Gods and Mortals

#55: Karma

The two fighters got up from their seats before heading into the battlefield. The visible frustration on Tyler's face after his name was announced alongside X was expected and understood.

Silence filled the arena as both fighters stood opposite each other, awaiting the sound of the alarm.

"You're not gonna go easy on me, are you?" Tyler asked X with an agitated look on his face.

X's silence was expected as after a few seconds, Tyler whispered the words, "Of course," to himself, before continuing to await the alarm.

And finally, the alarm rang and the battle immediately commenced.

Immediately the alarm went off, X instantly pulled his sidearm from its holster and pointed it directly at his opponent. It didn't seem like he was looking to waste any time on the battle. X instantly fired a round at Tyler, with Tyler managing to evade the fired attack in due time.

Tyler knew that he had next to zero chances of beating X from range, so immediately after realizing the battle's commencement and his dire situation of range, he immediately darted at X without hesitation.

X proceeded to fire three more shots at Tyler, but Tyler managed to evade them after stopping in one place and focusing on doing so.

Even though X was easily the best marksman on earth, and potentially among all mortal species, the idea that all the other demigods at this point were fast enough to react to bullets made it significantly difficult for him to his target. But he still had his secret weapon that was yet to be beaten.

As Tyler almost arrived in front of his opponent to switch the battle to close combat, he noticed that X's pupils had suddenly shrunk while still focusing on him. And upon the realization that X had activated his True Accuracy, Tyler instantly turned his body to face the opposite side before X fired his sidearm directly at Tyler's back.

The force was so intense that it sent Tyler flying a good distance away. The demigods spectating wondered if that was it for Tyler as he fell to the ground instantly.

"I'm surprised he didn't try countering it with his Retaliation ability," Quinn mentioned in curiosity back at the spectator's area.

"He did," a voice then responded among the other demigods, revealing to be Iris as she continued to stare into the battlefield. "But it didn't seem to change anything."

Quinn had a confused look on her face as she stroked her cheek, attempting to analyze the situation.

"Interesting," she worded briefly before continuing. "Then I'm guessing that ability only works when he can truly counter the action sent to him."

"So he's basically only able to counter melee attacks?" Shade asked.

"It's a theory, but it's the best I've got right now," Quinn responded.

Iris' face as she continued to spectate the battle was very mellow. She knew that X had the potential to easily win the entire tournament after her experience with him the round before.

She had not mentioned it to any other demigod, but during the first round, when she placed the other demigods under her illusion, she was able to successfully do so for everyone, except for one... X.

Although it was potentially because she was not able to have visual contact with him due to his meditating state, she also knew that there was a possibility he was aware of her ability and simply did not allow her to do so.

The demigods continued to spectate after a few more seconds as Tyler managed to pick himself up from his fallen state. His pain was clear as he gradually got up before moving his right shoulder and elbow, which was pointed out, in a circular motion to slightly ease the pain of the shot.