Part B – The Duel in the Square
The square had gone silent, but not with fear — with hunger.
A ring of bodies closed around Gu Kuangren and Garruk, the crowd leaning inward, eyes glittering in the dim light. In Slaughter City, blood was entertainment, and death was the only currency worth more than coin.
Garruk spat on the cobblestones again and hefted his mace onto his shoulder. The weapon was ugly, a heavy iron club studded with blunt spikes, its surface dark with old stains. He twirled it once, casually, and the air hissed as it cut through.
"Let's see if your blood's as red as your eyes," he sneered.
Kuangren's crimson gaze locked onto him, unblinking, his grin wide and sharp. He flexed his fingers, still tacky with the blood of the street rat he'd crushed only moments before.
"Yes," he said softly, almost reverently. "Let's."
High above, crouched on the edge of a crumbling rooftop, Zhu Zhuqing's golden eyes were fixed on them both.
She had heard of Garruk before. A killer with a reputation in the Arena, brutal and merciless. Few survived against his mace. Watching him now, she knew the stories hadn't been lies — his posture was solid, his grip steady, his presence commanding.
But when her gaze shifted to Gu Kuangren…
He was grinning. His entire body hummed with tension, like a predator coiled to spring. He should have looked reckless, careless, even suicidal in the face of Garruk's seasoned calm.
Instead, he looked more dangerous.
Zhu Zhuqing narrowed her eyes. He's… enjoying this.
Garruk moved first.
The mace swung down in a vicious arc, a blur of iron and force. The cobblestones cracked where Kuangren had stood only a heartbeat before.
But Kuangren wasn't retreating. He had stepped into the swing, one massive hand shooting out to grab the haft of the mace near Garruk's grip.
The impact jarred through his body, rattling bone and muscle. Pain flared, sharp and deep.
Kuangren's grin split wider. His crimson eyes blazed.
"More," he hissed.
He shoved hard, twisting the mace aside, forcing Garruk off-balance. His free hand shot forward, aiming for Garruk's throat.
But Garruk was no novice. He pivoted, driving a boot into Kuangren's ribs. The kick landed with a dull thud. Kuangren staggered back a step, the breath punched from his lungs.
The crowd roared with approval, jeering and shouting Garruk's name.
Zhu Zhuqing's breath caught. He's hurt.
But then she saw the look on Kuangren's face. His chest rose and fell, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His grin hadn't faded. If anything, it had grown sharper, teeth bared in mad delight.
He laughed.
The sound was raw, unhinged, echoing through the square.
Garruk scowled, tightening his grip on the mace. "You really are crazy."
Kuangren tilted his head, wiping blood from his lip with the back of his hand. His crimson eyes burned with hunger.
"Am I?" he murmured. He stepped forward, spreading his arms wide, as though inviting Garruk's strike. "Then prove it. Break me."
The crowd howled in delight at the madness, stamping feet, chanting for blood.
Zhu Zhuqing's claws dug into the crumbling rooftop stone. She wanted to look away, but she couldn't. Her heart pounded as she watched the crimson-eyed giant taunt death itself.
Garruk roared and swung. The mace blurred through the air, striking Kuangren's raised arm with bone-crushing force.
The sound was sickening — a crack, a crunch.
Kuangren staggered, arm hanging at an odd angle.
The crowd gasped. Garruk grinned, stepping in to finish it, raising the mace high for the killing blow.
But then… Kuangren laughed again. Louder, harsher. His crimson eyes flared like fire in the dark.
He lunged forward with his other arm, seizing Garruk's wrist. With a savage twist, he wrenched the mace downward, driving the iron spikes into Garruk's own thigh.
The scream was deafening. Blood spurted, hot and thick, soaking the cobblestones.
Kuangren leaned in close, his grin inches from Garruk's face.
"Pain," he whispered, his voice trembling with ecstasy. "Do you feel it? Isn't it… beautiful?"
Then he tore the mace free and swung it upward in a brutal arc. The spikes smashed into Garruk's jaw, shattering bone, snapping his head back with a spray of blood and teeth.
The crowd erupted in chaos.
Zhu Zhuqing's lips parted in silent shock. Her claws loosened against the stone. The madness she had seen before in the alleys… here, in the open square, it was even more terrifying.
And yet, she still couldn't look away.
Kuangren stood over Garruk, his chest heaving, his arm dangling useless at his side, crimson eyes glowing with savage triumph.
The whispers rose again, carried like wildfire through the watching crowd.
"Crimson-eyed giant…""Madness… true madness…""Not even Garruk could stand…"
Kuangren raised the mace high, blood dripping from its spikes, and bellowed to the heavens.
"MORE!"
The square shook with the sound of his voice.
And in the shadows above, Zhu Zhuqing's golden eyes narrowed. For the first time, she whispered his name aloud, the word slipping past her lips like a secret she hadn't meant to speak.
"…Gu Kuangren."