John entered the room that was close to the Arena 8.

Just a few moments earlier John was called again by the robotic voice to enter the elevator go to the Arena 8, where he was going to fight his second round.

"... Now, at the left side of the arena, please, welcome the partic.i.p.ant 0368!" The announcer shouted.

John helplessly sighed.

He stood up from the chair and walked through the metal door that opened automatically.

The moment he emerged from the door, the sound of cheers and clapping from the audience entered his ears.

It was a wondrous feeling, almost the same when he walked up the stage of the Terrene Protectorate's Academy to receive his Matter Manipulator from the Grand Protector.

Hundreds of eyes focused on him as he slowly walked up in the stage.

His eyes were slightly blurry, his heartbeat was slow. [d.a.m.nit... I think I'm tipsy.]

As soon as he entered the arena he met with his opponent. It was just as he saw at the holovision.

They looked at each other in contemplation.

John's opponent was a burly middle-aged aged man with a complete full beard in his face. His whole body was covered in all different types of scars, from blades, bullets and burnt wounds.

One look at him and anyone would say he was certainly a battle veteran.

"Hey, lad..." The man called out for John. "You're a Protector... Aren't you?" He cruelly smiled.

"..." John suddenly remembered Lenny's words, that the less amount of people that know his ident.i.ty, the longer he would probably live. "No... I was just a citizen-"

"Stop the bulls.h.i.t." The man's eyes glinted dangerously. "I always hated Protectors... I had killed a lot of Protectors in the Sigma Sector. I can identify a Protector with a single glance. Their mannerism, speech, actions, and... Combat movements, I had seen and killed a lot of them, so I know all this at the back of my hand."

John pulled up his guard immediately.

The conversation between them was heard by no one, the judge had already retreated to the side together with the announcer.

"I'm going to crush your skull and drink your blood." The man licked his lips and locked his eyes on John's body.

John slightly trembled. This was the first time he met with someone that had this much hatred and killing intent locking on him.

Even that Agent that he met at the Lunar Base 12 only wanted to kill John and Lenny because it was his job.

The person in front of John was different.

The amount of hatred and killing intent was overwhelming.

One look at the man's eyes and John was able to tell that the hatred was very deep.

[Why does he hate Protectors...?] John tried to think of something, but his thoughts were interrupted by the siren signalizing that the battle began.

His movements were slow because of the drink he had earlier, so he was unable to dodge the man's fast attack.

*Puh*

John was sent backward heavily coughing. The punch was very strong, with no intention of holding back, it hit John right on the stomach.

*Bam*

John fell on the ground. He tried to stand up, but what greeted him was a knee that was at the full speed toward his face.

He hastily placed his hand in front of his face, trying to protect from the attack.

*Bam*

John was sent backward once again like a ragdoll.

*Drip, drip, drip*

A faint red line appeared from John's nose.

The blood dropped onto the white floor creating a small puddle.

Then John suddenly felt the killing intent getting near. He rolled to the side and dodged the man's attack.

John swiftly stood up and retreated. He was dizzy and his eyes were blurry. John didn't felt the pain coming from his face, his adrenaline levels were at the highest at the moment, preventing him from feeling the stinging pain.

He lifted his hand and cleaned the blood out of his nose.

"You're a fast one..." The man grinned widely while casually standing where John was. "I want to see... For how long you can dodge."

"Can I ask you a question?" John tried to buy time to rest for a while and recover from his dizziness.

"Trying to buy time... Amateur..." The man slightly laughed. "Sure. I will give you a few minutes to live..."

"Why do you hate Protectors so much?"

At the very mention of the word, 'Protector' was enough to make the man's face twist in extreme hatred.

"Heh." The man coldly snorted. "When I was a kid my colony was burnt to the ground by the Black Star Syndicate. I and my family were captured by them and sold to the Letheia Corporation. They told us that if we worked hard and saved enough money, one day we could buy our freedom. But guess it... They lied to us. We became debt-slaves, the debt would never go away and we would work forever for them. It was one day that I saw some Senior Protectors going inside the debt-enslavement camp, I tried to ask for help since I thought they 'protected the innocent and punished the evil'..."

The man's eyes locked on John's. "I made a mistake... They took me and punished me for it trying to escape. I was whipped until my back was nothing more than a blood and flesh mess. I soon discovered the harsh truth... The Terrene Protectorate would never denounce any action made by the Letheia Corporation... Protectors are nothing more than Letheia's dogs, they abide by their every order..." The man smiled. "This answered your question... Dog?"

John's eyes were covered in gloom and sadness. [Terrene Protectorate... Esther was right... It was already a dying organization...]

He lifted his head and shove away the sadness, instead, his eyes shone with determination.

"Looks like we are done with the talking..." The man saw that John was ready, so he charged once again toward him.

John's stopped thinking about random stuff and focused on the man in front of him.

Time slowed down. Everything around John seemed to be in slow motion.

John stared the man and started to think in a way to end the battle as fast as possible.

The man was charging up and was ready to throw a punch with his right hand.

John swiftly and naturally dodged to the side.

The bearded man looked in surprise at John and tried to switch his position.

John didn't give him the chance. He took the chance that the man's guard was lowered and kicked him right at the back of the man's supporting leg knee.

The man lost his balance and started to fall forward, toward John.

John took this advantage and used the man's momentum and his own strength to throw a devastating punch right at the side of the man's jaw.