Chapter 9 - Razan vs The Golem - Part One

Me and Tetsuo stood before each other. Not a single word being exchanged between the two of us. I didn’t know what to say, what to do? To find out that the person I was stabbed by, the very reason I’m in this mess, stands right before me. I could kill him right now and get my revenge, and even save Grace at the same time.

Revenge?

The thought certainly was crossing through my mind. I even had a good extra reason shaped like a ‘37’ placed right on his cheek. But then another thought hit me.

“You were supposed to be in prison,” I stated, clenching my fists around my sword and shield. “The Goddess showed me. So why are you here?”

Tetsuo said nothing. He looked genuinely remorseful, yet at the same time. This wasn’t a situation that could be fixed with ‘I’m sorry.’ Finally, after what felt like eternity, he began to speak.

“I never went to prison; I ran into the woods. I couldn’t take it anymore, the thought that my sister's life was over, my life was over, and I even killed you to boot. Sure, I didn’t mean it, but. We both know there is no way an apology is gonna fly.”

How odd, he didn’t seem to be lying. Yet it contradicted what I knew about the world I left behind.

“The Goddess showed differently, did she?” Elowyn interrupted my thoughts. “Of course she did.”

Then, did everyone really suffer like she said she did, or…

Was I being led along by the Goddess?

“No time to think, sensei. The Goddess said we must kill each other to win. Don’t worry, I wanted nothing more than to fix my mistakes. To bring you back to life and make everything ok again. So at least you won’t stay dead for very long.”

Steel began to morph its way over Tetsuo’s head once more. He cracked his metallic knuckles; it was a wretched hollow sound that filled throughout the town and maybe even the nearby woods.

Suddenly, I felt the ground shift underneath me. I was moving? No, I wasn’t; it was the ground, pulling me closer and closer. I instinctively called for my shield and blocked the incoming punch.

I felt my entire body begin to shake from the blow; my organs felt like they were liquid jelly. My shield felt unbearably heavy. I decided to fire it at Tetsuo, who simply deflected it.

“Magic doesn’t work on me, sensei. I already showed you.” He swung another punch, and I blocked it again. However, this time, I knew I needed a different approach; I couldn’t sit and take punches forever. Even with the shield, I felt his power was too much.

“Sword!”

The power I felt from the transfer of shield to sword was nothing I have ever felt before. I lunged towards Tetsuo, and with a single swing, I sent him flying. I knew he wasn’t dead; however, it seemed I sent him far away. As long as I blocked hits when I could and switched to my sword as necessary.

“Not bad, Sensei!” Suddenly, Tetsuo shot forward, propelled by the ground. I swung again, but this time a shield of dirt formed from the ground, blocking my strike. He punched through it. If I didn’t have such a fast reaction speed, I likely would have been hit and would have been rewarded with a head removed from my shoulders.

Instead, I ducked and jumped back.

It wasn’t enough. My power, increased, was not enough, and I could feel the burst of energy begin to dull. I knew I didn’t have much time left.

“Damn it, that was all I could do. Elowyn, you should run. I’m afraid I might not be able to win this one. His powers are too strong.”

However, Elowyn simply scoffed. “Throwing in the towel already, you haven’t even used your third ability yet.”

Huh?

“Third ability? What are you talking about? All I have is my sword and shield modes, and energy storing.” I asked her. Tetsuo is slowly making his approach, a quick one. If there was something she knew, I hoped she would explain fast.

“Both of your opponents so far have had three abilities. For Lorelei, it was the increased agility, her blowpipe’s tracking, and the variety of poisons she had. For Tetsuo, it looks like he can manipulate the world around him, including making substances like metal, dirt, and rock into thick armor. In order for it to be practical, he needs to have increased strength and durability. Alongside magic invulnerability.”

The explanation seemed to make sense.

“Then, I can switch from primarily a sword and shield, I can store energy and fire it back, and I should have one more power.”

Elowyn nodded. “Exactly. I bet if you found that last power, you would win this battle. No pressure, I’m sure you’re smart enough to figure it out.”

Figure it out, the objective was almost painfully simple in theory. However, I had experimented with this weapon for years and found no evidence of a new ability.

“Easier said than done, but I’ll see what I can do.” I switched back to my shield and charged, I dodged, and I took blows. Blocking everything, all I could do was buy time for my brain to work out the answer.

“I figured you would be stronger, Sensei. What was that motto you always had?” Tetsuo asked after landing another blow. All I could do was distract him by firing more shots at him.

“A real man does what he can and tries his best,” I repeated.

“I tried my best, I did what I could to protect my sister, and that led to people being hurt,” Tetsuo admitted. He swung another punch at me, which hit a nearby house, as I dodged, causing the entire building to be obliterated, and shards flew in every direction. “I didn’t want to stab, but I was desperate, I just ran, I forgot about the knife in my hand.”

For a brief moment, he stopped fighting, as did I. A thought came to mind as I mulled over his words.

His sister, I remembered. I remembered a time long ago at a staff meeting.

A week before the stabbing

“Tetsuo never showed up again.” I sighed. The teacher's office seemed awfully cramped today as staff hurried around to deliver papers, head to their classes, or to get ready to supervise club meetings. “You know, Fukuoka-san, I don’t think he takes his studies seriously enough.” My tone was that of complaint.

“A real man does what he can and tries his best.” Suguru Fukuoka, another teacher around my age, repeated my line. “You could say there are some days when he does try his best.”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked, looking up at him. Holding a poorly written and likely plagiarized paper written by Tetsuo. I found it hard to believe he tried at anything that well aside from skirt chasing.

“I saw him earlier this morning; he was mowing little old Kojiko’s yard. Some days that’s what he’s doing, other days he fixes stuff, ever since he was little, he had to be the responsible one.”

I contemplated what he said for a moment.

“Yet he still gets into trouble, not to mention there’s that little gang he runs. I suppose I can understand where he’s coming from now. Still, I didn’t get that impression from him.”

“That’s because he bottles his struggles inside. Every hit he takes, he lets it in, and never shows it. Go a little easier on him when he shows up next to class.” With a pat on my shoulder, he turned to leave. I looked down at the paper submitted and wondered if he had half-assed it or didn’t have enough time to write it.

The present

“A week before the stabbing.” Tetsuo began. “I received a call from the hospital. My sister was sick, her heart was failing, but if I paid the money, I could get an experimental surgery done to fix her. She would be ok.” He chuckled bitterly. “But it was more than I could ever make in my life with the work I got.”

“So I began to extort people, rob people. Then you came along, I was scared, if I was caught, the money would be confiscated, the police maybe even be called. It would be over, she would die, and all of it would have been for nothing!” He shouted a bit more angrily this time.

“I did what I could.” Tetsuo’s tone and expression looked bitter.

It was time for the battle to continue.

“So hate me all you want. I killed you, and a way for me to fix all of it has presented itself. I just win this competition, and that’s that. I could fix everyone's lives, I could fix mine, yours, my sisters. Anyones.” Tetsuo pleaded as he swung wildly, his punches more easily dodgeable as his emotional state worsened.

“Just die already!” With tears in his eyes, he made for another punch, I blocked. My shield is now getting very heavy once more. My whole body burned with pain and regret. I’m sure he felt the same way.

“You could have told me, or someone else. You didn’t have to do those things, but you did. You let your pride get in the way.” I explained. “I have my own regrets, hell, I’m sure everyone in this competition has some. Perhaps you’re also used to relying only on yourself; maybe you should rely on others, too. You need to stop blaming your circumstances for what you did.”

I would have been dead if I hadn’t had Grace, Elowyn, or any of the other people in my life.

“That’s why I offer you my hand, maybe we could team up. Win the games together. We can fix all of this, but perhaps I can never truly forget what you did. You’ll always live with the crimes you committed, even if I understand why you did them.” With that, I extended my hand.

Tetsuo froze, for a solid moment, and it looked like he even considered what I was saying.

“You’re right. I can’t keep blaming my circumstances for who I am; I made those mistakes when there were other solutions I could have taken. Maybe it is too late to fully erase them, but I can atone.” Tetsuo admitted. He extended his hand, and for a second, I thought he would take mine and shake on it.

“But, not with you.” He rejected my hand, gently moving it down.

“You will have to kill me, sensei. Better now, than later on down the line when it’s just the two of us.” With that, he swung again, and I blocked. Magic began to spill out from the shield, and the ground itself moved slightly.

The magic stored in my shield is the opponents. Maybe, just maybe. The third power really was something I had to make for myself. Because if there was one thing I was good at, it was getting help from others.

“I think you really opened my eyes now, Tetsuo.” I thanked him then and there because of his words. I would never have figured out that I can do this.

Instead of pushing the magic outward, I pushed it inside. I allowed Tetsuo’s magic to flow through me, and I felt pain. Intense pain, maybe this was a mistake? However, I also began to feel stronger, different.

Elowyn, seeing all this, I could tell she was smirking. I had found it, the third ability.

The earth itself moved around me. I’m not sure how long it would last, but for now, I have it, an exact copy of Tetsuo’s own ability.

To be continued.