Where? (Sinbad)

8. The True Victor

Drakon hit the ground with a painful thud. Eve flinched slightly as she looked at the dazed and half-unconscious Drakon, her eyes showing nothing but pity for the man. Sinbad turned around to face the djinn, ignoring the green-haired man on the floor. Eve's eyes widened as she noticed the slight twitch in Drakon's fingers. Before she could call out to warn Sinbad, Drakon's hand shot out, harshly grasping Sinbad's ankle and pulling himself up, fist raised and a new kind of fury behind his eyes.

Drakon's fist collided with Sinbad's cheek painfully. Eve winced for him, she knew it'd hurt and definitely leave a mark. Sinbad's face lulled back, his eyes widening in surprise. In the blink of an eye, Sinbad's fist caught Drakon's and they both fought at a near standstill, each one waiting for the opportunity to strike. 

"I cannot afford to lose here!" Drakon yelled, a fierce determination in his voice. "For my country, for my king, and for my deceased subordinates. I definitely will not!!"

"Same here," Sinbad replied, pushing back against Drakon's attempt to overpower him. "I have reasons I can't lose too!" 

Eve watched in anticipation as Sinbad shifted his weight onto his right foot and his left swung out, kicking Drakon in the gut. A muffled groan escaped Drakon as Sinbad continued to punch and kick him relentlessly. Eve was worried that Sinbad might kill him and was tempted to step in, but one look from the djinn quickly discouraged her. 

After what felt like hours of watching Drakon get repeatedly beaten by Sinbad, Sinbad stopped. His breathing was shallow as he panted, trying to catch his breath. His right arm was loosely hanging down, his hand still curled into a fist from his last punch to Drakon. Eve noticed the blood dripping from his knuckles and the amount of red marks that coated his forearm. They were surely to turn into painful bruises and marks.

"How's that?" Sinbad spoke between breaths. "Drakon, that should make you stay put for a while."

"No..." a weak voice called out as Drakon's hand clenched the ground beneath them. "Not yet... I'm.. not done yet!"

Eve almost wished that he'd just stay down, the fight was clearly over. Drakon was horribly bruised and beaten, if she thought Sinbad's injuries were bad, Drakon definitely took the cake. A yellowish tint around his eyes combined with the swelling, Eve sighed, knowing that the black eye he was soon to be showing would hurt like hell. On top of that, is cheeks were swollen from the numerous punches he'd received, his lip was clearly busted, and there were too many cuts on his face to count. She was impressed he could even see with his injuries, let alone try to keep fighting. It almost made her feel bad for him, though she understood that he must've had his reasons for wanting to fight, to that extent, she respected him.

"Very well," Sinbad spoke calmly, but Eve noticed the tinge of angered determination behind his tone. "If you say so, I'll defeat you with all I've got!"

Drakon pushed himself up from the ground, his arm wound back and his hand balled into a fist. Sinbad readied himself for the attack by raising his own fist. Eve leaned forward slightly as Sinbad's fist hit Drakon's face dead on. Eve cringed at the quiet sound of something cracking and preferred not to think about it.

Drakon stumbled back, but managed to not fall, instead holding himself up while his arms dangled at his sides. More and more blood was running down his face, some even covering up his eyes, but he carried on nonetheless. 

"I will grab hold of this power and become strong. Then, I'll return to her side. Therefore..." Drakon looked up furiously at Sinbad. "I can't lose!!"

A pained look of empathy crossed Sinbad's face, but it was quickly replaced with an equal amount of determination. Eve had no idea what was going through either of their minds, but she imagined it had to be something they both valued dearly.