Chapter 333: Pushed To The Limits [4]
The world was dyed in red.
Blood leaked and seeped into the dry land beneath.
A lone figure stood at the center, surveying a world drenched in red. The essence of a person's 'concept' was forged through their life experiences and deepest desires.
All Kaelion knew since childhood was blood.
He had shed and lost an uncountable amount of blood.
"Help....!" "Spare me!"
"Noo!"
Kaelion killed and killed and killed.
All he knew was how to kill. In order to survive the Cave of Blood Morphosis, he had to kill. There was no place for cowards in the cave. You either kill or be killed.
"H-Haa..."
Kaelion rested his hand against the rough stone of the cave, his gaze fixed on the lifeless bodies of the children who had attacked him.
His breath was steady, but his eyes carried a weight that seemed to grow heavier with each passing second. The silence around him was deafening, punctuated only by the distant dripping of water echoing through the cave.
His eyes started to sting as he stared at the sight that greeted him.
...With the chattering of his teeth, he bit onto his lips until they bled.
'Let's play a game.'
'Join the Cave of Blood Morphosis and take care of yourself. Don't lose to others and make sure to keep your safety as your number one priority. If you do so, by the time you come back I'll have your favourite cookie made for you.'
"Take care of myself..."
Mumbling those words to himself, he turned away.
His mother's words continued to press heavily in his mind. They were his driving force. He had to take care of himself... He had promised her.
He couldn't die.
For the cookie...
"Survive."
Kaelion mumbled, stumbling forward as he pressed his hand against his stomach.
"...I need to survive."
*
BOOM-
The surroundings shook.
A powerful shockwave rippled outward as the two fists collided, sending a blast of pressurized wind across the Colosseum. The entire Colosseum was quiet, and all eyes were focused on the two figures that stood at the center of the platform.
As if all air had been sucked out of the Colosseum, no one dared to let out a single breath.
Julien and Kaelion stared at each other, their eyes a deep shade of red.
However, unlike Kaelion, Julien's eyes only flashed red for a split second before the color faded. The strength in his body seemed to drain away, his arm shrinking as it popped and cracked, losing its previous power.
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Kaelion hesitated for just a moment, startled by the sudden change, but quickly tensed his back and readied another punch, unwilling to waste the opportunity.
A wind funnel coated his fist as he thrust his fist forward.
The air whistled, and in less than a second, his fist was already next to Julien.
Staring at the approaching fist, Julien didn't appear panicked at all. Tensing the bottom half of his core, he blinked his eyes once, his eyes turning red again.
The muscles on his arm popped and cracked once more as they expanded. Releasing all the accumulated tension in his body, he drove his fist forward with explosive power, aiming directly at Kaelion.
Bang!
A terrifying explosion ensued once more.
Kaelion's and Julien's clothes fluttered wildly as neither one of the two budged. Their exchange... They came out evenly.
Just like before, Julien's eyes reverted to their normal color immediately after the exchange, and his arm shrank back to its usual size. Kaelion noticed this pattern, and an idea sparked in
his mind.
'....A short burst of strength. He can't keep it up long term.'
Kaelion was quick to set his plans in motion. Taking a deep breath, his spine popped and
tensed. A terrifying pressure burst out of his body.
Eyeing Julien, Kaelion once again threw a punch.
Bang!
Julien managed to block the punch with his own punch, but Kaelion wasn't done. Releasing the tension in his spine, he punched with his other hand.
Swooosh!
The air whistled violently as the fist flew forward, and Julien stared at it with a cold and indifferent expression. All six of his main emotions were sealed, and as he stared at the incoming fist, he tensed his right leg and moved it back before throwing his left fist.
Bang!
Another explosion reverberated.
But Kaelion wasn't done. His eyes grew a deeper shade of red as he threw his right fist again.
Bam Bam Bam, Bang-!
Kaelion began working his arms and throwing heavy punches without pause. The two of them were in a stalemate but as opposed to Julien, wounds started opening up around his body.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Kaelion's movements flowed seamlessly, his whip-like leg striking first, followed by a
powerful knee thrust.
Without pausing, he swung his arm in a brutal arc, connecting with a back-fist before driving
a hammer fist down with his other hand. Each attack landed in rapid succession, all within a
single, fluid motion.
Splash-!
Blood sprayed from his body, splattering across the platform beneath them, as he unleashed
his fists.
From the audience's point of view, Kaelion looked like a blood demon. His entire body was drenched in his own blood which slowly accumulated back into his body, renewing his momentum and adding more pressure on Julien.
Seeing the strength of the attacks increasing, Julien wavered a little. Luckily, all six of his emotions were sealed.
He was able to remain calm and collected as he dealt with the relentless barrage of attacks.
A single red orb floated in his mind, slowly slithering toward his arm before he let go and
grasped again.
Bang! Bang!
Each time their blows connected, it felt like a bomb had detonated. The ground beneath them quaked, leaving behind smoldering craters that sent whisps of smoke curling into the air.
Swoosh!
Kaelion threw one fist after another. Like an unstoppable machine, his fists rained down on
Julien who could only retort with his own.
Within explosion after explosion, the air scattered as the platform shook.
As the fight progressed, Julien slowly started to get pushed back.
'It's working...!'
As Kaelion predicted, Julien wasn't able to keep up at all with his relentless attacks. Before
each attack, Julien's eyes would regain their normal color before going back to red.
His strength would become terrifying each time his pupils turned red, but he didn't seem to
be able to maintain the state for very long. Or was he limiting himself....?
Bang-!
"Ukeh....!"
As Julien was driven back, he kept his gaze locked on the approaching Kaelion. Each of
Kaelion's steps landed with a violent thud.
"Haaa... Haa..."
Julien's breathing was rough, and as he stared at the approaching Kaelion who didn't share
the same exhaustion as him, the chains locking Julien's emotions shook.
His mind was roaring with pain.
With one hand at his disposal, he had to force himself to use it. Each time he used it, he'd feel
the bones and muscles crack and tear.
It wouldn't do him any good to continue using it.
Swooosh!
Kaelion's fist approached him.
The speed and power behind Kaelion's fist were as terrifying as the first time he had attacked,
and while Julien tried to get away, he was shocked to see that his body couldn't move at all.
That's when he realized it.
"Ah...!"
He was overcome with exhaustion.
"Haa... haa.."
Pressing onto his chest, the fist grew closer in his vision.
'Move..! Move!'
Julien understood that he'd lose the match if the fist so much as grazed him. It was just that...
He really couldn't move at all.
It felt as though Julien's feet had been fused to the ground, anchoring him in place. His body
refused to listen to his mind, forcing him into a helpless state.
Rattle~ Rattle~!
The locks to his emotions rattled wildly.
The fist grew nearer, growing in size by the second.
A sense of doom approached Julien who stared at the incoming fist, his lips bleeding as he had
unknowingly bit into them.
"Kh...!"
That was when Julien's eyes turned completely red.
Bang!
His mind rumbled.
The chains that were biding 'Anger' shattered.
In a moment of desperation, he mumbled, 'Anger.'
His target... himself.
With his palm facing his chest, Julien felt his entire body boil. His vision grew entirely red and
his body roared as the muscles in his body grew tense and his joints popped.
Julien's concept was simple.
The more he felt an emotion, the more powerful he would become. His strength depended on
how strongly he felt an emotion.
In this case, pouring 'anger' into his body, his strength grew drastically. To the point where
the approaching fist seemed to be made out of cotton.
As Julien's face grew entirely red, he brought his foot forward and released a punch of his
own. All the condensed power hidden within his arms burst forth with that one punch as blood
started to leak out from his hand.
"Uagkh!"
Kaelion's eyes constricted at the sight of the punch. It all happened so fast that he hardly had
any time to react.
The only thing he could do was double down on his already terrifying attack.
The two fists approached.
And then...
They made contact.
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For a split moment, the world grew quiet. As the two fists clashed, all noise ceased as though
the very air had been sucked out of the world, turning it into a vacuum.
It was just so eerily quiet.
But the silence didn't last for long.
BOOOM-!
A terrifying explosion sliced through the silence, ripping through the platform beneath and
sending shards and debris hurtling through the air in every direction.
Kaelion and Julien remained locked in the same position for a few seconds before Kaelion's
face grew pale and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Keuhk!"
His arm flew back with a terrifying force, the impact visibly fracturing it as he staggered over
a dozen steps, coming to a halt just a meter from the edge of the platform.
"Arrgh!"
That's when he let out a heart-wrenching cry. Gripping onto his arm, he could hardly feel it.
No, it was broken.
"Haa... Haa..."
The pain was something that dug deeply into his mind, but as he looked up, he also noticed
that Julien wasn't faring any better.
His arms were in a similarly bad state.
"Urkh."
Kaelion spat another mouthful of blood.
The blood splashed against the ground, slowly spreading and covering his vision.
"Survive..."
He mumbled.
Feeling every part of his body ache, he suddenly felt himself grow smaller. He saw a small
version of himself, standing within the pool of blood, holding onto his body which was filled with cuts and bruises.
He was suddenly reminded of the hunger he had once felt.
He was suddenly reminded of the blood he had lost.
He was suddenly reminded of the number of people he had killed.
This was nothing.
Raising his head back up, his eyes grew red once more.
The blood that pooled beneath him shrank, slowly entering his body as his injuries started to
heal, his arm making weird 'cracking' sounds as it readjusted itself.
Though his body was recovering, his mind grew cloudy.
He couldn't see properly.
His injuries were healing, but his mind was exhausted.
"Arkgh!"
But his primal instinct for survival pushed him forward.
The words his mother once said drove him forward, toward the blurry figure that stood on the
opposite end, slowly shaking as though he was one light breeze away from falling. Thump! Thump! Thump!
His steps pressed heavily against the ground, mimicking the beat of the audience's hearts.
He drew close to Julien, his momentum carrying forward. The ground shattered with each one
of his footsteps as his momentum slowly started to pile up.
Thump! Thump!
He soon arrived before Julien.
Through his blurred vision, Kaelion clenched his teeth and tensed every muscle in his body,
channeling all the energy he had been carefully gathering. In a final, desperate move, he
unleashed it all at once.
The air around Julien crackled with power as countless magic circles materialized, each one
locking onto him with deadly precision, ready to strike.
"|"
The sudden turn of events brought everyone to the edge of their seats, staring at the scene
with bated breaths.
Swoosh!
The fist came down, the air whistling as Kaelion's ears perked up.
In that moment, while he couldn't see, he could perceive all the sound around him. From the
beat of his heart to the whistling of his fist, to the gasps of some of the audience members.
He could perceive it all.
.... And it was then that he heard a faint murmur.
"Joy."
Julien's figure blurred, disappearing from out of his sight. Kaelion blinked his eyes, unable to
tell if what he had seen was true. However, in the next second, he felt something cold press
against the back of his neck.
It was so fast that he hardly had any time to react.
By the time he realized what had happened, he heard a faint murmur coming from behind
him.
"Sadness."
Cra-
A cracking sound echoed in the air. It seemed to come from the necklace he was wearing.
However, Kaelion had no time to care for the sound as his head exploded in pain.
It was far far more powerful than anything he had experienced before, leaving him completely baffled.
He knew that the power behind Emotive Magic transmitted through sound and touch was different.
But to this extent...?
"Ah."
'So this... is the full extent...?'
It was...
Overwhelming.
"Arrgkkkh....!"
His heart clenched while his body started to spasm.
Cra Crack!
The cracking sound grew prominent amidst Kaelion's screams. Something started to stain the
corner of his eyes, and before he knew it, the color of his eyes returned to normal.
A wave of pain and exhaustion washed over him at that moment.
Craka!
A glass-shattering sound ensued shortly after, and the world around Kaelion grew dark as he
felt his body fall to the ground.
Thump!
Within the darkness that slowly took over his mind, Kaelion was surrounded by green. The
land was flat, and his feet gently pressed against the grass beneath.
The memory was still fresh in his mind.
It was the day that he had come back from the Cave of Blood Morphosis.
"I have survived."
He remembered mumbling.
A cookie greeted him as he lowered his head and stared at the frame in front of the
tombstone.
Alongside the frame was a letter.
It detailed everything that he couldn't understand.
"Ah, I see."
That's when he understood.
His mom had been the one to sign him up for the Cave of Blood Morphosis.
She only had a few days left to live.
Knowing he'd die without her, she signed him up for it, hoping to give him at least one
chance.
He entered without knowing.
By the time he was back, all that greeted him was a single tombstone, a frame, a letter, and a
cookie.
The last parts of the letter read;
===
You kept your promise. You took care of yourself.
Now do it every day.
-Love, mom.
===
He stayed faithful to such words.
Even if it painted himself bad in the eyes of others.
He'd do anything to survive.
"The winner is..."
As he sank deeper into his consciousness, he managed to hear the final verdict.
"....Julien Evenus of the Nurs Ancifa Empire."
