A night bear, three giant apes and a fiery mantis. The five beasts Gareth was challenging this night were beasts known for how ferocious they were. In the wild, they were beasts that one could only hope not to encounter, especially when they were in groups. They were tough enemies to fight.
The night bear was a specie of beast with fur as dark as the night itself. The color of their furs provided them a type of camouflage when they lumbered around in the night.
The giant ape were rightful overlords of the forests. Their giant bodies and thick skin allowed them to take more hits when they get into conflicts. Being great fighters themselves, they dominated vast territories.
The fiery mantis with their glowing, red exoskeletons were known as swift killers. They were insect type of beasts that could tear their preys apart in a matter of seconds.
Among the five beasts Gareth was fighting this night, the fiery mantis was the most dangerous. Whether it was the night bear or the giant apes, they weren't as fast as the fiery mantis.
Gareth on one side, and the beasts on the other. Under the anticipation of the audience, the three giant apes were the first to move forward. They moved together trying to limit Gareth's movement to one side. The night bear lumbered towards Gareth from another side. The fiery mantis, however, stood on its spot, not moving.
Gareth brought his fists up and as the three giant apes were getting near, he made his move and punched forward. His fist was swift and powerful as the punch knocked the giant ape in the middle back. The remaining two were caught off guard by his sudden move but they responded immediately. One swiped its paw at him and the other brought swung its arms down on him as if to crush him where he stood.
He ducked under the swipe and got in range of the giant ape, his fists rained down on its stomach as it was pushed back under his assault. The crowd was already in excitement as all this went on, it was still early but it was promising to be a good show.
The first giant ape that was knocked back and the other one both rushed at him this moment, trying to stop any further assault on their kin.
Seeing that Gareth would soon be in a tough spot, the night bear lumbered towards Gareth at its top speed all in the hopes of crushing him.
Gareth dropped his assault on the giant ape with one final punch before moving out of the range of the oncoming encirclement. He moved around the stage, targeting a beast from the group and separating it from the rest. He made sure to punch and kick the living daylight out of them before the rest caught up. As he moved around, he made sure to keep in mind the fiery mantis that hadn't made any move yet.
His strategy was to weaken the beast's strength to the extent he could tear them apart with his bare hands. His swiftness gave him a very good advantage over the beasts, allowing him to literally run circles around them.
The fiery mantis that had refused to make a move since the match started, finally decided to do so. It chose the moment when Gareth was about to disengage from the unlucky beast currently under his assault. It moved then, as was befitting of its appellation as a swift killer, landing behind Gareth and slashing at him with its forelegs. Gareth moved out of the way instantly.
The fiery mantis did not pause in its assault, as its swiftness more than rivaled Gareth's even surpassing him. It succeeded in pinning down Gareth for the moment as he was unable to untangle himself from it. The other beasts were closing in, even the beast that just received a beating from him was already back on its feet.
As they got within a close distance of the currently dueling duo, the fiery mantis disengaged, seeming to have achieved its aim. The four beasts that had been unable to encircle Gareth since the match started now had him sealed off from all corners.
They pounced on him immediately. The three apes swung their arms with wild abandon, uncaring as they unleashed their bottled up rage that was already overflowing at this moment. The night bear stretched its arms wide as it lunged at Gareth, wanting to embrace him in a deadly hug.
Gareth finally had his movement suppressed, as he could not move around as casually as he did earlier. He punched and kicked when he could and dodged when he needed to.
The crowd's excitement was already boiling over at this moment. It started when the fiery mantis made its move, and now that Gareth was in a tough position and he really began fighting, they could not stop themselves from giving voice to their excitement.
Gareth was now in that state he hoped to achieve when he initiated this insane match. He was already feeling it. Even as his muscles became sore from the exertion they came under, his punches became fiercer, his kicks like axes cleaving the skies. Even before a blow fell on him, he already responded. The four beasts were already furious as hell, and seeing that their opponent's actions still had an air of being lax even as they gave their all. There was nothing to describe the state they fell into other than a state of pure madness.
They no longer cared for anything, they bit and clawed, using everything they had to tear the puny human apart and crush his bones to dust. Gareth found himself in a tougher position where any slight mistake was deadly, however he fought back with even more power than he knew he had within him.
The fiery mantis watched all of this. It knew its time to act was near, it just had to wait until the human's strength began to decline. It knew that moment was near.
Even as he fought with more strength than he knew he had, Gareth knew this state could not last forever, and when his strength began to decline he might just find himself dead. However he did not slow down, he had to at least incapacitate the four beasts he was fighting at the moment. He knew what the real danger was, it was never this four beasts. They might as well have been extras, his true goal was the fiery mantis.
His arms suddenly grabbed the arm of a giant ape, his muscles bulging, he gripped it with all his strength and swung the giant ape in a circle. Smashing the three other beasts aside before releasing it, letting it collide with the cage which shook at the impact.
The current Gareth was covered in wounds all over and his breathing was deep and fast. The fiery mantis looked at Gareth, and Gareth looked right back at it. Then it made its move. It moved at its fastest speed, appearing above Gareth as its powerful forelegs tore at him.
Gareth barely blocked the blow, as he was pushed away under its might. He was already tired while the fiery mantis was still fresh.
However, that didn't hold him back. He attacked this time as he threw his fist at the fiery mantis that had already landed on the stage. The four other beasts that were knocked off had already regained their bearing as they moved towards the dueling duo.
The fight was about to get even more deadly as the fiery mantis would be joining them this time around. The arena was silent as everyone waited with bated breath for the result of the imminent showdown.
Even as the four other beasts were closing in on him, Gareth still had his eyes on the fiery mantis that was currently blocking his blows with relaxed ease. However, as the four other beasts made their moves on him, Gareth evaded them with ease. He did not even take his eyes off the fiery mantis, it was as like there were extra eyes behind his head.
Even as the fiery mantis continued blocking his blows with the same relaxed ease as earlier, it could not help but feel a sense of uneasiness. This uneasy feeling peaked as Gareth did something utterly ludicrous. He closed his eyes, Gareth closed his eyes, however what made this even more unbelievable was that after he did that, his prowess did not decrease. It could even be said to increase as he continued to rain down punches and kicks on the fiery mantis.
The crowd which had almost gone crazy when he closed his eyes, was already boiling at this moment. Just waiting for the slightest tip.
Then suddenly Gareth's punch connected with the fiery mantis' thorax, pushing it back some distance. He then grabbed one of the giant apes. This time he did not swing it around in a circle. He lifted it and swung it at another giant ape. Then he continued, hitting the same giant ape, over and over again with its kin. He didn't pause at the same position, smacking the unlucky giant ape left and right on its head as he pushed it backward. And finally reaching its limit, its head popped. In a shower of blood and gore, broken bones and brain matter splattering around the stage. Some landing on Gareth.
The other giant ape could not control its rage as it became even more maddened. The night bear on the other hand slowed down a measure. The fiery mantis hadn't made another move since it was punched aside by Gareth.
Gareth didn't care for the maddened giant ape, as he continued the halted beating on it. The giant ape he was using as a weapon was already dead, and after some time the final giant ape also died. Leaving Gareth, the night bear and the fiery mantis the only ones still alive on the stage.
The night bear and Gareth were far from being in good condition, but the fiery mantis was not the same. The night bear did not have its previous vigor and with its body riddled with wounds, it was on the edge of just giving up. Gareth sent it off after his fists finally broke through its thick skull.
The fiery mantis and Gareth were finally the only ones on the stage. He didn't wait for the fiery mantis to decide when it was going to attack. Gareth initiated the attack. The fiery mantis responded, displaying its full speed as it tried to keep away from Gareth until his energy ran out but it proved futile. Gareth caught up with it, foiling its plan.
It had no choice but to fight Gareth with its full might, it had to at least take this human down. It no longer held back, trading blows for blows, wounds for wounds. Until, Gareth caught both of its forelegs. The fiery mantis held Gareth's gaze, even as its legs were torn from it, and its head was ripped off. It still held that gaze.
The crowd released a thunderous cheer that drowned out everything else as Gareth lifted up the head of the fiery mantis. The thunderous cheer didn't abate even when Gareth, owning to the combination of both fatigue and blood loss fell unconscious.