Chapter 38: And Two Remained
Lin looked down at her foot. There was still blood on it. Blood from stomping on the woman's face. Looking up, she saw a shower on the other side of the locker room. She considered it for a moment. Decided not to use it. She had one more match. Two, actually, considering she would be challenging Gaia. There was a good chance she'd get dirty again. That she'd get more blood on her. Better to shower later, after all that was done.
The door to the locker room opened. It was Mud again.
"Nice work out there. You just won me a thousand Lien," Mud said, sitting down next to Lin as she pocketed a wad of cash. "Gotta admit, she had you on the ropes there for a bit, but you pulled through in the end. And man, throwing Dust crystals? That takes me back."
"Do you know who I'll be fighting?"
"Sure do. You remember jump rope boy? The one from the preliminary fight?" Mud asked. Lin nodded. She remembered him. He had been annoying. "Apparently, he made it to the finals. He's the last thing in your way."
Lin nodded. "How does he fight?"
"Lots of ways. He's really good with that thing. Uses it like a whip, a lasso, nunchucks, whatever you can think of... and it's got Dust in it, too. Man, just when you think they've weaponized everything, someone comes along and makes a weapon out of a fucking jump rope..."
"Is he strong?"
"He made it to the finals, didn't he?"
"Maybe his opponents were weak."
"Didn't seem that weak to me."
"Hm." Lin paused for a moment to think. "Did you see his semblance?"
"If I did, I would've told you."
"I guess so." Lin looked up towards Mud. "Are you going to bet on me again?"
"Why do you ask? You think you gonna lose?"
"No. I'll win. I need to."
"You know, I'm getting a little curious. What's got you so fired up about killing her? And the other two guys you want me to track down?" Mud asked. "You said it was revenge, right? What'd they do to you? Kill your family or something?"
"I think so."
"What, you think so? So you don't know so? Kind of a big thing to hire me to help you kill these guys if you aren't sure that they killed your family."
"They're responsible. They led the tribe that did it."
"Huh. So how'd it happen? If you wanna share, of course."
Lin paused. Did she? She took a minute to think. She hadn't talked to anyone about it before.
Now that she thought about it, she hadn't talked to many people at all.
"It was about... nine years ago. My family owned a small caravan company. I don't remember the name. It was my parents, my brother, me, and about half a dozen workers. We transported things across the desert. From town to town."
"Huh, so y'all ran supplies across Vacuo. Pretty dangerous, but you can get a lot of dough with the right contract," Mud said, rubbing her chin. "I'm guessing things didn't end up so well, considering what you're doing now."
"We were ambushed. I saw the flag of the red Death Stalker. My parents had me hide in a barrel of cider. My brother said that he would protect us. I believed him. I thought he was strong," Lin said, thinking back to what she could remember of the incident. "He wasn't. He died. My parents as well. I didn't see who did it. It was probably one of those three."
"So how'd you get out? Did they just not check the barrel?"
"No. One of them did. A stranger saved me. She fought them off. I think I passed out. The next thing I knew, I was in an inn in a nearby town. They said a woman had dropped me off. I went back, but..." Lin paused. "Everything was destroyed. Burned down during the fight. The corpses were nearly charred black. I could barely recognize my family."
Mud was quiet.
"I had nothing left. My family was dead. The caravan was gone. I had nowhere to go. Nothing to do. The only thing left was to go after the ones who had caused all of it. The ones who killed my family," Lin explained. She looked down at her hand. Curled it into a fist. "But I was weak. I needed to be stronger. So I trained. I did jobs. I pushed myself to become stronger. All for this."
"Why now?"
"I thought it was a good time. I felt strong enough. You seemed smart enough. I thought that with your help, I could find and kill those three."
"So half your life's been leading up to this? Hope all that training's been good enough, cause I don't want you dropping dead before I get my payment."
"I won't."
Lin heard a commotion from the arena. The announcer was shouting about something. Probably introducing her opponent. She couldn't quite hear anything over the crowd. That didn't matter. She knew who she was up against.
"Looks like you're up," Mud said as she stood up and made her way towards the exit. "Good luck. Gonna place another bet on you. Bigger this time."
"Do what you want. Just be ready to help me find the second of the three after this.."
"Yeah, I'll get on that."
The door closed. Lin pushed herself onto her feet and turned towards the tunnel out into the arena. One more person in her way. The jump rope boy. Once he was out, it was just her and Gaia. Both of them would enter the arena. Only one would leave. It would be Lin.
As Lin walked out into the arena, the crowd cheered. The announcer was shouting something. Lin wasn't paying attention to him. She was paying attention to the teenage boy on the other side of the arena.
"Hey, good to see you again!" the boy exclaimed as he waved at Lin. "Gotta be honest, I'm impressed you made it all the way to the finals. At least that means that no matter who wins, one of us will be taking on - "
Lin wasn't sure if the announcer had started the match. She didn't particularly care as she leaped towards the boy, her arm pulled back. She drove her fist forward into the boy's stomach - or at least, where his stomach was a moment ago before he had dodged to the side.
"Whoa, I don't think the match even - "
The boy's protests were cut short as Lin spun towards him, raising her leg and aiming a roundhouse kick straight towards the side of his head. He ducked, but Lin quickly transitioned into an axe kick, bringing her heel swiftly down towards the top of his head. Unfortunately for Lin, the boy escaped by a hair, rolling back and out of the way.
"Man, you're coming on strong right out of the gate," the boy said, grinning as he pulled out his rope. "I did say I wouldn't be holding back, so I hope you're ready!"
Lin tried to close the distance again. Suddenly, the rope became a blur as she felt something strike her shoulder. The handle at the end of the rope, Lin guessed. It stung. As Lin stumbled back, the rope became a blur again. Too fast for Lin to catch with her eyes. By the time she brought her arms up to guard, it had already struck her stomach, forcing some air out of her. Before Lin could react, the boy struck a third time at her leg, causing her to stumble.
He's using it like a whip, Lin thought, leaping to the side as she predicted a fourth strike. The strike came, but the boy had been anticipating Lin's movement, and the handle of the rope struck Lin directly in the chest. Without her feet on the ground Lin had nothing to brace against, so the force of the attack sent Lin tumbling back and to the ground.
That one bandit used a whip. I defeated her. I'll defeat him, too.
Lin pushed herself to her feet. Watched. Waited. The rope lashed out again, and Lin raised her arms once more, not to block the attack but rather to snatch the end of the rope out of the air. At least, that's what Lin hoped would happen.
Instead, Lin watched as the rope doubled back, wrapping itself around Lin's wrist.
"You didn't think I'd see that coming, did you?" the boy said, pulling Lin off her feet with surprising strength. Lin reached with her other arm to pull the rope off her wrist, but the boy beat her to it, suddenly pulling the rope away from Lin's arm as her momentum sent her tumbling back to the ground. She didn't even have time to push herself back to her feet before the rope struck again, smacking Lin along the side of her head.
"Annoying," Lin muttered as she jumped to her feet, rubbing the spot where the rope had hit. None of the boy's attacks were particularly strong, but the damage was adding up, and Lin felt her aura being chipped at little by little. The bigger problem was that Lin had yet to land a hit. Her opponent seemed too quick, too tricky for her to land a solid attack. What else could she do?
Not much time to think about it, Lin thought as she blocked a rope strike with her forearm. I'll play defensive. Try to find an opening.
The rope lashed out. Lin blocked the attack.
The rope lashed out. Lin ducked to the side.
The rope lashed out. Lin blocked the attack again.
A rhythm. He attacked. She blocked. He attacked. She dodged. No time to close the distance. Trying to do so carelessly would get her smacked in the face. For now, she kept up the rhythm. Looked for an opening. Didn't see one. Maybe I can make my own.
The rope lashed out. Lin deflected it with her forearm.
The rope lashed out. Lin ducked away from the attack.
The rope lashed -
"Hah!" Lin shouted as she kicked towards where she thought the rope would be. This time, her opponent hadn't anticipated her, and her foot knocked the end of the rope out of the air, sending it flying. She dashed forward, her arm drawn back.
"Nice shot! But you know, you really gotta be more creative with how you attack," the boy said as he stepped to the side in anticipation of Lin's punch. "You did the same thing last - "
The boy didn't get to finish his sentence as Lin, instead of punching forward, kicked off the ground to follow the boy before driving her knee straight into his gut. He doubled over. His aura shimmered. Lin grabbed his shoulder. Pulled him up straight. Threw an uppercut straight into his chin that sent him into the air. Surprisingly, he landed on his feet.
Lin felt the burning energy growing in her body.
"Alright, you got me there, but - "
Lin stepped forward and aimed a punch towards his face. Her fist stopped an inch in front of his nose, barely kept at bay as he used a length of rope pulled taut to block the strike. Lin went low with a sweeping kick, but the boy jumped over her leg. The next moment, Lin felt something hard strike her head and knock her to the ground. She rolled to the side just as something hit the ground next to her. The handle of the rope. The rope itself was a lot shorter now. It looked like a pair of nunchucks. Mud had mentioned that.
"Would you stop interrupting me?" the boy asked as Lin pushed herself away and onto her feet. "I was even about to compliment you. Maybe you've got a shot at - "
Lin jumped into the air and extended her leg, bringing her heel down towards the boy with an ax kick. A quick strike with his nunchucks knocked Lin's foot to the side, letting it hit the ground next to him. Lin tried to pull back her leg, but found it stuck fast to the ground. A glance down told her why. A block of ice had frozen it in place.
The boy swung his nunchucks at Lin. They felt burning hot as they smacked her in the face. She tumbled back, the force of the strike shattering the ice around her foot.
"Look, I don't really care which one of us wins, as long as that person takes down Gaia. But I wanna make sure the person with the better chance of taking her down wins this. So no hard feelings?" the boy said as Lin pushed herself onto her feet yet again. His hits were getting stronger. Her aura was getting lower. She had landed a few good hits, but it didn't feel like enough. She looked at the nunchucks. One end was glowing a light blue. The other a fierce red.
Mud mentioned him using Dust too. That's probably it. Lin looked down at her fist. Opened it. Closed it. Felt the burning energy coursing through her body. A few more hits. Then, she could maybe close it out with one final attack. The boy was skilled and agile, but judging by his fighting style and build, he didn't seem to be able to take hits well.
Now that she thought about it, maybe she just needed one more good hit.
"Come on, are we gonna fight or what?" the boy asked as he swung around his rope-nunchucks. "I don't get to use my weapon like this that often, so let's go!"
Lin approached more cautiously this time, stepping slowly towards him with her arms raised and her eyes wary. The boy wasn't using his weapon like a whip anymore. That meant no range advantage. That didn't mean she didn't have to watch out though. He was adding Dust to his attacks. Lin wasn't sure what that meant. She wasn't eager to find out, either.
"Well, if you're not gonna be quick about it, then I'll take the lead here!" the boy said, jumping towards Lin. He brought his wrist back, preparing to swing his nunchucks out towards her. Lin saw how he was going to swing. Where the nunchucks would go. Where his body would go. In the air, he had no leverage with which to change his direction.
Maybe that one good hit she needed would come sooner than she thought. She watched as the nunchuck sailed towards her head.
Now.
Lin ducked, letting the handle of the nunchuck swing over her head. Then, she gathered the burning energy coursing through her body into her arm before driving it straight into the boy's chest like a piston. She felt the boy's aura strain and crack under the force of her strike as it shimmered intensely. Then, the boy flew back, tumbling through the air before smashing into the side of the arena.
His aura didn't break. This isn't over, Lin thought as she dashed up to the boy, ready to continue her assault. She raised her fist, and the boy held his hand up in response.
"Hold on, I - "
Lin punched him in the face. He went down like a pile of bricks. His aura didn't break. He was hardier than she initially thought. She raised her leg, ready to stomp down onto the boy, but he rolled out of the way and sprung up on his feet.
"Whoa, stop hitting me! I yield!" the boy said. Lin hesitated. "I surrender?"
"Why?"
"Look, I said all I cared about was taking down Gaia, right?" the boy asked, rubbing his chest with a grimace on his face. Lin nodded. "Well, after a hit like that, I don't think I'm gonna be taking you down, much less her. If you're gonna win our fight, I don't wanna tire you out before you fight Gaia."
"If you really mean that, then leave."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it," the boy said, turning towards one of the tunnels leading out of the arena. "By the way, once you beat her - well, if you beat her, I'll come find you, and maybe you can join the gang. Who knows, maybe you'll fit right in!"
"The gang?"
"I'll tell you later!" the boy said, waving goodbye as he exited the arena. The crowd sounded confused. So did the announcer. Lin wasn't really paying attention to what they were saying. She looked up at the viewing box where Gaia was standing.
"Come down here," Lin said. Gaia probably couldn't hear her over the crowd. Yet, she received the message. She crouched down for a moment before leaping over the spectators, landing in the middle of the arena with a heavy thud.
"You're interesting. I have no idea who you are, where you're from, or why you're doing all this," Gaia said with a smile on her face. She crossed her arms as she looked over at Lin. "And yet, I could tell right off the bat, from the moment you jumped into the arena yesterday, that you wanted my head. So, tell me, why go after me? Why go after the boss? You don't seem like the type to want the position."
"Nine years ago. You were part of the Blood Stalkers. You raided a caravan around the western parts of Vacuo. Do you remember?"
"Huh, you know about all that? Unfortunately, you'll have to be more specific. We raided a lotta caravans, y'know?" Gaia said, tapping her foot. "This is a revenge thing, isn't it? Heh. This'll be a lot more exciting than the last guy."
"You or one of your comrades killed my family," Lin explained. "And would have killed me, if it wasn't for the woman who saved me."
"A woman? Wait... you mean that bitch with all the fire and lightning and ice and shit? Man, that was the best fight I've ever had. I've been chasing that high ever since I took over the Seventh Circle, but nothing's been doing it for me, you know?" Gaia asked as her smile widened into a full-toothed grin. She slammed her fist into her open palm. "I haven't had a good fight in years. Maybe you'll be the one to break the streak!"
Lin wasn't sure how to respond to that. So she didn't. Instead, she raised her arms. One of the three she was looking for was right in front of her. One of the three that killed her family and left her with nothing.
Lin was excited.
"Let's get this shit started!" Gaia shouted as she stomped the ground, shooting a chunk of rock twice the size of her head into the air. Her fist smashed into the back of the rock and it shot forward like a bullet towards Lin, who stepped to the side and let it break against the wall of the arena.
She's a bare-fisted fighter who can control the earth. That's what I know so far. Straightforward, Lin thought as Gaia launched another chunk of rock at her. She ducked, watching it sail overhead and behind her before turning back towards Gaia. Except Gaia was no longer there.
Something slammed hard into Lin's cheek. She tumbled to the ground.
"Come on, you gotta be quicker than that! Make me work for this!"
Lin looked up to see Gaia standing over her, her fist poised to strike. She rolled out of the way as the fist smashed into the ground, but the force of the blow - or perhaps her semblance - was enough to upheave a human-sized chunk of earth underneath Lin, throwing her into the air. Then, Gaia whirled around, planting her foot on the chunk of earth before kicking it up towards Lin. Without the ground to give her leverage, Lin was a sitting duck as she flew through the air, unable to evade the chunk of rock.
That meant she needed to meet it head on.
Need to time this right, Lin thought as she twisted around towards the chunk of rock flying up towards her. Taking a quick breath in the moments she had before it would hit, she drew back her fist before slamming it directly in the center of the rock, shattering it to pieces. She felt the burning energy starting to build inside her body. It wasn't much, but it was a start.
Lin felt Gaia grab her leg. The next moment, her back smashed against the ground as Gaia slammed her into the floor of the arena. She cried out in pain as she felt a large chunk of her aura disappear. Then, she grit her teeth as she kicked her leg free of Gaia's grip and rolled away.
"Honestly? You're disappointing me, kid. I thought you'd make me work up a sweat by now!" Gaia shouted as she stomped the ground and brought up another chunk of stone even larger than the previous one. With a shout, she slammed her fist against the rock, launching it straight at Lin. Despite the projectile's greater size, it flew through the air no slower than the last chunk of stone Gaia had launched, and Lin was just barely able to duck past it. She immediately looked up to where Gaia had been standing. Gone again. Her eyes scanned the arena. There. Approaching from the side. Lin had been caught off guard before. She wouldn't be caught off guard again. Gritting her teeth, Lin gathered the burning energy flowing through her body into her arm. Then she turned, punching towards Gaia as she unleashed the energy she had built up.
Lin's fist smashed into something. Not flesh. Not aura. A pillar of stone had shot up from the ground, absorbing the brunt of Lin's attack before shattering to pieces. Gaia burst into view through the shattered fragments of rock and stone, and Lin saw her lips curled up into a wide grin for a moment before a rock-covered fist smashed into Lin's face. Her vision blacked out for a moment, and then her head exploded in pain as she felt herself tumble across the arena before settling into a heap on the ground.
More aura gone. Lin wasn't sure how much she had left. And she had used up the burning energy in her body as well.
"Come on, get up!" Lin heard Gaia shout. She looked up to see Gaia still where she had punched Lin. She had made no move to follow up; instead she was just standing there with her arms crossed. "Where's that fire in your eyes? After watching you fight I expected to get something fun out of this, but it's like I'm just knocking around a punching bag!"
She wasn't taking this seriously. And why would she? Lin hadn't landed a single hit. She had been on the defensive the entire time, and her one attempt at an attack had gotten her face smashed in. Her aura was getting low, and she still hadn't done anything to make a dent in Gaia's. Was this all that nine years was worth? Did all that training make her no more than a punching bag?
No. Lin refused to accept that.
"There we go! Let's get this going again," Gaia said as Lin pushed herself onto her feet and raised her fists. Lin's thoughts started mulling about her head as she replayed the last minute in her head. Gaia used her semblance to cover her approach, pressure Lin at range, and enhance her attacks. It was versatile, much more so than Lin's. What weaknesses did it have? Think. Think.
Gaia brought up a chunk of stone the size of a Beowolf before kicking it at Lin. No more time to think. Lin smashed her fist into the rock, shattering it as her eyes darted left and right to look for Gaia through the flying fragments of stone. There. Coming in from the right, a punch aimed towards Lin's face like before. Lin ducked back, letting Gaia's fist pass through the air as she countered with a straight punch towards Gaia's stomach. A pillar of stone rose to meet Lin's fist, and Gaia jumped back as the pillar shattered to pieces and absorbed the brunt of the attack.
"There we go! Don't make this too easy for me, alright?" Gaia asked. Lin didn't reply; she only brought her fists back as she watched Gaia carefully. She felt the burning energy building up, coursing through her body. The burning energy from... what? She hadn't hit Gaia yet. Her fists had only smashed through rock and stone and -
Hm. Maybe that was an idea. Lin slowly backed away.
"What's up with you? You looked more eager before, you know? Well, if you aren't gonna make a move, then I'll be happy to make it for you!" Gaia shouted, bending down and digging her fingers into the stone floor. After a grunt of effort, she pulled a massive chunk of earth out of the ground, at least as large as a pickup truck. Then, she chucked it across the arena at Lin. Lin watched as the great chunk of stone quickly approached. She looked down at her fists. Could she break this? Maybe. It would probably be safer to dodge, though. She leaped over the rock, her eyes scanning for Gaia as she kept her arms raised.
Something in her peripheral vision. Lin turned and struck. A rock the size of her head shattered into pieces.
"You're quick, aren't you? Let's test those reflexes!" Gaia shouted as she stomped the ground. A pillar of earth jutted out of the ground at an angle towards Lin, nearly smashing into her face before her fist shattered it. She heard something erupt from the ground behind her and turned, smashing another pillar with the back of her hand. Two more, one on each side; she ducked under one while breaking the other with a kick. Her eyes darted along the ground, looking for more pillars of stone that would shoot out of the ground.
Lin almost missed Gaia leaping towards her, her rock-covered fist drawn back and ready to strike.
"Gah!" Lin grunted as she raised both of her arms to block the large stone fist. She felt her aura straining for a moment before Gaia suddenly pulled back, whirled around, and shot a spinning kick straight into Lin's gut. Lin stumbled back, and before she could recover a pillar of earth erupted from the ground, smashing into her chin and throwing her into the air. Her back hit the ground, and as she gathered her bearings, she spotted a rock several times larger than her coming down towards her, threatening to crush her into paste. No room to get up or dodge. Instead, she tapped into the burning energy flowing through her body, directing a small portion of it to her fist as she struck upwards and shattered the rock to pieces. That's when she felt Gaia grab her leg and pull her up into the air.
Not this time.
Mustering up her strength, Lin pulled herself forwards towards Gaia, kicking out of her grip as she reached forward and grabbed her by the hair. She kicked upwards and pulled Gaia's head down, smashing her face against Lin's knee. Before she could do it again, Gaia pushed Lin away, stumbling back as she hissed in pain.
"Damn, you hit hard when you can actually manage to land something. But don't think that one hit's gonna win you anything!" Gaia shouted as she stomped the ground, upturning a large chunk of earth that she grabbed and tossed at Lin. Lin shattered the stone with her fist as she felt the burning energy build up even higher. Gaia was right; that one hit wouldn't be enough to win her the fight.
But the next might do it.
Gaia stomped the ground. Two pillars shot out towards Lin. Each shattered against her fists. Another stomp. This time, a wave of earth that rippled out through the arena. Lin jumped over it. Looked towards Gaia, who was in the middle of kicking a large boulder up towards Lin. A punch split it in half. The burning energy filled her body. As she fell towards Gaia, she drew back her fist, ready to pour all of that energy into her next strike.
Gaia smirked. Lin hesitated. Held the energy back. Gaia stepped to the side, and Lin's punch whiffed completely.
"What, you think I'd just let myself get hit? I'm not a dumbass. I dunno if it's a semblance or just raw strength, but you've got a mean fist there," Gaia said, ducking under a wild swing from Lin. She scraped her fist against the ground, covering it in rock before grabbing an errant punch from Lin and holding her arm in place. Lin tried to punch herself free with her other hand, but Gaia grabbed her wrist with her other arm. Then, Lin felt Gaia's knee smash into her stomach, knocking the breath out of her.
Another knee to the stomach. Lin's aura faltered for a moment. She tried to pull back, but couldn't do anything against Gaia's grip.
"I'll admit, I ain't ever seen anyone break through my rocks like you've done. You got a lotta strength in those muscles," Gaia said, leaning forward towards Lin. "But that doesn't mean jack shit if you can't hit me, does it? Now, how about we put a close to this?"
"Okay."
Lin drew in a deep breath. The burning energy was still coursing through her body. All of it. She concentrated it to a single point; not in her legs or her arms, but onto her forehead.
Then, she smashed her head into Gaia's face.
A sickening crack rang out through the arena as the headbutt launched Gaia through the air, slamming her into the far wall. Freed from Gaia's grip, Lin broke into a sprint, not wanting to give her opponent a moment to breathe. Gaia looked up, grinning wide as ever.
"That's more like it! There's the strength I wanna see!" Gaia shouted, digging her fingers into the wall of the arena before pulling out a chunk of earth twice as wide as she was tall. She brought it up, swinging it towards the approaching Lin. "You want your revenge, don't you! Well, let's make you work for - "
Before Gaia could hit Lin with the giant rock, Lin smashed her fist into Gaia's jaw, pushing her back against the wall of the arena and making her drop the great chunk of stone. Another fist sank into Gaia's stomach, and Lin heard the air escape from her lungs.
Don't give her room to breathe. Don't give her room to think. Don't give her room to fight back.
An uppercut to the chin. A knee to the gut. A fist driven straight into her chest. Lin struck Gaia again and again, pressing her against the wall of the arena as she overwhelmed her with an onslaught of blows. Lin saw Gaia's aura shimmering. She felt her fading.
Then, as Lin went in to throw another punch, Gaia's hand came up, grabbing Lin's fist and pushing her back.
"Man, just a few hits and you really fucked me up. Even got me through my aura a little there," Gaia muttered as she spit a tooth onto the floor of the arena. Her nose was bent and bloody and her eyes looked tired, but her mouth was still curved into that seemingly-permanent grin. "You're a real show, kid! Most fun I've had in nine years! Now, let's see a little more of that fire before I snuff it out!"
Lin's only response was to raise her fists. After several blows like that, she knew Gaia was likely in bad shape. But that didn't mean Lin had the advantage; with the attacks she had taken over the course of the fight, she doubted that she was faring any better herself. Her one advantage was the burning energy coursing through her body, as the beating she had given Gaia had replenished it quite a bit. Maybe enough to put Gaia down for good.
Lin saw Gaia's foot rise off the ground. She was going for another stomp. Looking to bring up another giant chunk of stone or shoot another pillar at Lin, probably. She didn't know exactly what Gaia was going for, but she knew that staying still wouldn't help, so she ran forward to close the distance between herself and Gaia.
Then, Gaia's foot hit the floor, and the entire arena shattered.
"Ah!" Lin shouted, losing her footing as the ground split open beneath her. Cracks rippled out from where Gaia's foot had hit the ground, rupturing the floor of the arena and causing some sections of the arena to rise while others sunk into the ground. Lin found herself falling into one of the sunken sections of the arena, a narrow crevasse twice as deep as she was tall and just barely wide enough for her to extend her arms. As she regained her footing, she looked up to see Gaia standing at the top of the pit.
"Haven't had to do this in a long time. Count yourself lucky before you get squished!" Gaia said as she bent down, grabbing both sides of the crevasse. Suddenly, the walls of the crevasse began to close in quickly on Lin. She reached out and tried to push back against the oncoming walls of stone, but it took all of her strength to keep herself from being flattened to a paste.
"Man, you're the first person who didn't just pop like a bug to this. Let's step it up then!" Gaia shouted. Suddenly, the pressure bearing down on her arms seemed to double, and Lin grit her teeth as she tried to not cry out in pain. The muscles in her arms felt like they were on fire as they were doing all they could to hold back the dozens of tons of rock bearing down on her. What was the escape? What could she do? Eventually, her arms would give way, and she'd be crushed, flattened underneath the arena.
And Gaia would be alive.
That was unacceptable.
Lin drew in a deep breath, trying to ignore the building pain in her arms as she concentrated on the burning energy flowing through her body. She pulled it down, directing it all to her legs.
"Still haven't given up, huh? What do you think you're gonna do? Eventually your aura will give out, your arms will snap, and you'll - "
Lin bent down slightly, concentrating the burning energy and any aura she had left to her feet as she pulled her arms in. Before the crevasse could close and crush her, Lin unleashed the pent-up energy and shot upwards like a bullet towards Gaia, smashing her knee into Gaia's face before she could react. As Gaia stumbled back, Lin kicked her in the stomach, sending her crashing back against the wall of the arena.
At that moment, Lin's aura ran dry. The burning energy faded away. Nothing to push her but her flesh and blood.
It didn't matter. It would be enough.
"Shit... didn't see that coming," Gaia muttered, pushing herself onto her feet. "You got more tricks than - "
Gaia was interrupted as Lin drove her fist into her face.
Don't let up. Not this time. End it.
Lin's arms felt dead from holding back the walls of the crevasse, yet she willed them to rise up and strike. An uppercut to the jaw. A straight jab to the face. A fist into the stomach. Left punch. Right punch. Left. Right. Gaia tried to bring up her arms to block. It didn't matter. Lin punched where they weren't. The burning energy in Lin's body was gone, disappeared when her aura shattered. But the fire remained. She concentrated that feeling into her fist and drove it into Gaia's face. Her aura shattered.
Not over yet.
Lin's fist hit Gaia's face. And again. And again. Left. Right. Left. Right. Not over yet. Gaia's arms came up to block again. They were weak. Lin pushed them aside. Kept going. Left. Right. Left. Right. Keep up the attack.
Gaia's arms dropped to her side.
Left. Right. Left. Right. Not over yet. Keep punching.
This is the revenge you've been training for. Keep punching.
Left. Right. Left. Right.
Gaia slumped forward. Lin grabbed her shoulder and pressed her back against the wall. Then, she continued punching.
Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right.
Lin's fists were red. Gaia's face was red.
Keep punching.
This is for what you lost.
Left. Right. Left. Right.
The wall behind Gaia's head cracked.
Left. Right. Left. Right.
Lin's fists were hitting something harder now.
Left. Right. Left. Right.
Nine years. This will make it all worth it.
Left. Right. Left. Right.
Left. Right.
Left. Right.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Ri -
A hand grabbed Lin's shoulder. She stopped and turned. It was Mud.
"She's dead already. I think you can stop now."
Lin looked back at Gaia. Her body was still propped up against the wall, but only because the back of her head was embedded into it. Her limbs dangled lifelessly. Her face was gone, caved into a bloody mess of teeth, cartilage, and fractured pieces of skull. Her jaw was smashed to pieces, with what remained of it dangling where her chin should have been. Lin looked down at her fists. They were covered in blood. Fragments of bone were embedded in her knuckles.
Lin thought she would be more excited. She wanted to feel excited. Elated. One of the three she had been looking for was dead, and by her hand.
Instead, she didn't feel much of anything.
"It's only been one," Lin muttered to herself as she opened and closed her bloody fingers. Yes, that was it. That's why she hadn't felt anything. She hadn't finished the job yet. "Two more. That's when this will be finished. That's when I'll be satisfied. Two more. Two more to kill."
As Lin turned to Mud, she noticed that the arena had gone quiet. The spectators were silent. Even that announcer.
"One of three down, huh?" Mud said, looking around the stands. "I think they're waiting for you to say something. You know, as the new boss of the Seventh Circle. Since you killed the old one."
"Gaia is dead. We don't need to be here anymore," Lin said. Her arms hurt. Her legs hurt. Her head hurt. Everything hurt. "I need to rest. Then, we'll find the next one."
Mud nodded, and the two made their way out of the arena.
A/N: And that's chapter 38! One down, two to go.
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