Combat Trial

Kairo kept his eye on the beefcake guard as he dribbled the ball with his stick toward the goal-net.

"Weak fodder. I doubt you can get one foot past me." The guard laughed, certain that his opponent was too weak to pass.

Kairo, however, smirked with confidence. He back-tapped the ball, positioning his stick for a mighty whack.

"I'm gonna win this. I haven't forgotten being a critical member of a national winning team. Let's go!"

With a skillful strike, Kairo sent the ball flying past the guard's view before he could react. He swiftly gained ground, running the ball toward the goal.

The crowd went bonkers when he slammed it into the net for a score.

His opponent's arrogance and ignorance of the game had left him vulnerable, a weakness he had eagerly exploited.

The guard rushed madly toward him, swinging his stick to land killing blows.

But Kairo had faced such plays before. He expertly jumped, side-stepped, and countered attacks with hook-grabs; almost yanking the stick from the guard's hand.

The force made the guard topple onto his face with a heavy thud: he grumbled, spitting grass and dirt out of his mouth.

Roars of laughter and the charged energy from the stadiums empowered the guard's determination to get his revenge.

Kairo laughed as he sprinted past him, dribbling the ball to make it go whoosh-thack into the net for another winning goal.

His Holy Ama Cross swelled with a yellow light, so his aura glowed momentarily bright. But he didn't notice the pendant's magical power going through him: making his plays harder with greater speed, strength, and focus. He only felt this boost as an adrenaline rush with a warm sensation.

The guard caught up, understanding the game mechanics better. He swung his stick in an arc for Kairo's ankles but missed.

Kairo zigzagged, slid, and leapt over the attack to resume his ball dribble. His heart beat in time with the fierce tap-tap his stick made on the ball.

"Not this time!" The guard roared as he skidded before Kairo to wrestle the ball out of his grasp, and run it toward Kairo's goal-net.

"Don't you ever touch my ball, Beefcake!" Kairo shouted, rushing for the man like an insane, speed demon.

His aura swelled with the Holy Ama Cross's magic power, which fueled his sprints to catch up to the guard.

His stick made a loud whoosh as he swung it at the back of the man's legs to yank him to the ground.

"Grab my ball again, I'll whack your melon until it's a two-liter smoothie!" He bellowed triumphantly as he stole the ball and ran it to the challenger's goal.

"Pfft, what balls, you squeal like a girl." The guard stomped after his trail, like a mad bull huffing and puffing with steam.

"And you trash talk like no girl would ever want to date you." Kairo smirked as he increased his sprint to win a goal.

The guard was starting to feel his legs ache and with bruises, which wasn't pain he couldn't handle. But Kairo's endurance was a surprise. The man was proving a tougher opponent than he first thought.

"To underestimate the enemy is a sin." He ran a finger along his hockey stick to empower it with his magic. It glowed and sparked with charged electricity before resuming a normal state. He swallowed a pill to restore his energy. His mind slipped into a focus.

"Hmph. Cheap tricks." Kairo huffed as he passed the ball for the guard to start another run.

This time challenging his opposition's goal was a lot harder. The guard's energy had returned to his starting level. That first goal was because he took advantage of the man's ignorance and arrogance. This time the guard played with awareness, showing serious skill and focus.

Things weren't looking good for Kairo, yet this didn't deter him. His focus on the win kept his body moving despite the aches and tiredness he felt. It was the first time he noticed his cross pendant's glow, and wondered if it was magical. He had no time to keep wondering. His focus remained on landing a goal.

Kairo went for a shot at the challenger's net.

The stadium stands trembled with the crowd's mighty roar when the guard did some fancy footwork to dodge Kairo's stick attacks.

Their sticks clashed with heavy thwak-taps that made them shake and spark with signs of breaking.

The guard stole the ball from Kairo with a back-hand pass. He ran it across the pitch to slam it into Kairo's goal.

"Two to one." Kairo huffed, feeling the bruises to his thighs. Fortunately, his shin pads were still intact to block serious blows.

But he didn't know how long the match's time limit was for. If the trial was following Hockey rules, he'd need to endure for 60 minutes. He doubted there would be quarter-time breaks.

"He has pills to regenerate his energy. I have to make my lead bigger so he can't catch up." Kairo wiped sweat from his brow and spittle off his mouth with a sweatband. "I can do this."

He refused to give in when his life was on the line: losing wasn't an option.

The ball dropped before Kairo's stick, he began his run, choosing to keep to the wings for distance rather than engage in close plays.

"Hah! You are showing your cowardly streaks." The guard felt cocky and empowered by what he saw was a sign of weakness.

In truth, keeping a distance ensured Kairo could study the man's tells better.

"As I thought." He scoffed, feeling cocky at what the man inadvertently showed him.

His mind sketched a play that he could make for his goal.

The guard rushed for him like a charging bull to take a clean shot at the ball and Kairo's ankle.

Kairo's eyes narrowed when he saw that the man always raised his left foot when he went to take a swipe with his stick. He did a wide side-step and swung his stick to hook the man's right ankle and yank it back, the man lost his balance and fell on his face.

"Eat dirt beefcake!" Kairo snickered as he sprinted with the ball for his opponent's goal, which was a good 50 yards away.

"Don't think you can outmatch my speed, Runt!"

The guard sprinted behind Kairo, with fierce stomping that turned up grass.

Kairo's confidence soared when he pushed the ball into his challenger's goal to earn him a point.

"Three to one. I can do this." He panted for breath as the guard took the ball for a new play.

A countdown clock magically appeared midair before them.

"Five minutes!" The guard was outraged that there was little time to catch up.

Kairo's adrenaline soared through the roof. If he could score one more goal he would win with a crushing defeat.

Their play was desperate and intense. The ball almost rolled into a dead zone a few times and was saved by Kairo's desperate blocks, which returned it to the playing area. It gave the guard more opportunities to score a goal.

The trash-talking fell to silence as the men's focus intensified to the ticking clock's countdown.

The crowd was on the edge of their seats when the guard scored another two goals to bring the totals to a tie.

Kairo felt an instant drop in his energy, and an acute burning ache in his legs slowing him down. Any magic boost his pendant gave him was now exhausted.

His mind raced through treasured memories of his time in his room, his parents' faces, old job, school friends and old teammates. They were all the things he'd leave behind should he die because of this match.

"NO! I refuse to give it all up!" He pushed past his limits, fighting fiercely for the ball.

Their sticks clashed vehemently, making their bodies feel jarring pain, but neither were giving ground.

Kairo felt his heart-beats and breathing slowed with time, as his body was beyond exhausted.

The guard felt drained. This combat trial had pushed him to his limits. It made him rethink his impressions of the alien.

Their sticks clashed to steal the ball.

Kairo would win the ball and run it a few yards down the pitch only for the guard to catch up. He fought aggressively to win it back.

Their back and forth play had the entire stadium enthralled, who saw this desperate play like a battle to the death.

Back at the stands, Genie returned to his spot next to Jan and Lady Bluesteed to watch the match.

He'd never seen a combat trial like it. The intensity was making the crowd go wild with cheers and heavy betting. Kairo and the guard were certainly bringing on the entertainment.

"That runt is giving the guard a run for his cash! You can do it, kid, hook his freaking leg off!" An old man cheered loudly behind Genie.

The crowd's roar made the benches and floors tremble with jarring vibrations when Kairo scored the match-winning goal before the countdown clock ticked over to zero.

Genie grinned with profound adoration for the earthun. Lyon's plans were becoming successful.