The night air blew lazily through the trees as the sound of crickets and cicada filled the sleepy forest, with no other sound taking precedence over the insectoid chorus. Despite their singing filling the air around them, other beings filled the actual space on the ground. Men and women, some who wore nothing but rags and torn clothing while others bore the insignias of pirate crews. All shambled their way through the forest in silence, following an old and slightly visible dirt path. Their destination? An old, forgotten, derelict warehouse that sat in a clearing a few miles from Mock Town. Apparently it had been quite the bustling place back in the day, being used to store and distribute wares that arrived in Mock Town to the other settlements on the island. It fell out of business after new roads were made to and from the other towns, however. Now, it lays in ruins, used by the destitute and the dastardly for their own purposes.

However, something was different this night, as so many were making their way to the depot at one time. An event, known only by the dregs of society, was commencing here tonight. A tournament of combat, where only a select renown few were invited to participate in. Inside of the warehouse people filled the ground and the catwalks above them, their voices merging into one homogeneous crescendo of sound. In the middle of it all was fighting ring, which was in the shape of a square. It was made entirely out of stone and was heavily "decorated" with graffiti. From one side to the other it was 16 feet and its platform laid about 4 feet from the ground. Four poles were erected at each of the four vertices, with the "ropes" connecting them being long metal rods which were welded on. At the center was a rotund man who wore a simple tunic, torn shorts, and an old bandana. In his hand was an old pocket watch which he observed intensely, waiting for the correct time to start the event.

The fighters themselves were kept in separate rooms around the warehouse such as emptied utility closets, break rooms, the old manager's office and the like. One such fighter was Bermudo, who sat in silence in some lonely, old utility closet with a barely functioning light bulb. Sitting on an old stool with nothing but his old, faded slacks and black loafers on he couldn't help but think how he had gotten to this point in his life. Two years ago he was rich, eating lamp cordon bleu, wearing the best clothes, drinking fine wine on a ship's stern. Now he's luck if he could afford having his clothes clean while also having a decent meal. Not many remember or even care about him being one of the original founders of the Pride Pirates despite the fact that they were well known on Jaya. He supposed it was somewhat lucky that some of the older residents remember and give him some respect. After all, its that old reputation that has been keeping him afloat for this long. If not for that, he'd look no different than the common trash who sleeps in the abandoned buildings and scavenges the garbage for food.

He also supposed that his current arrangement was lucky as well. A man, some representative of one of the underground fight clubs, came to him with the invitation to the current one, figuring that his old reputation along with him being a lion made him tough. Bermudo just couldn't refuse, especially after hearing of the 25,000,000 million award. Why if he wins that, he could probably even buy a residence in the town rather than having to sleep at inns and taverns! Smiling at the thought, he readjusted his glasses before looking down to his left. His suit jacket and shirt laid neatly folded on the dusty floor with his revolver hidden underneath both. Loaded already with six shots, in case things got ugly.

"Hopefully they don't." He mused to himself out loud before looking up at the door, which was now opened by one of the tournament "staff".

"It's time. I'll lead you to the ring."

With that the lion followed the man out of the closet and down the hallway, heading towards the main area.

Legosi would stand in the midst of the graffiti-covered arena, his eyelids lowered, contrasting his raised jaw and creating a look of scorn upon his face as he looked down upon his fellow combatants coming out of the separate rooms. He, like the others, is very familiar with the environment this disgusting place creates, and how easy it is to attract the scum from around, and this tournament was no different from each time he would have to subject himself to having to dance around for these animals. The Deer-man that stood among one other in the ring held no true animosity towards humans themselves, but the drunkards and those that just want to see two people beat the ever-loving shit out of one another weren't exactly human, not in his eyes, at least. They're not even worth being on the same pirate crew as him in the future.

He could still feel the bruising on his knuckles from the preliminary fights; the first of the 3-fight long tournament. The first match was still fresh in his mind; it was him against a human of around his height. He immediately recognized that this person was trying to make their debut in the underground fighting ring that night, thinking that they can just make themselves a force to be reckoned with right off the bat. The guy seemed to look even younger than Legosi himself and the eyes which held the look of an animal trying to appear threatening betrayed his lack of experience. He knew from the start that this person didn't specialize in unarmed fighting, let alone received any actual training outside of personal experience, and he could still feel his opponent's nose crack against his knuckles and the small aching feeling of his chin dig into his fingers when he laid him out.

All he could do as he waited in the broken down men's restroom afterwards was think of how much of a waste it was, that his dress shirt got torn mid-fight. Oh well, he guessed he shouldn't have tried dressing nicely when dealing with scum, that's on him.

With but two fights remaining Legosi just wanted to continue onto the next fight. He needed that money, and just the fact that the winner could be a Mink satiated his desire to actually continue on after this. He would be top dog and as long as they recognized that then there was no more need to waste his time in this place. He could just take the money and go search on the seas for the power he desired.

He would bring his gaze to the rotund man in a tunic that stood before them as the other two would be guided out next, and all he could think about was about how he wished that man would actually go into some fights himself, just so he could embarrass himself in front of the crowd. In the year he has been here he had never once liked that man, the same man that served as their announcer, and also someone that Legosi had to perform humiliating acts for in order to actually make it into the fights. This man's name was Goh, and Goh was a well-known hater of Minks and the Three-Eyes. He was someone Legosi could safely say he disliked even more than carnivore Minks, as for as much hate as he had for his kind, the fat, rotund man also had a thing for them as well, which the deer had the misfortune of finding out and having to take advantage of it all to early.

As soon as the others came out and took their places next in line with all four of them waiting, Goh would begin to speak with a guttural tone, and as he did the crowd's volume went with his own, making him sound louder than them easily. "Weeeeeelcome everybody! This... is... THE BEAST OF JAYA BATTLE ROYALE." 'Wait, Battle Royale?' Legosi's eyes widened as he stepped out of line and stormed straight towards Goh, grabbing the fat man by his left shoulder and spinning him around to face him. "What the hell? You said this was a tournament, what gives with the battle royale?!"

He swore he could see the corners of Goh's mouth raise as he looked at Legosi, almost as if his ruse succeeded. "Simple, I lied so you fighters aren't prepared. Makes for messier fights, which is what the crowd wants. If you don't like it then maybe you should use your head better than you could your mouth.. "Doe"" Legosi had no words for this, all he could do was target Goh with a glare as he returned to the lineup. He didn't expect this to be a battle royale, and now he was worried, not because he wasn't confident in his own abilities, but that he knew that it won't be as definitive that he was the strongest if he ends up beating down someone already half-beaten by another. Before he knew it his teeth were grinding against one another. He knew he would just have to bit the bullet, this isn't the worst-case scenario.

"Now then everybody, I have one more announcement to make before teeth starts flying. This prize is no longer just twenty-five million Beli. Now we have something even greater in store too for the winners. The winner will get their very own Devil Fruit! And on top of that, we'll be more than happy with sending them their very own slave, too! How's that to get the blood pumping?!" The crowds' cheers only increased in volume, a chorus of idiots, but if they're idiots, what does that make the four combatants, two of which are humans and two of which are Minks?

Just a bunch of dogs fighting for their masters.

Legosi stopped caring about the crowd or about the fact that Goh currently show them all a glance, and immediately began unbuttoning his torn shirt, taking both that and his dress jacket off and tossing them over the concrete ring and into the out of bounds area. With his bare body exposed, he was ready. The tattoo on his right shoulder tingled as he prepared himself for the fight to begin. There may be four people standing in this ring, but he was going to make damn sure that he would be the last one standing. "Now then, introduce yourselves, contestants, and have a brutal fight!" Soon enough the microphone was in front of Legosi's face. He would glance over at his fellow contestants, and would already set his eyes upon the Lion in the ring with him and the other two. He couldn't be more disgusted by this. He refused to lose to that thing. "I go by Buck." He would say, with the man next to him already calling himself "razorblade" despite having nothing sharp on his body.

As soon as everyone introduced themselves, Goh immediately scrambled out of the ring, and without a word, Legosi would immediately turn around to face Razorblade, his right arm cocked back and already flying towards the man's right shoulder, landing a blow directly upon it before he would quickly step backwards until he was a meter away from the others. The blow landed as indicated from the man's grunt and his body immediately turning to face Legosi, hands already up in a boxing stance. The battle royale has now started.

The short walk through the empty, dirty hallway of uneventful as Bermudo had hope. He somewhat expected to be mugged right there and then considering the type of company he was interacting with. Luckily, such a thing didn't happen and he managed entered the arena without a hitch. Ignoring his fellow combatants for a moment, Bermudo took in the sight before him; people, possibly 70 or more, cheering loudly around the ring and above. People ranging from pirate captains with their flowing coats and hats to the drunken beggar with an empty flask in their hand. All were yelling and clapping for one thing and one thing only; blood. Taking off his glasses and slipping them into his pocket Bermudo would being to analyze the three fighters next to him. Closest to him was (in his eyes) a large, hairless ape. Standing between 8' 4" and 8' 6", he was shirtless and bore a large tattoo of a jade dragon on his large belly. Other than being bald, the man also wore a rather large and scruffy black beard which reached to his chest.

Before he could gander at the other two contestants, however, the announcer began to speak, revealing that rather this being a traditional fighting tournament as they were led to believe, it would in-fact be a battle royale. The lion simply rolled his eyes as he heard this. Of course it wasn't going to go the way he planned. Why would he even think otherwise? Nonetheless, Bermudo did manage to get a rather interesting sight in the form of a cervine snapping at the fat, hairless ape. He was definitely shorter than Bermudo if it weren't for his antlers. Tan fur covered his form while his clothing, though torn, was of decent enough quality that Bermudo suspected he wasn't like the two filthy degenerates that stood between them. With the crowd now quiet and Bermudo's animalistic hearing being slightly above that of the monkeys that surrounded him, he listened to the short exchange between the ape and the stag, noting how the deer went silent at the insult thrown at him by the filthy thing.

With that the buck went back into the begrudgingly and the announcer resumed speaking, revealing all of the prizes that were entitled to the winner. Bermudo did his best to hide his surprise the ape's exposition.

"Devil Fruit!? No one mentioned that!" He thought, not really caring much about the mention of the slave. Rather, all he could think about was all the beli he going to be rolling in after winning this. Devil Fruits were known to catch fairly high prices after all. Still, he shook these thoughts out of his head for now. He needed to focus if he wanted to win this bout of brawns while also making it out without a broken bone. The announcer was now allowing the combatants to introduce themselves and naturally the deer was up first.

Bermudo's bored looking eyes met with the deer's disgusted ones, having no outward reaction to the sour look being given to him by the stag.

"Buck, how original." Bermudo mused, his eyes now reverting to man next to Buck. "As expected from a grass eater." The man listed himself as Razorblade, most likely for no reason other than that it sounded "cool" and "badass". Next was the big lug beside Bermudo, who boastfully introduced himself as Back-Breaker Bror. Now it was finally his turn, with the sweaty, fat ape before him bringing the microphone a little too close to his face. "My name is Bermudo." He stated simply, seeing no reason to give himself some sort of alias without him earning it. After giving his less than illustrious introduction, the greasy little fuck of an announcer immediately scrammed, practically flinging himself out of the ring.

So the battle began. While Razorblade became preoccupied with Buck, Bermudo was greeted with a large left hook to the side by Bror. He was knocked onto his side by the blow, taken aback by the abruptness of the strike before seeing Bror raise one giant foot and aimed it for his head. Flashing his teeth at the giant ape Bermudo would roll out of the way of his foot as it smashed into the stone where he once was. Quickly standing, he lunged at Bror with his claws drawn. He slashed at the ape's stomach, drawing blood and causing him to wince a the sudden pain. Taking the single second given to him, Bermudo grabbed Bror's beard and violently pulled, forcing his head to lower and stick out as some of the follicles were tore out of his chin. Having a hold on him, Bermudo began to land punch after punch onto the side of the fat ape's head, with him trying his best to block the punches with his large hands.

Bermudo, so that was the name of the giant pussy. Frankly, Legosi wasn't the biggest fan of the name himself. He had only hoped that either it was a stage name or that the lion was raised by humans, because for a Mink that name would never fit right for a lion like him. Legosi could barely hold in the good feelings he felt when, over Razorblade's shoulder, he could see the larger human hit the lion named Bermudo with a vicious hook, knocking him down. "Hmph." Right as he smirked, his current opponent went in, immediately leaning forwards as his arms rose, protecting his face. Legosi's feet were already moving to back away from the six foot tall opponent, but before he can fully do so, a jab of the mans fist directly into the deer's chest left him gasping for the air that was just knocked out of him.

A flash of memory entered Legosi's vision and soon enough he didn't see Razorblade or Bror or even Bermudo anymore, but instead that same newbie whose possible career in underground fighting both began and ended with him. He could see the boy hold a more sloppy version of the boxer's stance, and how easy it was to break through during the second round, after he had learned of the stances weakness. He could feel his own body move on its own, going directly towards the boy, where he then faced the floor, his antlers colliding with a hard yet squishy substance. The loud howl of Razorblade would knock Legosi out of his daze, where he once against faced the floor. It seemed that with his antlers he had headbutted his opponent's guard, effectively goring his arms.

Immediately Legosi would pull himself away, raising his head and seeing multiple small puncture marks littering Razorblade's forearms. "You fuckin' freak, I'm gonna make you into venison for that!" He listened to Razorblade's pained howl, and all Legosi could do was smirk as he began to arrogantly stare down at his opponent. "'Least I'm not bleeding all over the pla-" Right as he began his comeback, a fist landed directly against the left side of his face, marking him with an already emerging black eye, as indicated from the skin underneath his soft tan fur beginning to darken. Legosi reered away from the strike, staggering away another few feet before covering and turning around, only to come face to face with Razorblade.

Immediately he would bring his elbow upwards, swinging his elbow directly into Razorblade's chin and causing the man to halt his advance, giving Legosi ample time to recover. As soon as he did, his enemy did as well, and the two moved towards one another, with Razorblade returning to his stance and Legosi ducking. He remembers how when a boxer fights they have a short cube-like area around them in which they can quickly strike and react, and that was what he wished to target and take advantage of. By ducking extremely low Legosi knew he can target his opponent at the legs and as a result can cripple him with a singular punch to the side of the knee. Right as he was about to deliver his hit he felt his antlers be grabbed by the boxer, meaning only a few things were about to come next.

This is an underground fighting ring, though. There was something more likely than the others that was about to happen, and that was a knee to the face. 'Good job, retard, you're about to get taken out easily. Why don't you just let it happen and get out of there already?' He quickly targeted the other leg, instead swinging his fist sideways and effectively backhanding Razorblade in the side of his left knee, following it up with his punching it with his left fist as hard as he can, almost feeling the weight of the man topple on top of his fist from above. 'Perfect.' He knew that his opponent's first thought would be to make sure he avoids the antlers on the way down, and that's exactly when Legosi would strike via bringing his right hand upwards palm-first, striking Razorblade square in the chin and causing the man to fall backwards and onto his back.

Legosi staggered to his feet, recovering, where he would actually quickly scramble over his opponent, straddling him, where he would deliver two sound punched square to his nose using his right hand. The first one brought blood, the second came with a sickening thud. It was broken, and Razorblade's closing, dazed over eyes meant that Legosi stood victorious over his first opponent. Standing up from the defeated Boxer, the injured Deer would look towards the lion and the other human, seeing which would be the next opponent for him to fight.

"Let go of me you little cat!" The monster of man named Bror yelled as he managed to finally catch Bermudo's slightly bloody fist with one hand while taking a hold of his other arm, slowly ripping it away from his beard as he growled into Bermudo's face. The young man simply smiled.

"I'm a goddamn lion you damn, dumb ape."

Bror let out a furious roar as he abruptly tossed Bermudo away, having managed to free most of his beard from the lion's grasp. Landing flat on his back, Bermudo tried to get up quick but it was too late. A large, meaty hand wrapped four of its fingers around his skull while the thumb was forced into his mouth, pressing hard against the roof of him mouth. He immediately grabbed Bror's wrist, raking his claws across it. Though feeling the warm stream of blood bathe his fingers and stain his fur, he only heard Bror laughing hardily as he smashed his head into the hard ground. The impact left Bermudo slightly disoriented and, yet, he had enough clarity that he knew he had prevent Bror from doing that again least he suffer some permanent damage to his brain. Letting out a sudden roar Bermudo bit down hard on the fat ape's thumb, his sharp teeth immediately drawing blood and his naturally strong bite force already cracking some of the bone.

Bror's laughs turned into howls of pain as he tried to tear his finger away from Bermudo's jaws, using both of his hands into an attempt to free himself. The young lion simply wouldn't let go, however, and now tightly gripped Bror's arm as he suddenly pulled his head back violently, ripping off the thumb. The fat, hairless ape would scream in pain as he seemly forgot about Bermudo. Rather, he gripped his now wounded hand, bellowing in agony as he tried his best to tend to his wound. Unintentionally turning his back on Bermudo, the big cat rose slowly as he spat the now useless digit out before rubbing some of the blood of his muzzle. With adrenaline coursing through his body he lunged at Bror, slashing the back of his right leg. The sudden attack caught him but surprise and, in pain, was forced to knee. That wasn't the end of it however, as he quickly his way to Bror's front and slashed at his face, scaring the left side and heavy damaging the fat ape's left eye.

"I'll turn you into a rug!" Came the furious scream as Bror tried do a cross between lunge and fall on top of Bermudo. He was too slow though, as Bermudo managed to jump to the side of him as he fell face first onto the hard fighting ring floor. Wasting no time Bermudo straddled his back and took a hold of his head before bashing it against the stone floor, each blow causing less and less resistance from Bror as consciousness slipped and more from him. Even Bermudo stood above the barely awake man who was trying to at least lift himself up. His efforts were ultimately in vain, as the final blow struck by Bermudo in the form of a hard stomp to the back of the head, causing the large man to finally lose consciousness and go still on the ground.

The crowd loved it.

From the beating laid on Razorblade to the brutalization of Bror, they all screamed and cheered at the violence. "Stupid monkeys!" Bermudo said aloud, though the only person who could possibly hear him through all the uproar would be Buck, who stood watching him. Slowly, Bermudo stood before him on the other side of the ring, wiping some of Bror's blood off of him as if it were simply sweat. "Come on then, stag." He said in an impatient tone, entering a mock boxing stance. "Between these hairless apes and that fat one, I'm ready to go get dinner and sleep. So either you hurry up and fight or go back to your little grassland so we can all go home!"

From what Legosi saw it seemed the giant man was able to actually grab the lion by his head. He was pretty sure at that moment the fight would be over with the enraged human being his next opponent. He felt no strong feelings when it came to preference of whom he will be facing, although if he had to pick he would prefer the injured lion he felt disgust towards over Bror purely for the reason that he didn’t feel fully confident in taking on an enemy that strong, especially since speed can only keep you from getting hit for so long. His left eye stung as he observed the brawl taking place before him, and soon enough it felt more comfortable with him closing it gently, giving it some rest.

As soon as he gave it some rest however both eyes would open up wide in both surprise and disgust as Bror began howling in pain. Bermudo was exactly the type of person Legosi took him for on first sight. He was no different from any other carnivore Mink. He was just another wild animal that Legosi felt the responsibility to put down before he stands on top. He watched as the lion stood triumphant, having ripped off Brie’s finger and as a result leaving the eight foot tall monster screaming in agony. “Disgusting animal.” He couldn’t help but comment on the situation at hand. He had seen his fair sure of nasty moments, but never something like this up close.

When Bror turned his back to the lion, Legosi grimly confirmed who was going to come out on top from this particularly brutal situation, and that would be none other than Bermudo. He wiped the blood off of his bruised knuckles before crossing his arms over one another, waiting patiently for his turn. Normally he would just go ahead and barge into the fray, but if letting the lion tire himself out with needless brutality is an available option then Legosi will more than happily take it. He's not about to be caught with a piece of him getting ripped off just because a Mink decides to act more like an animal than they already should.

Bror was definitely going to end up out of commission for a bit after this, especially after his left eye would receive the brutal clawing that it did. He had to give it to the giant man though, he was certainly persistent. The man was able to make an attempt to tackle Bermudo, but the lion was just playing with his food at this point, and soon enough Legosi knew it was coming to a close, as Bermudo was able to straddle his back in a similar way to how Legosi straddled Razorblades' front, bashing Bror' head against the floor multiple times. "He's had enough already. The hell is wrong with you?" Legosi snapped at Bermudo as he took a single step forwards, his hands already tightened into fists. The more he watched this display the more he wanted to just throw up. It was just sickening watching someone take things this far for seemingly no reason, even in an underground fighting ring. Knowing Goh too, he was going to get a hard-on for this.

Legosi's demand seemingly fell on deaf ears, as with a final stomp Bror was now out of the match while the crowd of course cheered this bullshit on. Within the deer-mink that had witnessed this brutality was a new source of spite swelling up within, and it was going to get released all over this Lion in a few seconds for this. He didn't even particularly like Bror, but no one deserves this brutality.

"Stupid monkeys!"

Legosi felt absolutely disgusting knowing that the same blood that flows through his veins is similar to that of Bermudo standing before him. Someone that clearly held no sense of self-control, no true way to act as needed rather than as desired. He was just another wild animal, yet another monster running around and doing whatever he liked. This seemed more than typical for Bermudo's kind. As Legosi thought that though, he with a blink would see Number Three's matted orange and black fur lining Bermudo, making the lion look like a hybrid beast for but a few moments before fading away from his sight with another blink. 'I see, get ready then Number Three, I'm going to beat another one of you into submission.'

Legosi glared as Bermudo called him to come on, telling him that either he hurries up and fights. "Shut up, you're just some washed up pussy. I'll get you your catnip after I smash your teeth in." Legosi switched his stance from just standing there to now raising his fists and spreading his legs, leading with his left fist while his right was slightly more raised, hovering right next to his head. He knew that this would allow him to be able to defend himself again a head-on attack, and he already figured out what to lead with. "Here I thought Lions weren't cowards, why're you waiting on me, I'm just some grass-eater!"

A low, quiet laugh escaped from Bermudo as the bush-muncher's insults were thrown at him with none particularly sticking. Still, the cervine's confidence and prowess excited him. It has been a while since he's actually had to fight someone with his fists rather than just shooting them. Though Bror was certainly no easy quarry to take down, he wasn't the golden goose of this tournament. Oh no. Bermudo could just sense that Buck would be his final opponent. It was too poetic, the prey fighting the predator, going against the natural order. Even if that order was skewed a bit considering they were minks.

"Any predator worth their mettle gives their prey a chance to escape before deciding to hunt them down, stag. You, though, are more than just a simple catch." Seemingly for no real reason Bermudo dropped his stance and straightened his posture before beginning to slowly circle Buck, his tail swishing back and forth behind him as he did. "The titles of prey and predator don't really apply to us in the traditional sense. I don't hunt you, and you don't instinctively run away from me." Bermudo would pause for a moment as he went behind the deer, sizing up his back muscles and the like. He was built. Not bulky either, but lean. This couldn't have been a more different challenge than Bror was. "Even if they were," he continued as he walked passed Buck's side and stood in-front of him once more, "you are no mere prey. You are the quarry who can make the hunter the hunted in an instant should he lost his grasp."

Bermudo would then lunge at Buck, with an opened right claw aimed for his face while his other hand remained low, intending to jab his hand into the deer's abdomen while he was preoccupied with the more apparent upper attack.

"I won't lose mine!"

Bermudo's laughing didn't unsettle Legosi in the slightest. The low tone of it just made him slightly annoyed just from hearing it. He would hear the other fighter speak, mentioning how any predator worth their mettle would give the prey a chance to actually escape before they actually hunt them down, claiming the prize. Bermudo's acknowledgement of Legosi as more than just a simple catch fell on deaf ears, as Legosi wasn't one to actually care about compliments when they come from disgusting things like Bermudo. He could still see the scene play out in his head of when the lion Mink tore off Brors thumb and practically tore the large man into shreds. It made him sick enough just sharing the ring with such an individual, but now having to actually fight him? He had to make it a point here that needless brutality won't get anyone anywhere, not for Bermudo's sake, but because Legosi didn't want to one day come back to an arena stained in the dried blood and guts of fighters.

He already sees the similarities to those stories of a predator finding an opportunity to attack their prey via circling around them, seeking an opening. Bermudo acted his part and circled Legosi, his posture straightening up as his tail eagerly swished about. He continued on the same annoying dialogue that he was on before, instructing him on the fact that prey and predator don't apply to them since they don't have the instincts of them, and for any other Mink that wasn't a lion that tore off a thumb, Legosi would be inclined to agree, but this has already gone past two people fighting, now it was his responsibility to fight and win against a wild animal. As soon as the circling finished, Bermudo was left standing before Legosi once more, acknowledging him about how he can make the hunter the hunted in an instant.

"Shut up and fight me already." The deer would respond, just in time for Bermudo to lunge at him, a right claw flying towards Legosi's face. Legosi could see his opponent was only slightly slower than him, but thankfully that was enough for him to not only catch onto seeing that attack but also noticing with a sneaking suspicion the lion's other hand was kept low. Legosi wasn't about to get caught by this, not by this trap. Bermudo made a mistake when talking about hunters and quarry and predators and prey. He made the assumption that there was a moment where he was the hunter.

Legosi would shift forwards and to the left, knowing that his enemy intended to strike him not where he stands, but where he stood, so the change in distance should allow him to actually defend himself correctly. As he did so he would duck, virtually going underneath the claw while he moved away, where he would raise himself on the other side of Bermudo's bicep, his right hand already having been brought back all the while. Upon evasion of this attack and now popping up on Bermudo's right side Legosi aimed to use his opponent's momentum against him by bringing that right fist forwards and upwards into an uppercut, one aimed at hitting the lion directly in the gut, where he would follow it with a left hook aimed for the side of Bermudo's head, more specifically where the temple would be located.

Bermudo could barely think out a curse as the stag managed to avoid both of his attacks before bringing his fist to his abdomen, hitting hard due to Bermudo's already create momentum from trying to strike first. He was faster. Not by much but he was, and he could feel that he was slightly stronger as well. Bermudo would've laughed if it weren't for the fact he got the wind knocked out of him. "Making the hunter the hunted." Was his only thought as he doubled over and hugged his stomach as the fist left it, quickly trying to regain proper breathing. With almost feral eyes he would look to his right to get Buck back in his sights, only to witness him reel back his left arm for a left hook. He knew he couldn't let that hit land, not if he wanted to become of a tottering punching bag for the deer to wail at it.

With the crowd cheering at the performance given to them and Bermudo bearing with the dulling in his abdomen, he quickly managed to swing his upper torso back, the hard fist narrowly missing his chin as it flew past. Not wanting to let the little leaf-licker get away with a lucky shot like that Bermudo would quickly reach up with his right hand in an attempt to grab Buck's extended arm. Using the fact that most a fighter's weight was put into their punches, he would pull the deer towards him in-order to make him off balanced as he would then reel back his left arm and dish a left  hook of his own at Buck's head, aiming for his temples as the crowd continued to scream seemingly endlessly at the ferocity before them.

Legosi felt his first hit make contact with the hardened front of the lion, causing him to double over, hugging his stomach. It pleased him to see Bermudo like this. 'That's right, lower yourself to me, get back in your lane.' He couldn't help but muse as his attack continued, his left hook destined to make contact and have its rightful place up against Bermudo's head. This fight was certainly going a lot easier than he expected so far. It seems that when all there is is brutality, the one dishing it out is just little more than someone wailing around and hoping they actually make a hit. With such a realization in mind Legosi felt little to no fear at all while facing Bermudo, not for his eyes or his thumbs. This lion can only be dangerous if he tries to grapple, so the young Deer-Mink should make a conscious effort to not do so, since he would very much rather not end up like Bror.

Legosi didn't calculate in Bermudo's recovery time, however, and as soon as he felt confident his fist would make contact, the bastard was able to swing the upper portion of his chest back, narrowly avoiding his punch. 'You dumbass, you thought it was going to be that easy when you're garbage?' His mind was right, he was too focused on carrying through this attack and didn't factor in the idea of his opponent recovering. This was completely on him as a fighter, he should know better, and now he was about to pay hard through Bermudo grabbing Legosi's arm, pulling him in and of course making him stagger, off balanced. Legosi didn't have much time to think as he noticed the lion's left hand reeling back, attempting a similar attack to Legosi's own, except this time Legosi couldn't just clear his distance from the lion, he would have to think of a way to get out of this in a different manner.

Legosi came up with an idea. Just like how he was having the tables turned on him by Razorblade, he could just use his head for this situation as well. The stag fighter would swing his head about so his temple was no longer the target, but instead the incoming fist would come in contact with his antlers with a thud, followed up with a sicking cracking sound as the impact of the fist would actually crack his left antler slightly, a small trickle of blood coming out through the crack. "Ouch!." Legosi yelled as he would then turn his body so his back faced Bermudo, although he wasn't about to be like Bror where this was a sign of weakness, but rather following the turning motion would actually be his right elbow, flying in an arc backwards, where the elbow itself would be aiming directly towards Bermudo's head, flying over the lion's shoulder and aiming to make impact with the left side of his lower jaw.

Rather than making the deer sway and wobble from smashing his fist into his temple, Bermudo would end up punching the side of Buck's antlers with enough power to cause a small crack in one of them. A toothy, wolfish, and almost smug grin would form on the lion's face as he saw the small amount of blood leak out of the wound he created. He couldn't even fathom the type of agony Buck must've been feeling, especially since he knew full well of how antlers are (or should be) practically laced with nerves. Thus, even though he technically missed his intended target, Bermudo was more than pleased with the result that he was given. "So much for getting me catnip, huh stag?" He thought in his sadistic arrogance, which would prove to be his downfall.

For in his early victory over causing pain to his opponent, Bermudo would be taken off guard by Buck as he suddenly spun to Bermudo's left. Distracted by the maneuver, the lion would simply watched as the stag came to the apex of his spin and his elbow came into view, quickly closing the distance and hitting Bermudo on his mouth. Not prepared for the attack, Bermudo would be knocked down by the elbow and land on his back on the ground. Though mildly out of his mind from that strike, his grip on Buck's arm would remain, causing the deer-man to fall on top of him.

Legosi felt his elbow collide with his foe's mouth. He could practically feel the teeth from the other side of Bermudo's mouth against his elbow, the sharp fangs with smooth textures serving as a sort of painful barricade to help prevent the elbow from going any further, and that's exactly what it did. At the cost of what was probably a tooth or two, or at least of the ability to comfortably eat something for a little while, Legosi's elbow was stopped through the power of Bermudo's teeth. 'Damn, I was off by a little.' He mused to himself as a scowl formed on his face. He was hoping to hit the lion's lower jaw but he guessed this should suffice as well. As long as there was a trade off for giving him a headache from practically punching his horn into his skull like that.

The short amount of pleasure and self-ridicule he offered himself subsided quickly as Bermudo fell down, knocked down by the elbow like a tree falling to an axe, although there was one major issue that Legosi didn't entirely factor in as well, and that is the fact that Bermudo's right arm still had a tight grip on Legosi's left, and unfortunately the lion weighed more than the stag. Both would tumble down, with Bermudo landing first with a thud, laying on his back. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit." Legosi said over and over again through gritted teeth as he followed behind, landing on the concrete floor as well with a smaller thud, his butt primarily cushioning his body from impact thanks to his landing on it.

'This is my chance!' His thoughts raced through his mind as he instinctively lurched back for a few brief moments, his tailbone stinging from the angle he landed, feeling almost like something just struck it with a pipe. He knew he had to fight through the pain however and make the attempt to end this. A horn was cracked, his left eye was black, his tailbone hurts and so does his chest. He needed to just get this over with and get a drink of water before things get too out of hand. With some struggle the Deer Mink would get to his feet, where he would stand up with his upper body leaning at a left angle when he faced the lying Bermudo. He didn't want to get knocked off balance again just in case his enemy was still able to move, so in order to prevent such a thing from happening he would kick off the ground with his feet and jump into the air, where he would bend his legs inwards.

He did this specifically because he was grabbed, as should he land both of his knees would hit Bermudo directly in the chest and stomach, while should Bermudo attempt to pull him away he would only increase the speed of which Legosi is falling, and even if he had the strength to prevent him from landing, the way the deer's feet are bent will allow him to actually land on his feet if he's pulled away. With this, backed by the increasing roaring cheers of the crowd, he had hoped this match would end.

Bermudo hit the floor hard. Harder than he expected or wanted to. The pain was sharp and spread through his back like fire, making him temporarily forget about the blood he tasted in his mouth from the elbow he just took. "How," he thought as he lurched in-order for the pain to run its course, "how could I let myself get by that? Why did I just stare him?"Bermudo laid back down, primarily since he couldn't really move at the moment. His back was on fire and it hurt too much to move. Then, as if Bermudo was temporarily deaf before, he began to hear the cheer of the crowd.

"Buck! Buck! Buck! Buck!" They cried, raising their fists in the air with  each mention of the stag's name. With a low growl Bermudo turned his head to look at the downed deer, only to realize he wasn't fully on the ground at all. Though not exactly in peak physically condition, Buck was trying his best to get somewhat off the ground. At first, Bermudo was surprised. Not because he was getting up, but how much he struggling to do so. He honestly expected more out of someone of his build and attitude. That surprise, however, soon turned to venom. Though he still couldn't fully move his body, Bermudo still tightly held onto Buck's left arm. So, as perhaps a final sign of vindictiveness to the fern-chewer, he would dig all five of his claws into Buck's forearm, bending his fingers as he did in-order to leave scarring. As he did so, however, Buck did the one thing Bermudo didn't expect to him to do.

To jump.

...Well not really jump, rather he did a short leap from his pitiful position and landed on Bermudo, his knees having direct impact with the lion's chest and stomach. The attack hit hard and winded Bermudo, causing him to lurch forward as a strained, forced cough exited his mouth. Face to face with Buck, he looked into his eyes as he made sure to shove his claws as deep as they could go into his arm, his eyes filled with surprise and if Buck were to look hard enough, defeat which was slowly being replaced by vitriol. Unable and not wanting to say another, Bermudo then simply laid back. His arm went limp and let go of Buck's, while he laid his head to the side to stare at nothing in particular while trying to regain normal breathing from the assault.

Bermudo had lost.