In an underground parking lot located in an abandoned building just outside of the city, an unusual tournament is being held.

A crowd of about two hundred people gathered to watch the grand finals of said tournament. There were no seats for the spectators so they all huddled close to each other like a large mob. In the middle of the mob was a small empty space where two boys stood facing each other.

One boy was wearing his all-black high school uniform while the other wore an all-white biker gang uniform. Both wore helmets that covered their whole faces. Their helmets had large black visors and two antennas on the side pointing backward. On the top of the helmet was a long cable connected to a large battery-looking box on the floor.

The two boys remained motionless but the crowd cheered, not because of the unmoving fighters but because of what was happening in the four large monitor screens that hung from the ceiling atop the fighters. The monitor screens were positioned to face four different directions so everybody in the vicinity can watch.

On the screen was the same abandoned parking lot but not a single person in sight. Instead, two-winged beings grasped each other's hands as they wrestled for control over the other. From the looks of it, it was obvious that one is an angel and the other a demon. The angel wore a shining knight’s armor with blue and white plating. The angel has the emotionless face of a fair blonde woman. The demon on the other hand wore red draconic gauntlets, black leather pants, and no shirt showing the many intricate tattoos on his muscular chest and back.

These beings were the chosen fighters of the two boys from a variety of characters the game has provided. The players controlled every single punch, grab and throw that these fighters did, using only their mind through the help of the helmets they wore.

The demon released his grip and delivered a roundhouse kick to the angel's head which the other dodged by tilting her head upwards. The angel disengaged by dashing backward almost instantaneously leaving behind light particles where she originally was. After creating distance between her and the demon, the angel materialized a golden javelin in her right hand and threw it at the demon, hitting him in the chest then dispersing into white light. A green bar floating on top of the demon’s head shortened, indicating how much life he lost.

Two men watching from a large monitor in a separate room oohed to each other. Their voices were being broadcast to everyone in the vicinity.

“First blood once again by PenDragon. His use of [HOLY SPEAR] and [LIGHT STEPS] had resulted in this hit and run tactic that had been a menace to players this entire tournament.”

The demon charged at the angel but another backward dash maintained the distance between them. The angel materializes another javelin and throws it at the demon. This time, it was dodged by the demon by jumping sideways in an awkward manner. Losing his balance after the jump, the demon looked like he was about to trip and fall. Taking advantage, the angel dashed towards the demon and delivered a push kick to the demon’s abdomen making him bend forward.

“Another clean hit by PenDragon. That is going to take Knuckle’s health down to at least almost fifty percent but wait-.”

Silence fell on the casters and the crowd as they realized that Knuckle’s health bar was not diminishing.

A smile appeared on the demon’s face as he stood up revealing that he caught the kick with his hands. Still holding the angel’s legs with one hand he raised his free one and made a fist. He held that position for a second until his fist glowed which he then threw at the angel’s face.

One of the game casters smashed his fist into the table in excitement.

“Strong Punch connects and that is going to bring PenDragon to equal health! Looks like we are going to have a proper match here folks! Arthropod, can you explain to us what just happened.”

“I sure can, Insipid. This is what’s so good about this game. The ability of the fighters to actually interact with each other as if they had real bodies and not just rely on hitboxes. Thanks to this, Knuckles can actually catch an attack midair and deliver a counterattack. If this were the games of old, PenDragon's kick would have connected and there is nothing you can do about it.”

Back at the ring, the spectators continued to cheer on the brawl between the angel and demon on the screen and yet the two players in the middle of it all remained motionless.

The demon continued his pursuit of the angel but the prior continued to dash away and throw javelins from afar. The demon kept dodging until he was able to catch one of them and threw it back to its owner. All of a sudden, the javelin dematerialized mid-air before hitting its target.

“Knuckle is now in pursuit but his counterattacks aren’t working. There is only one way he can hit PenDragon from this range!” The caster named Arthropod exclaimed as he clenched his fist in anticipation.

“He has to use his ultimate but that would leave him motionless for three seconds and if he misses then PenDragon can punish him easily,” backed Insipid.

The audiences nodded and uttered agreements as their eyes remained glued to the screen while listening to the casters.

[STRONG KICK]

The demon’s legs glowed for a second and he suddenly dashed forward placing him in front of the angel.

[STRONG PUNCH]

The demon’s fist glowed as he landed a fist on the angel’s face.

The crowd cheered as they all watched PenDragon’s health bar shorten.

“Oh my god! I didn’t even know that was possible. He used [STRONG KICK] on the ground!”

“Neither did I, Insipid. It is a clever move by Knuckle to use [STRONG KICK] for maneuvering instead of just a regular attack but it has a relatively long cooldown compared to PenDragon’s [LIGHT STEPS] so he needs to use this wisely.”

[INTERVENTION]

The angel activated a skill that made him float a few inches on the ground. Her armor shone even brighter making the audience ooh at the sight. A giant hourglass appeared behind her and turned over, starting the sands to flow.

“PenDragon is now going for the kill. He is setting up for his ultimate skill. Knuckle needs to finish this or else this is a guaranteed loss for him.”

The angel floated sideways as fast as she was jumping when she was on the ground. She manifested two javelins this time and threw them at the demon. One was dodged but the other hit its target. The demon’s health bar shortened and turned from green to red.

“His health is too low. He wouldn’t be able to survive PenDragon’s ultimate.”

The angel manifested two more spears again and prepared to throw them.

[STRONG KICK]

The demon dashed forward as the angel threw two spears. One of them hits the demon on the chest and the other was caught by the demon and stabbed into the angel’s chest. Both of their health bars shortened but the demon’s health bar was left to a single blinking red line indicating that he is close to dying.

“That was so close. Both of them took substantial damage from that trade but this is a win for PenDragon as Intervention’s hourglass is nearly completed signaling armageddon.”

The angel dashed away from the demon and behind her the hourglass disappeared, replaced by a large golden gate that opened slowly. Inside the gate is a black portal and from it multiple javelins emerged showing their pointed heads first.

“This is it, twenty javelins in total and unlike your regular [HOLY SPEAR] these ones lock and homes towards the opponent. A single hit from one of them would kill Knuckle because of his low health, this match is done for good! ” Insipid sighed after talking to his microphone.

Arthropod continued to commentate as his partner rested his head on one hand while watching the screen in front of them. “What a valiant effort for our contestant Knuckle but this character is just way too broken. There is a reason why six of this tournament’s top ten love to spam Azrael. It was a nice run but the end is near.”

The demon took a position similar to a boxer and started bouncing on his feet. Behind the angel, the gate shot two javelins at the demon. With a quick sidestep and a circular movement of the arms, the demon deflected both of them sideways making them disperse into white light.

“No way! Knuckle just deflected the first wave! This man is at death's door yet he is not willing to give up. This man is saying that he might lose but he is not going to just stand there and take it. He is going to fight till the very end!” Insipid spoke with a revitalized voice as he leaned in closer to his screen.

Two more waves shot at the demon and once again he deflected them again. The crowd jumped excitedly as they watched. Three more waves shot faster than the last and the demon rolled to dodge the first hitting the wall behind him and deflected the other two waves with his arms.

“OH MY GOD!” Both of the casters shouted at the top of their lungs.

Some of the spectators started jumping excitedly as three more waves of javelins dispersed into white light hitting nothing.

The gate behind the angel glowed as four large javelins appeared and shot at an incredibly fast speed towards the demon. He rolled away to dodge them but they circled back into the air and chased after the demon who was running towards the angel who couldn’t move.

[STRONG KICK]

The demon dashed upwards to the angel and grabbed her on the head. The four giant spears are still chasing after him.

[DAMNATION]

The demon’s eyes glowed purple as a large beam of light shot out of them hitting the unresisting angel directly on the face. The four giant spears dispersed into thin air a few inches before they were able to hit him.

The screens of the audiences and the casters showed a victory sign and they all fell silent before they suddenly erupted into cheers.

A man wearing a referee’s uniform and holding a microphone made his way from the mob of spectators who were going wild with screams and cheers.

The two boys removed their helmets showing two different expressions. The boy wearing a high school uniform had a dejected face while the gangster had a wide grin on his face.

The referee got in between the two of them and signaled for the crowd to quiet down as he grabbed the gangster’s arm and pulled him to the center of the ring and raising it he shouted.

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN YOUR VERY FIRST VIRTUAL FIGHTING WORLD CHAMPION… KNUCKLE!!!!”