Season 35, Week 1
Marcello
(Dragon Quest 8) 		 
Marcello is a man who believes in the power of overarching authority, specifically if he is at the helm of said authority. While some idealistic brats got in the way of his plans for world dominance, his one-on-one power is pretty much unmatched by those foolish humans in the Dragon Quest 8 world. Armed with the power of the Demon King’s staff and his own sword, Marcello comes to the Arena to assault... an anthropomorphic cat? The iron-fisted Templar Knight, face such an unrefined opponent in Ernst, a were-leopard? This must be a bad joke. Sure, Ernst's human form has some unique abilities, but Marcello is a strong-willed, intense and brutal Templar. And no silly cat will stop him from ripping Heavy in half.

V

S

 The Beast Rune. A name that inspires terror in all. While Ernst's cursed rune is nowhere near the power of Luca Blight's True Rune, it packs enough punch to tear Heavy to shreds. Marcello may be strong, but he's only a mere human. Ernst's rune transcends such limitations. What being can stand against arcana capable of turning a man into a mad, unstoppable monster? Devouring Claws gives him several shots of powerful parasitic full healing, which hit Marcello's poor magic defense. If the former Templar Knight survives the deadly assault, Ernst still has Ripping Claws to win the day. Make all the pretty speeches you want, Marcello. Nothing will save you from being sacrificed to Ernst's accursed rune.

AAA
The match was going as expected. Marcy was having a tough time getting past Ernst's stun, but still had plenty of fight left in him. The battle raged on, and then Ernst managed to get a lucky strike and wound Marcello heavily. Marcello cursed his luck, but as Ernst tried to go for the finishing blow, he managed to get his staff up in time to block it, causing it to become damaged.

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING! BE CAREFUL WITH THAT, I NEED IT FOR WORLD DOMINATION!" Rhapthorne rushed over to the arena to safeguard his apparatus for mind control. Sadly, in his hurry, he tripped and fell. Keep in mind that Rhapthorne is roughly the size of a small island, and you can see why it took several hours of digging to find the flattened remains of both contestants. The judges, after spending several uncomfortable hours holed up in Rhapthorne's bellybutton, decided that it was all Marcello's fault and gave Ernst the win.

The staff was repaired and Marcello learned a valuable lesson, namely to forever beware that the fat man cometh.

Marcello: 26
Ernst: 41

SageAcrin
Two men.

One a beast.

The other a bishie.

There was only one possible outcome.

Yes, Ernst raking claws would soon remove any shreds of dignity that Marcello had! His dark, beastial eyes would consume Marcello's very soul, his tawny hide would be bare for all to see! His gaping maw would consume Marcello, as thousands watched, shocked and horrified! Victory over Marcello, mind, body and soul, would be his!

One day later, Nate's sales of "Ernst Gone Wild 1" broke a million dollars in profit. Unsurprisingly, most of the buyers were girls who were in the crowd that fateful day.