After the previous battle, Maddeline's opinion of Jetore changed quite a bit. Though she still found him annoying, she couldn't deny he had a heart despite trying his best to conceal it—something she liked in men.
"I think it's pretty clear now, but my man Jetore is the winner of match one!" Jerak exclaimed, despite it being obvious. Robu stood after his injuries were beautifully healed due to Maddeline's power; a sign of respect gleamed in his eyes as he smiled at Jetore.
"Get goin' now, loser. You'll find my uncle in that new small restaurant in the Kairo district near that roundabout out in Cryohara city. Go get a job from him; at least then that geezer will stop bothering me," Jetore said, pretending to look annoyed as Robu slowly walked out of the stadium.
"What do you make of that fight, Felix?" Mei asked, noticing Felix's disinterest as opposed to the other contestants.
"Well, it's good to know me and that Jetore fella had the same thought. Robu's not cut out for this organization, no matter how tough he acts," Felix replied.
Jerak took a look at a sheet he had been given by Clara earlier before smiling enthusiastically again. "Well! I gotta say, y'all are adorable with that last fight. Anyway, for the second match, we got Rennet and Maddeline facing off on a slimy and sticky platform. Prepare your asses and get up!" he exclaimed.
"Hell yeah, I can finally let some steam out!" Rennet said with an excited smile.
Mei looked toward Maddeline before speaking: "Watch out for that woman. I can tell she's a thinker, so you won't be able to beat her with brute force," she warned.
Rennet shook off the warning. "Nah, she doesn't even look like she can fight. This'll be easy!" he remarked before setting off.
Felix's gaze was properly focused on the battle platform now, as it seemed to resemble mud, with the floor slimy and a few rocks scattered around. He smiled, knowing this wasn't as much of a disadvantage as it was a minor inconvenience for Rennet; however, it would be troublesome for Maddeline.
The two of them approached opposing sides of the platform, both with confident smiles. Jerak gave the signal to begin as he leaped back.
"I don't like hitting girls, so you might as well back off and quit," Rennet said arrogantly.
"I'm quite alright, but if you're too chicken to hit a young lass like me and think women can't fight, I'll just beat some sense into ya, kid," Maddeline snapped back.
Rennet smiled as the mark on his neck, resembling the symbol of flames, glowed a bright orangish yellow. A blast of inferno erupted from his hand in a shot aimed toward Maddeline. She tried to dodge out of fear but noticed her feet were stuck to the strange substance of the floor. She leaned back over 100 degrees, allowing the attack to pass above her and evade it.
Jetore was shocked, while Riko and Albert seemed rather intrigued by the power.
"What—what the hell was that, kid?" Maddeline said as she angled herself back.
"Heh, I won't get into the details, but I used to burn down things for fun. It became a real passion; Vesterious granted me the Mark of the Arsonist, allowing me to make fire and control it," Rennet explained.
"The power to tame fire? That's formidable indeed," Albert remarked from the sidelines.
Maddeline looked a bit worried but also annoyed. She thought having to take this test with criminals peaked with Jetore, but fighting an arsonist was even more annoying.
"Control your fire, Rennet! Don't hurt anybody!" Felix yelled from the sidelines with a commanding tone.
Rennet smiled. "Well then, I guess it's the good old method." He momentarily created fire to boost himself off the sticky ground and launched mid-air toward Maddeline with the aim of implanting a punch to her stomach to knock her out of the platform. She shouldn't have been able to retaliate, seeing as she still seemed stuck, Rennet thought—but he couldn't have been more wrong.
Maddeline smiled; she'd already managed to unstick her left foot as she twisted it around before kicking Rennet in the stomach and pushing him up.
Mei was surprised. "To think she was able to fight; I concluded she was a pacifist merely due to her healing power and doctor status," Mei admitted.
Felix smiled. "Don't be goin' around judging people based on the surface, Mei," he said.
Rennet fell to the ground with a thud, becoming stuck to the slimy surface. "Ghhh, you'll regret that, you harlot!" he yelled as he struggled to move.
"My, watch your language there," Maddeline said before flipping her newly unstuck legs and unleashing a flurry of kicks on Rennet, all of them connecting, evident by his bruises. Rennet was almost pushed off the platform, but using incredible force, he kicked Maddeline's knee, making her jolt back.
Rennet unstuck himself with his flames before launching onto a small rocky platform above the sticky substance with Maddeline.
"They're both in close range and unstuck now! This'll be fun to watch, aye?" Riko said as he chewed on more chocolate candy. How much candy Riko seemed to have in his pockets was starting to bother Jetore more than Riko's unseriousness.
Maddeline and Rennet engaged in a flurry of strikes, jabs, kicks, punches, and blocks. Rennet kicked, but Maddeline blocked with her left leg before twisting and doing a cartwheel in the air, her lady boots crashing down and delivering a strong thrashing on Rennet's face, making his knees bleed and pushing him off into the sticky substance. At the same time, Maddeline's mark glowed green as her bruises and scratches quickly healed and faded.
"She can heal all her injuries 'cause of that Mark of the Doctor; the kid's done for!" Jetore remarked.
"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you," Mei commented. "I don't say this just because he's my teammate, but you should be grateful Rennet hasn't properly used his power on your friend yet out of fear of disqualification. Rennet's flames are hot and burn bright; they can turn your friend to charcoal if either of them makes a mistake," she said, a remark that caused unease.
Rennet created flames and blasted off the sticky floor as he charged toward Maddeline with a jet-forced kick. Maddeline swiftly swayed to the right, but just barely, as she was forced into the defensive.
"He's clearly holding back by not using his fire powers offensively at me; that's probably for the best, but I need to keep him stuck to the ground," Maddeline thought. She reached inside her pocket and pulled out a glass bottle before smashing it and splashing the oil inside around, a bit getting on Rennet himself—the feeling only added to his irritation.
"O-Oil??? What the fuck?!" Rennet shouted.
Maddeline had a devious smirk on her face as she stood tall. "I always calculate for everything. I brought some flammables to the selection from the very beginning, as well as matches, in case I'd need any or both in a fight. Looks like this is a good moment to use them. Even though you can generate and control fire, you're still not immune to it, and you can get burned; I saw you flinched with a minor burn mark on your palms earlier, so I made that assessment," Maddeline declared with a confident smirk that pissed Rennet off.
"I misjudged her. Her martial arts with her legs isn't all she has to offer; she's a thinker, a complete counter to that hothead," Albert said.
"She's just awesome, ain't she?" Riko added.
Rennet's rage was reaching an unbearable point. Felix yelled from the sidelines, "Don't let the flames come out! Hey, are you listening, Rennet??"
It was too late. His anger and frustration with being mocked and outsmarted mixed with his passion mark, which glowed a bright red this time.
"The hell?" Maddeline gasped, standing back. She accidentally stepped into the sticky substance, unable to move despite how she swayed.
"You think you've beaten me, huh!?? I've burned entire shitty buildings before; you're no different!" Rennet shouted as he touched the floor. "Flame Maiden!" he yelled as he combusted a series of burning fire around him. It immediately ignited with the oil as ginormous bursts of flames appeared, consuming them both before exploding.
"Shit! I didn't expect him to—" Maddeline thought, but she was unable to finish as the force of the fire hit her. She was launched out of the smoke with bruises and a few minor burns as she fell out of the platform.
Riko grew jet propellers from out of his back and boosted into the air to catch Maddeline, but before he could, Mr. Kran pushed up his glasses and flashed past him at remarkable speed before catching Maddeline in a rush, shocking everyone.
"Are you alright? That fire must have stung," Kran said with a noticeably worried tone.
Maddeline coughed before speaking: "D-don't worry about me; I can heal myself when I focus. But I'm concerned for that boy. Can't believe I lost to a rookie; I'm getting rusty. Sorry," she said.
"Rest and heal yourself before worrying for others, and do not worry," Kran replied before sitting her down on the sideline.
"Maddeline, hang in there!" Riko said as Jetore walked closer with worry.
Albert glanced at Kran; his interaction with Maddeline was suspicious and basically confirmed for him that she had a certain connection here she hadn't revealed just yet. Why would Kran go out of his way to save some random contestant? It wasn't in character for him.
Mei was noticeably worried, but Felix smirked proudly. "So brute force really can beat brains when the situation is right," Felix remarked.
"That idiot! I'll go get him; he could be in bad shape," she said as Felix chuckled.
"Relax, just have a look," he said.
The smoke cleared, showing Rennet panting and struggling. He had multiple burn wounds and bruises, as well as blood pouring from parts of his body. He smirked before falling to the ground unconscious.
"W-woowww, you guys are brutal! 'Cause Rennet pushed Maddy out the platform, he wins! Also, can someone please get him some help?" Jerak said as he declared the victor.