As Yuri's match ended, Taylor turned towards Adam.
"Next is Janus's match, right?" She asked.
"Sure is." Adam replied.
A handful of popcorn flew into the man's mouth. Munching, he also sipped his soda. Just then, the screen switched to the next set of fighters. Taylor and Adam leaned forward. The participants exited from both sides as the fans began rumbling with excitement. The commentators voice rang throughout the stadium once more.
"Next match – Janus Gates versus Kairos Stási! Let's do this!"
Janus neared the center of the massive arena. He glanced over, noticing the cracks formed by Yuri. He redirected his attention towards his opponent. He halted at the center. His opponent did the same. Janus lifted his head, meeting Kairo's eyes. The giant had wavy brown hair and dark eyes that looked down upon him as if he was a lesser being.
"Janus, I'll give you a chance." Kairos stated. "Give up now. It's useless to fight against my time stop. So, if you don't want broken bones, do as I say."
Hearing this, Janus almost burst out laughing. His lips couldn't help but curl into a smile. He chuckled as he locked eyes with the giant in front of him.
"You're pretty confident, aren't ya? Sorry but I have standards."
As their interaction heated up, the referee approached. The two backed off and went into their respective stances. The referee glanced at the fighters, ensuring they were ready. The audience leaned forward – a long-awaited match was about to begin. Dante and Mack held their breath. Suddenly, the referee whistled and ran for his dear life.
In the instant the match began, Kairos activated his attribute. The world drowned in gray. Every atom – every animal – every person – every machine had come to a complete and utter stop. Kairos calmly stepped forward. He curled his hand into a fist and swung it at Janus. A flurry of jabs and crosses struck Janus like a speeding train.
Kairos stopped. As he backed off, Time rewound. Janus blinked. Then, the next second, he flew into the wall. Dust rose as the audience gasped in shock.
"Oh My God!" Mack said dramatically.
"Dang. He didn't give him any chance. Time stop right off the bat." Dante crossed his arms.
The dust fell. Janus appeared. Red stained his clothes – blood flowing from his mouth. He grunted. Standing up shakily, he panted heavily. He straightened and rushed at his opponent. Kairos threw a jab. Janus jumped, twirled around it. Then, he caught his rival in a lock. Kairos gripped Janus's arm but the latter refused to yield.
"Oh God…" Taylor covered her face with her cap.
"That's bad…" Adam clicked his tongue.
As Janus held Kairos in a lock, the latter suddenly disappeared. Janus fell, landing on his feet. In the distance, Adam caught Kairos approaching steadily. Then, he vanished once more. Adam chuckled as Janus flew again.
'He's crazy…'
He took another handful of popcorn and took another sip of soda. Then, he glanced at Taylor.
"Want some?" he offered.
"What? No! Janus is getting rag dolled and your just eating?!"
Adam blinked. "The fuck am I supposed to do then? Hop inside and give that sucker a punch? No thanks, I already lost once."
Taylor pouted – unable to give a response. The two then, turned their attention to the match. Janus clutched his stomach. Looking at his enemy, he tried to predict his next move. But miserably failed Kairos flickered out of existence and reappeared mid-kick—but Janus panicked but caught it on his guard and slid back, arms raised.
'Shit…this is bad…'
He thought while wiping blood off his face. His heart thumped heavily, cold sweat rolled off his face. Just then, Kairos time stopped again. But this time, Janus caught a glimpse of a gray world. He blinked and it disappeared. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his ribcage as Kairos manifested. Janus gasped. He collapsed to his knees, holding his broken ribs.
Kairos twisted his wrist. "Now, let's finish this."
The world froze. He calmly approached his enemy. He wound his fist back, preparing to strike but just then…Janus's eyes moved an inch. Kairos froze – his pupils dilated in shock.
"What?" He muttered as time resumed.
Janus immediately backed off. Seeing his opponent's shocked state, he chuckled slightly.
"So, that wasn't a hallucination after all…" He stood up, realizing he had glimpsed stopped time.
Right then, Kairo's nose began bleeding. He touched his nose, stained with red. He wiped the blood off. Janus spread his arms, announcing loudly.
"An attribute that stops time? An attribute that powerful will always use more mental energy!"
Kairos clicked his tongue.
"Fuck you…"
Janus narrowed his eyes and locked eyes with his opponent. Kairo's hesitated to activate his attribute. He shook his head and did it anyway. The world shifted to gray as all entities within froze in place. But Kairos didn't move. He stared ahead, his hands shaking.
"T-That's not p-possible…" He muttered.
Janus stood in the frozen world with Kairos. He glanced around, analyzing the properties of a world stopped in time. Five seconds flashed by. The world rewound as Janus's lips parted.
"Now, do you believe me?" He asked Kairos.
Kairos' mouth twitched – unable to respond. Janus smirked and resumed his stance.
"Let's play." He stated, rushing forward.
Kairos reacted a second too late. Janus attacked his opponent in the ribs with all his might. Kairos gasped. Instinctively, he stopped time but that wouldn't save him. Janus leapt and drop-kicked Kairos. Kairos tried to block but failed. As he fell, the world returned to normal. Janus swept him off his feet. Then, he circled around kneed him in the back.
Kairos's body trembled with pain. He stood up, backing off. He gritted his teeth.
'Damn it…'
He resumed a fighting stance and so did Janus as they continued their bout.
In the perspective of the fans, the two were flashing around the arena every few seconds. Janus kicked Kairos. Kairos blocked. The next second, they were another place. Janus leapt up, keening Kairos. But the next instant, they were backing off.
Meanwhile, Dante's voice was also acting weird.
"Oh! Janus got him – Nope, Kairos jus-"
His voice cut off and the next moment, he spoke again, keeping up with the fighters. The match continued – a tug of war between Janus and Kairos. A few minutes passed and Janus came on top. Kairos fell – unconscious. Janus stood over his body as the blazing sun reached high noon. Suddenly, a large shadow cast itself over the stadium. The referee blew the whistle, ending the match. The fans cheered, praising the winner with confetti and blowing horns.
The shadow passed in a few minutes and light shone upon the arena once again.
"And the winner is Janus Gates! Once again, our underdog pulls through!" Mack shouted.
Adam chuckled nervously as he saw his friend in the spotlight.
"He actually did it…that crazy bastard…"
Taylor leaned back, rubbing her eyes. "That hurt my eyes…"
With that, the final match of the Unarmed League's semi-finals concluded.