Aka woke up and, following his daily routine, went to the training grounds and blended into the crowd again. But because of the Great Exam, the crowd was almost a third smaller than usual. The talk he'd had with 29 yesterday had brought him back to himself, and he was ready to work hard again to get stronger — but this time, things would be a little different.
Aka slipped out of the crowd and stood in front of Number 257 — the boy who had treated him badly when he first arrived. Aka had already forgotten about that incident, but 257 definitely wasn't going to have a good time today, because for the first time Aka stepped into the field wearing full armor and gear.
When 257 saw this, he knew something bad was about to happen, but he pretended not to care and grabbed a straight sword and a light armor set from the pile.
This would be the second time in his life Aka fought someone with a weapon — and the first time against someone using a sword. But after the Great Exam he had realized something important: while he was mid-level in unarmed combat, the moment weapons came into play he was basically a beginner. If he wanted to improve, he had to take this risk.
Aka waited until the boy fully equipped his armor. As soon as he did, Aka rushed in and tried to corner 257 — and it worked. Caught off-guard by the sudden pace, 257 blocked Aka's spiked-glove punch with his armguard and avoided taking damage, then counterattacked with his sword toward Aka's shoulder.
Aka dodged it with a small step to the right and swept his leg, knocking 257 to the ground. Then he drove each spike of his gloves into both of 257's knees, pulled them out, and stepped back — he didn't finish him off.
257 thought Aka was pitying him, which only made him angrier. Even though he could barely walk, he charged again — but Aka easily dodged his sword and punched him with the non-spiked side of his glove. 257 finally collapsed. Honestly, considering how tired he already was from the previous fight, he had held on pretty well.
While Aka waited in the arena for his next opponent, a thin boy stepped forward. His number was 23, and although he wore armor, he didn't appear to be carrying any weapon. Aka had seen 23 fight before — he would dart in and out with fast steps, then sweep the opponent to the ground and finish the fight by kicking their head.
Aka warned him to take a weapon and said he wouldn't hold back. But 23 replied arrogantly, "Don't worry, I don't need your mercy — or a weapon — to beat you," and rushed at him.
Because Aka already knew his fighting style, he felt confident. As 23 approached, Aka pretended to retreat — then suddenly lunged forward. Caught completely off-guard, 23 couldn't dodge the punch. Since killing was forbidden, Aka always avoided striking someone's face with the spiked side of his gloves.
23 staggered back from the blow, but Aka didn't let up. He dove forward, grabbed 23's legs, and threw him down. Just as he was about to use his now-signature move — driving spikes into the knees — 23 suddenly threw a hidden dagger straight into Aka's left arm. The pain stunned him, giving 23 just enough time to escape and land a powerful kick to Aka's head, sending him crashing to the ground.
Aka absolutely hadn't expected that and got caught completely unprepared. As he lay there, 23 kept kicking him — but Aka didn't give up. When he saw his chance, he grabbed a kick and drove a spike into 23's leg. This time it was 23 who was caught off-guard, and although he pulled back quickly, his steps were clearly slower now.
Objectively, 23 was now at a disadvantage — his trick and his best weapon, his legs, were damaged. But Aka was also far from fine. The kicks had shattered his balance, the dagger had injured his arm, and he had placed a restriction on himself: he would not use his own daggers or throwing knives.
The fight continued and both of them were finally back on their feet. This time Aka attacked first, closing in and throwing punches. 23, though not relying much on his arms, still knew how to fight with them and blocked as best he could — but the spikes still cut into him.
Realizing things were going badly, 23 gambled everything on one final move. He rushed in as fast as he could and tried to sweep Aka from extremely close range, forcing him to fall to his knees. But the kick was too weak — Aka didn't fall. And since 23 had come so close, Aka simply beat him until he passed out and sent him flying.
Even though he was badly injured, he had won his second fight — and he was still standing, ready to use every dirty trick and technique he knew to win a third.
After 23 was dragged away, Number 32 stepped forward — lightly armored, dual daggers in hand. Aka already knew 32's fighting style, and had even beaten him once before without equipment.
Because he was exhausted, Aka wanted to end the fight as quickly as possible and charged at 32. But 32 simply waited. When Aka threw the first punch, 32 dodged and in one swift motion stabbed Aka's arm and withdrew the blade. Now both of Aka's arms were injured.
But Aka didn't retreat. He tried to sweep 32 — but 32 dodged that too, and this time stabbed Aka's leg before quickly pulling back.
Objectively, at this point it looked like Aka had no chance. 32 was ahead, uninjured, and he wasn't even pressing the attack — because he knew dragging the fight out only benefited him.
Aka's whole body hurt. He could barely punch, barely walk. The only part of him still fine was one leg — but he already knew exactly what he was going to do.
He rushed forward again, slammed into 32's stomach, and grabbed him. Afraid he might actually die, 32 only managed to stab Aka once — but Aka didn't faint, didn't fall. He threw 32 to the ground and pinned him down.
Desperate, 32 began stabbing wildly with his remaining dagger — anywhere he could reach. But Aka didn't stop. He kept punching him with his spiked gloves. For both of them, that minute — or maybe even less — felt like eternity.
In the end, both of them passed out. The Healer rushed from the crowd and began treatment. Aka's entire body was drenched in blood from 32's stab wounds — it looked like his skin had been painted red. 32 was in better condition overall, but his stomach and chest were in a horrific state — bones exposed and broken. With the Healer's ability, the shattered bones turned into energy and reformed, then the flesh regenerated. 32 slowly returned to normal. Aka had already been healed and lay unconscious on the ground.
The fight was over — but its impact wasn't. The crowd couldn't stop talking about the battle between Feral and 32. No one looked at Aka the same anymore. Even those who still thought of him as a rookie had no choice but to respect him now.
I really enjoy writing these deadly fights — and they're important for Aka's character development, so there will be more. If you read or even just skimmed this, thank you so much. And if you have any thoughts — good or bad — please don't hesitate to leave a comment. I'll probably see and reply right away. Have a great day!