Sometime later...
"So, do you guys have any questions before you sign these contracts?" Gen said after reciting everything of importance to the fighters of today's match.
"Nope," replied Pharaoh nonchalantly as he knew in the end, he would be taking the win home.
Plus, while the match was relevant, it still was not as important or as crucial as Artemis securing that cyberchip. A relic from a bygone era that was honestly thought to have been destroyed... but it would seem that was a lie.
[... 60%... 62%... 64%... 66%... 68%... 70%...]
'Artemis, how much longer will it take you to retrieve and secure that cyberchip?' Pharaoh asked, aware their time was nearly up.
[Five minutes, sir.]
'Hmm, is it possible to bring that time down to two minutes or less?' Pharaoh inquired, aware that every second mattered and that his showdown with Zinc loomed only hours away. Plus, he didn't know when they would have another chance to enter this room.
[Yes, but I would soon have to enter a brief period of inactivity for 10 minutes.]
'I see... well, considering this is a once in a trillion opportunity, Artemis, I'd advise you to do everything in your power to acquire that cyberchip.'
[... will do, sir.]
'Thanks for your understanding, soldier, and I'll see you once you wake up.'
[!@#$%^&*()]
[!@#$%^&*()]
[!@#$%^&*()]
[!@#$%^&*() retrieved and secured!]
[Initiating Assimilation!]
[0%... 1%... 2%... 3%... 4%... 5%...]
"Hmm, well, since you both don't have any questions, here are the contracts I need you both to sign," Gen said as he handed the contracts attached to the match details to Rin and Zinc.
"Actually, I have a quick question, cousin," Zinc said as he raised his hand.
"Sigh, what is it, Zinc?"
"Nothing major, cousin, but let's say we were to defeat our opponent, are we allowed to humiliate them afterward?"
"Yes, but in what way, Zinc?" Gen asked curiously, as there were limits to how far someone could embarrass their opponent, lest they receive a heart demon or worse suffer a relapse in cultivation.
"Let's just say it will be pleasurable for me but not my opponent, as he begs me to stop. Haha," Zinc smiled as he side-eyed Rin with lust and licked his lips in anticipation before biting them playfully.
'Just how weird and disgusting can someone be? Truly, this can't be my cousin?' Gen thought as he closed his eyes and deleted every inappropriate thought that flashed through his mind in the last couple of moments.
"Bro, just how down bad are you to think of doing something like this?" Pharaoh had to ask, as this was beyond disgusting and downright grotesque.
"Hey, I was just asking a question... it isn't as if I was really planning to do something like that! A... A-And who's to say, I was even planning on doing what you both were thinking about. Disgusting!" Zinc replied with a stutter as he tried to mask the guilt and shame written all over his face.
'Yup, he was definitely planning to do something outrageous.' Rin and Gen thought simultaneously as they shook their heads in disbelief.
"Zinc, just don't take it too far, nor do whatever you were thinking in that pea-sized brain of yours. But anyway, sign these contracts and head over to the cafeteria to get something to eat before returning to your cells to prepare for your fight at 12 pm."
"Sigh... I promise, I won't do anything crazy, cousin, you have my word," Zinc muttered with frustration and sadness at the meal he wouldn't be able to savor.
"Thank you," Gen said with relief as he checked his phone.
'Hmm, so I can't kill him... but I can cripple him and cause him to live with PTSD for the rest of his life,' thought Pharaoh after reading the contract and signing it as he muttered, "Boring."
"Huh? Did you say something, brat?" Zinc asked as he glanced at Pharaoh.
"Nope. But even if I did, it wasn't for you to hear," Pharaoh replied as he handed the signed contract to Gen and left the lounge to get breakfast.
"Hey! Get back here, you brat, and repeat what you said!" Zinc shouted as he signed the contract and threw it at his cousin before running after Pharaoh.
"What is wrong with this kid? When will he understand that not every comment needs a reaction?" Gen muttered with disappointment as he left the lounge as well.
'Sigh, just why have to be stuck with this magnet for problems and headaches? Truly, maybe death wouldn't be a bad outcome for Zinc...'
He thought as imagined a life where Zinc did not exist, and the amount of peace he would have as chaos would simply disappear.
But while fantasies were amazing in the end, they were but fantasies, not reality…. and sadly, death wasn't something Zinc would witness today, regrettably.
***
A short while later…
"What do you want?" Pharaoh asked with annoyance as he side-eyed the exhausted Zinc, who was panting like a tired dog in need of water.
After, he wouldn't stop shouting his name all the way from the lounge to the cafeteria.
"... you know what I want. Stop playing dumb, Rin," Zinc said after catching his breath and stealing a glass of orange juice from someone's tray and downing it in one gulp.
"You truly are persistent," muttered Pharaoh after selecting everything that looked edible and decent from the serving line and placing them onto his tray.
Which now resembled a rainbow of colors from its only blanket gray canvas.
"Welp, while I would love to tell you, Zinc... sadly, I'm not in the mood to converse at the moment since I don't want my food to get cold. But considering you were so persistent and tenacious, I'll inform you of what I said later when we entered the ring."
"Tsk, I guess that could work. But anywho, enjoy your meal, for it may just be your last brat," smirked Zinc before walking away and getting something to eat as well to fuel himself for the fight later.
'Praise be to God! He's finally gone; now let's enjoy our kid's meal before checking up on Artemis and seeing how he's doing.'
Pharaoh thought as he found somewhere to sit and eat before returning to his cell and waiting there until it was time for his fight with Zinc.
And with that, let us see if Zinc can pull an uno reverse, or if Rin will win after all...