Chapter 64

The Will To Win

Past where Xael and Klash are dueling I can see the Itti’atti girl. Her clothes and hair are gone, and she is collapsed in a circle where the sand has somehow become glass. I think she is still breathing though, something I am not going to be able to claim a whole lot longer in my current state.

I could always just give up and live to fight another day or another event. Of course that would mean Xael would have to lose or surrender before anyone came to help me, but I think the human boy would.

‘Fuck that.’ Only victory here can keep me on the path to freedom, only victory can guarantee I get invited to another big event, and only victory can protect me from BloodRock’s wrath, especially if I lose him his bet.

I might die here today, but it will not be as a loser. If my heart must beat its last beats here today, it will do so filled with the elation of victory. Closing in on the fighting pair I realize Xael is actually in trouble. He has scored Klash’s flesh with his blade more than once, but the wounds aren’t deep enough to dissuade the elephant cursed from crowding him.

To truly damage the burned and enraged Klash Xael would need to land a significant thrust to him. That is all well and good, except that Klash has figured out that is the only thing Xael can really do to dissuade him and is basically walking through everything else the agile little human throws at him.

I have no doubt those nicks and cuts hurt, and given long enough Xael might even be able to bring the huge cursed down. The problem is that Klash isn’t just insanely strong, he’s pretty good at this whole fighting thing as well. While Xael has given an excellent account of himself so far, one of Klash’s colossal fists eventually finds its mark in the human’s midsection.

The blow lands with enough force to send Xael flying. The dark-haired human manages to catch himself in a roll and come back onto his feet only to collapse holding where he was punched a few heartbeats later. I can’t blame him, I know Xael wants to keep fighting, but a punch like that, landing where it did, can make your body cease obeying your mind as it struggles to recover.

Klash is ready to move in and finish Xael when he freezes on the spot. It's me, he’s finally noticed my snicker over the roar of the crowd. With an odd stiffness, Klash turns and faces me.

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There is no exchange of words, we don’t have the time and I can’t afford the breaths. But in that moment I see so much play across Klash’s charred features. The elephant boy can’t believe what he’s seeing, and the tiniest spark of fear is in those eyes. Fear that maybe, just maybe what I said is true and he isn’t special enough to beat me.

I’ve had plenty of nightmares like that, faced with a Resh that won't lose no matter how hard I try or what I do. I know how it feels to have a loss hanging over an almost-perfect record. To want the chance at revenge only a tiny bit more than you fear it.

Klash wouldn’t be much of a pitter if a little bit of nightmarish terror was enough to debilitate him. So when I come barreling into range with my axe swinging big the elephant-cursed steps forward to meet me.

He might not be armed but if he hits me with a clean punch or worse yet grabs ahold of me it won't matter, that I still have my axe. If he even manages to just stay standing long enough it won’t matter, as every breath I take is harder than the last.

The wide nature of my attack is a feint, and I bring it back close to my chest as I duck under an attempt to grab my main. It isn’t much, but I manage to carve a little chunk of flesh off Klash’s ribs as I do it. To his credit, the giant boy doesn’t so much as grunt.

He can’t let me use the reach advantage my axe gives me, so Klash presses forward trading more of his scorched flesh to force me onto the backfoot. Just like last time we fought there is a relentlessness to him that beggars belief. It's like the elephant boy can just choose to not feel pain. I respect the will to win, but he’s going to need more than that.

Especially since behind him, Xael is pulling himself together, the little human is tougher than he looks and while I’m sure something is broken inside him from the punch Klash landed Xael possesses his own strange will to win.

Once more trading his own flesh for a chance to win, Klash catches a strike from my axe on his forearm. I wouldn’t say it digs particularly deep, but enough that his expression actually changes for a moment. Still, he manages to grab a hold of my axe with his other hand before I can yank it back to safety.

The huge cursed rips the weapon from my grasp as easily as I would from a toddler's. Some kids have all the luck with what the curse gives them. I could train every day for the rest of my life and I will never come close to being that strong. It's galling as by most standards I’m considered pretty strong…not by these standards.

I slip out of the way of a backswing from my own weapon as Xael launches himself at Klash. The elephant boy only notices him coming at the last moment, but it's enough to keep himself from getting run through. Instead, Klash moves with the blow just enough that it leaves a gouge across his back rather than impaling him. With a surprisingly quick turn, Klash begins a new assault on Xael, using my axe like a hammer to batter at the boy.

Slower and more clearly injured than I have ever seen him, Xael is struggling to avoid getting smashed to pieces. For my part, I’m trying to figure out how to hurt Klash whilst unarmed. It's with some disappointment in myself that I realize I’m planning on using the same strategy I always used when unarmed. So common in fact, that internally I call it ‘My all-purpose backup plan.’