An awkward breeze strode through the jagged forest. Settling groans from the wood were all the sounds that left. Gathered in the cluster, a mass of wood concealed an uncertain answer within their husks. Nearly everything from the surroundings disappeared in order to create the strange giant tree. The only signs given were the trails of blood from several points streaming away from the center complex.

Miltiades raised a hand out in the air as a log rose from the ground. His hand attached firmly to the side pulling at his body until his feet no longer held contact with the ground. A swing of his leg latched onto the pillar and brought him to a greater height. The tenacity of his opponent forced his hand to unleash a stronger attack than he planned. ‘Did he survive after all of that?’ He knew that he couldn’t let things end until being certain of his enemy’s defeat.

The thought of an approach to confirm Seiji’s fate played through his mind. He knew that even a reckless action during this moment could be fatal for him. Caution remained paramount. Miltiades tapped his feet along the surface of the trunk and leapt up to the top.

From the top, his view didn’t improve any, but it wasn’t as though he expected it to be easier. ‘He doesn’t seem to be the type to play a feint… Maybe after all this time he is actually…’ A rolling tap of his gloved fingers signaled the release of the upper canopy of logs. Protesting and complaining, the trunks pulled away and disappeared. His view gave him a clear eye on Seiji, laying on the platform of wood. Miltiades’ eyes widened in shock at the sight. ‘It can’t be!?’

Chapter 117 – Blind Swings

Blood painted the uneven surface of the wood that held Seiji. It coated through his course tunic and made tendrils down his arms, legs and face, one would only think Seiji to be dead or mortally injured. Yet from all appearances by Miltiades, he saw mostly torn cloth. Only numerous cuts and gashes existed from everything sent at him.

Miltiades subconsciously leaned back a little, taking it in. ‘I caught him off guard! How did he get his defenses up in time?’ A flicker of movement by Seiji sent Miltiades retreating a few more poles. He needed his room.

“Urgh…” groaned Seiji, planting his hand to his head feeling dazed. “Damn that really hurt…” He caught the heavy copper smell in the air from his arm and focused on the blood. The sight took him a little by surprise for a moment. “Where’d all this blood come from?” However, the corner of his vision found Miltiades and his single-track mind found the lost path. “…right…” His pedestal shrank to the ground leaving him to stand back on his feet.

Seiji looked up in the distance at Miltiades with a bit of a different look in his eye. He rotated his arm at the shoulder a little stretching and warming up a bit. A narrowed stare filled with intent covered him. “You know I had a thought. I’m not getting anywhere trying to chase after you. Which had me thinking how I’m going to catch you when you’re jumping around like a monkey? And then it hit me! You see, I don't need to play your damn game. It’s time I make you play my game!” A grin accompanied by a knowing look grew in Seiji along with a little pride in himself.

The forest had mostly returned already with the dozens of annoying ass pillars surrounding him. He stepped forward to the next trunk placing his hand on it. His hand patted the rough bark as though it were a pet. Seiji glanced back over at Miltiades through the weaving swarm. “The others don’t think I’ve figured it out, but I’ve noticed. I know my body isn’t the same anymore. The last attack by you gave me the final wakeup call I needed. My body’s tougher than normal, but more than that…”

His body focused back on the column giving its full attention. Seiji coiled back his muscles with his striking arm pulled. “I’m stronger too!” He released his fist with his arm rocketing towards the trunk in front of him. Streaking through the air the percussive blast and ripping a deep ass gong sound shot out before it was clear his fist rammed into the wood.

Bark flew up along with splinters. The entire column shook for a moment before settling out. As the ringing settled out, it seemed all was for show and naught. Seiji’s fist rested with a firm dent in the wood and nothing more. A sparkling glow flashed for a brief moment from the carved up tree. It signaled another ripping even deeper than the last. The sound bounced off the logs making it back to Miltiades, still confused. His understanding came too late.

The pillar tilted and then leaned before collapsing to the ground. Seiji bent over resting his hand back on the felled tree. A thinned glance out of his eyes met with his damn opponent. “It’s time to change these shitty rules!” He pulled out his other hand gripping both hands on either side of the base and began to lift.

‘Impossible! Even if he has a cutting Addendum, that tree belongs to me! The weight and density are determined by my Field and Law!’ Sheer stunned awe forced Miltiades to watch what played out before him. He couldn’t believe he was witnessing Seiji hefting the ten-meter long trunk by nothing but his strength. ‘How can he be lifting it?!’

Seiji lifted it up to a resting position on his shoulder with a smirk that grew wider. The drying blood on his arms only added to the imposing stature of Seiji at that moment. “Let the games begin!”

It took him a full minute for it all to finally sink in for Miltiades that he could react. However, by that time he had lost his advantage and position. The giant hammer-like swing from overhead came down. A moment before impact, the looming shadow from the trunk darkened out Miltiades. He fell back as he looked up seeing the mass of wood slamming down. It was all that saved him. Miltiades dropped over the column as it pounded into the top pound in a nail.

Splintering wood and showering bark came from above as Miltiades’ fall woke him fully. He latched on to the surface of the column getting his feet in place to slide down spiraling around. The force from Seiji’s strike split the wood, sending the force down through the pillar. Miltiades rode out the shockwave-like burst with the trunk falling apart all around him turning into a downpour of wood chips.

Just before reaching the ground Miltiades used the rotation and speed he built up to launch himself away. He took hold of the pillar and scrambled away. ‘How is that possible? What sort of Law is he using?!’ Miltiades panted, more from surprise than exhaustion, from his dangling perch. He stared down at Seiji trying to figure the teen out. ‘I can’t let him do that again…’

Miltiades closed his eyes for a moment concentrating. ‘Guess it’s good that I planned ahead. Didn’t think he’d push me this far…’ The wood pillar that Seiji held disappeared first and then all of the pillars started to grow dark, losing all definition until being perfectly round. The black forest swallowed up the light around becoming almost glowing. ‘He won’t be able to catch me or do anything more now! I’ll slowly pound him down until he’s defeated. I can’t allow their chaos to go on anymore!’ Out of the formless appearance, the harsh features of the columns gave way to light. They began to shine out strongly, reflecting the light of the sun.

Seiji stood before a new obstacle, one with dreading doom. He let a flinch of annoyance slip as he stared. Seiji flung his hand out pointing up at his shitty cheating opponent. “This won’t stop me! I’m going to get you! Keep changing things as much as you damn want!”

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A slight twitch from Miltiades came in response. Even with the language barrier, the determined look from Seiji came across as clear as Miltiades needed. ‘He still thinks he can win? I’ll prove to him how wrong he is…’

The new change to the forest came as metal poles. Thick, well polished and strong as steel, the poles gave a resistant and stoic stance. Miltiades jumped down gripping onto the pole coming to a quick stop maintaining his usual unnatural hold in spite of the smooth surface. He walked around the pole the same as he would on the ground building momentum until lunging for the distant pole. Continuing his motion, he leapt to the next. All the while, he kept his eyes on the center where Seiji stood. The forest changed and moved with renewed life.

Cracking the ground, a pole shot up for Seiji. He opened his arm in time not to take the hit, but it caught his tattered clothes and ripped through. Stiff from thick drying blood, the tunic tore free from his shoulder and arm exposing the right side of his chest. The remaining material held delicately together. His exposed skin revealed the countless scars from fighting and a well-toned body built from pushing his muscles to their limit.

An excited glow came about Seiji. He felt the danger and grinned. “Maybe this won’t be so boring after all!” Seiji leapt forward taking to an angled pole as he had done in the past. However, he had to keep his sights open. His peripheral noticed the incoming attacks. Everything became much clearer in his mind. “If I just think of them like fists…” Seiji flipped forward, pounding both his fists at two poles from opposite sides. “Then I can treat this like a real fight!” The metal poles bent further down the shaft not meant to be taking such force over the length. Both came to a stop.

Slight unease filled a corner of Miltiades’ mind watching Seiji. ‘He’s no different than me…’ He called for several poles to attack Seiji. Increasing the ferocity of the strikes began to counter Seiji’s momentum. Removing his footing knocked him off balance.

Blunt ends of metal slammed into Seiji trying to crush his bones. Dodging the first couple only put him out of position and forced to take the remaining damn attacks. He sailed back down to the ground crashing into the smelly ass junkyard once again. As though knowing the futility of it, only a modest cloud kicked up from him.

Seiji stood up on one knee leaning forward. Bruises covered his arm and chest with his legs only freed by fortune. He wiped away some of the blood that dripped from his cut cheek. “You’ve got some pretty strong punches, but nothing like Yuki! No one can compare to the punches he could throw!” Seiji pressed his feet into the ground, the rubble crunching a little under weight, standing up fully. “So you don’t stand chance!”

‘…such a confident look…’ Miltiades worked to keep his focus. He had to remain undaunted by Seiji. The next swing gave him pause and a moment to breathe. His mental and physical fatigue became more acute to him, but fought to keep it suppressed. ‘…I can’t let it end like this…’

New attacks broke free from the ground. Seiji didn’t have a chance to dodge or counter the sudden strike. He managed to block himself with his arms, but even that knocked him back. His back slammed into the bastard of a wall behind him, halting his fall. ‘I don’t remember a wall…’

Distracted from the fight for a moment was all that Miltiades needed to follow up. More poles burst from the earth aiming too high to actually hit Seiji, however at his feet a new platform rose up pushing him into range. Seiji only realized what happened too late and could not move in time.

In his trying to dodge the attack, he avoided the worst. Yet the damn metal rods still met a target in Seiji. They pinned Seiji's right arm to the wall with his support for his feet disappearing. The full weight of his body bore down on his shoulder while the flat edges worked to pulverize his bones.

Seiji yelped a reluctant groan. All the hits he had taken before felt nothing like what he had felt in his arm. “Damn you!” he shouted through grinding teeth. He pounded his free fist into the metal repeatedly trying to budge it free. Each hit only seemed to transfer into his arm stronger until finally there was a spray of blood and terrible crack. The sound alone made Seiji's face go pale for a second before the pain reached him. Seiji screamed unrestrained as the crushing press rammed bone into muscle tearing his arm up from the inside.

Suddenly Seiji became deathly quiet with a dark shadow cast over his hung face. Even as the metal pressed his arm into the wall of metal poles, no other movement came from him. His body jerked slightly with each hammering blow treated like a spent doll of no more interest to its owner.

Miltiades judged the sight carefully. He had seen the teenager not react before after a strong offense. ‘Is he really giving up? Was I able to bring us one step closer to peace again?’ Several more metal rods came from the ground pinning the other arm and his legs to the wall. The last piece rose up hovering centimeters from his chest waiting for orders.

‘…did my arm really break?’ A haze hung in Seiji’s mind. He felt confused. ‘…I can’t feel it anymore… does that mean it was just a dream?’ Everything in his body felt numb. Seiji never knew such a feeling. ‘…he thinks he’s won…but I’ll…’ In all of his fights, his body never felt so cold or distant to him. He didn’t like the feeling, not at all. ‘…bastard… Bastard! The only one that can beat me… Only he can…’

A flash of sparks around the metal that restrained Seiji alerted Miltiades to a new change. He leapt back, keeping a safe distance to see what was coming. The metal that pressed against Seiji sparked again. Faint light glowed around Seiji before disappearing. The ends of the rods dented and bent away from Seiji, releasing him from their hold. Dropped back to the debris-filled earth, Seiji landed on his legs. His right arm dangled at his side coated with fresh blood.

Seiji leaned backwards a little as though under so much damn stress from his weight. His raised left arm held firm out in front of him. “I only need one damn arm for you!” Charging forward blindly, Seiji struck out at the bastard metal pole near to the shitty Miltiades with enough force to bend it. Metal sparked against metal crashing and shaking the damn support that Miltiades used.

Taken a little aback by Seiji, Miltiades hovered by his spot before returning to his senses. ‘He’s not any different… He’s still just fighting as stupidly as before…fueled by rage… Time to put an end to this!’ He launched a new series of attacks at Seiji to force him back. Miltiades stopped with his swinging games. He focused on the mental strength to end their fight.

The fight turned against Seiji again as he couldn’t deal with all of the stupid ass objects coming at him with only one arm. Valiant efforts bore inventive ass methods to keep in the fight for Seiji. He kept his damn fist in the action, but switched up to use his strong as hell legs to block or divert him away from attacks. It allowed him to stay in the fight longer, yet it was becoming clearer the shitty futility of it.

More damn strikes broke through his defenses pushed back further away from his bastard opponent. His shoulder took another damn blow turning crimson with blood. Another block by his legs sent him flying ass backward unable to keep support followed by a tearing of his damn muscle. Seiji cratered into the shitty pile of junk kicking up a cloud around him. However, he punched his fist into the shitty ground, casting his body into the air forcing him back into the damn fight. ‘I won’t lose!’

‘I won’t lose!’ Miltiades continued to keep up his assault, no longer waiting. ‘I’ll protect all of Atlantis from rebels like you! I must! So that it never happens again…’

The most recent series of blunt ass strikes rammed Seiji’s back horizontally into a damn adjacent pole. His body slid down slowly. Two more damn poles came up looking to force him to wrap around the pole. Seiji saw it coming but discovered his strength left him. His eyes widened in shock as he realized he no longer had anything left. He was done. “Dammit! I won’t lose!”

In the next instant, the sound of cloth tearing and metal sparking ended it all. Miltiades came to rest upon his platform letting out a sigh. It was over. He couldn’t feel happy about it. It was what he had to do. “I wish—“ A shifting shadow on the top of the nearby pillar alerted him away from where Seiji was.

Rested atop the metal rod a black figure remained crouched withholding its true form. Hung from the side a bloody figure held motionless at its side. The draped figure came back to life quickly pulling up, but failing. “Let me go!”

“I don’t know why I bothered…” A small puff of air came out as it looked like it turned away from Seiji.

Seiji mustered his strength to raise his head to stare at the one that pulled him out of his death. “Don’t interrupt my fight! I still have to—“

“You lost. Face reality.”

“I haven’t lost! I won’t ever lose! No one can beat me except—“

“You lost to someone better than you. Accept it like the type of man you claim to hold yourself to.”

Stunned shock washed over Seiji as he finally heard the words. ‘I lost? I lost?’ Seiji’s body became relaxed, almost limp as it settled in.

‘So you lost again, huh?’ a younger Yuki said, staring down at a younger Seiji left motionless in the alley. ‘You know they say you learn something from losing too…or some crap like that… What did you learn this time?’

Seiji grinned at Yuki no longer feeling the soreness of his muscles. ‘To punch harder!’

‘Figures you’d say that…’

Seiji felt the painful breeze blowing against him suspended in the air. Across from him, Miltiades stood towering over him. ‘Yuki…I lost again…’