The sun had set, and night fell.
All the spectators had now arrived at the viewing area, while the five contestants were transported to different edges of the island to begin their entry from five separate directions.
Standing on a stage with a massive screen behind him, Smith Dole held a microphone and addressed the audience.
"Welcome, everyone who came here to witness this incredible event—the first ever Dragon Ball Battle is about to begin."
"I'm your host for this event, Smith Dole."
"Now, allow me to introduce the five contenders participating in this tournament."
"The first contestant—Elder of the Vampire Clan: Selene."
As he spoke, one of the six segments of the screen lit up, revealing a photo of Selene.
"Selene, elder of the Vampire Clan, holder of the One-Star and Three-Star Dragon Balls. She possesses two entry tickets and immense strength, with incredible self-healing and lightning-fast speed. As a Death Dealer among vampires, her combat experience is vast."
Spotlights shone down on Marcus and the other vampires in the audience as Smith continued:
"These are the spectators brought here under Selene's name—all members of the Vampire Clan. Let's hope their elder secures victory in this tournament."
Pepper Potts turned to Happy and asked, surprised:
"Heaven help me… vampires are real? Happy, did you know about this?"
Happy looked toward the vampire section of the audience and shook his head.
"I always thought vampires were just fairy tales for kids. They look completely normal."
"I wonder if they can really turn into bats and fly away."
"I heard they fear sunlight and crosses. Who knows if that's true?"
Pepper nodded. "Well, it might be. Otherwise Smith wouldn't have scheduled this tournament at night. Maybe he's being considerate."
While Pepper and Happy exchanged comments, members of the Golden Dagger Club were glaring daggers at the vampire crowd.
Shawn immediately recognized one of the people who had ambushed them in London. What was supposed to be a Dragon Ball deal had turned out to be a trap.
In the vampire section, Sorin leaned over to Marcus and whispered:
"Elder Marcus, it looks like Elder Selene has a great shot at the finals. If she gets just one more ticket, she can enter the central zone."
Though Marcus was irritated that Selene had surpassed him in strength, he still hoped she would win—for the sake of removing their weakness to sunlight.
"Let's just hope the other contestants aren't too troublesome."
"I'm curious how much Selene's combat ability has improved."
Meanwhile, Betty, the only spectator who had come alone, raised her phone and snapped a picture of Selene on the big screen. She was shocked to learn vampires were real—and quite cool-looking too.
As for Bruce's safety, Betty wasn't worried. Once transformed, Bruce's power was unstoppable.
With Selene's introduction over, Smith moved on to the second contestant.
The next screen segment lit up with Xu Xialing's photo.
"Xu Xialing, former Dragon Ball holder, entered this tournament with a token from the League of Assassins. She is the leader of Hong Kong's Golden Dagger Club."
"She possesses extensive combat experience and comes from a deeply rooted martial family."
Spotlights now shifted to Shawn and the Golden Dagger Club members in the audience.
"These are the spectators under Xu Xialing's name—all members of the Golden Dagger Club. Let's wish their boss great success in the tournament."
The club members instantly held up banners and began chanting loudly:
"Xu Xialing for the win!"
"Xu Xialing for the win!"
Watching the antics, Sorin of the vampire side smirked and recognized them.
"So they're participating too. If Elder Selene runs into them, it'll be an easy path to the finals."
Marcus turned, interested. "Oh? You know anything about this Golden Dagger Club leader?"
Sorin nodded. "Selene once used a Dragon Ball to bait targets on the dark web. That's how she attracted their attention."
"Before the battle with the werewolves, she brought me and a squad of Death Dealers to meet them."
"Their boss is strong by human standards—possibly a superhuman—but to an elder like Selene, she's no more than dust."
Marcus mused, "So that's who they are."
"Still, if they qualified with a League of Assassins token, they must have some tricks up their sleeve."
"But strength is what truly matters."
Meanwhile, Pepper and Happy remained clueless about the Golden Dagger Club. Still, seeing two female contestants in a row did surprise them. They were curious—what kind of special powers did Xu Xialing have?
Soon, the third screen lit up with a photo of Xu Shangqi.
"Xu Shangqi, holder of the Six-Star Dragon Ball. He is the elder brother of the previous contestant, Xu Xialing. Skilled in martial arts with deep family heritage."
Learning that the second and third contestants were siblings startled most of the spectators—except for the vampires. Many immediately speculated that the siblings could work together to ensure one of them made it to the finals. After all, like Selene, they only needed to collect one more ticket.
But the vampires were actually thrilled. To them, these siblings were weak prey. If Selene met either of them, it would be an easy win.
Since Xu Shangqi hadn't brought any spectators, Smith moved on to the fourth contestant. Bruce Banner's face appeared on the screen.
"Bruce Banner, holder of the Five-Star Dragon Ball. A genius scientist with seven doctoral degrees. But if you make him angry… well, let's just say you won't like him when he's angry."
A spotlight now highlighted Betty in the audience.
"This is Bruce Banner's chosen spectator—rumored to be his girlfriend. Let's hope Dr. Banner achieves his goal."
The crowd turned their attention to the big screen, taking in Bruce's scholarly appearance. With seven PhDs, he was clearly brilliant—but now everyone was curious. Was this guy some kind of Iron Man-type genius? Or was he hiding something even more dangerous?
…
(End of Chapter)
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