Chapter 9: 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 Kairo was too weak to move past him.

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, he sent the ball flying past the guard's view before he could react. Kairo 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, skirted, and countered with hook-grabs, almost yanking the stick from the guard's hand. This sent the guard toppling onto his face with a heavy thud.

Kairo ran past him, dribbling the ball for another winning goal. His Holy Mother Cross swelled with a yellow light, making Kairo's aura glow momentarily bright. But he didn't notice the pendant's magical power coursing through him to make 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 had zigzagged, slid, and leapt over the attack to resume his ball dribble.

"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 irately at the top of his lungs, rushing for the man like an insane, speed demon.

His aura swelled with the Holy Mother Cross's magic power again, which gave more fuel to his sprints so he could 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 let out a triumphant laugh 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 he was surprised by Kairo's endurance. 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 man's energy had returned to the same level as when they had first started. That first time, he was able to score a goal because of the man's ignorance. This time the guard was playing with awareness and showing some serious skill and focus.

Things weren't looking good for Kairo, yet this didn't deter him. He had to win, so it was the only focus he kept in his mind despite the aches and tiredness he was feeling. Kairo was surprised that he hadn't burned out yet. It was the first time he saw a glow around his cross pendant, and wondered if it was magical. He had no time to think other than strike a goal.

Kairo went for a goal. The crowd let out a mighty roar when the guard did some fancy footwork to dodge Kairo's stick attacks. Their sticks clashed with heavy thwaks and taps, and solid threats of making them break. The guard was able to steal the ball from Kairo with a back-hand pass. He ran it all the way 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 the Hockey rules, he would 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." He wiped sweat from his brow and some spittle off his mouth with a sweatband. "I can do this."

Kairo refused to give in. His life was on the line: losing wasn't an option.

He tossed the ball down and began his run, choosing to run the ball at the wings for distance rather than engage in close plays.

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

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

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

His mind quickly 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. With swift reflexes, he skidded to the side and swung his stick to hook the man's right ankle. With a mighty pull, the man lost his balance and fell on his face. Kairo stole the ball and did a mad sprint for his opponent's goal that was a good 50 yards away.

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

Kairo heard his challenger come at him from behind: the ground vibrating from the man's stomps. But his confidence soared when he pushed the ball into the goal to earn him a point.

"3:1. I can do this." He panted for breath as the guard took the ball for a new play.

A new play began between the guard and Kairo, but this time a countdown clock magically appeared midair before them.

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

Kairo felt his adrenaline sore through the roof. If he could last that long and at least score one more goal he would win with a crushing defeat.

Their play was desperate and intense, with the ball almost going into a dead zone at times. Kairo had made mad dashes each time to save it. But this gave the guard more opportunities to score a goal.

The trash-talking fell to silence as their 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 was feeling an instant drop in his energy: the acute burning ache in his legs to slow him down. He guessed that any magic boost his pendant gave him was now exhausted. He had to win this goal. There was no other option.

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 his limits to fight the guard fiercely for the ball.

Their sticks clashed vehemently to make their arms shake with jarring pain, but neither were willing to give ground.

Kairo felt his heart beat and breathing begin to slow with time, as he felt his mind and body aching beyond exhaustion. The guard was also feeling tired by this combat challenge that was pushing him to his limits.

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, and put up a fight to win it back. Their back and forth play had the entire stadium enthralled who saw this last play be like a battle to the death.

Back at the stands, Genie had returned to his spot next to Jan and Lady Bluesteed to watch the match. No one had ever seen a combat match like it before, and it was making the crowd go wild with cheers and heavy betting. The trial was certainly bringing on the entertainment.

"That runt is giving the guard a run for his money! 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.