The Arena: Dunder vs Rex

[Dunder]

Dunder knew he was getting closer to his destination, as the crisp new air burned his lungs and the wind nipped at his wings. The pegasus pulled his cloak closer to him in a desperate attempt to keep his heat from escaping. So much about this place irritated the pony, from the freezing climate to the hostility of the wildlife and even some of the 'residents' of the mountains. But that blood stained pit in the ground in the heart of the city beckoned him back.

The mocking of the arena, memories Dunder wished he had buried there were resurfacing. He had no choice but to come back and seek absolution.

In less then an hour after entering the city, he was already back in the bowels of the arena. Apparently this fight was going to be up and running quicker than he thought due to his opponent, apparently some new fighter they wanted to see and Dunder would be the guinea pig. Just the thought made the stallion nervous. What monstrosity will Dunder be eyeing down next? A cold shiver shot up the pony's spine, and it surely wasn't the frigid wind.

The pegasus brought in a deep breath and covered his eyes with his hooves as he slouched in his seat. His stomach was beginning to fill with butterflies as the thought of what he was actually doing really seeped in. Sitting in a damp basement waiting for some doors to open so he could get stomped on. The room started to get smaller so Dunder kept his head down. "Please." He uttered in the silence "Please..." again, barely loud enough for even himself to hear.

Soon, a mechanism in the room groaned awake. Metal and wood creaked and shuffled while the large metal doors lifted up off the ground and spilled light into the room. Even as the door lifted, the pony still kept his head down. Only when the door was open all the way did the pony bother getting up from his seat.

He trotted up the dirt ramp to the arena floor, his wings flared out as he emerged slow and steady. In his hooves he held his heavy weapon: a two hooved flamberge sword. On his head he wore a morion helmet with a read feather pluming off the back. On his body he wore a cuirass that skirted down to cover his hindlegs with hinged plates. The plate was complimented with a pink sash made out of rolled cloth that tied and dangled down at his waist. Under the plate he wore a buff coat for light protection. Finally, on his hip was a side sword crafted for him by his friend Java. A sword that powered blade that had a little extra punch.

He stood there, sword on his shoulder as he stood upright on his hindlegs, getting ready for the first move.

[DerpRavener]

Rex paced impatiently around the staging area, a small room on one side divided from the area proper by a mechanical door, and the other leading to the bowels of the arena.  Excitement made the diamond dog restless.  He wasn't incapable of patience, he knew that in a fight one often had to wait for the right opening to attack, but he'd never seen a place like this before and he was a little overeager.

Sure, he saw plenty of roughhousing in his old pack.  They even had a little sparring area, reminiscent of the [city] arena.  But it was smaller and, more importantly, much less well prepared.  You had to hold back, or someone would get hurt.  And his more recent job as an adventurer had seen a lot less restriction, any injuries in the field could leave a dog or pony out of action for weeks at a time.  And sometimes that was the better case.

 

But here, they had MAGIC!  Where back home they had to make do with herbs and rest, the arena had dedicated teams of ponies who could put a broken fighter back together in minutes!  Rex wouldn't have to hold back, or worry about what was happening to those around him!

And they'd even pay him for it!  Fighters even got some gold for their trouble, or so he was told.  Rex was grinning ear to ear when they told him all that that.  It was almost like he'd found paradise!

If only he didn't have to wait so long.  For the past several minutes he'd paced back and forth across the small space of this room, frequently pausing to stare at the door.  Apparently no one had ever told him the saying about watched pots.

 

Fortunately for Rex, he didn't have much longer to wait.  His ears perked up as the door slowly yawned open with a serious of clanks and rattles, revealing the arena beyond.  The intense light of the sun, the remains previous battles being slowly consumed by the sand of the arena's sand, the roar of the crowd that sat surrounding the combat area: Rex paid them little mind.  There was only one being he cared about at the moment.

Standing at the other side of the arena (on two legs, no less) was an armored pegasus, standing in a ready stance and carrying his own large sword in his forehooves.  Rex paused, staring at his opponent for a moment, head tilted slightly to the side.  It looked like his opponent might be fighting the same way Rex did.  He'd never seen a pony try that before.

It didn't take him long to decide he liked the idea, and acting on that thought the first thing Rex did once he'd gotten past the door was to excitedly wave.  This was a good pony!  He didn't linger long however.  There was something more important.  Rex began walking forward, his own hunk of metal resting on his shoulder, until he'd closed the distance.  When he'd reached the right spot, just far enough away that either could see the other make the first move, he rested the tip of his sword on the ground behind him, arms wound back in preparation for a swing.  He assumed a ready stance and called out, “We're gonna have a good fight today, yeah?”

 

What was he even talking about?  Of course they were going to have a good fight.  Rex was ready and, more than that, Rex was excited.

[Dunder]

Dunder couldn't believe his eyes, his mouth opened a crack in sheer awe of what was awaiting behind the other door. A hulking figure emerged from the shadows, two or three times bigger than himself! No... He thought as his opponent stepped into the light. It was a diamond dog, and not one of the horizontally challenged ones either. Big. And all muscles. The pegasus gritted his teeth and stood as straight as he could while squaring up his stance to a more battle ready one.

This was why the ringleaders were so eager to get the pegasus this fight. It was supposed to be a returning loser getting stomped on by something way bigger than him for the crowd's entertainment. It may not have been true, but just the thought infuriated Dunder. Fighting wasn't just all about brute strength and scary weapons. Ponies did not survive by being strong. Ponies survived by being smart, and this battle would be no different.

To Dunder's surprise, the first thing the dog did when he emerged was wave. In his shock, Dunder did nothing other than grip his sword tighter as it rested on his shoulder. Especially when his opponent got closer, revealing no armor and a giant hunk of something as a weapon. The pegasus was frozen in place as the dog approached, each footstep reverberating in Dunder's armor. The stallion prepared to react to anything the dog could do now as he closed the distance, and after the dog laid down his sword behind him, the stallion heard the dog's question.

A good fight... Dunder's hard gaze that locked on his opponent's body loosened. He raised his head at the dog and slowly took a single step closer. After locking eyes with the dog, Dunder lowered his head in a small bow, but when the bow was done Dunder resumed his squared and ready stance. Maybe this wasn't a big, dumb diamond dog. He had a sense of honor.

Now, though, this dog was ready to strike and the arena crowd demanded blood.

A good fight... Dunder thought again, and just after he did the dog tensed up. His massive arms gripped the sword tighter, and in a split second the dog swung the giant sword in an overhead arc straight at Dunder. The speed caught the pony off guard, but he was still able to react. One wingflap saved him from being crushed by the over sized sword that crashed into the ground and kicked up its own dust cloud. What Dunder couldn't prepare for was when the dog wound back up the sword, took a step and swing a horizontal swing at the pony. Dunder's eyes shot open in surprise. His instincts pushed his sword in front of him to block the swing and flex his wings to take off into the air.

After the metal crashed together in a sickening crang! the swing shoved Dunder over. The swing of the diamond dog pushed Dunder rather than eviscerate him. Even though he took off into the air before getting hit, the pony could not recover and quickly fell back to the ground and rolled. The dog wasted no time using his stubby legs to bolt towards the fallen stallion. He rasied his giant sword over his head, ready to end it, but Dunder was quick back to his sword and on his hooves. Just in time, Dunder lunged forward with the help of his wings out of the way of the terrifying path of the enemy's sword. The closed distance between him and his opponent allowed Dunder a crucial window of attack.

Since the dog's arms were down, Dunder decided to declaw his opponent with a quick swing. With the help of his wings, Dunder began a run past the dog, but as he did he made an ascending cut which cleaved through half the dog's bicep and nicked some bone off with ease by the flamberge blade. After the cut was made, the dog let out a groan of pain as Dunder ran past the dog and used his wings to take off into the air and face back at the dog, holding down his now blood-soaked blade.

[DerpRavener]

The fight was off to a good start for Rex.  His early aggression was able to keep the pegasus off balance, with (relatively) quick swings of his heavy 'sword' keeping the latter on the defensive.  He even managed to get a hit in, though the blow was dealt more to his opponent's own large sword than the pegasus himself.  It was enough to knock the pegasus off his hooves, and line him up for the finished blow.

The pegasus wasn't done yet though.  Just as Rex thought he had the fight, the pegasus darted forward under the swing, and his own real sword bit into Rex's arm.  Through some creative twisting of his upper body, Rex was able to keep some use of the limb, but the blade bit deep.  His arm hurt just sitting there, let alone doing anything.  The diamond dog wouldn't be able to manage his previous level of aggression.

 

The pegasus took to the air, and trying to take advantage of Rex's sudden weakness, made several strafing passes with his sword.  The diamond dog was able to keep him at bay with timed swings of his own, the giant slab of metal forcing the pegasus to dodge each time, but the swings were slower, and more obvious.  Rex couldn't land any blows, and while his opponent was struggling to land a decisive hit as well, the pegasus was able to knick him and wear him down with each pass.  He would lose this battle of attrition.

 

Rex could tell his current approach wasn't working.  He just wasn't fast enough with his sword, he'd either need to ground the pegasus or hit him hard enough that he slowed down, before it could work again.  So at the tail end of the next pass, Rex switched tactics.  Cradling the sword in his wounded arm, resting most of it on his shoulder, he took a few slow steps backwards to buy some time as he reached into the pouch at his side with his good paw, pulling out a small metal pellet.

He wasted no time in throwing it at the pegasus.  A luckly shot might disorient or leave a nasty bruise, but given the pegasus' armour it would likely be an irritation more than anything else.  Fortunately, he wouldn't need to do much damage in this case.

 

Seeing Rex's apparent vulnerability, the pegasus charged in again, closing in this time.  Not that the diamond dog would be able to explain it as such, but Rex's trap worked just as he planned.  When the pegasus passed this time, he left his 'sword' alone for the moment, instead lashing out with a sudden jab from his good arm.  Now it was the pegasus' turn to be caught off guard, the surprise blow sending him spiralling out of the air.

 

Having only one possible chance at a follow up, Rex didn't even check how his opponent was or what his strike might have done to the pegasus, instead winding up with his sword again and with a few steps aiming to deliver a blow right where the pony landed.

[Dunder]

Each pass the pegasus made was a failure, each swing downward was evaded by a retaliating swing of the dog that warded off the pegasus. Each pass, though, Dunder could see a weakness forming in the dog's defense. Just a few more passes and his opponent would be unable to defend himself! If Dunder wasn't so distracted by the thought of ending it, maybe his opponent wouldn't have gained the upper hand so quickly and viciously.

When Dunder made another pass, the dog reeled back, What was he doing? Dunder thought as he observed the dog. And when the dog revealed the trick, the pegasus was going too fast to properly dodge. The stallion lowered his head, and the pellet ricocheted off the curved metal of his helmet with a shrill clank. Just the impact knocked some sense out of Dunder, and another blow from the diamond dog's fist knocked the rest out.

The pegasus's once strong attack spiraled into a crash headed for the dirt. But, Dunder managed to recover the best he could and landed on all fours, each hoof sinking into the dirt a few inches. Not even a moment passed before he could feel his chest starting to ache from the punch. The pain was dull and deep in his chest, making the pony gag and wheeze for a moment before fully recovering, but the pain still lingered.

When Dunder turned around, he saw the dog closing distance, sword at the ready. Dunder was quick back to his sword and on his hindlegs. To prepare for the agression of the diamond dog again, he held his sword in the center of his body, pointed down at the ground. And when the dog was close enough for another swing, it was just the way Dunder was hoping. Another downward swing aimed right for Dunder. If this didn't work the fight would be over and Dunder would most likely be beyond saving.

The stallion gritted his teeth and slammed the pommel of his sword down, launching his sword point up and behind the powerful center of his opponent's blade. Dunder's flamberged blade pushed the dog's off course as Dunder lifted the blade straight back up. Dunder felt the sword of his enemy smash against the ground, creating a gust that blew though the dangling tails of his pink sash along with Dunder's own tail.

Now the dog was too close, but there was no time to contemplate options. The stallion lifted his sword back up and lunged forward, slamming the pommel of his sword into the diamond dog's thick skull knocking the dog back a step. After that, Dunder discarded his greatsword for it was too long to be effective. Now was time to take advantage of his dazed opponent. Dunder grabbed the handle of the sword on his side, lunging forward again as he drew the sword, smashing the pommel of the other sword in his the dog's jaw. After the pommel made contact with the dog's jaw, he sliced the sword down on the dog's thigh. The thick hide prevented most muscle damage, but it was still cut deep.

Once again, Dunder underestimated his enemy. He stayed too close for too long and his opponent lashed out. The dog tackled Dunder to the ground and bared his teeth while diving his head down. Dunder had no time to react other than bring his left foreleg up to prevent the dog from biting at the neck. his leather buff coat didn't do as much as Dunder hoped. He could feel the bones creaking and cracking and the skin tearing while the dog shook the foreleg violently in his mouth.

True fear struck the pony at this point, a heavy and angry diamond dog was on top of him and he wasn't going to let go. Dunder needed to give some motivation. He gripped the side sword tightly and stabbed the point at the diamond dog's side and then activated the powered blade. The blade extended an extra three inches, cutting through flesh and muscle down into Rex's side. Gas hissed out the base of the sword while Rex yelped, releasing Dunder's foreleg. The pony wasted no time and pulled his hindlegs up and kicked the much larger creature off of him.

Dunder scrambled back to his hindlegs and took a few flaps of his wings to pull away from his opponent. His left foreleg was in no working condition, but his opponent was now bleeding from two wounds, along with pain in his head.

[DerpRavener]

Teeth were always a good weapon.  Quick, it took no effort to carry them around, and for some reason all the ponies and caribou seemed to forget Rex had them.  Here especially, this pony thought he had a free hit on Rex just because his arms were occupied.  Silly pony.  He hadn't been prepared for Rex's sudden lunge, as the panic in his eyes attested.  

 

Rex's little victory was short lived.  Ponies were apparently sneakier than him, or at least this one was, with their tools no less.  There was a sudden, odd hiss at his side, followed by a sudden pain.  Rex didn't know what happened at first, needing a moment to look at his side, to see the strange blade now pulled free of his side.  Caught by surprise as he was and already tiring, Rex couldn't fight back as the pony kicked him off.  He stumbled backwards a couple steps as the pegasus took to the air once more.

 

Rex was torn between two thoughts.  He couldn't help but be impressed, not many could handle a larger opponent jumping on top of them that well.  This pony was a spirited battler, and it was turning out to e a really good fight.  And Rex would have to ask about the sword later, up until now all he'd known were solid metal weapons.  This was clearly something a lot more, and if Rex could maybe get one of his own, or better yet, learn to make one...

More immediately, Rex couldn't afford to spend time admiring him though.  The pony seemed to have the upper claw at the moment.  Rex had landed a few good hits, and the pegasus was certainly feeling them, but the latter still had full use of all his limbs.  That and Rex could bleed out if things kept going like this.  The pony might have backed off at the moment, but he'd only be shaken for so long.  Rex needed to MOVE.  With his injured arm, he smacked himself in the face, the added pain helping him focus at the moment.

 

Rex retrieved his 'sword', just in time to swing it wildly, the sudden motion being the only thing stopping a sudden attack.  The pony had recovered, and wasted no time taking advantage of Rex's growing weakness.  The swing gave him pause, but Rex's weariness showed through.  In order to swing fast enough, he had to give up his ability to land the blow.  His sword went wide, and the pony was able to duck underneath it.  Rex bellowed at a sudden pain in his previously undamaged leg, as the pegasus' sword hit home.

 

Rex's opponent had flown out of range again before Rex could make any meaningful attack.  They were back to this again, with Rex only able to ward off the pony as long as the latter kept to the air, only now the diamond dog was bleeding openly from several wounds.  Running mostly on adrenaline, all Rex could do now was conserve his strength and hope his own blows were having the same sort of effect on the pony, even if they weren't as visible.

 

The pony may have had the upper hoof, but Rex wasn't out of the fight yet.  He still had a few options.  If he could wear down his opponent just a little, Rex might be able to bring the pegasus down to his level.  Or maybe he could goad the pegasus in close again.  In was a long shot, the pony probably knew that trick by now, but if he could manage it things wouldn't last long.  Rex would make sure of it.

 

His sword wasn't going to help much right now.  Rex drove it into the sand at his side, hard enough that it stood upright, even if it sagged a little.  It would stay in arms reach.  But his paws, or at least the good one, would be much better weapons for him at the moment should the pony make another pass.

The diamond dog reached into his pouch again, pulling out more metal pellets, and throwing them as quick and hard as he could.  The actual physical damage at this point would be incidental, the goal was to fray his already stressed opponent even further, and push him toward either giving up or making a mistake.

[Dunder]

Dunder's foreleg wasn't hurting right now, but he could feel the cracked bone and torn muscle. That was pain that was getting saved for later. Now was the time to act, before the pain could really take hold of the pony and his fighting. There was no way he would allow himself to lose. This day he will make his.

Now it seemed he was just staring off with his opponent. Maybe a second break wouldn't be that and of an idea. Afterall, Dunder just kicked something twice his weight off of him. Maybe his opponent could feel his own wounds, but Dunder was at a loss of who had it worse. Brutally torn muscle and cracked bone versus precision cuts and stabs into vital parts of the body. Maybe Dunder wasn't bad off. At the point, Dunder would say he had the upperhoof. Only because he still had functioning wings, but the dog had a much larger weapon still to ward him off.

Dunder's tangent of thinking was cut off when the dog smacked himself in the face. The pony looked surprised, but still he stood ready, his left foreleg dangling and his sword on his shoulder. That's when he saw the dog reach a claw out for the sword. Out of instinct, Dunder leaned forward and took a few steps, but the deceptive speed of the dog's strike sent Dunder in a panicked retreat via the flap of his wings. The tip of the blade scratched the front of Dunder's breastplate, scraping off the pink sash and sending it fluttering off.

As the dog was recovering, Dunder charged forward, but yet again underestimated the reaction of his opponent. This time, Dunder expected so. The pony betrayed his usual straight stance and ducked low, sliding to the actual diamond dog. He gave no time for the dog to recover as he made a quick swipe with his sword at the dog's thigh, cutting deep in the muscle.

And after the cut, Dunder flared his wings, with a mighty flap he made distance into the air. He couldn't risk another biteing incident or else his foreleg might actually pop off.

As Dunder took the air, he hovered, thinking of how to end this quickly. The dog lifted the hefty sword in the air and stabbed the hunk of something into the ground. Seems like the fight would be easier from now on. Dunder dived in, deciding to attack before the dog could regret his decision. But instead Dunder regretted his charge as the dog flipped the tables rather quickly.

The dog recoiled back and reached into the pouch again, pulling out some more of those metal pellets and tossing them at the flying Pegasus. The stallion covered his face, not having any choice. But as he closed the distance, the pony didn't expect himself to veer so far down.

The divergence from his original path allowed the dog to reach his massive arms up and in a heavy swing the dog smacked the pony out of the air. Dunder could feel something crack under the metaphorical rock that slammed into his side.

As Dunder wiped out onto the ground, he could feel the world spin even after he stopped. No.... Dunder thought through his half closed eyes that were staring up at the sky. No... This could be the end, but Dunder couldn't allow that. The pony rolled over onto his chest, pushing himself up with his good foreleg as he resumed his hindlegged stance. The pony casually picked the sword back up off the ground as the diamond dog charged. Chances were that the pony's opponent wanted to end the fight as well.

Dunder decided to take a chance.

This time the diamond dog got close, Dunder stayed his ground. He lifted the sword up as the dog recoiled back to prepare another horizontal swing. Now Dunder struck, he lunged forward. And with a precision stab he stuck the dog's neck with the tip of the sword. But that didn't stop the Dog's swing, though it did decrease the power. Dunder was still swiped away by the sword. Dunder tried to flare his wings to catch air like last time, but his wing on his injured side didn't cooperate.

 

As the pony should have expected the neck injury didn't stop the dog, despite how much red fluid leaked from the wound. Now the dog looked angry, his eyes ablaze. And Dunder planned on using it.

Dunder got up again, but now his chest was aching in a deep, dull pain. He tried not to let it show, but it seemed not to matter because the dog was just charging, sword raised and lost in a furious bloodlust.

This was the weakness Dunder was waiting for. As the dog charged in, he chopped a heavy vertical blow which was easily dodged by Dunder, but only barely. The pony stomped on the back of the blade, burying it deeper into the ground. Still the dog didn't let go of the blade, so Dunder quickly chopped down at the dog's good arm to get the death grip off the sword handle.

The dog barked in pain as he let go, and in this state of confusion Dunder answered with another strike down at the dog's leg. This time completely incapacitating it. Like a tree cut at the base, the dog fell back on his rump.

Dunder stood over the fallen dog, one wing flared out to have a more menacing stature. As the dog sat on its rump, holding itself up as best he could with his injured arms, Dunder could feel the dog knew what was coming with his broken limbs and bleeding injuries.

The pony huffed a hot breath out his nose, his gaze softening. "Lo siento, cachorro." Dunder said as he chambered a strike from his sword. In his good hand he held the sword, point down, and before he could stop himself the pony plunged the point into the dog. The hard bone and thick chest hide put up resistance. But that only made the blade of his sword cock deeper into the handle, and after a point the handle boomed out rapidly expanding gasses as the blade pierced deeper, plunging lethally. Dunder leaned back, ripping the sword out, the arc of the pullout spraying red droplets over the already blood stained sand.

He turned away from the fading dog and rasied his hoof to his chest, "Viva la vida, muerta la muerte." The tired stallion muttered before trotting off the field the best he could on all fours.

[DerpRavener]

Stupid, stupid, stupid!  Rex knew he shouldn't have gone back to the sword.  It was too slow.  He knew!  But he did it anyways.  Sure, he knew what he could do with it, but it wouldn't work.  It didn't work.  Why!?  He'd managed a hit of his own at least, but it wasn't worth it.  Whatever he'd done to his opponent, now Rex had a bleeding neck wound.  He thought he could almost feel his strength slowly escaping his body.  He didn't have any more time.

 

The pony needed a few moments to get going as well, it looked like.  With heavy paws, Rex gripped that stupid sword once more, but instead of of charging he shifted it behind him, and then hoisted.  He growled in pain as he moved, his limbs complaining at him but ultimately obeying his commands.  Standing in place, and using his whole body he suddenly hurled the sword toward his opponent, this surprise being his last use for it this fight.  The pony clearly wasn't expecting this, eyes widening as the large hunk of metal hurled through the air toward him.  Despite that, the pegasus was still able to dodge out of the way at the last moment.  He was still faster than the missile.

 

It was just unfortunate for him that it didn't travel alone.  With a stumbling hop, Rex turned his forward momentum into a charge, and the brief second the pony spent watching the sword sail past was just enough distraction for Rex to close the distance and strike with his good paw.  The blow collided with with armour, jarring the pony and giving Rex a grip around his throat.  The pony wasn't caught completely flat-hooved, and quickly tried to strike with the hissing sword again in reply.  Rex saw that trick earlier though, and while he didn't have a lot of good options he was prepared.  The diamond dog brought up his injured arm to block, another wound to it would be inconsequential at this point, and though the sword punctured it, the tip merely scratched his chest instead of doing any noteworthy damage.  Rex barely noticed the pain, between starting to feel numb and running mostly on adrenaline at this point.

 

Rex let his arm fall to the side, and thought he couldn't put much force into into the motion, between the weight of it and the awkwardness of the angle the smaller sword was wrenched from the pony's grasp.  With one sword lodged in Rex's limp arm, and the other abandoned elsewhere in the arena, the pegasus now found himself weaponless.  If he wasn't openly bleeding, Rex might have been able to take his time, or try and force a surrender.  As it was, he twisted his body and started to lift his opponent up.

 

The pony fought back vigorously, all things consider, delivering a flurry of hoof strikes to Rex's arm.  How much of it was driven by ability, and how much was panic on the pony's part Rex couldn't say.  Either way it didn't do much to the half-numb, adrenaline fuelled diamond dog.  Rex's grip on the pegasus remained unbroken as he lifted his opponent into the air and then quickly brought him crashing down again, slamming the pegasus into the ground on the other side of him.  When the pegasus still squirmed Rex repeated the process two more times, lifting up then smashing on alternate sides of himself, before the pony finally stopped struggling.

 

The fight was over.  But Rex ignored the noise of the crowd at first, he had something to check.  Resting heavily on his good arm, he leaned down and put an ear to the pony he'd just downed.  The noise of the arena made it difficult, but after a moment he could just make out the, faint sounds of ragged breath.  The pony was incapacitated but still alive, which was as it should be.  This pony was a good fighter, and Rex would hate to see it end here.  Plus, he still needed to know where they made swords like that.

As Rex saw the medics appear at the edges of the arena and start to converge on the two of them, only then did he let himself struggle to his feet, throw his good arm into the air and bellow out his triumph.

[SteelEagle]

Thank you for your efforts! This fight will now be reviewed.

[SteelEagle]

Congratulations! After a long discussion, Dunder has been declared the victor.