The Reaper

Chapter 16: The Final Trial

"Welcome to the final trial, Daryl."

I stand in the middle of the square in my sparring uniform, facing Master where he stands on a podium. Seven leaders are behind me standing side by side also in sparring uniforms. In, Choi, Patty, Grace, and Michelle have all walked out of their final trial all beaten and bruised. As for the rest of the people, they are all standing all around the square. Half are on patios, others on the edge of the square.

"I shall tell you the same rules that I have told the previous five. You will be given a time limit of seven minutes. You must defeat at least your first two opponents before the time limit expires. However, if you defeat your first opponent, you will be granted a ten-second grace period, and then, you will immediately fight the next opponent. You will keep fighting until either all the opponents are defeated, or the time limit expires. If you are unable to defeat your two opponents by the time limit expires, however, you will fail this trial. But the more opponents you defeat, the higher the rank you will be. Do you have any questions, Daryl?"

I shake my head.

"Then let's begin – and again, Daryl, no powers...Sung-Hyup!"

Sung-Hyup Nam. A master in Muay Thai. He stands at about five feet eleven to six feet tall. It so happens to be the same man who shot a spitball at my eye.

I take a few steps to the side and face Master. Sung-Hyup stands a few feet away from me. We both bow to Master, we face each other, and Sung-Hyup bows to me, but I don't bow back.

"Ready!"

We're both in a fighting stance.

"Begin!"

Sung-Hyup is about to make his first move. He steps his leading foot forward and is about to use a roundhouse kick. I swiftly used a hook kick with my leading foot to his head before he could land his first attack. He falls over and I stomp kick him in the face, and knock him out.

"Ten-second grace!"

James Lee grabs the ankle of Sung-Hyup and drags him off the square. I stand right where I am, waiting for the next opponent.

"Sam!"

A recently graduated leader specializes in judo. We stand against each other until Master shouts, "Begin!" Sam slowly closes in until he's in reach. I kick him but grabs my leg, I punch him but grabs my arm as well. He suplexes me to the ground. I immediately get up as he gets up, performing a fake spin kick and then landing a seven-twenty spin kick to his head, knocking him out.

"Ten-second grace!"

Sam gets pulled out of the square. I take a few breaths in before Master calls the next opponent.

"Nick!"

Another newly appointed leader. Specialty in boxing. He walks in the square, posing in his fighting stance. "Begin!" I make the first strike but blocks and straight-punches me. I felt something painful on my nose. Son of a bitch broke it! I place my thumbs and straighten it out.

CRACK!

"Ergh!" Now he pissed me off.

I charge in with a kick but counters and starts throwing in a series of punches. Each of them is so powerful, that it's hard to counter without standing my ground firmly. He lands a last good right cross against my temple, forcing me to the ground. I shake off the stinging pain and get up. Nick starts attacking again. I evade and manage a good kick to the side of his knee. He starts limping as he backs away. He gets back in close as I throw a punch, he dodges and counters with a right cross against my rib. I blocked it, got in close, stomped kick his other knee. He grunts painfully, bending over. His head is wide open, so I take the knee to his face, knocking him out.

"Ten-second grace!"

James Lee pulls Nick off to the side with the others. Master calls in the next. "Peter!"

Peter charges in. With his large body, his strength will overpower me with even just the simplest attacks.

"Begin!"

He stands there in his stance, waiting for me to make the first move. I'll have to get in close. Slowly, I approach and aim his knee with a kick. He quickly steps back and pushes me with his kick. It sent me far across the square, rolling my body back to get back up on my feet. I charge right at him performing a knee strike to his chest. He willingly takes the hit. I grab the back of his head, trying to push him down, and knee-strike his abdomen repeatedly as hard as I can. He blocks every one of them, then slips out of my grip. He strikes again with his kick but I managed to evade. Quickly, I go for one of his legs, but he pulls it back before I can get a good grip on it. He hammer-fists me on my back, falling to the ground, feeling the air forced out of my lungs. As I'm trying to catch my breath, Peter is about to stomp-kick my head. I roll out of the way, jump, and smack his ears. He hears the ringing, creating a distraction long enough for me to punch his throat, hearing him choke, and then hook kick him in the head hard. He collapses.

"Ten-second grace!"

James grabs both of Peter's legs and struggles to drag him off the square.

"Tony!"

Tony charges in, and I use a skip-sidekick against his knee, partially to the ground, and then get him one good punch to his temple, knocking him down.

"Ten-second grace!"

Only two more to go. I slow my breathing down, inhaling through my nose and out my mouth.

"Hyun-Seok!"

Oh...I still haven't forgotten the day he kept harassing me.

"Begin!"

Immediately, he grabs me by the leg, falling backward. I stomp my free foot against his face, forcing him to let go of me. I try getting up but he immediately grabs me by the leg again. I stomp my free foot against his face, but he spins me around and performs an armbar. I break free, then try to set space away from him. He knows if I create distance, he would be at a disadvantage. So, he grabs me from behind and performs a rear naked choke. I lean back my head as far as I can as I grab his hand that is grabbing my head. I pull it straight down, grab a finger, and break it. Hyun-Seok groans. I move my mouth to his other arm and bite a piece of his flesh off. He releases me, gripping his wounded arm as it bleeds hard. He stands up groaning through his teeth. I stomp-kick his knee forcing him on the floor facing down. I jump up, strike my elbow against the back of his neck, face first against the ground. I grip both of my hands, digging all of my fingers into his face and eyes, pulling it as far back as his neck can allow. I let go, standing tall above him, allowing him a few breaths in, and once his head lifts, I kick it hard like a soccer ball, knocking him out.

"Ten-second grace!"

One last opponent.

"Yale!"

Yale Kim. Here's one I am at my most disadvantage. I'm exhausted with all of my strength and speed, which is something Yale here is most skilled at. Speed is his best friend, hence he's most proficient at Jeet Kune Do.

He walks in the center, in my fighting position, I tread in close. He roundhouse kicks me then forward punches me. I back away. Frustrated at the fact that he's toying with me, I charge right at him and launch myself up to a superman punch. Yale jumps off to the side and sidekicks me on the rib. I fall and collapse to my hands and knees, caressing my ribs. I think this asshole broke them. Every time I breathe, I feel a puncturing pain. I look off at where he's at but I can't find him. He pops from the other side and kicks me again, right on my broken ribs. I groan hard from the pain. It angers me that Yale hurt me so badly. He charges in while I'm still on the ground. At the precise moment, I launch in and jab right at his groin. Yale cries in agony, slumping himself down. Quickly, I jump on top of him with both of my legs locking his arms, and then I start hammering his face as much as I can and as hard as I can. Yale is knocked out, all battered and bruised.

I get up, looking straight at Master furiously. I spit the blood to the ground, huffing and growling. Master looks straight back at me with no emotions expressed on his face, unphased by what he observed.