Are you excited!? Are you!? I am! First chapter! Yeah! Random exclamations!

Alright, enough messing around... Now, without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. May I present, the sequel of Killer, Killer: Bane!
*background music intensifies*

Fun Fact- This was inspired by Re:Zero


A sound of metal against metal rang out.

It came from the arena. Roars could be heard, cheering for the people who were clashing their blades with each other. The usual drills in the arena was replaced by an intense battle.

There were only two contestants. One held a broadsword and wore a fancy full-plated armor with streaks of gold, while the other had two daggers and simply wore a silky garb with a few metal pieces of armor strapped onto his limbs and a belt of pockets on his waist. The heavily armored fellow's movement was obviously slower, but that didn't stop him from relentlessly attacking him.

The latter countered his every move, narrowly blocking his swings and backtracking, occasionally slicing at his armor. The fully geared may be bulky, but his strength and defense was much higher than his opponent. He could truly be called a human tank.

However, just because he was tougher, doesn't mean he could hit his opponent. His strikes lacked the speed to leave a scratch on him. The nimble one -the one easily wrecking the crap out of golden boy with his swiftness- was none other than me, Ryan the Warrior.

The armored person, named Dupsef, drove his sword into the ground and used it as a support to lean his hands on it, panting heavily.

"You done?" I taunted. "Come on, at least give me a workout. I'm barely breaking a sweat here!"

As on cue, beads of perspiration slowly trickled down my forehead. I clicked my tongue in annoyance. He didn't seem to notice. Phew.

I wiped them off and continued. "Where's that spirit about beating me? Do you really call yourself the top soldier after all that big talk?"

Dupsef gripped the hilt tighter and charged once more with his broadsword being dragged along, letting out a battlecry.

I sighed heavily and shook my head. "Rule one: Never give in to your enemy's taunt."

Once I had finished my advice, he was already in front of me. He raised his weapon high up into the air with a shout and heaved it downwards with one hand. Predictable. I lightly hopped sideways.

But then something unexpected happened. In mid-swing, he smirked and instantIy changed the course of the blade, grabbing the hilt with both hands and bringing the blade to me. A feint.

So he can use his brain after all.

Out of pure physical reflex, I jumped up once my feet touched the ground and slammed my hand onto the flat side of the blade, unintentionally riding it.

He looked at me like I've done the impossible. But I clicked my tongue in annoyance. I didn't waste any time and used that chance to attack.

I used the blade as my foothold and quickly closed the distance between us, forcibly removing his helmet and using it as a glove to punch him square in the jaw. The sudden realization hit him hard, literally.

He staggered back a few paces, unconsciously releasing his weapon. I threw the helm in a random direction and tossed my daggers up into the air, grabbing his own broadsword and heaving it towards him.

I let the hilt go right before the blade would hit the armor. A loud clang resonated. He tumbled down; his teeth clattering due to the impact. Echolocation told me my daggers were in hands' reach. I got back my weapon and dashed towards him, pointing the tip of my dagger at his neck as he tried to get up.

A few seconds of silence ensued, then a huge applause from the large audience.

Only one word was being shouted, over and over again.

"Warrior! Warrior! Warrior!"

I welcomed the shower of cheers targeted at me. Almost forgetting that Dupsef was still down, I kept my daggers back into their respective compartments and offered him a hand.

"You may have power, but what good is it if you can't catch your enemy? It takes more than brute strength to win a fight."

He sneered at me and refused my hand (and probably advice), getting up on his own. But there was a look of acknowledgement in his eyes. His pride just doesn't want to show that externally.

He stood, got his broadsword back and stomped away noisily, grumbling. I 'saw' Mareth jogging up towards me.

"Do you think he will be fine?"

"Oh, he will. That big pride of his won't go down that easily."

"Hm."

Ares flew and landed beside me.

"So, how was that?"

"Great, as always."

A sudden thought occurred to me. "Hey, Ares? Would you mind if I sparred with you? I haven't fought a flier before."

He raised his head up and did that for a while. If he was human, he would be stroking his chin.

"I will not mind. But I cannot spar with you now. Perhaps tomorrow?" he offered, but there was a hint of sadness in it.

"Nah, not tomorrow. Maybe after finishing the soldiers."

Ares merely nodded and took off to wherever he's going. I focused my attention to the massive crowd, who showed no signs of stopping their chant.

Stretching my arm high up into the air, I pumped my fist up into the air. Sort of like a victory pose. Their reply was a much louder cheer.

I absorbed their praises while thinking back to when I had chosen to stay in the Underland. That was about a few weeks ago. Or was it a few months? I couldn't remember. Time was hard to tell in the Underland, due to the lack of the sun. I had my watch before, but I gave it to some Underlander kid because he was ogling at it when I walked past him. Once I strapped it onto his wrist, he ran off to a bunch of other Underlander kids and proudly showed them his new gift by 'the legendary Warrior'.

I had asked Vikus about what I could do in the Underland. He was, at first, hesitant to answer, but I convinced him to spill it out. Apparently he thought that being a common foot soldier was an embarrassment for the Warrior.

But I didn't mind. I immediately accepted his suggestion, for his and my sake. I subtly thanked him for letting me stay and went off to sign up as one of the Regalian army. Naturally, the council was very surprised. I had heard snippets of 'bane' and 'training' once I had requested. I didn't think much of their conversation. After their short and active discussion, they unanimously accepted. It was rather quick, but I was too excited to care.

I had basically three reasons for joining. Firstly, it felt very nostalgic and it was the only sensible thing for me to do. Secondly, I wanted to boost the skills of the soldiers, since they weren't really up to my standards. Thirdly, I needed to find a way to activate my Rager. I had tried to unleash that very raw power again by forcefully angering myself, but to no avail. Becoming a soldier was the best way to unlock it again.

Right after being one, I made an announcement. I would duel each and every soldier, to test their prowess and mine, and to analyze the gap between me and them.

So far, I had fought over probably hundreds of soldiers, maybe even thousands. Some battled one on one, while some others tried to use two or three on one to try to beat me. They all failed.

One of them, Dupsef of course, claimed to be the best. I was actually thrilled when he said that, but that excitement died as soon as we fought.

Anyways, back to the main event. The applause was still going on. Man, did they ever get tired clapping? It was getting a little annoying, to say the least. Too consistent.

"Who dares to challenge me, the Warrior!?"

My shout earned not only the silence of their cheers, but also murmurs from the crowd. They were probably discussing about who should fight me. No one shouted a name, not like last time.

"Anyone!? Anyone at all?"

Still none. Damn. Would it kill to have Ripred to be here?

When about five seconds passed, I gave up. I released the strain on my raised hand and headed for the exit.

"Tomorrow it is, then!"

While the crowd slowly left, the Underlanders quickly resumed their training. Children no more than six were stabbing dummies in seemingly complicated patterns. Groups of Underlanders of all ages were spreading around doing various kinds of stretches and calisthenics. Some were running laps around the arena. Others were sparing each other to prepare themselves so that they could fight me. Maybe. I hope so.

I leaned on the wall of the exit and watched their active activities for a while more before going to the armory.

Once at the entrance, I knocked on the stone door four times in two short intervals. The sequence for the Warrior's coming. I had specifically told the council to tell everyone about it. The Warrior's knock, they called it. It was cringy, but I got used to it. Thankfully.

"Come in, Warrior."

The armorer welcomed me in. I opened the door with a light shove and an old and pale-skinned yet fit woman tweaking a chestplate greeted me. She was Miravet, Solovet's sister.

"Hey, Miravet. The usual again, please," I said, offering both my arms to her as if I was getting arrested. Heh. Arrested. That put a smile on my lips.

She stopped working on the chestplate and focused her attention on removing my armor.

"You seem happy today. Find you a good soldier today?"

I did a short laugh. "No, unfortunately. I have to make them buck up. Need to find someone who can match me."

There were a few people I thought could give me a good workout. Solovet was one, but she said she was too busy. Mareth was a good choice, but his calf still hasn't healed up completely. I didn't want to give myself an advantage. He still could command others though, which I thought he was excellent at. Vikus could, but I considered him as 'unprepared'. I didn't want to wear the old man out. And I hadn't seen the Queen for quite some time now. There was Ripred, but he was probably still gathering followers.

While I was still internally complaining about Ripred, Miravet finished removing them. I could do it myself, but I didn't want to because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to properly take the bits off. Some parts were pretty difficult to unlatch. So I always left it in her care.

"I do not know what 'buck up' means, but I am certain someone of your skill will appear."

I exercised my arms to circulate my blood and spoke. "Yeah, and that someone is Ripred, who is far away from here." Miravet frowned. "Sorry, didn't mean to offend you."

"It is fine." She quickly changed the topic. "Do you mind if I borrow your belt?"

"My belt? Yeah, sure."

I unbuckled and handed it to her. She carefully took it and placed it onto her workbench, examining the compartments. That was what she always did whenever she had finished removing my armor. She was interested in it and my vest since we first met, and had tried to replicate it many times, but failed each time as it was custom made and pretty complex. Some materials didn't exist in the Underland. I forgot how the schematics worked, but I still tried to help her, explaining to her what was what and what probably goes where.

After watching her work and taking back my belt, I went outside and whistled for Ares. He was in front of me in seconds. I hopped onto him and he took off, heading towards my room.

Once we had arrived at my balcony, I unmounted and we went our separate ways. I walked into my room and tossed my stuff away, all of which landed right onto my backpack, flattening it.

I did a quick shower to wash away the sweat and laid down on my queen-sized bed, taking out a leather notebook. It contained all the names of the soldiers. Solovet had given it to me. I had tried to reject it once, but she had reassured me, saying: "Do not worry. I have another one." and waving the exact same copy at me.

I opened it to where I had bookmarked and slowly crossed the names of everyone I had fought today with my fountain pen I had stolen before in the Overland. One might think I was making a hit list. But I wasn't, at least for the Underlanders.

Lastly, I cancelled Dupsef's name and shut the book. A piece of paper a little larger than the book stuck out. It had the list of people I wanted to fight but couldn't. I sighed again. Today was a long day. I had beaten about 31 soldiers. A new record from the previous, 28.

Being too lazy to sit up, I placed the notebook at the edge of the bed and rolled to the comfortable side, closing my eyes.

I didn't want to sleep, but I was too tired to complain, so I succumbed to my bodily needs soon after.

Complete darkness. There was nothing but that. I tried echolocation, but all I got was emptiness all around me. I couldn't 'see' what I was standing on. I tapped the ground with my sandals, but no sound came out. Was I deaf? Was I blind? I used all my other senses, but they all were gone. Vanished. It was as if I never had them at all.

Panic and fear strangled me, like a wild prey trying to escape from its predator.

What's going on? Where was I? Why was I here?

Pain and agony started to hammer down into my head. I let out a scream, but I couldn't hear it. A warm liquid leaked out of my ears.

I felt like vomiting, but it didn't come out. The ball of acid was stuck in my stomach. I couldn't get it out. My body didn't let me.

How long the torture happened, I didn't know. All I knew that it was an excruciatingly long process. A sense of loss overcame me. I felt so helpless. So powerless. So weak.

Only one question remained inside the wreckage of my brain.

"Who am I?"

I said that aloud. I could hear.

Many voices replied. Distorted. They said one word in unison.

"Monster."

Somehow I felt heavy, both internally and externally. The gravity increased dramatically, forcing my knees to buckle and slamming my body flat onto the ground.

Then, something was shoved into my chest.

A horrified scream entered my eardrums. I awoke and looked around, searching for the source of it. Strangely, large quantities of air was being sucked in and out of my mouth. It was then I realised that I was gasping for air.

I shut my agape mouth and took deep, long breaths. My breathing regulated, but my heart didn't. It was beating pretty fast. Too fast.

I squeezed the left side of my sweaty shirt, where my heart was. I remembered.

Damn it. I had them again.

Ever since my journey of the Prophecy of Gray ended, I started to have dreams. Whispers of people. Then those dreams gradually turned into nightmares. Those nightmares would increase in intensity and I had to experience them all as if they were freshly new.

Today was the worst one yet. The feeling of death. From suffering to being killed.

Whenever I slept, I subconsciously knew I was going to have them again. But in the nightmares, my subconscious was not there. It- He - was never there.

I slammed my fist onto my bed and pushed it to the very edge of my mind, where the rest were. I was so irritated. When will they ever stop?

I got out of my bed and walked to the bathroom. I wanted to wash my face, as it was quite numb. But before I could even reach the door handle of the bathroom, an Underlander barged into my room with a worried expression on his face; a sword on his hand. A guard.

"Warrior! I heard shouts from your quarters! Are you-"

He stopped his speech and stared at me. His face went from worried to terrified and pity in a matter of seconds.

"What?"

My voice. It sounded so miserable but mad at the same time. What was that?

"W-why do you weep, Warrior?"

His tone became sympathetic but scared. His hands were shaking. I instinctively touched my face. A sticky liquid was on my cheeks. Tears. I immediately wiped them away, but the damage was already done. He had seen it.

"Do not tell anyone about this. Even if they force you to tell, don't say anything. Got it?"

He gulped and nervously nodded.

"Good, now leave me."

"B-but your-"

"I SAID LEAVE!"

He whimpered and ran off, away from the madman. Away from me.

For a moment, I just stood there. Looking at where the guard once was. Looking at the emptiness. I concentrated on the space so much that my vision blurred.

All of a sudden, one emotion rose to the top. Hate. It made me kick the door shut and storm into the bathroom and look at the pocket mirror I had screwed on the stone wall. In the mirror, I saw myself. My eyes were bloodshot, puffy and watery. They were full of fear and pain.

"Damn it!"

In one swift motion, I punched the wall, right beside the mirror. The wall and my bones cracked. I ignored the pain and kept thumping. More cracks started to form on the wall. More blood began to leak out of my knuckles.

One final hit on the wall made a dent a size of a fist. My fist.

I hated myself. I hated the fact that I had let a person reveal my true face. My mask had been broken, if only a little. Deep down, I was suffering. Suffering from all those nightmares. They haunted me.

They were coming back again, flowing back to my memories like a tidal wave. The feeling of having your eyeballs gouged out, having your limbs torn slowly, having your body burned and frozen and so much more.

The bile got out of my system and into the sink. When I was done puking, I cupped my hands into the ever-flowing water and splashed it onto my face. The red on my eyes subsided a little. Next, the horrors.

I closed my eyes and mentally shoved all of them back to their cage.

Don't think of them now. Think happy. Think fighting.

Once I was sure they were in check, I opened my eyes and stared hard at the mirror. The fear and agony were gone.

Good, good. Alright. I'm okay now. I'm okay.

I bathed and came out refreshed. Nothing is as good as taking a steaming bath. Except fighting, of course.

While I was drying my hair with the silky and super-absorbant towel, I finally noticed a tray of food on my desk. Was it there before or after the guard came in? I decided to check, touching my breakfast with my clean hand. It felt cold.

Crap. That means I'm late.

I crammed the half of the food into my mouth and grabbed my belt, running and chewing and fitting my belt at the same time.

I managed to gulp the whole thing down with my saliva as soon as I had reached the balcony and leaped into the air, whistling sharply.

A dash of black flew beneath me. Then, I was mounting on Ares.

I wheezed and coughed out the words. "Hey, Ares. How late am I?"

"Ten minutes." He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but quickly closed it. I knew what he wanted to say.

"What happened to me, right?"

He nodded. "I heard your shouts. I tried to fly to you, but the guards did not let me pass. I am sorry, Warrior." He made it sound like he was the one at fault.

I patted his head. "It's okay, Ares. It was just a nightmare. Just a nightmare."

Why did I say it as if he was the one having the nightmare? Was I trying to convince myself?

Silence followed after that.

Soon, Ares landed outside the armory. I rushed towards it and pushed the door open. Miravet stood there with my armor in her hands.

"Come quick! You are late!"

She strapped them on as fast as she could and double-checked to see if it was secure. She patted me on the shoulder, signalling that she was done preparing me. I thanked her and bolted for the arena.

Once I had stepped foot onto the stadium, the whispers from the audience instantly erupted into cheers.

I waved at them and let out a shout louder than theirs.

"Who wants to fight me?"

Suddenly, there was a high pitched sound that silenced the crowd. One person called out in a strong voice.

"I will."


Yay! Cliffhanger again! Don't you all love it?
Thank you for being very patient with me! Exams are around the corner for me, but why should I let that stop me? (Please don't follow my example.)
Question: Who do you think said "I will"?
Anyways, review and criticize!