Hey what's up guys! I'm back after a long lazy break and beating the writer's block once more again and the twentieth chapter of "Akame no Taizai" is here! And in this chapter features the beginning of the Byzel Fighting Festival arc with a brawl! XD Thanks guys for your marvelous support and reviews! It's been awesome and I won't be abandoning this story no matter what. :)
Seriously, why am I the only one making some Nanatsu no Taizai crossovers here? I mean there should more written by others out there and I don't know why. That leaves me very confused lol.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything of Akame ga Kill! or Nanatsu no Taizai. They belong to their respective owners and that includes the animation studios behind the anime adaptation of the two awesome manga series. The OCs are mine by the way. XD
Enjoy and don't forget to review. :D
Chapter 20
At the Great Byzel Rock where the Byzel's annual Fight Festival is being held there with a ton of fireworks exploding in the sky harmlessly, all of the fighters, majority of them are men, have gathered around the ring including Holy Knight Howzer and three-time winner former mountain bandit-turned-mega merchant Taizoo. Meliodas, Ban, King and Akame have joined in to recover Diane's Sacred Treasure, War Hammer: Gideon back although the blond boy and the immortal man simply wanted to have fun in fighting each other in the competition much to the fairy and ex-Imperial Assassin's chagrins.
Among the crowd of fighters in the ring, a cloaked woman wearing a hat and another tall cloaked figure stood around ominously and mysteriously just as the impish referee wearing a small helm for the Byzel Fight Festival made a loud but enthusiastic announcement to everyone who can hear his high pitched voice atop of the ring of the fighting festival's center.
"The Byzel Fight Festival qualifiers will soon begin! I, Love Helm, will be the referee! The rules for the qualifiers are simple! Knock your opponents out of this ring! Throwing! Pushing! Send them flying with your fists! Anything goes as long as you use your bare hands! The last eight fighters standing will advance to the next round. Now let the qualifiers begin!", Love Helm explained the rules and basics of the all-out battle royale to all of the participants on the ring.
Then everyone in the ring started to charge towards each other on all sides and direction which has officially started the free-for-all battle royale of brawling as they beat each other up by punching, kicking, throwing, throttling, etc. which resulted a lot of them to be out of the ring with the crowd enjoying the show.
"I'm definitely getting past the qualifiers this year!", the man said upon locking hands against his opponent.
"Not with me in your way, you're not!", the other man retorted back at his wannabe rival.
Suddenly, the two men were lifted from the ground as if they're children and then swiftly thrown out of the ring high in the sky by Taizoo who simply called them weaklings in their utter dismay.
"That's Taizoo for ya!", one of the audience called out for the three-time champion himself who proudly displayed his strength over normal men.
"Time for you to go home to mama, little boy!", the tall long-haired man sneered as he placed his hand on Meliodas' shoulder in intent to throw him out of the ring but was instead threw out by the Dragon's Sin of Wrath casually much to his dismay.
Ban yawned in complete boredom as he easily knocked down a few opponents attempting to hit him to no avail while casually picking his ear and closing his eyes as he said. "Qualifiers are sooo booorinnnggg... No real challenge at alll!..."
Meanwhile, King, with his Chastiefol's pillow form held tightly in his arms, quickly ran past and dodged quickly among the brawling fighters to avoid getting hit by any of them along the way while Akame have easily took down a dozen of them heading towards her in all directions with her series of swift kicks and punches on their bodies and faces without really harming them seriously and also not using her Murasame.
"You should consider yourselves lucky that I'm not participating. Now then... The Boar Hat traveling bar is here! How about some delicious ale to go along with watching the fight? One silver per glass!", Hawk announced to the crowd watching the battle royale which had gained their attention and lined up for the ale the talking pig had carried the barrel in his back to sell for profits.
As for the other participants of the all-out brawl against each other, the old drunken man dodged anyone trying to get him such easily in a drunk manner; Howser simply swung his arm that knocked others aside; Griamore casually throwing more off the ring without even moving; a cloaked figure simply dashed through several men in a straight line with quick speed that sent them flying.
"Whoa, such incredible speed! You can't even follow it with your eyes! A mysterious contender has knocked out over several opponents in a blink of an eye!", Love Helm commented loudly of the cloaked person's ability.
Such great skill... I wonder who was that person behind that cloak?..., the Owl's Sin of Vanity wondered in her thought while roundhouse kicked another man off the ring with ease.
"Hey, Ban! Don't use your full strength on these guys, okay?", Meliodas advised while dusting his hands off casually.
The Fox's Sin of Greed flatly replied, "Duuuh... If I killed someone, I'd ruin the fun of the festivaaalll!" before noticing an adult man wearing similar clothes of his who was beating his opponent in quick normal moves and decides to steal it for himself with a greedy look in his eyes.
"Jeez, Captain! You're just here for fun aren't you?", King asked in an accusing tone after barely evading the chaos.
"Don't be stupid! Does it look like I'm just in it for the fun of it?", the blond boy countered that the fairy nodded in confirmation that he is actually in it for the fun but the former added something that the Grizzly's Sin of Sloth couldn't refuse. "Listen, King... If we win the Fight Festival, we can get Gideon back to Diane! Don't you want to see her excited face when that happens?"
Fantasying himself of seeing a blushing Diane saying thanks to him for returning her Sacred Treasure, King put his 'game face' on and loudly declared in determination. "I'm gonna win it all!"
"That's the spirit!", Meliodas said in approval after managing to motivate the fat man to make an effort.
Ok that felt disturbing..., Akame thought to herself when she noticed King's motivation and his game face before punching a brawny man at the face on her left side.
"Oww! You hit like a girl!", the brawny man in a Cockney accent muttered in anger and annoyance that his nose broke just then noticing the one who had hit him is actually a girl standing before him in a fierce red eyes and had then knocked him out with his few teeth falling off with a hard punch that send others got caught in his crash flying out of the ring.
"It's because I'm a girl dumbass. Deal with it.", the Red-Eyed Killer Knight commented in an indifferent look in response.
On the other side of the all-out brawl, a cloaked hat-wearing female contender had easily dispatched a large fat man with a palm strike and several other men with roundhouse kicks and punches in quick speed which King was unfortunately got caught in that impressed Love Helm and the audience witnessing it, including Meliodas and Ban who got his new clothes from the same guy he stole from and replaced it with a naked apron on that dismayed man.
At the end of the all-out brawl with the majority of the fighters out of the game and knocked out, over nine contenders of the Byzel Fight Festival have been left standing out from all of the many participants in the ring as Love Helm made another announcement. "Finally, the survivors still in the ring are... "
"...Four... Five... Six... Seven... Eight... Nine?", the brown-haired man among the audience counted in surprise.
"What are they gonna do? The're can't be a tournament like this? Not with nine people here which it only requires eight.", the other brown-haired man standing next to him commented.
"There's one more who didn't fall off!", the middle-aged man with gray hair pointed to the tenth remaining contender which is revealed to be King who merely floated with his Chastiefol's pillow form and sighed in relief that he didn't touch the ground.
However the crowd was not very pleased to see that the Grizzly's Sin of Sloth was floating after being knocked off the ring in the aftermath of the battle royale with hisses and boos as they called it cheating and demanding him to be disqualified from the tournament immediately but Love Helm has other ideas he had in mind.
"It's definitely cheap, but it's not considered using a weapon! Therefore, he's safe! And for the ten contenders left standing, there will be a change of plans for the tournament. Oh well, the more the merrier!", the impish man defended King's actions some to the crowd's disappointment.
Meliodas and Ban made fun of King for his 'cheap' tactics in his chagrin while Akame remained indifferent as she glanced at the two cloaked figures suspiciously in her thoughts. Who are those people? They looked very suspicious. Hmm? Is that... Elizabeth's long black sock?... Could it be?... No, impossible. Elizabeth is never the type who fights directly. It must be someone else, but who was it? As for the other one, somehow I felt a strange familiarity with that person for some reason. I just can't figure out who.
"And now we draw the lots for the main tournament! Would the ten contestants please come to the waiting room?", Love Helm said to the ten participants who then went inside a small house atop of the Great Byzel Rock nearby to settle the match-ups for the upcoming tournament of the Fight Festival.
Inside the small house, Love Helm presented a small cup filled with sticks embedded in two same letters. "Now please draw lots. The person with the same letter as you will be your opponent in the first round!", he said.
The ten contenders have then lined up and draw their lots from the impish man's cup one at the time while some talking among themselves, though mostly Meliodas and Ban before the final decision has been made by Love Helm.
"And now, I will announce the first round match-ups! First up! Griamore versus Matrona!" with the large Holy Knight and the mysterious female person standing next to each other after being chosen by their lots.
"It's that impressive girl from earlier.", King commented with Ban noticing her as well.
"Never heard of her. The world sure is a big place.", Meliodas added with Akame gave an indifferent look that says 'You think?"
The mysterious hat-wearing cloaked woman now named Matrona glanced at the Sins or mostly the blond boy before turning away, which he ended up in confusion and Akame's suspicion of her heightened. Matrona... who are you really?... Wait, is that Griamore? Wow I never thought he would grow up that big..., she thought.
"Next up! Howser versus Taizoo!" with the young Holy Knight and the former mountain bandit-turned-mega merchant displaying their respective smug looks on their faces filled with confidence after their match-up was made.
King started to realize the name of that man in recognition. "Howser... I remember now! He's a Holy Knight! I saw him with Gilthunder a couple of times!"
"What's a Holy Knight doing at a festival like this?", Meliodas questioned.
"From the looks of it, Captain. I think Howser came here to enjoy the Fight Festival away from work.", Akame explained as she recalled him, Griamore and Gilthunder when they were young ten years ago being pranksters and ended up scolded by Dreyfus. And now those three boys have grown up to become the Holy Knights of Liones that the Seven Deadly Sins have sworn to defeat and liberate the kingdom from their iron rule.
Overhearing Meliodas' comment that their cover will be blown if Howser finds out about them, the Grizzly's Sin of Sloth turned to Ban in worry that the immortal did not use their real names to be registered into the fighting tournament that the latter simply replied that he wouldn't slip up on something like that, leaving the Owl's Sin of Vanity doubtful of his words.
"Now the third fight! Cain versus Old Fart!" with the old man drunk from his drinking and King who looked incredulous of his alias until the Fox's Sin of Greed had pointed out much to the former's dismay as he tried in vain to pummel the white spiky-haired immortal for such a terrible name while Meliodas talked briefly with the old drunken man named Cain.
"And then the fourth fight! Kamehame-Ha versus Janeda!" with the former Night Raid member and the mysterious cloaked figure standing apart from each other.
"Kamehame-Ha? Who's that?", King wondered out loud of the name before noticing Ban snickering mischievously and Akame starting to blush furiously in embarrassment. "Oh...", he realized in a mix of deadpanned and sweat-dropped looks.
"B-b-ban! Why did you pick that... that ridiculous name?!", the former Night Raider cried out in a cute outburst after hearing her new name for the tournament she unwittingly gotten herself into.
Ban smirked devilishly in response and said, "Consider it as paybaack for messing up with my ale, Akameee. Besides it's not a bad name for you at all. Anyways, I got it from Dragon Ball Zeee! Oh and Cap'nnn told me that prank of yours by the wayyy. Kahahahaha!"
This... is so humiliating... I said once and I'll say it again. I'm not really good with pranks after all. Wait a minute... D-did Ban just broke the fourth wall like Mine did last time with Tatsumi?..., she thought with her face completely red of embarrassment before noticing a stifled and muffled laugh from the now named Janeda who then stopped immediately upon looking at the Red-Eyed Killer Knight's glare. Just who is Janeda? Where have I heard that name before?...
"What the hell? My name still hasn't been called?", Ban wondered out loud while still holding King in his fat human form down.
"Mine neither.", Meliodas commented before the two began to realize now just when Love Helm announced the final match-up.
"The final set! Meliodaz versus Baan!" with the Sins of Wrath and Greed looking shocked and surprised of their match-up but their very obvious names were picked up by Howser overhearing the announcement.
The Fox's Sin of Greed commented in enthusiasm, "Already in the first round? So early!"
"First of all, what's with those names?", the captain of the Seven Deadly Sins questioned that King and Akame supported, stating that their names are too obvious which the immortal defended himself that he could not think of any good names on the spot.
The Holy Knight approached the Sins and confronted them. "Hey you over there. That huge scar on your cheek... Are you that man in the wanted poster? And you, kid... If I remember correctly, Gil said that the captain of the Sins is a kid. And for the young woman who has red eyes and long black hair in the shoulder length... Is she the Red-Eyed Killer Knight? Could these three be?..."
This led to a rise of a tense atmosphere between the Sins and Howser that none can tell who will make the first move which may have consequences if the latter have deduced that the Sins are participating the Fight Festival but then suddenly the young Holy Knight laughs it off and stated that their names were different before leaving much to their relief of Howser's stupidity.
"We're saveeed.", Ban sing-song said.
"By his stupidity.", Meliodas added.
Even Zank the Beheader can tell who I am just by looking at me even without his Teigu and in my new look if I had one back in the Empire., Akame thought to herself while feeling relieved along with King.
Outside, the large crowd have been busying themselves around the ring as they waited for the ten contestants drawing their lots and made their respective match-ups while some bought ale from Hawk who took great profit in selling beverages he's carrying at his back.
"The main rounds of the Byzel Fight Tournament are about to begin!", Love Helm loudly announced to the delight of the audience and the participants patiently waiting their turn for the rounds. "Once again, the rules are very simple! If your opponent gives up or you knock them out cold, you win! You can also win by knocking them out of the ring!
"And now the first fight! Griamore versus Matrona!", the small impish man have formally announced as the two contestants of the first fight have entered the ring to the delight and cheers from the audience.
Just as the large long black haired Holy Knight stepped into the ring, Howser called out to him behind him. "Griamore. To think that you'd participate too... Aren't you supposed to be taking care of Veronica?"
"That's Princess Veronica, Howser. Mind your manners.", Griamore corrected him before continuing ascending to the ring to meet with his opponent Matrona, leaving Howser care-freely shrugging his fellow colleague's comments off while Veronica watches her guardian ready to fight his soon-to-be defeated foe in the match.
"It seems that you're here as well, Howser. I'm surprised. Great performance in the all-out brawl by the way. Te-hee!", a female voice playfully called out to him behind his back that got his attention.
As he turned around to the voice behind him, he sees a beautiful young woman in her teens, red of hair and blue eyes wore and wore a simple modest blouse with a few armored pieces and a travel cloak along with a a pair of long katanas hidden at her side and she's mischievously smiling at him.
"Alyssa! W-what are you doing here?", the young man asked his fellow Holy Knight as he tried to maintain his composure after immediately recognizing her identity.
"What does it look like, Howsy? I'm here to enjoy the festival of course! Can a girl like me have some fun too?", the woman named Alyssa replied in a mock pouting look of her face towards Howser who looked away, feeling a bit startled by her cheery appearance yet he knew better than that before turning away to witness the first round of the tournament.
And to see the infamous Akame in the flesh as well! She looks more awesome and beautiful than I remembered after ten years! I can't wait to meet you again!, Alyssa mentally fangirled in her head while glancing with a soft smile at the Owl's Sin of Vanity who stood next to her captain, Ban and King watching the first match between her fellow Holy Knight Griamore and Matrona.
Janeda, on the other hand, remained quiet amidst of the loud audience yet continued to spare a glance at Akame while Cain kept on drinking his bottle in a drunken glee and Taizoo glaring daggers at Howser in an intent to teach him a lesson or two either oblivious of the latter's status as a Holy Knight of Liones or had already knew but didn't care.
"At seven feet and 400 pounds, Griamore!", Love Helm introduced the large Holy Knight standing before the crowd who were in awe of his large physique and muscles that might pack a serious punch.
Turning to the next contestant who is a female, Love Helm continued the introduction. "Her height, five feet, four inches. Her weight a secret! Matrona!"
"Show us your three sizes!", one of the men demanded perversely.
"91, 58, 90.", Meliodas analyzed Matrona's physical appearance that left King confused of the numbers and Akame blushing hard in utter embarrassment with a certain event she had recalled from her memory about her captain reading of her measurements ten years ago back in the kingdom prior to her joining of the Seven Deadly Sins as the eighth member.
"Excuse me, Miss! You can keep the hat, but we'll have to ask you to remove the cape! We just have to make sure you don't have any concealed weapons.", Love Helm asked in request politely to her.
Matrona silently complied to his request and removed her cloak that revealed her full body outfit and appearance to all the eyewitnesses to see much to the men's pure joy and delight in wolf whistling and hollers.
The four Sins, and Hawk too as well, gasped in shock and surprise when they saw Matrona's outfit after she had discarded her cape that was covering the rest of her body shortly.
"Captain! Aren't those clothes-?! ", King said in shock.
"Yeah, no doubt about it! It's our bar's uniform!", Meliodas recognized the similar clothing.
"What?! It can't be... Elizabeth?", Hawk wondered out loud.
The Grizzly's Sin of Sloth asked his captain, "Was Lady Elizabeth always that strong?"
"No, King. Hawk. It can't be Elizabeth. She is not the type who can fight her own battles directly like we do and is way too innocent and kind-hearted by nature.", Akame quickly interjected that shot down the talking pig and the brunette boy's speculations. It could be... No it couldn't be..., she thought.
"If that's Elizabeth, then there's something strange going around here.", Meliodas stated with King asking curiously only to get an answer about Matrona's sizes again much to the former Imperial Assassin's chagrin and the brunette fairy's heavy nosebleed.
Then Love Helm have officially started the fight between Griamore and Matrona in the first rounds of the Byzel Fight Tournament with the loud gong of the bell to signal the beginning of the match between the powerful fighters in the ring. "And now, you won't be able to take your eyes off this first round! Without further ado, let the fight begin!"
To be continued...
Author's Note: It would seems that the twentieth chapter is done and the next update will come around soon after my writer's block needed to fight off again and little break as well not to mention. The next chapter will feature more of the Byzel Fight Festival arc with some few twists and some cliffhangers if I know one. The rest of the fights in the matching will come soon starting with this one between Griamore and "Matrona". :D
As for the identity of the cloaked figure matched with Akame in their fourth fight, I'm sure you might figure it out. ;)
I made a reference from Dragon Ball Z of Goku's iconic signature attack as Akame's name during the Fight Festival and also referenced Ban's fourth wall break to Mine's breaking the fourth wall when she showed a spinning wheel of fortune that contains the list of manga series that she intends to sends Tatsumi to when the arrow stops at its chosen direction.
Anyways enjoy and don't forget to review.