Enlightened Violence 67

Chapter 67: abrupt conclusion

"Blood for Macha!" Arden exclaimed as the bell rang, throwing one of his axes at Link as all useless thought evaporated from his head, only the call for carnage and the battle cries of his ancestors remaining. 

Link, who looked like he had something to say, had no choice but to swallow his words and dodge as he ducked in a hurry, but it wasn't over yet as Arden merely threw his other axe upon noticing the first one missed. 

Link's body started strangely, twisting and turning as he dodged the other axe by a hair's breadth, the flying weapon almost grazing his side when he did so. 

And despite his quick movement, he was still left with no breathing space as Arden finally closed the distance and lunged in his direction, his two fists conjoined in an attempt to crush Link into the ground.

However, Link was still fast to react, taking a step back as Arden's attack hit the ground instead, sending shards of concrete flying into the air that slightly hindered Link's vision as he had to look away or risk his eyeballs getting poked by them. 

Not one to let of such an opportunity, Arden tensed his legs and jumped off the ground, flying towards Link from a short distance, not unlike one of his trusty axes.

Link looked back just in time to see Arden flying towards him, but he didn't have time to react, or so it seemed from the spectator's perspective. However, his movement suddenly sped up, and he spun around to avoid getting his abdomen mauled by Arden by an inch. 

Link's maneuver gave him full access to Arden's defenseless back as the latter flew past him, and he capitalized, immediately swinging his dagger at Arden's back. 

But he was surprised to see one of Arden's axes flying right back to his hands as the bloodthirsty barbarian caught it and threw it in his direction from a weird angle that would have been impossible for any other person. 

Link didn't have the time to dodge this time, so he settled for the next best thing, changing the trajectory of his dagger in an attempt to divert the axe's flight path away. 

He managed to do just that. However, he didn't expect the power behind the flying axe, losing balance and staggering several steps backward. 

That gave Arden ample time to regain his stance and retrieve his second axe, and he was breathing down Link's neck again before the latter knew it.

The fight ensued in such a manner that the two fighters would trade blows, reset the distance between them for one reason or the other, and then charge each other again.

However, with every trade of blows, the fight's pace became increasingly more heated and fast as Link began displaying more and more of his strength and speed while Arden just got stronger and quicker the more he fought. 

Some spectators even became unable to follow the two fighter's speed with their eyes, astonishing them and prompting them to speculate whether these two monsters even had a limit to how strong they were, but that was neither here nor there.

...

'He's still not showing me what I want to see...' Kaden thought to himself with a frown as he spectated Arden and Link's fight. The latter showed more of his speed and power, but he still didn't display any special abilities Kaden didn't know about already. 

'At this rate, I might have to make a bullshit excuse and fight him myself if he won the tournament... maybe that way I can finally force him to reveal more of his abilities,' Kaden shook his head with a sigh after giving it a second thought. 

If it comes to that, Kaden would have to fight seriously, exposing his true abilities, which wasn't worth it in the grand scheme of things. 

He had been debating whether to kill Link and get rid of this source of constant headaches, but he always came to the same conclusion; such an act would be both dangerous and dumb. 

Link was one of the original game survivors. 

And despite not being as popular as the others, such as Vilhelm, Arden, Briar, and even Clark among the Phoenix Wings, he was still rather respected, so killing him was bound to raise a few eyebrows. 

And that wasn't all, as Kaden wouldn't have hesitated to get rid of him if that was the case because he could always cover up Link's death, one way or the other. 

The only reason Kaden didn't act on the urge to snuff out the troublesome bastards was out of caution as to what kind of backer Link had and how much the sad backer valued Link. 

Forget Link's backer Kaden didn't even know as much as he would've liked to know about Link's abilities and intentions, leaving him unable to decide the best course of action while taking a wait-and-see attitude. Something Kaden hated with all of his being.

'I might be overthinking this too much... if all else fails, then I'll openly confront Link after the tournament to get some answers.' finally having decided on a course of action, Kaden visibly relaxed, feeling slightly foolish for not coming to this conclusion earlier. 

Confronting Link was more than likely the correct thing to do in this case, as Kaden would finally get the answers he's been seeking if Link cooperated, and if not..., then he would have an excuse to kick Link out of the Phoenix Wings and be rid of him.  

That way, Kaden wouldn't piss off Link's backers, which is something Kaden didn't want to do since he had no idea about their intention (whether or not they were friendly) or capabilities (whether or not they could crush him like a bug).

And he wouldn't upset the original survivors since he would have a valid reason for kicking the troublesome bastard out of the Phoenix Wings. 

Most of the original survivors didn't know what Kaden knew. 

And it would be more than easy for him to make them believe he kicked Link out instead of killing him out of respect for the bond they shared after surviving the game together or whatever bullshit he'd come up with on the spot.

However, it seems Kaden was so focused on his thoughts he almost missed the conclusion of the fight, as a wave of energy suddenly snapped him out of his reverie, bringing his attention back to the ring.

Arden and Link were standing in the middle of the ring, staring at each other with solemn expressions, the former radiating an almost tangible aura of bloodlust. Meanwhile, a much milder and tamer form of energy lazily began rising from within Link's body.

It seems that Link had finally met his match, forcing him to show some of the abilities he was guarding so jealously from everyone. And just as the two fighters tensed, preparing to lunge at each other for what looked like it would be the last time..., a loud buzzing sound interrupted them. 

A tall purple line suddenly formed inside the ring between the two fighters and began expanding, creating a purple, swaying circle with small light particles flying inside it. 

Arden immediately regained his wits and recovered from his battle frenzy, his aura of bloodlust immediately disappearing as he looked at the phenomena in front of him.

Link looked at this and heaved a sigh of relief, resuming his sheepish, smiling expression as he watched the circle grow bigger and bigger until it was large enough to accommodate a fully grown man.

"Everyone prepare yourselves!" Kaden exclaimed as he stood up with a frown. "We might be under attack!" he added, materializing his trusty baseball bat and gun as he jumped into the rig, followed by Vilhelm and Briar. 

Kaden immediately pointed his gun at the phenomenon as soon as he landed on the ring. Vilhelm shifted into an enormous, gigantic bear as he landed, growling and glaring at the purple rift. 

Briar followed suit as she transformed her arms into metallic blades, crossing them in front of her chest, an eager smirk on her face.

The other phoenix members, including Awut, Morana, and Kai, immediately rushed towards the ring as well, surrounding the rift as they prepared themselves for a fight. 

Suddenly, a leg appeared from inside the rift, followed by a muscular body as the owner of the body stepped through the portal, revealing a middle-aged face full of scars. 

He had black hair, cut in a perfect short tomahawk, and a well-groomed beard that complimented his macho appearance, giving him the presence of a street thug, despite his neat clothes suggesting otherwise.

"My oh my, what a warm reception," the man said with a smile as he tried to take a step forward, only to halt, raising his hands as Kaden appeared in front of him, pointing a gun at his head. 

"No need to worry, young man," the man said in a pleasant tone while looking at Kaden. "I work for the Old World Republic, and I'm only here to ask some questions..."