I stared at the masked boy, my heart racing and adrenaline surging through my veins. It was obvious he was no weakling. Anyone could tell that just from the way he moved, and yet, for some reason, I felt the sudden urge to fight him.
But I didn't get the opportunity.
"Who's dying first?!"
A man standing behind me suddenly pulled out a rifle and opened fire on all of us.
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
The rifle barked like a rabid animal, bullets tearing through the air at terrifying speed.
I dove behind a chair to my right instantly. From my cover, I watched the bullets shred through seats, metal, and flesh alike. People screamed as the gunfire ripped through the cabin.
"This guy's insane," I muttered.
Suddenly, something blurred past me. I turned just in time to see the masked boy sprinting forward.
He moved in an erratic, almost chaotic pattern, his body weaving and shifting in unpredictable ways. The rifleman tried to aim, but he couldn't get a clear shot.
Before anyone could react, the boy appeared right in front of him.
He launched a knee strike.
THUD
The man raised his rifle in time to block it—but the impact still sent him flying backward across the cabin.
My eyes widened.
Even with the block, the sheer force of that knee strike had launched the man across the floor. From the boy's speed to the power behind his kick, it was clear.
He was a professional.
The rifleman slammed into the ground, rolled, and sprang back to his feet. With a roar, he threw the rifle away and lunged forward.
SWISH! SWISH!
He threw two quick jabs, both of which the boy dodged effortlessly. As the man prepared a third strike, the boy spun into a roundhouse kick.
At first, it looked like the kick would miss.
But then I realized something.
It wasn't his foot that was meant to connect.
It was the blade attached to his boot.
The kick was so smooth and precise that I almost missed it.
THWACK!
In an instant, the man's head was severed from his body. Blood burst from the neck in a violent spray as the head rolled across the floor. I'd seen blood before but I'd never seen a head roll across a cabin floor. My stomach turned, but I forced it down.
"Ahh yes!! The gore, audiences love that!" Edward shouted, pointing the camera at the masked boy with a twisted grin.
From his speed to the precision of his movements, the boy was clearly dangerous.
Then, as the headless body collapsed, a tiny drop of blood splashed onto the boy's forehead.
Though I couldn't see his face beneath the mask, his reaction was immediate.
"Arrgh!" he yelled, panic suddenly replacing his calm demeanor.
He quickly pulled out a napkin from one of his many pockets and wiped his forehead, then sanitized his hands with a small bottle from another one of his pockets.
It was so funny that I almost couldn't hold back my laughter.
Then he turned to me, clearly saying with his eyes that I was his next target.
Without hesitation, he lunged at me.
I was still lying between the seats, so without hesitation, I rolled, and sprang back to my feet just as his kick sliced the chair I'd been hiding behind clean in half.
At this point, I didn't question his motives. This was life or death. No one had a reason to kill anymore, it was pure chaos. The exam proctor had made that clear.
If I wanted to pass, I had to survive.
I then raised the katana and took a stance.
"What kind of stance is that, were you trained on the streets?" he said, his tone cold and his expression disappointed.
"Just shut up and fight" I replied, smiling despite the tension.
Edward clapped his hands together dramatically.
"Wow! Two young boys, each ready to lay it all on the line. That's what I call a fight scene!"
He struck a pose, camera pointed at us like we were actors on a stage.
The masked boy and I locked eyes. Gunshots and screams continued in the background, but neither of us dared look away.
In a place like this, losing focus meant death.
Then he moved.
His speed was incredible, he dashed toward me, preparing a roundhouse slash according to his body movement.
SWISH!
I struck first, swinging my katana toward him. But before the blade could reach him, he vanished from my sight, a split second later, I sensed movement above.
He was in the air, he spun once to build momentum, he then unleashed a diagonal tornado kick. I leapt backwards barely dodged it, the blade whished passed me slicing through the air.
"Wow, the street turd is quite quick," his tone dripped with mockery.
I didn't even have time to get angry, because after that the real assault began.
He launched into a relentless barrage of kicks, each one aimed to slice me open with the blades on his boots.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
I parried desperately four consecutive times with my katana, the impacts rattling my arms. Every strike pushed me further back.
His technique was flawless. His kicks were sharp, precise, and relentless. It felt like I was being cornered by a storm.
Then—
"This should end it."
My katana suddenly snapped in half, .
It was then I noticed, he'd been striking the same spot repeatedly. He'd been weakening the blade this entire time.
And before I could react, he then launched an upward slashing kick.
I twisted my body in a desperate attempt to avoid it, but the blade still tore into my shoulder.
"ARGHH!"
Pain exploded through my arm. I grabbed the wound, squeezing it tightly to slow the bleeding.
"It seems the fight has reached its conclusion," Edward said, his tone losing its excitement as he lowered the camera. "Nice attempt at a dodge, but you're done, white-haired kid."
The masked boy approached me slowly.
"You fight like a thug, pathetic," he said. "The experience you get in those filthy streets is useless here."
He was right.
He was faster, stronger, and more skilled. There was no way I could beat him in a straight fight. But that doesn't mean I'm losing this fight.
"Sorry," I said. "Right now, experience is all I've got."
A grin crept onto my face.
In a sudden motion, I swung my hands forward, flinging my own blood into the air. Then red splashed across his face.
For a moment, everything went silent. Edward slowly raised his camera and began to record.
Then—
"WHAT THE FUCK!! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?! IT'S DIRTY!!!" he shrieked in a panicked, almost childish voice. All the aura he had seemed to fade away instantly.
He immediately started wiping his face with napkins and sanitizer.
I seized the opportunity, not giving him the chance to reset, and lunged forward.
First, a jab to the face.
Then, a left hook to the gut.
THUD! THUD!
Each strike landed with full force, sending him flying backward into the cabin wall. My arm felt numb, and the pain was unbearable, but I continued. I had to.
"Hey! That's not fair…"
I rushed in before he could finish. Grabbing his sweater, I flipped him over and slammed him onto the floor.
THUD!
"Such creativity! Such ingenuity! The embodiment of 'All is fair in love and war,'" Edward shouted. "This kid is spotlight-worthy. Main protagonist material!"
I ignored him.
After that brief clash, I knew the masked boy was dangerous. If I gave him even a second to recover, he'd turn the tables.
He scrambled to his feet, trying to create distance.
I rushed him again, driving a straight kick into his gut. He staggered backward, but even in that state, he launched a high side kick at me.
I blocked and held onto his leg in mid-motion.
Using my forearm, I struck the blade attached to his boot.
CRACK!
The blade broke.
Using me as leverage, he lifted himself into the air and struck my wound with a thrust kick, the shock of the pain caused me to release him. And in that instant, he jumped back, in an attempt to widen the gap between us, but I pressed forward, refusing to give him space.
Then we all heard it.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The plane's speakers rang out.
Everyone's attention shifted to one person.
Edward's voice crackled through the speakers. I instinctively turned, but he was gone, he must have made it to the cockpit; he left our cabin without getting either mine or the masked kid's attention.
"Alright, everyone," the microphone declared. "The first part of the preliminaries of the B.I.T.E entrance exams has come to an end."
The gunfire and screams gradually died down.
"Wait… first part?" I asked, confused.
Edward pulled out a small remote with several buttons.
"For the second part," he said with a grin, "you must survive the fall."
"…Wait, what?"
He pressed all the buttons at once.
Then it began.
BOOM!!!
Explosions erupted throughout the entire plane. The aircraft tore apart, metal ripping and flames bursting outward.
The cabin disintegrated around us, sending every candidate—dead or alive—plummeting into the open sky.
I was among them.
Wind roared in my ears as I fell, the world spinning around me.
Only one thought echoed through my mind.
I'M GONNA DIE!!!!!