Ash's shock was palpable. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared, stunned and silent, at the unapologetic request.
He never expected such audacity—to demand a reward for hurting a child left him unsettled and speechless.
The mere thought of making him blind twisted Ash's insides with horror. The idea seemed so cruel and final that his heart thudded painfully in his chest, a cold sweat breaking across his skin as he pictured the void of darkness.
He wanted to be a pacifist, but now he had every reason to fight back.
He had to win;
If not, he risked going blind, and that was something he did not want to go through.
He went through a few ways in his head, trying to win at all costs without having to kill Kane, which was something that was on his agenda.
But there were too many variables in this and too many things to consider… There was an option he could take that was to reject the duel, but that could most likely end up working against him.
Since knowing a witch like Kruger around, she could just declare Kane the winner, and that would be something he had on the last part of his list.
"It's an eye for an eye, not an eye for two eyes ... so pick leaving the duel or accept the offer that I give. " Kruger's voice drew Ash's attention, looking at her with a strange expression,
He hadn't shown it, but he was no doubt surprised since he couldn't remember her helping him out in the past …. Hell, if it had ever even happened.
With the way she used her words, he had no option but to fight. If he tried to reject the duel, she would simply use her authority as his superior to compel him to do it anyway,
which meant he couldn't refuse. Her words were obviously meant for Ken, but Ash knew he didn't have any option.
Ken was only incensed more on hearing her words, and Ash could feel his intense gaze almost boring holes into Ash's body,
making Ash uncomfortable by being very close to him.
But on all this, Ash thanked his stars that his gaze couldn't kill; if not, he would have died a thousand times over.
"What do you say ?" she asked as if she didn't know the answer he was going to give, but nevertheless.
" I agree to his conditions, " Ash replied, making Kruger give him a smile that literally sent chills down his spine This is going to hurt a lot '.
************
"The rules are as simple as they can be .... No killing, no use of Mana, and no stepping out of the platform winner is the last man standing," Kruger said to the two of them who remained on their feet.
Ash looked around.
He noticed the look on his face was that of everyone was that of pity; to some extent, he was damned.
And he couldn't be more right, but he had his first share of fighting with opponents who were stronger than him, and for a fact wasn't scared since he wasn't going to lose.
"Begin," as soon as the words left her mouth, Kane moved swiftly, heading straight for Ash, who was already on the move.
His plan was simple: exhaust the big guy and try to do it flawlessly,
But it was all but a stupid plan that was bound to fail beautifully.
Kane was aggressive in his approach, obviously drunk in his anger, but was still sober enough to be tactical with his approach.
While Ash was nimble in his part, dodging and obviously not making any attempt to attack.
Anyone who was looking at this scene from afar could only see what looked like a cat-and-mouse fight.
This continued for a while , after which Ash started to notice something odd ,
Even though they had been at it for more than five minutes, Ken didn't seem like he was slowing down; instead, he was going faster, but in an odd way, like his rage was taking over.
He was making mistakes, leaving obvious openings that Ash couldn't take hold of, as that could lead to his death from his perspective, but nevertheless, he was fast.
They were clashing with military-type ordinary daggers, which was what made it more distressing ,
Soon, the fatigue began to set in; his movements were not as they used to be.
After a little while, he made a mistake trying to close the distance between the two of them, his body low, disregarding his stability.'
aiming to knock the big guy back, only to be met by a strong kick to the face, point-blank, not even having the chance to block.
He flew like a broken ragdoll and landed not too far from Kane, grimacing and utterly disoriented, with probably a broken nose since he could taste blood in his mouth.
took him a few seconds to collect himself, but that was enough time for Ken to close the distance between the two of them and slash the dagger at his right eye,
He noticed this quickly, but was out of time, so he couldn't dodge properly, using his right hand to block before moving his head slightly to the left, causing the dagger to sink into his flesh, hacking its way through.
The pain was overwhelming, but Ash quickly moved using his free hand, smashing the butt of the Dagger into Kane's head, and this was a mistake… a grave one.
As it didn't do anything to him and, if anything, made him angrier than before,
landing a kick on Ash's stomach, sending him skidding across the platform.
Battered and bleeding, Ash's head was in disarray, trying to find the next exit point in the problem he was currently facing.
Grimacing, he held his dagger, trying to put up his guard, but every part of his existence was screaming in pain.
could barely even move properly, and this occurred just after being caught in a few brutal hits. What would happen if he were to receive another hit? Thinking about it made us shudder.
Keeping his calm expression, Ash moved again, putting all the pain behind him, bracing himself for another hit that he hoped wouldn't come, but how wrong was he?
As soon as he got close, he was met by a lethal slash that was meant to kill, but he somehow dodged,
But he was met by a kick, which this time wasn't that harsh, and he somehow braved taking a few steps backward.
Maybe he is getting weaker, he thought.
But how wrong was he , as soon as he tried to move, Ken seized him by the neck, raising him off the ground,
That was when Ash knew that something wasn't adding up. He was by no means light, and the guy in question wasn't that strong,
But it was too late,
slamming straight into the ground with enough force that it knocked the Air out of him.
He lost every ounce of strength watching his body being thrown across the platform , bouncing on the ground twice, first his chest, then his head.
After which the world turned wonky , seeming like time stopped,
Only his consciousness left him confused.
Then he heard a voice," Oh, how… has the mighty fallen " .