Martial Arts Worlds

Inside a club, bright lights flashed as the music pulsed through the speakers, and tightly dressed women danced on the dance floor.

Boom! Tssh! Boom! Tshh!

The DJ mixed beats, spun records, and boomed out his signature catchphrase, "Let's get this party started!"

Boom! Tssh! Boom! Tssh!

The crowd erupted with cheers and applause—dancing sexually, letting loose, and losing themselves in the music.

"Haha!"

Within the top floor's private room, Zeus sat with two women in his arms, hugging his chest, and smiling sensually.

He came to the party to release some of the stress from the second event, and to enjoy the company of beautiful women.

At that moment, a pair of twins walked through the walkway and stopped in front of the square table—it had alcoholic beverages standing on top of it.

"Beautiful women. May you leave for a moment? We want a word with the winner over here."

Jason said with a smile.

The two women in Zeus' arms looked awkwardly at him, then tried to move away, but Zeus just pulled them back to his chest.

"They don't need to go anywhere. I am not interested in talking to you."

Zeus said with a smirk.

"As you wish, number two."

Justus said with a cold smile.

"…"

Zeus' smile dropped, replaced with a look of pure rage, and he then pushed the two women away from him.

"Go."

The women ran out in a hurry.

"What the hell do you want, Arcanielago?"

Zeus asked coldly, picked up a beer can from the square table, popped it open, and drank it in a way that it spilled all over his chin.

"I was curious about something, ahh…"

Jason sat on the corner of the long sofa, rubbed his left knee, and looked at his brother, who sat on the other end of the long sofa.

The sofa went from the left corner to the upper corner to another upper corner and into the right corner—they sat on the left and right corners, respectively.

While Zeus sat at the end of the sofa, his back against the wall.

"A while ago, we visited Nightingale with our grandfather—Jeremiah had a meeting with Karl-Michael, and while they were having that boring meeting of theirs, we visited the Game.

"Both of us only did one try, as we didn't have any more time for that, and we saw something interesting over there."

Justus said.

"Justus over there got seven minute time, while I got six minutes and eleven seconds. I almost beat you all on the first try, haha!

Jason said with a smirk.

"Unlike my brother here, I enjoyed the view of the Game, so I didn't speedrun it like he did."

Justus said with a wry smile.

"Okay, and?"

Zeus asked.

"I thought Kiernan's name was familiar. He was in first place on the leaderboard, wasn't he? In your home.

"How did you let someone beat you in the Game that was right in your backyard? Embarrassing, I would say."

Jason said with a smirk.

"I understand your dislike towards him. Your reputation must've been dragged through the mud by him. Is he still in first place, hmm?"

Justus asked with a smile.

Zeus's gaze stayed as cold as winter.

"That look tells me everything, haha."

Jason smirked.

"Now what the hell do you want?"

Zeus asked.

"This Kiernan is coming after you, and only you, in the upcoming events."

Jason said.

"And should I care? Do I look like I am afraid of him? It doesn't matter how fast he can run to make his Game time. He is not a threat to me!"

Zeus screamed, crushed the beer can in his hand, and tossed it across the room—Jason dodged the flying beer can.

"Yes, but you have a bullseye at your back now. That Jupiter and Donghae is also gunning for you. And you're all alone, and it won't be easy for you to make any friends.

"You aren't very friendly, if you haven't noticed."

Justus said.

"Get to the point. I hate motherfuckers who keep talking circles, and circles, and fucking circles!"

Zeus said.

"Why don't three of us team up for the upcoming events? With our help, you can challenge for the top spot in the rankings.

"We will primarily target Sun Jupiter and Seo Donghae—we'll work to defeat them so they won't earn any points."

Justus said.

"Hmm…"

Zeus put his legs on top of the table, crossed them, and looked at the twins with a sigh—he looked between the two—and scratched his cheek.

"Why work with me?"

"Our grandfathers are friends. Sure, we younger generations have been fighting each other for years now, as there is a 'rivalry' between our friends, but I am sure that our grandfathers would like us to work together.

"Imagine us all being in the top three in the rankings. The sons of Karl-Michael and Jeremiah being the strongest talents in the world—I am sure your grandfather will be very pleased with that outcome."

Jason said.

"Hmm…"

Zeus picked up another beer, popped it open, and took a sip before nodding—after he stopped sipping, he wiped the foam off his lips and said.

"It'll be highly dependent on the event whether we can work together."

He said.

"Yes, but four events are remaining, and that is plenty of good events to come around—Point Ball and Horse Endurance were like that, where we could've worked together.

"Imagine if we were already working together on those—we would be easily at the top of the ranking!"

Justus said.

"…What you say makes a lot of sense."

Zeus nodded, took a sip, and then said.

"It sounds good. I'll work with you for the time being."

Justus and Jason nodded—took a beer can from the table, and drank them—the sound of the music faded into the background.

…

"…"

Kiernan stood behind a wall, a glass cup pressed against his ear, listening intently to the conversation happening on the other side.

'Sneaky fuckers, but what are they planning?'

He wondered, hopped off the electronic box, and landed at the alleyway.

'They'll probably work with Zeus and backstab him when it is a good time, but why did they want to work with me as well?'

Kiernan frowned and had a lot to think about while walking back to his residence.