Beast Enslavement: A Failure's Path to World Domination

"Place your bets folks!"

Melissa cried out in the middle of a crowd of prisoners

"200 yang on Boss Tetsuro!"

"350 yang on Tetsuro, he'll mop the floor with that kid"

"The little brat may be compact, but he doesn't stand a chance!"

Tetsuro was the crowd favorite obviously. Anyone with a functioning set of eyes could see the stark difference in build, endurance and power. The only ones who really bet on Arc were gambling addicts looking to win big.

Rei was seated on a table away from the action, watching the whole thing with Alfred and Shu.

"Seriously?!"

She said, looking at Alfred with scorn. He laughed while scratching his hair

"C'mon, might as well make some money out of it, right?"

"What happened to all your talk about cellmates and comrades?"

"Hey, it's not like I'm not rooting for him. Besides, if he wins, we'll make a buttload of cash"

"Yeah? Who did you bet on?"

He turned his head away and said in a low voice

"Tetsuro"

*WHACK

"Weasel!"

"It's nothing personal, I just like being on the winning team is all"

"You're about to be on a dead team! You saying Arc won't win?!"

She retorted, grabbing him at the slave collar and rocking him back and forth

"Hey, I'm just being realistic.... He might be a little strong but he's still a kid, the only question is how long before he croaks"

"Hey! Have a little faith!"

Shu stepped in and successfully broke the two apart before she strangled Alfred.

"Well, you have to admit, Alfred has a point"

"Sigh— I'll watch the fight with Yuki instead. Any more negativity and I'll puke"

She got down from the table and began heading towards the cells. It was ten minutes to the fight and Tetsuro was already at the designated arena. Meanwhile, Arc was seated on the floor of his cell

"*Huff huff huff— victory"

[That's your 74th mental simulation against Tetsuro. So far, it seems you should have no real problems winning unless he uses his horn. Things could go either way if that's the case]

"Yeah. As long as I can knock him out before he uses his horn, victory's certain"

"What if he uses his horn from the start?",

"What if my torture wounds start aching?"

"What if I get too cocky and make a mistake"

Several uncertainties plagued his thoughts and he was already breaking into a cold sweat before the fight even began, anxiety and nervousness started building up and he started shaking—

*TAPH

He reflexively caught something that was thrown in his direction at near inhuman speed.

"Reflexes still sharp. Fighting on an empty stomach is a sure way to get KOed, y'know"

"M-Master? What's this"

"Kebab, I snuck it out of kitchen. Eat up, protein will help you grow, haha"

"Hey! I can do that much naturally!"

"You finally stopped shaking"

It was true. His face turned a little red as he muttered "thanks" and silently started eating the kebab.

She smiled softly and walked away. Arc got up instantly, then ran out of the cell and shouted

"REI!"

She turned her head around, her azure eyes locking with his.

"ONCE THIS IS OVER, YOU'LL TELL ME EVERYTHING ABOUT YOURSELF..... AND I MEAN EVERYTHING"

"YOU ACTUALLY HAVE TO WIN FIRST.... But Yes...."

She shouted back before smiling softly— her expression was too beautiful to put into words. It felt as though her smile radiated through the hallway blooming a field of violets around Arc

"My measurements are a secret though, pervy brat"

She walked away as Arc's face turned red as a tomato with fumes emanating from his head.

[Oh? You developing a crush?]

"I-It's not like that"

[Sure it's not, it's already in bloom]

"Shut up, I"

[Come on, no need to be embarrassed. Still though, after a speech like that, it'll be quite hilarious for me and embarrassing for you if you lose]

He tightened his fist, looking at it with a bright smile

"Don't worry. I will win"

************

The cheers of thousands of prisoners filled the makeshift prison arena. On a normal day, the mix of multiple voices would just be incoherent noise, but today, they were all chanting the same thing with single minded confidence and devotion.

"TETSURO! TETSURO! TETSURO..."

He lifted his palm and made a fist, resembling the conductor of an orchestra. Instantly, the arena fell silent, the only sounds heard were the footsteps of single man walking into the arena.

Arc Stollen stepped into the arena with eyes yearning for one thing— victory. Tetsuro felt a chill down his spine. he knew the person before him was a far cry from the kid he saw days prior.

"Ha! What the hell happened to you, short stuff?"

"I guess you're about to find out, girrafe"

The moment the makeshift referee rang the bell, Arc closed the distance instantly. The crowd were completely shocked seeing Arc in striking distance but Tetsuro saw it coming, his huge swing inches from Arc's face.

"Oni clan martial arts: shave"

Arc vanished from Tetsuro's vision appearing mid-air behind him— rather, with incredible single burst acceleration and precise footwork, he got behind Tetsuro so fast it looked like he vanished.

He targeted Tetsuro's neck for a one hit KO— after the oni's full swing, he wasn't in a position to block or counter this strike and he wouldn't have enough time to manifest his horn. At least, that's what Arc and everyone else thought in that moment.

Arc noticed a shadow beside him and glanced. It was Tetsuro's leg which hit his body, sending him crashing into the wall.

[That's.....Impossible! By taking advantage of his swing to shift his center of gravity, he twisted his entire body, directing the force to his leg and landed a back kick! Just what is he]

The crowd cheered loudly as Arc became one with the wall.

"*Huff huff—How can he even move such a large body like that? Is he some kind of savage beast?"

He said, his palm smoking and bruised from blocking the strike.

[We're finally on the same page! This was a bad idea, I tell you. After all...]

"Yes. I grossly underestimated his strength. Guess I have to scrap all those simulations, haha"

[This is no laughing matter, you idiot—]

"—Still though, it'll be really uncool if I gave up like that"

[Haha, I don't know if you're brave or just stupid! Give up on energy conservation, don't hold anything back!]

"Got it!"

With explosive speed, he entered close quarters again. Tetsuro locked in but Arc parried landing six simultaneous kicks on his chin, each kick faster than the last and the combo too fast to react to.

"Oni clan martial arts: Snake whip"

Tetsuro stepped back a fair amount but stood tall.

"Impressive, kid. I guess I should get serious as well"

He used the same explosive acceleration as Arc to close the distance, firing off an explosively powerful right hook with his huge, muscular arm.

"Oni clan martial arts: falling hammer!"

Arc parried it calmly but Tetsuro used the momentum to twist his huge body 360 degrees and take him out with an axe kick

"Oni clan martial arts: Crescent Moon!"

Arc jumped on Tetsuro's striking leg, using it as a stepping stone to strike his face but Tetsuro swatted away his kick and follow up punch which was blocked, landing Arc back on the ground a couple meters away.

At that range, the both clashed with explosive acceleration, the shockwave reverberating through the arena. This was followed by a series of strikes, blocks, counters and parries from both sides, each one stoking the flames of the audience as their cheers got louder and more incoherent.

A chunk of the Tetsuro supporting crowd started rooting for Arc, urging him to keep pushing and to hang in there.

Hearing the tides turn in Arc's favor, Rei smiled softly, sitting beside Yuki

"It's rare seeing you smile. Is the kid really all that?"

"Hmmm? I'm not smiling"

"You definitely are" is what he wanted to say but he knew better than to argue with her.

"Still though, why did you teach our clan's martial arts techniques to a human. You know what their kind did to us"

"I didn't teach him, he picked them up while sparring with me"

"Is that really so?! You didn't teach him at all?"

Yuki questioned in disbelief, pulling his face dangerously close to hers. She turned her head and replied nervously

"Well...I guess I did show him how to do one or two"

"REI!"

"Calm down, I'm sorry!"

"You don't look sorry to me!"

"Is it that obvious? Haha"

"Sigh— what am I going to do with you"

She smiled softly, directing her eyes back on the fight.

"You worry too much, Yuki. Sure, he is a human, but he's not like the others. He's honest, sincere and doesn't give up no matter the circumstances. He's a good kid, I guarantee it"

"Such high praise, are you really Rei?"

"If you tell him I said that, I'll kill you"

"Yep, you're the real deal"

*CRACK

Arc hit the back of Tetsuro's leg, making the giant momentarily fall to his knees. Arc didn't miss this opportunity— with his legs, his held on to Tetsuro's head and somersaulted

"AAARRRRRRGGHHHHHHHHHHHH"

With as much power as he could muster, he succeeded in sending the giant into the air, letting go of him mid-somersault. As Arc's feet touched the ground, he assumed a stance Yuki was all too familiar with.

"NO WAY, THAT'S....."

He looked at Rei furiously who responded with fake whistling.

"This is for my master who your people mocked and her friend who was beside her.... ONI CLAN SECRET TECHNIQUE: RISING DRAGON!!!!!!"

His kick drilled through the sternum of the airborne Tetsuro, sending him to the sky. Tetsuro flew right into the prison's ygg barrier and was reflected back down faster than he went up, straight for Arc.

Instead of moving out of the way, Arc assumed a throwing stance, waiting for the incoming Tetsuro. With split second timing and precision, he grabbed the inbound Tetsuro once in range, twisted his body to spin around and threw him into the floor.

*BOOOMMMMMMM

The floor shattered like glass from the impact, sending debris into the audience and raising a huge cloud of dust.

The crowd fell silent waiting for the dust to clear and they couldn't believe their eyes. From within the cloud of smoke, their champion was face deep in dirt, and walking away standing was a 12 year old boy

The referee doubled as a commentator screaming

"BATTERED, BRUISED, HURT BUT VICTORIOUS! OUR WINNER IS THE LITTLE CHAMPION, ARC....huh?"

The referee stopped talking and Arc knew why. He felt a dangerous presence behind him and turned around, instantly assuming a defensive stance.

"That was a good one, kid. I'll definitely be feeling that one for a couple of days! Haha"

Tetsuro got up. Bloodied, wounded, battered and bruised but still standing. What's more, Arc noticed Tetsuro's wounds had started healing. He also noticed one more thing.

Tetsuro had manifested his horn

"Alright kid. It's time for round two"