E9 - The Lucky Man

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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
[00:06] Cestvs
    I'm doing everything I can!
[00:09] Cestvs
    I'll do better next time.
[00:11] Cestvs
    Haven't you said enough?
[00:12] Cestvs
    I won, didn't I?
[00:29] Zafar
    What's wrong?
[00:32] Zafar
    When you strike the hard ground
    strong and deep with a pickax,
[00:37] Zafar
    how do you use your muscles?
[00:43] Zafar
    You simply need to apply
    that feeling to your punches.
[00:48] Zafar
    Open your eyes, Cestvs.
[00:56] Commissioner A
    He's as strong as they say.
[00:59] Commissioner B
    Yeah. There's nothing unsteady about him.
[01:02] Mob A
    That's the so-called Red Storm, huh?
[01:06] Mob A
    He's certainly impressive.
[01:10] Mob B
    Isn't he Felix, the professional gladiator?
[01:13] Mob A
    Professional gladiator?
[01:14] Mob B
    Yeah. Apparently he rampages through
    small arenas around the area
[01:18] Mob B
    and makes a ton of money doing it.
[01:19] Mob A
    Small arenas? That's amazing.
[01:22] Mob B
    He may become the champion
    of this 32-man qualifier.
[01:34] Cestvs
    Recreate that.
[01:35] Cestvs
    No. Too shallow.
[01:37] Cestvs
    This isn't the right feeling.
[01:43] Cestvs
    Don't panic. Hone your senses.
[01:46] Cestvs
    Everything was for this moment.
[01:51] Cestvs
    Spot the opportunity with your eyes.
[01:53] Cestvs
    Strike your opponent's
    weak spot with fists of iron!
[02:15] Ref
    Stop. The fight is over.
[02:18] Cestvs
    I knocked out an adult with just one blow?
[02:22] Cestvs
    So easily, too...
[02:25] Zafar
    He's finally had the epiphany.
[02:28] Cestvs
    All that suffering wasn't for nothing.
[02:31] Cestvs
    The results were already inside my fists.
[02:42] Felix
    How about this, then?
[02:44] Felix
    Watch this.
[02:47] Felix
    Place your bets. Heads or ships?
[02:51] Cestvs
    What?
[02:52] Felix
    Just guess.
[02:56] Cestvs
    Heads.
[03:01] Felix
    You're right. I knew you had it.
[03:05] Cestvs
    Had what?
[03:06] Felix
    I'm talking about luck.
[03:08] Felix
    See you in the finals.
[03:14] Pedro
    He can't be a fighting slave.
[03:16] Pedro
    Seems like he's participating
    in the qualifier for fun.
[03:19] Felix
    He's training with a pickax
    on his day off. I'm surprised.
[03:23] Felix
    I bet he's witnessed a lot of
    carnage at such a young age.
[03:26] Felix
    More than anything, I get the
    sense that he's incredibly lucky.
[03:31] Felix
    I'll probably face him in the finals.
SIGN    The Lucky Man
[05:14] Felix
    He's certainly strong.
[05:17] Felix
    It's impressive that he can
    punch that hard at his age.
[05:21] Felix
    On top of that, his defense is efficient, too.
[05:24] Felix
    He dodges his opponent's strikes by a hair
    and immediately switches to attacking.
[05:29] Felix
    Where did he learn those skills?
[05:40] Mob
    Who the hell is he?
[05:41] Mob
    Such a strong kid!
[05:42] Mob
    Damn it! Give me back my money!
[05:49] Felix
    I've seen him before.
[05:52] Felix
    That's Zafar, the Wolf of Numidia.
[05:55] Felix
    I heard he disappeared after injuring
    his knee during an interstylistic fight.
[06:01] Felix
    I see. He's the one who trained him.
[06:05] Felix
    In other words, beating him would mean
    the same as beating the Wolf of Numidia.
[06:22] Felix
    This is getting interesting.
[06:34] Cestvs
    The finals are tomorrow.
[06:40] Cestvs
    I've achieved solid results.
[06:42] Cestvs
    I've done what I need to do.
[06:44] Cestvs
    The rest depends on my opponent.
[06:49] Cestvs
    He said he'd be my opponent in the finals.
[06:53] Cestvs
    He must be strong.
[06:58] Cestvs
    I can't lose.
[07:00] Cestvs
    If I don't win, I'll never be free.
[07:05] Cestvs
    But even if I win, all I'll get is
    the chance to go to the main event.
[07:09] Cestvs
    Then I'll have to fight and win again.
[07:14] (Flashback) Valens
    Remember this.
[07:17] (Flashback) Valens
    Losers have no future.
[07:19] (Flashback) Valens
    That is the destiny of a fighting slave.
[07:22] (Flashback) Valens
    I am a merciful man.
[07:24] (Flashback) Valens
    I promise to grant anyone who
    wins 100 fights his freedom.
[07:29] Cestvs
    How many more times?
    How much longer do I have to fight?
[07:35] Cestvs
    If I win, will I actually get to
    live in a free, unrestricted world?
[07:44] Cestvs
    In any case, I have to win, no matter what.
[07:57] Pedro
    Maybe we should've checked out
    Group One of the semifinals after all.
[08:03] Hernando
    Being in Group Two sucks.
[08:05] Getty
    It's not fair if only your
    opponent gets to observe you.
[08:08] Zafar
    Assuming you know your opponent after
    observing him once is dangerous.
[08:11] Zafar
    Match-ups change from day to day.
[08:15] Cestvs
    In other words, you can't know your
    opponent's true skill without facing him.
[08:19] Zafar
    Exactly.
[08:21] Pedro
    Maybe so, but...
[08:26] Zafar
    All right.
[08:31] Cestvs
    Today, my true worth will determined, too.
[08:34] Felix
    Today, I'll advance to the main event.
[08:40] Felix
    Well, this is great.
[08:43] Felix
    Once I make it out of this dingy arena,
    there's a sunny grand arena waiting for me.
[08:48] Fighter 1
    Should you be acting so confident, Felix?
[08:50] Fighter 2
    Your opponent may be a kid, but if you
    underestimate him, he'll trip you up.
[08:55] Fighter 3
    That's right. At the very
    least, he made it this far.
[08:59] Fighter 3
    And didn't he win easily yesterday?
[09:02] Felix
    I'm not going to let my guard down.
[09:04] Felix
    I'm just certain that I'll win.
[09:09] Felix
    After all, I carefully observed
    his semifinal fight.
[09:18] Felix
    It's clearly evident who trained him.
[09:22] Felix
    He's got an impregnable defense and fists that
    can knock out an opponent with a single blow.
[09:27] Felix
    But he's got a fatal weakness.
[09:32] Felix
    He's the perfect prey for me.
[09:36] Fighter 1
    Perfect prey? What does that mean?
[09:39] Felix
    You don't know what those words mean?
[09:42] Felix
    It's an opponent you're certain you can beat.
[09:47] Felix
    In other words, a sucker.
[09:49] Felix
    You'll see.
[09:53] Clerk
    It's time, Felix.
[09:57] Felix
    Coming.
[10:12] Ref
    Enter!
[10:22] Narration
    From a pair of gates,
    two men approach each other.
[10:27] Narration
    Not to make friends, but to fight.
[10:33] Narration
    Both of them know that once the
    gates close, they won't open again.
[10:41] Narration
    Not until they defeat the opponent standing
    in this cage with nowhere to run.
[10:47] Narration
    Over and over, they must
    prove their existence.
[10:51] Narration
    It is time for the final selection.
[10:59] Ref
    Entering from the east gate, Cestvs the
    fighting slave from Drisco's boxing group!
[11:05] Ref
    Entering from the west gate,
    the professional gladiator Felix!
[11:11] Mob
    Skip the introductions! Hurry up and fight!
[11:13] Mob
    You'd better not lose, Felix!
[11:15] Mob
    Don't let me lose my bet!
[11:17] Mob
    Make me rich, kid!
[11:19] Mob
    You'll pay if you lose!
[11:22] Pedro
    What is this? The atmosphere here
    is nothing like it was in Pompeii.
[11:26] Drisco
    Of course not. Their gladiators
    have already been defeated.
[11:30] Drisco
    They suffered huge losses.
[11:32] Drisco
    Everyone's desperate to recoup their
    losses by betting on today's fight.
[11:37] Ruddock
    They care more about making
    back the money they lost
[11:42] Ruddock
    than who is the better gladiator.
[11:44] Rudoock
    That's all they're interested in.
[11:47] Zora
    Either way, it's over for
    whoever loses, right?
[11:51] Ref
    The final fight will now begin.
[11:56] Ref
    This fight will determine which
    fighter will advance to the
[12:00] Ref
    main event at Syracuse in Sicily.
[12:15] Ref
    Begin!
[12:22] Cestvs
    How will I start this fight
    against this opponent?
[12:26] Cestvs
    He's average-sized.
[12:28] Cestvs
    I doubt he has any hidden
    strength I need to be afraid of.
[12:31] Cestvs
    He doesn't have any obvious injuries, either.
[12:33] Cestvs
    Is he good at defending?
[12:35] Cestvs
    But he couldn't have made it this far
    if defense is all he's good at.
[12:40] Cestvs
    He's a cunning, unreadable opponent.
[12:42] Cestvs
    How in the world does he fight?
[12:45] Cestvs
    I'll have to find out by attacking.
[12:52] Felix
    So he's too smart to
    recklessly charge in, huh?
[12:56] Felix
    But an opponent who's too careful is boring.
[13:01] Felix
    Come on. Come and get me.
[13:05] Cestvs
    Here I come!
[13:17] Felix
    So fast.
[13:19] Felix
    He's trained well.
[13:24] Felix
    With strikes like these...
[13:28] Felix
    I can't let my guard down around this boy.
[13:39] Felix
    I thought the speed and quantity
    of his strikes were his strength,
[13:42] Felix
    but he also mixes up the
    types of strikes he throws.
[13:45] Felix
    I bet he's witnessed a lot of
    carnage at such a young age.
[13:51] Felix
    If I let him keep going at his pace,
    I won't be able to do anything against him.
[13:56] Felix
    This is no time to mess around
    and let him take the initiative.
[14:08] Felix
    Nice. Not bad.
[14:11] Felix
    Now this is what you call a final.
[14:14] Felix
    It's thrilling.
[14:21] Cestvs
    He changed his stance.
[14:23] Felix
    You don't seem to understand how to fight
    in this run-down arena, so I'll show you.
[14:31] Pedro
    He lowered his guard?
[14:33] Getty
    It's kind of creepy.
[14:36] Hernando
    Is he trying to provoke him?
[14:38] Zafar
    Look closely. He's facing him nearly
    head-on while leaning forward slightly.
[14:42] Zafar
    His legs are spread as if they're
    encircling his opponent's middle.
[14:45] Zafar
    He's applying pressure so that his
    opponent can't escape sideways
[14:49] Zafar
    while keeping both his fists
    equidistant from his target.
[14:53] Hernando
    You mean...
[14:54] Zafar
    That's right. He's well-versed in how
    to fight inside this cramped cage.
[15:00] Zafar
    And it's clear what he's after, as well
    as why his nickname is the Red Storm.
[15:05] Zafar
    He can swing in from either the right
    or the left side with a pincer attack.
[15:15] Cestvs
    A huge swing like that
[15:17] Cestvs
    won't hit me!
[15:19] Felix
    He fell for it!
[15:21] Cestvs
    I'll dodge this at the last second and counter.
[15:41] Cestvs
    Wh-What was that?
[15:49] Felix
    I told you, as far as I'm
    concerned, you're a sucker.
[15:55] Cestvs
    What?
SIGN    The Roman Fighter
[16:02] Pedro
    Cestvs took the hit!
[16:04] Getty
    With a big swing like that?
[16:06] Hernando
    H-How?
[16:09] Zafar
    That strike...
[16:10] Ruddock
    Idiot! What are you doing?!
[16:14] Drisco
    You can't be serious!
[16:20] Cestvs
    I was certain I dodged it...
[16:23] Cestvs
    But his trajectory suddenly
    extended inward from the outside.
[16:28] Felix
    Get up.
[16:30] Felix
    That was just me saying hello.
[16:32] Felix
    That wasn't enough to scare you, was it?
[16:36] Cestvs
    Of course not. It's no big deal.
[16:44] Mob
    He got up!
[16:47] Mob
    That's it, Felix! Crush him, just like that!
[16:50] Mob
    Don't lose, kid!
[16:51] Mob
    What happened to the momentum you
    had up through the semifinals?
[16:56] Felix
    It's finally the final.
[16:59] Felix
    We've gotta make it an exciting fight.
[17:02] Cestvs
    Don't let landing a single
    blow get to your head.
[17:15] Felix
    You probably think that was a lucky hit.
[17:18] Cestvs
    Don't let his words distract you. Focus.
[17:22] Cestvs
    I know I can see it. I'll do it.
[17:25] Felix
    You've got good eyes.
[17:27] Felix
    But seeing alone isn't enough to win.
[17:34] Cestvs
    Left or right?
[17:38] Ref
    Continue!
[17:40] Cestvs
    Left!
[17:56] Fighter 1
    He's strong!
[17:57] Fighter 2
    Felix is overwhelming him!
[18:00] Fighter 3
    Victory is yours!
[18:02] Mob
    What are you doing, kid?
[18:04] Mob
    Get up!
[18:07] Cestvs
    No. This isn't some simple unorthodox style.
[18:11] Felix
    He's surprisingly tough.
[18:13] Felix
    He's just barely avoiding direct hits.
[18:20] Hernando
    What's going on with Cestvs?
[18:22] Pedro
    Despite his keen eyes,
    he's taken two hits in a row.
[18:26] Zafar
    Sometimes keen eyes can backfire
    and allow a fighter to be deceived.
[18:29] Pedro
    What?
[18:30] Zafar
    Cestvs is being deceived by his
    average-looking appearance.
[18:35] Zafar
    A boxer measures his opponent's
    range based on his own experience.
[18:40] Zafar
    In most cases, an accurate estimate can
    be made based on a fighter's build.
[18:44] Zafar
    But occasionally, there are exceptions.
[18:48] Zafar
    Additionally, the trajectory of
    his strikes arc in like a sickle.
[18:53] Zafar
    It makes you think he's only good at
    close range, but that's also a trap.
[19:00] Zafar
    He's going for long-range strikes.
[19:03] Zafar
    It's difficult to dodge strikes that
    curve in from the edges of your vision.
[19:08] Zafar
    He's getting hit because his opponent's range
[19:10] Zafar
    is longer than his build suggests,
    which is throwing off his visual estimation.
[19:15] Zafar
    And finally, the greatest reason is...
[19:18] Zafar
    His shoulders.
[19:23] Zafar
    He's extending the range
    of his strikes even farther
[19:26] Zafar
    by throwing his shoulders into them.
[19:30] Zafar
    His tough, flexible shoulder joints
    give him surprisingly long range.
[19:37] Zafar
    What's surprising is that he has the stamina to
[19:40] Zafar
    calmly throw those uncommonly
    powerful swings over and over.
[19:43] Zafar
    It must have taken more than
    typical training to acquire that.
[19:47] Zafar
    His opponent is thrown off-balance as though
[19:50] Zafar
    by a storm and put under constant pressure.
[19:52] Pedro
    That's why his nickname is the Red Storm.
[19:55] Zafar
    Look. Before you know it,
    he's forced you to retreat.
[20:00] Hernando
    It doesn't look like he'll tire himself out.
[20:03] Getty
    What is Cestvs supposed to do?
[20:05] Zafar
    His opponent's style has a weakness, too.
[20:08] Zafar
    Why doesn't he go after it?
[20:10] Zafar
    With a bit of courage, you should be able to
    find your way out of this situation, Cestvs.
[20:15] Zafar
    Wait, could it be...
[20:18] Cestvs
    This isn't good.
[20:19] Cestvs
    I need to change the flow of the fight.
[20:22] Cestvs
    But can I in my current state?
[20:25] Felix
    Man, you suck at acting.
[20:36] Felix
    What will you do now?
    You can't back up any more.
[20:41] Felix
    Did you injure your right ankle?
[20:47] Felix
    You sprained it when you
    first fell, didn't you?
[20:51] Cestvs
    He noticed.
[20:52] Felix
    Luck always takes my side during fights.
[20:55] Felix
    My luck is frighteningly good,
    if I do say so myself.
[21:00] Felix
    Well, time to win.
[22:39] Cestvs
    How many more blows can my numb arms block?
[22:42] Hernando
    Is it impossible for him to make a comeback?
[22:44] Zafar
    A fighter without willpower
    couldn't open a way forward.
[22:47] Ruddock
    Hit him back! Attack, attack!
[22:49] Cestvs
    What was that?
SIGN    Quiet Groundwork
[22:50] Felix
    You got too carried away showing off.