The crime boss crumpled to the ground, his body spasmed and twitched for a short moment then fell still.
"Phew and that is that, one hell of a workout if I do say so myself. A few more on his level and I might have actually had a slight problem." The female warrior spoke in higher status accent than one would expect, as she sheathed her sword.
"For my efforts today there will be alot less trouble makers roaming the city from now on. And much more territory for me." She began to inspect the weapons of the fallen looking over the bodies, picking up the odd spear then sighing and dropping it back to the floor.
The boy hidden behind the shrubbery dared not even breathe, he knew with his entire being that he didn't want to draw the attention of the warrior who was only steps in front of him. Slowly he retreated further into the vegetation and tucked away his prized new blades in his bag. 'It's better to wait it out, she'll kill me if she sees me. Please please please go away!' He silently prayed for her departure.
From inside the bush was a better position to look at his boss's killer, the boy was surprised to see a rather beautiful, tall, long dark haired Ilfvan possibly around her 30th rotation. He shuddered at the contrast of her soft brown eyes and the gore splattering her face. It felt wrong, and was rather unsettling.
'Please leave me alone.' He thought.
By this point she had made her way closer to the bush and after kneeling down to snatch up a pouch of shards from a belt that had been dropped in the frenzy of the earlier skirmish, her head snapped around to the direction of the boy.
'FUCK!' the boy internally screamed.
Their gazes met. Bloodshot Grey and Big Brown eyes stared at each other.
"Come out from there at once!" The woman spoke clearly and sternly.
No response.
'If I don't make a sound or a move, maybe she will think it was her imagination and leave.' He desperately hoped.
"I know you are there, come out or I will simply slash that shrub to shreds." She paused. "You may as well face me."
He knew it was pointless and hanging his head he withdrew from his hiding spot.
'Oh he is rather young!' Slightly surprised she looked him up and down scanning for potential threat 'No he can't do anything, he's unarmed too.' she thought. 'But that is so creepy.'
"Kid what is up with that expression?"
Confused he responded, " What expression?"
"That smile, it's eerie. Goes well with your hair though."
He reached his hands to his face and only after feeling his cheeks did he realise the wide grin plastered across them. "Oh umm sorry I didn't know I was smiling."
"I really don't care all too much kid so don't worry about it, but it might get to some other people, maybe work on that." She replied.
One short uncomfortable silence later the boy tentatively asked: "So uh, are you not going to kill me?"
"What, why would I do that!? No offence but it isn't like you would land a scratch on me if we fought, so let's just not bother and that way you can live."
"Oh well thanks I guess."
"Don't thank me, I just didn't kill you, nothing to be grateful for. Anyway enough talk, what is your name boy?" She asked.
"Well I have no guardian so I don't have one." He responded.
"No that won't do. Any survivor of such a bloody battle must have a name. Let me think. Something strong but dark and brooding would suit you. How about Nero? Quick and straight to the point but still cool. Yes that sounds good." She nodded to herself pleased with her decision.
The boy indeed liked it and though he was incredibly grateful, there was much skepticism in his voice: "Wow! Thank-you so much. But I really don't understand, why would you do this for me?"
"Ah about that. I kinda just wanted some company and your hair looks really awesome. I also don't see any other living soul around." She flashed him a beaming smile then asked.
"Say, want to partner up with me? I can guarantee shelter, food and drink. I'm sure I could teach you a thing or two as well."
His mind was already made up, the boy didn't care that it sounded too good to be true, he had lived 13 long rotations of hardship, he would've died to her blade anyway. And so reciprocating her expression Nero gladly accepted.
- - - - -
Nero spent much time with the woman whose name he found out was Iré. One of the many lessons he learnt under her wing was how to beat a person physically stronger than yourself.
"It's all about discerning what their fatal flaw is." Iré told the now older Nero.
"What does that mean?" He asked.
"Okay let me put it this way. In many a great literature, especially tragedies, the main character has a certain characteristic that triggers their downfall or at least severely hinders them in some form or another." She explained. "This applies in real life too. There is always a part of a person that holds them back."
The adolescent nodded as she continued. "Take me for example, I would say that my flaw is my courage. Whilst it can be a huge advantage in certain situations, there are times when I will go into a battle where my chances of winning are slimmer than one would like. That's how I've ended up with a good couple of scars." She turned around and revealed a large gash across her shoulder and back. "It has long since healed but with a little less luck I would've been killed by this blow."
Once she had readjusted her clothes to cover the scar Iré asked Nero if he understood.
"Yes I believe so." He answered. "But how do you figure out another's flaw without them telling you?"
She smirked, pleases with her companion's growth in insight and responded. "Ah that's where my next lesson comes into play. You read them. Observe habits and tendencies then strike when you can best exploit their fatal flaw."
- - - - -
"Shunk!"
Silencing his boasting, a knife plunged through Victor's throat.
A look of confusion originating from the massive cyborg soon spread through the entire arena. His eyes darted all around but he couldn't turn his head.
'Wait what? What happened? Who? There's no way that elf got the better of me, just a second ago he was on the brink of death barely moving behind me.' His thinking became hazy. 'No way. I am invincible. I am...'
All that the crowd heard was the sickening gurgling from his open mouth as he drowned in his own blood. His arms slowly went limp at his sides. The Elf-Slayer was dead.