Son-Jun vs Murabi the Rat King (Tournament of Strength)

The stadium is crowded beyond its maximum capacity. Fans are spilling over the very rim of the arena and numerous young children are sitting on the shoulders of their parents to see the carnage. The only part of the arena that is uninhabited is the thin line dividing the booths between Son-Jun's corner and the Rat-King's. Unlike in other events, the Freaks and heavily mutated are not relegated to the front row seats and instead intermix with their fellow fans. The spectators are ungodly loud and even in the deep caverns below the contestants can hear the insults, the premature celebrations, and the occasional death threat. The food peddlers seem extremely happy this day as they are making currency hand over fist. Eventually, the two sides devolve into chanting "All hail the Rat-King! Fear the pain that he brings!" and "The Rat-King is just a goon, Jun will send him to the moon!". It takes several loud gongs by the samurai before the crowd finally silences themselves. Even then silent death threats are made between the two fanatical camps. "Today will be a rematch the likes of which we have not seen for quite a while! Son-Jun, longtime champion of blood sports!", there is a loud boo from the Rat-King's camp with many miming out thumb-sucking and crying faces, "...versus the man who stole his honor! The Lord of Vermin!", Jun's fans hiss and spit in disdain for the hideous beast. "This will be quite an interesting match. Even though the outcome has practically been decided." says the Azure Magister quite nonchalantly.

As the cages are hauled from the holding cells below the crowd mutters in confusion. Though Jun steps out as expected a large hunchbacked figure draped in a green cloak and hood step out of the Rat-King's cell. "Hey! I paid good money for this seat! Where's the Rat-!" one spectator begins to complain before the figure throws a knife sharply at the crowd landing inches from the man's face. From the hood, one can make out the snout of the Rat-King and his luminescent green eyes. He pulls two knives from a tattered belt wrapped around his waist and points them menacingly at Jun. "The Rat-King has come here not to fight! No, this is no battle but mere pest control. It is about time I show you the only vermin that will roam this city, Son-Jun!" he hisses malevolently.

Son-Jun watches his enemy with a stoic glare, he raises his fists, and replies to the Rat-kings taunt, "I am not the same man you emasculated a week ago. A pitiable fate awaits you, a king dethroned before he even has a chance to claim one. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" he says. He places both hands on his stomach, positioned near the large, warty growths on it. He large muscles begin to flex, and in a single moment, a stream of acid flies at the rat-king, all away from across the stadium.

"Ha! You be right! You be not the man I emasculated a week ago! For I emasculated a grotesque blubbering child! If you indeed be a man-" the Rat-King taunts just before the acidic stream gushes towards him. He is interrupted by a high-pressure jet of acidic pus that pierces straight through his torso. As the torrent ends the Rat-King still stands yet now with a large hole gaping in the middle of his chest. "Well... that is not the same as last week..." he sputters before doubling over and oozing bright green blood from his immense wound. His organs begin to drip and plop out onto the cracked arid ground and the Rat-King nearly drops to all fours. "I have s-seeen", he coughs up some blood, "...better." he moans.

Son-Jun grins wickedly, and takes a moment to eye his no doubt adoring fans. He turns back to the rat-king, and moves his hands to another of his strange growths, grasping it menacingly. "Last chance to surrender rat-man, assuming your not already dead," he says.

The Rat-King gazes up at Son-Jun "I s-sss...", he pauses arching his back, "...ss-hall see you dead!". Suddenly his arms bend backward then shoot forward launching his daggers rapidly at Son-Jun's large mass. The Rat-King stumbles to his feet and his flesh slowly knits together. While his regeneration has slowly begun to heal his immense chest wound most of his vital organs are still blatantly missing.

Son-Jun either doesn't attempt to dodge the knives, or doesn't even register them flying towards him until they've impaled themselves in his stomach. He grimaces, but doesnt budge from his stance, getting ready to fire another gout of acid at the Rat-King by popping the strange growth. His skin stretches as he pops the growth, which only tears more of his stomach on the knives, and he groans in pain. Despite the delay, the acid still flies as fast and as deadly as before at Murabi.

The Rat-King, now prepared, makes an attempt to dodge the stream of acidic pus yet is still barely nicked as he ducks to the left. He lets out a shriek as the acid grazes his shoulder and his arm hangs limp after the joint was melted. Unable to move his arm and impatient, the Rat-King opens his sharp-fanged maw before sinking his teeth deep into the flesh of his arm before tearing the entire limb from its socket. The bright green muscle begins to sprout and knit together faster now that the festering melted flesh has been removed. By this time the Rat-King's organs have regenerated but the skin has yet to be properly replaced exposing them to the elements.

With another gasp of pain, Son-Jun attempts to pop his third growth. But he instead pauses, and takes the time to pull the knives out of his stomach, watching the rat-king carefully. He cracks his neck and takes a deep breath, "I had plenty of time to get some reading in while my arm recovered, rat-king, and in my studies I discovered an interesting pre-war creature to model this new move after," he says. Son-Jun then pulls his stomach up, and pops one of the growths on his stomach, this time, the acid oozes down onto his own stomach, and mingles with the blood. Son-Jun rubs the mixture onto his stomach before patting it, and lowering his body to face the rat-king. He takes a running start, and leaps onto his stomach, the mixture of acid and blood allowing him to slide along the ground. He uses his arms and legs to pick up speed, and approaches the rat-king very quickly, yelling loudly to his cheering fans,

"Special Technique, ペンギンスライド: Penguin slide!"

As Son-Jun rapidly charges at Rat-King with his "Special Technique, ペンギンスライド: Penguin slide!" the Rat-King trembles slightly. 


"Well this was a disappointment, how did that oversized hairball defeat the fat man in the first place?" the Azure Magister offhandedly remarks.


"Clearly you have never encountered a cornered animal... up until this point the Rat-King has been fighting like a man. Using knives, wearing clothes, of course, he would lose. He has been denying his greatest strength..." the Samurai cryptically responds. 


The Rat-King begins to foam at the mouth and gargles incoherently. It's torn off arm begins to bubble and with a sudden gush of blood and flesh, a new limb is savagely reformed. He braces himself for impact. As Son-Jun slams into him, he crashes into the arena's wall with a sickening crunch.

Son-Jun staggers slowly to his feet, clutching his head as he does. He looks down hopefully at the victim of his technique.

The Rat-King lies in a crumpled pile. Blood oozes out of him at a rapid rate and his bones are piercing through his skin at crooked angles. Confident that the battle is finished the Azure Magister prepares to ring the gong until suddenly the Rat-King's body begins to stir. The bones break and reform, cracking back into proper shape. Then the skin stretches, tears, and knits together. Finally, the remaining wound on his stomach scabs over and his new arm finishes healing. The Rat-King collapses on all fours and begins foaming at the mouth. His emerald green eyes flit about the arena madly before focusing on Son-Jun. With unnatural speed the Rat-King circles around Son-Jun and slashes at his back with his wicked claws.

"That might have worked last time Rat.." he says as the Rat-King circles him, "But your finished!" he yells as he throws himself backwards, attempting to crush the Rat-King by falling backwards onto him.

As Son-Jun's mighty girth comes crashing down upon the Rat-King he seems to freeze in his tracks. Son-Jun's fans cheer in a raucous rallying warcry while the Rat-King's crowd wails in anguish at his apparent lack of agility. Suddenly the Rat-King unleashes a high-pitched screech and grips Jun by the haunches. The veins in his legs, back, and arms strain as the Rat-King concentrates on lifting Jun above his hand. His muscles swell with blood and hormones flood his system as he enters a mindless fury, all in an attempt to heft Jun and toss him across the arena.

Son-Jun blinks as he's lifted, and begins to struggle over the Rat-King, crying as he's lift, "No, no, no, oh no!" He screams and flails wildly as he's tossed across the stadium, shouting, "Uncle, I surrender, I give, ahhhhhhhh!" Son-Jun lands right on his arm with a thud, his own weight snapping it. He begins to cry and sniffle, nursing his broken arm, tossing and turning as he does. "Mommy... ow.." he mutters, as he sucks the thumb of his good hand.

The Rat-King's eyes begin to soften and it wipes the foamy saliva from its mouth. It approaches Son-Jun and slits its wrists, bleeding over his broken arm. As the green blood makes contact with the shattered arm it foams and the arm seems to set itself back into its proper place. "When I win, there will be a place for you in my 'cabinet'." the Rat-King hoarsely mutters.

Rat-King snatches the bronze baton and holds it above his head in triumph. He lets out a guttural yell and the other Freaks join in. The Magister rolls his eyes and the Samurai gives Rat-King a sideways glance but aside from that the festivities end for the day.