Bloody Swords, Flying Flesh

"Hmm? So a little boy, eh. When are you fighting?" The young woman asked the boy after placing her knees together, letting the heels of her hands support her chin, looking ahead at the arena right in front of her. Ciemnosc thought about it for a bit, looked around for a bit, and finally told her with his left hand pointing with his index finger right at the arena she was looking at.

"That one." His sweet voice attracted her attention first to his face, then to his slightly pale skin and lips, before finally going down his shoulders, following his arm and... "Aha? Hey, are you really gonna do it in front of me?"

"Big sis, you say it as if I'm doing something weird. I'm just gonna fight people. Please don't misunderstand," said seriously a cute boy talking wrongly on so many levels. He nodded at her while doing so and appeared to be so cute. The young woman nodded at him, opened her mouth to reveal her upper teeth mostly, and encouraged the led astray boy, "Oh alright, go then. Show me what a good little boy can do."

"I will! Miss, what is your name? I was named by my Mother, Ciemnosc; yours?" Ciemnosc patted his chest with his right palm, then with his thumb before gesturing towards her with the same hand, the young woman didn't know if he was being gentlemanly, rash, and boyish, or acting like a man. She could only say after 3 seconds of dazzling from watching this dumbo of a boy. "Hey, mmm...I think not. Unless you win 33 times, I won't tell you my name directly."

"Only 33? Why so little? I'd rather go with 40." Ciemnosc replied, his tone pretty much confused. In his head, it was really so little. And also, what was it with the obsession with numbers being repeated? Just go with a nice 0 and a 4, 6, 8 or so; seriously~.

“Okay then,” the young woman nodded and jolted her head backwards purposely. She looked into his eyes and spilled out every word from her mouth with a bit of a challenging attitude but also recognized this ‘little’ guy’s courage and guts.

“Atta! I’ll be back in…an hour or two, I don’t know. I have never actually fought a cultivator before, it is…ah~~, never mind. Don’t leave unless those 40 are down, alright?!” Ciemnosc stood up, faced her, and ‘warned’ her before rushing towards the arena. The young woman looked around just as she was wondering why only ‘1 or 2 hours’ when she noticed that the whole stadium was almost empty.

‘Oops.’. With that, the young woman’s eyes went back to stare at the little boy’s tall back. She took a moment, seeing the boy talk to the referee dozing off, and the latter snapping at the former in a bad mood in arguments. Taking out her phone, she posted a few little words on a social media and then stored it back, looking at a wide awake referee and a cheeky little shitty Ciemnosc looking back at her with only his head turned and winking at her.

‘So silly, stupid.’. The young woman raised her left eyebrow. Seeing Ciemnosc step up on the arena with the help of a few steps that came from underneath the floor, not even doing a strong leap or something, before he then stood on the arena alone for quite some minutes.

…Ciemnosc was now starting to walk around on the arena’s floor and feeling it out, every now and then taking his shoes off and using some of his strength to figure out the arena’s durability. In the end, even with 3,000 kg of strength, it didn’t even bulge. But he felt that if he went higher around 4,000 kg, it'd start quaking. He definitely decided to not use any more than 2,000 kg just like anyone else would be able to.

‘Heeeh, really no one is coming?’ Ciemnosc thought, sending his arms to the sides and looking around, the young woman still there waiting for him too, occasionally looking up or down at other arenas.

The rules were simple, anyone could use weapons, poisons even, but only if they were to bring antidotes for when the other person surrenders or is naturally in defeat for that latter one. There were two types of fighting; one was to defeat the other person by any means possible, excluding and prohibiting with death and an investigation when one cripples or kills the other.

And second, were the arenas recognized by the common folk as killing zones. One only wins by either crippling the enemy and deciding that that was enough, or by killing the enemy. Anything was possible to be used in all types of fighting. Only the use of other people’s power was prohibited. And nobody was forced to use anything for the sake of fairness or equality. As for sexual assault - it was taken as bad as getting help from an outsider in the middle of a fight.

Such fights would end up with the sexually assaulted being allowed to deal a non-lethal ‘hit’ of any kind to the guilty one. The sect had thought it correctly, and in this way was the only way that people fighting in the ordinary fights didn’t need to feel as if they were in the middle of a war - which was only fair since this was really no fucking war at all.

“...Hey, is this kid for real?” When Ciemnosc was counting the 13 trillionth sheep, a languid voice from an old teenager sounded. Ciemnosc turned around to see a scrawny 16-17 year old talk to the referee, also looking back at himself and seemingly assessing how easy and nice it would feel to beat him up in front of such a hot and popular older young woman.

He didn’t carry any weapon, nor did he have his Covert Space bag on him. Probably didn’t even have one to begin with. After a few more probing words from the teenager to the referee, he paid a small fee and Ciemnosc immediately got the message from his Identification Token that an Inferior Powerful Stone had been placed on his name while another one was taken by the arena itself; hence the stadium, and the last one remained ownerless until a victor was decided.

It was simple, to enter an arena, there needed to be someone in said arena, who would then set the rules of who he will be facing through their Identification Token, some needed Powerful Stones to use such, but Ciemnosc could just use his badass Spirit Sense instead. One could also pay up to specify which type of rivals one accepted only. But if no opponents came in half an hour, the person in the arena was to be chased out of it.

Right now, Ciemnosc had it as in the seemingly same level that he had, the 3rd stage of the Spiritual Condensation Realm, his All-Devouring Forces Chronicles never being defeated even after being endlessly probed by the arrays he walked through from the beginning of the stadium’s stand to the arena.

And now that an opponent had shown themselves up, it was time for a Spiritual Condensation Realm 3rd stage fight to break out; just to feel how things went up. And the fight they were about to have was an ‘ordinary’ one.

Ting! Ting!

“Very well, both of you, until one is de-yaaawn Until one is defeated, go!” The referee announced. His dark green robes fluttered a bit and made the entire arena be enveloped by a protective array, which was for the sake of the crowd.

Step, step step step!-...

“Haha! Hey kid, how’s it going?” The scrawny teenager rushed out of nowhere up to Ciemnosc with both his fists up in a fighting stance, a good one nonetheless. But he suddenly stopped right in front of Ciemnosc, not making any attack or the like, instead, speaking in a low manner whereas it seemed that he tried to intimidate Ciemnosc.

At the same time, however, he became aware that Ciemnosc didn’t step back even mentally, and that the boy had a very good sword on his back. Slowly being unsheathed from a rough strap made out of hide, that easily alarmed the scrawny teenager into also halting his attacks.

“Come on kid, move it and drop it, drop the sword.” He said to Ciemnosc, who in return looked at the former with clearly uncaring eyes. They were casual too as if he didn’t hear those words being spoken. Hence, the scrawny teenager added a bit higher in volume, “Come on!! Aren’t you a man or what? Hoo hoo! I’m here ready to fight you, and you’re using a sword?!!”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Hoooo…” Ciemnosc wielded his sword in his right hand. But suddenly moved both his hands’ fingers to his ribs and breathed in sharply and long; his head a bit raised too. With his head coming down and breathing out silently, Ciemnosc looked at the scrawny teenager who was already desperate to make a move to himself being treated as an ignorant kid.

“I don’t like being yelled at.”

Fweooush~!

Ciemnosc traversed the 2.3 meters of distance between each other with his right sword aiming directly at the teenager’s left shoulder, the latter raised and then spread his arms, jumping backwards slightly and avoiding the blade, but the soles of his feet were being sent directly at Ciemnosc’s ribs!

Fwop fwop!

The blade that had just missed the teenager’s shoulder and went through the air now blocked the two feet that came at Ciemnosc’s body, trembling and feeling that it might break at any moment. It was a not so difficult matter for one in the 10th stage of the Spiritual Ligament to break any sword with 1,000 kg of strength. That was just so simple. But this wasn’t a mere of such an ‘ordinary sword’ - a top notch one instead.

Right after blocking those soles with the bluntness of his sword, Ciemnosc rotated it to slide between his legs, but before it could go long, he rotated it once more, and one of its edges was now cutting right through the teenager’s flesh!

Crrreeesshhhhkk~.

“Ah! Aah, aah! Ah!” The teenager, who had his back against the floor, reacted with adversity at the feeling of his flesh being squeaky clean-pierced, and an actually large gnash appeared on his leg before he could even impulse his body backwards by rotating away from Ciemnosc’s swords.

“Aaah!” Landing on the floor, 2 meters away with his strong arms but a horrible maneuver and while panicking, a trail of droplets of blood becoming smallish puddles on the floor from where Ciemnosc was standing to where he was standing was formed. The teenager grew even more aware of his predicament when he saw that Ciemnosc’s sword wasn’t even that thick at all, not even 2 cm, yet he had a 3 inches wide cut on his leg.

“Motherfucker!!” Tears rolled down his eyes from rage but also humiliation. He also stopped thinking about the spectating beauty far away. His weird, kinda hairless hairstyle on the center of the top of his head trembled as the gel used to keep it stiff and like a fork with several prods extra when he rushed back at Ciemnosc with seemingly no care for his injury, but that only made it bleed out more…more!

Vwaaagg~ swish!

“Ugghklo…!!” Ciemnosc used his lower stance, and the teenager completely lost him from sight and he even thought he had disappeared, however, before even the moment the thought of it not being possible with their cultivation being the same could arrive, the teenager felt his entire right ribs knocked by something very sharp that ended up letting a large patch of his flesh out of his body…

Thud thud…

The teenager fell on his knees, looked to the right and behind himself only to see a perfectly oval shaped piece of his skin lying on the floor a few inches away from his right foot. Meanwhile, the blurry back of Ciemnosc appeared in his crying, now slightly unfocused eyes while the air seemed to lack in his lungs. Because he wasn’t dying and was instead ‘simply’ passing out, he couldn’t even form the proper thought from before, let alone the new one of not wanting to believe in being defeated in just 3 moves…

“Ciemnosc wins!”

“...” Ciemnosc slowly stood up from his lower stance, his upper torso turning to look at the scrawny young man being sent away without being treated, out of the arena and then towards a room in an infirmary-like section. A message that 4 Inferior Spirit Stones had become his with this battle, in total, reached him, and he widely cared not about it.

Clap clap clap clap!!

With strength so that she could be heard, the young woman on her same seat started clapping for Ciemnosc, her face adopted an impressed smile that said ‘good job’! But even Ciemnosc felt that it was…way too easy? What the fuck, he used surprise attacks before to get some people lower to his actual cultivation base immediately subdued by his strength, but this was far too much ahh.

He didn’t even use any raw strength at all to directly hit him!!

“Phew…mister referee, when is the new one com-...ing?” Ciemnosc made a courtesy bow more fake than the bravery of the teenager he just mutilated, turned around to pout, and sigh a breath of frustration to ask the referee. But the referee was wide eyed looking down at him with the piece of flesh, some bones, and some blood dripping from his right sword.

“Th- that- that was…you’re good, kid.” The referee could only bubble so much he then went back to his spot waiting for another opponent, meanwhile, a little someone was posting photos and 3 seconds videos of a certain fight taking place just a few seconds ago…for a few seconds long.

On the other hand, Ciemnosc began passing time counting ‘4+4+4+4+4+4’ with the kind of earnings he would do today if he only fought ordinary fights on the arenas like this; 3 Inferior Powerful Stones to bet, 2 for the stadium regardless of the outcome and 4 for whoever won, it was neat and very generous compared to any other such system in the other organizational territories.

But it wasn’t the same for the killing zones. In those, one bets their life too, so they can bet as much as they want, and even with items and the like. They also keep it all but can choose to sell some things to the arena/stadium with a 10% bonus or give the Inferior Power Stones in exchange for benefits as well as even merits - though the latter was way too costly.

On the other hand, without needing to see it from her phone, the young woman repeated Ciemnosc’s battle over and over again, studying him properly as she lightly caressed the hair on her back. Her eyes were deadly focused on his every move, then on the overall distance between him and the teenager, before focusing on the way that the teenager moved and ended up being sliced here and there so nicely like butter.

‘Such strong sword technique…who is this kid…hm…’ She thought as she kept replaying the battle, just for fun for now as it was still not even 20 minutes before 5 am.

“...Is this the place, ah? Is that the kid? Still facing someone from the 3rd stage, huh? Good, good. Referee! Let me in!” A young man’s voice came from the referee¡s side once again after some minutes went by again. He looked at the young man wearing only a sleeveless hoodie and shook his head. Another one was to suffer in the same stage as that kid, sigh…

The referee took the Powerful Stones and passed them down a cylindrical device that went underneath the arena’s floor, and which then allowed the young man to step onto the arena, but he instead leaped towards it.

Whoosh, ta tap.

“Come on kid, show me what ye got. Don’t be afraid to hurt me,” the young man with very black, short hair said, revealing his muscled sternum but a poor cultivation talent. Ciemnosc, who was lying on the ground with his limbs sprawled out, stood up slowly and said with a ‘sleepy’ tone. “Okaawy, shur. But down’t yshu be weerwd afwterwwardz.”

Raising to his feet, Ciemnosc saw the young man’s knuckles carry some short, thin chains each; he wondered if that was really supposed to work against him. It would be useless. This was a top notch sword, and even then, sigh…whatever, another one to suffer from his own choices. That is how life is and he is nobody to deter others from pain…of life.

Step, step step step step!

“Here I go!” The young man shouted. He rushed at Ciemnosc, his right foot impulsed him forwards and made his body jump a whole 3 meters, only needing 2 meters more and 2 steps to get close to Ciemnosc.

Step- fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh~... -Step, cla- clash- clauunk~.

But the latter then grasped his right sword ’lazily’ and began swirling his body around with it at a semi slow speed, his fingers as if barely holding on to the handle. The young man crouched even more, almost completely opening his legs to the back and in front of him to avoid the first few swirls of the sword, and thinking that they wouldn’t be that strong for the way Ciemnosc was holding onto them, he braced himself and raised up his fist along with his shoulders preparing to meet the sword head on.

That was a brutally fatal mistake.

“UUGHH-!” Choked in his own breath and instinctive contortions of his body, Power Energy tried to begin flowing faster within his body under his cracked open skin, which was pushed into his own bones from the unbelievable force that sword ‘strike’ carried to attack him with it. He was momentarily breathless and immobile, so Ciemnosc had a clear and ever so easy target of his body.

Phhshk~!

Ciemnosc quickly stopped in his tracks and, before the young man could have Power Energy begin flowing at all inside his body at a fast speed, he dived down the tip of his sword into the young man’s lower belly, closer to the left side and hip bone.

“Urkhaaaaaah…”

The young man wanted to scream, but he only managed to moan roughly with his nose sending blood towards his mouth from their interconnected pathways. He rapidly fell short of breath, blood, and heartbeats as he plummeted backwards with his head hitting first.

Thudda- tt!

“...I’m actually, because sorry I didn’t know you were this…weak! I also didn’t mean to hit you. It was you who got up to me, so…”

Young woman spectating: (◯Δ ◯ ∥)... ୧ ☉□☉ ୨୧ ☉□☉ ୨୧ ☉□☉ ୨

Referee: Oh, youth…

…