The Lesser One Arc 2 Version 2 Chapter 15: Fight

 

Fight

I sit, waiting. Outside the large door on the end of the waiting room, there is the sound of cheering. A small TV in the top corner of the room shows the current fight, without sound. Sebastian and Tia sit next o me. They do not speak.

Rack is drinking copious amounts of beer. I twiddle my thumbs.

The door opens and Reed staggers through. His body is covered in blood, and his armor is dented. He sniffs, collapses onto the bench, and then slumps down.

A vampire attendant enters the room holding a notebook. “Good job, Fighter Eleven.” He turns to me. “Fighter Seventeen. Are you ready for your match?”

“Better now that later.” I stand up.

The vampire writes something in his notebook. “Very well then. You may enter the arena.”

I shudder. Walking towards the door, I push it open and enter into a large underground fighting ring. Hundreds of people are watching from bleachers that surround the ring. The ring is protected by a thick chain fence.

A man wearing a ninja suit comes out of the opposite door. He holds two nun chucks.

“Welcoming Markus, the S-class adventurer! He’s cleared some majorly powerful dungeons, but can he clear this battle? Against him we have Shiki, the wannabee ninja! While he isn’t actually Japanese, and he doesn’t know any form of martial arts, his tenacity is nothing to spit at!” A bell rings. “Let the combat commence! Winner by knockout!”

Shiki whips his nun chucks around his body. One of them goes a little too far and he slaps himself in the head.

“Ow.”

The crowd laughs. Shiki looks like he’s about to cry.

“Do I really have to fight him?” I point at Shiki.

Shiki wipes his mouth. “I’m in this to win it. You said your name was Markus, right?”

“I wasn’t the one who said that, but yeah.”

Shiki points his nun chuck at me. “I’m going to knock you out.”

I flick out the knuckle blades that I just acquired. “Sure. I’ll try not to kill you.”

We circle each other. Shiki rushes me. I step aside and knock him on the back of his neck. He staggers, and then turns around. We split.

Shiki whips his nun chucks around, this time managing to not hit himself. He performs a back flip and growls.

I blink a few times. “Are you going to attack me, or what?”

“You’re just a normie. You don’t understand what I’m going through.”

“Dude, we’re in the middle of a death match. This really isn’t the time for that.”

Shiki wipes his nose. “Die, fool.” He rushes me again. I step aside and smack him in the back of the neck. He stumbles and hits the ground. I run up to him and pin him to the floor. “Surrender.”

“That’s not how these games work.” Shiki coughs.

“Okay. I’ll just knock you out.” I chop his spine with my hand.

“Ow!” Shiki does not get knocked out.

Aw man. That was supposed to work.

Sage: You’ve been watching too many movies.

I grimace, still pinning Shiki to the ground. “You know. I was expecting a much harder fight. Sesnet set this up to be a lot tougher than this.”

“Shut it.” Shiki struggles for a bit, and then goes limp. “I worked hard to get here, you know?”

Sage? Is there a way to knock this guy out without killing him?

Sage: Conjure an anesthetic.

Right! Can you help me formulate the right compound?

Of course.

I trust Sage to handle the details and conjure a chemical anesthetic soaked in a towel. I shove the towel into Shiki’s face. Shiki goes limp.

I stand up.

“Markus wins!” The crowd goes wild, which I wasn’t expecting, considering how boring the fight was.

A vampire butler takes me out of the ring and into the waiting room. He then grabs Sebastian. “It’s your turn, devil.”

Sebastian looks at me. “Sorry I couldn’t help you out there.”

“It’s not your fault.” I smile. “It was an easy fight anyways.”

Sebastian leaves the waiting room and heads out to the battle arena.

Sage: I’ve figured out why Esla was captured.

Tell me. I sit down and fold my hands.

Esla came to London at your school’s behest. They wanted to check up on you. Somehow or another, she figured out that there was a terrorist organization following you. She decided to investigate on her own.

Sounds exactly like her.

Right.

I keep my eyes on the TV on the wall. Sebastian seems to be kicking the butt of the other combatant.

There is a flash of something silver. Sebastian collapses to the ground. The round is called, and the winner holds up his fist in a victory cheer. Two medics bring Sebastian back into the waiting room.

He is covered in blood. I run over to him. “Sebastian, are you okay?”

Sebastian is unconscious. He has several deep flesh wounds and is bleeding profusely. I push away the two medics and kneel beside him.

“Come on, come on!” I apply a tourniquet to his leg, using a conjured rag and a stick. The bleeding slows.

Two vampire butlers enter the room. They grab Tia. Tia looks to me as she is dragged into the ring. “Markus, be strong. You can make it through this.” She enters the ring and the door closes behind her.

I kneel beside Sebastian. “Please, don’t die.”

Sebastian’s face is ashen. His lips move. “I’m a devil, you fool. I can take more than this.” Then he closes his eyes.

“Sebastian!”

I turn to Sage. Can you tell me what’s wrong with him? Can I fix him?

His femoral artery is severed, and he has multiple internal hemorrhages. This isn’t something a health potion can fix.

Are there any medical facilities around here?

Sesnet isn’t going to allow you to use them.

Please, somehow get us access to a doctor. My hands are covered in blood.

He’ll die in ten minutes if you don’t figure out a way to stop the bleeding.

Rack stands up. “Kid. I know my way around a wound. If you incentivize me, I can help.”

I flick Rack a gold coin. “Fix him.”
Rack whistles. “All righty then.” He stands over Sebastian and holds his hand against Sebastian’s chest. “Yeah, looks like internal bleeding.” Rack takes his fist, breathes in, and slaps Sebastian’s chest. A metallic ring echoes through the room. Wind blows, fresh, smelling like a forest. Rack breathes out and taps Sebastian’s limbs with quick finger motions. Somewhere around us, a tuning fork chimes. White snow particles drift through the air.

Sebastian’s breathing slows. Rack stands up. “There. He should be stable.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.” I pause. “What did you just do?”

“I fixed him.” Rack sits down on the bench and examines his gold coin.

That was a technique called Lord of the Sky, native to Tibet. Sage fills me in.

Does it have something to do with his spirit?

Sage: No. This technique is thousands of years old.

Why does he know it?

I cannot say.

I sigh in relief. “Sebastian. Are you awake?”

Sebastian opens his eyes. “I’m sorry, sir. I failed you.”

“No you didn’t. Don’t talk like that.” I hug him. “You did your best. Now you can rest. I’ll win these battles and get us out of here, and get us that vote as well.”

Sebastian stands up. “Thank you.”

I look up at the TV where Tia’s battle is being broadcast. Tia is smashing it. Her enemy is a fat man wearing military armor. He appears to have a spirit that has to do with water.

Tia takes advantage of that and freezes her enemy into an icicle. The victory horn blows and Tia is led back into the waiting room. She looks at Sebastian. “You look like you had a bad time.”

Sebastian chuckles, and then sighs. “I let my guard down.”

The vampire butlers then turn to me. “Are you ready for your next fight?”

“Already?” I look at Sebastian. “Are you okay?”

Sebastian, still looking very pale, nods his head. “I am, sir. Just don’t worry about me. I can handle myself from here on out.”

I walk into the ring for the second time. Looking up, I see Esla hanging from a wall, with chains holding her up. She is awake.

Sesnet walks onto the stage above the bleachers. He holds out a mic. “Our contestant Markus is fighting for a cause today! His friend here is in danger because of him. How will he fight, knowing that to lose is to lose her as well?” He holds the mic up to Esla.

“Hi Markus.” Esla appears quite calm for the situation.

I wave. “Don’t worry. I’ll get you out of here.”

Sesnet brings the mix back. “So he says! Let the battle commence!”

A giant alligator monster rumbles out of the opposite doorway. It is about the size of a minivan, and has huge white teeth extending past its lips. Its eyes are devilish.

“Whoa boy.” I back up.

The crowd cheers.

I think about conjuring an RPG, but think twice. There are too many people watching, and I’ve been too lax about keeping my conjuring rules. I can beat this alligator some other way. I pull out my knuckle blades.

At the very least, an RPG would be my last resort.

The alligator snarls, and then charges at me full-speed. I take a deep breath.

The alligator churns up the muddy floor as it rushes me. I wait until the last moment and then step aside. The alligator smashes into the wall of the ring. The wall cracks, and the alligator roars.

I contact Sage. Design me a pike that can hold this monster.

Done.

I conjure a gigantic pike, made of Rearden Metal. It’s heavy. As the alligator turns around, I ready myself.

The alligator sees the pike and starts circling me, looking for an opening. I keep the blade pointed at it.

The alligator paws at the ground, snorting like a bull. Then it lumbers towards me. It seems to have a plan to avoid my pike.

It stops just outside the range of my weapon. Then it opens its mouth and bites the head. It grips, shakes, and tries to rip the pike out of my hands.

I hold on for dear life. The pike swings to the side, dragging me through the mud. The alligator starts to bleed through its mouth. I conjure thick roots around the pike, and then use them to anchor the handle to the ground. The alligator jerks its head upwards, trying to rip the pike out of the ground. The roots hold. I keep my grip. I conjure my knuckle blades and start pulling myself closer to the alligator. The alligator tries to disengage, but can’t seem to dislodge itself from the blade of the pike. I get close enough touch it, and then stab it in the eye. The eye bursts, and blood flies everywhere. I slash at the alligator’s face.

The alligator disengages, staggering backwards, kicking up mud as it moves.

I pull away and dislodge my pike. The alligator grimaces, blood pouring over its face.

I hold the pike in a defensive position. The alligator starts circling me again. It seems to be having difficulty with only one eye.

The alligator decides to end it. It charges me, straight at my pike. Just as it is about to impale itself, it changes directions and my pike embeds itself in its side. The alligator then twists its body and rips the weapon out of my hand.

Before I can conjure a new one, it closes in.