The crowd eventually calms down, just in time for Derek to finish cleaning out the Grand Arena once more. Kyle's bounty continues to rise, as well as the bets placed on Celebra as his next opponent. As usual, though, the audience hushes when Ciqufrinz begins to announce the next round, and the competitors are brought up on their platforms.

"Well, looks like that exception won't need to come into play. Oh well. Less work for us in the long run, at the very least! Anyways, this round should surely be interesting to see! Our first of these two competing teams has been given the theme of RIVALRY, and consists of Sprinkleman, Regional Manager of Goblins, and the very individual he entered this Tournament to kill: Gibble the Goblin King! Will these two be able to cooperate enough to win the fight?"

Sprinkleman and Gibble leer at one another.

"Look, bub, I'll work with you, but only because it means I get to kill you myself next round." Sprinkleman says through gritted teeth. Gibble only responds by spitting in Sprinkleman's general direction.

"On the other side, we have a team themed with DESTRUCTION! It's two of our competitors who demonstrated immense power in the first bracket: LX-66 and Fusiel! Will these two unstoppable forces be able to find a way to bypass the gimmicks of the goblins, or will they meet their end trying? Only one way to find out! Blow the horn when ready!"

LX-66 and Fusiel don't exchange any kind of words or communicate in any way. They both seem determined to just fight on their own. Sure enough, when Attota sounds the horn, LX-66 immediately lets loose a merciless slew of gunfire at the two goblins, riddling both of their bodies with holes in a matter of seconds. Sprinkleman and Gibble both collapse on the ground, but neither stops moving, and, despite the injuries, both Sprinkleman and Gibble are able to get back up. The wounds slowly begin to heal themselves, though not nearly fast enough to outpace the rate at which LX-66 is continuing to assault the goblins. Fusiel, meanwhile, rushes the duo from behind, slamming into the ground with enough force to send both goblins flying into the air. Sprinkleman coughs and sputters for a few moments until his body repairs itself enough that he can speak to Gibble as the two sail through the air under constant fire by LX-66.

"I can keep us alive,'your majesty', but you're gonna have to find a way to do the killing here. I work out, but I can't really do shit to a death robot and an angel with my bare hands." Sprinkleman finishes speaking just as he crashes into the ground, getting a faceful of sand and fire. Gibble lands right next to him, again not verbally responding to anything Sprinkleman said to him. However, Gibble does stand up, and begins to stumble forwards, eyes narrowed with cruel determination. Fusiel lands in front of him, and Gibble barely gets a chance to look up before a holy missile crashes through the ceiling towards him, vaporizing the sand around him but remarkably leaving Gibble's actual body intact enough to function. Gibble clenches his hands around Fusiel's arm, refusing to let go.

"Do you think this will delay your death? That is rather foolish. I-"

Mid-sentence, Fusiel is suddenly riddled with bullets from LX-66, who never stopped firing at Gibble and Sprinkleman even when Fusiel was between them. Fusiel falls to the ground, and Sprinkleman gets up, using his arm to tank more bullets and protect his face and neck as he rushes over.

"I, Sprinkleman, Regional Mana-" Sprinkleman begins, but to his surprise, it is Gibble who clamps a hand over his mouth to shut him up, glaring into Sprinkleman's eyes and finally speaking up.

"You fool, if you kill the angel, we'll be helpless against the robot! Tell me, does your Stand ability apply to machines?" Gibble speaks in a quiet hiss, using Fusiel's body as cover from LX-66's non-stop barrage, which has now been throwing in the occasional explosive just to spice things up.

"Machines aren't really technically 'alive', so no. Unless it's a cyborg, if a machine is destroyed around me, then that's the end of that."

"Then allow me to handle this." Gibble lowers his voice to a whisper, before leaning close to Sprinkleman's ear and continuing. "Stay back until I tell you otherwise."

Sprinkleman blinks a few times, seemingly caught off guard. He nods and takes several steps back, obeying with no hesitation or reluctance despite his very clear hatred for Gibble. Once Sprinkleman has stepped back, Gibble leans down next to Fusiel's head, and whispers again.

"Rip the robot's arms off." Gibble commands, and, surprisingly, despite their injuries, Fusiel immediately begins to stand up, though they promptly fall back down due to the bullet holes in their body. Gibble walks over to Sprinkleman, who seems to have returned to his senses as indicated by the scowl on his face, and grabs the regional manager's shoulders firmly, whispering into his ear again.

"Protect the angel. Use your body as a shield." Gibble states, and, once more, Sprinkleman obliges with no hesitation, rushing forwards and jumping between LX-66's line of fire and Fusiel while the angel shakily makes its way towards the robot. LX-66 narrows its mechanical red eyes.

"Why do you approach me? I do not need your help." LX-66 declares as Fusiel draws nearer. Once Fusiel is close enough, though, LX-66 is no match for the angel's speed and strength, and its arms are pulled straight off of its body, ceasing its attacks and sending it teetering backwards.

"Alright, Sprinkleman, you can let the angel die now." Gibble states, having been trailing behind both Sprinkleman and Fusiel as they approached LX-66. Sprinkleman snaps back to his senses again.

"Sure thing, 'your majesty'. I, Sprinkleman, Regional Manager of Goblins, give Fusiel permission to die!"

Thunder can be heard again, and Fusiel's battered body immediately collapses as though it had been dead all along. Gibble tries to pick up one of LX-66's severed arms, but the weapon is too heavy for his bullet-ridden goblin muscles. Sprinkleman catches on, and pushes Gibble to the side, before huffing and hoisting the arm up onto his own shoulder, aimed at the now-helpless LX-66.

"Now, how do I use this damn thing?" Sprinkleman mutters, shaking under the weight of the arm as he tries to make it fire.

"You do not. The only thing capable of firing the weapons is my computer. It appears we are at a standstill." LX-66 chimes in. "However, in a situation like this, I accept the impossibility of my victory. Activating self-destruct mechanism."

LX-66's eyes begin glowing brighter, and alarm noises are sounded. Gibble and Sprinkleman shield their eyes as the robot erupts into an explosion that shakes the whole Grand Arena, and deafens both goblins. However, that deafness proves to not be much of a problem, as mere seconds later, Gibble and Sprinkleman are transported to the medical section of the victors' area, leaving the Grand Arena empty save for scorch marks around the spot where LX-66 had been.