'No better time to prove myself.'
Asher dashed forward with all his might. Maneuvering on sand was annoying but nothing he couldn't handle. The hard thing was outrunning the ghouls who were making quick pace of the distance between them.
The taller of the two ghouls made it before Asher but that didn't perturb him. Asher dashed towards the beast who lunged with its claws but only caught tatters of the cloak. Jumping to the side he narrowly escaped the first attack grabbing onto one of the Kukris.
Before he could grab the other blade the shorter ghoul tried to ram into him only for Asher to roll aside. The two ghouls didn't display intelligence, only bestial instinct. They quickly ran forward to attack again.
The tall female ghoul's long arms and razor-sharp claws kept him at bay, while the shorter ghoul was covered in protruding bones stopping Asher from delivering any fatal attack without injuring himself or getting too close.
'This is going to be more annoying than I thought.' Asher dodged another attack and blocked incoming claws with the kukri. He couldn't counterattack without the other one attacking him. Boryx laughed as he watched the show indifferent to Asher's struggles.
'Find an advantage…use your surroundings…focus.' He surveyed the two creatures and the arena till he finally scraped up an idea. Parrying another attack, he deftly avoided the shorter ghoul's snapping teeth, then seized a Kukri with his teeth. With a dash, he grabbed a small round shield from the sand.
Whistling sharply, Asher baited the shorter ghoul into a full charge. Just before impact, he leaped onto the beast's back, grasping its bony protrusions for balance. Using the shield as a foothold, he gained leverage and maneuvered the creature, forcing its head back. He grabbed the chain tied around the ghoul's neck and wedged it between its teeth.
The ghoul thrashed wildly, attempting to dislodge him, but Asher redirected its momentum towards its companion. The female ghoul, caught off guard, was impaled by its partner's frenzied assault, and dragged across the sand by sheer force.
Despite sustaining deep wounds, the female ghoul continued its relentless assault. Asher maintained his grip on the chain guiding the creature with one hand while thrusting a Kukri into the female ghoul's mouth from the side, its serrated teeth straining against the metal. The head of the beast was beyond the reach of his short arms.
Preparing to execute his plan of ramming them into the arena wall, Asher prepared to jump off only for the chain to suddenly snap, hurling him backward toward the ground at a high speed.
One of the most vital things he trained with Stephan was his reflexes. He displayed the training by grabbing onto the shield mid-air and maneuvering his body to soften the blow using it.
Settled in the sand, he watched the now free ghoul struggle to slow itself down before it rammed into the wall.
'Not good enough.' Asher cursed as the female ghoul despite getting more injured was only a bit sluggish while the shorter ghoul was temporarily stunned.
Before he could think of another plan Asher raised his shield barely blocking an attack by Boryx who swung his bladed chain at the boy. Despite the successful block, the attack carried a lot of strength sending the boy rolling through the sand.
He gritted his teeth against the searing pain to his side, tasting blood in his mouth from where he'd bitten his lip. Asher didn't have time to catch his breath as Boryx's tattoos glowed a pale green then he dashed forward closing the distance between them in a few moments.
The barbarian loomed over the boy with a wide smile. "Why'd they send a pipsqueak like you?" He laughed at Asher who didn't panic but instead grabbed a handful of sand and threw it into Boryx's face.
"PETTY TRICKS WON'T SAVE YOU!" Boryx shouted as the crowd laughed. Asher rolled to the side and dashed toward the other kukri only to jump and roll as he avoided another attack from the bladed chain.
He managed to get hold of the kukri but didn't stop running and instead turned around mid-run to dash towards the barbarian.
'Use the height difference…He has carver marks…he can't use them constantly…I just have to tire him out.' Asher recounted his plan. He knew of carver marks. Drawn with old blood according to recovered text. Chosen warriors in the southern continent use them to wield different abilities.
It's one of the reasons both the Empire and the magisterium are fighting over territory there aside from the holy wars against the two gods of the south. This particular brand allowed Boryx to store strength and use it in small bursts.
Asher narrowed the distance between them preventing Boryx from taking advantage of his chain's length. Asher then tried to attack to test his opponent. He slid across the sand in an attempt to slash the barbarian's Achilles tendon, but Boryx used his tattoos again to slam the sand with his foot sending it flying upward impairing Asher's vision and forcing him to jump backwards.
Boryx didn't stop there and sent a punch through the wall of sand at Asher who barely crossed his arms to block before he was launched backward a good distance away. The mask on his face cracked a bit revealing Asher's mouth.
'Another mistake...focus.' He gritted his teeth as he tried to balance himself to shake off the pain.
"I can use tricks too." He laughed as the female ghoul launched an attack on the disoriented Asher. It managed to slash him across the back but that didn't stop Asher from taking advantage of the opportunity to cut the long hand off with the kukri.
Black ichor sprayed across the mask but just as he was going to deliver another attack Boryx's chained blade clashed against the kukri sending it flying. Asher grabbed onto the cut-off arm only for the shorter ghoul to ram into him.
Asher held onto the ghoul's head letting some of the bones pierce him. He gritted his teeth and rammed the long claws of the arm into the ghoul's head. It continued running forward till it slowed down and eventually stopped.
'One down two to go.'
The death of his pet angered Boryx who launched another attack using the bladed chain but Asher blocked with the claw arm which was sliced in half spraying viscera and blood on his body..
'Bloody barbarian…' Asher cursed. He was getting tired, and he was starting to lose blood. His right side was battered, and his left was full of wounds from the bones. All in all, he still held the advantage. This amount of damage was something he could brush off. Stephan beat him harder than this.
He ran towards the kukris again and managed to dodge multiple attacks from Boryx who was now fighting with his fists out of rage. Each time he dodged he could feel the brush of air from each punch which could blow his body to bits but each dodge tired the barbarian who was starting to get desperate.
When he got hold of both of kukris he threw them from different directions at the barbarian and dashed forward to attack from a third direction. Boryx scoffed as his tattoos glowed with the same pale green hue and he deflected both attacks. He proceeded by then swiftly grabbing Asher by the scruff of his neck and raising him up in the air.
"What no more tricks?" He smiled at Asher as he prepared to punch him with enough strength to dislocate his head but Asher coughed a mouthful of sand into the barbarian's enraged face and smiled back at Boryx. He had kept that sand in his mouth since his mask broke.
Asher used this moment to his advantage and unsheathed a small knife he picked up when he was sent flying before and slashed Boryx across the neck only for the barbarian to activate his tattoos in a panic. Asher didn't back off and instead hurled himself on the hand and lodged the knife in Boryx's eye before jumping to land in the sand.
Boryx screamed and lost control allowing Asher to take advantage and grab onto one of the kukris to attack again.
He slashed Boryx's Achilles tendon forcing him to fall to the ground. Having lost his balance, he tried to lash out at the boy but could not catch him nor stop him from slashing his other tendons leaving the barbarian a cripple.
He stood up on top of Boryx who smiled at the boy. "We...ll fought...Finish it! Send me to my sun!" Boryx demanded as blood seeped through his smile but the boy turned around ignoring him.
Asher dragged himself toward the female ghoul who was struggling to keep up with the two after losing a lot of blood. He dodged another claw attack and attacked from its weak spot to cut off the other arm. Without its long claws, it was easy to subdue.
Asher proceeded to grab Boryx's chain and tie it around its neck before dragging the female ghoul toward Boryx.
He threw the ghoul on top of the immobilized Barbarian.
"Finish me dammit…Send me properly!" He screamed again and again as the ghoul began to bite into him, feeding on the flesh of the barbarian whose screams echoed louder than the delighted crowd.
"Honor for honor...blood for blood." He whispered an old saying he learned as a child.
Asher then spat a mouthful of blood at Boryx as he watched the grotesque display unfold. He didn't relish in his handy work nor did he plan to do this to begin with but the thought of this man receiving an honorable death vexed him especially when the ghouls he used didn't receive the same treatment.
"WEEE HAVE A WINNER!!" The announcer bellowed as the doors to a nearby gate opened signaling for Asher to exit.
'Another dead…how many more?' Regret asked as she laughed.
"I freaking hate sand." Asher spat again ignoring her as he tried to get rid of the grainy taste.
-------
"Seven minutes and twenty-three seconds…He made good work of the last barbarian." A man sipped on his wine as he watched from behind the tinted glass above the bleachers.
"Far from enough...the banquet will require more." Stephan replied to the man. He stood to the side watching the fight as the light of the glammerstone reflected from his round glasses.
"Is that why you asked me to keep the damned Boryx…so you could train the boy?" The man asked before laughing. "You aren't growing soft on me are you?"
"It's all part of the deal…you will do your part too soon enough."
"Yeah yeah…Desil clean the boy up and bring him here."