"W-What?" Tokita said quietly. The excitement of the room turned silent. Everyone scrutinized him, with each face carrying a different emotion and expression.
Some, with pity. Some, with amusement. Some were just laughing to themselves.
"A D- Rank? I think even my mutt would get a higher rank!" One man said while laughing. He grabbed his chest as he was laughing too hard.
"D- Rank? I didn't think trash like that still existed in this era!" Another man called out.
"What a poor boy..." One of the older female guards whispered. She truly felt terrible; she knew anything below C rank would give him trouble in life.
"That has to be a mistake..." Tokita whispered to the Sister. She looked up at him with pity in her eyes. Even though Tokita didn't understand the full consequences of this rank, he could still tell how low it was from everyone's responses.
"I'm sorry...young man." The Sister stated. She felt genuine pity. Being a D- Rank would mean that even the lower class would spit on this man. "If you still have the heart to become a Knight...I suppose you could attempt the Arena." She said quietly.
The Sister made her proposal out of pity, she hoped that maybe he would squeak through the Arena, but her proposal was in vain; Tokita hadn't heard any of it. He hadn't heard her because his heart had already been crushed by what he saw.
Akane looked at him with the most scornful and disgusting look he had ever seen. Her eyes glared with the rage of a thousand suns. She seemingly looked down on him, clicking her tongue. "To think I had been hanging out with complete trash," Akane stated, her words made to deal damage. "I imagined you would have had at least the potential to be stronger than Charles, but you're far below that." She didn't laugh at him like the others, but what she did hurt way more. She destroyed everything he had ever done, everything they had ever been through together—eleven Years of friendship, all gone instantly.
"A-Akane...You don't mean that." Tokita said quietly. They had only entered this world a day or two ago; he had been with her almost their entire lives! "Come on, Akane...I've been by your side for the past eleven years-"
"And it was all for naught." Akane cut him off. "You're not even peasantry; you're below it." She scolded. She crossed her arms, her eyes getting colder.
Her words burnt like a hot iron in Tokita's heart. All it took was two days in another world, and for her to be told she was practically royalty to forget everything they had been through. It felt like the past eleven years were walking away from Tokita, taking a piece of his heart with him.
She turned, walking towards the hall as one guard let her to the royals.
"A-Akane!" Tokita screamed, trying to chase after her, but two guards stepped in his way. He continued calling her name as she ignored him.
"Only accepted Knights are allowed through this hall." Said one of the guards.
Tokita grit his teeth, turning towards the Sister. His frustration almost reached a breaking point.
"Where is the Arena!?" Tokita screamed. The Sister calmly pointed to the large tinted meta doors behind her. Tokita clicked his tongue, deciding that he'd prove that he was Akane's equal.
Her mind is clouded, he thought. She was still blinded by power, he thought. Once he shows her that he's as strong as she is, everything will go back to normal, he thought.
So he pushed the doors open.
And through those doors, he was expecting to see a large arena, but it appeared that he was instead in the waiting area.
He noticed dozens of other people participating, of varying shapes and sizes. He sighed, deciding to walk over to a bench against the wall that wasn't occupied. He laid his head against the wall, just thinking about the insanity of it all. In the past forty-two hours, he was transported to another world, saw a man he had just met die before him, and was abandoned by his best friend.
He closed his eyes, deciding to get a little bit of rest before the fighting started.
...
...
..
There you were again, in the sky. Free as a bird. You flew around freely, free of all restrictions that you could think of. Nothing at all could stop you from this experience.
You were wrong, of course.
A cage appeared over the sky, locking you in. You slammed into the rigid metal, losing consciousness in the process.
You fell back down to the Earth, landing in a body of water. You sunk deeper, and deeper, and deeper.
The light of the bright morning sun had closed, getting lost in the shadows of the Depths.
Ah, just like that old nursery rhyme. You thought.
How did it go again?
'The Gods and Their Canaries
Lived by the Sea
Up and Below
The gracious rose
Grew on the body
In the soul
Growing the hull
The soul wandered
asking the question
Oh, how deep do these Depths go?'
What a beautiful poem, you thought. Just before you hit rock bottom.
The edge of everything, nobody dared to visit the layer of the world.
The soul.
You looked onward, stepping through the puddles of empty pitch-black water, not even seeing your reflection staring back at you.
You continued to walk into the infinite void you found yourself in.
It felt like centuries had passed by in an instant, but you kept walking. Your body ached, but you didn't stop. You continued walking forward, chasing that little bit of light that was stolen from you.
Eventually, you saw it in the distance.
A sliver of light poked through the darkness.
You sprinted, your feet getting caught in the rough waters below. You ran as fast as he could, but the light seemingly got farther the more you ran.
You reached your hand out, screaming at the top of your lungs, and tried to grab the light.
Until you were stopped.
You crashed into another person's chest, or their armor, to be specific. Your face crashed into their strong armor.
You looked up, and they appeared to be just slightly taller than you were.
"What are you doing?" The man asked.
You tried to ask who he was, but you couldn't speak.
"What's even the point of all this?" The man asked, pushing you back.
You grunted, trying to scream at him. You looked the man in the eyes and couldn't help but think he looked familiar.
"You need to." The man started.
"Wake up!" a voice screamed. Tokita opened his eyes slightly, imagining Akane was waking him up for school again.
He smiled before fully opening his eyes and seeing he was still inside the lobby of the Arena.
He rubbed his eyes before noticing the blondie in front of him.
A guy, seemingly around his age, was in front of him.
"Ah, finally, you're awake." He said with a giant grin on his face. He looked Tokita up and down before dusting his shoulders and placing his hands on his hips.
"H-Huh?" Tokita asked, a bit startled.
"Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Ian Hawkwalker, a future C rank Knight!" He proclaimed.
Ian had straight and short blond hair that reached his nose. He had soft and seemingly perfect skin, with bright, almost glowing turquoise eyes. He wore a dark green shirt that extended down to his thighs, with steel gloves and shoulder pads. On his waist was a leather sheath that held his longsword, with an additional smaller dagger attached to it. He had brown pants that went into his steel and leather boots that matched the rest of his outfit.
"Oh...Nice to meet you?" Tokita said questioningly. He had just woken up and was still confused about what was going on. Ian tapped him on the shoulders, patting some dust off his shirt.
Ian took his hands off Tokita and stepped back, pointing behind him. "I just woke you up because I noticed you were still asleep; the fighting is about to start!" Ian stated.
Tokita immediately bolted up after hearing that. He followed Ian as the two walked over to another part of the waiting area. He looked forward, spotting a woman in armor, who stood in front of a massive gate at the far side of the room. He and Ian walked to the crowd of people gathered around her. Eventually, people came in behind them, not letting them have the ability to escape even if they wanted to.
"Listen up; I'll only say the rules once." The Woman at the front stated. "The first round will be a battle royale type event, in which 45% of the people remaining will move onto the next round, which will be one-on-one matches that will be supervised by our King and his Captains." She got out.
"A battle royale? One-on-one matches?!" Tokita whispered. How the hell was he going to manage to pass that?
"In those one-on-one matches, only twenty-five will come out on top. From there, only twenty will be chosen by one of the ten Knight Families." The Woman finished. She clapped her hands, signaling the battle royale had started.
Suddenly the gates opened, and everyone rushed inside, pushing you with them.
"W-Wait, I don't have a weapon!" Tokita screamed.
"Good Luck Tokita!" Ian got out before he was pushed out as well.
Soon all of the one hundred and twenty-five fighters had entered the Arena.
Tokita looked around, noticing the hundreds of thousands of people in the stands. The Arena was massive; it could probably fit thirty thousand fighters and still have extra room!
Each fighter looked around nervously, which didn't exclude Tokita. But he had a goal, and he refused to get looked down upon by Akane again.
He looked up to the thousands of people in the stands. His eyes focused, scouring the audience from above, knowing that Akane must be up there somewhere.
"She's probably up there...I'll show her!" Tokita said to himself. Soon, a man dressed like a king and ten groups of people sat down at the center seating of the Arena. It was a section of the stands that obviously was reserved for them, as it had been completely covered in gold, with one, larger throne and ten smaller ones behind it. The supposed King sat in the main throne, while ten of the supposed Captains sat in the seats behind him.
Another man, standing next to the supposed King, coughed before speaking. He prepared himself, channeling his voice.
"And let the fighting...Commence!" He screamed out as the rush of the onlookers filled into the Arena.
The fighters screamed as they all started fighting. Swords clashed, fists got smashed, faces got bashed in.
Tokita had been in brawls before, but this was an entirely new experience. His first instinct was to run in there and fight somebody and show off his strength to prove everyone who laughed at him wrong, But he knew that definitely wasn't the best course of action.
"I want to get in there in the fight, but at the same time, I need to be smart," Tokita stated. He looked around, trying to spot anyone he possibly could've taken in a fight.
He waited around for a long moment, carefully watching the competition. He saw several people that he knew for a fact he couldn't take in a fight, some of them taking out their opponents in a single attack. He saw an Old Man who seemed to have the strength of a mountain, crushing his opponents with a single blow. He saw a shirtless boy that was around his own age, with white hair, red eyes, and a tattoo across his chest. This boy seemed to be playing with his opponent, before grabbing them by the throat and flipping them headfirst into the ground below.
Tokita sighed before he really began to think about his situation. What was he doing? In a battle royale with all these warriors from another world? Knights? Powers? He began to doubt his own ability to do anything. Despite this, he shook those thoughts out of his head and continued to watch the fighters.
While he was looking, he could hear footsteps approaching him. He quickly turned around and noticed an older man in his late thirties.
He didn't recognize him at first, but it didn't take long for him to; this was one of the guys that laughed at him during his evaluation!
"Oh...I remember you. You're the kid who got ranked with D- Potential!" The man laughed.
Tokita grit his teeth, clenching his fist. He reached into his pockets and pulled out the last strands of wrapping tape he had left. He wrapped them around his wrists as he got into a moderate kickboxing stance.
"You're going to fight me? Don't be ridiculous, kid!" The man pulled out a scabbard from his waist, swinging it around carelessly. "This sword has been passed down from generation to generation in my family! Its power practically transcends you!" The man screamed, slicing diagonally at Tokita.
Tokita noticed that the attack was almost moving in slow motion, with him able to dodge the attack relatively easily.
While Tokita didn't have strength or experience over this man, he did have superior speed and knowledge of Martial Arts.
Tokita lunged forward, jabbing with a knuckle strike into the man's throat. The strike hit him right on his Adam's Apple, making him gag before slicing upward, barely missing Tokita's shoulder. Tokita continued, kicking forward into a low kick that hit the side of the man's shin. It didn't hurt him at first, but eventually, the pain struck all at once and the man paused in pain. Tokita didn't let this go to waste, moving forward and kneeing the man right in the jaw, sending him on his back.
The man groaned, before screaming and pouncing forward and throwing a heavy punch right at Tokita. Tokita blocked, the force generated from his punch sending Tokita a couple of meters back into the air. His opponent didn't let up, kicking the sand of the Arena into the air and slicing through it, grazing Tokita's chest. Tokita chambered himself, before pivoting his hips and launching his foot forward, performing a hook kick into the man's face and breaking his nose.
The man screamed as he clutched his badly bleeding nose, with it dripping into the sand below.
The man cussed, slicing again and again and missing each time. He swung vertically, but Tokita just sidestepped him again. He front kicked the man directly in his elbow, snapping the joint. The man screamed as he dropped the sword.
"W-What the fuck!? This kid is supposed to be a D-!" The man screamed as Tokita picked up the scabbard. He gave it a few swings and pointed it at the man.
"I'm no expert on this world just yet, but I have a feeling this is just a normal sword," Tokita stated with a disappointed expression.
"Y-You bastard!" The man screamed as he charged at Tokita.
Tokita kicked forward, striking the man right in the jaw. It made his brain slam into the opposite end of his skull, making him fall unconscious. Tokita let out an exasperated sigh, heavy drops of sweat pouring down the sides of his face. That wasn't too bad, right? He was able to fight someone like that.
"I'm at the point where I can fight the very bottom of this world. I can't let myself get cocky yet." Tokita said to himself; he turned and noticed almost everyone else in the Arena had practically finished their fights. He saw Ian and waved, with Ian walking over to him. Ian was a bit perplexed at first, thinking that Tokita wouldn't have made it passed the battle royale.
"So I see you're still in it!" Ian exclaimed.
"Yeah, It was way easier than I first thought," Tokita stated. Ian looked at the man that Tokita had Defeated, before rolling him onto his side so he didn't drown in his own blood. Ian stood up, as they both got startled by the buzzing of a horn which signaled the end of the round.
The last man to fall did. A young man with a spear stood victorious against another fighter, signaling the man beside the King to start speaking.
"Congratulations, top forty-five! Before we start picking the names for one-on-one matches, here's how many fighters each fighter took out!" The man stated as a screen-like object appeared above the Arena. On it read;
Delvam Mahi - 26 Fighters Defeated
Shu Xiangli - 17 Fighters Defeated
Glory Vinstekan - 11 Fighters Defeated
Lio Mao - 8 Fighters Defeated
Rinha Clove - 7 Fighters Defeated
Ian Hawkwalker - 6 Fighters Defeated
Nilan Chronbridge - 2 Fighters Defeated
Novellas Zod - 2 Fighters Defeated
Tokita Oziro - 1 Fighter Defeated
"If your name isn't on the list, that just means you didn't defeat anyone before the eighty other people were taken out. That's okay! You still pass!" The announcer stated. "Now, go off and rest, and when your name is called, walk through the gates once again." He stated.
Tokita walked with Ian back inside the Arena waiting area.
"Congratulations on passing, Tokita," Ian said while patting him on the back.
"It's nothing special, and you got six times the defeated fighters than I did." Tokita shrugged.
"Hey, only eight people out of the forty-five people that passed this stage took fighters out! You should be happy you made it on that list!" Ian stated.
"Thanks..." Tokita stated, Ian genuinely cheering him on. He was the first person in this world since Akane that made him smile genuinely. Even though Tokita was getting praise, he understood his passing in the first stage was merely just luck. Instead of encountering one of the many people who would've Defeated him, he managed to luck out with an opponent who was less competent than even he was.
"Anyway, since you passed, I'm going to tell you some info on who you should pray to your lord that you don't even up face in the in the one-on-one," Ian said while putting his hand on Tokita's shoulder.
"That old man over there? That's Delvam Mahi, the guy who got #1 on the list." Ian pointed out to an older man that was seriously ripped. He had muscles all over his body, which contrasted with him meditating as he waited for his name to be called.
Besides the old man's extremely muscular physique, he also had spikey grey hair that went into a ponytail. He wore a tight blue top that showed off the muscles in his arms. On his hands were tight-fitting gloves that had golden knuckle plates.
"I didn't see him fight, but for him to rack up that many wins, he must be insanely strong," Ian stated.
Tokita nodded, accepting the fact that the older man would likely tear him in half should they clash.
"Next, moving onto a less friendly face is Shu Xiangli." Ian pointed to a shirtless man in the corner of the enclosure. He looked to also be around their age group. He had two lions tattooed onto his shoulders, with an expensive-looking chain around his neck. He had pure white hair that was spiked upward, a hairstyle you'd expect from a playboy. "Shu, from what I could gather, is a royal and could've just skipped the Arena test entirely. But he chose to take the test so he could show off his power."
"Sounds like a pretentious asshole," Tokita stated simply. He knew people like that in his world, rich assholes that only came around to pick on the kids In the downtown areas.
"Yeah, I hear the Xiangli family rose to power by pillaging and domination, so it's no wonder he's here to try and pick on people," Ian stated with scorn in his mouth.
"Now, the next person you need to watch out for is-" Ian was cut off. The announcer suddenly rang the horn once again, signaling the next stage was about to begin.
"For the first round, Ian Hawkwalker versus Dubius Mantras; 'The Stinger!'" The announcer called out, his voice ringing through the entire Arena. All the fighters suddenly got up from the resting positions they were in. Tokita turned towards Ian as he looked back with an obviously forced smile. When Ian's back was to Tokita, a dark shadow formed over Ian's face, hiding his rage.
Tokita didn't notice the slight, highly potent spike in malice that arose in Ian after Dubius's name was mentioned. In fact, the only one who did was the old man who meditated in the corner...
"Well, I'll be back," Ian exclaimed as he walked forward through the gate. He stood on his end of the Arena and waited for his challenger to come out. Ian was surprised by the name of his opponent, he never thought he'd meet him here...
It took several minutes for Ian's challenger to come out. Mainly due to the fact that four guards were escorting him. The crowd began booing at the sight of Dubius as the guards removed the thick metal handcuffs he had on him. Dubius stretched, his lizard-like eyes recoiling from the sun.
"Ah, what a great feeling!" Dubius screamed out to the audience. "Are you surprised to see me!? I told you I wasn't so easy to dispose of!" Dubius taunted the entire audience, even some of the fighters. Everyone had a deep, disgusting feeling in their stomach.
"W-Who is that guy?" Tokita said a little too loud.
Delvam Mahi approached him, standing next to Tokita as they watched the fight through the gates. "That's Dubius Mantras, otherwise known as 'the Stinger.' " Delvam stated frankly. Tokita looked over in surprise, he hadn't even heard the old man move!
"O-Oh, why's he called that?" Tokita asked. Surprised at Delvam's presence.
"If you aren't from Setale, it's understandable you don't know who he is." Delvam started. He sighed, stroking his mustache. "He gained the title of 'The Stinger' due to how he murdered people. He would stab them once, with a long, stinger-like dagger, and they would die regardless of where they were stabbed." Delvam grunted.
"If he's a murderer, why did they let him into this initiation?" Tokita questioned.
"Why they decided to let a psychopath participate...I do not know." Delvam stated. The two of them quieted down after that, focusing on the fight in front of them.
"I didn't know the Setale Knights included murders in their ranks," Ian stated, whisking his long blade from its sheathe. His rage was beginning to build up.
"On the contrary, I'm surprised they didn't let me in sooner," Dubius stated with a satanical grin.
Dubius had short blond hair, similar to Ian. He wore round-frame glasses on his face, that helped hide the villainous expression in his eyes. His eyes were like a snake, split down the middle. For clothing he adorned a red long-sleeve shirt and a black vest on top, giving him to look of a gentleman. This continued down to his black pants that dug into his leather boots.
"Well, I'll be glad..." Ian started. Closing his eyes as the countdown ended.
"Let the first round of the Setale 119th Knight Initiation, begin!" The announcer yelled out, excitement traveling through the Arena.
"To be your executioner!" Ian exclaimed, opening his eyes as yellow energy vibrated off them.
Dubius dashed, wielding his shortsword in one hand, and a dagger in the other. He struck twice with his dagger, but Ian dodged out of the way. He flipped the grip with his dagger, attacking with a forward grip.
Ian parried, blocking the two attacks as he crashed his forward foot into the ground, bringing his blade upward, at a speed Dubius wasn't expecting. He dashed backward but was still nicked on the cheek. Blood tricked down Dubius's cheek as he licked it.
"Good, don't hold back! An attack like that could've killed me!" Dubius laughed manically.
"I told you, I'm going to be your executioner!" Ian screamed. He put his weight into his heels, blasting himself at Dubius and attempting to use an upper hand slash. Dubius blocked, his feet digging into the dirt as he stopped Ian's momentum. Dubius pushed back, knocking Ian back a few feet.
Ian grunted, his feet skidding against the rough dirt of the Arena. He looked up, seeing Dubius sprinting towards him. He took a deep breath in, dashing to the side to avoid being stabbed.
Dubius grinned, twisting his body 90 degrees to face Ian. He kicked into the dirt, throwing the dust into Ian's eyes. He followed up, turning his dagger into a reverse grip and slicing through Ian's armor.
Ian's eyes had gone bloodshot, but he forced them open and twisted his body, delivering a powerful sidekick that hit Dubius directly in his side. He grunted, dashing away from Ian.
Ian patted his chest, feeling that Dubius's dagger hadn't entirely gone through his armor.
"That dagger of yours is pretty dull, isn't it?" Ian mocked.
"It's a true shame you couldn't see my dagger in its prime, but it'll do just fine," Dubius stated. His long snake-like tongue came out and licked along the blade. Dubius paused for a moment, before asking a question. "Tell me something boy, are you trying this hard to become a Knight, or is there some...other motive?" Dubius asked.
"What are you talking about?" Ian questioned.
"It's obvious you have something pushing you to fight this hard, I can see the blood vessels about to pop in those face sockets of yours from all the way over here!" Dubius laughed.
Ian rested his stance, merely looking at Dubius as blood leaked out of one of his eyes. His veins began to pop up through his skin, he surprised himself that he was keeping his anger in this much. "You took my Mother from me," Ian stated. He gripped the sword with everything he had until his eyes locked with his enemy. "That's the only motivation I need."
Ian placed one foot forward and leaned his upper body back. With one movement, he launched himself at Dubius. Dubius, instead of running, got onto his stomach. Ian stabbed downwards at him, But Dubius maneuvered around the strike like a snake, delivering a powerful dropkick straight into Ian's chest.
Ian coughed, getting launched dozens of meters back. He crashed to the ground, knocking the wind out of his lungs.
Tokita clenched his teeth, not knowing what to say.
"It seems Ian was overconfident," Delvam stated. He crossed his arms and looked straight into the Arena.
"Overconfident? How?" Tokita asked.
"He underestimated one of the core factors of Dubius's Catalyst," Delvam stated nonchalantly.
"Dubius's Catalyst? He's already used it?" Tokita questioned.
"Well..." Delvam started.
Ian grunted, blood coming out of his nose. He coughed, blood choking out of his mouth.
"What the hell is going on?" Ian thought. "That attack had power, but not enough to do this much damage!" He racked his brain until he could feel it; a small blade wound where he had been kicked. He gripped his chest, looking up at Dubius.
Dubius showed his ankle, a hidden blade poking out.
"Surprise! I had to pay a good penny to get these custom-made." Dubius laughed.
Both his boots had retractable blades in their toes and heel. Dubius crouched, lowering his stance.
"From here on out, I'll dominate!" Dubius screamed, blasting himself at Ian.
He spun midair, using his longsword and slamming the blade onto Ian. Ian adjusted, going into a defensive stance to counter his strike.
Ian grunted, blocking Dubius's attack as he continued parrying and gaining ground.
Dubius continued his assault in quick succession. He swung with wild abandon before rolling, preparing another ground dropkick.
Ian slammed his feet into the ground, twisting his blade, so the flat end blocked the dropkick. Ian pushed back, before Dubius rolled away, slicing into Ian's shoulder and upper arm. He didn't let up, kicking directly into Ian's left thigh.
Ian grunted before overpowering Dubius and sending him flying by pushing him away.
Dubius landed, rolling to reduce the impact.
He clicked his tongue, bringing his weapons to his chest when suddenly Ian had sprinted, covering the distance between them in an instant. Ian released a sudden, blood-lusted barrage of swings that Dubius had trouble parrying.
"He has a hole in his lung! How is he still going!?" Dubius screamed in his mind.
Ian didn't let up, continuing to unleash an onslaught of attacks until eventually, he hit sliced into the back of Dubius's right arm, making him drop the long sword.
Dubius cussed, now having increased difficulty parrying Ian's assault. Ian prepared to finish it, bringing his sword above his head, ready for a powerful downwards slice.
Dubius, in turn, brought his dagger and pressed it against his chest.
"He's going to attempt to stab me; I'll just step back and block it!" Ian thought to himself. As Ian stepped back, Dubius grinned.
Ian had once again underestimated Dubius.
A loud bang went through the Arena like a gunshot. Its sound induced the ears to ring of the closest people to the two fighters.
The audience, and even some of the fighters, looked on in confusion.
Blood spilled onto the dirt as they both stepped back.
"W-What happened?!" Tokita asked. He couldn't see it. Whatever just happened, Tokita couldn't see it!
Ian looked down, and a steaming hole appeared in his chest. He coughed up blood, looking forward at Dubius. Dubius only stood there, his grin going from ear to ear.
Delvam's eyes grew dark, looking down slightly.
"So he's finally used it, The Stinger!" Delvam exclaimed.