FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

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CHAPTER 16

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After defeating his opponent Khaine sheathed his swords and walked back towards the staircase that lead to our balcony. The crowd was a flurry of excitement after that short but impressive display. Khaine had been impressive, his movements crisp and decisive. Deep down I wanted to make sure I left as much of and impression on him with my fight as his did with me.

"You're up!" Master Jun'lao reminded me.

I nodded and walked down the staircase. I met Khaine as I reached the bottom of the stairs, he snorted at me as I passed him. A challenge to me to do better. I still remember the conversation I had with him where he had told me he viewed me as a rival. Now for the first time in a long time we had a chance to show each other just how far we had come! I would show him that I had grown as well! I grasped the shaft of my spear tightly and walked out to the center of the arena to meet my opponent.

As my opponent stepped forwards I knew that this opponent had been chosen by Jun'lao. The elderly peacock wore a loose fitting blue robe. His tail feathers hung low to the ground behind him as he stared at me with calm eyes. He carried a Urumi; a sword made from a strong yet flexible metal, pounded down to such a thing edge it could not retain a solid form. It was as much a whip as it was a sword. I had been told of such a weapon during my training, but this was the first time I had laid eyes on one for myself. I remember being told that it was difficult weapon to combat. You needed to block it perfectly or the whiplash from the blade would strike you!

The crowd around us cheered and I heard several furs call my name. I tried to ignore them and focus on my opponent. Khaine's opponent had been strong but he had made it look easy! I needed to perform well here, but most importantly I needed to win! I was not to going to lose today! I drew on my nen in preparation for the fight!

"THIS FIGHT IS BETWEEN THE WARRIOR MALAKYE AND THE HONOURABLE FHEN SHU! BEGIN!" Harlock declared.

Neither of us moved. I had hoped that the elderly peacock would have taken the offensive. But he was waiting for me. If he wasn't going to take the offensive then I was going to have to. The flow was not favourable to me, but I was not at too much of a disadvantage. Undoubtedly if the peacock had been chosen by Jun'lao then I had to fight assuming he could also read the flow! I needed to remember everything I had been taught and manipulate the flow in my favour and chose the perfect time to strike!

I stepped forwards, one step, two steps, three steps... another step and I would be within striking distance. But the peacock had barely moved a muscle. He stood there calmly, waiting for me to strike. I lunged forwards, thrusting my spear at his chest. He sidestepped to the right and spun round, whipping his weapon towards me in a horizontal arc. I ducked, the steel whipped over my head by mere inches and I spun to my left, swinging my spear round to swipe at his midsection.

The peacock calmly backed away out of range of my spear. Once my attack had passed him he stepped forwards and swung his Urumi at my midsection. I pushed the shaft of my spear downwards onto his weapon while simultaneously leaping up and over his attack; cartwheeling over and deflecting the dangerous whip like blade.

At this point I was focusing more on the flow of the fight than I was the dangerous steel that the peacock wielded. If I could keep up with the flow then I would eventually find the right moment to shift it in my favour.

As my foot-paws hit the ground the peacock was already swinging his weapon back towards me. I back-flipped, pushing off the ground with all the strength I could muster. The whip like steel would have struck me in the throat had I not moved when I had, but instead it sliced through the air inches above my chest. I landed the back flip perfectly and immediately prepared to dodge the peacocks next attack. The flow was raging against me and all I could do was move with it. If I tried to fight it now I would not only lose this fight I would likely be seriously injured by the deadly weapon my opponent wielded.

For the next few minutes the peacock and I locked in a relentless battle of trying to read the flow. I could only imagine what our fight looked like to the spectators. Somehow we both managed to successfully block or dodge each others attacks, but I was on the defensive the most. At a moments notice I could have used my bending to improve my odds, but I wanted to prove my skill to everyone here! I didn't need to rely on my bending to win a fight! I was more skilled than that! I owed it to Master Jun'lao and Master Kami that their training had been worth while! As our exchange continued, our fast paced battle intensified as fatigue began to set in, and I was approaching my limit.

I ducked beneath one of my opponents attacks, he had over extended himself slightly with that last attack, creating a small opening. It was the first real chance I've had during this entire fight! I swung the blunt end of my spear at the peacocks head. He leant back and avoided the blow, but as a result he was momentarily off balance. I spun round and used my spear to sweep his legs from under him. He gasped as his legs flew up from the ground and he landed on the flat of his back. I thrust the spear towards his chest. He stared up at me, the steel tip of my spear pressed against the thin fabric off his tunic. If he so much as attempted to move he would impale himself on it.

"THE WARRIOR MALAKYE WINS!" Harlock declared and the crowd burst into cheers.

I pulled my spear away from the peacocks chest and sucked in a large gasp of air. The pressure of the fight was immediately lifted from me and I stumbled slightly but I caught myself and offered him a paw. He took my paw and I helped him up. Once he was standing he pressed his paws together and bowed to me. I shouldered my spear and returned the gesture.

"Excellent work." The peacock grinned. "You read the flow perfectly. It was an honour to fight you."

"The honour was mine." I replied.

He bowed his head again and we went our separate ways. Khaine was already making his way towards me. He grunted at me as we passed. I had put on a fairly good show, but had I shown him what I was made of yet? I couldn't be sure, my fight lasted longer than his had by a large margin.

Khaine's opponent this time was large boar. He wore a white and red sleeveless tunic with matching pants. His paws and forearms were clad in thick leather. He was the same height as Khaine, around five and a half feet tall, but was much stockier and had much more powerful arms and legs. The boar was not armed with any weapons. Khaine drew his short swords and prepared to fight.

"THE WARRIOR KHAINE VERSUS MASTER RAHOUL!" Harlock declared.

"Master Rahoul is a master in martial arts. He has mastered many forms of martial arts, but is feared for his Forceful Fist technique!" Master Jun'lao whispered next to me.

"BEGIN!"

Khaine started this fight as he did the last one, by sprinting headlong towards the boar. The boar however simply stood and waited for Khaine to come to him. It was only as Khaine swung his swords at him that the boar finally moved. I barely registered what had happened before Khaine was sent tumbling over the dusty ground. In one single move the boar had deflected Khaine's sword and also disarmed him of the weapon with a lightning fast punch to his forearm. Following that the boar had grabbed Khaine's arm and tossed him head over heel. The impact from the fall had cause Khaine to lose his grip on his other sword and had kicked up a large cloud of dust from the ground.

The boar was damn good! The boar could have easily followed up with an attack while Khaine was laying on the ground but he stood with his arms crossed and waited for Khaine to stand. Shakily Khaine rose to his foot-paws. He snarled at the boar and to my surprise I sensed a powerful surge of nen from Khaine.

Khaine didn't even know what nen was last time I had seen him. But now he was freely able to draw on it. Not only that but his nen felt similar to what I would expect from a master level bender back in Zangar! His nen sensed thick, dense and smouldering. Was this his own nen or that of the spirit within him?

The boar readied himself and Khaine went on the attack once more. The boar immediately shut down Khaine's attack with a single powerful punch to the side of his muzzle, and then followed up with a mighty blow to Khaine's midsection which lifted the wolf up off the ground and sent him flying backwards several feet. Khaine staggered but remained upright. Not only that but he seemed to have taken far less damage than I would have expected him to have from a blow like that; nen or no nen. A blow like that should have at least winded him, if not outright ended the fight!

"Master Rahoul's forceful fist is as powerful as ever I see!" Master Kami commented.

The boar seemed a little surprised by this as well, but it didn't phase him for long. For the first time this fight he took the offensive. He landed three good blows to Khaine's head he couldn't fully block despite his best efforts. As he reeled from those blows the boar kicked him in the gut with a powerful roundhouse kick which doubled Khaine over. Before Khaine could fall from the kick, or somehow pull himself back up to a standing position, the boar landed a deadly looking punch to the side of Khaine's head.

The whole crowd gasped at the viciousness of the blow, and watched in slow motion as Khaine was sent spinning before falling limply to the ground. Khaine landed in a plume of dust and rolled several yards before coming to a stop. Silence. For the first time since the fights had begun there was complete silence as everyone looked on at the scene before us. There was no way that Khaine wasn't badly hurt after a blow like that. I wouldn't be surprised if that had actually killed him! I was worried for his well being after an attack like that.

Harlock was one of the first of us to gather his wits. Realising the seriousness of the situation and his role in this fight he stepped forwards but stopped in his tracks a moment later. There was a gasp from the crowd which was unmistakeably disbelief. Khaine was moving!

There was just no way that he could... but now that I thought about it I could still sense Khaine's nen which meant that not only was he alive, but he was also conscious! His movements increased, not just struggling to move but he began to pick himself up off the ground. He shook himself off, a cloud of dust falling from his fur with each movement. The crowd began to cheer, but many of us gawked in disbelief at how relatively unharmed Khaine was! The boar seemed surprised as well. Khaine attacked the boar, perhaps hoping to take advantage of his opponents surprised state, but Master Rahoul reacted well enough. He dodged Khaine's attack and then threw a punch at the wolf. Khaine dodged it this time, struck the boar in the midsection and then grabbed him and pulled him to the ground. They tumbled over each other over the dusty ground. Khaine managed to end up on top and began to lay into the boar with his nen enhanced punches.

The boar managed to push Khaine off him, but not before he had taken a good number of blows. They both scrambled to their foot-paws and both of them were looking a little worse for wear, caked in dirt and dust. Khaine attacked and Master Rahoul struck him with a powerful blow as he approached, but somehow Khaine seemed to shake off the blow and landed his own to the boars gut. The boar staggered backwards and began to block Khaine's relentless assault. The boar was definitely the most skilful out of the two of them. But despite how many blows he managed to land on him Khaine just kept coming, shaking off the boars powerful blows like they were nothing! And under the relentless assault of nen enhanced blows Khaine slowly wore the boar down until they were both panting desperately for air.

Eventually both of them fell to their knees, desperately sucking in air. They were both exhausted. Harlock at that moment stepped forwards and raised his paws in the air.

"I DECLARE THIS MATCH A DRAW!"

""Good decision!" Master Jun'lao muttered next to me. "If it went on for much longer both of them would end up getting seriously hurt."

"Khaine would have won if it continued." Garr grunted. "But it was a wise decision to end the match there."

"You're up now! Go show them that my student is the best!"

"Of course Master." I nodded.

I stepped forwards as Khaine and the boar bowed to one another. Khaine saw me approaching and his muzzle curled up in a disappointed snarl. He had wanted to win. It was impressive enough seeing him being able to take such punishment and still be able to fight, let alone walk off the field on his own! Khaine was not the same wolf I remembered. I would have been disappointed if he had been. But he was for tougher now than I had expected.

I looked round for my opponent but didn't see anyone approaching. A shadow appeared over me and a moment later a large drake landed on the ground with such force the ground shook and the crowd gasped. The drake was huge! He was as big as Garr! Thick, rough scales with a reddish brown colour covered its massive frame. Intense yellow eyes stared at me and a vicious smile curled over its muzzle. For a moment I had thought it was Wraith, but it wasn't. The same species as Wraith had been, but it definitely not him.

"My turn now!" The drake smirked. "Prepare to be crushed little drake!"

"THIS FIGHT IS BETWEEN THE WARRIOR MALAKYE AND THE FEARSOME BEAST, GRUAG OF THE KRUAKKU TRIBE!!!"

The crowd cheered wildly. I had heard of the Kruakku tribe, but only in stories! Tales of their strength lived on in the mortal realm, but they were thought to have died out during the Demon Wars two millennia ago! The Kruakku were drakes of immense strength, with the natural ability to breath fire. Natives of Aaru like the Masrur. The Guardian Deity Pyrrat had granted them sanctuary here in Aaru like Jan'Zar had done with Garr's family. I had no idea that Wraith had been one of these legendary drakes!

I needed to be careful in this fight! If he was as strong as he looked then a single blow could end this fight for me. If he was half as strong as Wraith had been then I was in for a hell of a fight! If he was physically as strong as Garr then I know just how hard one of his blows could be! I grasped my spear nervously and drew on my nen, letting out a deep breath I had been holding since the drakes appearance.

"BEGIN!"

The giant drake wasted little time. I sensed him gather his nen in his chest and immediately realised what he was about to do, remembering my fight against Wraith. I gathered my own nen into a barrier in front me just time as a torrent of flame erupted from his maw. As the flames washed around me, my shield of nen was slowly being worn away under the constant stream of flames faster than I could regenerate it. Engulfed in the flames around me I was unable to read the flow at all, and flashbacks of my fight against Wraith flashed through my mind.

Back then I had been forced into drawing on the spirits power, but I couldn't do that here! Doing that would be an insult to the countless hours of training I had gone through and result in me breaking my promise once again! The intense heat was sweltering and singeing my fur! After around ten seconds of constant flames my shield was on the verge of collapsing. I grasped my spear and hurled it in the drakes direction. The flames stopped and I gasped as the cool air washed over me. I glanced over at the drake, my spear had missed him but was embedded in the ground a few yards behind him.

"Fucker!" The drake snarled.

He gathered his nen in his chest, but this time instead of a constant stream of flames he fired large fireballs at me. I leapt backwards to avoid them. The flow of this battle was erratic, unpredictable. The large fire breathing drake, Gruag, seemed to disrupt the flow with his every move. Master Jun'lao had told me of individuals like this. Furs who had the natural ability and power to not only disrupt the flow, but obliterate it all together. These were the worst opponents for those who fight using the flow. For this fight I needed to ignore the flow, and just use my instincts and trust my training.

I dashed forwards, zigzagging around the fireballs Gruag was firing at me. His ability to produce fire was incredible! He did it effortlessly, and with deadly precision. But he could only produce it in his chest, so as long as I could keep his muzzle pointed away from me I would be able to avoid being burned to a crisp!

As I neared him I gathered my nen into my right arm and fist and drove it into his sternum with all the strength I could muster. He grunted and staggered back a couple of steps. He had taken my nen enhanced punch and immediately swung at me with his own fist. I narrowly dodged it. His attacks were powerful, but he wasn't as fast as I was! I drove another couple of punches into his gut but with little effect. He seemed to absorb my blows with startling ease!

Before I could move he struck me with a back-handed punch. I was sent flying. I hit the ground and rolled several times before coming to a stop. As I tried to get up he stomped his way over to me and kicked me in the gut. I heard myself cry out in pain, my guts were in agony! Next thing I knew a large paw grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me up with a single burst of strength.

He struck me in the stomach with his fist, once, twice, and despite focusing my nen to block the worst of the damage from the blows, the only thing holding me up was his paw on the back of my neck; without it I would have collapsed to the ground. His strength was incredible, I couldn't match it. If I didn't get away from him soon I was going to be knocked out of this fight!

I grasped the arm holding the back of my neck and pressed my right leg against his powerful thigh and pushed. The twisting motion as I cartwheeled away caused him to lose the grip on my neck. I didn't land perfectly and so rolled through into a crouched position. He moved to grab me and I sidestepped his grab and drove my fist into his throat.

He grunted and staggered away clutching his throat. Despite how tough his hide was his throat was still vulnerable. As he reeled from my last attack I moved in and laid into him with my fists. I landed half a dozen good blows to his chest and muzzle before he managed to take a swing at me. I ducked beneath his clumsy attack and struck him in the side, then an uppercut to the underside of his muzzle. His head snapped back and he staggered but didn't fall.

Fatigue from my last fight was quickly catching up on me and the blows I had taken from him earlier were taking their toll. I needed to end this fight now before the full effects of his attacks hit me! I dashed towards him, leapt up, pressing my left foot-paw onto his powerful thigh and propelled myself upwards, raised my right arm up and drove the tip of my elbow into the top of his skull, while simultaneously rammed my right knee up into the underside of his muzzle. I back-flipped away and landed a few yards away.

Gruag was staggering, stumbling around as he fought to remain standing. His eyes were glazed over, he clutched his head with both paws as he staggered about. I gathered all my remaining strength into my right fist and struck him in the chest. He fell backwards. He didn't even cry out. He hit the ground hard and fell still. I stood over him, his chest still rose and fell with each breath he took, but he was down for the count.

"THE WINNER, THE WARRIOR MALAKYE!" Harlock declared.

A couple of Masrur warriors came out to help remove Gruag from the battlefield. As they lifted him from the battlefield I returned to the others. I was exhausted, a few minutes rest would help me recover from my fatigue, but if my final fight was as tough as that one I had serious doubts if I'd be able to win it. Khaine walked to the center of the field to take part in his third and final match. Master Kami held out a water-skin to me. I took it gratefully and took several mawfuls of cool, refreshing water. I didn't take much more than that, if I drank too much a single blow to my stomach could cause me to vomit.

"You did well to overcome Gruag." Master Jun'lao smiled at me. "He was a bad opponent for one who uses the flow."

"I gave up on the flow after our first exchange." I panted.

"Good. Being able to read the flow is a powerful tool, but it is important not to be dependant on it. Once you become dependant on something it becomes a weakness."

"THE NEXT MATCH IS BETWEEN THE WARRIOR KALEB, AND THE DARK KNIGHT, KAUSH!!!"

The crowd erupted with cheers. It seemed that Kaush had a reputation, and was well known amongst the populace of Aaru. As if sensing my question Master Jun'lao explained.

"The Dark Knight is a legendary warrior. They are the Champion, and protector, of the Guardian Deity Luna. They are a fearsome warrior, a soul forged in blood and violence, who found their purpose in battle. Their soul had been lost in the darkness of war, but before they were truly lost it is said that the Lady Luna guided them back to the light. They are rumoured to have powerful magic in addition to their immense skill in battle."

It was a fantastic story if it was true. The fur who walked out to meet Kaleb was clad in armour made of black steel, and a long black cloak billowed behind him. Each step was accompanied by the heavy clanking of metal which I could barely hear over the loud cheers of the crowd. They wore a helmet which made it impossible to identify what species they actually were. They drew a massive broad sword made of the same black steel as their armour from their back. They truly were an intimating sight. The dark aura that radiated from the Dark Knight certainly gave credit to the story.

"Rumour has it that they are the equal of Garr in terms of strength."

I looked at Garr who didn't seem to react to the comment. Now I was curious. Garr was by far the strongest fighter I had ever met; with the exception of the Deity of War herself! If the Dark Knight was the equal to Garr then Kaleb had no chance!

"BEGIN!"

Kaleb continued his usual strategy of charging in as he had in the previous two fights. His armour clad opponent swung the massive blade with ease, and incredible accuracy. Kaleb barely managed to raise his swords in order to block the sudden attack. The force of the impact knocked him clear of the swords path. A flash of steel flew through the air before finally hitting the ground. One of Kaleb's swords had been cleaved in two from that single attack!

The knight spun round and brought their sword across in a horizontal arc which nearly decapitate Kaleb there and then. But he managed to duck in the nick of time and then rolled away creating some distance between them. Kaleb was clearly outmatched here. Despite being clad in heavy steel and bearing such a heavy weapon his opponent was faster than him. Stronger than him. The flow of this battle was not just flowing against Kaleb; it was howling storm!

The Dark Knight continued their assault, swinging the massive weapon around as if it was nothing! When it struck the ground it carved out massive chunks of earth and kicked up large plumes of dust. All Kaleb could do was dodge. The power behind the massive blade was too much for Kaleb to fight against and it had far greater reach that his short swords did! If he attempted to block those attacks it wouldn't turn out well for him.

But to my surprise Kaleb actually charged headlong towards the knight, he summoned up all of his nen before doing so. The knight swung the massive blade at Kaleb who attempted to block it with his swords. Just as I expected Kaleb's attempt was in vain. The blade cut through Kaleb's defence and I closed my eyes in fear of watching him being cleaved in two. The noise the crowd made told me they expected the same. But the sudden cheers made me open my eyes.

Somehow, some way, Kaleb had not only survived the attack, had not only remained standing, but he was clutching the knights sword with his bare arms! The knight tugged on the blade but Kaleb held it firmly. The knight let go of the blade and stepped forward and kicked Kaleb in the head. Kaleb went tumbling but rolled into a crouch and immediately lunged at the knight. The knight struck Kaleb in the head with his armoured fist and sent him tumbling over the ground once again. He didn't get up so quickly this time. But he slowly pushed himself up off the ground and staggered as he tried to regain his balance. That last blow had cut him open, I caught a glimpse of the crimson blood was pouring quite freely from a cut above his eye. Not only that but he had several large gashes where the sword had struck him, but how he had walked away from that with no more than a few cuts still dumbfounded me.

A surge of power from the knight drew my attention. This wasn't nen... it was something else. The power flowed through their body into their outstretched paw. A bolt of black lightning arced from their paw and struck Kaleb, sending him flying through the air. He struck the ground hard and for a few moments fell still. He groaned and began to roll over and get up. There was no way he could win this fight! It was just impossible. He was lucky he hadn't been killed already!

"He can't win." I muttered. "His opponent is too strong!"

"True. His chances of winning are practically nothing. But warriors are stubborn and prideful." Master Jun'lao replied. "He probably knows he can't win, but he will fight with all his might until he can't fight anymore, even if it costs him his life."

"I... I would do the same." I admitted. "It is better to die standing, than to live crawling across the ground." I quoted Jan'Zar.

It was painful to watch Khaine be punished like this, but this was the pride of a warrior; his pride as a warrior. I would not do him the dishonour of looking away when he was trying so hard in the face of absolute defeat!

The Knight allowed Kaleb to stand. They turned and picked up their massive sword. Kaleb stumbled towards in a clumsy charge, only to be struck with the flat of the giant sword across the head. Kaleb was sent flying and as his nen faded I knew the fight was finally over, just as the knight did. They sheathed their weapon and began to walk away.

"THE WINNER, THE DARK KNIGHT KAUSH!"

The crowd cheered and two Masrur moved to pick up Kaleb. He was carried back into the box where we were and laid on the ground before Garr. I was relieved to see that he was still breathing, but he was badly hurt and bloodied.

"He will be fine." Garr assured me. "Now go. You have your own fight."

I nodded and walked to the center of the field. I went and grabbed my spear which was still impaled in the ground from my last fight. As I yanked my spear from the ground Harlock stepped forward.

"THE NEXT FIGHT IS THE FINAL ONE! THE WARRIOR MALAKYE WILL FACE OFF AGAINST HIS FINAL OPPONENT. IT IS MY HONOUR TO INTRODUCE, THE LEGENDARY HERO, THE BANE OF DEMONKIND... GARR!!!!"

"Oh shit!" I cursed as I spun round to see Garr walking towards me, drawing his massive war hammer from his back.

The crowd went nuts. Cheering and whistling as the Masrur hero Garr stepped forwards. The cheers were deafening. It just had to be Garr didn't it?

"It's time to see just how strong you have become in my absence." Garr grunted. I could barely hear him over the cheering of the crowd.

"You want to see how see how strong I am?" I put on a brave face. "Then I will show you!"