Grace of An Elder

Chapter 34

The master gave the signal and the two males charged one another with surprising speed. The force shock caused by their bodies colliding was enough to reverberate through the floor. Many of the spectators grew overly excited to finally see a "good fight". Although U'kuid was the largest in the group, T'ahrou was arguably the best fighter.

The dueling warriors stepped to the dance of death, each unleashing a barrage of violent punches and kicks to the other. Their forms were graceful yet powerful like that of a dancer, accompanied by the deafening roars of pain and rage as they tore into each other.

After several minutes T'ahrou drew his combistick while U'kuid unsheathed his gauntlet blades. Now each was blocking the other's attack until Dahdtoudi noticed U'kuid lose stable footing. T'ahrou must have noticed as well because he used his weapon to sweep his opponent's legs from beneath him. U'kuid became desperate as T'ahrou dropped on top of him in an attempt to make the finishing blow, and at one point he nearly threw the smaller male off of him.

U'kuid managed to land several punches to T'ahrou's face until a sickening SNAP was heard, and T'ahrou let out a deafening roar. Dahdtoudi flinched slightly but never looked away, not wanting to seem weak in front of the other competitors. Her heart sank as she watched T'ahrou struggle to keep the upper hand and blood ran down his face and over his left eye, U'kuid reaching for the other in order to blind him.

Before anyone knew what was happening, T'ahrou unsheathed a large dagger from his hip and cut off his opponent's hand, earning an animalistic screech from the being as fluorescent green blood gushed out onto the floor. Another moment and he used the blade to slash into U'kuid's throat. The blade tore through tough skin, muscles, tendons, nerves, and veins until it detached on the opposite side. The building fell quiet as U'kuid lay limp against the ground, T'ahrou breathing deeply as he knelt above his fallen prey.

He unleashed his own defiant roar in the face of the dead Young Blood before rising to his feet and letting loose once more in a display of victory. The crowd reacted in an equally intense manner, causing a commotion so loud one would be unable to hear themself think.

Dahdtoudi looked around her; only three pairings remained. As U'kuid's mangled corpse was dragged away, the system chose the next match. This time it was two smaller females going toe-to-toe. They were evenly matched in skill, strength, and all around physical prowess, and after nearly an hour, the fight ended in a draw as both competitors collapsed from their injuries. Then she saw it: her name in red alongside that of Bhihtu.

Dahdtoudi moved to stand, looking around at her counterparts until she noticed the male staring back at her from behind his own mask. She had watched him spar several times, but she was not familiar with his tactics as she was with T'ahrou's. As the two fighters made their way to the center of the arena, Bhihtu let out a ferocious, threatening growl which the human was quick to reciprocate. The crowd grew silent as they sat on the edge of their seats in anticipation for the coming show. Daih'kea tensed as she took a deep breath with Zaiyu at her side. Tah'kath sat toward the front near the Ancient as he wished a silent prayer on his daughter.

The master gave the signal and Bhihtu lunged for the girl's throat. She dodged easily which only frustrated the male. He unsheathed his gauntlet blades and used one hand to slash at her throat while sending the other toward her abdomen. Again she moved out of the way and Bhihtu let out a fierce snarl. She was making a fool out of him now.

He began to close the distance between them and Dahdtoudi drew her combistick from her waist, extending it to its full length. She swung the weapon at the right side of his head only to switch directions and attack the left side while he tried to block the right. When the metal made contact with his bio-mask, his head snapped to the side as he stumbled ever so slightly. The human then used the weapon to knock him further off kilter before quickly placing the combistick back in its designated spot.

Still leaning heavily to one side, Bhihtu reached for the girl again and she used his arm as leverage to swing her legs up and around his neck before swinging the rest of her body around his shoulders and down to the other side, using her weight to topple the male further. They both crashed against the floor of the arena, Bhihtu's head colliding harshly with the cool, grey metal. His bio-mask detached from his face and Dahdtoudi swiftly jumped to her feet before lightly hopping back from his collapsed body. He lay there for a moment, and the room was just as still and silent as when the fight began. Finally the male began to shift on the ground as a deep guttural growl rumbled through his body.

Dahdtoudi took a slow, cautious step back as she retrieved the dagger from her thigh. The sensation of the custom grip in her palm brought some ease to her mind as it was the only weapon that fit well in her hands. She was comfortable with this weapon, and if it all worked out, she would end the fight with it.

Before she knew what was happening, Bhihtu turned onto his side before returning his bio-mask to its former position on his face and set the laser sights on her armored chest. The plasma burner whirred to life and raised to meet the bright red target displayed in the middle of her chest. Daih'kea was one of the first to cry out in rage and her daughter leapt out of the way, tumbling to the side with lackluster grace.

The plasma burst missed her body by mere inches, and she couldn't manage to lower her heart rate as her adrenaline began to skyrocket. Another blast rang out and about half of the crowd along with most of the Young Bloods were making known their displeasure at the blatant disregard for the rules. Dahdtoudi knew she had to disarm the plasma burner, but she couldn't risk getting too close, and Bhihtu would be able to dodge a ranged attack with little effort.

Another shot fired off and despite her attempt to move out of the way, it clipped the left side of her bio-mask and the force of the blow knocked her to the ground, her vision going black as the roar of the crowd faded from her ears.