The sed game was over. Both teams headed back to their waiting rooms. Jaide some time talking to Gunz and Chessmaster, so he was te to the team's waiting room.

  Nash and Rio were already there, standing outside the room with nervous expressions. They exged gnces and took turns sneaking peeks into the room. It seemed like they wao step i couldn’t find the ce.

  "What's wrong?" Jaiden asked.

  "So, you're here..." Nash's voice was uncharacteristically weak. "Welp, just check it out, man. You'll see what's up."

  "It's a bloody battlefield," Rio mumbled some dangerous-sounding words.

  "Lemme see," Jaiden approached the entrand peeked ihe air in the room was charged. It felt like the entire pce could blow up at any moment.

  In the ter of it all was Bruce, raging about like a beast with rabies. "I died because of your shitty ass supp! How didn't you see that Ninja ing!?"

  "I'm not a prophet, you know," Bryan clicked his tongue and shifted his eyes away.

  "Okay, then why weren't you helping me fight that Impaler bitch!?"

  "I was busy spag out the Druid..." Bryan sighed deeply. He has probably expined himself tless times by now, but it was never good enough. Bruce tinued raging.

  BAM. Bruce smmed a table with his fists. Everybody in the room fli the booming sound. Even Jaiden jumped from it, even though he was all the way outside. Gulp.

  "Shit! Damn it!" Bruce kicked a chair a it flying across the room. His fury knew no bounds. He turned into a madman who wao destroy everything in front of him.

  "Why 't you py a good Support for once!? You useless piece of shit!" Bruce mercilessly insulted the one who should’ve been his best friend.

  "BB" became a on niame for “Bruce & Bryan” because they always hanged out together and pyed Bot as a duo. A, Bruce attacked even Bryan without any reservations. He was mad beyond trol. It was doubtful whether he could still be sidered “sa this point.

  "Yeaaaaah, okay," Jaiden awkwardly slid out of the room. "I see why you don't want to go in."

  "Right?" Nash smiled wryly. "I say we let them sort things out themselves."

  "Not sure that's going to happen," Jaiden g Raymond, the captain and the only one in that room with enough strength to stop Bruce. Unfortunately, the captain was sitting silently at the er of the room with a difficult expression on his face. He appeared to be deep in thought about something. About what? Nobody knew.

  Meanwhile, Bruce's anger raged across the room like a typhoon. Nobody dared to stand up to the godfather. He cimed full authority over the clubroom through sheer terror. Nobody opposed him, therefore he reigned supreme.

  Somebody had to do something. Somebody had to speak up against Brud force that furious beast to calm down. As, nobody dared.

  Then, I'll do it. Jaiden ched his fists. He'll go in there, stand face-to-face with the beast, ahe guy to calm the heck down. With that brave a, he'll rescue the club from ruin and will lead them to a better tomorrow!

  Yeaaaah, right. I'm not a cartoon superhero. Jaiden smiled wryly. He got into some disagreements with Bruce before, so he khe terror of fronting Bruce's fierce aggression. To make things worse, Bruce was especially agitated at the moment. It wasn't a question of whether Bruce will punch Jaiden, but rather how hard will he pund how many times.

  "We'll back ya up!" Nash showed a thumbs up as if he read Jaiden’s mind. "If he starts a fight, we take him down together!”

  "Do you really think that'll be enough to stop him?" Jaiden smiled wryly.

  "I don't want to fight..." Rio caved in a little.

  "an up, man!" Nash smacked Rio on the back. "We got this! If we bine our powers, we're the Invincible Triangle!"

  "That's only in the game," Rio retorted.

  "Then we'll make it work in real life as well!"

  "Would be if it worked," Jaiden nodded with a smile. But, he knew all too well how strong Bruce was. The mad d took on two seniors before ahe crap out of them. So, even together, Jaiden and Nash probably didn't stand a bsp;

  At the same time, if nobody does anything about this, the team will be heading into the game in this broken state. Needless to say, they'll lose that game sure. In-fights will break out, dumb decisions will be made, and the match will be over in a blink of aaurus will suffer an embarrassing 0-3 defeat against the "weakest team".

  We'd win for sure If they just let us sub in. Jaiden had such poihoughts. There was no hell that Bruce would surrehe Carry position to anybody else, not even for one game. Jaiden won’t get to py today, he had no choice but to e to terms with that fact.

  heless, he didn't want his team to lose. Bruce's gang was far from likable, but Jaiden didn't hate them enough to wish for their defeat. Deep down, they weren't such bad guys. Even Bruce was fine when he wasn’t blowing a fuse.

  Therefore, Jaiden still wahem to win today's scrimmage. But, what could he do to help? He wasn't on the first-string, but there had to be something he could do too.

  It’d be great if I could somehow stop Bruce’s rampage, but that’s out of the question. Jaiden gulped. There was no way he could front that gang leader.

  But, maybe there was no need for direct frontation. Jaiden merely had to find a way to defuse the heavy atmosphere in the room and make everybain their vigor.

  Easier said than done. Jaiden pted. Everybody had grim expressions on their faces. They looked like death row inmates waiting for their executions. There was not a single glimmer of hope found on their faces. The crushi at Stratus's hand shook them to the core.

  Bruce was g with that frustration by venting his anger, probably on the behalf of everybody else. If it wasn't him, then somebody else would be raging and ranting right now. Everybody retaiheir posure thanks to Bruce making a se all by himself.

  Even though Bruce was the only oively bming others, the rest of the team probably harbored simir feelings about each other. They just didn't voice them, because Bruce was already busy loudly critig ead every one of them. It was a helpless se.

  "And Zeph!” Bruce tinued. “How could you lose to that DK so easily!? It cost us the whole game!"

  "He was strong. To." Zeph hung his head. He looked like somebody who lost all hope in life. The devastati he suffered at Chessmatser's hand must have crushed his soul. Bruce should’ve spared some words of encement instead of yelling at the puy, but...

  "What? 'Strong'? That's your excuse?" Brueered. "Are ya a Bronze pyer or somethin’? No, you’re Diamond, fod's sake! DK ain't nothing! You gotta be able to hahat shit."

  "It's not the DK, it's the pyer..." Zeph gave up mid-sentence. He khat everything he said will fall on deaf ears. Bruce wasn't really asking these questions to get a satisfying answer, he was just looking for excuses to tinue his tantrum.

  Maybe I shouldn't have tried so hard to join this stupid team. Zeph questioned everything he has done up to this point. He preteo be a good friend of Brud the gang in order to secure himself a spot on the first-string.

  Over time, the pretense became the truth. He got to know the guys better and realized they weren't all that bad. They were just a little gangsta, that's all.

  However, Bruce's short temper was the ohing Zeph could never grow to like. It was like a dark cloud looming over their alliance. With the right catalyst, everything will e crashing down. And, the humiliati they suffered might’ve been that exact catalyst.

  Frankly, it was a terrible game. Even if Zeph ignored how everybody else pyed that game, his performance alone was enough to invoke harsh criticism. It was just him against Chessmaster in Top a outpyed left and right. He couldn't make a single dent in Chessmatser's fwless game pn.

  Maybe I wasn't ready. Zeph sighed i. There was an obvious skill gap between him and Chessmaster. If they duel ten more times, Zeph will lose those ten times in a row. It felt hopeless. There was no ce of beating that impossibly strong oppo. It was like fighting a pro.

  sidering how badly Chessmaster wrecked him, Zeph couldn't really deny any of Bruce's insults. It was frustrating to admit, but the harsh criticism was on point. Zeph fed that Dark Knight like an inexperienced Bronze pyer. It was a big factor ieam’s humiliati. There was nothing Zeph could say to excuse himself. It was all his fault.

  And so, Bruce's pints tinued uninterrupted. After finishing one round, he went back to yelling at Bryan.

  " game, maker sure you actually support me!" Bruce threatened. "I don't need a scarecrow there. I need somebody who gets shit done. Ya hear me!?"

  "Yeah, I hear you," Bryan heed his eyes and sighed. Why do I even bear with this shit?

  Somebody among them had to py Support for Bruce. However, Dyn vehemently refused to do it. As for Zeph, things always blew up wheried it, probably because he wasn’t that close to Brud didn’t know how to deal with Bruce’s whims.

  And so, the responsibility fell on Bryan. If he wao py in the first-string, he had to bee Bruce's Support.

  Mid is so much better for me, tho. Bryan sighed deeply. Unfortunately, Mid beloo the captain. Raymond was surprisingly adamant about pying Mid, totally unlike his usual passive attitude toward everything.

  If he showed at least half of that assertion when handling the club, maybe we wouldn't have ended up in this situation. Bryan shot a bming gre at their captain, who was sitting at the er of the room with a difficult expression. No matter how much you brood, it ain't gonna help anybody. Ya gotta speak up and do something. Bruce is getting off the rails here.

  Holy, I'm so tired of this shit. Bryan stomped repeatedly, venting his pent-up a the floor. He was tired of pying an ungrateful role out of y. He was tired of always nodding his head to whatever bullshit Bruce outing. All that shit was exhausting. Enough already.

  Maybe I should just quit? It wasn't the first time this thought crossed his mind. Every time Bruce went on a dumb rampage, such thoughts crept into the back of Bryan's mind. He felt the urge to just drop the whole thing a go. He couldn't bear another moment listening to this bullshit.

  If only somebody came and fronted Bruce. I'd gdly back them up. Bryan had such idle thoughts.

  Nobody was going to e and stand up to Bruce. That gangster shot down anybody who dared to oppose him in the past. It set a clear example for others. Nobody will dare to try anything again.

  It was hopeless. Ever sihis gang seized the monopoly of the club, nobody dared to oppose them. Nobody was going to do anything. Or, so Bryan thought...

  DarkestCymore