Leonel kept walking in his absentminded state. He really hadn't heard the words of Commander Violet Rain at all. He was immersed in his own world. In fact, he might have walked all the way out of the arena had he not suddenly felt that someone was standing in front of him.
"Hm?"
??
Leonel frowned and looked up.
It was accurate to say that Leonel was quite tall. In fact, since his academy days, he had grown another inch or so. Now, he stood at 6'4. So, despite the fact the young man standing before him had quite an overbearing aura, Leonel, upon looking up, even despite his slouched back, stood taller.
Seeing this, the young man narrowed his eyes, but his momentum didn't dampen in the slightest.
When the crowd saw this young man confronting Leonel, their eyes blazed with passion. The rolling clouds painted over the young man's mask made his identity clear. They couldn't help but feel their blood boil, hoping that the young man would redress their grievances.
"Is there a problem?" Leonel asked.
"I only want to let you know one thing."
The man's voice was like a thunderous boom. He didn't seem to be trying to speak loudly, but his voice naturally projected as though he was a man perfectly suited to lead.
Leonel's first instinct was to think that this young man had a voice related ability like Admiral Millan. However, Leonel's senses were far sharper than they had been in the past. He could even vaguely get a sense of a person's ability as long as they tapped into it, though not nearly as thoroughly as the dictionary. But, this was still a good thing. After all, he couldn't always speak to the dictionary out loud and letting others know about its existence might not be a good thing.
This was all to say that Leonel felt that this young man's ability might not be so simple.
"One thing?" Leonel asked in confusion.
"I hope that you'll get yourself disqualified for the second round as well. Or else, if we meet on that stage, I'll make sure you leave on a stretcher."
Leonel was stunned.
In his life, this was the first time he had come across such a situation. After all, he lived in a society with rules and regulations. Maybe only when Conrad tried to kill James by throwing him out of a window did Leonel vaguely come across such a thing. But this was most definitely the first time someone had so blatantly said something like this to him. How could he not be left speechless for a moment?
For a while, Leonel didn't seem to hear or feel anything. By the time the crowd's noise faded back into existence for him, the boos had become cheers. It was obvious they had heard the young man's words.
"Thunderous Clap, you're my idol!"
"Teach him a lesson!"
Leonel came back to reality, realizing that this wasn't a dream. Is this the kind of place Earth had become now? People could just blatantly threaten another and even gain the cheers of a crowd as a result?
Something within Leonel seemed to change at that moment. It wasn't anything large. In fact, he could summarize it just a single word: acceptance.
If this was the world he lived in now, maybe that was fine too.
"So there's a round two?" Leonel mumbled to himself. "I guess I was only disqualified for the first round then…"
"If you're scared, then scram!"
"Look at him, he didn't even dare to move after Thunderous Clap put him in his place. Maybe he'll leave the arena directly!"
Leonel mumbled to himself. But, by now, Thunderous Clap had already walked away under a chorus of cheers. The crowd might very well have taken Leonel's pause as a sign of fear, but the truth was that Leonel had already returned to his own world.
What a joke. Who was he? He was the greatest quarterback prospect in easily the last several generations. How many games had he played in enemy territory? Let alone these insults, he had heard ten, even a hundred, times worse. He had learned to tune it out a long time ago.
But, what the crowd missed in all those jeers was that the moment Leonel's heart settled down, blinding, flickering lights jumped within his eyes. Unlike in the past, these lights were real. It was to the point that if one had met Leonel's gaze now, they might even be blinded for a moment. Thunderous Clap's words had unlocked something within him.
Leonel turned and walked back to his seat.
He had no idea that the rules had been broken for him. In his mind, he had failed in the first round but received a chance at the second. In that case, he would sit and wait for his turn. He had no idea that he had gone from the coward who couldn't respond to Thunderous Clap, to the shameless young man who threw the face of all Promising Youths.
"… Next, Thunderous Clap."
Commander Violet Rain's voice seemed to be far more at ease now. It was obvious to most the Thunderous Clap had vented some of her rage for her, and in the coming round, if this 'Indomitable' wasn't sensible, then she just might get to see a great show.
She looked toward Hutch with a half satisfied expression, but who would have known that old man wouldn't even be paying attention? In fact, he was still nibbling away at his pizza without a care in the world.
At that moment, Thunderous Clap stood and walked to the stage. The ground opened up to reveal five more Invalids.
He sunk into a horse stance, his fists clasping against the sides of his body.
"Thunderous Clap isn't using his rod!"
"He's making a point, obviously. Some shameless people only know how to cheat with the fancy weapons they get through nepotism."
"Haha! Show him who's truly 'Indomitable'! Even without your weapon, you're his better!"
Thunderous Clap's eyes flashed as a low shout like his lips.
The stage beneath his feet quaked and cracked as he shot forward, appearing before the first Invalid in the blink of an eye.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
His body was like the center of a storm. Violent vibrations and cacophonic booms seemed to follow his every movement, leaving destruction in his wake.
He passed through the group of Invalids in a flash.
For a moment, it seemed like nothing had happened, even when Thunderous Clap smoothed out the wrinkles of his clothes and everything fell into silence. But, in the next instant…
BANG!
The five Invalids combusted. It was as though someone had planted a bomb within their bodies, allowing them to explode from the inside out.
The motes of light they became shot into the air under the pressure before slowly descending back toward Thunderous Clap. This sight alone made him look as though he was a favored child, basking in the rays of the skies.
The atmosphere reached the peak. Thunderous Clap's performance caused the arena to erupt to the point the ground shook.