Previously on The Fight Club Tournament arc, we witnessed three fights in one chapter. You don't see that every day. Anyway, we saw what Super was capable of for the first time, but it was very brief. It doesn't matter though, because we are about to see Enzo fight for real. This is exciting, huh?
The Clash of Rivals
"This'll definitely be interesting…" the prince says, his eyes fixed on the ring.
Super, noticing his comment, begins to speak. "Oh right, you've never seen Enzo fight for real, huh?"
"Nope, not even a little bit…" Hakuna replies, his curiosity piqued.
Enzo walks over to the ring, and the atmosphere changes immediately. The usual boisterous energy of the crowd dies down, replaced by a charged, almost electric silence. His opponent is Res, one of the twin brothers, a fact that makes the air feel even heavier. Hakuna had heard rumours about the twins, Res and Reckor, and the complex relationship they had with Enzo. They never seemed to have a true understanding, a genuine friendship, but both Res and Enzo shared a fierce, undeniable desire to fight each other.
"That's unusual…" Hakuna states, his mind already dissecting the situation. "What are you talking about?" Super questions, a hint of confusion in his voice.
Hakuna continues, his tone analytical. "When you hate someone or have any animosity against them, you usually don't have the thirst to battle them. Enzo, on the other hand…"
Super then explains, his voice a flat, almost robotic summary of the situation. "Out of both the twins, Res is the one who loves fighting the most. This fight is three things at the same time: they want to beat each other up, based on Enzo's prediction that Res is probably the strongest of the twins; he also wants to show his strength against both of them, and third, Enzo really likes challenges. Res just loves fighting, so it's basically a win-win situation…"
"It's been a while, Res…" Enzo says, trying to at least make conversation, a small smile on his face.
"Enzo Maleshane, I finally get the chance to beat your body to a pulp…" Res declares, his voice filled with a venomous animosity.
"Well, I guess we're just gonna fight…" Enzo thinks to himself, the smile fading from his face, disappointed at Res's mannerism.
Enzo prepares a fighting stance with a smile now firmly back on his face, the prospect of a good fight erasing any disappointment. The fight begins with a thunderous roar from the crowd. Both leap towards each other, and with a loud bang, their fists clash. They're fast, really fast, a blur of motion in the centre of the ring, but each strike one makes clashes with a strike from the other. The sounds of their fists hitting each other echo through the schoolyard. Enzo resorts to kicks, but Res blocks all of them with a fluid, practiced ease. Enzo goes for one more kick, which Res catches, but Enzo intended on punching him. As the punch was about to land, Res blocks, but the force of the blow throws him back.
"Hmm, just in the nick of time, you were able to block that attack…" Enzo comments, a hint of respect in his voice. Res lowers his arm, but it seems as though smoke is coming from his right arm, the arm he used to block Enzo's punch. Is this his true power? The crowd watches in stunned silence. Res leaps towards Enzo with blinding speed. Enzo does the same. They both clash and dodge one another, their fists moving faster, the sounds of their clashes getting louder, until they both hit each other in the face and pass out.
"Eh…" Super is baffled, his usual stoic expression replaced with a look of utter confusion.
"Well, this is confusing…" Hakuna is perplexed, his mind unable to make sense of the outcome.The match was concluded a draw, and both fighters were sent to the infirmary.
The Last One Standing
"Would you look at that, you're next…" Super says sarcastically.
"First, I find out I have demon powers, now I'm the last one to fight in something that obviously looks like the tournament arc of an anime, what's next, I go berserk or something?" Hakuna, unaware, thinks to himself out loud, the absurdity of his life finally hitting him.
"What?" Super asks, a raised eyebrow.Hakuna then chuckles nervously. "Uh, nothing…" he says, snapping back to reality, realizing he had spoken his thoughts aloud. Hakuna's opponent is Jacob. Hakuna's eyes widen in disbelief. "How is he even, oh my goodness…" the prince says, wondering how this is even possible.
Hakuna walks to the ring and waits for Jacob. He senses something, a presence that feels familiar, yet terrifyingly different. "I've sensed this before, but where?" he mentions, a deep sense of unease settling in his stomach.
Jacob walks over to the ring, but his aura, it's a demonic aura. What change has he gone through? "Seems I'm fighting the prince, again…" Jacob declares, his voice a low, sinister drawl, a far cry from the loudmouthed boy who failed at tormenting Hakuna on his first day at Milner.Hakuna, already dismissive of the boy, responds with a flat, confident tone. "Yeah, maybe you need to see the difference in our strengths more clearly. Know that I won't be holding back at all this time…"
"Oh, I know…" Jacob says, a sinister smile present on his face. It's off-putting.
Super chimes in, "Well, we all know this is gonna be boring…" He thinks to himself, "This energy, it feels like Hakuna is about to fight a demon…" He is interrupted by the chilling energy he senses.The fight begins. Jacob launches towards Hakuna, preparing a powerful punch. "That's odd, he should be a lot faster…" the prince thinks to himself, noticing an odd decline in Jacob's speed. He deflects the attack with his right arm yet still manages to launch a counterattack with the same arm, a quick, almost effortless strike."
Oh look, he's toying with him, that's a surprise…" Super comments, the slightest bit of relief audible in his breath.
"Something is different about Jacob. I suddenly have the urge to kill him, why?" Bodega thinks to himself, now also sensing the change in the boy.
Jacob stands up after being knocked down by Hakuna. "You've gotten stronger I see, interesting…" he comments.
"Hold on, why do you speak like that? You used to be a stupid loudmouth, well, you still are, but you sound weirder. Doesn't matter, I'll knock some sense back into you soon enough…" Hakuna says, in a hilarious attempt to interrogate Jacob, stopping in favour of rather defeating the boy.Jacob leaps towards Hakuna, but is faster now. Hakuna dodges this time, a new look of respect on his face. "Oh, there is something different about you. Maybe I'll take you seriously, just this one time…" he says, finally seeing the increase in speed he anticipated from Jacob.
Hakuna releases a bright aura, a golden, pulsating light that surrounds his body. This is the first stage of his true power. Hakuna's speed increases, and Jacob can't seem to follow. Hakuna lands a punch, sending Jacob out of the ring with a single, powerful blow. "I knew this was gonna be quick, let's get out of…" Super states, already concluded with the battle.
A Demon's Return
Before Super could finish talking, something changes. Jacob's energy is more powerful, more violent than before, more dangerous than any the BBC have sensed before. "What in the blazes was that?" Bodega jolts back to focusing on the fight.
Psycha then chimes in, "Oh, I see what's going on here…"
"What do you mean?" Hakuna asks, a new sense of urgency in his voice.
Psycha continues, "This energy, this isn't the same boy you defeated on your first day here. This is Merca!"
Hakuna already has his hypotheses, a cold, calculated fury rising inside him. "There could be two possibilities that explain what's going on. One, Merca could've killed Jacob and possessed his body, indicated by the way he looks, that does not say you're alive, or two, Merca saw how much Jacob hated me and used this to get Jacob to agree to him entering the tournament in his name, just to make me think that he was the one who beat me…"
"The former seems more likely; the latter is just you stroking your ego…" the demon says cheekily, her voice a brief moment of humour in the tense situation.
Hakuna's eyes start to glow, his aura rages with power. He then says, his voice a low, terrifying growl, "Regardless, if this is Merca, he will have to die…"
Hakuna attacks Jacob—oh sorry, Merca—with overwhelming speed, giving him no chance to counter, defend or dodge his attacks. The power Hakuna displays is ferocious; it truly shows that he has the intent, to kill.
Super, attempting to reprimand, "Is he crazy? He knows Jacob can't handle that much force…"Bodega then interjects, "No, he's already caught on to what's going on. That is an imposter, a demon…"
Hakuna kicks Merca back but reappears in front of him and delivers a powerful blow. "Fist of Inferno!" The attack throws Merca at the wall with so much force he ends up being lodged in it, a grotesque, broken figure. As Merca raises his head, Hakuna appears in front of him again. This time, he throws no punch but places his hand on Merca's forehead. "Sorry, Jacob. KIHIMURRA…" he apologizes to Jacob, suspecting his possession. Hakuna blasts Merca with his most powerful attack, destroying the ground around them in the process.
Fade out.
End of Episode 15.