February 5, 2023, Early Evening
"We'll talk again, cousin." Fatar, who was being carried by medics on a stretcher, raised his hand after his body was bandaged and the hole in his solar plexus was temporarily covered. The wound was quite fatal; he needed further treatment. One second late, his life would not have been saved. That's what Qu said.
Amon shook his head. He realized Fatar's arrival here was not a good sign. Most likely, something had happened in his country.
After cleaning up the mess in the middle of the Hunter headquarters' yard. The spectators cheered Amon and Fatar as they left the arena. The duel earlier was quite epic. When else could they see a life-and-death fistfight?
"They should have shouted ORA! or MUDA! when they exchanged blows!"
"Yes, I agree. Especially if they shouted WRYYYY! That would be even more amazing."
"Who are they anyway? The JoJo family?"
Zhang Fei, the dog Shengxiao, replaced Qu Guanglao, the rabbit Shengxiao, in the arena to shout and become the next duel's regulator.
"Ha, that bastard rabbit. She just left her post. Next contestant! Get to the center of arena quickly!"
Number nine and ten. The fifth duel in the Hunter headquarters' yard.
A big man. Almost two meters tall or more. With a thick beard and carrying an axe on his shoulder that was as big as his body. A Viking from the land of Greenland.
His opponent was a large, tall, muscular man, shirtless, with narrow eyes and dirty yellowish-white hair. His hair was thin, long to the back like a rat's tail, without a single fringe hanging down.
"Introduce yourselves!"
"Baldur Eivorson. The strongest warrior in this world!"
"So full of spirit, my brother. My name is Greg Arimathea. A priest from Georgia. I hope we can fight well."
Baldur laughed loudly at his opponent's words. He got a priest as his opponent?
"A priest? For a priest, you look quite strong." Baldur lowered his heavy axe. The ground immediately sank, forming the shape of the axe's tip.
Baldur's axe had a single blade like a wood-cutting axe. But its shape was specially made for fighting. The entire axe was made of blue iron, including its handle. Making the axe heavier than an adult man. There were runes written on its blade.
"Thank you, my brother. I trained with discipline for this day."
"But." Baldur raised his axe and spun it right and left, then placed it behind his neck. "You are too confident to win without a weapon against me." His gaze was serious. Baldur disliked people who underestimated him or were half-hearted.
Greg nodded. "I practice wrestling and short distance combat as my weapons. The rest depends on the God who gives me destiny. Whether I win or lose is not my decision."
"God will only give the path to victory to those who desire it. Relying too much on your God is not good. God Odin is with my axe, and I will defeat you as proof!"
"May we be blessed by our God."
"Noisy! Just start fighting!" Zhang Fei shouted, telling the duel participants to fight immediately. He was too lazy to listen to those kids babbling.
"Uwooh! Zhan Dou! Zhan Dou! Zhan Dou!"
Baldur and Greg understood; they immediately ran towards each other. With his large body and heavy weapon, Baldur ran quite fast, even though his heavy body size stomped the ground.
The same goes for Greg; he was like the giants in storybooks.
"May your God forgive you, because I will not!"
Baldur swung his axe first from overhead.
Greg, who was rushing forward with both hands intending to knock Baldur down and pin him like a wrestler, immediately stepped back, avoiding Baldur's deadly swing that could easily split his body in two like cutting wood.
Boom! CRASH!
But Greg didn't expect that after avoiding the heavy overhead axe swing, when the axe hit the ground, a five-meter ice wall was created forward and injured Greg's right hand.
Normally, a person's hand would be severed as soon as it was hit by that dense ice wall attack, but Greg reflexively smashed the ice wall until it broke as soon as it injured his right hand.
He jumped back three times, keeping his distance from Baldur who had already raised his heavy axe.
Blood flowed from the ice stab wound on Greg's upper right arm. He immediately pressed the bleeding in his right hand with his muscle.
"Good reflexes! You are strong! Ahahahaha!"
Baldur laughed then ran after Greg.
Seeing Baldur run, Greg felt like he was seeing a big brown bear running towards him.
He took a boxer's stance.
Baldur swung his heavy axe from bottom to top. His axe hit the ground, creating an ice wall right in front of Greg's face who was launching a straight left punch.
CRACK!
A one-meter high, two-meter long ice wall was created sideways. Greg quickly pulled his left hand back before it was severed by hitting the ice wall.
But Baldur only used the ice wall as a visual obstruction.
From the front, Baldur cut through his own ice wall, swinging the large axe forward to attack Greg who had just launched a flurry of punches at the ice wall.
SLASH! THUD!
Baldur's axe swing managed to wound Greg's chest, though not deeply. At the same time, Greg punched Baldur's face, which emerged from behind the ice wall, quite hard with his right hand.
Greg smiled faintly. Baldur laughed broadly, feeling the bruise on his left cheek.
Both stepped back.
"Not bad! Heal your wounds, priest! I know you can use healing magic. I will wait until you recover!"
Greg nodded, "Thank you for giving me the chance to use it."
"მქმნელი ღმერთის კურთხევით, შეუნდე მე და მიმანიჭე ცოტაოდენი შენი წყალობა.
"mk'rmneli ghmertis kurtkhevit, shu-nde me da mima'niche tsotsaodeni sheni ts qalaoba.
"(Through the blessing of the creator god, bless me and grant me a little of your mercy.)"
A low-level healing magic was cast. A soft green light enveloped the wounds on Greg's body and closed them like a fast-forwarded video, leaving a slight scar.
"I'm not an expert in healing. But I'm good enough to beat opponents. Baldur, my brother. This time I won't hold back."
Baldur chuckled. He lifted his heavy axe to his shoulder.
"Give it all you've got!" He shouted enthusiastically.
Both charged forward again.
This time, Greg's movements were faster, like an expert boxer. He punched the rapidly swinging axe blade to deflect it to his side and at the same time, punched Baldur's body.
THUD! CLANG! THUD!
His fists were hard enough to go bare-knuckle against iron. He didn't even feel pain when punching Baldur's large axe blade.
Baldur became overwhelmed seeing Greg's agile movements, punching both the axe and his body at the same time as he swung his axe.
CRASH!
Baldur scraped his axe on the ground from behind to block Greg's view. But Greg continued to press him after repeatedly hitting the ice wall until only fragments remained. Charging forward gave Baldur no room to swing his heavy large axe.
THUD! CLANG! THUD!
"HAHAHA! Not bad! Priest!"
Baldur's face began to be covered in bruises and blood flowed from his nose. He raised his axe as a shield from Greg's hard and continuous punches. It felt like being pelted with fast, continuous stones.
"But!" Baldur stepped back and jumped high forward.
Greg immediately stepped back and jumped to the side to avoid the incoming axe swing attack and ice wall.
"It's over!"
Baldur didn't swing his axe to the ground but threw it at Greg who was jumping to the side.
Seeing the heavy large axe spinning rapidly towards him, even with reflexes, Greg could do nothing but cover his body with both hands.
SLASH!
An axe was embedded in his chest. Both his hands were severed as he tried to block the large axe flying swiftly towards him.
"Ahaha.. ha.. throwing an axe is very unfair, my brother.." Greg knelt on the ground, tensing his muscles to stop the bleeding from both his hands. He coughed up blood from his mouth.
Baldur walked closer and pulled out the large axe embedded in Greg's shoulder. It was deeply lodged from his shoulder to his left chest, severely injuring most of his lung and ribs.
"A great fight, my friend. May you live and grow stronger tomorrow."
Greg smiled. He cast a low-level healing spell on himself as first aid before he fell unconscious, still kneeling and smiling.
"The winner is the big bearded man! Get out of the arena and medics, quickly check on the other big man! Where did that rabbit go?!"
Zhang Fei shouted as he walked into the arena and patted Baldur's back to get him out of the arena quickly, then yelled at the medics on duty to take the injured but still living duelist to the medical room.
"I didn't expect him to lose just because of one axe throw."
"Well, that big axe isn't an ordinary axe. Moreover, its owner isn't an ordinary person either. He's a Viking, his axe throws never miss."
"Truly barbaric!"
"Zhan Dou! Zhan Dou! Zhan Dou!"
***
In the mountain forest. In an open space surrounded by dense, dark green bamboo trees.
There was a fairly wide field in the middle of the tall bamboo forest. That was the arena where the Zhan Dou tournament duels were held.
The five-star Shengxiao Hunters on guard were the goat Shengxiao and the horse Shengxiao.
A man skilled in unarmed martial arts and a man with the surname Zen.
The man with long, dark pink hair like his grandfather, carrying an one blade sword at his waist, was named Guan Zen. He was young, the same age as Jianying and An.
The other man was an unarmed martial arts expert named Hongli Fu. He had no other distinguishing characteristics besides a military-style haircut and a muscular body as solid as a special forces soldier.
"The seventh duel of the second round of the Zhan Dou tournament is about to begin. Contestants number thirteen and fourteen, please introduce yourselves."
Guan Zen called out from beside the arena.
A man with a mushroom haircut and a brown-haired woman with a ponytail dressed in mercenary attire. In her hands, she carried a sword and a pistol.
"Reza."
"Araya Vannida."
Reza stood in the field carrying only a folding knife. Both stood casually without preparing for a fight.
"Oh~ a sweet-faced young man. Just my type. Instead of fighting in the field, how about we fight in a closed room. Just the two of us." The woman smiled flirtatiously, winking one eye.
Reza shivered slightly at the sight. He smiled awkwardly.
"I apologize, but I am here to become strong and learn magic at this country's magic academy."
Araya chuckled at that. "You truly are my ideal man. Don't worry, I might hurt your body, but not your face. I will save your face if you die, especially for me." She smiled, licking her lips.
Reza adjusted his loose round glasses. He had already rolled up the long sleeves of his shirt to his elbows.
"Let's have a good fight."
Araya nodded in agreement. She brandished the pistol in her left hand while drawing the sword in her right.
Reza prepared to slice his own left palm with the folding knife in his right hand.
"Are you ready?" Both contestants nodded without hesitation. "The seventh duel of the Zhan Dou tournament, begins!" Guan Zen lowered his hands.
Immediately, the sound of a pistol shot was heard, accompanied by footsteps running forward.
Bang!
Crat!
Reza's left shoulder was shot, but he didn't flinch. He sliced his own left palm. Blood flowed on his palms and he made a star on the back of his left hand with his own blood.
"Śata-purusa-balaṁ dhārayāmi, daśa-bhuja-mahā-bala, eka-netra-dr̥ṣṭa tvaṁ, ahaṁ tvāṁ bhūta-kālaṁ āhvayāmi.
(Who has the strength of a hundred men.
Who has ten great arms.
Who is one-eyed and sees all.
I summon you, O Buta Kala.)"
Araya jumped and delivered an overhead slash at Reza.
Clang!
The human-shaped spirit was muscular, almost three meters tall, with dark purple skin. Large, bulging eyes, with one eye on its forehead. Its mouth was wide open, revealing long, sharp fangs, and a red tongue hung out. Thick, sharply arched eyebrows. It wore a golden crown adorned with jewels and leaves. Its face was demonic.
It blocked Araya's slash aimed at Reza. Protecting the young man with round glasses under its large body.
Its name was Buta Kala.
Reza wiped the blood that flowing from his nose.
The woman with the ponytail immediately jumped back while firing three bullets at Reza.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bullets were stopped by the large hand of the Buta Kala spirit. The spirit did not bleed. But white smoke was seen rising from the bullet holes in the Buta Kala spirit's hand.
"Tsk, a spirit user."
Araya fired the remaining bullets from her pistol at Reza, but the Buta Kala spirit bent down, blocking the bullets' trajectory.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Tsk! What spirit did you summon, huh?!"
"I don't want to hurt a woman. Can you just give up, sister?" Reza said casually, even though blood was flowing profusely from his shoulder. He didn't feel scared. Unlike his opponent, who was terrified at the sight of the large spirit protecting Reza.
"Who are you, really? There are so few spirit users in this world! Face me like a real man! Get out from under that ugly spirit's armpit!"
Araya became annoyed because none of her attacks were effective. She reloaded her pistol and fired all its contents at Reza. But it was still useless because the shots were blocked by the Buta Kala spirit, which was crouching to protect Reza.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Buta Kala, break that woman's right arm."
Hearing Reza's command, Buta Kala nodded and stood up.
Seeing an opportunity, Araya ran towards Reza from the side.
While shooting as she ran closer. When she was two steps away, she immediately slid to the ground, avoiding the swing of the Buta Kala spirit's large hand that was about to catch her, then stabbed her sword into Reza's body.
Reza remained motionless as his stomach was pierced. His right waist was pierced by Araya's sword. Reza spat out a little blood but his gaze was still the same at Araya.
"Impossible... why do you seem to... not feel anything?"
Before Araya pulled the sword from Reza's body to launch another attack. Her right hand was caught by the large hand of the Buta Kala spirit and she was lifted high into the air. Reza released the sword embedded in his body and threw it to the ground.
"Let go! Let me go!" Araya fired the remaining two bullets from her pistol at Buta Kala's head. But the spirit was not deterred. It tightened its grip until Araya's right hand was crushed.
Crack!
The sound of bones was heard so loudly. Accompanied by an intense scream of pain.
"AaAAAaAgGH!!!"
Araya immediately shed tears, feeling the pain in her crushed right hand. She writhed and then stopped writhing after realizing that it only added to the pain in her right hand.
"It hurts! Let go of my right hand!"
"Surrender. I won't hurt you any more if you surrender."
Araya was breathing heavily, but she still had some ego left in her.
"Never! Once I'm free... I'll kill you, you bastard!"
"Buta Kala, crush her left arm too."
The Buta Kala spirit gripped Araya's left hand, which was writhing, trying to break free but couldn't. She screamed as the Buta Kala gripped her left hand, which was holding an empty pistol.
"No! No!! NO!!!"
CRACK!
Like a toy, Araya's left hand was crushed by the grip of the big spirit Buta Kala.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"
This was no longer a duel. This was a one-sided torture.
And Reza, with a cold gaze, did not care.
Araya cried, feeling unimaginable pain in both her hands while her body was still hanging in the air.
"Have you changed your mind now? I can ask Buta Kala to crush both your legs."
Araya nodded quickly.
"I... I... surrender.."
The Buta Kala immediately disappeared and Araya fell to the ground with a messy face, showing full of pain. She couldn't move both her hands. She no longer had the strength to stand and lay on the ground like a worm.
Guan Zen walked to the center of the arena.
"You..." His eyes were fixed on Reza, who, despite being covered in blood, seemed completely unharmed. Reza seemed to feel no pain.
"The winner of the seventh duel of the Zhan Dou tournament, second round tonight. Reza!"
Silence. The spectators were too scared to see the one-sided torture Reza inflicted on his opponent.
They had just witnessed a spirit user fighting. And they didn't expect the result to be like this.
Moreover, what made them frown was Reza's attitude; even though his body was injured and covered in blood, he seemed to feel nothing.
Horror. Like seeing a ghost.
***