Chains of Argus • RP Thread

[azontr]

"...Is she feeding ya right? No offense but you're kinda...scrawny for a fighter." David said, cocking his head.

"...I only started a week ago... and I don't think the... human body puts on muscle mass that quickly." Yu muttered.

Siglos flashed her a soft smile, nodding at her words.

"...Y-your right, m-my friend. I...I c-can always s-support you w-with my... c-craftmanship...i-if you'd b-be...w-willing to a-accept m-more of my wares..." He said softly.

"Well... I don't think I'll ever be replacing my sword, but, there are always other things you can help with." Jeanne said with a chuckle, "Though, I'm not particularly familiar with the use of enchanted items... Most of the time I can simply replicate the effects via my Aura."

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

"...I only started a week ago... and I don't think the... human body puts on muscle mass that quickly." Yu muttered.

"Oh! yeah I guess that checks out..." David said, nodding to himself.

"...Hey, I can help ya find...whatever you're looking for, if ya want. I don't have any matches for the rest of the day, so I was just going to train till sundown..." He said, glancing at him.

"Well... I don't think I'll ever be replacing my sword, but, there are always other things you can help with." Jeanne said with a chuckle, "Though, I'm not particularly familiar with the use of enchanted items... Most of the time I can simply replicate the effects via my Aura."

Siglos smiled, nodding at her.

"Well...I can d-do...more t-then j-just enchant. I-if y-you...e-ever need someone to...p-polish o-or repair y-your...e-equipment, I w-would b-be...m-more t-than willing t-to assist. I c-could...e-even s-sharpen your s-sword, i-if you'd like."

 

[azontr]

"Oh! yeah I guess that checks out..." David said, nodding to himself.

"...Hey, I can help ya find...whatever you're looking for, if ya want. I don't have any matches for the rest of the day, so I was just going to train till sundown..." He said, glancing at him.

"You were going to... train? With your injuries?" Yu questioned, tilting his head. "Doesn't that hurt...?"

Siglos smiled, nodding at her.

"Well...I can d-do...more t-then j-just enchant. I-if y-you...e-ever need someone to...p-polish o-or repair y-your...e-equipment, I w-would b-be...m-more t-than willing t-to assist. I c-could...e-even s-sharpen your s-sword, i-if you'd like."

"My sword is plenty sharp, don't worry. She's still got a few good years in her, I feel..." Jeanne said with a chuckle, gently placing her free hand on the handle of her sword, which was sheathed and hung up by her waist.

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

"You were going to... train? With your injuries?" Yu questioned, tilting his head. "Doesn't that hurt...?"

David shrugged.

"It strings a bit, but I tend to get restless if I lay around." He said.

"Had a tough match today, can't compete with guys like that if I rest every time I take a beating." He added.

"My sword is plenty sharp, don't worry. She's still got a few good years in her, I feel..." Jeanne said with a chuckle, gently placing her free hand on the handle of her sword, which was sheathed and hung up by her waist.

Siglos chuckled, flashing her a soft smile.

"W-well...my o-offer stands r-regardless, Jeanne. If i-it...e-ever needs maintenance...I-I promise to bring i-it to peak c-condition!" He said.

 

[azontr]

David shrugged.

"It strings a bit, but I tend to get restless if I lay around." He said.

"Had a tough match today, can't compete with guys like that if I rest every time I take a beating." He added.

"...And if you don't rest your wounds will never heal." Yu muttered, "Unless you're like an armadillo or something..."

Siglos chuckled, flashing her a soft smile.

"W-well...my o-offer stands r-regardless, Jeanne. If i-it...e-ever needs maintenance...I-I promise to bring i-it to peak c-condition!" He said.

"Heh... Thank you, Siglos. I'll... be on my way, then. But I will let you know if I ever need any help." Jeanne said, nodding. "Do take care, my friend."

 

[azontr]

(Bump.)

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

"...And if you don't rest your wounds will never heal." Yu muttered, "Unless you're like an armadillo or something..."

"Ya don't gotta worry about that. I've got more grit than a boulder!" David said, cracking his neck.

"Was planning on cashing in some of my prize money on some healing potions anyway, after my workouts. I'll be fine. Probably."

"Heh... Thank you, Siglos. I'll... be on my way, then. But I will let you know if I ever need any help." Jeanne said, nodding. "Do take care, my friend."

"S-sorry for k-keeping you! H-have a good d-day, my f-friend" Siglos said softly, bowing respectfully towards the girl.

"...A-and...s-stay safe....p-please."

 

[azontr]

"Ya don't gotta worry about that. I've got more grit than a boulder!" David said, cracking his neck.

"Was planning on cashing in some of my prize money on some healing potions anyway, after my workouts. I'll be fine. Probably."

"...Alright, Mr. Armadillo." Yu said, "Anyway... Can I get some directions to town...?"

"S-sorry for k-keeping you! H-have a good d-day, my f-friend" Siglos said softly, bowing respectfully towards the girl.

"...A-and...s-stay safe....p-please."

"I will, my friend. You stay safe as well, alright? Danger is definitely afoot within Aegis..." Jeanne muttered, "I'd rather you not be the next victim after Noah."

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

"...Alright, Mr. Armadillo." Yu said, "Anyway... Can I get some directions to town...?"

"Damn right I'm an armadillo!" David said, a wide grin on his face. The man seemed to...quite enjoy, animal-themed nicknames. He glanced around for a moment, before jabbing his thumb to the north.

"...Over yonder is where you'll find the nearest town. It's got a massive colosseum in the center, ya can't miss it."

"I will, my friend. You stay safe as well, alright? Danger is definitely afoot within Aegis..." Jeanne muttered, "I'd rather you not be the next victim after Noah."

Siglos took a soft breath, slowly nodding.

"...T-thank you J-Jeanne. B-but...do n-not worry about me. S-Syliva a-and Cain h-have...a-agreed, t-to p-protect me. I...s-shouldn't be in t-too much danger." Siglos said softly. Admittedly, he partially said this to soothe his own worries, still more than a bit concerned at the prospect of being ambushed as Noah had.

 

[azontr]

"Damn right I'm an armadillo!" David said, a wide grin on his face. The man seemed to...quite enjoy, animal-themed nicknames. He glanced around for a moment, before jabbing his thumb to the north.

"...Over yonder is where you'll find the nearest town. It's got a massive colosseum in the center, ya can't miss it."

"Alright, Mr. Armadillo... Thanks." Yu muttered, before bowing down limply for a moment, clearly a way to show thanks, before turning North, beginning to trudge forward.

Siglos took a soft breath, slowly nodding.

"...T-thank you J-Jeanne. B-but...do n-not worry about me. S-Syliva a-and Cain h-have...a-agreed, t-to p-protect me. I...s-shouldn't be in t-too much danger." Siglos said softly. Admittedly, he partially said this to soothe his own worries, still more than a bit concerned at the prospect of being ambushed as Noah had.

"A.. Alright, Siglos. I'll have faith in their strength, then." Jeanne muttered, nodding. "Just... I'll be here as well. To protect you, alright?"

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

"Alright, Mr. Armadillo... Thanks." Yu muttered, before bowing down limply for a moment, clearly a way to show thanks, before turning North, beginning to trudge forward.

David chuckled, simply shaking his head.

"Good luck out there, boy. Feel free to stop by again if ya got the time." He said.

"A.. Alright, Siglos. I'll have faith in their strength, then." Jeanne muttered, nodding. "Just... I'll be here as well. To protect you, alright?"

A soft smile crept onto Siglos's face, the Everian glancing up at the girl.

"...T-thank you, J-Jeanne. I...c-can't e-express, h-how much t-that means t-to me..." Siglos said softly.

 

[azontr]

David chuckled, simply shaking his head.

"Good luck out there, boy. Feel free to stop by again if ya got the time." He said.

Yu stopped, turning back to look at David. He narrowed his eyes for a moment more, before just shrugging, turning back around.

"...Likewise. Stop by my master's dojo... whenever."

A soft smile crept onto Siglos's face, the Everian glancing up at the girl.

"...T-thank you, J-Jeanne. I...c-can't e-express, h-how much t-that means t-to me..." Siglos said softly.

Jeanne nodded, "You don't need to thank me, Siglos. Just... be safe... please."

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

Yu stopped, turning back to look at David. He narrowed his eyes for a moment more, before just shrugging, turning back around.

"...Likewise. Stop by my master's dojo... whenever."

David smiled, waving at him as he turned around.

"Sure thing. I'll make sure to give ya a holler if I'm ever in the area!" He said. Slowly, David lowered himself onto the ground again, preparing to resume his workout. His ribs throbbed painfully with his movements, though he tried his best to ignore it.

"Just last till the end of the day..." He thought. He took a soft breath, before beginning to lower himself.

"....One..."

Jeanne nodded, "You don't need to thank me, Siglos. Just... be safe... please."

Siglos nodded, his ashen hair bobbing with the movements of his head.

"A-alright...I w-will Jeanne. Be well..." He said softly.

 

[azontr]

David smiled, waving at him as he turned around.

"Sure thing. I'll make sure to give ya a holler if I'm ever in the area!" He said. Slowly, David lowered himself onto the ground again, preparing to resume his workout. His ribs throbbed painfully with his movements, though he tried his best to ignore it.

"Just last till the end of the day..." He thought. He took a soft breath, before beginning to lower himself.

"....One..."

Spoiler: Yu... The Thunder of Darkness

Yu said nothing more to the weird man who called himself David, simply trudging North, swaying side to side lightly as he moved... His body was limp, lacking in any motivated movement or action. Almost akin to a puppet, if one were to make a comparison to anything. The boy indeed was much like a doll. Pale skin, a lithe, skinny frame, lifeless eyes... It didn't even seem as if he was alive.

"Honor..." What a weird thing. What use was honor? No matter how honorable you were, you were going to die anyway. That was the fate of the human race. It didn't matter how honorable you may have been... You were still going to grow old and frail. It didn't matter how righteous you were, you would never become as strong as a Rakshashin. You'd never be as tall as an Orc. You'd never use Magic like an Everian. You'd never fly like a Dragon, or run like a Vaewolf, or forge like a Dwarf...

That's just how it was.

And as Yu walked, slowly approaching the town that the man named David pointed him to... he pondered. Pondered why the man was so obsessed with honor. Why he trained without taking the time to rest, or why he didn't even seem to care about his own wellbeing. Did he want to die? Or was he just an idiot? Either way, he remained confused.

"...."

Well, whatever.

"Meh."

It didn't matter.

Yu slowly entered the town, walking limply past the sleeping guards without making a sound or even rustling the air. Why... were they sleeping? They were supposed to guard the town, right? Well... David did mention a colosseum in the center of the town. Maybe the fighters there usually protected it instead of the... actual guards. Well, whatever. It didn't matter.

As usual, Yu went along with his business.

As Yu entered the large settlement, it was as he expected. It was without doubt a bustling area, more so than most cities of this sound. People traversed the streets in bulk like clockwork, making it difficult for Yu to get to where he needed to in between all the moving people, food stands and open restaurant lines, and other frivolous shops he had absolutely no interest in...

"Uggghhh...." Yu groaned internally as he went along his business... And, somehow, he was able to get what he needed. Or, well, what he thought he needed. The biggest local butcher was all out of meat due to the amazing amount of people who flooded the establishment... Diana was definitely going to beat him up for this. But what was new?

Diana was a... cruel teacher. And Yu didn't mind. Or really care. She provided him food, water, and a home in her gym. And he'd made himself at home just fine... He didn't really understand why she offered him all of this for free, though. It's not like she was so rich she could go around giving away gym memberships all willy-nilly people who didn't have any money. And Diana Burnfury was most definitely not a Good Samaritan, so... Eh. he didn't really care.

At least her little sister was nice. Evelin was definitely a lot cooler than Diana. But maybe that was because she was young... whatever.

Yu, as he was turning to leave, turned toward the giant colosseum in the center of the city... It was indeed massive. It could hold at least 80,000 people and more. Did people really like watching people beat up each other that much...?

"..."

"I guess I'll check it out..."

May as well buy a ticket for the next fight.

Yu weaved through the crowd, moving up to the colosseum entrance... Or at least what he thought was the entrance. Really, he had no idea where the hell he was going. He'd never been to a town this big... Let alone a town with a colosseum this big. Really, it was massive. Why would anyone in their right mind invest so much money into building a place where people would just beat the heck out of one another? He didn't understand. He didn't understand, but... he wanted to.

And as he approached the "entrance", he heard a voice among all the loudness that plagued the city.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN HE CAN'T MAKE THE FIGHT?! These people wanna see the BLUE LIGHTNING fight the SAVAGE DWARF!!! Do you have any idea how much coin I'll lose if this fight doesn't happen!?"

It was a... man in a suit, but a lot different than the one Yu was wearing. It was clearly more business-oriented. His hair was black, like Yu's, but it was slicked back and styled all fancy... What a weirdo. And he was speaking into a weird square mirror thing. Probably some sort of communication magic device. Yu didn't really care enough to catch all the details.

"Well, FINE! But don't come crying to me when you got disappointed fans rioting at your front door! 130,000 people! ****!"

The man shouted into the device, before hanging it up and putting it into his pocket. Violently tapping his foot against the pristine cobblestone ground beneath. "******* hell..."

"Uh, excuse me, sir."

"WAH!?!"

Yu appeared in front of the man in an instant, causing him to jump back. "Who the hell are you-!?"

"Uh... I was wondering where I could buy a ticket to watch tonight's match..."

"Who doesn't wanna buy a ticket?! You're shit outta luck, should've bought a ticket a few weeks in advance, kid!" The man shouted at Yu, clearly not in a good mood... "This ain't even where you enter to watch the fight, anyway! The fighter's enter here!"

"...Oh... That's to bad..."

"Yeah, it is! Now scram!" The man shouted once more, groaning.

"O... Okay." Yu shrugged, turning around.

The man simply sighed, pulling out a cigar and lighting it with a flick of his fingers. First, he gets news that one of the biggest fights of the Spring Tournament outside of King Tiger V Mythical Monk is cancelled... And now some kid came up to him bothering him! A pretty fast moving kid... He didn't even see his movement.

"...."

"...Hey, kid." The man called out.

"Huh...?" Yu turned around, staring back at the man. Their eyes met for a moment. Yu's cold, lifeless eyes... Stared at the suited man. He shivered... And shivered and shivered and shivered... Before speaking. Or, well... he mustered up the courage to speak.

"This kid's off his rocker, I just know it..." The man thought, before speaking. "How'd you move so fast...? I couldn't even see you..."

"...I didn't move fast." Yu murmured.

"...Huh?" The man questioned.

"I... wasn't moving fast. I was just walking up to you." Yu murmured, "My teacher moves way faster than that..."

"That was you... walking?" The man questioned, "How in the..."

He'd been in this business for a long ******' time... And he'd seen thousands of powerful fighters, mages, and weapon users, all powerful in their own right. But this was the first time in a long while...

That he couldn't even catch a glimpse of someone's shadow.

The man snickered.

"Hey, kid. What's your name?" The man asked.

"Uh... My name's Yu." Yu answered, tilting his head.

"I'm Montgomery. I've got an offer for yah." The man who called himself Montgomery said.

"Which is...?" Yu asked.

"How would you like to be my fighter?"

"....Huh?"

"You heard me!" Montgomery exclaimed, "It don't matter even if you lose! You just need to fight in this match for me and I'll pay you big bucks!"

"Me... fight?" Yu muttered, "I don't... know."

"Come on, kid! Think of the profits! You'd be the richest, uh... How old are you?" He asked.

"...17."

"The RICHEST 17-Year old ever!" Montgomery exclaimed, putting his hand on Yu's shoulder. "Just think of all the money you'd make, please! I'll give you as much as you want, so long as you fight this one fight!"

Yu remained silent for a few moments, pondering this offer... Money sounded pretty cool. And if he got a lot of it, Diana would probably kick his ass a bit less hard than she usually does. And maybe he could even buy Evelin that new doll she'd always wanted... Which would hopefully get her to stop whining to him about it like a rat. Yu continued to stay silent.

"....Honor...."

He wondered....

"...."

"Will yah do it!?" Montgomery asked.

"....." Yu remained silent, before speaking.

"Sure."

....

....

....

....



"LADIES, GENTLEMAN, AND OTHER PARTY PEOPLE!!! TODAY, IS A MATCH FOR THE AGES!!"


The announcer screamed out, but... the people remained silent within the enormous colosseum. No, they couldn't speak. This was the match they'd ALL been waiting for, ever since the Spring Tournament had began last year. One-hundred fights, over 200 contestants, over the span of 365 days... This was the biggest seasonal tournament there was, where fighters of all races would come to show their might! To claim what was there's! The honor! The glory! The MONEY!

"In the first corner, we have..."

And suddenly... all the lights focused in on one spot of the arena, the absolutely enormous arena which seating over 130,000 guests... Crimson spotlight illuminated a single body as they emerged, the one that EVERYONE had been waiting for... And the one who was most expected to be this year's tournament victor.


"An elusive Dwarven warrior who wonders Argus looking for the strongest opponents there is...! He is said to carry around 100 blades and 1000 axes!"

A short man clad in heavy crimson armor emerged, the armor being adorned with golden trimmings which outlined each crevice of the armor to add a more noble feeling to it... Making him seem almost like a dragon. Each step he took made the arena RUMBLE! As if he was calling upon the very Gods of war themselves! HE was the one! HE was him! And everyone knew... that by far, he was the strongest fighter they'd seen yet.


"THE ACOLYTE OF ANNIHILATION! THE CRIMSON KNIGHT OF 1,100 WEAPONS! He is, the one, the only..."

And as the announcer called his name...


"Argesh..."

The crowd...


"ASHLIGHTEN!!!!!!"

Went absolutely WILD!!! They cheered as loud as they could at the appearance of this god among men, this man who surpassed the rest! With the strength and skill of a Rakshashin warlord and the grace of an Everian aristocrat... He was the ultimate warrior! His sheer AURA lit over 130,000 people alight with exasperation and awe at his mere presence, extending across the entire city and even to the people who had been watching from their homes. He. Was. Him.

"And in the second corner, we have..."

And the man who was going to come out of the next corner was no less amazing... He was...

"Huh...? W-What? What do you mean he changed it up? Now!? Right NOW!? B-Black?! Who the hell is Yu!? Ah, *******..."


...

The people were now abundantly confused... And so was the challenger.

"What in Ophelius' name are these clows doing...?" Thought Argesh. He had come here for a fight with his old rival... Not to sit there longer than he needed to and waste valuable time he could be spending fighting. He crossed his arms in agitation, awaiting the arrival of his fated opponent.

"Sorry, people! Looks like there have been some complications in our roster! Elric Electross, the Blue Lightning will not be making it, and has been replaced with another fighter!"


"WHAT!?!?" Before the disappointed fans could even think to begin crying out in anger or disappointment, the challenger, Argesh was the first one to begin screaming out in anger. Replace Elric? This was OUTRAGEOUS! He'd travelled millions miles for this fight! Fought in dozens of battles to reach the Semi-Finals of the tournament, all so he could face his one rival, the Thunder God, Elric Electross!! To spend all that time, that effort... For this? It was completely unacceptable to all people there, more so than if they'd just cancelled the fight outright.


"It uh... seems we have a new challenger? Uh... come on out!"

In complete contrast to Argesh's entrance... The boy's entrance into the arena was underwhelming on all fronts. He had no imposing armor. No presence. His movements... didn't even make a sound. As if he wasn't a human... But an intangible spirit walking into this colosseum of thousands of people, preparing to engage in the battle of his life against a war bastion.

"Uh... hi. I'm Yu."

Was all he said.

They... had to be joking... right?

This was OUTRAGEOUS! This kid over the Thunder God!? What the hell had they even paid to see!?

"How dare you dishonor me like this!? You dare suggest that I face this mere child!? You SOIL my good name with this preposterous match-up, and you have completely and utterly wasted my time!" Argesh shouted, and the crowd, who were shouting in rage and anger at having seemingly wasted their money on a phony match, clearly agreed with the dwarf.

Yu began walking up to the dwarf, "No idea why you're so upset..."

"Hah! You must be mentally ill then, boy, if you cannot comprehend my displeasure. I wanted a REAL warrior, not some child!" Argesh exclaimed, "Isn't that right, my audience!?"

The crowd all shouted in agreement to Argesh's declaration, cheering the man's name. They came her for a FIGHT! Something that would really get their blood pumping! Not... Not this! This scrawny kid, against Argesh? It'd be a blood-bath not even worth watching! Nobody in their right mind would ever want to watch something as shallow in boring as that.

"And who says I'm not a real warrior...?" Yu questioned, tilting his head.

"HAH! You say you have what it takes, boy?" Argesh questioned.

"Well, that's not even close to what I said... But I don't see why I wouldn't have what it takes." Yu said, "You don't look all that strong.

"HUH!?"


"Hah... HAHA! Is... Is the new challenger provoking the war master!?"


The announcer clearly did not expect to get anything out of this fight once he'd gotten word Elric had been replaced, but... Trash talking against one of the people who was most favored to win the tournament was definitely a good way to get people's attention. And it was definitely working, as the entire crowd went into shock at what they heard.

"You are courting death, boy..." Argesh growled, "You really think you can challenge me!?"

"I don't really see why I couldn't..." Yu muttered, shrugging. "Because the way I see it..."

Spoiler: Diana talks with Yu

"Remember this, dumbass. If your opponent seems arrogant... make sure to provoke them to get a rise if you know you can take them. That'll make them trip up and make your chances of winning shoot up by half. Got it?"

He definitely did get it.

"I'm gonna crush you like a bug, shorty." Yu declared, looking down at Argesh.

The whole arena went silent...

And so did Argesh.

But...

it did not take more than a moment for them to begin cheering once more.

"Hah... Hahaha... HAHAHAHAHA!!! GOOD! THIS IS GOOD!!" Argesh exclaimed from the cheers, walking back to his corner, "Let's see if you can back up those arrogant words, you pathetic boy.. We'll see RIGHT NOW you're real strength!"

".............Cool."

Both fighters moved to their corners.


"WELP, PEOPLE! WE HAVE A NEW FIGHT! ARGESH, THE SAVAGE DWARF VERSUS YU, THE THUNDER OF DARKNESS! WHO WILL WIN!?"

Of course, Argesh would win... Nobody expected him to lose. But the question lit them up all the same.

"Hurry up and begin the fight!" Argesh exclaimed, adjusting his armor... Out of nowhere... Two miniature ax's appeared within his hands, clearly throwing weapons. It seemed that the title of him being the master of 1,100 weapons may not have been such an exaggeration after all...

"....." Yu simply got into a standard stance, raising his arms and fists over his face. "Ready whenever you are, I guess..."


"If both fighters are ready to RUMBLE!!! Let! The! Match! Be! GIIIIIIINNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And with that... they needed no more words.



Argesh's armored feet CRASHED into the cobblestone below, and merely that was enough to shake the very arena to its core. All of his muscles beneath the plated steel tightened at once... Like springs, storing incalculable amounts of power that were ready to explode forward with all of their might and fury. Argesh gripped his twin axes, and with all of his might... He LAUNCHED them forward, each of the weapons spinning at untold speeds towards Yu, intent on cleaving him to shreds.

"....."

Yu did not respond to the weapons flying at him in any way barring him simply ducking down, and dodging cleanly. He could feel the air singe against his flesh as the spinning blades shot past him at speeds far, FAR faster than what he could see. Yu swiftly corrected and straightened out his stance, but... he wasn't fast enough. He wasn't fast enough to completely catch Argesh's charge.

With a mighty roar, Argesh dashed towards Yu at impossible speeds, even in such heavy armor. Ever since he'd started moving, miraculously, new weapons had appeared within his armored hands, in one hand, he held a large stone hammer, and within the other a thick buster-sword that could cleave through any stone. Yu couldn't respond in time, and only an instant was required for Argesh to close the distance between them, swinging the two weapons at him in erratic patterns... A sword from the left and the right, a hammer from the top and bottom... His movements were skilled, and powerful, and covered all possible escape routes and directions down to the meter.

"He's..." Yu shook his head ever so slightly, before making his move. To dodge the incoming attacks, he kicked off the ground at max speed, propelling himself backward, the only direction that hadn't been covered by Argesh's furious assault that annihilated sound and sent deafening shockwaves throughout the entire colosseum that only further increased the crowd's cheers. But... That was a bad move. Argesh's ax's which he had previously thrown, akin to boomerangs, immediately began barreling back towards Yu. At the same time, Argesh would once again close the distance with a mighty charge... Now there were no possible routes for Yu to escape.

Or so they'd thought, at least... But before Argesh could even swing his weapon, Yu, unexpectedly... He took to the skies, hopping into the air almost akin to a frog to escape Argesh's mighty assault of swords, hammers, and ax's.


"I-It seems our new challenger has suddenly taken flight to avoid Argesh's attack! Not even a minute into the fight, and things are already heating up!"


The announcer called out, which only further fired up the crowd as they watched Yu cascade into the air. As he landed, he would perform a perfect 1080 degree flip, before landing on his feet perfectly, not even seemed to be bothered, and... still in his stance. Argesh snickered.

"You aren't as bad as I thought you were, boy..." Argesh said, his ax's disappearing into thin-air as they returned to him.

"...He's strong." Yu thought to himself, saying nothing, breathing out.

"Not one for chatter? Now, that, I like! Let us begin the 2nd round!" Argesh exclaimed, and... he was gone.


"A-Argesh has seemingly disappeared out of thin air!!!"


He definitely was standing around 10 meters away from Yu only a mere moment ago... Before completely disappearing from sight, as if he hadn't been there to begin with. Nobody else could visualize Argesh's movements, but... Yu could, his eyes wide as they could possibly be as he immediately ducked down as fast as he could. At that very moment... Argesh appeared only a few inches above Yu's ducked body, an enormous gash forming on the outer walls of the arena as the shockwave of Argesh's attack travelled dozens upon dozens of meters.

"I could see him... But I barely reacted in time. He's really fast." Yu thought to himself... seizing this opportunity. Slamming his feet into the ground beneath, his fist barreled upward, intent on socking Argesh in his armored face. To any normal person, hitting an armored man with your bare fist was insane... But the crowd didn't know that Yu's hand was actually coated in a thin, invisible layer of his Aura, meant to astronomically boost his attack power.

Yu's fist could only graze against Argesh's armor as he dodged mid-air with a flip, moving to slam against Yu with the handle of his buster sword. At the same time, tens upon tens of other swords would manifest in the air, shooting down at Yu like bolts of red electricity before he even had a chance to process what had happened.

Yu's feet slid across the ground, his smooth footwork allowing him to avoid the first strike... But he now had to deal with the swords that were coming down towards him simultaneously. At the moment they came towards him, he shifted his weight, and began to dodge...

"It seems the challenger is bobbing and weaving through every attack! Such a basic skill is even able to reach the depths of a champion!"

Bobbing and weaving was a skill anyone could really use, and everyone knew what it was... But to use it on this level, to dodge attacks coming from one of the greatest weapon-masters in the country? Nobody could expect it... Nobody but Argesh. He couldn't properly read the boy's moves, but, he had expected him to dodge. The flying swords were simple courtesy... A mere distraction to set up his next attack. Argesh leaped forward once again with blinding speeds enough to make it seem as if he was teleporting, and delivered a deadly cross-attack to the boy who was stuck dodging the swords. What the man did not expect, though...

Was that Yu had perfectly read his next move, and countered optimally. Yu, with a single twist of his flexible hips, shot a basic jab towards Argesh's armored face... Now, Argesh could easily shift his momentum and dodge in any normal circumstance even at top speed, but in this particular position, where he had bet everything on this one strike, and where he'd been perfectly lured into a trap... He couldn't dodge. Yu's hand made direct contact with Argesh's armored face, causing a shockwave to emanate throughout the ring.

Not even the announcer could get a word in... Because the next moves they made were to fast. Argesh recalled all of his weapons and made distance, and so did Yu. Both of their instincts made them gain distance before they could even think, and it was the right call. Yu looked down at his fist.

"....." Yu sighed, shaking his head. He'd fractured his fist, that was for sure.

Argesh grunted, shaking his head... That kid's punch wasn't normal. Not only did it pierce through his armor, it even was sent through his skin, causing minor brain damage. Of course, Argesh could keep fighting, but... He couldn't take a multitude of those punches to the face without simply courting death.


"I-It seems we're at a standstill, folks-"

The announcer couldn't even finish his sentence before the battle had immediately begun again, and the only sounds that could fill the ring was the sounds of the crowd cheering, and the sounds of the majestic battle below as both Yu and Argesh charged forward. Behind Argesh followed over 200 floating katanas, each being shot towards Yu simultaneously.

And Yu responded in kind, resorting to his common bobbing and weaving tactic... He easily dodged through the swords, but, he also had to deal with Argesh, who immediately summoned a large golden-tipped lance and lunged and at Yu for an impossibly precise counter-attack. At the same time, Argesh controlled the other 200 swords he'd spent with his mind, causing them to slice at Yu as if they were being wielded by their own individual fighter, Yu being bombarded with attacks.

At that moment, though... Yu disappeared from sight, immediately appearing behind Argesh. In a flash of darkness, he delivered a straight jab directly to Argesh's abdomen, his force easily ignoring Argesh's armor and flesh and striking directly at his internal organs. Argesh groaned, blood spewing from his mouth and nose.

"Adapted to my speed, did you now...?" Argesh thought to himself, wasting no time in a counter-attack. He twisted his hips and raised his right leg, delivering a deadly back-kick towards Yu immediately after he'd been struck. Yu dodged this, but, he was only met with Argesh instantly getting back into a fighting stance even as copious amounts of blood poured from his mouth through his armor, proceeding to violently launch the lance towards Yu before he had any time to regain his composure.

"!?" Yu weaved under the spear the moment before it hit him, the thing not even being able to graze him... But it was close. And his fist had once again been damaged by striking at Argesh's armor.

"Hehe... Hahahaha!! It seems you truly are a WORTHY opponent!" Argesh shouted, wasting no time... The swords he'd summoned quickly went from 200 to 300, then to 400, then to 500 in an instant! Argesh telekinetically lined up his weapons, as if he was lining up military regiments... And all the swords pointed forward at Yu, who was slowly catching his breath near the very edge of the arena. Argesh snickered.

"Fixed bayonets! Ready... Attack!" Argesh shouted, and all of his weapons charged forward at once, slicing at Yu while he was vulnerable. Each weapon moved as if it was alive... As if they each had their own impossibly skilled warrior holding and wielding them. And not only that, the attack was coordinated, each slice linking together. There were only 500 blades... But with such skill and coordination backing them, there may as well have been 5,000. Weaving through all of them was impossible, even for Yu. So, he did the only thing he could in this situation...

And jumped as high as he could, leaping several dozens of meters into the air, his short hair flowing freely in the winds of the arena, revealing his lifeless eyes beneath their thin mane. It was only a temporary measure, the swords also immediately taking flight in order to catch Yu... But, Yu wouldn't just let them catch him. With speeds even faster, than before, he kicked off the air, and like a meteorite... He came crashing down, his fist bared, ready to strike.

"So you're going to take me head-on, are you, boy genius...? I'll buy!" Argesh shouted, getting into a combative stance as Yu came flying down towards him. In an instant, and with a soft grunt, his fist shot forward at Yu the moment he'd come into his range, prepared to knock him in the face with a heavily armored, high-powered fist, the mere shockwaves of Argesh's blow traversing throughout the arena.

But... this was not a clash that was so simple, and Yu was most definitely not allowing himself to be hit mid-air. With a swift breath, he turned to the right... Only by half a degree, no, he turned merely a quarter of a degree... But that minute movement made all the difference. Argesh's fist only grazed against Yu, meanwhile Yu's fist, which had been given a free, a short, but free passageway... directly to Argesh's face, his fist once again slamming directly into the weapon master, stilling the air itself.

It was at that moment... Argesh had been blown backward. Not because of the force of the blow... But because he had instinctively kicked himself backward the very moment Yu's fist had collided with him, reducing the damage by more than half. But... he was not uninjured. The brain damage he had been dealt earlier tacked onto this new damage made him more than delirious, and it was clear by how he stumbled...

Yu wasn't uninjured either. Although he stuck his landing, his fist... was more than just broken, it had been shattered. Which was... inconvenient, to say the least. But Yu simply shrugged.

"Guess I'll just use my other fist." He thought to himself, before charging forward, taking advantage of Argesh's deliriousness to get in a strike... And he would've been successful, if not for Argesh's keen instincts, once again saving him from a direct hit, the man kicking away from Yu and immediately summoning a sword in hand after the other's had disappeared. He wasn't done... And he wouldn't go down without a fight.

Argesh, with a mighty roar, swung his blade. A wave of crimson flames and magma shot forward from the edge of the blade, meant to consume Yu in its entirety. But... Yu had already closed the distance. The moment Argesh wound-up to swing his blade... Yu was already there, performing his attack.

"He read my movement...!?" Argesh thought, swinging his blade downward at Yu as Yu's other fist crashed into his armored abdomen. But... he didn't care for the damage, simply continuing to swing. He kept swinging again, and again, and again and again... He wouldn't stop, hundreds of swings cascading towards Yu like clockwork.

"....." Yu simply remained silent, bobbing and weaving through every last strike... They hadn't become any sloppier than before, no, in fact... they'd gotten even sharper, stronger, faster. But so did Yu. At this point, it was a battle of who would adapt the fastest... Argesh, whose swings got stronger and faster with each movement? Or Yu, whose senses transcended reasoning?

Neither of them thought about it for anymore than a moment... Before simply continuing to battle for what seemed like forever. Argesh swung... Yu dodged, Argesh swung... Yu dodged. At this point, Yu could not come out completely unscathed. Various scratches and gashes had appeared across his body as he very narrowly dodged the ever-lasting barrage of sword swings from Argesh.

"Is he... trying to tire me out...?" Yu thought to himself as he continued to dodge, seemingly... uncaring for his newly formed injuries. It was a good strategy... Because it was clear to all that with Yu's scrawny body, Argesh would inevitably win out the stamina game. Argesh knew that... And Yu knew that.

Their little song and dance continued for a while longer, before, finally... Yu took a knee, Argesh's blade stopping as he did. He breathed in and out heavily, blood pouring from various wounds on his body. He was tired, he was losing blood... And for someone like him who was so skinny and frail, this only served to further drain his stamina, in comparison to Argesh, who looked like he could keep fighting for days and weeks if he really wanted to.

"Are you ready to surrender...?" Argesh asked, breathing heavily.

"Haaa.... Haa... Haa..." Yu could only respond by breathing even more intensely in turn, his muscles in extreme amounts of pain... But the pain wasn't the problem.

"I underestimated you, boy... You are without doubt a true warrior, even more so than the rival I'd previously desired to face. If you gave up here... Nobody would blame you, or criticize you. You have proven yourself worthy to stand on this stage..." Argesh said, still breathing heavily.

"I guess... you're... haa... right..." Yu muttered, beginning to stand up. "But I... I don't..."

"What do you mean...?" Argesh questioned, and Yu remained silent for a few moments, before speaking once again.

"Let's... just... keep... fight... ing..." Yu muttered, "Haaa... I... want to... know for my... self..."

"What is it that you wish to know by doing this, Yu? What do you wish to seek out here? Money? Honor?" Argesh questioned once more.

"Honor..." Yu muttered, "David... talked... about that..."

"David...? Who is this David you speak of...?" Argesh asked.

"...He's... an... armadillo..." And with that... Yu couldn't take the heat. He collapsed to the ground.

And the crowd, after a long moment of silence... The crowd cheered for Argesh, the man's sword dissipating into thin air as he let out a breath, not even daring to remove his armor or lower his guard in front of such a respectable opponent.


"I-It seems we have a winner, folks! Argesh Ashlighten will be moving to the next round of the Spring Tournament!!"


Argesh breathed out, turning around to return to his waiting room. He'd won... as expected. But the battle was hard fought, contrary to everyone's expectations, and without a doubt it was a battle that would indeed go down in history. A paramedic team of Everian healers swarmed in, one of them telekinetically lifting Yu into the air.

"Stop his bleeding, he's losing more blood than he can with such a skinny body! Someone get his Aura disabled!"

Argesh snickered, "Heh... You still kept your Aura on, even after passing out...? You look lifeless... But you hate losing, it seems."

As Yu was carried off, Argesh waved. "Until we meet again in another battle... Yu!"


"That's the last fight for today folks! Tune in next week for the finals of the seasonal Spring Tournament!"

...

...

...

Yu woke up in his waiting room, his eyes dry from losing so much blood as he lay on a makeshift bed made from blankets and pillows, his wounds completely healed, but not his clothes... Oh well. That didn't matter right now. What did "matter", though, was...

"I lost..." Yu muttered, slowly sitting up. "I tried to be... honorable... and I still lost."

He wasn't some... hero. Or a victor. He tried getting up... Tried fighting through the blood loss, but, his frail body simply would not cooperate with his will. And as such... he lost to Argsh.

"....Meh." Yu groaned, slowly getting up. "So much for... honor..."

"Hahahahahaha!!! You really are a genius, kid!" Montgomery burst into the room laughing, filled with glee. "You put on a bigger show than ever...! You're a real ******' goldmine!"

"...Am I...? I... Thanks for the compliment?" Yu muttered, scratching the back of his head. "I... lost, though."

"So what!? Nobody really expected you to win, yah dope! The point is you put on a show that the people really wanted to see, and that brings in big bucks for both of us!" Montgomery exclaimed gleefully.

"Nobody expected me to win, huh...?" Yu thought to himself. He let out a sigh, before turning around.

"Wh-Where are you going!?" Montgomery asked.

"The nearest inn, so I can find a communication device and ask my master to pick me up tomorrow..." Yu muttered.

"Y-You're leaving?! Kid, come on! You're famous now! Everybody knows about the Thunder of Darkness now! Yah can't just pussy out!" Montgomery exclaimed.

"I'll be waiting for the money you promised..." Yu muttered, simply opening the door to exit. "See you when I see you..."

"W-Wait! Come back, kid! Wait!!!" Montgomery ran after Yu, but, he couldn't catch him... The boy simply disappeared in a flash.

"I guess... I wasn't strong enough to match that guy for long." Yu thought to himself as he walked to the nearest inn without drawing any attention. "I tried to be honorable and brave... but still lost..."

He didn't understand.

"I don't... I don't... I don't... u-understand..." Yu thought to himself as he walked. That fire... he saw in Argesh's eyes, at the end of the fight. The fire that pushed anyone forward to keep fighting. The fire that set ablaze someone's desire to win and grow...

"......"

"....Maybe... it's not fake." Yu muttered. He spent no time in getting his room, simply paying the innkeeper, taking the key and getting to his room as fast as possible without being noticed... He immediately fell to his bed, curling up, almost akin to a cat.

"Maybe..."

Maybe it was real.

"The light... is... real..."

And with those last four words engraved into his mind... Yu fell into a cold, dreamless slumber...

(Wanted to post this first cause I'm really proud of it.)

 

[azontr]

Siglos nodded, his ashen hair bobbing with the movements of his head.

"A-alright...I w-will Jeanne. Be well..." He said softly.

A few moments later, Alexia would return from the kitchen with Siglos's meal, handing the piping hot, maple-syrup covered waffles to him, which were dabbed with a mixture of strawberries and whipped-cream.

"B-Be careful when holding it, you may burn yourself on the plate..." She warned, "Were you just talking to a friend...?"

 

[azontr]

(Bump.)

 

[Oliver_de_jesus]

(As far as I know, King is busy with thing of real life, according to what he said a couple of days ago on discord)

 

[azontr]

(As far as I know, King is busy with thing of real life, according to what he said a couple of days ago on discord)

(That's fine.)

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

Spoiler: Yu... The Thunder of Darkness

Yu said nothing more to the weird man who called himself David, simply trudging North, swaying side to side lightly as he moved... His body was limp, lacking in any motivated movement or action. Almost akin to a puppet, if one were to make a comparison to anything. The boy indeed was much like a doll. Pale skin, a lithe, skinny frame, lifeless eyes... It didn't even seem as if he was alive.

"Honor..." What a weird thing. What use was honor? No matter how honorable you were, you were going to die anyway. That was the fate of the human race. It didn't matter how honorable you may have been... You were still going to grow old and frail. It didn't matter how righteous you were, you would never become as strong as a Rakshashin. You'd never be as tall as an Orc. You'd never use Magic like an Everian. You'd never fly like a Dragon, or run like a Vaewolf, or forge like a Dwarf...

That's just how it was.

And as Yu walked, slowly approaching the town that the man named David pointed him to... he pondered. Pondered why the man was so obsessed with honor. Why he trained without taking the time to rest, or why he didn't even seem to care about his own wellbeing. Did he want to die? Or was he just an idiot? Either way, he remained confused.

"...."

Well, whatever.

"Meh."

It didn't matter.

Yu slowly entered the town, walking limply past the sleeping guards without making a sound or even rustling the air. Why... were they sleeping? They were supposed to guard the town, right? Well... David did mention a colosseum in the center of the town. Maybe the fighters there usually protected it instead of the... actual guards. Well, whatever. It didn't matter.

As usual, Yu went along with his business.

As Yu entered the large settlement, it was as he expected. It was without doubt a bustling area, more so than most cities of this sound. People traversed the streets in bulk like clockwork, making it difficult for Yu to get to where he needed to in between all the moving people, food stands and open restaurant lines, and other frivolous shops he had absolutely no interest in...

"Uggghhh...." Yu groaned internally as he went along his business... And, somehow, he was able to get what he needed. Or, well, what he thought he needed. The biggest local butcher was all out of meat due to the amazing amount of people who flooded the establishment... Diana was definitely going to beat him up for this. But what was new?

Diana was a... cruel teacher. And Yu didn't mind. Or really care. She provided him food, water, and a home in her gym. And he'd made himself at home just fine... He didn't really understand why she offered him all of this for free, though. It's not like she was so rich she could go around giving away gym memberships all willy-nilly people who didn't have any money. And Diana Burnfury was most definitely not a Good Samaritan, so... Eh. he didn't really care.

At least her little sister was nice. Evelin was definitely a lot cooler than Diana. But maybe that was because she was young... whatever.

Yu, as he was turning to leave, turned toward the giant colosseum in the center of the city... It was indeed massive. It could hold at least 80,000 people and more. Did people really like watching people beat up each other that much...?

"..."

"I guess I'll check it out..."

May as well buy a ticket for the next fight.

Yu weaved through the crowd, moving up to the colosseum entrance... Or at least what he thought was the entrance. Really, he had no idea where the hell he was going. He'd never been to a town this big... Let alone a town with a colosseum this big. Really, it was massive. Why would anyone in their right mind invest so much money into building a place where people would just beat the heck out of one another? He didn't understand. He didn't understand, but... he wanted to.

And as he approached the "entrance", he heard a voice among all the loudness that plagued the city.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN HE CAN'T MAKE THE FIGHT?! These people wanna see the BLUE LIGHTNING fight the SAVAGE DWARF!!! Do you have any idea how much coin I'll lose if this fight doesn't happen!?"

It was a... man in a suit, but a lot different than the one Yu was wearing. It was clearly more business-oriented. His hair was black, like Yu's, but it was slicked back and styled all fancy... What a weirdo. And he was speaking into a weird square mirror thing. Probably some sort of communication magic device. Yu didn't really care enough to catch all the details.

"Well, FINE! But don't come crying to me when you got disappointed fans rioting at your front door! 130,000 people! ****!"

The man shouted into the device, before hanging it up and putting it into his pocket. Violently tapping his foot against the pristine cobblestone ground beneath. "******* hell..."

"Uh, excuse me, sir."

"WAH!?!"

Yu appeared in front of the man in an instant, causing him to jump back. "Who the hell are you-!?"

"Uh... I was wondering where I could buy a ticket to watch tonight's match..."

"Who doesn't wanna buy a ticket?! You're shit outta luck, should've bought a ticket a few weeks in advance, kid!" The man shouted at Yu, clearly not in a good mood... "This ain't even where you enter to watch the fight, anyway! The fighter's enter here!"

"...Oh... That's to bad..."

"Yeah, it is! Now scram!" The man shouted once more, groaning.

"O... Okay." Yu shrugged, turning around.

The man simply sighed, pulling out a cigar and lighting it with a flick of his fingers. First, he gets news that one of the biggest fights of the Spring Tournament outside of King Tiger V Mythical Monk is cancelled... And now some kid came up to him bothering him! A pretty fast moving kid... He didn't even see his movement.

"...."

"...Hey, kid." The man called out.

"Huh...?" Yu turned around, staring back at the man. Their eyes met for a moment. Yu's cold, lifeless eyes... Stared at the suited man. He shivered... And shivered and shivered and shivered... Before speaking. Or, well... he mustered up the courage to speak.

"This kid's off his rocker, I just know it..." The man thought, before speaking. "How'd you move so fast...? I couldn't even see you..."

"...I didn't move fast." Yu murmured.

"...Huh?" The man questioned.

"I... wasn't moving fast. I was just walking up to you." Yu murmured, "My teacher moves way faster than that..."

"That was you... walking?" The man questioned, "How in the..."

He'd been in this business for a long ******' time... And he'd seen thousands of powerful fighters, mages, and weapon users, all powerful in their own right. But this was the first time in a long while...

That he couldn't even catch a glimpse of someone's shadow.

The man snickered.

"Hey, kid. What's your name?" The man asked.

"Uh... My name's Yu." Yu answered, tilting his head.

"I'm Montgomery. I've got an offer for yah." The man who called himself Montgomery said.

"Which is...?" Yu asked.

"How would you like to be my fighter?"

"....Huh?"

"You heard me!" Montgomery exclaimed, "It don't matter even if you lose! You just need to fight in this match for me and I'll pay you big bucks!"

"Me... fight?" Yu muttered, "I don't... know."

"Come on, kid! Think of the profits! You'd be the richest, uh... How old are you?" He asked.

"...17."

"The RICHEST 17-Year old ever!" Montgomery exclaimed, putting his hand on Yu's shoulder. "Just think of all the money you'd make, please! I'll give you as much as you want, so long as you fight this one fight!"

Yu remained silent for a few moments, pondering this offer... Money sounded pretty cool. And if he got a lot of it, Diana would probably kick his ass a bit less hard than she usually does. And maybe he could even buy Evelin that new doll she'd always wanted... Which would hopefully get her to stop whining to him about it like a rat. Yu continued to stay silent.

"....Honor...."

He wondered....

"...."

"Will yah do it!?" Montgomery asked.

"....." Yu remained silent, before speaking.

"Sure."

....

....

....

....



"LADIES, GENTLEMAN, AND OTHER PARTY PEOPLE!!! TODAY, IS A MATCH FOR THE AGES!!"


The announcer screamed out, but... the people remained silent within the enormous colosseum. No, they couldn't speak. This was the match they'd ALL been waiting for, ever since the Spring Tournament had began last year. One-hundred fights, over 200 contestants, over the span of 365 days... This was the biggest seasonal tournament there was, where fighters of all races would come to show their might! To claim what was there's! The honor! The glory! The MONEY!

"In the first corner, we have..."

And suddenly... all the lights focused in on one spot of the arena, the absolutely enormous arena which seating over 130,000 guests... Crimson spotlight illuminated a single body as they emerged, the one that EVERYONE had been waiting for... And the one who was most expected to be this year's tournament victor.


"An elusive Dwarven warrior who wonders Argus looking for the strongest opponents there is...! He is said to carry around 100 blades and 1000 axes!"

A short man clad in heavy crimson armor emerged, the armor being adorned with golden trimmings which outlined each crevice of the armor to add a more noble feeling to it... Making him seem almost like a dragon. Each step he took made the arena RUMBLE! As if he was calling upon the very Gods of war themselves! HE was the one! HE was him! And everyone knew... that by far, he was the strongest fighter they'd seen yet.


"THE ACOLYTE OF ANNIHILATION! THE CRIMSON KNIGHT OF 1,100 WEAPONS! He is, the one, the only..."

And as the announcer called his name...


"Argesh..."

The crowd...


"ASHLIGHTEN!!!!!!"

Went absolutely WILD!!! They cheered as loud as they could at the appearance of this god among men, this man who surpassed the rest! With the strength and skill of a Rakshashin warlord and the grace of an Everian aristocrat... He was the ultimate warrior! His sheer AURA lit over 130,000 people alight with exasperation and awe at his mere presence, extending across the entire city and even to the people who had been watching from their homes. He. Was. Him.

"And in the second corner, we have..."

And the man who was going to come out of the next corner was no less amazing... He was...

"Huh...? W-What? What do you mean he changed it up? Now!? Right NOW!? B-Black?! Who the hell is Yu!? Ah, *******..."


...

The people were now abundantly confused... And so was the challenger.

"What in Ophelius' name are these clows doing...?" Thought Argesh. He had come here for a fight with his old rival... Not to sit there longer than he needed to and waste valuable time he could be spending fighting. He crossed his arms in agitation, awaiting the arrival of his fated opponent.

"Sorry, people! Looks like there have been some complications in our roster! Elric Electross, the Blue Lightning will not be making it, and has been replaced with another fighter!"


"WHAT!?!?" Before the disappointed fans could even think to begin crying out in anger or disappointment, the challenger, Argesh was the first one to begin screaming out in anger. Replace Elric? This was OUTRAGEOUS! He'd travelled millions miles for this fight! Fought in dozens of battles to reach the Semi-Finals of the tournament, all so he could face his one rival, the Thunder God, Elric Electross!! To spend all that time, that effort... For this? It was completely unacceptable to all people there, more so than if they'd just cancelled the fight outright.


"It uh... seems we have a new challenger? Uh... come on out!"

In complete contrast to Argesh's entrance... The boy's entrance into the arena was underwhelming on all fronts. He had no imposing armor. No presence. His movements... didn't even make a sound. As if he wasn't a human... But an intangible spirit walking into this colosseum of thousands of people, preparing to engage in the battle of his life against a war bastion.

"Uh... hi. I'm Yu."

Was all he said.

They... had to be joking... right?

This was OUTRAGEOUS! This kid over the Thunder God!? What the hell had they even paid to see!?

"How dare you dishonor me like this!? You dare suggest that I face this mere child!? You SOIL my good name with this preposterous match-up, and you have completely and utterly wasted my time!" Argesh shouted, and the crowd, who were shouting in rage and anger at having seemingly wasted their money on a phony match, clearly agreed with the dwarf.

Yu began walking up to the dwarf, "No idea why you're so upset..."

"Hah! You must be mentally ill then, boy, if you cannot comprehend my displeasure. I wanted a REAL warrior, not some child!" Argesh exclaimed, "Isn't that right, my audience!?"

The crowd all shouted in agreement to Argesh's declaration, cheering the man's name. They came her for a FIGHT! Something that would really get their blood pumping! Not... Not this! This scrawny kid, against Argesh? It'd be a blood-bath not even worth watching! Nobody in their right mind would ever want to watch something as shallow in boring as that.

"And who says I'm not a real warrior...?" Yu questioned, tilting his head.

"HAH! You say you have what it takes, boy?" Argesh questioned.

"Well, that's not even close to what I said... But I don't see why I wouldn't have what it takes." Yu said, "You don't look all that strong.

"HUH!?"


"Hah... HAHA! Is... Is the new challenger provoking the war master!?"


The announcer clearly did not expect to get anything out of this fight once he'd gotten word Elric had been replaced, but... Trash talking against one of the people who was most favored to win the tournament was definitely a good way to get people's attention. And it was definitely working, as the entire crowd went into shock at what they heard.

"You are courting death, boy..." Argesh growled, "You really think you can challenge me!?"

"I don't really see why I couldn't..." Yu muttered, shrugging. "Because the way I see it..."

Spoiler: Diana talks with Yu

"Remember this, dumbass. If your opponent seems arrogant... make sure to provoke them to get a rise if you know you can take them. That'll make them trip up and make your chances of winning shoot up by half. Got it?"

He definitely did get it.

"I'm gonna crush you like a bug, shorty." Yu declared, looking down at Argesh.

The whole arena went silent...

And so did Argesh.

But...

it did not take more than a moment for them to begin cheering once more.

"Hah... Hahaha... HAHAHAHAHA!!! GOOD! THIS IS GOOD!!" Argesh exclaimed from the cheers, walking back to his corner, "Let's see if you can back up those arrogant words, you pathetic boy.. We'll see RIGHT NOW you're real strength!"

".............Cool."

Both fighters moved to their corners.


"WELP, PEOPLE! WE HAVE A NEW FIGHT! ARGESH, THE SAVAGE DWARF VERSUS YU, THE THUNDER OF DARKNESS! WHO WILL WIN!?"

Of course, Argesh would win... Nobody expected him to lose. But the question lit them up all the same.

"Hurry up and begin the fight!" Argesh exclaimed, adjusting his armor... Out of nowhere... Two miniature ax's appeared within his hands, clearly throwing weapons. It seemed that the title of him being the master of 1,100 weapons may not have been such an exaggeration after all...

"....." Yu simply got into a standard stance, raising his arms and fists over his face. "Ready whenever you are, I guess..."


"If both fighters are ready to RUMBLE!!! Let! The! Match! Be! GIIIIIIINNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And with that... they needed no more words.



Argesh's armored feet CRASHED into the cobblestone below, and merely that was enough to shake the very arena to its core. All of his muscles beneath the plated steel tightened at once... Like springs, storing incalculable amounts of power that were ready to explode forward with all of their might and fury. Argesh gripped his twin axes, and with all of his might... He LAUNCHED them forward, each of the weapons spinning at untold speeds towards Yu, intent on cleaving him to shreds.

"....."

Yu did not respond to the weapons flying at him in any way barring him simply ducking down, and dodging cleanly. He could feel the air singe against his flesh as the spinning blades shot past him at speeds far, FAR faster than what he could see. Yu swiftly corrected and straightened out his stance, but... he wasn't fast enough. He wasn't fast enough to completely catch Argesh's charge.

With a mighty roar, Argesh dashed towards Yu at impossible speeds, even in such heavy armor. Ever since he'd started moving, miraculously, new weapons had appeared within his armored hands, in one hand, he held a large stone hammer, and within the other a thick buster-sword that could cleave through any stone. Yu couldn't respond in time, and only an instant was required for Argesh to close the distance between them, swinging the two weapons at him in erratic patterns... A sword from the left and the right, a hammer from the top and bottom... His movements were skilled, and powerful, and covered all possible escape routes and directions down to the meter.

"He's..." Yu shook his head ever so slightly, before making his move. To dodge the incoming attacks, he kicked off the ground at max speed, propelling himself backward, the only direction that hadn't been covered by Argesh's furious assault that annihilated sound and sent deafening shockwaves throughout the entire colosseum that only further increased the crowd's cheers. But... That was a bad move. Argesh's ax's which he had previously thrown, akin to boomerangs, immediately began barreling back towards Yu. At the same time, Argesh would once again close the distance with a mighty charge... Now there were no possible routes for Yu to escape.

Or so they'd thought, at least... But before Argesh could even swing his weapon, Yu, unexpectedly... He took to the skies, hopping into the air almost akin to a frog to escape Argesh's mighty assault of swords, hammers, and ax's.


"I-It seems our new challenger has suddenly taken flight to avoid Argesh's attack! Not even a minute into the fight, and things are already heating up!"


The announcer called out, which only further fired up the crowd as they watched Yu cascade into the air. As he landed, he would perform a perfect 1080 degree flip, before landing on his feet perfectly, not even seemed to be bothered, and... still in his stance. Argesh snickered.

"You aren't as bad as I thought you were, boy..." Argesh said, his ax's disappearing into thin-air as they returned to him.

"...He's strong." Yu thought to himself, saying nothing, breathing out.

"Not one for chatter? Now, that, I like! Let us begin the 2nd round!" Argesh exclaimed, and... he was gone.


"A-Argesh has seemingly disappeared out of thin air!!!"


He definitely was standing around 10 meters away from Yu only a mere moment ago... Before completely disappearing from sight, as if he hadn't been there to begin with. Nobody else could visualize Argesh's movements, but... Yu could, his eyes wide as they could possibly be as he immediately ducked down as fast as he could. At that very moment... Argesh appeared only a few inches above Yu's ducked body, an enormous gash forming on the outer walls of the arena as the shockwave of Argesh's attack travelled dozens upon dozens of meters.

"I could see him... But I barely reacted in time. He's really fast." Yu thought to himself... seizing this opportunity. Slamming his feet into the ground beneath, his fist barreled upward, intent on socking Argesh in his armored face. To any normal person, hitting an armored man with your bare fist was insane... But the crowd didn't know that Yu's hand was actually coated in a thin, invisible layer of his Aura, meant to astronomically boost his attack power.

Yu's fist could only graze against Argesh's armor as he dodged mid-air with a flip, moving to slam against Yu with the handle of his buster sword. At the same time, tens upon tens of other swords would manifest in the air, shooting down at Yu like bolts of red electricity before he even had a chance to process what had happened.

Yu's feet slid across the ground, his smooth footwork allowing him to avoid the first strike... But he now had to deal with the swords that were coming down towards him simultaneously. At the moment they came towards him, he shifted his weight, and began to dodge...

"It seems the challenger is bobbing and weaving through every attack! Such a basic skill is even able to reach the depths of a champion!"

Bobbing and weaving was a skill anyone could really use, and everyone knew what it was... But to use it on this level, to dodge attacks coming from one of the greatest weapon-masters in the country? Nobody could expect it... Nobody but Argesh. He couldn't properly read the boy's moves, but, he had expected him to dodge. The flying swords were simple courtesy... A mere distraction to set up his next attack. Argesh leaped forward once again with blinding speeds enough to make it seem as if he was teleporting, and delivered a deadly cross-attack to the boy who was stuck dodging the swords. What the man did not expect, though...

Was that Yu had perfectly read his next move, and countered optimally. Yu, with a single twist of his flexible hips, shot a basic jab towards Argesh's armored face... Now, Argesh could easily shift his momentum and dodge in any normal circumstance even at top speed, but in this particular position, where he had bet everything on this one strike, and where he'd been perfectly lured into a trap... He couldn't dodge. Yu's hand made direct contact with Argesh's armored face, causing a shockwave to emanate throughout the ring.

Not even the announcer could get a word in... Because the next moves they made were to fast. Argesh recalled all of his weapons and made distance, and so did Yu. Both of their instincts made them gain distance before they could even think, and it was the right call. Yu looked down at his fist.

"....." Yu sighed, shaking his head. He'd fractured his fist, that was for sure.

Argesh grunted, shaking his head... That kid's punch wasn't normal. Not only did it pierce through his armor, it even was sent through his skin, causing minor brain damage. Of course, Argesh could keep fighting, but... He couldn't take a multitude of those punches to the face without simply courting death.


"I-It seems we're at a standstill, folks-"

The announcer couldn't even finish his sentence before the battle had immediately begun again, and the only sounds that could fill the ring was the sounds of the crowd cheering, and the sounds of the majestic battle below as both Yu and Argesh charged forward. Behind Argesh followed over 200 floating katanas, each being shot towards Yu simultaneously.

And Yu responded in kind, resorting to his common bobbing and weaving tactic... He easily dodged through the swords, but, he also had to deal with Argesh, who immediately summoned a large golden-tipped lance and lunged and at Yu for an impossibly precise counter-attack. At the same time, Argesh controlled the other 200 swords he'd spent with his mind, causing them to slice at Yu as if they were being wielded by their own individual fighter, Yu being bombarded with attacks.

At that moment, though... Yu disappeared from sight, immediately appearing behind Argesh. In a flash of darkness, he delivered a straight jab directly to Argesh's abdomen, his force easily ignoring Argesh's armor and flesh and striking directly at his internal organs. Argesh groaned, blood spewing from his mouth and nose.

"Adapted to my speed, did you now...?" Argesh thought to himself, wasting no time in a counter-attack. He twisted his hips and raised his right leg, delivering a deadly back-kick towards Yu immediately after he'd been struck. Yu dodged this, but, he was only met with Argesh instantly getting back into a fighting stance even as copious amounts of blood poured from his mouth through his armor, proceeding to violently launch the lance towards Yu before he had any time to regain his composure.

"!?" Yu weaved under the spear the moment before it hit him, the thing not even being able to graze him... But it was close. And his fist had once again been damaged by striking at Argesh's armor.

"Hehe... Hahahaha!! It seems you truly are a WORTHY opponent!" Argesh shouted, wasting no time... The swords he'd summoned quickly went from 200 to 300, then to 400, then to 500 in an instant! Argesh telekinetically lined up his weapons, as if he was lining up military regiments... And all the swords pointed forward at Yu, who was slowly catching his breath near the very edge of the arena. Argesh snickered.

"Fixed bayonets! Ready... Attack!" Argesh shouted, and all of his weapons charged forward at once, slicing at Yu while he was vulnerable. Each weapon moved as if it was alive... As if they each had their own impossibly skilled warrior holding and wielding them. And not only that, the attack was coordinated, each slice linking together. There were only 500 blades... But with such skill and coordination backing them, there may as well have been 5,000. Weaving through all of them was impossible, even for Yu. So, he did the only thing he could in this situation...

And jumped as high as he could, leaping several dozens of meters into the air, his short hair flowing freely in the winds of the arena, revealing his lifeless eyes beneath their thin mane. It was only a temporary measure, the swords also immediately taking flight in order to catch Yu... But, Yu wouldn't just let them catch him. With speeds even faster, than before, he kicked off the air, and like a meteorite... He came crashing down, his fist bared, ready to strike.

"So you're going to take me head-on, are you, boy genius...? I'll buy!" Argesh shouted, getting into a combative stance as Yu came flying down towards him. In an instant, and with a soft grunt, his fist shot forward at Yu the moment he'd come into his range, prepared to knock him in the face with a heavily armored, high-powered fist, the mere shockwaves of Argesh's blow traversing throughout the arena.

But... this was not a clash that was so simple, and Yu was most definitely not allowing himself to be hit mid-air. With a swift breath, he turned to the right... Only by half a degree, no, he turned merely a quarter of a degree... But that minute movement made all the difference. Argesh's fist only grazed against Yu, meanwhile Yu's fist, which had been given a free, a short, but free passageway... directly to Argesh's face, his fist once again slamming directly into the weapon master, stilling the air itself.

It was at that moment... Argesh had been blown backward. Not because of the force of the blow... But because he had instinctively kicked himself backward the very moment Yu's fist had collided with him, reducing the damage by more than half. But... he was not uninjured. The brain damage he had been dealt earlier tacked onto this new damage made him more than delirious, and it was clear by how he stumbled...

Yu wasn't uninjured either. Although he stuck his landing, his fist... was more than just broken, it had been shattered. Which was... inconvenient, to say the least. But Yu simply shrugged.

"Guess I'll just use my other fist." He thought to himself, before charging forward, taking advantage of Argesh's deliriousness to get in a strike... And he would've been successful, if not for Argesh's keen instincts, once again saving him from a direct hit, the man kicking away from Yu and immediately summoning a sword in hand after the other's had disappeared. He wasn't done... And he wouldn't go down without a fight.

Argesh, with a mighty roar, swung his blade. A wave of crimson flames and magma shot forward from the edge of the blade, meant to consume Yu in its entirety. But... Yu had already closed the distance. The moment Argesh wound-up to swing his blade... Yu was already there, performing his attack.

"He read my movement...!?" Argesh thought, swinging his blade downward at Yu as Yu's other fist crashed into his armored abdomen. But... he didn't care for the damage, simply continuing to swing. He kept swinging again, and again, and again and again... He wouldn't stop, hundreds of swings cascading towards Yu like clockwork.

"....." Yu simply remained silent, bobbing and weaving through every last strike... They hadn't become any sloppier than before, no, in fact... they'd gotten even sharper, stronger, faster. But so did Yu. At this point, it was a battle of who would adapt the fastest... Argesh, whose swings got stronger and faster with each movement? Or Yu, whose senses transcended reasoning?

Neither of them thought about it for anymore than a moment... Before simply continuing to battle for what seemed like forever. Argesh swung... Yu dodged, Argesh swung... Yu dodged. At this point, Yu could not come out completely unscathed. Various scratches and gashes had appeared across his body as he very narrowly dodged the ever-lasting barrage of sword swings from Argesh.

"Is he... trying to tire me out...?" Yu thought to himself as he continued to dodge, seemingly... uncaring for his newly formed injuries. It was a good strategy... Because it was clear to all that with Yu's scrawny body, Argesh would inevitably win out the stamina game. Argesh knew that... And Yu knew that.

Their little song and dance continued for a while longer, before, finally... Yu took a knee, Argesh's blade stopping as he did. He breathed in and out heavily, blood pouring from various wounds on his body. He was tired, he was losing blood... And for someone like him who was so skinny and frail, this only served to further drain his stamina, in comparison to Argesh, who looked like he could keep fighting for days and weeks if he really wanted to.

"Are you ready to surrender...?" Argesh asked, breathing heavily.

"Haaa.... Haa... Haa..." Yu could only respond by breathing even more intensely in turn, his muscles in extreme amounts of pain... But the pain wasn't the problem.

"I underestimated you, boy... You are without doubt a true warrior, even more so than the rival I'd previously desired to face. If you gave up here... Nobody would blame you, or criticize you. You have proven yourself worthy to stand on this stage..." Argesh said, still breathing heavily.

"I guess... you're... haa... right..." Yu muttered, beginning to stand up. "But I... I don't..."

"What do you mean...?" Argesh questioned, and Yu remained silent for a few moments, before speaking once again.

"Let's... just... keep... fight... ing..." Yu muttered, "Haaa... I... want to... know for my... self..."

"What is it that you wish to know by doing this, Yu? What do you wish to seek out here? Money? Honor?" Argesh questioned once more.

"Honor..." Yu muttered, "David... talked... about that..."

"David...? Who is this David you speak of...?" Argesh asked.

"...He's... an... armadillo..." And with that... Yu couldn't take the heat. He collapsed to the ground.

And the crowd, after a long moment of silence... The crowd cheered for Argesh, the man's sword dissipating into thin air as he let out a breath, not even daring to remove his armor or lower his guard in front of such a respectable opponent.


"I-It seems we have a winner, folks! Argesh Ashlighten will be moving to the next round of the Spring Tournament!!"


Argesh breathed out, turning around to return to his waiting room. He'd won... as expected. But the battle was hard fought, contrary to everyone's expectations, and without a doubt it was a battle that would indeed go down in history. A paramedic team of Everian healers swarmed in, one of them telekinetically lifting Yu into the air.

"Stop his bleeding, he's losing more blood than he can with such a skinny body! Someone get his Aura disabled!"

Argesh snickered, "Heh... You still kept your Aura on, even after passing out...? You look lifeless... But you hate losing, it seems."

As Yu was carried off, Argesh waved. "Until we meet again in another battle... Yu!"


"That's the last fight for today folks! Tune in next week for the finals of the seasonal Spring Tournament!"

...

...

...

Yu woke up in his waiting room, his eyes dry from losing so much blood as he lay on a makeshift bed made from blankets and pillows, his wounds completely healed, but not his clothes... Oh well. That didn't matter right now. What did "matter", though, was...

"I lost..." Yu muttered, slowly sitting up. "I tried to be... honorable... and I still lost."

He wasn't some... hero. Or a victor. He tried getting up... Tried fighting through the blood loss, but, his frail body simply would not cooperate with his will. And as such... he lost to Argsh.

"....Meh." Yu groaned, slowly getting up. "So much for... honor..."

"Hahahahahaha!!! You really are a genius, kid!" Montgomery burst into the room laughing, filled with glee. "You put on a bigger show than ever...! You're a real ******' goldmine!"

"...Am I...? I... Thanks for the compliment?" Yu muttered, scratching the back of his head. "I... lost, though."

"So what!? Nobody really expected you to win, yah dope! The point is you put on a show that the people really wanted to see, and that brings in big bucks for both of us!" Montgomery exclaimed gleefully.

"Nobody expected me to win, huh...?" Yu thought to himself. He let out a sigh, before turning around.

"Wh-Where are you going!?" Montgomery asked.

"The nearest inn, so I can find a communication device and ask my master to pick me up tomorrow..." Yu muttered.

"Y-You're leaving?! Kid, come on! You're famous now! Everybody knows about the Thunder of Darkness now! Yah can't just pussy out!" Montgomery exclaimed.

"I'll be waiting for the money you promised..." Yu muttered, simply opening the door to exit. "See you when I see you..."

"W-Wait! Come back, kid! Wait!!!" Montgomery ran after Yu, but, he couldn't catch him... The boy simply disappeared in a flash.

"I guess... I wasn't strong enough to match that guy for long." Yu thought to himself as he walked to the nearest inn without drawing any attention. "I tried to be honorable and brave... but still lost..."

He didn't understand.

"I don't... I don't... I don't... u-understand..." Yu thought to himself as he walked. That fire... he saw in Argesh's eyes, at the end of the fight. The fire that pushed anyone forward to keep fighting. The fire that set ablaze someone's desire to win and grow...

"......"

"....Maybe... it's not fake." Yu muttered. He spent no time in getting his room, simply paying the innkeeper, taking the key and getting to his room as fast as possible without being noticed... He immediately fell to his bed, curling up, almost akin to a cat.

"Maybe..."

Maybe it was real.

"The light... is... real..."

And with those last four words engraved into his mind... Yu fell into a cold, dreamless slumber...

(Wanted to post this first cause I'm really proud of it.)

Spoiler: Meanwhile, King Tiger...

David remained where he was for a long time, his muscles flexing and contracting with every movement as he pushed against the ground. Sweat dripped onto the soil below, the dirt slowly shifting to mud as the man worked.

He needed to become stronger. Much, much stronger. The events of the last fight constantly replayed themselves in his mind, the man gritting his teeth as he realized just how close he had come to losing the match.

Spoiler: King Tiger Vs The Monk

"THEN LET THE MATCH OF THE DAY...BEGIN!" The announcer shouted. A loud, sharp noise accompanied his declaration, the banging of a powerful instrument.

And with that....it began.

In a sudden burst of motion, King Tiger launched himself airborne, jumping several meters in a single bound. He did a flip, before forcefully kicking his legs downward, attempting to hit his opponent with a fierce, downward double kick. Law responded quickly, gracefully backstepping so that the muscular man's blow only stuck air. Before he could counterattack, however, King Tiger’s arm muscles bulged, the man landing on his hands on the ground before immediately launching himself into the air again, this time right toward his opponent. He shifted himself in mid-air, his feet stretched forward as he attempted to land a full-force drop kick against the monk. In response, the monk simply dodged at the last moment, sidestepping the attack the moment before it touched his skin.

"...He's wide open!" The monk thought. In the split second King Tiger’s body passed his own, mere milliseconds after he executed his dodge...he clenched his fist, his arm wrapping itself in a thin, yet potent layer of aura. Planting his feet solidly on the ground, he launched a quick punch toward the man, as he raced by him. Immediately, the blow had the intended effect, the muscular man's body loosening as he began to tumble into the air, falling on his back a few meters away.

"... Amateur..." The monk thought. It was over. A punch to the chin, combined with the added momentum of the man's own drop-kick, was a guaranteed knockout, the brain simply unable to withstand such a sudden jolt of force.

at least....that's what should have happened.

Gingerly, the helmeted man picked himself off the ground, rubbing his chin with his hand.

"That...******* smarts..." He muttered. The monk simply stared at the man as he stood to his feet, a brief burst of confusion spreading across his mind. It didn't matter how much the man had built up his muscles, he was still just a man. A blow of that caliber should have given him a concussion. Yet...he seemingly only escaped with a bruise. Yet, he hadn't used an aura either...

"...That bastard..." The monk muttered. There were only two possible explanations he could think of. Either he had mistimed the blow, something which had never happened in any of his years of fighting, or...

"...He shifted his chin at the last moment. The instant my fist connected, he must've moved his head in tandem with the blow, partially negating its force..." The monk thought. It was...a rather basic maneuver, in truth. But to do so with such timing...the man was clearly used to taking blows.

"...It seems he's more than just talk..." The monk thought to himself. Slowly, he returned to his stance, waiting for the man to recover.

It didn't take long.

Mere moments later, The King Tiger dashed towards him, feet leaving imprints on the ground with the force of his movements. His center of gravity was lowered, his arms outstretched. It was a tackle, an obvious one at that. It seemed subtly was not one of the muscular man's strong suits...

WHAM

The moment before the man's hands could wrap around his lower body, the monk raised his leg...before delivering a powerful roundhouse kick onto the man's head. His head bounced backward, recoiling from the sudden, intense blow...yet, he responded immediately. Clenching his fist, the muscular man immediately planted his feet on the ground, transitioning from his failed tackle into a powerful uppercut. Smooth as silk, the monk stepped backward, the fist missing him by mere inches. Slowly, he raised both hands....

POW

One hit, a left hook aimed at the man's liver. His aura pieced into the flesh like a knife, an agonizing amount of force slamming into the flesh organ within.

BAM

The second hit, a punch with his middle knuckle extended, aimed at the man's neck. His airway, completely cut off for a short, intense instant, any semblance of proper breath control.

SMASH

The third hit, a fierce kick, to the man's shin. It was a clean combination, one meant to disable a stronger opponent, before knocking them off balance in one, vicious instant, sending them writhing in pain on the floor. And he certainly would have succeeded against any average opponent.

And yet…

SLAM

The King Tiger planted his foot down, hard enough to leave a visible bootprint underneath his tread. He gasped for air, pain flaring from his injured flesh…and yet…

He did not kneel.

Clenching his fist, he launched a vicious left hook toward the man in front of him, the monk evading It by a hair with a lightning-quick backstep. Without skipping a beat, he raised his leg…

CRACK

In a vicious, absurdly fast gesture, one too quick for the audience to follow, he slammed his leg into the man’s ribs, the aura permeating to the flesh and rattling the bones below. King Tiger staggered, the man reeling from such an intense blow. Before he could counter however, the monk twisted on his heel, balancing his weight on the back of his foot as he spun to deliver another kick to the man’s temple, the impact rattling deep into his skull…and shaking the brain within.

“!!!!” King Tiger let out a ragged gasp, a wave of dizziness spreading across his body. And yet…The monk was not finished. As the muscular man was reeling from his last blow, he planted both feet on the ground. Slowly, he built up his aura around his palm, before…

BOOM

He SLAMMED his palm into the man’s ribs, the aura erupting from his strike in a manner akin to an explosion, enveloping both fighters in a shockwave of energy. An audible crack could be heard, the breaking of bone sounding out through the arena as King Tiger was launched several feet away, his back touching the ground for the second time since the fight began. His body lay in a crumpled heap…his eyes seemingly glazed over.


THAT WAS IT FOLKS! THE MONKS EXPLODING PALM HAS SENT HIS CHALLENGER CLEAN OFF HIS FEET! IT SEEMS THE KING TIGER IS NO MATCH FOR THE MONKS MASTERFUL MELEE!” The announcer shouted out. Noise erupted from the audience, cheers for the seemingly clear victor of the fight, and boos from people who had, regrettably, bet on the King Tiger. It was obvious in hindsight. The Mystical Monk had a much better record, and was clearly the better fighter. King Tiger may have snatched a few wins from some newcomers, and may have been lucky enough to beat a magical beast, but it’s clear that he was no match for a veteran fighter. As the staff moved to strike their instruments, announcing the round had been completed…something strange happened in the ring.

“….He’s like a cockroach…” Law muttered to himself, his eyes locked on the crumbled man a few yards away. Sure enough…he began to move. Slowly at first, but rapidly building up speed as he clawed at the ground below. In a few moments, he slammed both hands against the floor, his muscles bulging with exertion. With a mighty heave, he pushed himself airborne using arm strength alone, two, impossibly thick handprints imprinting themselves deep into the material below. He landed on his feet, his breath coming out a steady, even pants. Blood pooled in his mouth, the coppery taste staining his lips as it fell to the ground below. The damage was…quite obvious, yet…the man seemed to have no intention of throwing in the towel.

The Announcer…paused, His eyes staring down at the man with visible confusion.

“Erm…The…THE KING TIGER HAS…miraculously…STOOD BACK TO HIS FEET! THE MATCH IS STILL ON FOLKS!” He said. Though he scarcely believed it himself. The Exploding Palm was the technique the Monk always used to knock out his opponents. Most men who took it head-on were put into a coma…or worse. By all rights he should be carried out on a stretcher…and yet…


“YA HERE THAT?? THE KING TIGER’S STILL STANDING!!” The man shouted out from the arena floor, knocking the announcer from his thoughts. For some odd reason…the injured man flexed, striking a pose as if he wasn’t the one being pummeled. Noise erupted from the audience in response, a mixture of cheers, boos and jeers falling at the feet of the injured man below.

Law watched the spectacle, growing bored of the man’s constant antics.

“…You’d make for a good training dummy, I’ll give you that.” Law said. Slowly, he got into his stance again, gradually tensing his muscles.

“…I’ll hit you until you break.”

King Tiger flashed him a smirk, raising a tanned arm before slapping it against his chest.

“Give it ya best, bastard.” He said. With trembling legs, he lowered his center of gravity, ignoring the sharp, sudden pain that erupted from his left side with the movement. Slowly he breathed out, his hands outstretched, assuming his stance.

In the next instant, the Monk dashed forward, crossing the gap between them in a single breath. In the same instant, he coated his hand with aura before….

POW

A powerful straight, launched towards King Tiger’s nose, impacting the bone just above his mouth. It was a clean hit, fast enough that it shouldn’t have left him open to counterattack. Yet…the moment his fist connected…A pain shot through his entire arm, as if the man had struck the hardest of material. He flinched, his arm quickly retracting…yet, for a brief moment, he hesitated.

And that brief moment, was all King Tiger needed. He lifted an arm, stepping his lead leg forward…before…

POW

he slugged the man with all of his strength, his arm muscles bulging as he launched a single, soul-shattering punch. The monk staggered, gritting his teeth as the fist impacted his chest. Without skipping a beat, however, King Tiger clenched his right fist, delivering another powerful blow to the man’s chest.

And another, and another, and another.

They were full-body blows, ones thrown using nothing but muscle strength alone. They weren’t nearly as damaging as they look but….

“T-the hell?!” Law thought. He attempted to throw up his guard, attempted to dodge the attacks yet…he couldn’t. Each blow was akin to a wave crashing onto his body, throwing off his center of balance with every hit. Even Law, someone who could balance all of his weight with nothing but a single toe, could scarcely regain his footing as he was showered with blow after blow.

They were push punches, blows King Tiger used to stun rather than damage. Effectively a series of close-fisted shoves that couldn’t be negated by conventional tactics. The trick was actually extremely basic, something even a playground bully could come up with. The man called King Tiger couldn’t hope to develop any more advanced techniques. But…it didn’t matter.

Muscle strength closed the gap. Even a basic application of strength can prove effective, with enough explosive muscle power behind it. But…such a trick would only work for an instant against such a skillful foe. Only a few moments after the barrage of punches began, the monk twisted his body towards the ground, letting himself fall back onto the ground below, dodging the last punch mere millimeters before it could land against his body. Placing a hand upon the ground as he landed, he spun on his palms before:

CRACK

a fierce kick landed against King Tigers' jaw, amplified by the torque of his sudden spin. the familiar crack of broken bone echoed across the arena…

Yet it wasn’t the King Tiger’s bone that had shattered.

The monk let out a sharp, exhale of breath, his heel erupting in sudden, searing pain, quickly, he rolled onto his back, before jumping to his feet, gritting his teeth as his weight settled upon the cracked bone. King Tiger took a step back, a visible bruise beginning to form on the area he had been kicked.

“…You…bastard…” The Monk thought. He had figured it out. Figured out why he had hurt his fist with his last punch, and why his heel had shattered after kicking him.

At the last moment, the instant before he had been struck, he had covered his chin in an absurdly thick layer of aura, while simultaneously slamming his own body into the blow. The result was akin to if he had struck a sturdy hammer in motion, his body breaking under the weight of the sudden, unexpected force. It was simple. An absurdly simple trick in theory, any novice could shield themselves with their aura…but…why would he let himself be attacked so often in the match, with that type of counter? Was he simply holding back? Or….

Was it that he couldn’t?


The monk gritted his teeth, his fists clenched until the white of his knuckles flashed beneath the skin. It didn’t matter. The fool had broken his heel…and he would pay dearly for it. He took a slow breath, calming his nerves. If he couldn’t strike the man normally… he would simply rely on his aura to do the damage. His Exploding Palm was a powerful technique, but to use it at full power, he would need to expend a massive amount of aura, just as he had done with his initial strike. He would need to lower it’s output, enough to still pierce through the man’s impossibly muscular hide while conserving his own stamina. The King Tiger may be hardy…

but he wasn’t invulnerable.

Only a mere instant after he had gotten to his feet, he rushed back towards the muscular man, his movements notably slower than before. Unclenching his fist, he unleashed a vicious palm strike onto the man’s chest, accompanied by the familiar Boom of his aura exploding against the man’s chest. King Tiger responded in kind, slamming his fist against the man’s side the same instant his palm had connected, both fighters stumbling backward from the respective impacts.

BOOM

POW

BOOM

POW

In a flurry of blows, the two fighters exchanged fists and palm strikes, blood flowing from bruised flesh as the two fighters wailed on eachother. These were no push punches, not anymore, the King Tiger throwing all of his weight into driving as much force as he could into the other man’s body. The Monk had the clear lead in blows, his palm connecting time and time again…

But exchanging blows was King Tiger’s forte. And thus…for the second time in the fight…

The Mystical Monk was being overwhelmed. With one last, powerful strike, he gathered up all of his remaining aura, attempting to finish the muscular man off in one burst. The moment before he could launch the attack, however…two muscular hands arms wrapped around his waist.


“….What?” The Monk thought.

In an instant, he was lifted upward, the muscular man throwing all of his strength into one single, soul-shattering throw. He arched his back, bending his knees…

Before SLAMMING the monk onto the ground, the ground cracking apart and breaking as the sound of flesh against cobblestone echoed across the land.

A front suplex, its strength amplified by their combined weight, King Tiger’s own, explosive muscle power, and gravity itself….

An unavoidable concussion.


“…I-impossible…” The Monk thought. He stared upward, his broken body twitching and writhing, as if attempting to stand to his feet. King Tiger simply collapsed onto his knees, staring down at his opponent.

“…Your…really damn strong, ya know that?” The man muttered. The Monk said nothing, glaring into the man’s gaze until he mercifully lost consciousness.

The announcer stared down at the two fighters…dumbfounded. For a few moments, he went silent, before grabbing the magic orb, and putting it to his mouth.

“WHAT AN UPSET! THE KING TIGER HAS MANAGED TO WETHER THE MONK'S BARRAGE OF TECHNIQUES, SNATCHING VICTORY FROM HIS GRASP!” The Announcer roared. The audience echoed his excitement, cheers erupting from the stands as the injured fighter slowly got to his feet…raising a single fist in the air.

David breathed out, another, burst of pain erupting from his ribs as he moved his sore muscles. If he hadn't figured out the man's pattern, hadn't understood his movements just enough to use his Aura against his kick...he would have lost. Guaranteed. The monk's speed and footwork far surpassed his own, it would have been child's play for him to outmaneuver him until he was too injured to stand. He had to count himself lucky, then. Lucky he had performed the one move he had prepared to counter, lucky that the man underestimated him enough to give him time to figure out the pattern of his blows. Prediction wasn't a skill David excelled at, heck...he would be unable to achieve what even the average knight could, in terms of predictive ability alone. but...he worked with what he could. Instead of reading movements, breathing, timing, or rhythm..he read damage. Every strike he took...he imprinted into his mind. His bruises, tracing a picture of the opponent's skill and might. He would take this knowledge...and work with it. Slowly but surely figuring out their patterns, places they usually liked to target, the speed and force of their attacks....anything he could derive from the strikes as they broke his bones and ended his flesh. People sometimes mock his inclination towards fighting shirtless, deriding it as the mark of a fool....

But such a strategy could only be performed if he felt the force against his own flesh. The man's tactics perfectly built to make use of his armorless body to its greatest extent.

Of course...such a strategy would be useless if it wasn't for David's body. Muscles, akin to tempered steel, built upon hours and hours of extensive, maddening training. A neck, thick and muscular, warding off knock-out blows even as they hammered against his skull. A torso, tough and firm, protecting the fragile organs within. You could say he had crafted a body designed for taking blows, with the muscular endurance to power through the damage without pause.

Another burst of pain erupted from David's side, causing the man's teeth to clench.

"....Doesn't that hurt?"

He could hear the strange boy's words in his mind, echoing across his brain as he began to resume his workouts.

"...Yeah...it hurts like hell..." The man muttered to himself.

He continued his training, watching as the sun slowly began to set on the horizon.

A few moments later, Alexia would return from the kitchen with Siglos's meal, handing the piping hot, maple-syrup covered waffles to him, which were dabbed with a mixture of strawberries and whipped-cream.

"B-Be careful when holding it, you may burn yourself on the plate..." She warned, "Were you just talking to a friend...?"

Siglos flashed her a soft smile, carefully grabbing onto the plate. He winced...feeling the searing heat against his flesh as he quickly set it on the table.

"...T-this l-looks... d-delicious, Alexia..." He said softly, his eyes looking over the bountiful meal before him.

"...A-and...y-yeah! I w-was...t-talking w-with my...t-traveling companion, Jeanne. T-the...human girl." He added.

 

[azontr]

Siglos flashed her a soft smile, carefully grabbing onto the plate. He winced...feeling the searing heat against his flesh as he quickly set it on the table.

"...T-this l-looks... d-delicious, Alexia..." He said softly, his eyes looking over the bountiful meal before him.

"...A-and...y-yeah! I w-was...t-talking w-with my...t-traveling companion, Jeanne. T-the...human girl." He added.

"Ah, right...." Alexia said, nodding. "The girl with the curse..."

 

[DaReaperMan]

Spoiler: Meanwhile, Prince Kitten...

David remained where he was for a long time, his muscles flexing and contracting with every movement as he pushed against the ground. Sweat dripped onto the soil below, the dirt slowly shifting to mud as the man worked.

He needed to become stronger. Much, much stronger. The events of the last fight constantly replayed themselves in his mind, the man gritting his teeth as he realized just how close he had come to losing the match.

Spoiler: King Tiger Vs The Monk

"THEN LET THE MATCH OF THE DAY...BEGIN!" The announcer shouted. A loud, sharp noise accompanied his declaration, the banging of a powerful instrument.

And with that....it began.

In a sudden burst of motion, King Tiger launched himself airborne, jumping several meters in a single bound. He did a flip, before forcefully kicking his legs downward, attempting to hit his opponent with a fierce, downward double kick. Law responded quickly, gracefully backstepping so that the muscular man's blow only stuck air. Before he could counterattack, however, King Tiger’s arm muscles bulged, the man landing on his hands on the ground before immediately launching himself into the air again, this time right toward his opponent. He shifted himself in mid-air, his feet stretched forward as he attempted to land a full-force drop kick against the monk. In response, the monk simply dodged at the last moment, sidestepping the attack the moment before it touched his skin.

"...He's wide open!" The monk thought. In the split second King Tiger’s body passed his own, mere milliseconds after he executed his dodge...he clenched his fist, his arm wrapping itself in a thin, yet potent layer of aura. Planting his feet solidly on the ground, he launched a quick punch toward the man, as he raced by him. Immediately, the blow had the intended effect, the muscular man's body loosening as he began to tumble into the air, falling on his back a few meters away.

"... Amateur..." The monk thought. It was over. A punch to the chin, combined with the added momentum of the man's own drop-kick, was a guaranteed knockout, the brain simply unable to withstand such a sudden jolt of force.

at least....that's what should have happened.

Gingerly, the helmeted man picked himself off the ground, rubbing his chin with his hand.

"That...******* smarts..." He muttered. The monk simply stared at the man as he stood to his feet, a brief burst of confusion spreading across his mind. It didn't matter how much the man had built up his muscles, he was still just a man. A blow of that caliber should have given him a concussion. Yet...he seemingly only escaped with a bruise. Yet, he hadn't used an aura either...

"...That bastard..." The monk muttered. There were only two possible explanations he could think of. Either he had mistimed the blow, something which had never happened in any of his years of fighting, or...

"...He shifted his chin at the last moment. The instant my fist connected, he must've moved his head in tandem with the blow, partially negating its force..." The monk thought. It was...a rather basic maneuver, in truth. But to do so with such timing...the man was clearly used to taking blows.

"...It seems he's more than just talk..." The monk thought to himself. Slowly, he returned to his stance, waiting for the man to recover.

It didn't take long.

Mere moments later, The King Tiger dashed towards him, feet leaving imprints on the ground with the force of his movements. His center of gravity was lowered, his arms outstretched. It was a tackle, an obvious one at that. It seemed subtly was not one of the muscular man's strong suits...

WHAM

The moment before the man's hands could wrap around his lower body, the monk raised his leg...before delivering a powerful roundhouse kick onto the man's head. His head bounced backward, recoiling from the sudden, intense blow...yet, he responded immediately. Clenching his fist, the muscular man immediately planted his feet on the ground, transitioning from his failed tackle into a powerful uppercut. Smooth as silk, the monk stepped backward, the fist missing him by mere inches. Slowly, he raised both hands....

POW

One hit, a left hook aimed at the man's liver. His aura pieced into the flesh like a knife, an agonizing amount of force slamming into the flesh organ within.

BAM

The second hit, a punch with his middle knuckle extended, aimed at the man's neck. His airway, completely cut off for a short, intense instant, any semblance of proper breath control.

SMASH

The third hit, a fierce kick, to the man's shin. It was a clean combination, one meant to disable a stronger opponent, before knocking them off balance in one, vicious instant, sending them writhing in pain on the floor. And he certainly would have succeeded against any average opponent.

And yet…

SLAM

The King Tiger planted his foot down, hard enough to leave a visible bootprint underneath his tread. He gasped for air, pain flaring from his injured flesh…and yet…

He did not kneel.

Clenching his fist, he launched a vicious left hook toward the man in front of him, the monk evading It by a hair with a lightning-quick backstep. Without skipping a beat, he raised his leg…

CRACK

In a vicious, absurdly fast gesture, one too quick for the audience to follow, he slammed his leg into the man’s ribs, the aura permeating to the flesh and rattling the bones below. King Tiger staggered, the man reeling from such an intense blow. Before he could counter however, the monk twisted on his heel, balancing his weight on the back of his foot as he spun to deliver another kick to the man’s temple, the impact rattling deep into his skull…and shaking the brain within.

“!!!!” King Tiger let out a ragged gasp, a wave of dizziness spreading across his body. And yet…The monk was not finished. As the muscular man was reeling from his last blow, he planted both feet on the ground. Slowly, he built up his aura around his palm, before…

BOOM

He SLAMMED his palm into the man’s ribs, the aura erupting from his strike in a manner akin to an explosion, enveloping both fighters in a shockwave of energy. An audible crack could be heard, the breaking of bone sounding out through the arena as King Tiger was launched several feet away, his back touching the ground for the second time since the fight began. His body lay in a crumpled heap…his eyes seemingly glazed over.


THAT WAS IT FOLKS! THE MONKS EXPLODING PALM HAS SENT HIS CHALLENGER CLEAN OFF HIS FEET! IT SEEMS THE KING TIGER IS NO MATCH FOR THE MONKS MASTERFUL MELEE!” The announcer shouted out. Noise erupted from the audience, cheers for the seemingly clear victor of the fight, and boos from people who had, regrettably, bet on the King Tiger. It was obvious in hindsight. The Mystical Monk had a much better record, and was clearly the better fighter. King Tiger may have snatched a few wins from some newcomers, and may have been lucky enough to beat a magical beast, but it’s clear that he was no match for a veteran fighter. As the staff moved to strike their instruments, announcing the round had been completed…something strange happened in the ring.

“….He’s like a cockroach…” Law muttered to himself, his eyes locked on the crumbled man a few yards away. Sure enough…he began to move. Slowly at first, but rapidly building up speed as he clawed at the ground below. In a few moments, he slammed both hands against the floor, his muscles bulging with exertion. With a mighty heave, he pushed himself airborne using arm strength alone, two, impossibly thick handprints imprinting themselves deep into the material below. He landed on his feet, his breath coming out a steady, even pants. Blood pooled in his mouth, the coppery taste staining his lips as it fell to the ground below. The damage was…quite obvious, yet…the man seemed to have no intention of throwing in the towel.

The Announcer…paused, His eyes staring down at the man with visible confusion.

“Erm…The…THE KING TIGER HAS…miraculously…STOOD BACK TO HIS FEET! THE MATCH IS STILL ON FOLKS!” He said. Though he scarcely believed it himself. The Exploding Palm was the technique the Monk always used to knock out his opponents. Most men who took it head-on were put into a coma…or worse. By all rights he should be carried out on a stretcher…and yet…


“YA HERE THAT?? THE KING TIGER’S STILL STANDING!!” The man shouted out from the arena floor, knocking the announcer from his thoughts. For some odd reason…the injured man flexed, striking a pose as if he wasn’t the one being pummeled. Noise erupted from the audience in response, a mixture of cheers, boos and jeers falling at the feet of the injured man below.

Law watched the spectacle, growing bored of the man’s constant antics.

“…You’d make for a good training dummy, I’ll give you that.” Law said. Slowly, he got into his stance again, gradually tensing his muscles.

“…I’ll hit you until you break.”

King Tiger flashed him a smirk, raising a tanned arm before slapping it against his chest.

“Give it ya best, bastard.” He said. With trembling legs, he lowered his center of gravity, ignoring the sharp, sudden pain that erupted from his left side with the movement. Slowly he breathed out, his hands outstretched, assuming his stance.

In the next instant, the Monk dashed forward, crossing the gap between them in a single breath. In the same instant, he coated his hand with aura before….

POW

A powerful straight, launched towards King Tiger’s nose, impacting the bone just above his mouth. It was a clean hit, fast enough that it shouldn’t have left him open to counterattack. Yet…the moment his fist connected…A pain shot through his entire arm, as if the man had struck the hardest of material. He flinched, his arm quickly retracting…yet, for a brief moment, he hesitated.

And that brief moment, was all King Tiger needed. He lifted an arm, stepping his lead leg forward…before…

POW

he slugged the man with all of his strength, his arm muscles bulging as he launched a single, soul-shattering punch. The monk staggered, gritting his teeth as the fist impacted his chest. Without skipping a beat, however, King Tiger clenched his right fist, delivering another powerful blow to the man’s chest.

And another, and another, and another.

They were full-body blows, ones thrown using nothing but muscle strength alone. They weren’t nearly as damaging as they look but….

“T-the hell?!” Law thought. He attempted to throw up his guard, attempted to dodge the attacks yet…he couldn’t. Each blow was akin to a wave crashing onto his body, throwing off his center of balance with every hit. Even Law, someone who could balance all of his weight with nothing but a single toe, could scarcely regain his footing as he was showered with blow after blow.

They were push punches, blows King Tiger used to stun rather than damage. Effectively a series of close-fisted shoves that couldn’t be negated by conventional tactics. The trick was actually extremely basic, something even a playground bully could come up with. The man called King Tiger couldn’t hope to develop any more advanced techniques. But…it didn’t matter.

Muscle strength closed the gap. Even a basic application of strength can prove effective, with enough explosive muscle power behind it. But…such a trick would only work for an instant against such a skillful foe. Only a few moments after the barrage of punches began, the monk twisted his body towards the ground, letting himself fall back onto the ground below, dodging the last punch mere millimeters before it could land against his body. Placing a hand upon the ground as he landed, he spun on his palms before:

CRACK

a fierce kick landed against King Tigers' jaw, amplified by the torque of his sudden spin. the familiar crack of broken bone echoed across the arena…

Yet it wasn’t the King Tiger’s bone that had shattered.

The monk let out a sharp, exhale of breath, his heel erupting in sudden, searing pain, quickly, he rolled onto his back, before jumping to his feet, gritting his teeth as his weight settled upon the cracked bone. King Tiger took a step back, a visible bruise beginning to form on the area he had been kicked.

“…You…bastard…” The Monk thought. He had figured it out. Figured out why he had hurt his fist with his last punch, and why his heel had shattered after kicking him.

At the last moment, the instant before he had been struck, he had covered his chin in an absurdly thick layer of aura, while simultaneously slamming his own body into the blow. The result was akin to if he had struck a sturdy hammer in motion, his body breaking under the weight of the sudden, unexpected force. It was simple. An absurdly simple trick in theory, any novice could shield themselves with their aura…but…why would he let himself be attacked so often in the match, with that type of counter? Was he simply holding back? Or….

Was it that he couldn’t?


The monk gritted his teeth, his fists clenched until the white of his knuckles flashed beneath the skin. It didn’t matter. The fool had broken his heel…and he would pay dearly for it. He took a slow breath, calming his nerves. If he couldn’t strike the man normally… he would simply rely on his aura to do the damage. His Exploding Palm was a powerful technique, but to use it at full power, he would need to expend a massive amount of aura, just as he had done with his initial strike. He would need to lower it’s output, enough to still pierce through the man’s impossibly muscular hide while conserving his own stamina. The King Tiger may be hardy…

but he wasn’t invulnerable.

Only a mere instant after he had gotten to his feet, he rushed back towards the muscular man, his movements notably slower than before. Unclenching his fist, he unleashed a vicious palm strike onto the man’s chest, accompanied by the familiar Boom of his aura exploding against the man’s chest. King Tiger responded in kind, slamming his fist against the man’s side the same instant his palm had connected, both fighters stumbling backward from the respective impacts.

BOOM

POW

BOOM

POW

In a flurry of blows, the two fighters exchanged fists and palm strikes, blood flowing from bruised flesh as the two fighters wailed on eachother. These were no push punches, not anymore, the King Tiger throwing all of his weight into driving as much force as he could into the other man’s body. The Monk had the clear lead in blows, his palm connecting time and time again…

But exchanging blows was King Tiger’s forte. And thus…for the second time in the fight…

The Mystical Monk was being overwhelmed. With one last, powerful strike, he gathered up all of his remaining aura, attempting to finish the muscular man off in one burst. The moment before he could launch the attack, however…two muscular hands arms wrapped around his waist.


“….What?” The Monk thought.

In an instant, he was lifted upward, the muscular man throwing all of his strength into one single, soul-shattering throw. He arched his back, bending his knees…

Before SLAMMING the monk onto the ground, the ground cracking apart and breaking as the sound of flesh against cobblestone echoed across the land.

A front suplex, its strength amplified by their combined weight, King Tiger’s own, explosive muscle power, and gravity itself….

An unavoidable concussion.


“…I-impossible…” The Monk thought. He stared upward, his broken body twitching and writhing, as if attempting to stand to his feet. King Tiger simply collapsed onto his knees, staring down at his opponent.

“…Your…really damn strong, ya know that?” The man muttered. The Monk said nothing, glaring into the man’s gaze until he mercifully lost consciousness.

The announcer stared down at the two fighters…dumbfounded. For a few moments, he went silent, before grabbing the magic orb, and putting it to his mouth.

“WHAT AN UPSET! THE KING TIGER HAS MANAGED TO WETHER THE MONK'S BARRAGE OF TECHNIQUES, SNATCHING VICTORY FROM HIS GRASP!” The Announcer roared. The audience echoed his excitement, cheers erupting from the stands as the injured fighter slowly got to his feet…raising a single fist in the air.

David breathed out, another, burst of pain erupting from his ribs as he moved his sore muscles. If he hadn't figured out the man's pattern, hadn't understood his movements just enough to use his Aura against his kick...he would have lost. Guaranteed. The monk's speed and footwork far surpassed his own, it would have been child's play for him to outmaneuver him until he was too injured to stand. He had to count himself lucky, then. Lucky he had performed the one move he had prepared to counter, lucky that the man underestimated him enough to give him time to figure out the pattern of his blows. Prediction wasn't a skill David excelled at, heck...he would be unable to achieve what even the average knight could, in terms of predictive ability alone. but...he worked with what he could. Instead of reading movements, breathing, timing, or rhythm..he read damage. Every strike he took...he imprinted into his mind. His bruises, tracing a picture of the opponent's skill and might. He would take this knowledge...and work with it. Slowly but surely figuring out their patterns, places they usually liked to target, the speed and force of their attacks....anything he could derive from the strikes as they broke his bones and ended his flesh. People sometimes mock his inclination towards fighting shirtless, deriding it as the mark of a fool....

But such a strategy could only be performed if he felt the force against his own flesh. The man's tactics perfectly built to make use of his armorless body to its greatest extent.

Of course...such a strategy would be useless if it wasn't for David's body. Muscles, akin to tempered steel, built upon hours and hours of extensive, maddening training. A neck, thick and muscular, warding off knock-out blows even as they hammered against his skull. A torso, tough and firm, protecting the fragile organs within. You could say he had crafted a body designed for taking blows, with the muscular endurance to power through the damage without pause.

Another burst of pain erupted from David's side, causing the man's teeth to clench.

"....Doesn't that hurt?"

He could hear the strange boy's words in his mind, echoing across his brain as he began to resume his workouts.

"...Yeah...it hurts like hell..." The man muttered to himself.

He continued his training, watching as the sun slowly began to set on the horizon.

Siglos flashed her a soft smile, carefully grabbing onto the plate. He winced...feeling the searing heat against his flesh as he quickly set it on the table.

"...T-this l-looks... d-delicious, Alexia..." He said softly, his eyes looking over the bountiful meal before him.

"...A-and...y-yeah! I w-was...t-talking w-with my...t-traveling companion, Jeanne. T-the...human girl." He added.

(Fixed)

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

"Ah, right...." Alexia said, nodding. "The girl with the curse..."

"......" Siglos's body tensed, his ears twitching slightly as he turned towards Alexia. He said nothing for a moment, before letting out an awkward chuckle.

"...W-well...t-that's...q-quite the p-presumption, A-Alexia. Especially of an...e-envoy o-of the church..." Siglos said quietly. He glanced around nervously, inwardly wondering if someone in the party had told her about Jeanne's condition.

 

[azontr]

"......" Siglos's body tensed, his ears twitching slightly as he turned towards Alexia. He said nothing for a moment, before letting out an awkward chuckle.

"...W-well...t-that's...q-quite the p-presumption, A-Alexia. Especially of an...e-envoy o-of the church..." Siglos said quietly. He glanced around nervously, inwardly wondering if someone in the party had told her about Jeanne's condition.

"...Huh? What do you mean... I could sense the Dark Magic emanating off of her-" Alexia froze.

"........"

"...N-Nevermind. I didn't say anything." She muttered.

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

"...Huh? What do you mean... I could sense the Dark Magic emanating off of her-" Alexia froze.

"........"

"...N-Nevermind. I didn't say anything." She muttered.

"........"

"...W-well...t-that's...um...." Siglos began, trailing off.

"....Y-you know...w-we...a-are...in t-the company o-of s-several R-Rakshashins. L-like m-my...m-mate o-outside. I-I'm...s-sure y-you were...s-simply sensing o-one of them." Siglos said, forcing a small smile on his face.

 

[azontr]

"........"

"...W-well...t-that's...um...." Siglos began, trailing off.

"....Y-you know...w-we...a-are...in t-the company o-of s-several R-Rakshashins. L-like m-my...m-mate o-outside. I-I'm...s-sure y-you were...s-simply sensing o-one of them." Siglos said, forcing a small smile on his face.

"...R-Rakshashin don't... actively emit dark mana, unless prompted." Alexia informed, squirming a tiny bit before shaking her head.

"The... involuntary reaction when a Rakshashin releases high amounts of their darkness i-is... called the Argos Reflex. It only happens when they feel threatened, and the... waves of dark mana are used to scare off potential predators." She explained, seeming rather knowledgeable on the subject.

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

"......" Siglos stared at her for a moment, before slowly nodding.

"T-that's...r-rather fascinating. Y-you seem...w-well versed in...d-dark mana, A-Alexia. I...d-didn't take y-you for a scholar..." Siglos said, letting out a...clearly forced chuckle.

 

[azontr]

"...I-It's not a f-fact you need to be a scholar t-to know... You'd just... need to read any biology textbook on Rakshashin and their instincts would be the first uh... thing you learn about before anything else." Alexia explained, "I figured your uh... mate w-would have... e-explained most of it to you, though..."

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

"...I-It's not a f-fact you need to be a scholar t-to know... You'd just... need to read any biology textbook on Rakshashin and their instincts would be the first uh... thing you learn about before anything else." Alexia explained, "I figured your uh... mate w-would have... e-explained most of it to you, though..."

"....." Siglos squirmed in his seat ever so slightly, the Everian feeling uncomfortable in... quite a different way than he had when she had mentioned Jeanne's curse.

"......"

"...M-me and...Sylvia...d-don't...r-really...t-talk a-about...s-such things..." Siglos said quietly.

“...B-but...w-we...o-only recently b-became i-intimate. I-i'm s-sure s-she would h-have t-told m-me...e-eventually." Siglos added quickly.

 

[azontr]

"....." Siglos squirmed in his seat ever so slightly, the Everian feeling uncomfortable in... quite a different way than he had when she had mentioned Jeanne's curse.

"......"

"...M-me and...Sylvia...d-don't...r-really...t-talk a-about...s-such things..." Siglos said quietly.

“...B-but...w-we...o-only recently b-became i-intimate. I-i'm s-sure s-she would h-have t-told m-me...e-eventually." Siglos added quickly.

"O-Oh, alright, then. You should probably make time to discuss it, though.. R-Rakshashin are feral creatures. Her instincts getting out of control could... well, it'd be bad." Alexia said, not elaborating any further to avoid offending Siglos.

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

"O-Oh, alright, then. You should probably make time to discuss it, though.. R-Rakshashin are feral creatures. Her instincts getting out of control could... well, it'd be bad." Alexia said, not elaborating any further to avoid offending Siglos.

Siglos’s eyes began to narrow ever so slightly, his body tensing at her words.

“...I would...a-appreciate...if you did n-not use s-such words...t-to describe my wife, Alexia.” Siglos said. His voice was soft...but a bit colder than his usual tone.

“...S-she is not...feral. N-nor is s-she a...creature. I w-would...r-rather not h-have her b-be referred to l-like s-some...beast."

 

[azontr]

Siglos’s eyes began to narrow ever so slightly, his body tensing at her words.

“...I would...a-appreciate...if you did n-not use s-such words...t-to describe my wife, Alexia.” Siglos said. His voice was soft...but a bit colder than his usual tone.

“...S-she is not...feral. N-nor is s-she a...creature. I w-would...r-rather not h-have her b-be referred to l-like s-some...beast."

"...I am not referring to her as if she was a beast. I am simply stating fact... A Rakshashin is a creature, just as an Everian is a creature, just as a Dragon is one, and they are inclined heavily to violence... Me stating that fact is not an insult." Alexia muttered, sighing ever so slightly.

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

"...I am not referring to her as if she was a beast. I am simply stating fact... A Rakshashin is a creature, just as an Everian is a creature, just as a Dragon is one, and they are inclined heavily to violence... Me stating that fact is not an insult." Alexia muttered, sighing ever so slightly.

Siglos looked up at her for a moment, before breathing out, slowly shaking his head.

"...R-right. W-well..." Siglos said quietly. Gingerly, he stood up from his seat, straightening his green clothes with his fingers.

"...I-it w-was...n-nice, t-talking to you. I...t-trust...w-whatever you k-know about...Jeanne w-will stay...discreet?" Siglos asked quietly.

 

[azontr]

Siglos looked up at her for a moment, before breathing out, slowly shaking his head.

"...R-right. W-well..." Siglos said quietly. Gingerly, he stood up from his seat, straightening his green clothes with his fingers.

"...I-it w-was...n-nice, t-talking to you. I...t-trust...w-whatver you k-know about...Jeanne w-will stay...discreet?" Siglos asked quietly.

"...I don't have cause to gossip about a young girl in pain. I'm no monster." Alexia muttered.

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

"...I don't have cause to gossip about a young girl in pain. I'm no monster." Alexia muttered.

"...T-thank you. I...I'm s-sure s-she w-would... a-appreciate that." Siglos said softly. He bowed politely, before reaching to pick up his, presumably, colder plate from the table.

"...H-have a...good day, Alexia." He said. Gingerly, he began to step away, making for the entrance of the inn.

 

[azontr]

"R... Right." Alexia murmured, bowing as well as Siglos left the inn.

"....Haaa...." Alexia let out a heavy breath, rubbing her eyes with her hands for a moment, feeling the rough, baggy skin beneath, darkened severely from exhaustion and several days of work just to keep herself afloat in such a competitive city. She looked down to the floor, her eyes zeroed in on the wooden floorboards she herself had put in so many years ago... when she had lost him.

"...Garhan... my love..." Alexia thought to herself, trembling ever so slightly. She whimpered lightly, holding back a sob, before shaking her head and straightening her posture.

"...I s-suppose I'll do the dishes. While I am... still conscious." She murmured to herself... before slowly trudging to the kitchen to continue her constant work.

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

Siglos breathed out, his boots tapping against the cobblestone of the road as he took a step outside.

“...She...wouldn't understand.” Siglos thought. Calling Sylvia feral had...angered him...more than he had cared to admit. Perhaps it was because he had seen just how much the woman tried to control herself, to fight off her own nature to be with him. To control her strength...so she would not crumple his fragile flesh. Perhaps it was because...deep down, when he had seen Sylvia tear apart her meal...saw how she unhinged her jaw, felt the sting of his tail against his flesh....

Perhaps it was because...in those briefest of moments...he had thought the same thing. A thought he now grew to hate, to despise with every fiber of his being as he remembered his conversation with the woman the previous night.

“...We will work through this...” He thought. Whatever happened. Whatever instinct she held within her flesh. He would face it with her.

“...Together...”

He glanced around for Sylvia for a moment, hoping the woman hadn't moved from her spot.

 

[azontr]

Siglos breathed out, his boots tapping against the cobblestone of the road as he took a step outside.

“...She...wouldn't understand.” Siglos thought. Calling Sylvia feral had...angered him...more than he had cared to admit. Perhaps it was because he had seen just how much the woman tried to control herself, to fight off her own nature to be with him. To control her strength...so she would not crumple his fragile flesh. Perhaps it was because...deep down, when he had seen Sylvia tear apart her meal...saw how she unhinged her jaw, felt the sting of his tail against his flesh....

Perhaps it was because...in those briefest of moments...he had thought the same thing. A thought he now grew to hate, to despise with every fiber of his being as he remembered his conversation with the woman the previous night.

“...We will work through this...” He thought. Whatever happened. Whatever instinct she held within her flesh. He would face it with her.

“...Together...”

He glanced around for Sylvia for a moment, hoping the woman hadn't moved from her spot.

Sylvia remained curled up in the same spot she was in, not having moved a single inch. The woman was... silent, uncannily silent in comparison to her usual demeanor around her mate.

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

Sylvia remained curled up in the same spot she was in, not having moved a single inch. The woman was... silent, uncannily silent in comparison to her usual demeanor around her mate.

Gingerly, Siglos walked up to her, flashing her a soft smile...though, it faded ever so slightly as he recognized her quieter demeanor.

"...M-my love?" Siglos said softly. He took a seat next to her, placing his plate in his lap.

 

[azontr]

Gingerly, Siglos walked up to her, flashing her a soft smile...though, it faded ever so slightly as he recognized her quieter demeanor.

"...M-my love?" Siglos said softly. He took a seat next to her, placing his plate in his lap.

"....." Sylvia remained silent for a few more long, but ephemeral moments... before speaking.

"Is that what you think of me..." She whispered.

"....You..."

"Think I'm a creature...? That I'm... feral...?"

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

"....." Sylvia remained silent for a few more long, but ephemeral moments... before speaking.

"Is that what you think of me..." She whispered.

"....You..."

"Think I'm a creature...? That I'm... feral...?"

Siglos stared at her for a moment, his eyes widening. It seemed she had heard the conversation he had with Alexia.

"...S-Sylvia..." Siglos said quietly. He dropped his plate onto the cobblestone, moving in to wrap his arms around the woman's leg, should she allow it.

"...Y-you...a-are much more t-than...a-anything t-that w-woman c-could...describe you as. I-ignore h-her, please..." He whispered.