EVERNA Arcel Raine's
Sixteen Judges, One Trial
Margaret Griffons
Not so drowsy by the rambling speech, Arcel Raine now listened to the words of the next Prisoner Margaret Griffons.
“Nah, now let me introduce the freedom fighters, those prisoners and inmates who will soon fight for freedom and forgiveness again. Here they are!”
While staring at the prisoner's podium, Marge mentioned the names of the “ freedom fighters one by one. Of course what he called first were those who were less famous or unknown to Arcel.
Only at the end of the names Cross, Faust, Onyx and Arcel themselves are called. Arcel's name is mentioned without any description. Maybe his identity must be kept secret at the request of VOLSUNG, or the historical knowledge of Everna Marge is rather minimal.
“Well, apparently there was a surprise in the show this time, the viewers all. Among the prisoners was a legendary fighter. He is a former MAUL champion, Martial Arts Ultimate League who has reportedly resigned from the world of professional combat. But it turns out he was involved in a bloody street fight and was detained with four colleagues in this prison. Let's welcome three-time MAUL champion Dean Vizier!”
For the sake of courtesy and forcibly, Dean Vizier got up and stood in his seat on the prisoner's podium. Because this event is closed to the audience who want to watch live, there are no cheers, remarks or even jeers to welcome the legendary champion.
The reason, the “burst” is definitely a virtual and real world out there. And the loser is Dean Vizier himself, both in terms of his own good name, the reputation of his family and his business, namely Vizzy’s Pizza, a restaurant that is being developed into a franchise.
So, somehow no matter the mechanism later, Dean had to win. Even if he does not become a champion, at least he must get freedom and forgiveness, for the sake of recovering his good name and the future of his family.
To find out Dean's reaction, Arcel turned to the blond man and saw the look in his eyes and the expression on his face was unsettling. He becomes like a wolf who can bulldoze anything, both friend and foe for his own life and freedom.
It could be, if necessary Dean Vizier will bulldoze Arcel Raine, his new best friend himself.
Finished mentioning the names of the freedom fighters, Prison Chief Marge's voice reverberated. “With the freedom fighters, of course there must be another party who holds the key to the doors to freedom.
Well, here are the sixteen judges who will determine whether the prisonmen will pass the first stage towards freedom or not.”
No doubt, Arcel was aghast. First stage? His inner. So how many more stages are there until freedom can be achieved? How many people will get freedom? Do we have to fight fellow prisoners and inmates as well? Judging fellow?
Instead of answering the questions in Arcel's mind with an explanation, Margaret kept talking, mentioning the names of the judges while the so-called ones appeared one by one from the arena's background. Arcel knew only one or two of the names and had seen a handful of them, albeit at first glance.
“Phantomime, super swordsman from Arcadia!”
A tall, slender man, wearing a black fedora hat and long-sleeved horizontal black-and-white striped shirt and black trousers.
Under the glare of many lights, this time it was apparent Phantomime's face was a permanent pale white, not because it was painted. Its thin, jet-black lips may also be permanent as a result of chemical reactions. It looks more like an undead than a human.
“Nekho, fighter and dark killer from Mish’ra!”
Uniquely, his entire body, from head to toe wrapped tightly with a mask and trousers made of a type of blood red papyrus spandex, is wrapped, decorated with black stripes shaped like complicated calligraphy letters or hieroglyphs ala Mish’ra.
Then another strong warrior came in. “This is Khaos de Klown, a fighter from Archelia who like Dean Vizier, had been unfortunate in the MAUL Tournament. However, his ‘madness’ makes it so unexpected.”
The appearance of this clown is no less strange with the other two fighters, Phantomime and Necho. The basic color of the costume is blue, with red patterns that are circular, giving a mental effect on the opponent.
Suddenly, the sound of bated breathing made Arcel gasp. He turned his head and saw Dean putting on a very tense face with bulging eyes.
Encouraged by experience, Arcel did not ask Dean about his reaction. He just plugs his ears to hear Dean's hissing voice. “Restore the life of Alain Carter, Khaos! Fucking bastard son of a bitch..!”
Arcel's memory was again tingled. Carter, Marters... Isn't Dean's wife Melinda Carter-Vizier? Perhaps the man Khaos killed had a close relationship with Melinda. Dean deserves that kind of revenge. Let's see, will Dean get a chance at revenge in this event? When yes, how will he follow up on that opportunity?
“And finally, two ‘hakim agung’, Garth and Karl Hauser!”
Marge's cry instantly turned Arcel's attention away from Dean toward the entrance of the arena. Sure enough, Arcel immediately recognized the two tall, very sturdy and bare-chested men. They were the ones standing on the left and right sides of Dominion, the Chief of the Syndicate on the special bridge.
Although the faces of the two resembled those of twin brothers, Garth was black-haired, long and choppy, while Karl was blond, short and upright. Their facial expressions were both stiff and flat, as if the Hauser Brothers were not humans, but rather some sort of android or killing machine.
“Alright, since all the seekers and determinants of freedom have appeared, I immediately tell you about the stages that must be taken towards freedom. There are no shortcuts, only luck. If you are lucky, you can just waltz through a stage without fighting. However, if a freedom seeker arrives in the last round, it is certain that he must face the strongest fighter, whether he is from the side of the judge or a fellow freedom fighter anyway.”
One free-speech fighter, “So, for the sake of freedom, we must be ready to scuttle, betray even if it is necessary to kill our own friend?”
“Of course!” margaret Griffons replied firmly. “That's the harsh law that prevails in the black world, the crime-filled world that you guys haunt across, isn't it?”
The questioner immediately shut up. Maybe he just realized, just now he almost lost the opportunity to achieve freedom, could even be almost lost his own life.
Observing that, Arcel recalled many things in his native time, where the words of the ruler were undeniable by commoners. Only the Senate consisting of representatives of the people may be – with many restrictions – debating the ruler. That is also if the function can be run through a perfect system. Apparently there are such authoritarian elements that still prevail in certain places, including here, in this Modern Age.
Not lingering any longer, the Prison Chief exerted his loudest voice. “Alright, here is the competition system in this ‘turnamen’. In the first round, namely the preliminary round, the freedom fighters fight their respective judges determined according to the weight of the crime and their punishment.”
Since there was no further explanation from Marge, Singh told Arcel and Dean. “That means that no matter how great their power, the inmates with the harshest sentences must face the strongest judges, while the suspects like you will be to the lesser-known judges.”
“Maybe we could be called lucky,” Arcel responded without changing his facial expression. “But I myself am not interested in underestimating anyone, considering there are still too many things that I do not know and understand in this age. So, I will still try my best and do not provoke the Syndicate too far before the time is right.”
Thus, further explanations for the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals are no longer needed.