Chapter 8: Chapter 8

Chapter 8

By using some deductive reasoning, it’s clear to see that Clarissa and this Mason character are at odds. The way that she physically recoils at the sound of his voice and stares at him with deep rooted hatred, and bloodlust were solid clues. 

 

I was finding it hard to track their conversation, they were having a loud confrontation in the middle of the road, which was attracting quite a crowd. There were very few forms of entertainment that could be enjoyed during the day in Armageddon, so this kind of spectacle between the nobles was always interesting. 

 

“Clarissa, today was the final day! I hope you’ve brought a warrior with you, if not follow me back to the inn obediently.” Mason said.

 

I shook my head at this, as a man you need to have class and some finesse to gain a lady’s attention. What does he mean, he hopes she brought a warrior? Is he trying to force her into bed with him? Sickening! This world is truly disgusting, but as a guest here I don’t have the right to comment.

 

As I was shaking my head at the cruelty of this world I heard Clarissa say, “... who said I didn’t have a warrior? Have you gone blind or can you not see the man behind me?”

 

I glanced behind me, did she bring backup? I wasn’t aware there was another guard other than me- Wait a moment… Am I the warrior?!?!

 

This is an interesting development, I can kind of understand what’s happening now. This guy has been harassing Clarissa, so to stop him from constantly bothering her she challenged him to a duel. Obviously him fighting a dainty girl like her would be the strong bullying the weak, so they agreed to duel by proxy. This is a decent opportunity for me to progress along the Learn to Fight forced mission. I can also use this opportunity to cozy up to Clarissa, if she trusts me more I’ll have more freedom to move independently. Assuming I get a bit more free reign, working towards building up my forces will advance by leaps and bounds! Hehehehe, the path has been set now who will be my adversary.

 

“Mr. Kicks?!?!” I shouted in surprise

 

“Family Jewels?!?!” Mr. Kicks responded equally surprised.

 

For those that don’t remember, Mr. Kicks is the child ab*ser that kicked me when I was injured a long time ago. He’s also one of the guys who sold me out when Laten was choosing who to keep as a slave. I wouldn’t have any bad-blood with him, considering that my current position isn’t too bad; However on the trip towards Armageddon he stuck around for a while, taunting me everyday about how I’d be turned into a steak once I reached the holy land.

 

This is probably a good time to mention that the Hoas are deeply stereotyped. They aren’t just some blood-thirsty cannibal tribe, The House of Anguish was founded due to Old Man Denois, or the prophet as the Hoans call him. The origin story of The House of Anguish goes like this: We see a man walking in the desert, hungry, thirsty, and injured. The man was followed by his two children as they trekked over the scorching hills of sand, and across the parched and cracked ground. After days of walking and desperation one of the man’s children died. In deep sorrow, the man cried to the heavens screaming about the injustice, and unfairness of his situation. He buried his dead son, then he continued walking, his destination unknown.

 

After another day of walking, his other son was also peering towards the abyss. Determined to not have to bury another one of his children, the man made a choice. He cut his flesh, cooked it and gave it to his son to eat. He bled himself dry so that his son would have something to drink. His son was terrified, and refused to part-take in the flesh of his father, however his father forced the flesh down his throat, and made him drink the blood until his thirst was quenched.

 

He said, “Listen to me son, do not reject this gift that I’ve given you. It is a gift with a heavy price, an opportunity which I can only provide for you once. Live on my son, this is my gift to you.” After saying his piece, the man’s heart stopped and his soul was whisked away with the sand and the wind. Leaving only his body to bake under the scorching sun.

 

The young boy, frightened and alone, had to bury his father. After which he stood up and began to walk. How long he walked is uncertain, how he managed to survive in that harsh environment, all alone, is to this day unknown. However what is known is that he survived, wandering aimlessly in the desert for many years. The young boy had grown into a man, but he was on his last leg. He’d gone crazy from the years of solitude and the constant fight for survival. He was thirsty, so thirsty, and his body was always filled with a ravenous hunger. 

 

Just as he’d decided it was better to take his own life, rather than to let this cursed desert drain him slowly. Just as he put the dagger to his neck, the same one his father had used years before, he heard a voice. “WALK FORWARD.” it said. The young man didn’t know why but he was compelled by that voice. Each time he’d think of giving up, feeling tired, hungry, thirsty, he heard that voice again, “WALK FORWARD.”

 

The young man didn’t know how far, or how long, or to where he’d walked, but he stopped at the foot of a mountain. The voice said “CLIMB.” so the man climbed, the mountain wasn’t very tall, and it didn’t take long. Once he reached the peak he heard the voice again, “IF ONE DOES NOT SUFFER, ONE DOES NOT GROW. IF ONE FEELS NOT ANGUISH, THEN HE CANNOT KNOW HAPPINESS. IF ONE KNOWS NOT MISERY, THEN HE CANNOT CHERISH PEACE. IF ONE DOES NOT TREAD THE PATH OF DEATH, HE WILL NEVER APPRECIATE LIFE. I HAVE WATCHED YOU FOR MANY YEARS, YOU ARE A WORTHY MORTAL. FROM NOW ON YOUR NAME SHALL BE DENOIS, AND YOU WILL BE MY PROFIT ON THIS PLANE.” After saying that, the Being healed Denois’ wounds, and fed and clothed him. Then they talked for a long time, some people say months, others say years. The content of the conversation was never revealed.

 

Finally the being decided to leave this mortal plane, but as he slowly ascended into the void Denois called out, “Great Being, Mighty Benefactor, What Shall You Be Known By?” The being paused for a moment then said one word, “MISERY.” Then he vanished into the void. From there the story goes on and on but that’s a conversation for another day. Back to the situation at hand. 

At the time I didn’t know any of this and so I was in constant fear for my life. It may seem like light fun to some people, but you’d have to have been in that situation to understand the real fear and dread I felt everyday.

 

For that reason I added Mr. Kicks to my book of hate, and decided if there ever was a chance I’d pay him back with interest.

 

“This is truly interesting! I thought those cannibals would’ve already turned you into table scraps by now!” Mr. Kicks laughed.

 

This caused both Clarissa and I to be furious, Clarissa because she hated when people insulted her religion. Me because he assumed that I would already be dead, what a hateful guy!

 

“Young Miss… This is the fool with whom I will battle?” I said in a low growl. 

 

“Yes!” She said with fire spitting from her eyes, “Be ruthless, and make sure to not embarrass house Naymore!”

 

“Yes Miss!” I shouted spiritedly as I stepped forward

 

The crowd quickly moved back, making room for the two people to fight. There were some people scared of the drama and swiftly left, others who wanted to see the show, and a few shady characters watching from windows and dark corners. 

 

“So you balls have finally dropped huh?!?!” Mr. Kicks said angrily, “Let’s see if you can do anything more than run away, just like last time!” Mr. Kicks was angry, how dare this runt try to step up to me, less than a month ago he was running scared!

 

The two squared off against each other, the surrounding crowd yelled and jeered, some amongst the crowd took the opportunity to start taking bets to determine the victor.

 

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One man said, “It’s clearly the big man who will win, he's 2 meters tall (6 feet) and is very muscular. How can that kid, who’s not even a grown man possibly win?’ He then placed 5 silver Atums on Mr. Kicks.

 

A short old man laughed calmly, “It’s hard to say, just because he’s large doesn’t mean he is a good fighter, and bigger isn’t always better, if the other guy is fast on his feet, he may be able to tire out his opponent.” The old man put 2 gold Atums on Toska, causing a collective gasp amongst the audience. The old man looked forward smugly, but in his head he was screaming, “DON’T LOOK DOWN ON SHORT PEOPLE! KID! YOU GOTTA WIN, THAT'S ALL MY MONEY FOR THE MONTH!”

 

Mason was enjoying the attention and letting the crowd build up more. He also pulled out a coin pouch and threw 20 gold Atums to the bookie, “I’m putting all 20 on my fighter.” he said arrogantly as he cast a sidelong glance at Clarissa. This was clearly a move to embarrass her for the poverty of her Clan.

 

“Young Miss,” I said, “I’m so sorry, we spent the rest of the Atums, so we only have these few to bet on,” as I pulled out all the silver atums I had in my savings. I couldn’t allow her to be looked down upon, or it could potentially create problems for me later. Also due to the new mission that I was just issued, I’d already made a plan, this was basically free money! The odds were 10 to 1 so if I won I’d make 120 silver Atums, but if we lost…

 

I stared intently at the system special mission

 

System: New Mission Available!

 

System: Mission: First Blood! This is a world of violence and cruelty, learning that should be sooner rather than later. Kill your first enemy!

 

System: Reward: Random

I know I should be disgusted by the thought of murdering another human, however, whether it’s due to the system, or maybe I’m just more desensitised, but I feel extremely calm and confident right now. 

 

“Miss… I propose we make this battle to the death! It’s not a fight between men if you don’t put your life on the line.” I said, while looking straight into Mr. Kicks eyes. Maybe it was my imagination but I saw just a flicker of hesitation.. Fear?

 

The crowd roared and rumbled at this, “WELL SAID! WELL SAID! TO-THE-DEATH! TO-THE-DEATH!” the crowd jeered. 

 

Having been swept up by the momentum Clarissa and Mason were forced to agree. 

 

Finally Kicks and I faced off, he was handed a metal club by his benefactor. I looked towards Clarissa, but she hadn’t prepared any weapons. In her defence, this duel wasn’t meant to be a death match. From the crowd a short old man yelled, “Here Kid!” as he threw a short sword into the open area. I quickly went forward to grab it, and placed it in front of me. Centred between my lower chest and my abdomen. 

 

We quietly circled each other, looking for an opening. Kicks, getting impatient, decided to simply rush me. He grabbed the club with both hands and did a broad swipe from the left side. 

 

The move was quite predictable, and the movements were large. I swiftly ducked under the swing and ran forward, trying to close the distance between us in order to land a hit. Seeing that he missed, Kicks took two large steps back, and repositioned himself. Damn this small body, it’s impossible to get close to him!

 

This time I went on the offensive, holding the sword low and to my right side, I ran towards him. He lifted the club high and went for an overhead, downwards strike. I saw it coming, and as close to the last second as I could possibly get, I dogged to the right. The impact of the club left the street slightly cracked, and the vibrations travelled into Kicks arms, numbing him for a bit. I took the chance to bring the sword up in a slash, and left a mean gash on his arm. Not deep enough to see bone, but definitely enough to hinder his left arm and cause him to lose a lot of blood.

 

Kicks yelped in a mix of pain, anger, and embarrassment. In his rage he dropped all notions of defence and rushed towards me, madly swinging his club. 

 

This was out of my expectations, I didn’t think he’d respond so emotionally in a life or death battle. However due to his craziness I started taking hits, side smacks from the club, or elbow, or random fists hitting my face and ribs. It was extremely hard to counter attack without taking too many hits, or taking a life-threatening blow. I was forced to dart around, looking for an opening to make a lethal strike. 

 

Finally when he swung heavily up and to the right, I saw an opening to his armpit, one of the most defenceless parts of the body. I aimed my sword upwards, and swiftly moved in close. As I thrusted towards his armpit, Kicks made a risky move to save his life. He quickly lowered his arm, causing the sword to dig deep into his flesh, I felt the sensation as metal grinded against bone. 

 

Gritting his teeth, he grabbed me by the throat and brought the fight to the floor. Since his left arm was incapacitated he used his right arm to mercilessly hammer me in the face. My nose broke first, then I felt a looseness in my jaw, my mind was gradually slowing down. I used all my energy to reach into my pocket. Once my hand was covered I accessed the storage space, and pulled out my dagger. With great effort I brought it to Kick’s neck and slowly plunged the dagger into the bulging vein. 

 

Kick’s eyes slowly filled with shock as he stopped slamming his fist against me. He grabbed the knife and pulled it from his neck, a big mistake. A jet of blood pulsed out from the wound I opened. He fell forwards onto me, and his warm blood splattered on my face and clothes.

 

System: Congratulations Completed Mission: First Blood!

System: Accept Rewards? Y/N

 

I wanted to say yes, but my head was fuzzy, it was hard to think, see, even breathing was difficult. The crowd was silent, I’m tired, my eyes, I can’t keep them open anymore.    

 

 

 

 

 

Message To Readers:

 

This is the first fight scene that I've written and to be honest, it was difficult to be descriptive without being repetitive, so i'm sorry if that fight was to bland, or too fast, or whatever it may be. Bear with me I'll get better as I go. Anyways thanks for reading, pretty soon we will have gotten 1k views on this novel which is great and unexpected! Please be sure to like it and leave a review (If you enjoyed/didn't enjoy the chapter/series) and consider hitting that readin button. Thank You. Ok bye.

 

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