Blind Phoenix

Piteous Occurrence

Byur found himself in the arena again, facing up against the strange yellow creature from before. The announcer was the same one from the fight he had with James.

            “Hello everyone, once again we welcome you to the grand OWL arena! Today is the semi-finals of the first section of the beginner’s tournament. The victor will advance to the finals and rack up another win for their record. Today we have Byur fighting Yuig.”

            Yuig was in the red corner with a disgusted expression, walking restlessly. He held himself higher than all of his opponents; he had won all of his fights in the second round by submission. Before dispatching his adversary he always played around with them to give them a false hope of victory. Many martial artists noticed this and were still unable to prepare themselves. His intimidating stare and demonic face were uniquely terrifying

            “In the red corner we have Yuig! He currently holds a record of 10-0-1. He is fighting out of the planet called Zine, weighing in at 65 units. Byur is in the blue corner. He holds a record of 1-0, this is his second fight. Byur is fighting out of Earth and weighs in at 41 units. Let us see how he fairs against his new opponent!”

            Yuig pressed his teeth together and shouted at Byur in a strange language before spitting blue saliva onto the floor. He beckoned Byur with his gigantic finger.

            The announcer looked at the spit, saying, “Um! Please clean that up…”

            Yuig stomped on his spit and spread it until it was gone. “Vermin!” He yelled with a distorted and booming voice.

            “Keep your words to yourself unless you want a point deduction. Are you both ready? Fight!”

            Byur neared the center of the arena and raised his fist as a friendly gesture. Yuig inhaled through his large nostrils loudly and began to attack without returning the action. His attacks were heavy, but slow.

            Byur then said, “Ease up, dragon face.”

            Yuig fought with his claws and his palms, a very dangerous style to be hit by. The thing to be wary about, though was his fire breath and long legs, they seemed to reach his adversaries from unbelievable distances at deceptively high speed. The two fighters were evenly matched at first. They both managed to keep up the same pace of fighting and made no mistakes. Byur knew Yuig was holding back, this worried him due to the fact that his 90% was only able to keep up with Yuig at seemingly less than 50%.

            “Run little man! I will reveal to this entire crowd the futility of this fight.”

            As their blows connected they seemed to get faster. Byur didn’t plan on letting up and neither did Yuig. The creature sent his leg flying towards Byur, who was pushed back considerably. Yuig took a deep breath and a red aura surrounded him. His body expanded slightly and a bulge in his neck appeared. He expelled a substantial flame at his opponent. The young martial artist was able to block it with his arms. In order to prevent any real damage, Byur created a barrier of fire around himself that seemed to suck in all the power the flame of Yuig had.

            “Absorbing my own power? Pitiful.”

            “If you don’t mind, let’s get right to it. Show me your real power.”

            Yuig stood up straight and began to laugh. “Fine, but do not think I don’t know about your little powering up skill. I’ll be winning this by submission. You won’t get back up, fool.”

            Even if Byur was able to recover from a choke or submission, it would be of no use. Passing out or tapping due to a submission counted as a loss.

            “If I take him by surprise,” Byur thought, “I might be able to end it now.”

            Byur gathered his energy, his muscles increased in mass. For someone with his energy level, his aura was violent and large. He began punching Yuig and was met with a sturdy defense. He looked for an opportunity and found it. He enveloped his fist in energy flame, pulled it back and launched it into Yuig’s right thigh. Yuig fell onto his damaged leg, but before it could touch the floor, Byur’s knee connected with his head.

            The announcer yelled in surprise, “Ladies and gentleman this is the first time we’ve seen a punch to the thigh like that!”

            Yuig fell back, saying “You…”

Byur took the chance to grab onto Yuig’s head protrusion and released a large energy blast directly in front of his face. The energy covered Yuig’s entire face; it seemed to do minimal damage. Despite this, he fell flat onto the ground, unconscious just as the bell rang.

            “It would seem Yuig is down! He has less than twenty seconds to get up or it’s all over for him.”

            Byur’s friends were cheering for him like they did last time. The crowd went ballistic; most of them thought Byur had no chance. With eight seconds remaining, Yuig was able to get on his feet. He was visibly harmed and angered. Both fighters went back to their corners and waited impatiently for the second round.

            Maria congratulated Byur, saying, “That was smart. No one has been able to damage Yuig that much. I’ve never seen a punch to the quadriceps before.”

            Byur nodded, “I always wondered why in fights no one ever went for the leg, it’s so vulnerable.”

            Lynn flicked Byur’s ear, “Don’t get overconfident. The only reason you got that is because it’s so unexpected. You got lucky, so don’t rely on it.”

            The minute for resting was over, the true battle began now. Yuig covered himself in fire and circled around Byur. He displayed an incredible amount of speed, 112 km/h.

            Maria said “That’s impressive, I haven’t seen a technique like this before…"

            As everyone watched, Yuig grew faster. In addition to circling around Byur he began to form a square pattern right inside the circle.

            Byur had a worried look on his face. He turned his head attempting to keep his eyes on his opponent. “Attack me already”, he thought.

            The alien disappeared; he and his flames were gone. He was nowhere to be seen. Even the crowd had lost sight of him. Byur released a powerful shockwave across the arena. The result was again, nothing. He heard the sound of fire. It was rapidly becoming louder as he frantically looked around. In no time at all a fist came crashing down onto the top of young man’s head. His eyes became white and remained open as his flaccid body fell down onto the canvas.

            “Yuig has knocked out or newbie fighter via head strike. I don’t think Byur will be getting up from this, folks. He’s down for the count!”

            Byur’s eyes regained their color and he placed his hands on his head in pain.

            “Ten seconds left!” yelled the announcer.

            Byur was covered with his special orange aura and was able to arise. Yuig gave him a look and Byur knew that Yuig expected him to get up.

            “Yuig…you realized a possible weakness of my rising phoenix, didn’t you?”

            “Of course. The more sudden the knockout, the less time your body has to work its magic. You wanted to drag this out, didn’t you? Hah, what a foolish boy. The next knockout will be ultimate.”

            “You’re right. The problem is you won’t get another knockout.”

            Yuig threw his head back and laughed an insulting laugh. “Fine then, I’ll just have to submit you.”

            Byur closed in on his adversary and threw a barrage of kicks and punches. A straight kick to Yuig’s chin launched him into the air. Byur teleported a few meters above him and landed an elbow onto his stomach, causing Yuig to discharge a small amount of clear liquid, presumably his blood. Byur attempted to get another shot in but his arm was grabbed. The large creature punched Byur and gave two swift head kicks.

            The young man backed up and created a clone of himself as he descended to the hexagonal arena.

            “What’s this? Running away?”

            Byur sat down and concentrated his life force. He pumped it into his ordinary energy reserves in order to gain enough power to keep up with Yuig. His clone was able to buy him a minute of time. It was just enough for Byur to have a chance at winning.

            “That’s pitiful, human. You can’t even beat me with your own strength. Does that not frighten you?”

            “It does. That’s what fighting is all about.”

            “I’d ask you what you mean by that, but the words of filth have no meaning to me.”

            “That’s fine.”

            The fight began again; the two martial artists were at the same level. Something was different, though. As the fight progressed Yuig started to lose energy. On the other hand, Byur’s power increased very slightly over time.

Yuig tackled Byur onto the ground and instantly transitioned to an arm bar. He tugged at Byur’s left arm with everything he had in him. His veins were pulsing as his grip became tighter. Yuig pushed Byur away with his crossed legs and raised his hip. His hands began to lose control, nearly allowing Byur to escape his grasp. The young man pumped all of his energy towards his arm and was able to literally throw Yuig off of him. Yuig hit the barrier of the arena and slammed onto the floor.

            “You grey-haired b***h,” he snarled “fight me like a man, charlatan!”

            Byur readied himself to charge and a moment after this the bell rang.

            The announcer cheered in joy, “Amazing, simply amazing. This is by far the most entertaining fight of the year. Both fighters are giving it their all. Yuig’s movements and effort are absolutely flawless while Byur is showing an excellent amount of prowess and speed. This is the first time a fight with Yuig has gone all the way to round three.”

            The creature’s team was baffled at his inability to submit Byur. “Koli yag yiv vico!”

            “I could have won? That’s all the advice you’re going to give me?”

            “Listen. There is no way we are going to lose a fight against this amateur. Use every single hidden move you’ve got and end it right now. Tyer ni Ramok, pray to Ramok!”

            After a wait that seemed to take an hour, the third and final round had begun. Yuig stood up, shaking from the accumulative detriment of the last two rounds. Both fighters took their stances and stared each other down. Their stares made those watching uncomfortable. One wanted to kill and the other wanted to dominate the fight.

            “You’re the first one to ever show me a good fight," Said Yuig, "although; there are much better fighters in this world which I plan on surpassing. I won’t lose to an insect such as you.”

            “I would say the same to you. You’re on a completely different level when I compare you to James. You will be my second stepping stone for killing Tenno.”

            Yuig raised an eyebrow, “I mistook you for at least a rational ignoramus. It seem I was wrong, and for that, only that, I will say I am sorry.”

            He levitated into the air and span around constantly while charging flame onto his body. Yuig did this until he became a spinning top of fire. He incessantly flew after Byur, bouncing from wall to wall as he spewed fire from his arms. He then immediately gathered all the fire into a sphere and hurled it at Byur. The young man once again created a barrier of fire which barely held up. The sphere finally penetrated his defense and was able to cause a small amount of damage. Yuig took the chance to attack him with combinations, this time using his knuckles to punch. The strikes were strange, he only tapped Byur with them and each time he did a strange clicking noise was heard.

            Yuig backed off and took a strange stance. “Watch the birdy!” he said as he raised his pinky and ring finger. His fingers sent a small ball of energy flying towards Byur, it grew smaller as it got closer and vanished.

            Lynn and Maria were taken by surprise. They were considered veteran fighters yet neither knew exactly what that was.

            A flash of light was seen and several dots could be seen on Byur. They were giving off a faint, red light and made a gentle ringing sound.

            “I win”, said Yuig as he frowned.

            He clenched his fist and all the dots exploded in unison. The arena floor cracked under the sudden pressure, it was not built for taking anything other than beginner’s techniques. A large cloud of red smoke appeared, denying sight to any who tried to look inside it. Yuig flew into the air, out of the mist and fanned a small flame towards it. As soon as the fire connected with it, an even larger explosion than the last followed. The ground quaked as hundreds of tiny explosions covered the arena. The barrier almost broke under the pressure. As a minute passed the announcer closed her agape mouth and said, “It seems we have a problem here. We will have a team sent in to clean up the smoke so the fight can continue. Please wait.”

            Maria turned to Lynn, saying, “This is bad, that was the greatest thing I’ve ever seen a new fighter do. Byur could have died from that.”

            “I doubt it. I think he lost, though," said Lynn.  "There’s no way in hell I’d be able to get up after that if I was at his power level.”

            “I hope he’s alright, we just met not too long ago. It would be really devastating if we lost him this early. Nico finally found someone he liked, too…”

            “Not to worry, I can feel his energy, he’s still up. This red fog kind of disrupts energy readings.”

            As several men and women in suits entered the perimeter of the arena, they cleared the fog with special equipment meant to deal with lingering forces like the creature’s red mist. The smoke cleared and in the middle of the arena was Byur, bloodied and shaking. He was barely able to keep himself up; he had used the rest of his energy to defend from that attack, if he had not, he would have died on the spot. He clenched his teeth together and he looked above at Yuig.

            “This fight isn’t over, freak.”

            “You’re right, it isn’t.”

            Yuig darted down onto the arena, Byur couldn’t keep up. By the time he lifted a limb to strike, Yuig moved behind him. Byur spun around to kick him, but his foot was caught and pushed down. Immediately after, Yuig stepped up close to Byur and said “Now you see me”. He placed his left hand behinds Byur’s head and finished his sentence “Now you don’t.”

            Yuig devastated Byur with his attack, he had aimed for the eyes, with two fingers he pierced into them, leaving two large holes. Everyone watched in horror as Byur backed up, holding on to his eyes. They were bleeding profusely as he was screaming in pain, his cries of pain caused many around him shudder. The pain he felt was just as bad as what Tenno had done. It was excruciating enough to bring the young man onto his knees.

            “That is why you do not disgrace my name, to think you thought you were going to win. This way your hands will never touch me again.”

            The crowd yelled profanity at the alien, Byur’s friends were speechless and fear-stricken and Yuig’s team could not believe what they were witnessing.

            “No way…” Said Lynn.

            The referee said loudly into her microphone as she entered the arena, “You have disobeyed one of the most vital rules of these fights. You will be taken into custody by the Intergalactic Order to receive your punishment, guards ta-“as she nearly finished her sentenced Byur screamed at her, “No!”

            He pressed his hands onto his bare eyes and burned them to stop the bleeding; holding in his screams which came out as near silent whimpers and moans. He let out one final yell.

            “I’m sorry. We have to stop the fight.”

            “No, you don’t. Please…Give me…some bandages.”

            The announcer’s face grew confused “But sir, we cannot allow this go on.”

            A man from Yuig’s corner walked into the arena and handed Byur a roll of bandages and some gauze.

            “Give the man his wishes, I beg of you. The planet of Zine will not endorse the actions of my fighter.”

            Yuig questioned his ally, “What is the meaning of this? Do not help that bug.”

            Yuig’s ally walked out of the arena and set his eyes at the young man.

            “Ok” said the announcer, “There’s a minute left on the clock, but I’ll give you as long as you need. This is no longer a sanctioned fight."

            “Perfect…” Byur said, trembling.

            Byur took out a small capsule of medicine and ingested it before applying his bandages. His energy shot up and returned to an even higher level than before. He stood up and faced Yuig; it was the same as before, he saw only outlines. The pain was still substantial.

            “You want to fight me blind? Hahaha, you really are stupid. I will certainly kill you this time.”

            Under the bandages Byur had a menacing face that would have intimidated anyone, regardless of strength.

            “You want to cheat, huh? Then I’ll do the same, I’m back at 100%.”

            “Yeah, and?”

            Byur’s aura constricted and began to make a booming sound and shook the entire area. It was uncontrolled. Byur could no longer choose how much of it he discharged. “I hope you’ve brushed up on your language as much as you have mine, miscreant. You’re about to be talking to your ancestors really soon.”