[FIGHT!]
"WAITWAITWAIT-!"
Hunter freezes, startled by the sudden shout. "What-?"
"You call this a duel!? I don't even have a weapon! And you have that-that-huge ass sword that somehow you're lifting like it's a fucking pen when it's double your height!"
Hunter flinches. "You.....!"
Sweat rolls down the side of HAV0C's face. He'd said the first thing that came to his mind. And that was to jab at Hunter's pride.
"Going through all this trouble just to kill a weaponless noob....what a waste."
"..........."
"If you truly want a duel that's worthwhile, give me something to fight back with! A knife, anything!"
"Fine." Hunter unbuckles a sword attached to his belt, tossing it to him in its sword hilt. "You're right, a duel should be fair."
OhmyGodthatactuallyworked-
The moment the sword touches his hands a notification pops into his vision.
[Sturdy Double-handed Sword]
[A sword crafted from a sturdy metal. Has a high durability.]
Oh wow. He actually gave me a decent weapon.....
Why does that worry me even more!?
"Now, then. Are there any other advantages you require?"
"Advantages-?" The taunt causes HAV0C's blood to boil.
"But of course." Even with a mask, there's an air of pride, of supremacy that oozes out of Hunter.
"A weakling such as yourself must have as many advantages as possible in order to make this a fair fight."
"....This motherfucker-"
He's right, though. Just how much stronger is he compared to me?
He grips the sword handle till his knuckles turn white.
It doesn't matter. I can win. I've beaten him before, I can beat him again!
He takes in a breath, staring Hunter down. His heart pounds as a small smile grows on his lips.
"Bring it on-"
A flash of red, the glint of steel.
The stench of blood.
Struggle, child.
________________________________________________________________________________
"COME ON, KID. PUT YOUR BACK INTO IT!!!"
"Ugh!" Flames lick at Frozen's skin, being forced to play a lethal game of dodge-ball as he takes cover in a gutted out store. Cowered behind a shelf, ears ringing, eyes stinging and throat burning from the smoke.
This is Hell.
He sends out a wave of frost, cursing as he just twists his head to avoid a scorching ball of heat. Pain explodes across the side of his face.
This is Hell and I'm trapped.
"Kiiiiiid....come out, come out, wherever you are...." Through the smoke and the flames he can see the demon taunting him, spheres of fire surrounding him. "It's no fun if you hide all the time......"
He's way too fast. At this rate I'm going to-
Calm down. Think of a way through this.
He coughs, smoke filling his lungs.
I can't do anything. I'm not strong enough!
I-
A hand grasps unto his shoulder.
SHIT-!
He spins around and slams the assailant into the floor, eyes blurry with tears. A shard of ice forms in his hand and he raises it, prepared to shove it through their heart-
"FROZEN, WAIT-!"
He freezes. That voice......
A panicked girl in a hoodie is pinned beneath him, arms raised to defend herself. Tears pricking her eyes from the smoke.
"Lore?" He lowers the shard, eyes blurry. "You followed me here? Why-?"
"There you are."
FUCK-
The attacks come in faster than he can summon up a defense. The only thing he can do is cover Lore with his body as the shelf they are behind explodes into smithereens. Burnt pieces of paper rain down on the two, and for a moment all is still.
"Frozen-"
"Lore. Listen to me." Frozen slowly gets to his feet. His vision blurs as the heat makes even standing unbearable.
"Get out of here and head to Eclipse or Kichi. I'll cover you."
"Bu-"
"But nothing. Get up and go. Now."
Why?
Lore's hands clench into fists.
Why should I run and leave you behind!?
"....Like hell I will."
[Loreminder's ability has been awakened!]
The man admires his handiwork from afar for a moment, just watching the smoke curl into the air. "Did I get them....?"
Well, that was kinda boring. He stretches, snapping his fingers and playing with a tiny fireball balanced on his finger. I expected more from my counter.....
"Ah, well. It was just a kid." He turns and walks away from the store, satisfied with this destruction. Let's find another toy to play with.
A chill in the air.
A shiver down his spine.
"!?"
He whips around in an instant, staring into the burnt-out shell that was the store. What was that!? It felt like....
It felt like I was chilled to the very bone!
"[Use skill. Environmental shift.]"
"[TUNDRA]"
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
The scorched earth becomes a frozen wasteland. A boy steps out of the store, his very breath chilling the air around him to nearly sub-zero temperatures. Flecks of ice rest on his eyelashes and hair.
"W-what t-the....." The man stares at him, the sight almost beautiful, something about it truly majestic. It's not like he can run away. Not with his legs covered in ice all the way up to his knees.
How....?
The boy slowly makes his way over to the man, who desperately raises a shaky hand, flinging a ball of flame at him.
"U-USE S-SKILL! F-FIRECRACKER-!"
The flame fizzles out before it can even reach the boy, turning into a harmless cloud that circles him.
"A-AHHHHHH!!!" The man struggles, his legs refusing to budge. "FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!!!!!"
"I wouldn't move if I were you." Frost slowly crawls up the boy's arms, his legs. "Unless you want to truly lose them, that is."
"YOU LITTLE SHIT!!! LET ME OUT OF THIS, RIGHT NOW-!"
The boy rests a hand on the man's face, his fingertips enough to send a violent shiver through him.
"I think I've heard enough trash from that mouth of yours." The boy's eyes are a dull grey. "Let's get rid of that, shall we?"
"[PERMAFROST]"
A scream rips itself from the man's lungs, a scream that's cut short as his open mouth as impaled from within from a shard of ice, a product of all of his organs and veins freezing and expanding. He's become a morbid ice sculpture, the boy's masterpiece. Frozen's masterpiece.
A masterpiece he smashes to pieces with his own two hands.
________________________________________________________________________________
Blood splatters across the floor.
Liquid red runs downs his fingers, gripped tightly unto the handle of a sword, its blade still clean, void of his opponent's blood.
Pain, is everything the boy knows. Pain is a realm he can't escape from, a prison that's he's trapped in.
With every swing his tormentor carves a new line across his skin. They're a red ghost, untouchable, only becoming corporeal when they seek to attack.
They could finish this fight easily. The gap between the two is great, too great for the boy to overcome. His fate was sealed the moment the duel was decided. He could put the boy out of his misery, out of his agony.
But where's the fun in that!?
With glee he continues to rend the boy's flesh, tearing it apart with ease.
Everyone I've killed is always the same.
With happiness he batters the boy's body, bludgeoning it over and over again.
They believe they are special, that they have some kind of destiny, some fate!
With pleasure he soaks the grass beneath him with the boy's blood.
And all, ALL died a painful death at my hands.
Do you understand now!?
You are not some hero.
You have no future.
You are NOTHING.
Just killing you isn't enough to satisfy me. No, cutting you down with a single stroke won't be enough.
I'm going to make this into your personal Hell.
So cry out! Let your screams run free!
He swings downwards, the boy's blood splattering across his visor.
BEG FOR YOUR LIFE LIKE ALL THE REST!
I can't see.
A blow knocks him down once again. He's choking on blood, lost in a world were everything, everything is red.
Have I gone blind? Has he cut my eyes out?
He retches, his very life bleeding out onto the plant life around him. He raises a shaking hand to his face, feeling around. The overwhelming stench of iron fills his nostrils.
No, they're still there....right?
Lacerations cover his entire frame, blood forming rivers across the ground. Something's leaking from his eyes.
Am I crying?
He can't breath, his chest is heaving. An ugly sob is leaving his throat.
I'm crying.
When the first slash happened, he was in shock. He couldn't believe it. It was so fast, so sudden. The pain was instantaneous.
In anger he swings back, hitting nothing but air. The rage gives him strength as he barrels through blow after blow, chasing after a red phantom, a ghost in the mist.
I can't see.
A blow knocks him down once again. He's choking on blood, lost in a world were everything, everything is red.
Have I gone blind? Has he cut my eyes out?
He retches, his very life bleeding out onto the plant life around him. He raises a shaking hand to his face, feeling around. The overwhelming stench of iron fills his nostrils.
No, they're still there....right?
Lacerations cover his entire frame, blood forming rivers across the ground. Something's leaking from his eyes.
Am I crying?
He can't breath, his chest is heaving. An ugly sob is leaving his throat.
I'm crying.
When the first slash happened, he was in shock. He couldn't believe it. It was so fast, so sudden. The pain was instantaneous.
In anger he swings back, hitting nothing but air. The rage gives him strength as he barrels through blow after blow, chasing after a red phantom, a ghost in the mist. He snarls, he screams. He surrenders himself to the madness, setting himself alight.
I refuse to be a toy for this fucker.
I REFUSE TO BE PUSHED AROUND!
He's knocked down, and he pushes himself up again. Pain, rage, hope. Kindle for the fire.
"Ahhh.......AHHHHHHHH!"
But that too eventually dies out. After the next couple of slashes the flame of madness burns out, leaving only ashes. And fear.
He gets on his knees. He begs and pleads.
"Please....spare my life."
Again.
"I'm sorry for what I did."
And again.
"I-I'll do anything! Anything at all!"
And again.
"Just please....."
"PLEASE SPARE MY LIFE-!"
He's struck across the temple, head hitting the grass. Something trickles down the side of his face. And still he continues to beg.
"Please....I have to see her walk again...."
Eventually, something in the boy just stops. He stops begging, he stops crying. A despair so great, so crushing, fills his soul and leaves him empty.
I'm nothing.
I'm just his toy. His source of stress-relief.
Why can't I die?
Maybe it was his tormentor's will, refusing to throw a fatal blow. Or maybe it was due to a skill, slowly evolving within him. Nevertheless, despite his cries, it seemes as if God has abandoned him. And even Death refused to come. No matter what, the boy couldn't die.
Blood flows.
Flesh is torn apart.
What was I doing again?
Why am I here?
The boy's grasp on reality begins to fade. With the realization and acceptance of death, the past and the present begin to meld together in his mind.
He was a little boy, taking his first steps.
He was a young child, smiling at the praise given by his parents.
He was the young man, uncertain of his path, his future.
And now, he was a young man, crying tears of blood, muscles torn and body screaming for the release death shall bring.
But even still.....
The grip on his sword remained strong.
Struggle, child.
______________________________________
.....This is boring.
This fight bores me to tears.
He lowers his blade, staring down at the boy infront of him.
Bleeding.
Dying.
But still standing.
Still gripping that sword, hands steady.
Pointing it right at him.
I know you've given up.
I know you've stopped trying.
You've already died.
He charges at him, becoming a red blur.
You've already accepted death!
The boy is knocked back, again and again and again. His back slams into something, a wall. The end of the barrier. Then the cuts come, tearing through his skin. Through unfocused eyes he stares up at the blood red sky.
Are you still not done with me?
How long will it take until you're satisfied?
He grips his sword handle.
I wish.....
And swings.
I wish you'd stop.....
Hunter leaps back, hood torn. Any slower, and he'd have lost his head.
"You....."
The boy still stands, clutching the sword. Looking at him with deadened eyes.
"YOU STILL DARE TO FIGHT BACK!?"
And once again, the boy is struck down.
______________________________________
".......This is pitiful to watch."
"You think so?"
"The victor is already decided. There's no point for that boy to get up. It's clear who's stronger."
He looks away, sighing.
"He should honestly just kill himself to spare himself the agony."
"Ha....hahahaha....that's what you don't get about humans..."
".....?"
"You determine strength by who can do the most damage. But don't you think the power to get back up, despite the overwhelming difference in ability....the sheer hopelessness of the situation...."
"Isn't that a true measurement of strength?"
"..........."
"Ah, well. Not that it matters. Some things just aren't possible, no matter how hard one tries."
"He's going to die."
______
The boy stares up at the red sky.
"Look at me."
He cries out as his right arm is broken, twisted till it snaps.
"Did you truly think you could win?"
He struggles to breath, his throat clenched in a hand that's slowly adding pressure.
"A weak shit like you shouldn't fight back."
The boy's head flies back from a slap. Then another. And another.
When you're young, you never really think about death.
Death is for the elderly, the sick, the weak.
We think we are invincible, unstoppable.
But in reality..... Death is coming for everyone. And when it comes, we question everything.
"You're dying because you're weak."
We regret the things we're unable to say, the things we're unable to do.
I want to hug my parents one last time.
I want to actually make them proud.
I want to make a mark on this world.
And I want....
A growl grows in Hunter's throat. The boy isn't even looking at him, instead staring off to the side.
"What the fuck are you looking at!?"
He slams a fist into the boy's stomach. The boy coughs, gasping and spluttering on his own blood. But still....
A girl, dark-skinned. Frizzy hair pulled back and held in place by a hair band.
Glasses.
A round face.
A warm, mischievous smile.
.....I want to see you again, sis.
The boy begins to cry. Rivers of blood, running down his face.
I want to see you walk again.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry-
SNAP-
The boy's grip on the sword,
Finally loosens.
[User HAV0C has been killed!]
[uSeR-2744jfnfodh???]
[HAV0C's ability has been awakened!]
A blow blasts Hunter's shoulder out of its socket. He yells and stumbles back, dropping the body.
The body that slowly rises.
Skin regenerates, bones snap back into place. Energy crackles out of his eyes.
"Ah......"
"̅͗̚Aͧͬ̀H̡̯ͤH̑ͦ̄H̄ͧ͜H̎́͐Ḧ̔̆H̴̤̔Hͦͫ̕!ͫͧ̉!ͣ͐̀!̌ͩ͏!ͬͭͪ"̷̐ͩ
Struggle, child.