February 4, 2023, Midnight.
"Actually, I agree with you."
Boom! Blam!
Amon charged forward and threw a punch. The man in the black shirt quickly dodged, letting Amon's fist filled with swirling fire explode in the air.
Spinning on his heel, Amon chased after the black-shirted man, giving him no chance to escape or counterattack.
He threw a right hook. Boom! The sound of the explosive punch echoed in the air. Any animal near Amon would have fled, including his opponent, who wasn't fast enough—Amon's fiery blast grazed his left shoulder.
Shit! The longer this fight goes on, the more stronger this brat! I didn't know he had mastered intermediate fire magic! I should have killed him when I had the chance!
"Weaklings and scum like you don't deserve to live. Because you're nothing but disgusting trash."
From behind the man's back, Amon prepared to land a left hook just as the man turned his head.
Too fast!
One second earlier, Amon was right in front of him, and the next, he was two steps behind the man's back.
Raising his hand for defense, Amon struck the man in the black shirt with all his might. A deafening blast of swirling fire erupted, launching the man backward into a burning tree until it collapsed.
Boom! Blam! Crack!
And yet, the black-shirted man remained standing despite taking the full brunt of the devastating blow.
Both of his arms turned black, his flesh peeling away, while blood spilled from his mouth as he coughed.
"Cough! Cough! Damn brat!"
Even so, he didn't care. He pulled something from his pocket.
A marble-sized purple pill. He swallowed it in one gulp.
With fire swirling in both his hands, Amon grew wary. He didn't know what his opponent was up to, but whatever it was, it felt incredibly dangerous.
The black-shirted man burst into loud laughter as the pill took effect. His charred, peeling hands twitched, then fresh flesh sprouted from beneath the burned skin, forming stronger muscles.
From under his shoulder blades, his back writhed and tore open. From the wound sprouted a new pair of arms.
Now the man had four arms. He grinned widely at Amon.
"You?! A Witch?" Amon became extremely cautious. Before him, this man was no longer human. His skin gradually turned pale like a corpse, and Amon realized—he was no longer human at all.
"Now, boy! I'll kill you in the most horrible way you can imagine! I'll beat your body until nothing is left! HAHAHAHA!"
Amon tensed, taking his stance to face the enemy, who lowered his body and prepared to launch forward with all his strength.
Woosh! The black-shirted man vanished from Amon's sight, leaving only footprints embedded deep in the ground.
Amon's eyes widened as he sensed the ominous presence behind him.
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!
Before he could turn his head, his left waist, stomach, right ribs, and face were struck—so hard that his legs couldn't withstand the simultaneous blows. He was sent flying three steps into the air.
Before he could hit the ground face-first, the black-shirted man caught up and delivered a straight kick to his back, sending him crashing into a charred tree.
CRASH!
The tree toppled from the impact. Amon struggled to rise, coughing up blood several times. He could feel broken ribs. Not just ribs—some of his organs had ruptured, the pain unbearable.
Still, he tried to stand, ending up kneeling on one knee as he faced the man.
This time, without waiting for Amon to recover, the man dashed in to finish him off.
One step away from Amon, all four of his fists clenched and rose high.
"Hahaha! This is the end, boy! This is the fate of the weak!"
But before the flurry of punches could land, Amon suddenly wrapped his arms around his enemy in a desperate embrace.
"Heh, what are you doing? Have you lost your mind, brat? Whatever it is, you'll die here!"
Punch after punch hammered into Amon, but he held firm, clinging tightly to his opponent.
"Now! Reza!" Amon shouted. The punches halted, and the black-shirted man turned his head.
No one was there.
"You surprised me, brat. Have you lost your senses after my punches rattled your brain?"
At that moment, while the man looked back, Amon chanted, gathering his last strength into his hands. The swirling flames, which had vanished, reignited, now engulfing his entire body.
"من حر الشمس اللي بتديني نار
ومن الحمرة اللي مولعة الرمل
لإله خلق الشمس والنار
أنا عبدك اللي بطلب منك الدفا
اسمع ندائي وأولّع إيديّ
وخلي أعدايا تتحول لرماد
(From the heat of the sun that gives me fire.
From the burning red that scorches the sand.
To the god who created the sun and fire.
I am your servant who begs for warmth.
Hear my call, ignite my hands,
and turn my enemies into ash.)"
"You! Damn brat!"
The man launched all four fists at once, intent on killing Amon before he could finish.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
But he was too late. In the split second that followed, his four wrists were shattered by four blazing counterstrikes, his flesh torn apart by fire.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
Then four more punches tore holes into his body.
"This ends.. NOW!"
Amon roared as he unleashed his final strike, his right hand charred black by flame.
BOOM! BLAM!
One last, most powerful punch created a massive hole through his chest. A swirling vortex of fire bored through his back, burning his body into charcoal within seconds.
"Sh…it…"
The black-shirted man, now nothing but a corpse of ashes, collapsed to the ground from Amon's hand that pierced his chest.
Amon fell to his knees, his vision blurring.
"Hah… hah… I must help… Reza… and win this tournament…"
Before he collapsed face-first, his body was caught and lifted onto the back of a young man with round glasses.
"Forgive me for being late. Even though, I knew you could defeat him. Because you're stronger than me."
Before losing consciousness, Amon grinned faintly at the voice of his friend—Reza.
He wanted to smack his friend's head, but he no longer had the strength.
"You bastard, Reza."
***
Clang! Clang!
Thud! Crack!
Elsewhere in the forest, a young monk and a mysterious hooded man fought evenly.
At the edge of the forest, two girls sat watching.
"Thank you, Mei Mei. I didn't know you were a healer. When you were attacked by that man, I thought you'd lost consciousness."
Elizabeth watched the fierce battle ahead while Mei Mei healed her wounds with recovery magic.
Mei Mei, who had been injured earlier, had quickly healed herself after assessing the situation. She had planned to feign death so their enemy would ignore her.
Fortunately, they had someone who could match the mysterious foe—Gui, the monk. Even Mei Mei hadn't expected her new friend to be so strong.
But her worry lay with another friend, the one Jianying entrusted her to protect. Now, even Mei Mei didn't know where Sizhu was.
I hope you're alright, Sizhu.
After trading several blows, the hooded man stopped attacking. Gui, who had no intent to kill but only to protect his teammates, also halted.
They locked eyes.
"I found no information about monks entering this tournament. Who exactly are you all?"
Elizabeth and Mei Mei wanted to help Gui but held back, deciding to observe a little longer.
You all? Mei Mei wondered. Could it be there are more monks participating in this tournament?
Elizabeth, however, thought only of survival—how to escape the mysterious man who sought to kill them. The ominous aura lingering in her heart refused to fade.
"Every human has the right to choose their own path. Should monks not be allowed to seek higher learning?"
The hooded man didn't reply. He glanced at Elizabeth and Mei Mei standing at the forest's edge, then turned back to Gui, seven steps away.
"You're plotting something in this tournament."
"And so are you."
"Whatever it is," the hooded man drew something from within his cloak—a pair of daggers. "I just have to fulfill my mission."
"You are a devout man. If only you could direct that devotion to the gods."
"Yes, I serve the true god in this world. The Messiah. The Savior."
Both assumed their stances again, preparing to strike.
They stomped the ground simultaneously—but the hooded man stepped backward, not forward like Gui.
Within moments, he vanished into the darkness of the forest, leaving no sound or trace of presence.
"Where did he go?" Mei Mei asked anxiously, baffled by his actions.
Gui too was surprised, not expecting his enemy to retreat.
"That direction…" Elizabeth's eyes widened. "He's heading to where Sir Sizhu is!"
Mei Mei and Gui grew alarmed. They immediately chased after him, dashing into the forest.
"We must catch him before he kills Sizhu!" Gui shouted, running faster than the two girls behind him.
Elizabeth and Mei Mei ran at full speed, their faces pale at the thought of Sizhu being killed. Even so, they pushed themselves as hard as they could.
After a minute of running into the forest, following the man's direction—
Gui lay sprawled on the ground in a pool of blood. Sizhu panted heavily, blood flowing down his back. Another man—a Witch—was already reduced to charcoal, a machete stuck in the earth. And the hooded man, daggers dripping red, stood calmly before Sizhu.
"Sizhu!"
***