Looks like the first ten are all down for the count. And in less than 10 minutes. It’s no wonder the Grim Reaper is number two...”

As the crowd cheered and went wild with Leo’s commentary, I felt rage boiling through my veins. Six kids were unconscious, one needing stitches and two were covered in bruises. And these people were cheering, like this was some game.

Crushing my empty water bottle, I handed a nearby android the bottle. “Get the next fight ready. I want those healers out of the arena. They can heal whoever’s injured in the medic wards.”

“Yes, of course Grim Reaper.” The android bowed and quickly retreated to get the task done.

I looked away from the arena as the mess I made was hurrying cleaned up. I wanted to punch the concrete wall next to me but I couldn’t. I needed to keep calm and composed if I wanted to get through this.

He wanted to see me suffer and I couldn’t give him that pleasure. Knowing that I was denying him the pleasure of seeing me in pain was just enough to get me to continue. But just barely.

“Grim Reaper.”

I turned around to see who was calling me. It was a red-hair boy about thirteen years old. He wore a red bodysuit and had a black mask covering his green eyes. His skin was almost like Kan’s, a light bronze color.  

“What is it?”

“Well… we are…um…all ready…”

I looked to see that the arena had been cleared and the next ten kids were all preparing for the next fight. Some were messing with their powers while others were purposely hiding them. A few were also grouped together, obviously planning something together.

I felt myself smiling a little. They may be fighting me for the wrong reasons but at least they weren’t going to make the same mistakes as the previous ten. Looks like this fight was going to be a little bit different.

I couldn’t use the same trick as before, but I could use a different trick. The black tentacles could work but the kids would probably have an idea of how they worked by now…

The fact that some were hiding their powers was another factor to consider. Some abilities are easy to counter but there may be a few that will be a bit more difficult to deal with.

These kids were the best out of over one thousand competitors this year.  I also didn’t want to harm them more than necessary. Seeing the aftermath from the previous fight had been enough for me.

That meant only one thing…

“Alright then let’s get started.”

The boy nodded before quickly running to the other kids. He signaled one of the androids and the fight was announced on the hologram. Walking to the center, I prepared myself for the next fight. I was going to need as much energy as possible for this next fight.

Taking a deep breath, I entered the center of the arena. Some of the kids started charging forward, the decoy.

I closed my eyes. It was time. Gripping the center of my staff with both hands, I began spinning it. I let my energy flow through the staff as I span it. I needed to gather as much energy as possible to pull this off.

“What is the Grim Reaper doing?” Leo went off on the speakers.

Confusion rung through the crowd as I continued spinning my staff. No one could understand why I was just standing there but they would soon.

Suddenly, I heard a small gasp. There it was.

“No way. No one has been able to pull that move for the last 100 years.”

Of course they hadn’t been able to. Because it was my move and only I could do it. I tipped the staff suddenly and hit the bottom part against the sand covered ground.