The Lesser One Arc 2 Version 2 Chapter 16: Knight

 

Knight

The alligator rumbles towards me. I breathe out, breath in, and conjure a gladius. The blade shimmers with a mottled green color, the color of Rearden Metal. I slash at the alligator. The alligator opens its maw. I shove my blade into the open cavity. Two teeth bury themselves into my shoulder. I run the blade through the upper part of the alligator’s mouth. Blood spurts everywhere. The teeth in my shoulder sink in.

I jerk my sword upwards. The blade penetrates the alligator’s brain and its eyes go dead. The beast collapses to the ground in front of me. I stand, out of breath, blood running down my right side. The crowd cheers. A vampire butler rushes to me and wraps my injuries in cloth.

When I get back to the waiting room, I down a health potion and wait. My wound starts to hurt less, but even with a potion, my wound won’t heal for quite some time. Adding to that is that fact that I have to win one more bout. I groan as I sit, and lean against the wall.

Sebastian is sitting across from me, also recovering from wounds. Even though he was mostly healed by Rack, he’s still sore. Tia is sitting on the ground and meditating. Her feet are in the lotus position.

I turn to Rack. “How long have you been in here?”

“Years, mate.” Rack takes a small energy bar out of his pocket and unwraps it. “This is a brutal place, but when you have cunning,” Rack points to his temple, “You can make it.” He shoves the bar into his mouth. As he chews, he continues to speak. “You’re quite the fighter. I saw you off that giant gator, that was a great move you pulled.”

“Um, yeah.” I rub my shoulder, which still hurts. “I’ve been trained by a very good mentor.” I look at Sebastian.

He raises an eyebrow.

“Ah, yeah. Your friend does have a really good fighting style. Shame he was matched against a bad case.” Rack leans back and sighs. “But kid, you really have gotten yourself into a hole here. What kind of relation do you have with the master?”

“He’s testing me. He wants to see if I’m worthy of something.”

“Eh? Elaborate.” Rack leans forward, seeming interested. “What, exactly, does Sesnet want with you?”

I shake my head. “If I tell you it will tear your mind apart.”

Rack laughs. “Eh, I don’t believe in that silly stuff.”

“Okay, you asked for it.” I clear my throat. “Silverbones.”

Rack’s eyes roll back into his head and he collapses.

“Wow.” I blink a few times. “That was a lot more dramatic than I thought it would be.”

Sebastian sighs. “The name is protected by a dense hazard magic. Even though he’s trained in far eastern techniques, he still doesn’t have resistance to magictech.”

“Magitech?” I tilt my head. “First time I’ve heard that word.”

“It’s a rough translation into English.” Sebastian stands up. “I think I’m better now. Rack really did do me a great favor.”

Rack stirs, and then sits up, rubbing his head. “What the hell happened?”

I shrug. “You sort of fell asleep for a minute.”

Rack returns to his place on the bench. “My god, I feel like I’ve been hit by a train. What was it that we were talking about?”

I shrug. “Just how I killed that alligator beast.”

Rack grunts. “It’s called a Biloc, but you know, that doesn’t really matter.” Rack continues to massage his forehead. “Bloody hell.”

“Um, yeah.” I shift in my seat. “What happened to Reed?”

“He’s still in treatment, yeah.” Rack shrugs. “He can take it. He’s a hardy guy.”

I cringe, feeling a sharp pain in my injured shoulder. I shift in my seat again. “How long has he been here?”

“Just a few months.”

“So you’re very much his senior.”

Rack laughs. “Yeah.” He rubs his head again. “Good god, my head hurts. Did I drink too much last night? Wait, it’s the middle of the afternoon.”

I can’t help but chuckle. Rack’s reaction to the word Silverbones is actually kind of amusing to me. I feel like having a secret like this really helps me feel special.

The door opens. A vampire butler comes through. “Fighter Nine, are you ready?”

Rack stands up. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” He walks through the doors.

I watch the TV in the corner. Rack is facing off against a goblin-esque being with four arms and a big horn made of some black material. Rack pulls two star-shaped knives off his back. He starts twirling them. Using them like boomerangs, he lets them fly through the air, his hands moving too fast to be seen. The goblin monster is ripped to shreds. Two minutes later, the monster collapses. Rack returns to the waiting room. He grunts as he sits back down in his seat.

“That was actually really impressive.” I turn to Rack. “What kind of weapon was that?”

“A rainai. A traditional weapon of the Gulin clan.” Rack runs his finger along the edge of one of his throwing blades. “These are my babies. I’ve had them with me for a decade.”

“They certainly do look dangerous.”

A vampire butler enters the room. “Fighter seventeen?”

I walk out onto the battlefield. Sesnet stands on the announcer’s podium. “This boy here is fighting for the life of his friend!” He sweeps his hand through the air and points to Esla, who is hanging from a wall, chains binding her hands. She is still unconscious.

“If Markus doesn’t kill the enemy in three minutes, I will cut off one of her hands!”

The crowd seems to love this. I don’t. Obviously. But I have to forge forward.

Sage, can you do anything about this?

Sage: Everything here is analog. I can’t help you. Fight, then see about everything else afterward.

I take a deep breath. The door on the other end of the ring opens, and a man wearing steel armor walks through. His footsteps are marked by a clanking sound. He carries a large broadsword in both hands. The bell rings. The knight rushes at me, his armor clattering.

I conjure a sword and a shield made from Rearden Metal. I hope that the technical advantage given by the metal’s qualities will be enough to keep me in the fight.

The knight slams his sword against my shield. My shield bearing hand rattles and I feel my bones shivering. This is the hand that I reinforced with metal during the fight with Neo. Once again I am saved by the reinforcements I made. I start thinking that maybe I should repeat the process for the rest of my bones.

I stab at the knight. My blade slips off of his armor. I back away.

The knight swings his sword through the air, turning around in the process. I roll away. The knight’s blade bites into the ground, tearing a hole and throwing up debris. The crowd cheers.

“You have two and a half minutes!” Sesnet calls out over the mic.

I back away. If I want to defeat this knight before the timer runs out, I’m going to have to be more aggressive. I conjure a crossbow in the cocked state. The bolt flies straight at the knight. The knight swats it away with his sword. He sweeps the sword through the air and stands his ground.

A few seconds pass. I get the feeling he is waiting for me to attack. I need to do something; otherwise he’ll run out the clock. I tap my chest and conjure a Rearden Metal breastplate. I let Sage do the measuring and calculations. Then I gear myself up with greaves, boots, and arm guards. When I think I’m good, I take a deep breath and charge the knight.

We lock into battle. The knight swings to my right. I deflect and bring the knight’s sword up above him. Then I try to disarm him. The knight backs away, kicking up dirt. I rush at him again. Using my blade’s point, I jab at his chest. The blade lodges in the metal. Rearden Metal’s sharpness and strength make it so that the sword actually manages to pierce the breastplate.

The knight grabs the sword and rips it out of his chest. The tip is bloody, but not by much. The knight, using his metal gauntlets, maintains his hold on the blade. He rips it out of my hand and tosses it to the side.

“Too bad, bud.” I conjure a duplicate, flicking off the anima fluid to accelerate its creation.

The knight seems a bit surprised.

“One minute thirty seconds left!” Sesnet makes the announcement from the judge’s stand.

I circle the knight, looking for an opening that will allow me to disable him. I don’t want to kill him; I just need to get close enough to administer the dose of anesthetic.

The knight pulls an axe from his back. It is small, so it was hidden behind him. He tosses it. I block it with my shield. The axe pings off of the tough Rearden Metal.

The knight appears to be thinking. He starts walking around me, his armor clattering with his footfalls. He then stops. Pointing his sword at me, he appears to be saying something, but I can’t hear him over the crowd. He then summons a large fireball above his blade. The flames crawl around the metal, which begins to glow a bright hot red. He starts walking towards me.

I back away a bit. I can feel the heat from the flaming sword even from here. The knight continues to approach.

I decide to bite the bullet and attack. I charge him. He swings at my neck. I dodge beneath it and stab him in the chest. My sword catches. I am unable to pull it away. The knight jabs his blade at my chest. My Rearden Metal breastplate deflects the attack. I pull away, having lost a second sword. I conjure a third.

The knight’s blade sends out radiant heat.

“One minute!” Sesnet really seems to be enjoying this.

“Markus!” The whole world goes quiet. It’s Esla, who has just awoken. “Hurry!”

Sesnet claps his hands. “And there you have it! Our hero is racing against the clock! Will he win, or will she lose a hand!”

The knight appears to be laughing. I grit my teeth and charge at him once more. My blade stabs him in the shoulder. I rip it out before it can get caught. Only the tip is bloody. Again, I haven’t caused more than a scratch. I start circling the knight, looking for a chance to attack. His armor is starting to get really annoying. Also, my own armor is chafing, so I use my ability to adjust it. After doing so, I look at the timer above the judge’s platform. Thirty seconds left. I might not be able to make this.

The knight stamps his boot into the ground. He then plants his sword into the dirt. Again, he’s stalling. I can see his grin through his helmet. He’s having fun, I can tell.

I charge again. My blade clashes with his. The clang of metal against metal rings through the arena. I block two attacks and make a third. The knight loses his sword. Just as I am about to run his chest through, he punches me in the stomach with his metal gauntlet. I stagger backwards. The wind is knocked out of me. I cough.

The knight picks his sword back up. He then raises it above his head, as if in victory.

“It’s not over yet, buddy!” I grab my sword and run at him. We clash again. The knight’s sword is starting to feel a bit sluggish. All that armor isn’t light. He seems to be tiring.

But it’s too late. Sesnet raises his hand. “Time’s up!”

 

17

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