Xavier had won his first in quite a manner. It seemed like his opponent was obnoxiously scared of him and had decided to forfeit, so he hadn't had the opportunity to fight yet.
This time, however, his enemy was a renowned warrior from the Ironclad Bastion. A pro-level boxer with experience in MMA and street fighting, this was a deadly combination.
Approaching the red-eyed battle-hungry fighter, the referee proceeded with the same formalities.
Xavier said his name and the other combatant too. His name was Liam.
Taking their position, the countdown started; both enemies were like predators staring at their prey, and the two wanted to devour the other.
"Tick, tick, tick, FIGHT!''
The two men began attacking each other relentlessly, and as they did, Aiden feared for the combat's outcome.
Upon carefully watching the two men fight, he realized that Xavier had immense combat power mostly due to his physical strength.
The man was large, akin to a human bear, 6'5 in height, 113 kilos in weight, and had huge muscles, yet he couldn't fight properly.
On the other hand, Liam was 5'9 and probably weighed no more than 70 kilos, but he fought like a champion. Even Aiden was not sure if he would be able to display such great martial arts prowess. Such prowess didn't come from any sort of magical training such as the one Aiden had received from the dummy; instead, it came from the man's years of experience, roaming the streets for food with hunger as his drive and anger as his reason.
Nature's will had decided to take away his parents at a young age. Thus, he was forced to live and grow by himself in a wild world filled with monsters wearing human masks. At some point, the boy was faced with a challenge no teenager should be able to overcome. But that didn't stop him from breaking all the laws of nature. Barely 15 and the boy had won a 5v1 street fight against grown adults.
This was an incredible feat for someone before the revolution.
Back onto the present fight, Xavier was trying to grab Liam's body and crush him to the ground, but that worked in Liam's favor instead. He was bruising his face with deadly knee kicks and elbow strikes to the back.
Liam was like a tactical combat machine, whereas Xavier was a colossus, taking all of the machine's attacks. Sidestepping out of his grasp, Liam controlled the distance between him and his opponent so he could strike without being hit in return.
Many sharp and quick jabs landed in Xavier's face, slowing down his movement. Liam still couldn't afford to make any mistakes; a single hit on the chin received from that guy would result in a loss.
So blow after blow, retreat after retreat, Liam was tiring out Xavier, seemingly draining his stamina as if his swings were needles absorbing his vital essence.
As the minute passed, Xavier couldn't land a single, proper hit on his enemy. He was in a mad rage, but if he lost all control and let anger take hold of him, it would be even worse, so he kept a cool head despite the humiliation.
Liam, on his side, was still full of energy and started mocking his foe, taunting him in an attempt to manipulate him so he would make mistakes.
It worked.
Xavier rushed at him blindly and ate a low kick in the knee joint; this was the end.
Under the influence of Adrenaline, Xavier didn't fall immediately, but he automatically stumbled while going forward, trying to land a cross-swing onto Liam's chin.
Liam then sent a back elbow strike to his chin, while evading smoothly his failed attack. He chained it up with a back kick to his sternum and a leg sweep that was aimed at Xavier's almost broken leg.
He fell to the ground and couldn't get up due to Liam putting his feet on his throat. He had won against Heavenly Pandemonium's second-strongest fighter, as if it were nothing at that.
All of Aiden's people were breathless, their silence echoing like the reverberation of a body blow that struck them heavily in the stomach.
Aiden did not move; he stood still, his gaze fixed not on Xavier, who had lost the fight, but on his potential future opponent. Liam.
Liam turned around to look at Aiden, intending to intimidate him, but what he found by looking at Aiden was nothing of a sad leader, worried for his chances of winning the tournament due to having lost his strongest fighter. No, this was not the type of face Aiden had. He stared directly into Liam's eyes, icily.
Even before the victorious champion could understand what this look meant, a fragile yell broke the sharp tension reinforced by the glacial silence.
''T-The combatant Liam wins!''
This signaled his official win and his obligation to step off the stage. As the referee announced his victory, he took a final glance at Aiden, and in that split second, he understood the meaning behind the stare. It wasn't anger, sadness, or resentment—just a pure, cold intent to massacre him on the platform. For the first time in years, he felt genuine fear from Aiden's look. A non-aggressive stare, merely curiosity. Aiden deemed him his prey.
He wanted to see if Liam could survive his full strength.
One thing that remained unknown was the current state of Aiden's multiple personality disorder. Was he cured, or was he still cursed by it?
Truth be told, Aiden had merely gained back control over the pieces that built his very being. This meant he could remain as cold as an immovable frozen mountain or be as hot-tempered as a psychotic madman wanting to kill everyone. But if anything perturbed him, nothing proved that he would be able to control himself.
Aiden had grown tired of only fighting against the dummy and longed for a truly strong human contender, so he could relish in the pleasure of breaking that man apart with his newly acquired strength.
He thought that this was the only way for him to cure himself. He believed that it could help him tie down the beast within, as his mind was but a whimsical desire rather than an act of salvation. Saving himself had to happen in the real world. And it's in fighting that he found his grace, sullied by the blood of the unworthy.
He deemed Liam unworthy; no matter his past and pain, he couldn't stand his behavior. He had already heard of the man's bad reputation multiple times since the cross-faction meeting. He had been told of how much he liked to bully those weaker than him, to the point where he even brought one poor soul to his unfortunate death.
''This was unexpected, Aiden.'' Kal blurted out in his normal tone upon realizing Aiden's gloomy gaze, and he added, ''What are we going to do now? Two other of our combatants have already lost, and the last one is facing off against Andrew... This looks grim for us.''
Aiden regained his composure and turned his attention to Kal. ''What are you afraid of? I told you I was going to make us win. Even if it means carrying the faction all by myself. Don't you trust me?'' Kal couldn't help but think Aiden was too confident and perhaps even a little arrogant, so he responded hastily. ''Aiden, I know you're strong, but some of these guys are monsters. To be honest, I'd even expect you to los—''
"I won't lose to anyone, Kal. Let me make this clear: I will break that boy—I will rip him to shreds." Aiden interrupted Kal mid-sentence as he expected nothing clever from his remark, ''The same thing will happen for all the other foes I encounter.''
Noticing Aiden's firm determination, Kal didn't bother using nice words to remind him of how powerful some of the other contestants were. Logic did not apply to him in such circumstances, even more so when Aiden had no problem talking aloud about such arrogant subjects in front of his members.
Jammes and Clark had overheard the short interaction and were surprised to hear Aiden's outburst, as were the ordinary members around them.
How come their leader was so confident? Why was he so arrogant? Was it actual arrogance, or could he truly pull it off?
Many questions arose in the minds of the whispering overhearers. Most of them would remain unanswered.
Aiden decided to move from his arena to watch his last participant fight Andrew, ignoring all the gossip surrounding him.
***
When I found my way through the small crowd, I realized the eyes of many were settling upon me. Unaware of why I attracted so much attention when nobody had cared about my presence earlier, it all made sense when I took a glance at the referee handling this match. He was Frederick Nitch, a hater of the Heavenly Pandemonium faction and a firm supporter of Wilson instead.
More like a naive boy having been bribed by Wilson's manipulative orchestra that his tongue and mouth represented.
He was the co-leader of the Shadow Syndicate faction, one that we knew nothing about. They were very secretive and hid themselves most of the time. Meeting their leader as well as a few members of their faction was already unexpected.
Although the leader wore a mask and had his hood on.
Most people watching this fight felt hatred toward Aiden for his way of doing things; they had been manipulated by both Wilson and Frederick. Those people were either members of the Shadow Syndicate or were from the Dark Society. Both of them were allies.
I couldn't care less though, so I simply fixed my attention on the fight.
Andrew was an incredibly flexible martial artist; his legs were as nimble as springs, bouncing back with every step. And that speed, such quick movements, were hard to follow even with the greatest pair of eyes.
On the other hand, Neo Carter was struggling to set his pace while defending himself. The relentless rush of attacks acted as a barrier for Andrew at the same time.
Andrew launched side-kick after side-kick, each carrying tremendous power while being as fast as a gust of wind. Even catching Neo off guard at times, when that happened, Andrew would send a back-kick to the stomach or the head to severely damage his opponent.
Neo on his side began to adapt well to Andrew's rhythm after a few minutes and even landed a few punches to his nose and one to the chin, which proved less effective than he had anticipated. While I analyzed Neo's fighting style, I had the feeling that what was holding him back was his opponent's speed.
Many times Neo has had the opportunity to attack or counter, but he was too slow. I thought that the reason why he insisted on hitting his nose so much may have had something to do with making his opponent cry. Which would result in a loss of visibility and allow him to counter-attack easily.
And I was right; this was exactly what he was after.
30 seconds later in the fight, many more kicks were thrown, and a more tired Andrew showed signs of weakness. Neo took this opportunity to break his nose; he attacked him dozens of times without care for the damage he received. It paid off. Andrew backed off, wiping his tears, but Neo was waiting just for this moment. Leaping at him, he prepared a charged, heavy right overhand swing to his chin while keeping his guard up this time.
It landed, and Andrew was on the ground, victory looming over Neo. However, I had a hunch that something was not right.
While Neo went to the ground to pin him hard and even tried to break his nose with downward crushing elbow strikes, Andrew countered blindly with an elbow strike to the eye and then a knee blow to the solar plexus.
That elbow strike to the eye was not permitted. Although the tournament had almost no rules, strikes to the eyes and throat were still forbidden. As I was waiting for the referee to call out the match or at least pause it due to Andrew's illegal hit, I was met with disbelief and shock rather than satisfaction.
It was clear that the referee had seen the action; I was sure of it. From my angle, I saw everything. The referee had seen it, too, but he ignored it and let the duel go on instead of halting it.
What followed was a sorry sight. Neo got beat up and couldn't defend himself at all. He was already suffocating from being hit in both the throat and the solar plexus, and he now had to endure a thorough beating.
The fight ended with a bloodied Neo and a happy-looking Andrew.
I remarked the possibility that Andrew might not have known what he was doing; perhaps he truly didn't do it on purpose. However, that was no reason to forgive him or the referee. I saw how that bastard of a referee smiled throughout the entire beatdown and how Andrew seemed to take pleasure in destroying his foe, who was choking.
The referee excitingly declared Andrew the winner, and a few young adults went up the stage to check on Neo's condition. But their move was useless, as he would automatically be healed upon leaving the stage.
After a few minutes, a healthy and crying Neo kneeled before me, saying he was sorry for losing the match. I, however, asked him to get up, as he hadn't disappointed me at all.
''Rise, Neo. You can be proud of yourself for having almost won against a stronger opponent. Perhaps you could have even won if he didn't cheat in the end.''
Neo stood up slowly, ignorant of why I did not reprimand him.
''Your face speaks more words than your mouth; it asks questions and portrays wonder and bewilderment through your eyes. The reason why I am not mad at you is because you are the one who did the best out of all four of my fighters. You never lost control; you resisted the crowd pressures as well as your opponent's mockery. You displayed great skills, endurance, quick thinking, and adaptability.''
I could tell my words made him happy, but he didn't waver and stayed humble. Noticing the end of my comforting and explanatory speech, he ceased his weeping and regained his firm look, a charcoal-tainted look in his eyes. He responded, ''I still failed nonetheless, my leader. The next time I fight, it won't be the same. I promise that I won't ever lose again.'' This comment surprised me, but it helped me realize this guy's potential.
''It's good to see you have such great ambitions and determination, but do not make promises you might break in the future. Losing is a part of life and growth. It is human and necessary for you to hone yourself. Being a never-losing warrior may work against you at some point. And also, if you do lose while having made this promise, it will put a shackle on your heart and martial artist soul. Just promise me something else instead of never losing. Promise me to do your best and be happy. That'll be enough.''
Neo's gaze shifted from a scary tone to that of genuine respect and joy when he heard my statement.
''Thank you for your words; I shall forever remember them and do as per your instructions. However, I have one question. What did you mean by promising to be happy? It doesn't really have anything to do with my former promise, right?''
'This boy's smarter than I thought..' I remarked.
Realizing his confusion, I explained to him what I meant.
''Do you think I am blind to your secret? I noticed how you train late till 4 am, for hours all day long. The way you practice is wrong. Actually, it's flawed more than wrong. Once this tournament is finished, I'll train you myself.''
***
The boy's eyes stuttered as they tried to process the information.
''Wh—What do you mean? Are you saying you will personally train me as—as a teacher?'' Neo asked in a heartbeat, seeming excited as if he already knew the answer to his question. I responded calmly, ''Yes, this is exactly what I mean. I'll temporarily become your master once we return. And if you wonder why I chose you, well, that's because you have the greatest potential out of everyone else in my faction."
He was utterly shocked, and so were the outsiders witnessing the conversation. Before he could say a word, I took his arm and brought him to a place that was not filled with people wanting me dead.
''So it's true, you are really going to become my master?'' He demanded, a jovial smile forming on his lips.
''Yes, but I have to win the tournament before making it official, so you'll have to wait a little before receiving any sort of training from me,'' I responded warmly, welcoming him into my arms. The boy was only a 15-year-old kid, and upon seeing new tears falling out his cheeks, I hugged him in a comforting way.
''That's totally fine; I don't even mind waiting for years if you want. I am already happy that you, my leader, recognized my efforts.'' He said in a coarse voice, wiping away his last teardrop.
"It's normal for me to take special care of my most hard-working member; let's go to my former dueling platform and rejoin the other council members now. The second round will soon end."
***
Aiden and his new apprentice exchanged some words while waiting for the third round to start. Waiting was the only thing they could do since no more members of the Heavenly Pandemonium were fighting.
Once Kal found them, he announced to Aiden that he would be dueling against Andrew on the very last dueling platform of the third round. At the same time, he also told him about Andrew's status in his faction. He was the strongest fighter of the Golden-Sun Kingdom. Not only that, but he was the last one remaining in his faction.
Aiden didn't react to this immediately, and after a short time he nodded and said, ''Alright, thanks for the information.''
Kal was slightly freaked out by this cold reaction, but knowing his friend's temperament, he decided not to say anything.
Ten minutes later, the second round ended, and the third began right away. Aiden was still in awe from the magical aura leaking out from the trees and how fast their regenerative properties were healing each combatant after they had fought a battle.
Only sixteen martial artists remained in the competition, so it would be much faster.
''There are eight dueling platforms, right? That's why now every fight can happen at the same time.'' Asked Neo while glancing at Kal, noticing the question was addressed to him, he answered, ''Indeed, before it took multiple turns, now this process is not needed anymore.''
Shortly after every fighter had been healed, a referee sent a message to Aiden, telling him the location of the dueling platform he was supposed to go to. And no sooner had the message been read that he declared, ''It is time; my fight will soon start.'' His voice had an abyssal depth, as chilling as space. His words sent a shiver down everyone's spine.
Kal may have been the only one who looked unfazed; he answered sharply, "We will be watching you. Make sure to win, Aiden.'' Following Kal's footsteps, the other high-ranking members and other ordinary members all supported him and hoped for him to emerge victorious from his struggle.
But only Kal knew that this was no struggle; Aiden did not consider this a fight anymore. This was what he believed from seeing the deathly stare in Aiden's eyes. His look seemed fixated on the way ahead, in the dueling platform's direction.
Arriving at the fated place, two names were called out. People were roaring, acclaiming either of the two warriors. One's heart was pounding hard from the palpable tension and excitation of such praises. The other, silent and obscure, couldn't even hear his heartbeat. Setting his first foot on the platform, a man interrupted the ghastly warrior. A voice then awoke him for a brief moment.
''Aiden... Please, do not kill him.''
Kal's untroubled attitude was no more; only fear and apprehension could be seen in his facial expressions, and anxiety was the last emotion his voice could convey.
When the unfathomable warrior turned his face ever so slowly to speak, his shrill, spiky, and bloodcurdling tone shook the atmosphere. The air spiraled as his words sent waves of glacial intent, and the earth seemed to shake the instant they made an impact.
What resulted from this succession of words was one single sentence. It provoked a tsunami of natural disasters in Kal's stomach when he heard it.
"I won't kill him; however, I'll make him beg for death."