I clinched my fist and before he could finish his sentence I struck.
BANG! His eyes grew as big as two sand dollars as I laid into him.
“Ask and you shall receive,” I replied brimming with confidence.
I couldn’t believe how amped I was. I guess all the time on the sideline had energized me. I was ready to go. He smiled wiping the smudge of blood from his fur.
“Well, let’s begin. Shall we?!” he responded coming at me.
SWOOSH! WHAM! He threw a telegraphed punch I saw coming a mile away. I ducked under the punch and nailed him with another haymaker sending him flying in the opposite direction.
GRRRROWL! He let out charging me again.
I dodged with ease. I couldn’t believe how slow and clumsy he was. Sam was more disciplined.
“Come on,” I replied under my breath. “You have got to be kidding me?”
WHAM! ZOOM! FAP-FAP-FAP-FAP-FAP! BLAM! I caught him with another knee charge to his jaw. He flew up like a rocket. I charged and flash-stepped meeting him at the ascent of his height. I went into overdrive punching him with flash-step like speed. I was going so fast it looked like I had a thousand hands.
“AHHHH!” he let out crashing into the water underneath us.
He went to charge me again before his brother words stopped him.
“Brother,” Jormungandr screamed as I landed the finishing blow.
“What, Brother?” Fenrir asked frustrated.
“He’s an Eli,” he replied angrily. “Physical combat is his birthright.”
Fenrir smiled deviously.
“Well, then maybe I should use my own birthright,” he replied as his eyes went vacant shining in a dark black that turned them into black holes.
The environment began to shake throwing my balance off.
“Well, let’s see how good you are in elemental control,” he replied causing two crashing waves to emanate from the water below us.
The wave hung over me darkening the atmosphere around him. I didn’t even blink raising my hand stopping the water in mid-air.
“Impressive,” Jormungandr responded. “It seems your more than the typical brain dead Eli battering ram.”
Fenrir’s eyes squinted inquisitively scanning me surprised by my display of control.
ROARRRRR! He let out pulling mountain sized boulders from under the water.
“Try stopping these,” he let out sending the boulders at me angrily.
AHHHH! BOOOOM! I powered up and prepared myself for the blunt attack. I charged the first boulder exploding it on contact.
“Element Delta and Epilson, Earth and Wind Command, Flying spurs,” I replied using the scattered piece of boulders to my advantage.
SWOOP! SWOOP! BOOM! The boulders exploded as I sent the spurs flying in their directions.
ROARRRRR! SWING! Fenrir took a swing at me from the cover of one of the boulders using flashstep. I was one step ahead of him but he was fast and even with my speed, anointed sight and sharp reflexes he was hard to keep a bead on.
“Stop running you coward,” he shouted swinging wildly.
It seemed like the madder he got the harder it was for me to control him. It was almost like it energized him. It made him unpredictable. His moves and techniques were all over the place.
BOOM! BAWHOOOSH! He caught me with a haymaker sending me into one of the many boulders flying around me.
“Ah-ha, I got you,” he replied charging me again.
BANG! We met once again I barely blocked him this time. I fought to keep the negative thoughts from my mind. He was so unpredictable and his technique had no pattern to it. If I had weaknesses in my cerebral counter fighting approach this had to be one. It was like playing a chess player with no technique. It was hard to counter.
SWOOSH! SWING! SWOOSH! He continued to swing wildly as the tide of the battle was beginning to change.
BAM! AHHH! I let out as he collided with my block sending me crashing into a small island below me.
“Tim, what are you doing?” Jacob asked frustrated.
“Yeah, you had this guy!” Pete seconded.
“He’s wild, angry; it’s causing him to break his regular pattern,” I complained peeling myself off the ground.
I stared up at him as he smiled confident and condescendingly.
“So, I see what you gained in intelligence you’ve lost in physical ability, for an Eli,” he replied turning to his brother.
Jormungandr smiled chuckling in an agreeing tone.
“Tim, you got to attack,” Pete replied. “Like I told you when we were sparring, sometimes countering can be a weakness. It lets your opponent dictate the fight.”
I sighed upset.
“I Know, I know,” I replied. “It’s a habit; even when I try to attack I ended up retreating and countering.”
BOOM! I dodged as he collided narrowly missing catching me off guard.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BAM! He continued to attack as I narrowly dodged for my life before he finally landed a hard blow sending me into a heap of nearby trees. As hard as it was going to be to follow Pete’s words, it was my only hope.
“Here goes nothing,” I muttered peeling myself off of one of the trees.
AHHHHH! I replied charging him.
SWING! SWOOSH! SWING! WHOOP! Now he was the one making me look powerless.
He went to strike but it was perfect. I knew exactly where he would strike.
BANG! I caught him with a sweeping roundhouse sending him into the heap I had just climbed out of.
“Good Job, see,” Pete replied.
I shook my head exhausted; if he only knew.
“I wasn’t attacking,” I replied. “I got lucky; once he got confident he showed his hand. I don’t know if I can do that again.”
ARGHHH! He replied sending the sand and trees in opposite directions.
“I’m going to destroy you,” he screamed seething.
“Good, he’s angry again,” I groaned preparing myself.
ROOARRR! SWING! SWING! SWOOSH! SWING! BANG! WHAM! I dodged his unorthodox attacks like I was boxing with a blindfold on until another haymaking blow landed, then a finishing front kick sent me flying across the beach.
ROOARRR! He exhaled proudly.
Finally my anger was starting to seep out. I couldn’t get a bead on him. His moves were so unorthodox and idiotic I could never see them coming. They were shots from awkward no win angles before he caught me with a well-timed strike. It was impossible to decipher his fighting style.
“I can’t crack this guy,” I replied fighting to my feet.
“C’mon, Tim, you can do this,” Pete replied trying to pick me up.
“How can you fight a guy that you can’t counter yet can’t attack,” I complained frustrated.
“Keep your distance until you find a strategy,” he replied.
It was my only hope. I hung my head trying to keep my distance.
BLURP! BAWHOOSH! I commanded the wind around me ready to take back control of the battle.
“So you don’t want to mix it up anymore,” he replied trying to antagonize me.
Fury filled me. I felt offended that this imbecile who probably didn’t even know what he was doing felt I had to do anything to beat him. I felt furious that I had to go to such an extreme to fight him. My pride wouldn’t let me do it.
AHHHH! I charged combating him head on. He met me in mid-air as went at it dodging and throwing blows.
“Tim, what are you doing?” Jacob screamed.
“Yeah, Tim, pull out. You just said you can’t counter him,” Pete begged.
UMPH! He replied trying to catch me with a flipping front kick. I high blocked immediately realizing I left my lower body completely open. I quickly tried to compensate but it was too late.
BANG! OWHH! He caught me with a falling drop kick that knock all the wind out of my body and sent me flipping across the beach.
UMPHA! I let out gasping trying to catch my breath. He slowly ascended to the island shore with his arms crossed confidently.
“This is my birthright,” he replied walking calmly pointing at his stomach. “Anger is my friend. It guides me. So this relentless pain in the pit of my stomach makes me stronger. Just like you command the elements and that physical masterpiece you call a body. Anger bows to my will because I have faith in it. You are not a believer. The anger clouds your judgment manipulates you. It protects me.”
His kick knocked the fight out of my body. I lay bent over on hand and knees trying to pick myself up.
“So, that’s you secret?” I replied playing coy trying to buy time.
His eyes rose as he slowly made his way over to me.
“Boy, I have no secret. We are the grandchildren of a Wrath Angel. Anger, Insecurity and Fear drive us; just the way your Father Yahweh gives you power over earth, heaven and the laws within those realms, we have power over certain emotions or acts that corrupt those realms because they are the inheritance of our Father,” he protested proudly.
I flipped getting depth but I was still recovering from the blow and before I knew what was going on he had me around the neck.
“When we put faith in those ‘inheritances’ they take our powers to another level,” he replied squeezing the life out of me.
I felt the life being pulled from me as I fought to free myself.
“So, what you call ‘anger’, I call free will!” he replied slamming hard to the ground.
BOOOM! The blow knock the little bit of energy I had out of me. I gasped trying to fight free but his grip was like it was suffocating me.
“Tim, you have to calm down,” Jacob warned. “This demon, he’s taking your light energy.”
“how?” I asked feeling myself becoming weak.
“You opened yourself up to it when you let your anger and pride consume you,” he explained. “Tim, anger, insecurity, fear; they are all tools of wrath. Anger drives it, insecurity fuels it, and fear gives it control. Pride encompasses all three of these and you can’t beat the enemy using there tools. You can’t fight a wrathdemon using wrath! You’re on their fighting ground. You fell right into his trap.”
He was right. He was baiting me the entire time. First he built my confidence in myself, then he built insecurity in my mind and slowly chopped at it until my insecurity became full blown fear and he used that fear to fuel my anger. He wasn’t the brain dead oaf I assumed he was. Like Pete said, my tendency to let my opponent control the flow of the battle left me vulnerable and Fenrir exploited it.
“How could I be so, Ahhh!” I let out feeling more of my power being sucked from me.
I writhed as he smiled now palming my head into the sand as he sucked me dry. His hand covered my entire head as I fought helplessly. I knew what Jacob was saying but I felt like such an idiot it was hard to calm the anger in the pit of my stomach.
“Tim, you have got to control your emotion or this demon is going to suck you dry and you and Herschel are as good as done for,” Pete pleaded. “No negative thoughts. Just give it to Father Yahweh.”
I calmed my mind clearing it of all thoughts both negative and positive. He slowly raised his hand realizing I was finally resisting him.
“Oh, so you realized what I was doing,” he replied with a smirk turning to his brother. “You really are intelligent.”
“Get off of me!” I screamed.
BLAM! I caught him with a dropkick in the chest and flipped backward gaining the depth I had fought for.
“Great, Tim,” Pete added. “Now, keep your distance.”
He peeled himself off of the ground as I stared at him from across the beach.
I powered up causing an explosion of the elements that seem to emanate from within my body.
“Element Delta, Wind Command, Hundred Hand,” I command.
BAP! BAP! FAP! BAP! FAP! The punches collided with Fenrir like a hundred fist knocking him from left to right like he was fighting hundreds of invisible assailants.
“Element Beta, Water Command, Title Wave Wall,” I commanded.
Two waves rose high in the air and crashed hard as Fenrir narrowly dodged.
“So what you’re too afraid to fight me, coward?” he antagonized trying to lure me in again.
I smiled shaking my head.
“You have your inheritance, and I have mine,” I replied. “And my inheritance is a lot better than yours.”
His eyes grew as big as two beach balls. The water hung in suspension in neat droplets, the wind sliced like a tornado, lightning crackled, and the entire island began to shake.
“This kid,” Jormungandr warned. “Fenrir, let’s retreat, now!”
Fenrir turned surprised by Jormungandr response.
“Why?!” Fenrir whelped. “It’s just a subatomic trick.”
Jormungandr shook his head still staring in awe.
“No!” Jormungandr continued. “It’s not. This boy is doing this.”
“How?! That’s impossible. How can a child control the elements to this extent?!” Fenrir replied starting to come to grips with events for the first time.
“I don’t know but apparently there are a few things we need to return to the council and figure out,” Jormungandr ordered. “We’ll continue this another day but, for now, we have to report this.”
I stood trying to keep the mirage showing but I wasn’t sure what I was doing. All I knew for sure is what I was doing was scaring them and for now that was good enough.
Jormungandr cut a hole in the realm creating a wormhole.
“Hurry, now!” he demanded as Fenrir flashstepped next to him.
He stared at me angrily.
“I will see you again, Young Eli,” he replied as he disappeared through the portal.
“No! You’ll see me now,” I yelped sending a lightning bolt in his direction.
BANG! I stood unable to believe what had just transpired. Jormungandr stood holding the bolt in his hand like it was weightless. His speed was unreal. I didn’t see a flicker and even with my anointed sight it was other worldly. He smiled as the lightning bolt disappeared exploding like powder.
“That pride of your is an excellent front for the fear,” he replied looking through me.
I clinched my fist surprised by his words.
“I’m not afraid of you,” I replied angrily.
He smiled laughing in a mocking tone.
“No, but you are afraid of failing, and that is so much better, you see, you can overcome fear when it is an object, it’s hard to overcome fear when you have to accept what you’re afraid of as a truth that you can’t control,” he replied shaking his head as he disappeared through the portal.
I stood staring at the empty space assessing his words before Herschel’s hand knocked me out of my trance.
“That was amazing?” he replied with a smile.
I reached to block his access to the staff piece. He chuckled raising his hands in a surrendering manner.
“Dude, you just saved my life,” he replied. “You earned that thing.”
I nodded trying to understand things while still jostling with Jormungandr’s words. They stuck with me even though I had no idea what he meant.
“Tim?” said Pete catching me off-guard.
“Oh, yes,” I replied tuning back in.
“Did you hear me?” he continued.
“Oh, no, I was talking to Herschel. I think I closed my BAU line thing,” I replied covering.
“Oh, well, get back here. The crowd is going crazy. We won the first trial!” Pete replied emotionally. “We actually won!”
His words hit me like a ton of bricks knocking me out of my funk. I had won. After all the talk, I was going home a winner. I even dodged a couple of wrath demons to do it. It had all gone by so fast. I looked over at Herschel.
“Well, let’s get back. I may have lost the trial but at least I completed the mission and for a while I thought that wasn’t going to be the case,” He replied throwing his backpack on his shoulder.
I nodded smiling as we ascended into the light of the sun. If someone asked me how I got out of that place in one piece, no one would believe my luck. Father Yahweh was definitely looking out for me. It seemed to take forever for our weary bodies to ascend back to the portal holes to the Heaven Realm. It felt like a cleansing light as we passed through the wormhole and emerged in our capsules once again.
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I apologize for Last Week. I had a family emergency so this weeks update is late. From here on out it will be on Sunday. Once again, please comment and let me know what you think.