(“What are those two doing?”)
Halegor sought his proteges.
The fact that this boy had appeared before him meant one of two things: Either Aidi and Gurin were defeated, or this boy somehow managed to sneak up on them and commenced his attack. He was confident that the two would never disregard their orders—unless something happened to them.
“Who… is that?” Halegor’s eyes fell upon the person fighting Aidi and Gurin at the same time. This one was most probably the same age as the one before him.
Amongst all of the people he had taken under his wing, Aidi and Gurin were standouts. They were so far ahead of the rest that the only ones who could give them a decent spar were either Halegor or themselves. The best part was that both of them were not the type to grow conceited with power. They listened carefully to Halegor's words and respected their fellow disciples. He was convinced that at some point, the two would be strong enough to surpass him and make a name for themselves.
Watching the budding talents he personally nurtured struggle against a boy who was even younger than they were was hard to swallow.
(“No matter, this is nothing more than a slight hiccup…”)
Before the match began, Halegor had come up with a plan. Simply put, it was for both Aidi and Gurin to demonstrate their strength and dishearten the other contestants while Halegor himself moves to secure the boar. It was a simple, but effective plan.
Still, it was far too optimistic to believe that they could suppress everyone with just that, so Halegor expected some resistance. The possibility that other martial artists or skilled mages were mixed in with the competition could make it harder for them to win, so he urged them to be vigilant. But from what he saw earlier, there were none. He had even begun to think that getting cajoled by Gurin to attend the festival was a hidden blessing from the Gods.
(“Until these two showed up…”)
Slowly, his eyes veered back to the young intruder standing before him. Despite attempting a sneak attack earlier, he didn’t take advantage of Halegor’s apparent distraction this time and simply stood there.
“I don’t wanna hurt you, kid. Just stay out of the way.” Halegor spoke in an almost gentle-like tone.
“...”
No response. Is he waiting for something? Halegor couldn’t read into his intentions at all.
After observing him for a bit, Halegor silently came to a conclusion and made his move.
“Hokki! Kiro! Guard the boar!” Halegor yelled. Within seconds, two men emerged from the crowd and ran towards them. None of the other contestants tried to stop them and simply watched with varying expressions.
“Boss, what do we do with this kid?” Kiro spoke as he stood beside Halegor.
“Don’t touch him.”
“Huh?”
“Just do as I say.”
“U-understood!”
Despite their reluctance, Kiro and Hokki immediately went to the unconscious boar and stood on both sides, keeping watch over the other contestants.
“Your friend is quite strong…” Halegor began walking in slow, steady steps.
“Are you the same?”
Halegor sped up without warning and struck the boy.
“Ngh!!”
However, the boy managed to guard against his punch just in time.
(“Thought as much…”)
Halegor quickly followed up with a much stronger kick and pushed him back, creating space between them. Even though he didn’t hit with his full-strength, most of Halegor’s disciples would have been left reeling or unable to react at all against the same attack. Judging from his movements, however, he didn’t seem to be as skillful as the other one—but was a threat nonetheless.
“Consider that your warning.” Halegor raised both fists at chest level in a firm stance. Despite his reservations about fighting the youngster, if he wasn’t going to back down, then Halegor would be left with no choice.
“...I understand.”
Finally, the boy spoke. alegor almost felt thankful as it seems the boy had noticed how outmatched he was. The gap that exists between them as martial artists was not something that could be so easily bridged. Now that he understood that, there was no need to continue.
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!?
Rather than surrender, the boy raised his hands as well.
“I’m ready.” The boy said in a barely audible, yet determined tone.
**
(“He’s gonna fight seriously now…”) Jenyx peered at the scarred man through the small holes on his mask. Thanks to the mask, Jenyx’s opponent couldn’t see the paleness of his face after he got hit. His arms throbbed with a stinging pain after guarding against the scarred man’s kick. He knew that a martial artist’s attacks would be unlike the usual “beatings” he took from Brad and co.,but they were so strong that each hit felt like they could render him unconscious if they landed squarely.
He was in deep trouble, and his opponent wasn’t kind enough to give him any leeway to think.
The scarred man leapt into action and rained a flurry of strikes on Jenyx, pushing him to tighten his defense even more. Jenyx had no choice but to tough it out, no matter how many times he was hit. He couldn’t fall. Not yet. A chance to fight back would surely present itself—he just had to wait patiently. If he attacked carelessly right now, there was no doubt that he would get hit by an earth-shattering counter that would probably end the battle then and there.
That said, it wasn’t as though Jenyx was betting everything on just guarding. Jenyx’s opponent was definitely stronger than him, but that alone wasn’t enough to decide the fight. The scarred man was fast, but Jenyx’s eyes were also fast enough to somewhat follow his movements.
(“Why won’t you fall!?”)
Halegor shouted internally as he furiously chased after the boy. Anyone who was watching their battle would surely feel pity for the boy as it seemed as though Halegor was dominating the entire time. In the beginning, perhaps he was. However, in the short time that they had been fighting, the boy had begun to see through his attacks. He was planning to destroy the boy’s guard by attacking without rest, but midway through, all of his attacks weren’t hitting properly anymore. He thought his accuracy had dropped due to fatigue, but it didn’t make sense since he was neither tired nor sick. It took him no more than a few moments to realize what was happening.
(“What… is this…”)
His movements being read was certainly something he did not expect. Halegor had begun to sweat in unease. If he continued as is, even if the boy could not defeat him, he could keep him at bay while his friend defeats Halegor's disciples. If that happens, he would have to deal with both of them at the same time He could not let that happen. Though he didn’t wish to do so, perhaps it was necessary to exert more effort in order to deal with the boy.
(“I’m sorry, boy… you’ve brought this upon yourself!”)
Halegor’s attacks were suddenly equipped with newfound speed and power behind them. If his opponent was keeping up with his speed, then all he had to do was go even faster. However, that was exactly what Jenyx was waiting for.
(“Shit!!”)
Halegor noticed a fraction of a second later. Because his attacks had more power in them, it would take them much more time to return. The difference was no more than a split second, but it was enough of an opening for someone who was fast enough—and with the right timing. Halegor’s right straight cut across the air as Jenyx bent down, dodging the blow. Halegor grit his teeth as he watched Jenyx spring forward with his right fist aimed at Halegor’s abdomen.
(“I did it!”) Jenyx’s fist dug into his opponent’s body. The success filled him with a rush of excitement that made his hairs stand on end. Finally, he landed a blow. But just as he was about to follow up on his attack, suddenly---
!!
“Nyx!!”
Jenyx's sight violently shifted sideways as he flung to the ground. As his body rested upon the dirt, Jenyx heard a young woman’s voice call out to him. A familiar voice, so full of concern, just like always—even though he didn’t want to worry her anymore.
Just a moment ago, he landed a blow on his opponent. So why in the world was he staring at the sky right now? A curious turn of events. Jenyx leaned over to one side and placed his hands on the ground, supporting himself as he slowly stood up. His mind was a little hazy, but he could still move well enough—except for his legs which were unsteady. His face was exposed to everyone as his mask had flown to the ground, crumpled. Still, he wasn’t all that concerned about his face being revealed. He had a more urgent matter to deal with. Ignoring the pulsing pain from the right side of his face, Jenyx turned to the scarred man who was breathing heavily as he clutched his abdomen.
“...You little!”
(“I see…”)
Jenyx looked at his hand. Hitting the scarred man wasn’t his delusion. Because his opponent got too hasty in an attempt to end the battle immediately, Jenyx used it to his advantage. He put his entire weight in that one punch and managed to land it. However, regardless of how perfect the set-up was, he was still countered—quite badly at that. Jenyx himself in awe of the man for having decided so quickly in such a short time frame, but admonished himself just as quickly for letting his mind wander. Thankfully, the scarred man didn’t do anything—other than gaze at him spitefully.
Just as he was about to move back, two figures darted into his sight and came to his opponent’s aid. He looked at them carefully and confirmed that they were the ones Trey was fighting.
Did Trey lose?
If they were here, Trey must’ve lost. Yes, that was the only answer.
("What now...?")
Jenyx’s will to fight plummeted.
He did well. They did well. And that was enough. Just as Jenyx was about to fall, something caught him.
“Whoa! Hey, ya did great, dude!! But we’re not done yet!”
“Trey?”
Good, he’s alright. Jenyx allowed himself some relief upon realizing that Trey was still up and about.
“That guy is seriously bad news… but I knew you could do it!” Trey firmly placed his hand on Jenyx’s back, supporting him.
“Sorry, I couldn’t take him down. What happened to your fight?”
“Don’t worry about it, I made sure they were plenty tired!” Trey energetically replied. He didn’t seem like he was having a hard time at all. Although, the same couldn’t be said for his opponents, as made clear by how heavy they were breathing.
“Oh man, yer face is bruised up!” Trey exclaimed.
“I’m fine.” Jenyx replied casually. Truth be told, he wasn’t exactly fine, but he wasn’t all banged up either. Sure his face was aching, but it wasn’t unbearable.
“So… what now?”
“Hehe, now that our friends over there are feeling under the weather, it’s time to really make this a competition!” Trey let go of Jenyx and turned to the other contestants. It was a funny sight for Trey to see so many grown men just standing in one spot, trembling because they were at a loss on what to do. Being the generous person he was, Trey figured he could give them a shove. Trey inhaled a large amount of air and yelled as loudly as he could.
“THEY’RE TIRED, EVERYONE!! NOW’S OUR CHANCE!!”