The night went by in a flash as the day finally arrived when Mako and Bill would face challengers in the Dark Raven Tournament.
Mako made Bill pack all the essentials such as healing pills and boost pills that could come in handy if any unfair treatment or cheating was involved, which was sure to happen considering this was not a regulated event but a gang initiation.
The fight was set late in the afternoon which was rather odd considering that it would attract more attention than hosting the fight at night, but they had no choice but to show up on the specified otherwise they would risk being exposed to El-Diablo.
It was very beneficial that Mako's house and the bakery that Bill was now working in, were deep in Dark Raven territory which was why Bill could still leave the home without being ambushed.
If they would have been in El Diablo's territory or close proximity to it, Bill would have been captured within 24 hours of his escape, but the Dark Raven were one of the rival gangs that had enough power to counter Los Zetas so the time being both gangs were peacefully co-existing within Emerald City without either messing with any bigger and stronger gangs or each other.
They didn't expect that Dark Raven would know of El-Diablo's prisoners and threaten those escapees by revealing their information to El-Diablo himself. The fact that they would expose El-Diablo's prisoners to him once they seek refuge in their territory made for only one possibility.
El Diablo must be paying some money to the other gangs so that they report to him if they see any of their escapees. During the battle royal, it was Mako who was fighting, but Bill wasn't just sitting idly by, he was cheering him on and betting for his victory. Even with all the disguise, someone was bound to notice him, and rather than straight up rat on him, once they saw that he was in acquaintance with someone very strong, they sent out an invitation that both of them had to accept.
Through that invitation, they would be able to get the reward from El-Diablo for turning Bill in while getting their hands on a strong fighter they could use for their benefit. It was rather sickening to think about the whole thing, and the only way for them to get out of this situation was to defeat all of them in the tournament.
***************
[05:00 PM]
The two boys made their way to the address on the card and just as they expected, the tournament was being held in a huge hangar right next to the seaport.
With technology advancing, many ships were no longer required to carry cargo as there were more efficient options. The seaport was now just used to dock cruise ships and yachts that the rich people still used to get away from the city for a while.
As soon as they reached the boundary of the seaport, two bulky suddenly surrounded Mako and Bill. It happened so fast that both of them couldn't react in time, but they quickly activated their aura ready to explode with powerful abilities if the moment called for it.
"State your business!" One of the bulky guys shouted.
Even though they were startled by the sudden intrusion, Mako quickly composed himself and showed him the invitation card, while Bill just gave off a deadly stare to the second bulky guy.
They both looked at the card and once they confirmed that it was real, they let Mako and Bill pass while keeping their frown in place as if they were disgusted by their presence.
Bill was used to such treatment, so he wasn't really fazed by it other than the initial jump scare while Mako was still recovering. It would take Mako some while to get used to this kind of environment as he was easily shaken by such a thing. This was also a reality check for Mako as he couldn't believe that he was going to join the military with this kind of mindset; he would have been chewed up and spat out.
As they approached the hangar, the sound of cheering and shouting got louder and louder. Two more guards were stationed at the entry gate who also checked the invitation card and let them in soon after.
Once inside, Mako could see four different circles taped on the floor which was meant to be fighting rings, and there were already fighters fighting in them. A crowd of people had circled each of the rings; most of them were wearing similar outfits; all-out black pieces of clothing and the same masks Leon wore during the battle royal.
Almost all of them were members of the Dark Raven, and Mako was surprised to see so many people as he had definitely underestimated the amount of force that they were going against. This was a gang that was big enough to rival El Diablo's gang which was itself a decent-sized gang; not like the mafia or something, but still not some small-time gang.
"Welcome, friends!" A voice sounded from behind them, and Bill instantly took a stance with Mako following soon after.
The voice was awfully familiar and was recognized by both of them instantly, as this was the same voice that had invited them to this place in the first place. It was Leon Czolgosz.
He was wearing the same outfit as before, but this time he had removed his face mask so that they could see his face clearly. It was rather chubby and had child-like features, and it was something that Mako did not expect at all. He couldn't register the fact that a person who looked no more than 16 was the bane of their current situation.
"Woah, Woah, Woah...…! Let's save all this energy for the fight, fellas." Leon said while waving his hands up and down as a sign of peace to counter the hostility that he was receiving from Mako and Bill, the moment they locked eyes on him.
"I have more than enough energy to take on someone like you!" Bill replied back in his usual bully-style manner.
The tension between the two was becoming more and more intense, as it looked as of a fight was about to break out this instant. Mako didn't say anything and just decided to follow Bill's lead as he was pretty good at these kinds of things.
Bill's hostility was sourced from all the emotions that were surfacing; emotions that he had bottled away and never wanted to experience again but the person standing in front of him had the power to make that happen.
Before things could escalate, two more buff-looking men wearing the same outfit as Leon suddenly appeared between them facing toward Leon.
"Master Leon, please don't create a scene before the event begins, you're uncle would not be happy if he heard one of his guests or his own nephew got hurt before the event began." One of the buff-looking guy with a mohawk said to Leon in a very respectful manner.
Leon just scoffed at the sudden intrusion and walked away leaving Mako and Bill confused as to why was Leon treated in such a way as it totally went against all logic, but the second part of the guard's comment made it clear.
Leon's uncle was most likely a higher-up and respected figure in the gang which was why Leon could, first of all, get information about Bill, second threaten them directly, and also throw them an invitation to their monthly event.
What the two boys didn't know was that they had hit the bullseye with their assumption because not only was Leon's uncle a higher-up in the gang, but he was in fact the second on command, just below the leader.
***************
The warm-up matches continued in the four rings for the next hour, but most of the people who were participating in them were complete amateurs and Mako and Bill didn't even bother to participate in these rounds as they both knew that conserving their energy was more important, even though the temptation of earning EXP from farming the fighters was very strong for Mako.
Around the time that the sun was just about to set, an old man wearing a very well-tailored and lavish-looking suit walked towards the middle of the four rings and coughed slightly to get all the people's attention.
*Cough!* *Cough!*
The simple cough was loud enough to get everyone's attention and it also drew the attention of Mako and Bill who were discussing strategies in one corner of the warehouses while still keeping an eye out for more surprises such as Leon.
"Participants who have received the Dark Raven card, please prepare yourself! The Dark Raven Monthly Tournament will begin shortly!" The old man announced, but it looked more like he was just speaking.
This caught Mako's attention and used Analyze on him to investigate only to see the message he hated to see the most.
'Analyze'
[Skill Failed! (opponent level too high)]
If the butler who was hosting the event was still at a higher level than Mako, then only God knows how strong his opponents will be, but he just hoped that he could power through them this time relying only on his own power and intellect rather than Boost pills.
"Let's do this!" Mako hyped himself up as the tournament was about to begin.
