Chapter 14

Roku scratched at his skin, but the card that appeared did not fade. Even as specks of blood dripped out of his self-inflicted wounds, the card’s image remained true.

“The card will not fade. As I’ve stated it is the result of my ability. I have one as well.” The demon pointed at his chest where the image of a playing card had appeared, except the demon’s was face down.

“And? Are we gonna play poker or are we gonna fight!” Roku lunged at the devil, a strong right hook connected with its chin, launching it through a tree and into a boulder.

“Your blows mean nothing if they leave no effect.” The demon stood up as it regenerated, no sign of damage remained on it.

“If you can feel pain, then they have an effect.” Roku cracked his knuckles. They were bleeding from the number of hard blows he had dealt in the fight. Roku sarcastically licked the blood off like a wild animal nursing its wounds.

“If the damage is undone, then there is no use dealing damage in the first place.” The devil advanced towards Roku.

Roku raised his fist up and swung at the demon again, but to his surprise, the demon ducked the attack and hit Roku in the ribs. The punch was miniscule compared to Roku’s.

“If my attacks are nothing, then why dodge?” Roku’s chuckle was interrupted as the demon pointed at Roku’s chest where another card had appeared.

“I already told you. I acknowledge your strength. But it is useless without power. This is my ability, the luck of the devil. When I attack you, a card is drawn, one for me and one for you. Once we both have two cards, the choice is yours whether to hit or stay. If you stay my cards are revealed. I believe you mortals call this game blackjack, or 21. The power of the stored up attacks correlates to the number value. If yours is greater than mine, I shall take damage. If my number is greater than yours, you shall take damage. If you go over 21, you shall take damage. If I go over 21, I shall take damage. You can choose to hit up to 2 times, I must hit on 16, but not any higher. To stay, you must declare that you intend to stay. To hit, you must hit me. If the numbers are even no damage is dealt. If you get exactly an 11 you can choose to double down, if-” The devil explained his ability.

“Huh?” Roku was not following the long-winded explanation.

“……I suppose one of your mental capacities cannot comprehend it. I’ll demonstrate. You have a 9 of hearts and a 8 of spades, totaling to 17. I am showing a 7. I would recommend you declare ‘stay’.” The devil’s booming voice was surprisingly patient.

Roku hesitated for a moment. It was clear that he didn’t fully understand the rules of this ability.

“Do not worry. I am not misleading you. My abilities power is raised when I have explained it. A gam cannot function without an understanding.” The demon reassured Roku.

“…..Fine. I’ll stay.” Perhaps out of curiosity, Roku followed the demon’s instructions.

As soon as Roku declared he’d stay, the card on the devil’s chest flipped. An ace. The devil’s number totaled 18. Roku’s cards lost.

In an instant, the cards blew up, dealing damage to the areas Roku had been punched. The force was far greater than any punch the devil had thrown so far.

“That’s your ability?” Roku coughed up blood. The attack had reached deeper than just the surface.

“What a crutch!” Roku lunged at the demon with a right hook once again.

“The same opening twice? The pride of a human is inconsolable!” The demon moved to dodge, reading the attack.

Roku pulled back his fist once the devil dodged, it was a feint. Roku grabbed the demon with his left hand, holding him by his head. Roku pivoted and threw the demon’s head into a nearby boulder, shattering it.

“This forest is great! I can be as destructive as I want to! No Diran or Lee to yell at me.” Roku smiled jubilantly.

A demonstration was the right call, Roku understood far better having experienced it himself, and Roku was unimpressed.

The demon’s skull was cracked open, deep red blood was splattered all over, yet within just a few moments, it was back on its feet.

“Once again, I acknowledge your strength. You are strong, but you must see it is futile. Why won’t you use your ability? You neglect the power of Ego, using it solely for energy manipulation, why hold yourself back?” The demon questioned.

“Ability? Who needs an ability?” Roku picked up a piece of the boulder and tossed it up playfully before catching it.

“You plan on defeating me with nothing but your strength!? This pride! This hubris! It’s-” The demon was interrupted as a rock flew through its head.

“You talk too much!” Roku ran towards the demon, he planned to follow up his throw.

Roku jumped through the air, there was a moment before the demon regenerated that it was motionless, Roku planned to capitalize on that. He landed on the Demon, stomping it into the ground. Its brain had regenerated just enough to feel the pain of Roku’s attack.

Roku stomped again and again, trying to damage the demon as efficiently as possible. If he could damage it faster than it could regenerate, it should die. Or so Roku thought.

The repetitive attack pattern backfired as the demon was able to roll away between stomps. The demon jumped back, creating distance so it could regenerate. Quizzically, it had two cards upon its chest, a face down card, and a five.

“Huh? But you didn’t hit me.” Roku was as amused as he was confused as he looked down and saw cards on his chest once again. A king and a nine.

“A brute like you! The shame I feel on having to use this on a brute like you! A fool with no ability. No Ego!

The only ego you possess is the misshapen belief in your strength! To use the gift of energy for nothing but strong punches and kicks, it’s a disgrace!” The demon screamed in anger.

“To have to remix my ability, to have to reverse the conditions, the shame I feel is boundless!” The demon cursed itself in shame.

“Hm. So now if I hit you, it draws on me? Or if you hit me, I hit? This is….” Roku was confused at the change in the conditions.

“I revoke my contract with Evan. I no longer view this fight as a means for an end. I’m putting my pride as a demon of the underworld on the line. I am Abaddon. I am a harbinger of death. You will fall before me, mortal.” Abaddon walked towards Roku.

When a demon shares its name, the death of all who hear it are assured. Even Evan, who summoned the demon, did not know what its name was. To share its name, was to state that it would kill Roku no matter what.

Roku stood still and did not falter as Abaddon neared. In the face of a foe who would bring most anyone to their knees, Roku stood firm, and smiled.

“Draw!” Roku lunged at Abaddon and hit him with a spin kick to the face, Abaddon stood and took it head on. The card on his chest flipped. A nine.

As Roku hit him again another card appeared on Abaddon. An 8. Abaddon’s total was 22.

The cards exploded on Abaddon’s chest as the force of the ability affected him. The demon collapsed to the ground as blood poured from the wound.

“Really? Your ability affects you that much? What a waste.” Roku began to walk away. If the ability affects the user, it probably bypasses durability and self-healing. Roku thought. If the power scales in regard to who the ability is used against, then Abaddon couldn’t have found himself a worse opponent than Roku.

These two ideas that sprung up in Roku’s mind weren’t too far off base. The demon’s ability does scale its power based on who Abaddon is fighting. But if a self-inflicted wound from a luck-based ability was enough to kill Abaddon in one hit, the demon would’ve been dead centuries ago. Roku’s assumption was almost right. Almost.

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

“This is not over, mortal. Far from it.” Abaddon stood up; the wound long gone.

Roku was launched through a tree as a blow from the fallen demon caught him off guard. Roku thought the battle was over as he assumed the self-healing was part of the demon’s ability, and not an ability inherent to a demon.

Blood dripped from Roku’s head where the demon hit him. The head covering that Roku proudly wore was ripped, the yellow color turning more and more red.

“Good! I’m glad! I didn’t want to play in your stupid game because I didn’t want it to kill you too fast.” Roku stood off and wiped the blood and dirt off his chest. Anything resembling a shirt on Roku’s body was long gone. From the looks of it, Roku had sustained a serious amount of damage over the course of the battle.

“Well, if you can heal from those wounds, I guess I don’t need to worry about your ability any longer.” Despite his looks, Roku felt better than ever.

Roku stretched as he stood up. A warm expression was found on his face. He spread his arms to the side, stretching graciously as all worries on his shoulders had lifted. He was free.

In an instant he was behind Abaddon. The movement was fast, not a step wasted. Before Abaddon could react, a fist was planted firmly in his face. The blow was like a meteor. It was a huge, insurmountable force, from only one man’s fist.

The air sizzled as the punch made contact. It was unclear if the burning red around Roku’s fist was blood, or fire. The shape of Abaddon’s skull shifted around the punch; he was reduced to the physical attributes of a rubber hose cartoon in the face of Roku’s strength.

As the demon was launched through tree after tree, a realization crept to the surface of his mind: This is the most powerful blow he had ever felt.

“A perfect punch………” Roku said somberly. A realization grew in his mind as well.

Roku looked down at the cards that appeared on his chest. An ace and a king. 21.

“If I hit him again it cashes……. A free win is no fun.” Roku sighed. The cards were still on his chest, meaning the ability is still in play.

“So………I just can’t punch him again.” Roku walked towards a tree and grabbed it. It was a decent sized pine tree, it was tall and strong, but young enough that Roku could still grip it with one hand.

He yanked it from the ground and chopped the roots off with his hand. With the other he slid it up the trunk and ripped off all the branches in one smooth movement.

“This will do.” After imbuing some of his energy into it, Roku now had a functional weapon. He could still fight Abaddon, even if he couldn’t punch him.

Abaddon struggled to stand. The physical wounds had healed, but something else was weighing him down. As he looked around the newly made forest clearing he found himself in, for a reason he couldn’t grasp, his hands shook.

“Got carried away. Let’s continue.” Roku’s face was shrouded in darkness as he walked in from the tree line.

“……” No words came out as Abaddon stepped back and opened his mouth.

The world turned as Roku spun his staff, in sync with his step, the staff spun up and knocked the demon’s head, sending him rolling across the ground.

Roku turned; his footwork was clean, almost rhythmical. He moved in tandem with the staff as he followed up, scooping Abaddon off the ground and hitting him through a tree.

Destruction lie in the wake behind Roku. The areas that Roku had been fighting in were clear to see. A new path had been forming through the forest over the course of the fight, and Roku was going to continue to forge it.

Abaddon raised his hands up in an attempt to catch Roku’s next attack, but the staff hit them with such force that his fingers were blown off.

“Stop! Cease!” Words escaped the demon’s mouth as he pleaded without even realizing it. Before he could say another word, Roku’s staff connected with his jaw.

Roku spun elegantly as he beat Abaddon with a glorified stick. There was no wasted movement in his advances or attacks. Roku smiled a soft smile. His eyes showed his glee far more than the rest of his face. He was truly, truly happy.

Roku had never wielded a staff in his life. This was the first time that he had ever even considered using a weapon. Roku had fought only with his hands.

This was not out of some idea about weapons being a crutch, or true strength only coming from one’s own body. Roku had never used a weapon because he never needed to. He never faced an opponent that made him not want to punch them before.

Despite his inexperience, His movements were like that of a master. The sheer destructive power that Roku usually wielded with his body alone was amplified with a weapon in his hand. The forest shook from the amount of trees falling. Monsters got caught in the mix without Roku even noticing.

They passed through other teams as Roku continued to hit Abaddon through the forest. Roku didn’t acknowledge them. Roku didn’t notice them. But they all noticed Roku. There was nothing anyone could do or say that could’ve stopped him. Everyone they passed could only bear witness to true destruction.

Before Roku knew it, there were no longer any trees around. The fight had left the forest. After Roku hit the demon once more, he suddenly stopped.

Roku’s attacks finally halted as he looked around, finally aware of the world around him. He was peppered with blood that was not his own. The wood of the staff he wielded had been stained a deep red.

“I’m wet.” Roku had fought Abaddon through a river without realizing it. As they stood on the bank, for the first time in an unknown amount of time, the demon spoke.

“……. You can’t kill me…..what drives you?” The words barely squeaked out of the demon’s maw.

“Hm? What drives me?” Roku twirled the staff in his hand as he thought.

Roku was born strong. The son of a mob boss, the daughter of a lady of the night. Roku was born wrong.

The streets he grew up on knew nothing but crime, his early life was filled with violence and crime, peace was a concept as foreign to Roku as foreign could get. He was born into violence; he lived violence.

But to everyone’s surprise, he loved it. He never bore any hatred for his father; he never bore any hatred for his mother. To him, they didn’t curse him with a life of hardships and sorrow. To him, the violent streets were not something to be feared, they were something to be embraced. A perfect playground for a boy like Roku.

Just the same as he bore no hatred for his father or mother, Roku bore no hatred for anyone he fought and killed. It was just life to him. Life was fragile, if you weren’t strong, you couldn’t live. He didn’t blame the people he fought and killed. It wasn’t their fault they lacked strength. He never abhorred weakness.

Roku solely worshipped strength. He followed wherever the flow of power brought him. He fought stronger and stronger people, his own strength rising as he grew and experienced more.

Eventually the path of strength lead him to Diran. That is also where Roku thought it would end. But Roku was spared. Diran was stronger, far stronger than anyone Roku had ever fought. Yet he showed Roku kindness. This was different than the world Roku knew. True strength was in the kindness he was shown.

Abaddon understood all of this as he stared at Roku. It was as if Roku’s entire life story flashed before the demon’s eyes. He could tell every battle, every story, every revelation.

“I don’t know what drives me! Fighting is just fun!” Roku was unaware of any of this. He wasn’t self-reflective enough to come to any conclusions about his past, his present, or his future. He had no clue what sort of revelations meeting Diran had given him. He just went with the flow of power.

“You’re……..You’re inhuman!” The devil fell to his knees as he realized Roku’s true nature.

Most people cannot bring out all their strength. They have reservations. Even the most cold-hearted killers still have restraint when it comes to the destruction they inflict. But not Roku. Fighting to him wasn’t a necessity, fighting wasn’t a facet of life, fighting was life. It was as natural to him as breathing. He didn’t see fighting as destruction or killing, he viewed it the same way a cat views a mouse.

A cat doesn’t kill the mouse. It plays with it. It beats it around, slapping it back and forth, making it think it can escape before dragging it back. A cat plays with the mouse until it dies. Fighting to Roku was playing.

“I’m the mouse. I’m the mouse!” Death was a concept foreign to Abaddon. It is something he shouldn’t be able to experience. He knew this.

Abaddon tried to get up and run, but fell to the ground. His legs shook, he was unable to walk as his legs failed him.

“An injury? No! This is-” Fear was also a concept foreign to Abaddon. One who cannot experience death has nothing to fear. Until they encounter something worse than death.

“You’re scared? I thought you were stronger than that?” Roku sighed in disappointment. His earlier realization was right. His toy was breaking.

“Stay back! Advance no further!” Abaddon pleaded as he clawed at the ground, trying to flee.

“I thought an immortal would last longer…..I’m disappointed.” Roku playfully balanced the staff on his hand as he walked towards Abaddon.

“The hill!” Abaddon had clawed his way to the edge of a hill. With another pull, he began rolling down. The hill was steep and littered with sharp rocks. But Abaddon didn’t care. He had to flee.

“Pathetic. Get up and walk.” Roku stopped at the top of the hill as the demon rolled down the hill, hitting rocks on the way down. A once fearful sight had been reduced to a dirty, bloody, fearful mess.

“I guess this is the end.” Roku snapped the staff over his knee, breaking it in two pieces.

Abaddon looked up at Roku as his descent finished. From the bottom of the hill, he could see Roku standing over him. The sun was behind him and spread his shadow over the valley. Abaddon was small and feeble in his presence.

Roku’s face bore no hostility. A small smile shown only in his eyes as his lips sat flat. His chin was upturned, his cheeks weren’t raised. He was amused. Nothing more. Nothing less. He looked down on the devil. The look on Roku’s face spoke words into Abaddon’s mind: You are inferior.

Abaddon turned and tried to continue crawling away. But suddenly found his leg pinned to the ground. As he turned back and looked, he saw one end of Roku’s staff impaled through his leg.

“AAAAHHH” The scream was full of fear.

Roku stabbed the other end into the ground at the top of the hill. He stood on top of it, balancing precariously.

Abaddon panicked as he tried to claw away. All he had to do to free himself was pull the staff out of his leg, but fear clouded his mind.

“Stop! Leave me! Cease!...........Help!” The demon begged.

“Farewell Abbamon.” Roku raised his hands up to the sky, as he bent his knee. He took on the look of an Olympic high diver. As he straightened his legs, Roku began to fly.

He leapt from his staff and towards the valley, spreading his arms like wings, he glided through the air. It was an impossible stunt. It was not a use of Ego or a manipulation of some unseen cosmic energy. Roku had no wings.

Roku is not someone who you apply rules of ‘normal’ to. He was beyond those. Even the laws of physics bend their knee in his presence. As he flew down the valley, he descended on his prey like an eagle.

Roku, the man with no ability. Roku, the man who relied solely on strength. Roku, the man who looked down on the devil, had won.