The first to rise was a black-haired, ponytailed woman wearing a lab coat. She rocked the other woman's body. Her hair was also black but in a twin-tail style.
"Nia! Nia!" That woman kept calling her colleague. "Where are we, Nia!?"
Nia finally raised her face, which turned out to be almost identical to the previous woman but much younger.
Unlike her partner, the ponytailed woman didn't show any concern. She stood up and looked around instead.
"This…. A venue?" She hissed.
"Welcome, Namie Mitsue and Nia. You may both be confused as to why you are here. But there's no need to worry." Matt assured them with a smile so wide his teeth showed. "I'll explain everything, but I'll summon everyone first."
Matt could have summoned all the fighters at once, but he wanted a more dramatic effect.
"Do you think her clothes are cute? Or is it too much?" Sylvair whispered to Vivianne, who was standing next to her. The elf referee referred to Nia's bright pink and green dress with lots of knick-knacks, similar to those worn by idol singers.
"I guess…." Upon receiving the hand signal from Matt, Vivianne continued. "The second fighter! From Xenova, universe 8, the fiercest warrior from a feared tribe! Shori!!!"
This time, the new fighter was able to land properly. That woman, over six feet tall with curly black hair, froze for a moment, then dashed forward and hit the steel cage wall with her club.
"Hey, where is this!!??" The female warrior let out a roar-like voice, befitting her yellowish fur leather primitive clothes. "Are you the enemy too!!?? You kidnapped me!!??"
She started climbing the cage, but Matt didn't flinch. The brown-skinned woman's body was full of muscles indeed. Maybe she could finish him off in no time. But showing fear is not an option. He must maintain his authority in front of his fighters.
"Arrrghhh!!!" That warrior woman holding her head fell and writhed on the floor.
The previous two women took a few steps back, with the one in the lab coat hiding behind the idol.
"Please behave properly." Megumi took a step forward while touching Shori's photo in her notebook. "Or you'll get something even more painful."
That pain-inducing skill only applies to fighters but it still gave Matt chills.
"Noooo!!!" Shori screamed even more. "Stop this!!!"
Matt didn't expect Megumi to be able to do something like this, with such a cold tone and expression. Seeing that woman and Zaa, the president was curious whether all of God's servants have such a sadistic side?
After Shori stopped writhing in pain, Matt cleared his throat. "Next."
"The third fighter!!! From Dargnuk, Universe 13269, people call him a dwarf warrior with the deadliest battle hammer!!! Norug Bonebuckle!!!"
A being the size of Lognar appeared from above like the others. Instead of landing on the ground with his feet, his butt fell on Shori, who was still lying down. The warrior woman fainted because of that.
Norug Bonebuckle shifted from that woman's body, then looked at the others, only scratching his long copper-colored hair.
"It's not just your hammer that's deadly!" Lognar laughed at that fellow Dwarf. "Your ass too!!!"
"What are you talking about, old man!?" Norug Bonebuckle pointed at Lognar, about to lunge at the commentator. However, Megumi uses her pain-inducing skill on him. That Dwarf twitched on the floor, screaming in agony, just like Shori.
"After this, you shouldn't immediately use that on those who resist," Matt whispered to the assistant. They may talk about something interesting. I want to capture those moments."
"Alright, sir." Megumi nodded.
After that, Matt summons an ordinary-looking earthman, two armored warriors similar to what you'd find in fantasy stories, a woman in a science fiction-themed bodysuit complete with a face mask, and a ninja. This time, they didn't attack immediately but only asked about the situation they were in now. They didn't get an answer right away, making them look even more wary.
"All of you!!!" Matt spread his arms again. He could no longer hide the enthusiasm on his face. "Welcome to MFC!!!"
"MF? Like motherfu….." Salvia, a woman with black hair in sci-fi themed bodysuit, cleared her throat. "I mean, mother's falafel…. And croissant? Maybe."
"Miss Salvia." Megumi smiled at her. "Could you please listen to him first? As I said before, you will get a painful punishment if you misbehave."
"Trust me, lady." Norug, the warrior dwarf, gave a warning. He sat on the floor and was still trying to catch his breath. Apparently, he was still feeling the effect of the torture earlier. "You're not going to like it."
Salvia grimaced. "Sorry, I'll listen."
"I love her sense of humor." Lognar chuckled.
Matt cleared his throat to hold back his laughter. He also found Salvia's remark amusing. "I am Matthew Nash, the president of the Multiverse Fighting Championship. First, I congratulate you all on your death and resurrection."
The president didn't immediately continue to observe those individuals. Half of them looked shocked by the news, but the others were acting casual.
"We're dead?" The earthman in a red-black jacket gulped.
"I'm surprised you guys don't know about that." Rory Egan, an armored male human warrior, smiled. "I thought that all of you were on God's side. You know, like the ones who made great contributions to the world. If you were on God's side before this, it means you are dead."
Megumi was about to warn the red-haired warrior, but Matt motioned her to be quiet.
"Maybe it's just me and this gentleman." Rory glanced at another warrior with blonde hair tied up just a few feet away from him. "Pardon, may I know your name, sir?"
"Alexander. Alexander Mirea." The warrior replied with a gentle voice and a friendly smile. Unlike Rory, who looks buff with heavy armor, Alexander has a slender stature, and his armor looks lighter. "You can call me Alex, sir Egan."
"Just call me Rory, then."
"Unfortunately, I was never on God's side, Rory." Alex continued. "I've heard of that thing you mentioned. We call it a hall of heroes. I didn't die in a holy battle or anything, so I guess I'm not qualified in that place."
"And not all worlds have a hall of heroes concept like that," Megumi added.
Rory shrugged. "I see."
Javier Navarro, the referee standing behind Matt, scratched his hair. "I don't know. I feel annoyed seeing those two noble, handsome gentlemen. Probably because I was born poor and never became rich. They give off the same annoying noble vibes as my former owner."
"You really don't know anything, Javier." Elmar chuckled.
Matt smirked. Yes, other than himself, Megumi, and Elmar, they don't know anything.
And those individuals will make all this even more interesting.
"As per the name of this organization, all of you will fight each other." Matt continued. "For what, you ask? Well, for glory, fame, or to satisfy your fighting desires, which you may not have fully fulfilled in your previous life. And, of course, to become the MFC Champion!""MFC Champion…. Multiverse Fighting Championship Champion?" Salvia muttered, and as soon as she received Megumi's glare, she raised her hands."The entire multiverse will be watching you!" The president pointed to those people. "So, I hope you guys are serious about this! Fighting half-hearted would be an offense! Even more so if you refuse to do so! You will get punished. And no. I don't talk about things like Miss Megumi did just now."Matt paused again to observe those individuals. Just like a moment ago, a few of them looked worried, but this time the expressions of the rest were more serious."Do you guys remember about the gap after you died and resurrected? The afterlife?" A smile graced Matt's face. "I be
Matt sipped his coffee that morning, but the drowsiness wouldn't go away. After the summoning ritual for the fighters, he and the others worked hard to prepare everything. Even if he had time at night, he usually couldn't sleep because he thought about various things.Will the construction of the stadium be finished before their first show? Will there be a lot of tickets sold? What if the vision doesn't suit the audience? And many more questions that haunt his head.So, the young man came out of his tent for a morning walk before continuing his work."Good morning. Did everything go well? Is there anything I need to hear?" He approached Zaa and Megumi, discussing something near the residential area."Well, it turns out that our healer personnel are still lacking in treating injured workers," Zaa explained while checking his notebook. "That's because we're doing all of this at such a fast pace, sir. But I don't blame you. The sooner we get this over with, the better."Matt looked at th
This is the first time Matt has worn a suit. He tried to loosen his collar many times and wanted to replace it with a regular shirt.But on this big night, he must look sharp. "Are you nervous, buddy?" Lognar, wearing a traditional maroon dwarven shirt with various gold accents, chuckled. "Well, you are not alone. This is also a first for me."Matt took a deep breath. "Let's go."They left the locker room and walked down the stadium corridor."Maybe because we're both busy, I forgot to ask you this." The Dwarf made sure the braids in his beard were neat. "Why do you also want to be a commentator when you are a president who takes care of everything from behind the scenes.""I also want to have fun, you know." The president took a deep breath when he heard the commotion that felt closer. It's not too loud, but still, it thrills Matt.Finally, his hard work with the others came to fruition.After pulling back the curtain at the entrance, Matt and Lognar's gaze was met by the crowd fill
"I don't even know the order of tonight's matches." Lognar rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "So, every entrance makes my heart feel like it's going to explode because it's beating so fast!" The light shone into the entrance, showing a woman in a bright pink and green dress standing with her back to the audience. Unlike before, no one cheered. They were confused why the twin-tailed woman formed a heart with her fingers above her head, not because they hated that next fighter. Something like the sound of a rotating tool echoed, followed by a catchy melody, then an upbeat tempo. That woman with a slender stature started to shake her hips. A series of pink heart graphics decorated the expansive screen. Then several texts appear in turn. [NIA] [THE BRIGHTEST] [IDOL] "I really don't know what to expect from this young lady." Lognar shook his head, also confused by that presentation. "You know nothing, Lognar
Wearing a vertical black and white striped shirt, Javier explained the rules to the two fighters. Nia still wore her ridiculous smile while Rory looked tense, with the corners of his lips twitching. "A fighter loses if they show no signs of life, give up, can't get up within the count of ten, or their body is destroyed, so they can't continue the fight," Matt explained to the audience. Lognar chuckled. "I love the way you said those last words, Matt! Let's see if we'll see a broken body in this match!" "I hope the viewers have a strong stomach to see that." Matt resumed. "And one more thing that viewers should be aware of. Fighters will receive a magical barrier to protect their body if they don't wear armor. If the opponent keeps hitting that barrier, its effectiveness will decrease until it breaks." "Then what about Nia?" The dwarf commentator pointed at the idol. "She's not wearing armor, but I'm guessing her body is mostly metal." "You cou
"One! Two! Three!" "Is this the end for Rory!?" Lognar leaned forward in excitement. "Are we going to see the greatest hero of Etna, Universe 4900, collapse!?" "You forgot something, Lognar." Matt hissed. "He didn't suddenly become a hero. He went through hundreds of grueling fights. That's why Etna's god put him by his side." Rory took a deep breath. He asked himself. Why was he being this emotional in a fight? Was he like this when he was at war? Could this be because he's rusty for too long without fighting? He forced himself to get up, though with incredible difficulty. "Eight! Nine! Te…" The referee stopped counting when finally that warrior could stand on two legs. This time the audience not only cheered but also applauded the red-haired man. "You are also an excellent warrior, Miss Nia." Rory finally caught his breath. "I was blinded by your appearance and way of fighting, so I looked down on you. I'm sorry." Nia
"I didn't expect that this show would be this exciting." A male spectator in the upper stands commented. "I regret not buying the front-row ticket." "We'll see if this continues." Another man next to him replied. "Maybe that match just happened to be good. We don't know what their fighters will be like after this." While they continued chatting, a slightly pale-skinned woman stood behind them, keeping her eyes on the arena, which was being cleaned of blood. Even though her long silver hair should stand out because it was so shiny and her face looked like the finest artist had sculpted it, people seemed oblivious to her presence. A single tear slipped from her eye. *** Lognar burped after taking a large gulp of water. "Just the first game, and my throat is dry." he chuckled. "I hope you can endure to the end." Matt also drank water from a bottle. "The next battle will also be interesting." Matt signaled to Vivianne, who
{The day before the fight} With a torch stuck in the ground as a light source, Shori used a knife to carve some tribe letters into a tree, knelt before it, then closed her eyes and clasped her hands together. "I don't know if my prayers will reach you, oh my goddess." She whispered. "And I don't know if you really chose me to be the fighter here." That woman choked up. "I just want to go home, your majesty. I want to be with my friends, my family, and my people. I still have to protect them." On that silent night, she sobbed. "Help me, protect me, give me the strength to go through all this, O my goddess." *** Norug had to look up to meet the 6'2" tall woman's face. "A plain club, huh?" The dwarf glanced at his opponent's weapon. "No spikes or other sharp objects. It seems you have the same taste as me, preferring to feel the sensation of crushing the enemy's bones rather than stabbing or slashin