Udayan is back! This time he's got a cool fight lined up for you. Be warned however that there is strong language used in this post. If you're offended or find bad language offensive, don't scroll down., If you aren't...this one brought to you by Udayan Das!
The Bilge Master
A thousand voices? No, more. It was impossible to tell how many people there were, but the entire area was packed full, with barely any room to breathe. A mass of flesh, writhing with sweat, as alcohol was freely passed around. As if one addiction wasn’t enough, the vapours of a few different varieties of tobacco could also be smelt, effectively turning the overall atmosphere almost unbreathable. No sane person would venture down here. Yet, every week, on this particular day, they all came. Filling up this very building, to the absolute brim.
James somehow managed to get to the front of the crowd, mainly thanks to the much larger man who was pushing a way through for both of them. With some difficulty, they managed to get to the edge of an open circular space in the floor. A flat, raised stone platform stood in it, around ten feet in diameter. This was what everyone had gathered here to see. Or rather, what was about to happen here.
The young boy turned to his older companion.
“You’ve been coming here for the past month?”
“Any more judgment in that tone, and you might qualify for the courtroom.”
“This isn’t funny, Master! If the Academy finds out, they’ll-”
“They’ll what? Kick me out? Believe me, I’ve been doing my best to leave for the past ten years. But they just won’t let me go.”
The apprentice shook his head. His Master, a man named Sen, was a sought after teacher and coach. Many other young Mages would have paid a great deal of money, and done quite a few questionable things, in order to be trained personally by him. But the one who had ultimately been chosen was James. He still wasn’t quite sure why he of all people was the one. He wasn’t a particularly talented Mage, only average at the various branches of Magic. But, here he was.
He wondered if any of the people who so wanted to be in his position knew that his Master was a borderline alcoholic who spent his weekends coming to seedy bars in the downs. Like this place.
“What are we even doing here, Master?”
In reply, Sen grinned.
“Learning,” he said.
At that very moment, in one of the back rooms in that very building, a young Mage stood, putting on fingerless gloves. As he strapped them tight, he felt a small tingle run into his hands. The function of these was to stimulate the nerves, by a small amount, a sort of constant state of being warmed up. The effect was focused on the hands, but not limited to them. They essentially made sure a Magic user was focused and primed to cast his Spells quickly.
He curled and uncurled his fingers a few times, and experimentally summoned a small sphere of fire just above one palm. Satisfied with the speed of the casting, and his control, he breathed out, and looked at the other people in the room with him.
“You can do it, Ravi.”
He looked at the woman who had spoken. There were countless small lines on her face. Lines that could only be noticed by someone who had known the worries that had caused them.
“Yeah,” he said, clenching his fist. “I got this.”
I’ll do it. We need that money. I’m going to give Mom a better life.
Meanwhile, in another room, another young man stood. There was no one else there, just him. He wrapped a length of tape around his fingers, knuckles, palm and wrist, then repeated the process for the other hand. He tapped a wall a few times, checking to see if his wrist was being properly supported and kept straight.
It was.
Taking a step back, his footing changed. He was bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet as he moved around, sidestepping left and right, hands sometimes high, sometimes low. He threw two jabs, and followed up with a straight. He had already warmed up. This was just a test to see if everything was working as it should.
It was.
That was it then.
He took a deep breath, and exhaled.
Turning around, he looked at the walls. The only light in the room was a single bulb hanging from the ceiling, leaving vast parts covered in shadow.
I was born. I will die. What lies in between is my fight. That is all.
He heard footsteps outside. Even before the person had knocked, he spoke out.
“You can come in.”
The door opened, revealing a girl who looked at least four years younger than him. He recalled he’d heard somewhere that his opponent had a little sister.
“What do you want?” he said.
She hesitated.
She’d heard rumours about him. But none of them did him justice.
To call him intimidating would be an understatement. He had one eye fixed on her, and that eye had not a hint of warmth in it. She shivered slightly, and remembered what they called him.
Asura. The Demon.
But she’d come this far. She already knew what she was getting into. She wouldn’t back away here.
“Lose,” she said, looking him in the eye. “Against my brother. Lose the fight. Let him win, please.”
His eye narrowed.
“Why?” he asked.
“Because we need the money. My mother… she’s stretched thin as it is. She’s worked for thirty years, sacrificed everything for us. There’s a loan. She took it to send us to school. But now, they want it repaid. We… we don’t have that kind of money. She didn’t want us to do this, but my brother wouldn’t take no for an answer. This is the only chance we have. So please.”
A moment of silence followed, and in that moment, his eye appeared almost human.
“So your brother’s fighting for the both of you. Fighting for your lives. He has a reason to win, and you’ve all made sacrifices to get where you are. Is that what you’re saying?”
She nodded, and for a moment, there was a glimmer of hope in her, that he had understood, that he would help.
And then, a wave of cold seemed to sweep over the room.
“Tell me. Do you believe I’ve made no sacrifices to get here?”
His words caused her eyes to widen.
“Do you think that the fact that you’ve had a hard life entitles you to victory?”
He turned to face her.
“Your brother’s going to learn.”
With that, he walked past her.
Her voice caught in her throat, and she couldn’t find a way to plead, one final time, for him to reconsider.
Outside, James and Sen looked on as a man with an extravagant and garish coat took center stage.
“All right. You all know why we’re here. We’ve kept you waiting a while. But it’s time.”
He pointed to an open door.
“Hailing from Ravenswood, he is the phenom of the First Years, an up-and-comer who is undefeated in official competition. But this ain’t no tournament ring! Can he pull it off when no spells are barred? Give it up for Fire Lord!”
“Fire Lord?” whispered James. “Wait, he’s not talking about-?”
“That Ravi, yes,” replied Sen. “What, did you think straight A students wouldn’t come to a place like this?”
James shook his head, looking on as the familiar boy from his very school walked to the circular platform, and stepped onto it. He was decked out in the gear used during Mage Battles in the interschool tournaments. A bright red and orange synthetic armour, designed to provide a second layer of protection against harmful Magic. And as ever, the trademark fire magic he was famous for danced around his hands.
“Who the hell would want to fight him?”
“And his opponent,” said the booker, right on cue, “You all know him. This is his fourth fight here. He’s never lost, this fucking piece of shit. Well, maybe he’ll get his due tonight. Bring in… Asura.”
“Intro’s kind of partial, huh?” said Sen.
Sen only grinned.
From the open door on the other side, came another boy.
James stared at him as he approached the ring. He was a little taller than average, and very well built. It was actually somewhat freakish to look at. He had never assumed a human body could possess that sort of muscle, or move so fluidly. Every motion had an almost animal-like grace. He was clothed in a simple pair of sweatpants, and a black vest. James noticed he was barefoot, and his hands were taped up.
“No armour? That’s risky… how is he going to defend against spells?”
Sen didn’t answer. He just kept watching, the grin still on his face.
The boy called an Asura stepped on to the platform, and stood facing his opponent.
Ravi looked determined. It was impossible to tell what the Asura was thinking.
“Well, we don’t stand on ceremony here. FIGHT!”
With the signal given, Ravi burst right into action.
Raising a palm, he pointed it towards his opponent, a ball of fire shot towards him. James recognized it as an Explosive Fire Sphere. This type of projectile burst upon contact, doing both heat and concussive damage.
His eyes widened in fear.
With the amount of exposed skin the Asura had, that spell would… do nothing?
He watched in awe as the boy simply batted away the fireball with one arm, completely unscathed.
“Titles get thrown around a lot, huh?” said Sen. “Thunder God. Fire Lord. All names given to these so-called First Year prodigies. Because they have a few tricks.”
James watched, Sen’s voice echoing in his ear as the Asura lightly skipped on his feet.
“He is called the Demon for a reason. And you’re about to find out.”
The boy stepped forward, hands raised in a strange stance James had never seen.
“What sort of spell is that?”
“It’s called boxing. You wouldn’t have heard of it. Since magic became the main form of combat, they’ve been largely ignored. But hand-to-hand fighting was once the foundation of human warfare.”
Ravi summoned a second fireball, even as he circled back and away, keeping his distance.
This time, he released it as a continuous stream. It was conceivable that he had been able to withstand a moment of heat. But prolonged exposure would destroy whatever protective spell he was using for sure.
To his surprise, the attack didn’t touch him at all.
At the last moment, his strange opponent had shot sideways, as if he had springs on his feet.
Ravi had no time to adjust, because with a second spring-like step, the Asura had closed the distance.
He’s fast!
The Fire Mage realized the fight was going to be in close quarters, and switched to another strategy. Several flaming spheres came into existence, surrounding his torso in a kind of halo. They would respond immediately to his will, and shoot forward to attack, before returning to their initial position.
The Asura was now in range, and struck out quickly with his fist.
Ravi would not have been fast enough to react with his body. But his magic could, as it would respond instantly as soon as his senses perceived the attack coming.
The fireball came into the path of the incoming fist, and flesh met fire.
Right away, the left hand was pulled back, and the right shot forward.
This time, another fireball shot in to intercept it.
With both his attacks foiled, the Asura stopped for a moment, seeming to falter.
Seeing his opening, Ravi attacked, striking him square in the chest with three fireballs at once. The move pushed him back slightly. He did not appear to have taken any burns, but it appeared that the attack had hurt him.
Frowning, he came forward again, once more punching left, then right, and once more being blocked and countered.
With a roar, he tried yet again, and was repelled as before. By now, he was breathing hard.
“This guy… he’s going to get himself killed!” said James.
Next to him, Sen’s grin was almost overflowing.
“Bait set. He’s been conditioned. Time to reel him in.”
“What are you talking about?!”
“Watch.”
Yet again, the Asura came forward, once more attacking with a left jab and a right cross. Both were blocked, and the same counter, utilizing three fireballs at once, was used.
Ravi almost smiled. At this rate, his defences would be broken, and he could win! He could finally change everything! Things would-
His eyes widened in reflex. His brain hadn’t registered it yet.
The Asura had dodged the counter.
Lowering his head and moving it to the side even as he leaned his body out of the path of the fireballs.
While doing so, he was still moving forward, and his left arm was swinging in a curved path, up to down.
It felt like a car crash.
Looking back, Ravi would say he could feel every bone in his body get rattled.
The violent overhand connected, right with his orbital bone.
Ravi felt his armour’s magic barrier shatter as the force pushed him back. He reeled, head spinning.
Shit… need to get away… need time… to set up defence…
And then the Asura was right in front of him, having closed the gap.
A feeling the Fire Lord hadn’t experienced in a fight for years shot through him.
Fear.
“A Mage cannot cast magic without focus.”
So spoke the Asura, his hands still raised in fists.
And the stance that had seemed strange to James before, now became terrifying, aware as he was of the power behind those fists.
Left body blow. Right body blow.
Synthetic armour cracks. Can’t cushion the force. Ribs might be broken.
This was it. James knew it was over.
Ravi had no defences. The so-called Asura could have ended it right then and there.
“Why doesn’t he attack?”
Sen frowned.
This was new.
In all of his previous fights, the boy had viciously beaten his opponents into unconsciousness without an instant of hesitation.
Why give Ravi a chance to recover.
“Get up,” he said. “Get up and fight. Your sister talks a big game. It’s on you to back it up.”
Ravi was breathing hard. In all honesty, he had never gone beyond this point. His armour was broken. Anything more would be risking his life.
But everything was on the line.
His family’s future. Their happiness.
“Fuck you,” he said.
Flames began to burn around him once more.
The Asura watched carefully, the smile no longer on his face.
This was it.
He had gotten him to go all out.
From here, he could fight him at his best, and crush him entirely.
Beat him down, in front of this whole crowd, and his family.
Yeah, that would be good. All of you… are the living shit of this world. And I should wreck your happiness… smash it beyond saving.
As the violent side of him raged within, he caught sight of the little girl, his opponent’s sister.
“Please. Let my brother win.”
Why?
Why should I?
There’s no reason. No reason to go easy.
He remembered it all. His past. His childhood. His sacrifices. His pain. His efforts. His study. His work. His life.
He looked once more at his opponent, and at his family, behind him.
Tch.
He charged forwards, and he did so, he could see the so-called Fire Lord do the same.
He saw his punch coming, from a mile away, as if in slow motion.
This was going to be easy.
Guard the punch, and counter with a knockout blow.
Give this Mage a concussion, and a lesson he’d never forget.
James looked on, fists clenched, breath held for the decisive moment.
And… the punch connected.
In a blast of fire, the Asura was knocked off his feet, and hit the ground.
It was over.
Roars of applause broke out, and he watched as a woman and child, who looked to be Ravi’s family, stormed onto the platform to hug him.
James found himself sighing in relief.
For a moment there, he’d been truly worried.
Next to him, Sen laughed.
“Cheeky brat. Even when you lose, you win, huh?”
The young apprentice turned to his mentor.
“What do you mean?”
“It doesn’t matter. Come on, let’s go home. Your parents will kill me if I keep you out any later.”
Outside, Sen and James got on a bus.
“Say, Master. Who was that guy anyway? And how’d he avoid getting burnt, or hit that hard? Was it some kind of Physical Enhancement Magic?”
“Wasn’t any Magic at all. That guy is Flawed.”
James nearly fell off his seat.
“F-Flawed?”
But that was…
“Master, you’re kidding, right?”
“Why would I lie? I wouldn’t bring you all the way out here just to show you a regular Mage Battle.”
“But it’s… impossible! A Flawed can’t beat a top-ranked-”
“Yeah, say that to him.”
James looked out the window, to see the boy who had been given the title of Asura, nonchalantly walking down the road, looking completely unhurt, not even a limp or stagger in his gait. He had worn a hoodie, and appeared to have earphones on.
“No fucking way.”
A moment of having one’s perceptions completely blown away tends to make one forget how one is supposed to speak.
“Flawed,” said Sen. “Around ninety percent of the world’s population has magic, doesn’t it? And the ones who don’t, well, we obviously think there’s something wrong with ‘em. Isn’t that why we gave that name?”
He paused, then went on.
“In a world where everyone has magic… what would you be, if you had none at all?”
