FRIDAY APRIL 16TH 2021 ; ATTACK ON THE ARMORY
PANTHER HAS CHALLENGED ENIGMA TO AN ACE FIGHT.
This had not been the easiest of paths to take.
Mallick was stilled by the silence that subtlenly fell around them, they took turns facing Thaggard and his guards. Once he was facing the Ace, one of his comrades reached over, and the handle of a heavy weapon was passed from their grip to Mallick’s. He held on tight, his senses on the edge of something he’d only felt once before. When he’d been faced with his wife’s murderer, and the choice to avenge her or to let it simmer until the moment was right. The choice to take a life had never been one so heavily weighed in his mind prior to the tragedy that struck in his life.
Because the choice had never crossed his path before hands, or had any right to be there. Fighting had always been to gain leverage, to become stronger, not to spill blood. At least not with the hands of the man he’d been raised to become, despite the wilderness of the faction where he’d been born. Mallick had never thought he’d ever let the scale tip from not ever considering taking the life of someone else being the worthy choice, to not even thinking twice about whether it was the right thing to do or not. His logical senses had decided that if Saiyah’s life was worth nothing to all, then the lives of all would be worth nothing to him. The radicality of it had struck him somewhere in between his last kill for the resistance and the fifteenth year of her death. His reputation had suddenly made it too easy for him to not consider that to keep those they considered antagonistic alive.
Right now, Mallick was feeling like the last time he’d slid in the chambers of a target in order to make sure they never saw another morning. He felt dangerous, even to himself. The man standing before him, the guards behind said man, they might not be able to tell, and quite frankly if not for the way he was gripping the handle of the heavy blade weapon tightly, but firmly and without a quiver in his fingers, Mallick would not have been able to tell himself, which side of him was tilting the scale tonight.
At least the Gods seemed to have been lenient when it came to protecting Thaggard and his men. It suddenly seemed as if they were weighing for Mallick to lose senses of not doing what was right by spilling blood, like he’d tried to think it was possible to do to solve this issue. As if they were whispering to him, with the fortune wheel of this operation that it was the worthy choice. Mallick advanced, the blade of the weapon dragging on the ground, and drawing with it a cloud of dust, lost in the shadows of the night.
“Thaggard,” He said the name of the man, and hoped the silent threat was taken as lightly as it sounded, he hoped it was taken with the idea that it weighed nothing more than that of a feather, “The man who has managed to make a fool out of me, for believing you a capable Ace for our people.”
Mallick had had hope, after all. Foolish, always treacherous, hope.
Kol regarded him with narrowed eyes that matched the air between them, everyone else seemed to understand that something was shifting. The wind was not present, yet the air carried something akin to a sleeping storm, ready to rise and wreak havoc on whoever risked themselves to reach between the two men facing each other. The tension would cut straight through a vein and leave one bleeding without any hope of remaining alive.
“Your faith is not something I seek, you’re nothing but resistance scum!”
Of course, the man looked to have no remorse for the accusations Mallick had towards him in his eyes, and in the way the men around Mallick moved forward with him. Instinctively trying to tighten the circle around Kol and his guards. They let Mallick take a step further without moving though, this time Kol’s guards were the ones moving forward, as Mallick raised his weapon with a slow movement. The axe was heavy, the pointy side of it looking up to the sky, the sharpened blade facing Kol as he spoke gravely.
“This resistance scum that I am, would make a better Ace.”
To that Kol moved with intent too, his narrowed eyes turning into a frown. He looked menacing, and Mallick much prefered the idea of fighting him when he knew the man he was going to fight was the exact idea of the type of men meant to be taught a good lesson. The kind of lesson that might require them to raise a white flag, or choose between taking Mallick down or being the one erased from the map.
“Are you challenging me?”
However, when Kol asked this question, it hit Mallick of where his position and his words were taking him inadvertently. A position that he understood as soon as Kol’s words reach his side of the fence, Mallick realized he didn’t need to turn around to know that his men were waiting for him to confirm his answer in an affirmative tone. He didn’t need to take a look around to know what he’d said had clearly sounded like he was going to take the title of Ace away from Kol, and if he’d said so without thinking with his choice of words, it meant that he’d suggested that he’d be the best man to take that title away from Kol.
To do so, would also mean that Mallick would then wear the title.
He stood a little transfixed by the way this event was transpiring, unexpected turns after unexpected turns, and here he was, at a crossroad, where it seemed the gods had once again made him speak in a way that he’d never anticipated. Mallick had always despised the way they had to surprise him at every turn in his life, these surprises had been growing in shock value, and in how they would change the path he’d been content to be on, too comfortable to leave, rather drastically. Almost as if they were never content when he was, as if they preferred him to always be shifting his gear, getting ready for the next mountain to climb.
As it was, Mallick never seemed to fail in letting them take the lead in his life. At times because he had no choice, at other times, because the choices he was given would all lead to the same outcome.
So it was with great resignation that he sent a small prayer to Saiyah’s soul, as he lowered the weapon to the ground, only to slice through the earth and raise it, creating its own wind as it was lifted and held with both of his hands.
“If that’s what it takes to stop you, then I am.”
Kol too, found a fighting stance, a grin stretching his lips, almost from ear to ear. Clearly, the man was taking a sick pleasure in how things were turning out to be. Whatever the reason behind it, Mallick cared none.
“I will take pleasure in taking your miserable life, and watching you suffer while I do so.” Kol’s fists took turns hitting the opposite palm, before one of his guards reached over to throw him a sword. The size of the weapon was not going to make Mallick underestimate his opponent, both men had lived long enough to be adept at handling themselves in any type of fight. He was going to assume he had to fight like he was going against the most barbaric of all fighters, because surely, Kol hadn’t managed to undertake the previous Ace by being a terrible warrior. Although, to see his guards step forward, as if to join in the battle that Mallick had assumed would be only one on one, made him question the integrity of the man. He didn’t have to worry about them though, his own men moved as well, showing signs that they would not hesitate to take down any and all of the guards. Arrows were quick to shoot in front of Kol’s guards as well, making them take a step back.
If it made Kol look more morose than before, Mallick pretended to not grin at it. Once this was all done and over, whatever the outcome, he knew he would have done all he could, in the name of the one person he would always love more than this life itself.
Everything would always be for Saiyah.
Kol roared, and launched, he sounded heavy, he sounded feral, as if the beast in him had corrupted the rest of his mind. As if even though it was hidden under the skin of the man he appeared to be, it was still the most prevalent aspect of his existence. He roared and charged and forced Mallick to step back. It made Mallick lose his balance, for quick seconds that would be crucial if he stayed put, but he was agile as the panther that laid dormant in him and slid his feet in the dust, turning to move to the left before Kol’s sword reached his head and risked splitting his skull from above.
The strike that came next was Mallick’s move, but Kol was not hit, his sword was raised to counter attack and in doing so, the blade broke under the power of Mallick’s swing. Kol’s roar this time came from even deeper within his chest and Mallick knew before the dust dissipated to show the transformation, that the sound of the metal falling to the ground had announced that his opponent was opting to shift during the fight.
Mallick would not do so, especially not after seeing the bear moving through the cloud of dust, now cleared up enough for him to be able to catch sight of the charging animal before it reached him. The earth seemed to tremble, Mallick seemed to scramble with ease but it took a great deal of effort to roll away from the bear’s attack. The animal stood on its rear hinds, and let out a few growls before looking for its prey again. Mallick this time was holding his arm out for the people behind him, so they could move back.
He would not take anymore deaths with him, not tonight, not by the hands of this enemy.
The bear fell back on all fours, and once Mallick had a clear window and the advantage of speed over strength, he ran with his weapon raised, and he heard his own voice raising the dead as he charged with the intent to harm. The head of the bear turned to the noise, but Mallick would not stop in his hunt to carve through its flesh, and so he finished his sprint and slid right under the animal as it came for him, under its belly was where he found himself slashing a wound.
It made the animal growl, and topple down for a few seconds. But Mallick had to catch his breath, unable to move further, he rose while leaning on the weapon, the sharp end of it lodged in the earth. Mallick used it as a cane to find himself back on his leg, standing and trying to gauge the damage he’d done. But it seemed, despite the bloody mess it left as it rose back to attack, the animal was still standing strong and charging. It effectively took Mallick by surprise, crashing into him and making him drop his weapon to the ground as the head of the bear sent him flying right into a wall. Mallick’s skull felt displaced, his surroundings turned foggy and distorted, a piercing sound made its way through his ears, and for a few seconds, he was both blinded and deaf. All he could perceive was the smoke of dust left behind by the animal, the wound the bear carried did have it catching its breath after the attack on Mallick.
So both opponents were panting, Mallick holding his head down, and kneeling in the sand as he tried to get himself back together. It was an arduous task, the one who would recover first might be able to land the fatal blow. The victorious strike, and fortune seemed to smile at the animal, because the bear, panting as it was, was suddenly moving towards Mallick who still hadn’t managed to get himself back on his feet.
The urgency of the moment was not lost on him, despite his head aching in places he never knew existed. But Mallick kept stumbling as he tried to get up, he kept hearing himself, his own voice and that of Saiyah, chanting in the back of his ringing like the dead’s mind, get up, get up. Mallick tried with all of his might, he felt he might scream through the num feeling that was keeping him nailed to the ground, and he did, he screamed with all the strength and willpower he needed to get out of the way before the bear’s claws, swinging in the air and aiming for his head, managed to slice through him.
All it did was make him move weakly forward, right by the side of the weapon he’d been forced to abandon. But to have escaped the full force of the bear’s claws, did not mean he was left unscated. Mallick could feel a burning sensation of slashed skin, cut flesh, of blood dripping against his skin, right under his chin, he raised his fingers to touch where the claws had not managed to cut too deep. He’d moved away just in time, but not fast enough, and he still felt groggy.
Mallick had a moment of wonder, to think about what he could be grateful for, if this was to be his last moment on earth. Of all the things he could have said to the people he loved, as he knelt, one knee in the dust, the other with his hand on it, his other hand blindly grasping the handle of his weapon. Mallick’s head was lowered, the fog behind his eyes was not clearing, but his breathing was catching up, steadying. The words he was thinking he should have given to Saiyah before her death, and the ones he wanted to give to his loved ones still alive; they were clogging his mind, and making him unable to focus on anything else but the pumping of blood to his head. The rush of it felt like the whoosh of the wind right before the rain was about to come forth.
The way it held itself still in his lungs, and Mallick loved taking a big inhale of it, waiting for the rain to fall and wash away Saiyah’s blood from his skin. Mallick couldn’t think, but the wood in his grip was solid, and the whisper of death was familiar, everything tangible in the metallic scent of his own blood made him zero in on one thing only. The pounding of the animal’s rage coming forward once again, this time, Mallick knew he would not be able to dodge. He’d lost too many precious minutes, he wouldn’t escape it, if he did not raise his weapon to make sure the bear did not reach him.
This time, Mallick knew it was going to be him or Kol.
If it was up to him, and only him, Mallick might have let himself finally find out what laid beneath the whispers that death constantly slithered against his throat. Past the boundaries of a life he still cherished, despite its crucial missing component. But the silence was deafening, the bear’s paws was filling in his ears, the ringing was enraging and Mallick was suddenly lost in everything else but the stillness of time. He was moving with the rhythm of the racing bear, his legs wobbled slightly as he rose, but his throat held the cry of the night he’d always sworn to carry.
For Saiyah, and all those who like her, had never had anyone fight for them. Mallick rose, and took the weapon with him, when the bear was close to his skin and throwing his paws, reaching with his claws, he swung the only way he could in his position, his kneel turning his body and in turn making the weapon swirl in his hold. Mallick heard more than a slash this time, the blood splashed, the splattering sound it made was drowned out by the sputtering of something less animalistic, and more human. He wasn’t certain of where exactly the fatal wound landed, but he knew it had because of the gurgling noise he could hear from behind.
Mallick had had nightmares of that sound, the way one could choke on their own blood, as they perished, and how the flesh was more mush than tight elastic. He knew without looking, that the bear was no longer there, and Kol was the one falling on the ground. Mallick could not look, all he could do was blink at the dust in his eyes, the sweat mixing in and irritating his sight. Mallick could only take one last breath in, before he was toppling over and meeting the ground beneath him. Although, he did not do so without the sting behind his eyes confirming that his tears had managed to once again, come forth with the familiar touch of death, once again caused by his own hands coming to greet him.
Two bodies laid on the ground, one with no sign of life, torn clothes from the shift.
The other holding on by a threat, with blood, sweat and tears pooling in the sand.
Each party was quick to move to gather their leaders. Mallick was held by a man, thrown over a shoulder as they each silently accepted what had needed to be done had been done. Those who would mourn, were quickly left behind as the vanguard retreated back in the shadows, the escape made easy by the distraction of the Ace’s corpse turning into more of a preoccupation than the resistance’s presence, or how he came to die.
One could only wonder what kind of day tomorrow would turn out to be.
