"You remember, right? How you and your girlfriends embarrassed me in front of everyone at the bureau the other day?" Gaston asked, stepping on Kojo's head.
"Since that day, I've been watching you. I studied your movements, waiting for the right moment to strike."
His goons lifted Kojo up and threw him against the wall. One of them went forward and punched him in the gut, then threw him into a kick from his comrade, which connected with his face and caused him to collapse.
"I stopped when you entered Dio'ri, thinking you'd die within the first few seconds since those girls wouldn't be there to help you. You can imagine my surprise when I found out you weren't only strong but a powerhouse, probably strong enough to destroy all of Opal." He signaled his men to raise his head. All this while, Kojo's white hair fell over his head, covering his face. Gaston knelt in front of him.
"So, I decided to wait till you were at your weakest. Luckily, I'm not the only one who wants your head. I must say that anti-magic homing spell was pretty effective."
He looked at Kojo with a dissatisfied expression.
"You've been completely silent all this while. I thought you'd be either threatening or begging, given that your pals aren't here to save you," he said, slapping Kojo. He then began cutting him with the sword.
"Speaking of which, I'm going to pay them a little visit. I'm sure that they'll cooperate if I use your name. I'll ensure that they remember the encounter. That said, I think there's nothing wrong if we have a little taste before things get a bit nasty, right guys?"
The thugs around grunted and giggled in agreement. He stabbed Kojo.
"Not that you'll be able to do anything about it." He stood, then engulfed Kojo in flames.
"I'll be sure to let them know that you're aware of what's about to happen. Oh, and I must thank you for providing this rare item. I think I'll sell it, then use the money to move to a different country, as there's going to be an investigation into your demise. Oh well, no mercy for the cripple. Later. Or not." He waved and began laughing.
A strong wind suddenly blew from outside, closing the doors that exited the corridor.
The flames went out, and Kojo rose to his feet. He sighed, his breath misted.
"Huh?" Gaston said, banging the door. "Hey!" he yelled.
"I have this belief that if you have a problem with someone, then both people should settle it, regardless of the manner, without involving a third party," he said, his voice carrying no emotion. Gaston and his gang turned, shrinking back in surprise.
Kojo stood, showing no signs that the burns had affected him. His blood dripped.
One of the thugs stretched out his hand and drew out a knife, then rushed at Kojo and swung, backed by flames. Kojo caught his wrist, and the flames went out. He broke the man's arm, bending it upward. He opened his mouth to scream, but Kojo punched his head into the ground, cracking it. The other guys rushed at him. He froze one and side-stepped as one of the others tried to hit him with a club. Kojo caught it and, using his momentum, threw him into his frozen colleague, breaking the ice and knocking them both into the wall. He ducked under a knife swing from one and blocked a sword strike from the other. He caught both their heads and bashed them together repeatedly until their faces were bloody messes. He dropped their bodies and looked over at Gaston. He saw Kojo's eyes glowing and stepped back in fear. Kojo suddenly appeared in front of him. Startled, he tried to stab Kojo with the sword, but he caught the blade, freezing the sword together with Gaston's arm. Gaston screamed in pain and tried to punch Kojo with a fire fist. Kojo caught it.
"If you want to burn me," purple flames engulfed Gaston's left arm. He screamed, trying to break free.
"You should at least be able to do this much," Kojo said, ripping off his left arm while at the same time breaking the sword free, shattering his right arm. Gaston looked at his wounds and screamed as he tried to run away.
Kojo sliced one of Gaston's legs, severing it, and he collapsed to the ground. He tried crawling away, but Kojo stabbed his other leg, pinning him in place.
He pulled out the sword and stepped on the other leg, crushing it. He then reached down and grabbed Gaston by the hair and slammed his head into the ground several times before flinging him across the hallway to where his gang lay immobilized. They began to stir and looked in horror at Gaston's sorry state, their fear written boldly on their faces.
There was a gut-wrenching sound of metal scraping on stone that echoed through the hall as Kojo slowly walked toward them, dragging the sword behind him. The lights in the hallway slowly dimmed. The only light provided by a purple flame floating in Kojo's palm.
"P-please," Gaston begged, tears streaming down his swollen cheeks.
"You didn't think of mercy when you planned on 'tasting' my friends, now did you?" Kojo said.
"Listen, this was all a joke, we were just teasing you. Can't you take a simple joke?" One of the men said. No sooner had he finished than his head dropped to the ground.
"Do you see me laughing?" Kojo asked coldly as he looked down at them.
Gaston was terrified, yet he wondered how he was able to pull it off.
"Isn't he supposed to be at his weakest right now?" he wondered.
"Yet he moved so fast I didn't even see it. No matter, I just need to survive this somehow. I'll strike back like I always do," he smiled faintly.
"Devourer Manifest," Kojo said.
A dark aura manifested from Kojo, taking the form of various beasts and gaping maws.
At this point, all of Gaston's hope of survival was shattered. He made an attempt to scream, but no sound came. His men tried holding their throats, obviously screaming their lungs out, yet not a whisper was heard.
Kojo raised his finger to his lips, the purple flame floating above and casting a glow which showed the smile on Kojo's lips.
"You're a monster," Gaston mouthed as the manifestations began to devour them.
"Hush," he said, then blew out the flame.
"Kojo?" Kojo turned.
"Are you alright?" Sharone asked when they finally saw him moving towards the arena's side entrance.
"Oh, hey you guys. Yeah, I'm fine," Kojo said.
Lin spread her arms to hug him but drew back.
"Where'd all that blood come from? You weren't bleeding so much when you walked out of the arena," she said, concerned.
"It's mostly not my blood," Kojo said.
"Then whose is it?" Koniko asked impatiently.
"Uh..." Kojo thought of how to answer, but he felt a sharp pain in his head. He began to bleed from his nose and coughed out more blood.
"Kojo!" the girls yelled together as he fell on one knee.
"What's happening to me?" He wondered as his consciousness began to fade.
(Running system diagnostics...)
(Complete. ✓)
(Multiple bone fractures, internal bleeding, as well as severe head trauma.)
(Activating Heal.)
(Error! Not enough Arcana to complete task.)
(Calculating other solutions...)
(Complete. ✓)
(System reboot initiated.)
(System shutdown in ten, nine, eight,...)
"Are you alright, Kojo?" Lin asked with concern.
"Can you stand?" Koniko asked.
"I'll heal you," Sharone activated her blood magic, but Kojo stopped her.
"I'm fine," Kojo said weakly. "I just need some food and some rest, that's all." He tried to stand.
(Three, two, one.)
(SYSTEM REBOOT)
(Deciphering: Babel Archive. Paused: 9.0%)