"FIGHT!" Despite the proclamation of the beginning of the fight, neither of us had made a single move, simply peering at one another intently, like wolves stalking their prey, waiting for the most opportune moment to strike.
We circled the cage methodically as he opened his mouth to chat,"War God Artemis, fifty rounds undefeated. Yet, not a trace of exhaustion to be found. I'm curious, just what kind of stamina and strength could make an ordinary mortal stronger than most rank two magisters."
I kept quiet, regulating my breathing as I continued to circle him, licking my lips. This was it. Finally, an opponent worthy of hunting. But there was this nagging feeling. Something was off.
Despite my gut telling me something was up, I shook it off, thinking it was my nerves getting too jittery. I'd nearly doubled my kill count back on earth in a single night.
Despite his casual and relaxed demeanour, his guard was up, muscles tense, like a crouched tiger, ready to strike at a moment's notice. Each second ticked by slowly as the tension continued to heighten.
The first blow was crucial. It would start the fight. To deliver an impactful first strike on the opponent, it would subconsciously affect the mental state of the fighter whilst giving valued momentum to unleash a chain of attacks.
"Not much of a talker, are you? Well, I suppose I shall be striking first then. Electrified armour," With a simple wave of his hand, purple sparks shot out from his pores, covering every inch of his body until what remained was a faceless purple mass that vaguely resembled a human,"Keening Lightning."
As the lightning rushed me, the sound of wailing and screeching had momentarily caught me off guard, allowing the lightning to graze my neck. It was a probing attack. It wouldn't have killed me but it would have definitely incapacitated me, allowing him to pile even more attacks. Pain racked my body as my eyes narrowed, wary of him attacking repeatedly.
"The Electric Monarch has drawn first blood from Artemis in fifty-one fights with a stunning first strike!"
Right now, I had come to terms with my glaring issue. My predicament was similar to the glacier owl's, a beast I had killed in the forest of quietus: I was a glass cannon. My attacks were powerful but my defence was rock bottom. Had it not been for having multiple lives, I would've died long before leaving the forest.
No matter.
I grinned. Sadistically.
A rush of adrenaline shot through my veins, supercharging my mind as a twinge of euphoria took root. I sniffed the coppery scent of blood in the air as my eyes narrowed in excitement. This was it! This was the first true hunt I would have! A fight that would end in the death of one of us! Merely now, time would be the only way to tell who the hunter and hunted were.
He rushed towards me, conjuring a sword of lightning and metal, his expression unknown to me, masked by streaks of purplish lightning.
I steadied myself and summoned a dagger to my hand. To touch his armour, it would be akin to asking for death.
Dodging under his horizontal sweep, my arms moved swiftly, sending the dagger careening straight into his back as I let go of the handle, pushing it towards him with all my might whilst using the inertia to send myself flying forward and far away from him before he could counter.
"Worthy." I whispered just loud enough for him to hear as we traded sides.
He staggered back as he pulled out the dagger, the armour completely dissipating as a mere cut on his shirt appeared. A mixture of shock and surprise filled his eyes,"Dissipating a rank three defensive spell just like that? What terrifying strength you have miss," Unlike the rest who had unintentionally thought I was a man, he had heard my whisper and caught on,"It appears water cannot douse this flame. I can only hope that a fire I start can devour it."
To fight fire with fire. Strength against strength.
Naïve.
In my mind, victory was already within my grasp.
Seeing the shadow of my triumphant smirk barely hidden by the hood, a small lift of his lips caught me off guard. His confidence confounded me until—BOOM! ZAAAAP!
Numerous lightning pikes shot from the ground, several piercing my arms, legs and torso, a pike directly puncturing my stomach from the back, shattering my spine in the process.
"Urgh!" I coughed out mouthfuls of blood at the sudden impact, sudden pain racking me to the core as I stared up in utter shock.
I had lowered my guard for a moment in anticipation of his answer. My exhilaration and adrenaline for the hunt had momentarily left me vulnerable. He had obviously caught this and struck with devastating effectiveness.
Dashing over to me, his right arm wrapped around my neck, constricting around my neck.
The crowd thundered deafeningly as their voices reached a violent crescendo, booming voices screaming a single word as my hood fell off.
"EXECUTE! EXECUTE! EXECUTE! EXECUTE!" Like a chant, a mantra, the crowd had screamed their lungs out as the man tightened his hold.
"Strong arms and legs. Alas, you have no magic. But it doesn't matter. To die at my hands, you should be rather honoured." His pretentiousness disgusted me to no end.
I felt the seconds ticking by as the pikes disappeared.
Then, it sounded—
Four lives remain.
My wounds rapidly healed as I grasped his now relaxed demeanour. With victory seemingly in his grasp, he would of course lower his guard. Without the slightest hesitation, I sank my teeth straight into his arm and with a violent jerk of my head—
—RIIIIIP!
—CRAAAAACK!
A fountain of blood sprayed onto the arena as he staggered back in absolute shock, staring at his now dismembered arm between my jaws.
"Ptui!" I spat the arm onto the floor as I gave him a maniacal grin with my bloodied teeth,"My limbs aren't my only assets."
Not letting the moment of stunned shock go to waste, I rushed in with my fully healed body, the killing intent within me let out like an overwhelming waterfall, forming a thick miasma which overwhelmed the traumatised man, letting me grab his throat with absolute ease. He hadn't the mental strength to recover and counter soon enough.
I licked my lips out of habit as I saw his remaining arm grab mine in desperation having realised his mistake, the blood draining from his face as he went deathly pale. The final struggles. The death throes of a prey—It was the moment you saw the fight extinguish from their eyes. That moment was the most exhilarating, where your hard work had finally paid off.
I had heard a quote once: Failure is the father of success. In life, failure was a way of learning so as to reach greater heights. In this world, this applied most of the time.
Unfortunately, the man had met me. Failure to kill me meant one simple thing: He would die.
"S-Save...M...Me..." He croaked out as his legs kicked uselessly. The shock and terror had overtaken his survival instinct, now paralysed by the raw murderous intent I radiated. He had been petrified to the point where his calculative, rational side which would have prompted him to use spells to escape, had gone completely haywire.
"Save?" I tilted my head curiously and nodded,"Alright. I'll save you some time and get you to die right here." Without protest, I crushed his windpipe directly and dropped his corpse which crumpled upon hitting the floor.
Grabbing everything of value, I turned to the announcer,"Withdrawing."
In a blink, I found myself outside the cage and back in the room I had entered at the start. The man raised his brows as he handed me the pay,"You star! Fifty-one consecutive fights and zero losses! Beating a rank three magister before your triumphant exit no less! Here's your pay Artemis!"
I nodded wordlessly and kept the pouch in my ring, just like everyone else as I made my way to the bathroom after being directed by the man.
Cleaning the stench of blood and sweat off my body with the strongly scented soap, I put on a new set of clothes and a hooded cloak before setting off quietly, slinking away into the shadows and back to Songbird's Retreat.
I let out a light breath as the exhaustion finally set in. Yet, a satisfied smile bloomed on my face.
My thirst for the hunt had been satiated for now.