The thief was scared out of his mind. He had to do something to escape immediately. Death is not a beautiful thing any way. The sword was coming too fast for his already weak body. It was closing in too fast. He desperately ripped apart the rope he was bound with and pulled off his mask.
*CLANG*
Wilson was shocked. A person had blocked his sword only few inches away from the thief's neck. He did not see any movements beforehand. Whoever blocked it must be a master swordsman.
"Junior master, I will handle it from here!" The master swordsman said to the thief lying on the floor, who was looking dazed. Master? What kind of master goes about stealing and killing? These and many more questions flooded the heads of Wilson and other onlookers.
Common sense told Wilson to forget about it and just leave quietly, but he was enraged, too enraged to listen to his senses. He angrily shouted and shifted his sword towards the swordsman. His horizontal lash to the waist was blocked, making Wilson angrier. He swung at him again. Left, Right, diagonally, horizontally, vertically. Every move he could think of was utilized. He had never practiced with a sword so his moves were very sloppy in the eyes of even a novice swordsman. Wilson knew he was at the losing end of this fight from the beginning but still, he pushed on, making up for his sloppiness with brute strength fit for a brawler.
*Clang* *Clang* *Clang* *Clang* *Clang* *Clang* *Clang*
He noticed that the swordsman wasn't fighting back. He was simply blocking or deflecting his precious slashes. He forcefully cleaved at the swordsman's head, forcing him to take a few steps back. Using this opportunity, he spun very quickly and used all his strength to slash at the despicable, thieving junior master who was still lying on the floor, wanting to kill him in one move Just before the sword would reach the junior master, Wilson felt something heavy hit the back of his neck and everything went blank.
************
Wilson woke up in his room in the inn. His head throbbed badly. At first, he looked around him confused, then he saw Maxi sitting quietly at a corner, watching him.
"What happened?" Wilson asked and Maxi sighed before explaining. As he explained, the memories flooded in. He had almost gotten revenge on behalf of Uncle Dale but the swordsman he had turned his back on was faster, knocking him out before he could succeed. Wilson's eyes burned with rage. He tried to stand up but his body was overcome by the kind of pain he never thought he would ever experience. He laid down and asked.
"How long have I been asleep?"
"Two days!"
"Two days? Doesn't that mean that the tournament is today?" Wilson asked, attempting to stand up again. Maxi hesitated for a while before he responded.
"Yes! Infact, it will soon begin, that is if it has not already begun! And you know that you can't jump into the match after it begins!"
"I know the rules!"
"Good! All you need to do is rest. There is no point bickering over what is lost. Instead, hold tight to what you have left and chase after some other dreams. I mean, being a pro wrestler can't be your only dream! Right?" Wilson didn't respond. He laid back down on the bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. He tried to gather his thoughts on what else he could do. What other thing did he dream of apart from being a wrestler.
"Uncle Maxi, can I get some water? My throat is very dry!"
Maxi didn't say a thing and left for some water and food. He thought about the boy and how unfair the world was towards him and pitifully shook his head. He got to the reception area, ordered some water and food, paid and took everything with him back to Wilson where he was resting in the second floor. As he opened the door, he immediately realized the boy who he spent so much money ordering for was not on the bed he had left him. He looked around the room frantically but there was nobody there. He panicked. What could have happened? Was he taken by the family of the thief that he tried to killed? Maybe they had killed him. Or maybe...… Maxi dropped all the expensive food he bought down and in a flurry, dashed out of the room at a speed totally unfit for such an old man. As he ran, he prayed that nothing had happened yet. He prayed that the boy hd not decided to do something as foolish as he was thinking. Maybe he was even overthinking things. Maxi thought to himself as he ran outside the inn and right into the busy road filled with the hustle-bustle of an afternoon in the city life. He looked around carefully in search of a certain someone but he was nowhere to be found. Maybe he was right and the boy was that foolish. Maxi thought again and ran off towards the direction of the vast execution ground at the outskirts of the city.