The roar of thousands of launchers being pulled at once crashed through the arena like thunder, ricocheting off the metal walls and shaking the air with raw, electrifying energy.
Atlas stood in the middle of the chaos, his heart steady and expression calm, Jupiter already humming inside his coat like it sensed the battles piling up around them and was eager to get in on the action.
The moment Blader DJ's command echoed across the stadium, the floor exploded into motion. Bladers sprinted for open stadiums, launchers raised, eyes blazing with determination.
Beys clashed, sparks flew and shouts of passion erupted from various bladers screaming at their Bey's to attack, defend or just hold on. It was everything Atlas remembered loving as a kid, and ten times better now that he was in the middle of it.
He especially loved the Shounen, power fantasy aspect of the Metal Saga in particular. The massive power of the Beys, special moves and attacks just added to the spectacle in his opinion, and was his biggest draw to the series.
The wind picked up in the arena as stronger bladers used their special attacks, causing shockwaves. This environment caused a flood of emotions but he held it down, focused on his task of gaining as many points as possible.
He stepped into the nearest empty stadium before anyone else could claim it, rolling his shoulders as he pulled Jupiter from its case, readying himself for a potential battle.
Almost immediately, a boy rushed up, pointing his launcher at him like it was some holy weapon of destiny, "Battle me!"
Atlas grinned, sliding Jupiter into place, "Sure."
Three~Two~One.
LET IT RIP!
The battle lasted five seconds. As soon as Jupiter hit the stadium floor, Atlas sent it on a collision course with the opponents Bey, sending it flying out of bounds like a kicked pebble.
Although Jade Jupiter was a Defense-Type, against these unnamed Beys, he could beat them in whatever way he saw fit, and attacking was very fun, testing his skills.
"Two points," Atlas said casually, catching Jupiter in his palm as the boy staggered backward in shock.
Another blader rushed up, this time a girl, "Me next!"
Atlas didn't even bother answering, he just stepped back into position.
LET IT RIP!
Another stadium out. Another two points. Another stunned opponent staring at Jupiter like it had personally offended them, wondering where such a strong blader came from.
And then a third blader ran up, only to experience the same result, scampering clear to collect his Bey as he knew he couldn't get points from Atlas and needed to battle other opponents.
A fourth opponent came, then the fifth and sixth. Before long, Atlas wasn't just battling one by one, he was swarmed.
But it didn't overwhelm him. It didn't even faze him. Some of his favorite scenes were Bladers like Kyoya and Ryuga crushing swarms of weaker bladers, so this made him feel alive.
"Form a line," he suggested… only for twenty bladers to crowd the edge of the stadium at once.
Right. So that wasn't happening.
"Fine," he sighed with a dramatic stretch. "All of you at once."
"What?!"
"This guys insane!"
But they were already loading their launchers, adrenaline drowning out reason. The crowd around them muttered with excitement, the spectacle drawing eyes from nearby matches.
Atlas rolled his neck, "Come on then."
The air tensed as twenty launchers clicked.
Atlas lifted his arm,
"LET IT RIP!"
Jupiter shot forth like a lavender comet just as twenty other Beys rocketed in from all angles, crashing into the stadium like a metallic storm.
For most other Bladers, this would've been suicide, but for Atlas, this was heaven. He breathed out once and Jupiter responded instantly.
The Bey curved around the collapsing swarm of metal, slipping between attacks with impossible accuracy, using every opposing hit as momentum to whip back around. Then,
"Jupiter!"
He didn't even finish the command before Jupiter detonated into motion, metal balls sliding outward to increase the centrifugal force and shift the Bey into full Attack Mode. A lavender shockwave pulsed through the stadium as the spinning orb blurred into a streak of light.
The first five Beys were launched out immediately, blasted out of the stadium like they'd been struck by a cannon.
"Impossible!"
"No way!!"
But Jupiter was just getting started. It ricocheted off the stadium wall, tearing through the next cluster with overwhelming power. Each impact echoed like a gunshot, Beys shooting out like fireworks.
~BOOM~BOOM~BOOM!~
Each hit sent shockwaves throughout the nearby environments, loud booms as clusters of beys were sent flying out of the stadium, defeated.
Ten down.
Fifteen.
Nineteen.
Atlas didn't move nor did he speak. He just watched and mentally ordered, a faint smile curved on his lips, mismatched eyes glowing faintly as Jupiter moved exactly how he willed it to.
Soon enough, every Bey except Jupiter was out of the stadium, scattered across the surrounding floor in stunned silence.
The last blader standing was trembling, "W-we're done."
Jupiter slowed gracefully, settling back into Atlas's palm like a loyal falcon returning to its perch.
Atlas exhaled softly, satisfied as the crowd around them erupted into cheers, murmurs, awe, whispers spreading like wildfire:
"Who is that guy?"
"He wiped the floor with twenty people at once!"
"He's a monster…"
"What is that Bey?"
Atlas ignored the chatter. Points were points, and he needed more. He ran across the entire arena, challenging every Blader he could find who he hadn't defeated before and beating them then.
All the way until there was only one remaining.
~CLAP~CLAP!~
A slow, mocking clap echoed from the far side of the stadium. The crowd parted as they noticed these two titans moving closer together.
A tall boy stepped forward, lean and reptilian, purple hair draping down like scales, eyes sharp and predatory. His steps were unhurried, confident in a way that wasn't strength but cruelty.
He held a launcher loosely in hand, the dark green coil of his Bey glinting beneath the lights.
Reiji Mizuchi.
And he was smirking.
"Well, well," Reiji drawled, voice dripping into the silence like poison. "Looks like I'm not the only one cleaning up the trash today."
Atlas's smile vanished.
He knew this guy. From Metal Fusion. He had disappeared after that, yet here he was right in front of him. The sadistic freak who crushed Beys and Bladers for fun, including shattering Hyoma's Bey to pieces.
He'd finally been taught his lesson by Gingka, yet here he was back to his old tricks it seemed judging from his appearance here.
Reiji tilted his head, eyes narrowing with sick amusement as they ran over Atlas. "You're pretty good. But it won't matter. I'm going to crush you into submission… and your little Jupiter along with you."
Atlas stepped closer, Jupiter held loosely at his side. His mismatched eyes glinted with cold focus.
He hated this guy from the Anime as a fan of Hyoma, and he'd always dreamed of getting some kind of revenge. In his mind, Gingka let Reiji get off easy compared to what Kyoya would've done to him.
"Funny," Atlas said lightly, "I was just thinking the same thing."
Reiji blinked.
Atlas smiled, not the friendly kind. Not the soft one he showed Hikaru. No, this one was sharp, confident, a little cruel.
"I'm going to shatter you," Atlas continued. "Your Bey, your ego, and that smug little snake act you think is intimidating."
The arena suddenly felt colder.
Reiji's grin sharpened into something vicious. "You'll regret saying that."
Atlas raised his launcher.
"No. You will."
The crowd sensed what was coming.
Not a normal match.
Not a qualifying battle.
A clash.
The first real clash of the tournament.
Poison Serpent SW145SD vs Jade Jupiter S130RB
Reiji Mizuchi vs Atlas Kurosawa.
And Atlas made one promise to himself in that moment:
He wasn't just going to win.
He was going to crush Reiji.