The Fiery Duel

“You ready, partner?”

There were few things more dramatic than a cowboy preparing for a standoff at the top of a volcano. Arms folded over his chest, red scarf and white overcoat fluttering like flags of freedom in a dramatic wind.

I could only hope the wind also blessed me with such a dramatic flair. Sadly, I knew deep down it didn’t. How could someone my age be so effortlessly cool? Man, words couldn’t describe just how jealous I was.

The center of the volcano illuminated the area in an eerie red glow, a universal warning for all the idiots like us who dare tread near. The true danger was so far below, but all the bubbling, hissing, and dry, dry heat, you could easily imagine the magma oozing from the heart of the volcano.

A ghostly note pierced our ears.

My eyes drifted to the left, checking my surroundings. At the very edge of the peak, an older cowboy sat on the ground, his lips gracing a harmonica. The music he played was haunting, making me tense up the longer the tune continued.

Was it a haunting piece speaking of lost lives and missed opportunities, or was it a psychological trick to try to throw me off my game? Honestly, it didn’t really matter either way. I knew that honorable cowboy wouldn’t interfere with this duel.

I didn’t have the same confidence for the towering monster sitting next to him.

Its snow-white avalanche of a mane clashed with its fiery red skin. Two great horns protruded from its forehead, reaching upward as if they wanted to pierce the sky itself.

An Oni— An apocalyptic creature that hated this situation more than anyone else present.

I knew all too well that no matter how civilized it may present itself, if I let my guard down for even a single moment, it’ll strike. Not a possibility, an eventuality that loomed in the very near future. Worst of all, I didn’t have the capacity to deal with it right now, because—

“You stallin’ on me, partner?” my opponent called out to me again.

“No. I’m ready,”

In response to me slipping into my stance, the cowboy threw back the right side of his coat to reveal an antique looking revolver right out of a western movie. Six bullets rested in its chamber. Six shots of defeat.

That suited me and these two fists just fine. It’s common sense that a fist can’t compare to a gun? That bringing only my fists to this gun fight was signing my death certificate?

I’ll admit it. It is unfair. It is a death sentence.

For the gunslinger.

When I acknowledged my opponent, my vision changed. Zooming in from my peripheral vision came what I could only describe as an empty bar. It settled in the bottom left side, positioning itself as if I was player 1 in a fighting game.

I ignored the bar to instead focus on my opponent.

His hand hovered over his gun, fingers twitching every now and then. As tempting as it was to keep an eye on his hand, I kept my eyes locked on his face instead. I couldn’t let my vision betray me.

It didn’t matter how much I’ve trained so far. No man could overcome a bullet’s speed. I wasn’t incredible enough to overcome this fact of life just yet.

If I let my eyes wander, then my intentions would be as clear as day for him.

Of course, the same applied to the cowboy. Or at least it would if it wasn’t for the giant black visor he wore over his eyes like sunglasses. To figure out where he was looking or what his intentions were was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

There was only one option left for me. Instead of reacting to him, I had to force him to react to me.

I abruptly launched my upper body to the right, towards the center of the volcano. However, I kept my feet firmly planted on the ground so I didn’t actually move. He didn’t react. My first feint, failed.

I tried again, this time lurching to the left. Once again, he didn’t even budge. He was good. Most people couldn’t keep their cool enough to get through two feints. However, everyone fell for the rule of three.

I didn’t move right away, instead opting to stare into the cowboy’s visor. We stood as still as death. Our breaths mirrored each other’s. Long, deep breaths that kept our nerves calm. I could feel my muscles tensing. They begged me to rush forward, to overwhelm my enemy. But I couldn’t. Not just yet.

Time seemed to slow down as the air grew tense. That black void of a visor seemed to suck up the world around us. Sounds became muffled, and then went silent. It was deafening, maddening. We were trapped in a world of high speed reactions, where even a millisecond could make all the difference between victory and defeat.

Was I facing down a man, or was I facing down a statue? That cowboy was so still, it was unnerving. Living things were not meant to be that still. I was not meant to be this still. And yet I refused to move. If I did not wait for the exact right moment, then moving was death.

Every second seemed to stretch longer and longer. I couldn’t keep this up much longer. My mind was going hazy from this stress.

That must have been what the cowboy was counting on!

If my mind got too hazy, I wouldn’t be able to process his movements as fast. In this bubble of reaction times, even the slightest hesitation could get me killed. This was now a battle of attrition.

And then, I saw it. My opening. His fingers relaxed for just a split second, but that was all I needed.

The next five seconds completely changed the flow of this fight.

Five

I willed power into my body.

Four

My limbs were flooded with mana, ki, whatever people wished to call the energy I controlled. A brilliant orange aura surrounded my body.

Three

I lunged to the right, but didn’t move forward.

Two

He finally fell for it. As quick as a whip, the cowboy grabbed his revolver, pulled it up, and fired at where he thought I was going.

One

“Dragon Fire!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. I took a step forward, the ground cracking under my foot. My torso and hips twisted, generating more power. I threw my punch like I could reach him from so far away.

From my fist flew a blast of orange energy. It crackled with untamed power, as wild and ferocious as a dragon.

The blast hit my opponent squarely in the chest. Its destructive force threw him off his feet and carried him several feet back. I could see the bar in my vision filling up slightly with a solid blue color the moment my attack landed.

Now was my chance!

With a gleeful laugh, I charged forward. The pressure from my tense muscles finally released into explosive movement! My heart was pounding, my blood was boiling! Finally! Finally, I was on the attack!

To the cowboy’s credit, he was quick to recover. Even as he flew back, he aimed a shot at me and fired. It was such an easy shot to make. It wasn’t even like I was trying to throw him off, I was just charging ahead like a runaway train. He could make such a predictable shot blindfolded.

But that made the attack predictable as well.

Even before he pulled the trigger, I thrust my right hand forward, concentrating all the ki in my body into my outstretched hand. With perfect timing, my arm fully extended, thrusting my palm into the bullet.

A loud noise like high-pitched shattering glass came from the bullet as I parried it.

The bar in my vision filled up to about a fourth of the way after I parried. Perfect. I continued to run, willing even more power into my left hand. I retracted my right as I threw a punch with my left.

“Dragon Fire EX!” I shouted. The bar emptied as my aura turned blue. This time, a blue energy blast shot forward even faster than the first.

The cowboy only responded by firing off three shots. The first bullet connected head on with my Dragon Fire. It shattered instantly. The second bullet was close behind, and it met the same fate. The third one though… that one collided head first into my attack, and both shattered. Both attacks were negated.

That was fine though. That was five shots. He only had one bullet left. Just one more shot, and it would be my victory.

By the time I managed to cross the distance, the cowboy managed to plant his feet on the ground again. As he came skidding to a stop, he aimed the gun one more time. We were barely three feet apart, so I could tell exactly where he was aiming.

Right in between my eyes.

I ducked my head, weaving to the left. I heard the sound of the final gunshot ring out. My victory was assured!

I popped up, rearing my fist back. This one hit would knock him out, and I would win this duel. I didn’t even try to dodge as I felt him press his gun to my stomach. He probably didn’t think I was counting, bluffing to get me to back off. I wouldn’t fall for it! I wouldn’t—!

“Gotcha.” He said simply as he pulled the trigger.

A sharp heat shot through my stomach as a gunshot rang out, completely robbing my punch of its power. My arm went limp as it completed the punch’s arc. He didn’t even react to my fist landing on his cheek and sliding off.

What happened? How did he have a seventh bullet? That was impossible!

With a smirk, the cowboy opened his mouth… and another gunshot rang out. There was no pain this time. Only a begrudging respect as I realized what happened.

That son of a bitch managed to use his throat to mimic a gunshot perfectly. I couldn’t believe it. I was faked out by the human equivalent of a parrot!

“I hate you so much,” I hissed, but the respect I felt for the move diluted any venom I could possibly muster. I stumbled backwards, holding my gut. My breathing got heavy as I tried to get the pain under control. However, it was clear. I lost this duel.

My shoulders slumped as my guard finally fell. And that was my final mistake that night.

I felt a blast of wind as the oni moved across the volcano’s peak. Faster than our eyes could see, faster than the bullets from a gun. It appeared to my left, its fist mid swing.

I didn’t even have time to process the oni appearing next to me before its fist hit me right in the cheek. A loud boom rocked the skies as the earth shook from the impact of the punch.

I felt my body leaving the ground. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for gravity to drag me back down to the ground. Except, there was no ground beneath me. My sheer velocity sent me flying over the edge of the volcano.

An unbearable heat scorched my back. It burned hotter the further down I fell. I knew the danger I was in. I was falling towards the heart of the volcano, towards certain death.

I couldn’t do anything about it though. I felt my consciousness slipping away from me. In the end, despite how hard I tried, I was caught off guard. I was served defeat, and death was my only reward.

I only managed to get two words out before my vision went completely dark.

“Damn you…”