Trails - Chapter 19

Arian struck first.

He drew his left crossbow and fired a small barrage at Ajax. Ajax deployed both of his shields and blocked the shots; they stuck in the metal but didn’t go through it. Arian drew his dagger and instantly appeared behind Ajax, his blade aimed at the nape of his neck. Ajax, however, had expected him to do that.

Ajax had moved his right hand down to his side and deployed his spear into it, thrusting it behind him and it was aimed right at Arian’s heart. Arian hissed and twisted his body at the last second, avoiding a fatal wound but the spear scraped his arm. Ajax spun around, deployed a sword in his left hand and slashed at Arian. It collided with his fur and bounced backwards, leaving him undamaged.

Arian seemingly teleported away from Ajax and stayed close to the ground, his eyes carefully following even the slightest of movements that Ajax made. He felt where Ajax’s blade had cut through his t-shirt and confirmed that it hadn’t broken through his fur with his fingers. Satisfied, Arian shifted his full attention back to Ajax and slowly stood fully upright.

While Ajax’s sword hadn’t broken through his fur, his spear had cut through the skin on his shoulder, meaning that he could be damaged by Ajax’s attacks if he wasn’t careful. For all he knew the spear could have been covered in poison and, even with his kind’s naturally strong resistance to all kinds of toxins, he could’ve been killed.

Arian ran faster than a bullet towards Ajax and slashed at him. Ajax blocked the slice with his shield but the impact was enough to send him skidding back a few metres. Arian then ran to Ajax’s left and sliced, then his right, then behind him, and then back in front of him and yet, every time, Ajax blocked it with his shields.

Even though it was impossible for Ajax to keep up with Arian’s speed, Ajax had noticed something about Arian’s overall fighting style throughout the Tournament; he didn’t rely on techniques or tactics, just his raw power and speed, and that made him easy to predict. Ajax knew that Arian would strike at his sides after attacking from the front, and so he moved his shields to the sides after the first slice and then behind him.

Arian’s power and speed was greater than his, but his simplistic approach to combat allowed Ajax to keep up with him to an extent.

Each blow from Arian still hurt like hell and Ajax’s shields had almost been torn to shreds, but he hadn’t been defeated and that was what mattered.

Arian leapt into the air, threw his knife at Ajax, and then drew his other crossbow, firing endlessly at him. Ajax dropped onto one knee and raised his shields to block the bolts, but a few snuck through the gaps in his shields, cutting through his mech’s armour and the skin beneath. Ajax bit his lip hard to prevent himself from screaming and glanced slightly over the top of his shields at Arian. He landed gracefully, the ground cracking beneath him, and then ran at Ajax, tossing his crossbows aside and reclaiming his dagger.

Arian went for an obvious slash from the front and Ajax rolled beneath it, hitting Arian’s legs and upsetting his balance. Arian stumbled forward, awkwardly spun on his heel and threw at kick at Ajax. Ajax blocked it with his arms but he went flying from the blow, rolling roughly across the ground, breaking one of his shields.

Ajax quickly stood back up and waited for Arian’s next attack.

Arian, however, was kneeling on the ground, his frustration evident on his face and a nasty look in his eyes.

Good, just a bit more and I can do this! Ajax yelled in his head, steadying his stance.

For Ajax to successfully land a hit on Arian with his Silver Sword, he needed Arian to do two things.

Firstly, he needed Arian to know that Ajax’s swords were useless against his fur and he had proven that with his regular sword earlier. Now that Arian knew that Ajax’s swords didn’t do any damage to him, it meant that he wouldn’t be as wary of them and thus he wouldn’t be as cautious of Ajax’s Silver Sword as he normally might have been.

Secondly, he needed Arian to be emotionally compromised and think only with his anger. Arian had won all of his fights just by overpowering his opponents with his speed and raw power, meaning if he couldn’t win just by relying on that, it would make him frustrated and lash out.

If he did that, Arian was bound to make lots of mistakes and create lots of openings for Ajax to exploit.

Ajax needed Arian to attack him recklessly and quick enough that he wouldn’t be able to escape Ajax’s attack, even if he figured out it was silver.

Come on, take the bait!

Arian stood back up, grasped his dagger more tightly and zoomed towards Ajax.

Ajax deployed the Silver Sword into his right hand and raised what was left of his left shield before him. As Arian drew closer, Ajax lowered the shield, leant his body back to dodge Arian’s stab and slashed at Arian with his sword, aiming for his chest.

Just before the blow hit, Arian’s eyes widened when he realised that the blade was different before.

However, it was too late for him to properly avoid it.

Arian arched his back as much as he could and the sword ripped through his fur, into his skin and a spew of blood erupted from his chest.

The Werewolf howled madly, kicked off Ajax’s chest and leapt dozens of metres backwards, blood still pouring from his chest. He grasped it and, for the first time in the entire Tournament, he looked scared.

Ajax’s sword had cut through his fur.

It didn’t, however, kill him.

The cut wasn’t deep enough and, more importantly, it hadn’t reached any of his vital organs.

If left untreated, the wound would kill him but Ajax didn’t have that sort of time to wait for him to bleed out.

He discarded what was left of his shield, deployed his crossbow and fired an explosive bolt at Arian, then ran towards him. The bolt hit him, engulfing him in a cloud of black smoke and fire, and Ajax went to thrust his sword through it, hoping that Arian would be too dazed to stop the attack.

However, that wasn’t the case.

A large furry hand reached out of the smoke, grabbed Ajax’s wrist that was holding the sword and squeezed it tightly, breaking it and squishing his hand into a puddle.

Ajax screamed madly in pain and stumbled backwards, blood pouring relentlessly from his wound and he felt faint as he looked at the amount of blood that he was losing.

“Ajax Amory, let me say this,” A deep, beastly voice said, a large wolf’s foot stepping out of the smoke. “You are the first person to have ever made me transform into my Wolf Form. I congratulate you for doing so. However.” A twelve foot tall Werewolf stepped from the smoke and snarled at him. “This is as far as you go.”

Arian’s Werewolf form was covered in beautiful silver fur which glistened in the sun with sinister yellow eyes glaring at Ajax, looking at him as if he was a prey being hunted. His teeth were over an inch in length and sharper than any blade Ajax owned, and his body was incredibly muscular.

Ajax’s was too scared to even move.

Against a Silverback Werewolf, Ajax didn’t stand a chance against him, not even with his Silver Sword.

Arian howled to the heavens before slashing with his claws across Ajax’s chest. They broke through his armour and tore through his flesh, dragging pieces of it with them. He then dug the claws in his foot into Ajax’s ribs, pushing them out of his back and pulverising Ajax’s heart.

I…guess this is as far as I go, Ajax thought, a small smile creeping on his lips, even as warm blood trickled from his mouth.

“While you did not triumph against me, it would not be wrong to ever say that you won here, Ajax Amory,” Ashar said. “To last longer than anyone else against me and force me into this form is an impressive achievement. Hold your head high and be proud.”

Ajax slowly closed his eyes, his strength fading from him. Yeah…of course I will.

His corpse fell lifelessly onto the ground and Kasmine leapt onto the microphone.

Everyone, we have a winner! She excitedly called. The victor of the 2178 Ferris Single’s Tournament is Ashar Rajneesh!

Before when his name had been mentioned, no one had cheered.

Now, the entire stadium roared and applauded for him.

Ashar transformed back into his human form and helped Ajax back up onto his feet.

“Well done, Ashar,” Ajax said, extending his hand to him. He then grinned at him. “Thank you for fighting me seriously.”

Ashar smiled back and took his hand. “Of course. Well done, Ajax. It was a good fight.”

***

Once the Tournament had ended, the closing ceremony began and the medals were distributed to the contestants, with Ace getting the Bronze for lasting longer in his fight against Ajax than Dead Eye had against Arian, Ajax getting a well earnt Silver, and Arian got the Gold. The Headmistress herself put the medals around their necks and congratulated each and every one of them personally.

By the time that and the closing fireworks display had ended, night-time had fallen on Ferris and most of the guests had already left the campus. Eric and his team, as well as Alexa, went back to their house to celebrate everyone’s successes and they were all in high spirits.

“To Ajax!” Connor cheered, holding up a glass of soda. “Our teammate who not only made it to the Final Sixteen, but who also made it all the way to the final round. Congratulations, mate. Cheers!”

“Cheers!” Everyone else yelled back, clinking glasses together.

“Oh, and good work you other guys,” Connor dismissively said with a wave of his hand.

“Can I hit him?” Jasmine requested.

“…No,” Elthia whispered, hugging her arm.

“I know you don’t like violence, but just this once, please.”

“Don’t worry,” Kiara called, floating behind Connor and smacking him hard on the back of the head.

“What was that for?” He demanded.

“I’ve got you covered,” Kiara cheered, shooting Jasmine a thumbs up.

“In all seriousness though, you guys were great,” Eric said. “I’m really proud of you all and I hope you guys are proud of yourselves.”

“Yeah, I’m surprised that I managed to make it further than you guys,” Ajax admitted with a slight laugh. “I thought for sure one of you guys would’ve knocked me out of the Tournament.”

“I easily would’ve if we’d fought,” Jasmine plainly stated.

“Likewise,” Evony said.

“Even though I brought it up, it still sort of hurts how confidently you guys agreed with me,” Ajax whispered.

“Ah, so you were hoping for ‘No, you would’ve beaten me’ or ‘I could never have defeated you; you’re too strong’ sort of reaction, right?” Eric questioned.

“…I won’t deny that.”

“Wow, just when you think he’s done something cool he goes and does that sort of stuff,” Jasmine said, her disgust extremely evident in her voice.

“…I thought you did very well, Ajax,” Elthia said with a gentle smile. “Good work.”

“Thank you, Elthia,” he replied.

“Ah, I want her!” Kiara cried, diving through the air at Elthia; however, Jasmine caught Kiara’s head and flung her back across the room. “Eh? Can’t I even hug her?”

“No,” Jasmine coldly stated.

“Cheapskate.”

“I thought you guys were all amazing, too,” Alexa chimed in. “It’s also reassuring to see so many talented people on Eric and the other’s team as well, so I can rest a little bit easier back at home.”

“I did tell you that they were strong,” Eric reminded her.

“I know, but it was just good to see that they lived up to their hype.”

“We’d been hyped up?” Evony asked.

“A little,” Eric replied, slightly embarrassed.

“Oh?” Kiara purred, a smirk growing on her lips, swooping beside Alexa. “What has he said about us?”

“Um, just that you guys were really strong and good friends,” Alexa replied.

“Huh? That’s it?” Kiara’s disappointment was evident across her face and in her tone. “How boring.”

“But you know, today I think might’ve been the best Tournament I’ve seen in a while!” Alexa cheered, stretching her arms high above her head.

“Why?” Kaida inquired.

“Well, it was so much fun watching it from a booth with friends and betting to see who would-” Alexa cut herself off and turned her attention to Connor. “You.”

She gave him a cold stare.

“W-What?” Connor asked back nervously.

“I believe you owe us something,” Eric said, holding out his hand.

“…You know, betting between friends really-”

“Cough up already!” Alexa demanded, slamming her palm on the table.

“Come on, it’s bullshit!” Connor protested, leaping from his chair. “How did I not manage to get even three correct predictions in the damn thing! It’s fixed, I tell ya, fixed!”

“Eric, hold him,” Alexa ordered.

Eric manoeuvred behind Connor, held him in a tight rugby grip and Alexa snatched Connor’s wallet from his pocket, swiftly removing the money she and Eric were owed.

“Ah, you thief!” Connor screamed.

“Yeah, yeah. Thank you for your business,” Alexa lazily said, tossing the empty wallet onto the ground. She counted out the money and handed Eric’s share to him. “Don’t spend it all at once.”

“Oh, trust me, I’m going to make this last for a nice, long time,” Eric gleefully replied, grinning at Connor. He released him and took the money from Alexa. “Still though, I didn’t expect us to both win the pool.”

“Well, you know what they say? Great minds think alike.”

“Yeah they do!”

Alexa and Eric high fived and Connor sat back down in his seat, completely devoid of energy and his head dropped onto the table.

“Why did I suggest the damn thing?” He whimpered, pretending to cry.

“Ah, a well-earned booty!” Alexa cried, adding Connor’s money to what she had received from Laila and Kaida. She sniffed it and let out a satisfied, blissful smile. “It’s even better knowing that it came from Connor.”

“Ajax, I’m impressed with you,” Evony said. “I hadn’t expected you to make it to the Final Sixteen, let alone the Final, but you were amazing out there.”

“Hehe, thank you, Evony!” Ajax replied loudly, puffing out his chest.

“And now I feel like taking that compliment back.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I think Ajax might’ve gotten carried away because a girl said something nice to him,” Jasmine chimed in.

“Hey, girls have said nice things-!”

“Your sister doesn’t count.”

Ajax went silent, then looked down at the ground and his hand curled into a fist. “Damn.”

“Still, I’ll admit, you did well, Ajax,” Jasmine said. “Good work out there.”

Ajax’s face brightened back up. “Thank you!” Someone knocked at the door. “I’ll get it.”

He went to the door, threw it open and found someone who he had never expected to be there.

“Good evening,” Arian said. “Do you have a moment?”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Ajax replied, stepping outside and gently closing the door behind him. “What’s up?”

“Nothing much, I just…wanted to see how you were doing, I guess.”

“Were you worried that I’d be upset or something?”

“A little bit, yeah,” Arian admitted. “I know that I finished you off in that fight in a bit of a brutal manner, so I was worried that that was still bothering you.”

“It’d only bother me if you did that to me in real life,” Ajax replied with a smirk.

“I’ll try my best not to do that then.”

“Hey, Arian, you’ve…never actually properly trained to fight until you came here, right?”

“Not in the traditional sense, no. I know how to use my powers, how to transform, how to fire and maintain my crossbows. We Werewolves are very dependent on our raw speed and power more than anything, so training isn’t really considered necessary past what I’ve done. Other than that, I haven’t done much else.”

“Why?”

He smiled sadly. “I never had a reason to. Until today that is. You showed me how much I need to train to become a good Guardian.”

“If you want, I could help you-”

“I’ll pass.”

“Huh? Why?” Ajax demanded, making Arian chuckle a little.

“Because this isn’t something you can help me with,” he said. “I’ll ask the Headmistress tomorrow if she knows any good teachers, but I appreciate the offer.”

“It didn’t sound like you did.”

Arian smiled. “Perhaps. But I do appreciate it. Well then, I’ve got to head back now, so I’ll speak with you some other time, Ajax.”

“Yeah, see you later.”

Arian left with a confident stride and Ajax went back into the party with a big smile.