“RAAAAAH!”

A time-honored tradition, practiced in every prison since the dawn of human history, was now unfolding violently in the square ring on stage: a brawl.

“Gagh!”

“Th-these guys are tough!”

In one corner of the ring, the duo of Jae-hee and Razor were putting on a dominant performance, crushing any inmate who dared to challenge them.

While Jae-hee used Stormroad to slam his heel into his opponents’ jaws and send them flying, Razor guarded his back, covering his openings.

Jae-hee was powerful, but he had his weaknesses: low stamina and a lack of experience in such chaotic free-for-alls.

But Razor covered for those weaknesses, landing supportive strikes at just the right moments.

Since inmates from Deck 3 and up could wear what they wanted, they were the only ones in the ring wearing standard-issue prison uniforms. If anything, it made them stand out even more as they fought, their uniforms flapping.

“The two are problem children, but they are the strongest…!”

Status Window, hiding behind them, was muttering nonstop.

“At this rate, becoming the Royal Rumble champion might not be just a dream…?”

“Hey, lard-ass! How long are you gonna stand back there and narrate?! Get in here and help!” Razor bellowed.

Just as he shouted, a large, hostile inmate charged toward Status Window.

He let out a terrified shriek. “Muri-muri-muri-muri!”

With a cry of surrender, he rolled out of the ring.

With the round-bodied Status Window gone, a living barricade had vanished. The charging inmate let out a triumphant cry and dove in, aiming for Jae-hee.

Just then, a chubby hand shot out from outside the ring and seized the inmate’s ankle.

The startled inmate looked down to see Status Window, who had just rolled out of the ring.

“Guess it wasn’t impossible after all?!”

“Y-you fucker! Being out of the ring means you’re eliminat—”

The inmate never finished his sentence.

THWACK!

While Status Window held him fast, Jae-hee spun around, and a fluid high kick connected squarely with his temple.

CRASH!

Status Window dragged the unconscious inmate out of the ring, cackling.

“This is all part of the usual WWE experience desu!”

In professional wrestling, outside interference is part of the show. Even if you cheat, the referee just gives you a warning; it rarely affects the outcome.

Besides, this wasn’t a real Royal Rumble. It was just a brawl between prisoners fighting over an auction item.

There were no rules and no fouls.

Having realized this truth, Status Window rummaged around under the ring, found something useful, and tossed it up.

“Razor-kun! Catch this desu!”

“Th-this is…?!”

What Status Window had produced was a folding steel chair.

Razor’s face lit up. He’d been itching for a weapon, feeling naked fighting with just his fists.

“Beautiful!”

Razor expertly armed himself with the chair. Just as a large inmate charged him, he swung it right at the man’s face.

THWANG!

With a satisfying ring of metal on bone, the charging inmate lost consciousness and collapsed. Jae-hee kicked him aside, and Status Window immediately grabbed him and dragged him out of the ring.

Their teamwork was perfectly in sync.

«What a magnificent mess! Just watching is enough to make your palms sweat!» Rapidfire commentated from ringside.

The spectators cheered, delighted by the glorious shitshow unfolding in the ring. A few of them, their blood boiling from the spectacle, even leaped from their seats and rushed the ring to join the fray.

“Whaaaaaaah!”

Amid the boisterous, excited crowd, one person watched the ring in silence.

It was the winning bidder from the first Outing Permit auction.

She pulled her shabby hood lower, shaking her head.

“That idiot kid…”

***

There is a universal truth, passed down through all cultures in human history.

Fun times fly by.

Just as mindlessly firing a machine gun empties the magazine in an instant, the inmates who had thoughtlessly joined the brawl were dropping like flies.

Before long, there weren’t many left standing on two feet.

«A truly magnificent battle, befitting today’s highlight auction. Oh, and as I speak, the inmate with the callsign ‘Fly Swatter’ is attacking ‘Lightning Rod,’ who’s resting against the ropes!»

«A surprise Stunner! A clean hit desu!»

«Ah! But Lightning Rod endures! He grabs Fly Swatter by the neck and delivers a Chokeslam!»

«Incredible! Both men are out of stamina and have collapsed desu! A double KO!»

Status Window had somehow joined Rapidfire at the commentary table.

Listening to their enthusiastic play-by-play, Jae-hee tried to catch his breath, which was coming in ragged gasps. Sweat dripped from his chin.

“Hegh, hegh, hegh…”

The close-quarters brawl, the high of being on stage, the pressure of having to win, and on top of it all, the muscle soreness still burning in his body—his stamina had been chipped away bit by bit, and now he was running on empty again.

Jae-hee exhaled sharply and wiped the sweat from his chin.

Still, there aren’t many competitors left. Just a little more effort, and the Outing Permit is mine…!

He turned to his side. “The end’s in sight, Razor bro! Let’s give it our all until the—”

His words were cut short as Razor swung the steel chair at him.

WHOOSH!

“Whoaaagh! What’re you doin’?!” Jae-hee shrieked, narrowly dodging by arching his back.

Razor just smirked. “Isn’t it fine, so long as either one of us is number one?”

“S-say what?”

“This here’s the beauty of a Last Man Standing match!”

Before the rest of their competition was gone, Razor had betrayed Jae-hee, striking a beat early.

Swinging the chair wildly, Razor roared, “I’m gonna beat the shit out of you right here! And take back my Deck Leader spot with everyone watching!”

“You can have it! I’ll give it to you! Just stop!”

Jae-hee scrambled across the floor, barely avoiding the steel chair, as the commentators raised their voices.

«Ah, the Deck 1 duo who have fought side-by-side! And here comes the betrayal!»

«When a championship title is on the line, there are no friends or enemies, right desu? This is the true thrill of the Royal Rumble desu!»

It wasn’t a title match, nor was it the Royal Rumble, but Status Window had a point.

When it comes to getting what you want, there are no friends or enemies.

“Aaargh, to hell with it!”

Jae-hee unleashed a picture-perfect spinning back kick.

“Oof!”

Razor raised the chair like a shield to block the kick, but the impact still shot through his body.

He went flying backward, his back slamming into one of the ring posts before he slid down to the floor.

“My Deck Leader spot… give it baaack…”

The knocked-down Razor shed a single tear. It seemed he’d been quietly stewing over it for some time.

“Hegh, hegh, hegh…” Jae-hee bent over, struggling to catch his breath. “I even had to take down my own friend… Now I really have to win…!”

After composing himself, he looked up—and that’s when his eyes caught something.

“…?!”

On the turnbuckle of the post Razor was slumped against, someone stood posed like a wrestler about to perform an aerial move.

With his arms spread wide, the man standing high above looked strangely familiar.

Recognizing him, Jae-hee yelped, “M…Mr. Jung Kwan Jang?!”

He was the man with muscles like gravel, the gym rat from Deck 2—Jung Kwan Jang.

He, too, had entered the Hell Fight and survived to the very end.

While Jae-hee and Razor were busy with their infighting, Jung Kwan Jang had cleared out the remaining inmates.

Jae-hee was genuinely impressed.

“Making it to the final two… that’s amazing! That ‘practical muscle’ wasn’t just for show! You’re strong in a real fight!”

“Practical muscle is one thing, but I had a mission that required me to win this match. That grit has allowed me to endure this far.”

Jung Kwan Jang was covered in blood from the preceding battles, but his eyes shone with clarity.

His voice was solemn. “I absolutely… need that Outing Permit.”

“…”

“Boy… it was a short time, but I don’t want to strike down someone I’ve worked out with. Won’t you yield the permit to me and step aside?”

“I need that Outing Permit, too.” Jae-hee clenched his fists and shot back fiercely. “I need it to convince my master to extend my apprenticeship!”

“…It seems words are meaningless.”

Jung Kwan Jang closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then snapped them open.

“In the ring, victory decides everything! Be it justice, evil, right or wrong!”

Thwip!

Kicking off the turnbuckle, Jung Kwan Jang soared into the air.

His airborne body blocked the ceiling lights, momentarily swallowing the surrounding light. Backlit by the theater’s spotlights, he was a glowing silhouette.

“Practical muscle…”

He uncoiled his body and flew toward Jae-hee.

“Frog… Splash!”

Faced with this menacing, full-body aerial assault, Jae-hee gritted his teeth and reacted.

He just sidestepped.

“Ah… that’s just mean, really,” Jung Kwan Jang muttered briefly, plummeting toward empty floor.

He slammed face-first into the mat.

CRASH!

“Gak.”

The impact was immense, like he’d dove onto the floor from a great height. Jung Kwan Jang’s body twitched, spread-eagled like a frog on the mat.

“You’re seriously… just letting that hit go unsold…?”

“Seriously? If I took that, we’d both be dead! Of course I’m not gonna take it!”

With Jung Kwan Jang’s self-destruction, everyone standing in Jae-hee’s way was gone.

Jae-hee looked around at the inmates sprawled everywhere and let out a sigh of relief. He’d won, somehow…

He raised one arm high in the air and declared triumphantly. “The Outing Permit is mine! For the low price of 775,000 Credits!”

«Don’t forget the winner of a Hell Fight gets a 15 percent discount desu!»

“Oh, right! With a 15 percent discount, that’s… how much?”

Jae-hee tried to do the math in his head, quickly gave up, and shouted again.

“Whatever! It’s miiine!”

With the final winner seemingly decided, enthusiastic cheers erupted from the audience. Jae-hee basked in the applause.

But then a voice came from behind him.

“No… It’s not… over yet.”

Startled, Jae-hee spun around.

Jung Kwan Jang was staggering to his feet, coughing in pain.

“I absolutely… need that Outing Permit.”

His body was battered beyond its limits, but he somehow hauled himself up, raising his fists into a fighting stance once more.

“My son…” Jung Kwan Jang cried out desperately. “Out there, in the world… my son… he’s dying of an illness…!”

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