Elmer Calluen, semi-consciously, walks towards the arena.
- "Hey sir, what does this mean again?"
A memory, an old one at that, pops up in his head. It was the memory of one of his students asking for help on a lesson he just had a lecture on. Elmer shakes his head to get rid of the thought.
- "Now's not the time."
He mutters to himself before entering the arena, where the behemoth of a man Waldemar Forrestville was waiting for him.
- "And now, round 2, match 4! Elmer "The Demon Teacher" Calluen versus Waldemar "The Jackass" Forrestville!!!"
The two fighters lock eyes. Waldemar cracks his knuckles.
- "Hope you're ready for the ass beating of a lifetime!"
He says as he smirks. Elmer stays silent.
- "Fighters are you ready!?"
- "Hell yeah!"
Elmer just nods.
- "Then…BEGIN!!!"
The fight starts and Elmer immediately goes for a low tackle. Waldemar blocks it, but Elmer pushes through the guard and bashes him with the shoulder, pushing Waldemar back. Elmer then follows up by grabbing his waist and throwing him across the arena. Waldemar rolls on the ground.
- "Oh damn! Elmer's really going all out even though the fight just started!"
Waldemar gets up, shakes his head, and dusts himself off.
- "That's right…in terms of physical strength, this guy is pretty close to me."
He thinks to himself. Elmer goes back into a lower, more compact stance. He lunges at Waldemar again, but Waldemar throws a wide-swing punch. Elmer barely ducks under, but Waldemar follows up with a knee to Elmer's face. Waldemar tries to grab Elmer, but he recovers and counters the grab with his own grab. Now the two are locking hands.
- "My, my! A contest of strength!"
The two fighters are struggling to break free from each other's grip, their muscles pumping up to the maximum. The ground starts shaking beneath them.
- "What ungodly strength these two fighters are showcasing!"
Waldemar tries breaking Elmer's hands. Elmer realizes he's losing, so he pulls his arms back, bringing Waldemar in and headbutting him. Waldemar releases his grip; Elmer then grabs Waldemar's waist and throws him to the ground once more.
- "Damn! Elmer breaks the stalemate with a nasty headbutt followed up by a neck breaking throw!"
Waldemar gets up and shakes his head, still smiling. He's hurt, but it's not even close to putting him down. Elmer stays on guard.
- "You really pack a punch."
Waldemar says. Elmer once again replies with silence. Waldemar inches closer. Waldemar swings wide, Elmer ducks, but Waldemar follows up with a downwards elbow to the shoulder. Elmer gets sent to the ground. Waldemar tries stomping him, but Elmer rolls away and clips Waldemar's leg, tripping him.
- "Looks like it's turning into a ground battle!"
Elmer tries to mount but Waldemar punts him away. Waldemar tries to get up, but Elmer grabs him by the waist. He lifts Waldemar up and slams him onto the ground.
- "Another devastating throw from Elmer!"
Elmer tries to follow up, but Waldemar lunges forward with a wide-swing right, landing right on Elmer's temple. He loses consciousness for a second. Waldemar follows up with a punch to the torso, sending Elmer back. Elmer gets on his knees and coughs up blood.
- "Damn! Now it's Waldemar's turn to dominate!"
Waldemar also gets on his knees, holding his head.
- "Oh my! Looks like the damage from Elmer's throws is starting to take effect!"
Elmer gets up and recomposes.
- "That's right, in terms of pure brute strength, this man is the pinnacle!"
He thinks to himself before slowly closing in.
- "I can't let myself get hit any more than I already have otherwise I'll lose."
Waldemar shakes the damage off and gets back into position. He's winded, but Elmer even more so. The two fighters slowly close the distance.
- "Tell me, what's your goal? Why are you trying to persuade the fighters to quit while being a fighter yourself?"
Waldemar asks.
- "Because I can't go back, but I know that I can still save the youth from this path."
Elmer replies. Waldemar scoffs.
- "Is that really what you think!?"
Waldemar shouts and stretches his arms out.
- "Everyone here wants to see a bloodbath! Everyone participating in these matches is here on their own volition! You don't get to the top by being forced to!"
Waldemar lunges forward with another wide-swing punch. Elmer ducks under and goes behind Waldemar, setting up a suplex. The suplex lands, and Waldemar is once again sent into the ground.
- "A German Suplex!!! Waldemar's tough but taking hits like these is not gonna help him win!"
Elmer tries finishing him off.
- "Even now, I can still save you!"
He shouts as he goes for a stomp. Waldemar grabs Elmer's foot and pushes him away, causing Elmer to lose balance and fall.
- "Save me?"
Waldemar says. He then starts laughing. He lunges forward with a shoulder bash, pushing Elmer away and into the ground again.
- "You can't save those who don't want to be saved!"
Waldemar grabs Elmer's jaw, looking to crush it.
- "And besides, I don't need saving. I'm right where I want to be."
Elmer defends himself by grabbing Waldemar's arm and crushing it. His arm gets damaged, but Waldemar swats him away to prevent further damage. Elmer rolls on the ground. Waldemar takes a feel of his forearm and realizes Elmer cracked it.
- "Looks like Elmer's grip strength did a number on Waldemar's arm!"
Elmer gets back up and spits out blood.
- "In this place where men, young and old alike, come to beat each other to near death. Do you seriously believe that you are on the right path?"
Elmer asks as he gets back into position.
- "Yes, I do. Power was all I yearned for, and now, I have it."
Waldemar says with a bloody smile.
- "You could've been something else. You could've been out there, saving people's lives or protecting innocents, but you're here pummeling the lights out of others."
- "And? Is to protect my responsibility? Sure, it may be, but it is not what I want. You're an old man like me, so you should know this by now, but humans by nature are selfish."
- "It is our duty as elders that we should guide the youth to a place where they can contribute and help our society. Everyone has a purpose."
- "Yeah, and my purpose is to be the strongest, that's all there is to it. Picture this, a man who has a passion for sports and has dedicated years of his life to it found out that he was more gifted in the sciences. Do you think he would switch careers? That he would abandon his ambition to make use of his "talent"?"
- "…Logically speaking."
- "And that's where you're wrong. Humans aren't logical!"
Waldemar rushes Elmer. Elmer goes for the high guard, but Waldemar goes for a low body shot to the solar plexus. Elmer is stunned.
- "If you truly want to save people, then get off this stage. You're a teacher, are you not?"
Elmer grabs Waldemar's arm once more.
- "Please…don't end up like me…change your ways…"
Elmer mutters. Waldemar winces in pity.
- "Sorry, but like I said, I'm exactly where I wanted to be."
Waldemar hits Elmer again in the temple. Elmer's almost knocked out, but he goes for one last tackle. He grabs Waldemar's waist and throws him onto the ground headfirst. Elmer then slams his elbow onto Waldemar's throat attempting to choke him.
- "Damn, an elbow choke! Waldemar's durable but how will he escape this!?"
Waldemar claps his hands with Elmer's head in between. Elmer's eardrums burst and he is stunned. Waldemar then punches him off. Elmer rolls on the ground.
- "Holy shit! Waldemar just busted Elmer's eardrums!"
Elmer struggles to get up. His ears are gushing out blood. Waldemar is also bloody and bruised, his head is close to being smashed open, and his face is now covered with blood coming from the cuts on his head.
- "Who would've thought a battle between old men would be this damn bloody!?"
Elmer's gassing out. He doesn't have much left in the tank. His vision is blurry. He gets up, but his legs are trembling.
- "Even after all that Elmer still gets up! But it looks like he's not gonna last long!"
Elmer puts his hand over his mouth, trying to stop himself from vomiting. In the midst of all this, a memory pops up in his mind, the continuation of the memory that surfaced right before he got into the arena. The memory took place at the department office of the school he used to work at.
It was on a sunny afternoon, most of the other teachers were in their respective classrooms. Elmer stayed in the office as his schedule didn't have any classes lined up. A student entered the room and walked up to Elmer's desk.
- "Hey sir, what does this mean again?"
He asked Elmer. This student in particular didn't have very good grades, but he was very earnest. He would always ask his professors questions after class if he didn't understand the lesson during class, and of course, Elmer would answer any questions he had. While he generally kept a cold exterior, he was very caring towards his students, making him a favorite amongst the student body. This student was one of Elmer's favorites. He liked that he worked hard to understand the lessons he was given.
One day, he noticed that the student stopped coming to class. Elmer asked around, but no one had any idea what had happened. He found out that he was a bit of a loner; he didn't have many friends. With the help of the other faculty, he found the student's address. He went there to ask about why he wasn't showing up to class, but he found out that the student had committed suicide. Elmer almost broke, but he kept his composure. He wondered if there was anything he could've done differently to prevent this. He, of course, attended the student's funeral.
A few months after that incident, he was invited to a drinking party with a few other teachers. Normally, he would decline these invitations as he deemed them inefficient and would only get in the way of his work, but he joined this one. The stress was getting to him, so he felt like it was about time for him to kick back and relax.
Elmer got sufficiently drunk during the party. He was just about to go home when he overheard some words that would change the course of his life forever.
- "Oh yeah, that kid? He was one of my students. I'm disappointed, really."
Elmer stopped in his tracks and turned around to see who said it. It was the head of his department. Elmer went over to where he was sitting.
- "What did you say?"
He asks, demanding an answer from the head.
- "That student who died recently. I don't even remember his name. His grades were bad, and he just kept pestering me with questions that could've been easily answered if he had just paid attention."
The head rambled, obviously drunk.
- "It is a teacher's duty to respond to a student's needs."
Elmer replied.
- "Students who are unable to keep up should be left in the dust, and besides, why should I care about a single brat? He wasn't cutting it, he would've been lost in the real world."
The head added. Elmer was holding back anger.
- "That is what teachers are for, to guide students so that they may be useful members of society."
Elmer continued.
- "Useful? That kid?"
The head said, before laughing.
- "It's a miracle he was even able to enroll in our prestigious school. The fact that he couldn't keep up with normal lessons means he wasn't ready for the world. He was getting on my nerves, so I dismissed him. Honestly, it's a good thing that he d-"
In a silent, intoxicated rage, and without hesitation, Elmer grabbed his head and snapped his neck. The other teachers looked on in horror. Elmer left the venue and turned himself in.
Obviously, he regretted his decision but there was no turning back now. He wanted to serve his time peacefully, he even tried to help the other inmates change, but they wouldn't listen. Trying to redeem himself, he tried to teach the inmates, but they wouldn't listen. The inmates kept pecking at him, bullying him for being "weak", as he would not fight back when fights broke out. It was just as Waldemar said, you can't save those who don't want to be saved.
Eventually, it broke him and turned him into a violent man. For 20 years, he racked up body after body, using his ungodly strength and skill in wrestling. There was practically no one who could challenge him, but this wasn't what he wanted. Then, out of the blue, a chance for freedom came. The previous chairman of the Paraiso Organization came to the prison he was being held. He offered him freedom in exchange for being one of his fighters.
Elmer refused at first, but the chairman manipulated him, telling Elmer that he could "save" other fighters. That by showing these fighters the strength he had, they would be discouraged and leave for a better life. Elmer had a feeling he was being played, but he couldn't pass this chance up. His last chance to save people and from then on, he became a fighter for the Paraiso Organization.
He got his nickname from the scoldings he would give other fighters. He believed that these scoldings would encourage the fighters to stop fighting him, and to become productive members of society. This was all he had left. He joined the tournament not to be crowned the strongest, but to discourage every fighter who had hoped to become the strongest. This was not the case, as the fighters he had beaten in the preliminary rounds were now more fired up than ever, and despite the scoldings he received during their fight, even Simon Park was inspired. His plan backfired, but he had no way of knowing that.
Elmer shakily puts his guard back up. Waldemar scratches his head.
- "You really are a tough one aren't you."
Waldemar goes in, but Elmer lunges forward with a tackle. He catches Waldemar by surprise and gets him by the waist. Waldemar tries to loosen his grip, but Elmer raises him above his head, preparing a body slam. As Elmer slams him into the ground, Waldemar hits Elmer in the back of the head with an elbow shot. Both fighters fall to the ground.
- "Is this the end!? Who will be the last man standing!?"
And as if rising from a long slumber, bleeding profusely from the cuts in his head, Waldemar raises his arm up victoriously.
- "And the winner is…WALDEMAR "THE JACKASS" FORRESTVILLE!!!"
Waldemar looks down at his defeated opponent.
- "I hope you do get what you want, someday."
He says before leaving the arena. He stumbles onto the wall of the hallway, trying not to throw up.
- "He really did a number on you."
A voice comes from the end of the hallway. It's Francisco Luna preparing for his match. Waldemar chuckles, despite the injuries.
- "Oh, shut up. That guy was really strong."
Waldemar replies. Francisco passes him as he continues walking towards the arena. The smile on Waldemar's face wipes off.
- "Good luck. That guy is strong too."
He says. Francisco continues walking.
- "Thanks, but the strongest doesn't need luck."
Francisco says before finally entering the arena.