Chapter 3: Mistake
Crowley struggled to stand back up as the massive human kept slowly and calmly making his way towards him. By the time he got back up, Grigori Rasputin was already standing right in front of him, looming with a disturbing smile on his face. Before he could react, the book flew in front of his face again, only to be slammed in once more, this time by the human's right fist. Crowley fell violently into the floor and bled even harder, struggling to breathe. He tried to roll onto his belly to get away, but the human's violent kick to his gut sent him flying once more. Crowley could not get a moment to get his bearings, the human made sure of it.
Rasputin once again started to calmly make his way towards Crowley.
"INCREDIBLE! GRIGORI RASPUTIN TRULY IS A MONSTER AMONG HUMANS! SO RUTHLESS! SO CRUEL! COULD ANYONE BELIEVE THIS WAS A MAN OF GOD?! NO WAY!"
Crowley felt immense pain, but for the first time in his life, he started to feel something else that drowned out the pain. Something that boiled inside him in a way he didn´t know was even possible.
RAGE.
ANGER.
HATRED.
"H-HOW. HOW DARE YOU, YOU PIECE OF USELESS MONKEY SHIT!"
The human raised a hand to his left ear and simply said
"Извините?"
…..
He didn't know why, but the human's incomprehensible response made him even angrier. If the blood wasn't covering his face, you wouldn't know, it would be just as vibrant red with boiling anger.
The witches on the ring and witnessing the event were so shocked, they couldn't move or say anything. Not only was this one of the most extreme showings of raw physical violence they had ever seen in their lives, but they had never seen head witch Crowley raging to the point of swearing and cussing someone out.
Crowley was known for his happy-go-lucky and amicable demeanor. Nothing ever seemed to anger or even upset him, and he was a showman through and through. Making shows and bouts of entertainment everywhere and anywhere he went.
He even managed to make friends with people that opposed the Emperor's coven and even with humans when the massive portal first opened.
To see him of all people bleeding, struggling for air and raging out of his mind was a sight that made everyone's blood run cold.
"This…. This… is what a street-fight looks like?!" Was the only thing that ran through Amity's mind. It had been a mere minute since the fight started, and it was already more than she had bargained for. She had no idea a human could be this violent and sadistic. After knowing Luz for so long, it was just an idea that never even crossed her mind. She nervously looked at the other humans that were there. And they were just standing there, calmly looking at the ongoing fight.
"Man, he lost his cool this early? He has no chance; I say he dies."
"Grigori Rasputin. That is one aggressive man."
"I guess the Soviets had good reason to want him dead, huh."
"….."
It was uncanny, how could they be so calm? Were they….. used to this?
At this moment, Amity could do little more than stand there, watching, hoping the rest of the fights wouldn't get so violent. Willow was here. SHE was here. She didn't want Luz to get hurt, she didn't consider that she might be in danger as well.
"I'll show you, you-ACK!"
Before he could finish, Crowley say the familiar sight of a book thrown in his face. Which was subsequently slammed at full force into it by Rasputin's own forehead. After the violent head butt, Crowley fell once more to the ground.
"DOOOOOOWWWWNNNN! FIGHTER #6 HEAD WITCH CROWLEY IS DOOOOOWWWWWWNNN!"
Crowley struggled to breath and to get up. As he was picking himself up, he heard that disgusting smug voice talking to him.
"Hey, Mr. Crowley, right? Are we done here? I would like some free time to study my bible if you don't mind"
Crowley couldn't see his face, but he knew there was a smug shit-eating-grin staring at him right now.
"Y-yes. We are done…. DONE PLAYING THIS STUPID GAME ASSHOLE!"
Crowley then made a massive spell circle in front of Rasputin, launching a spell that seemed to fade into the air. Rasputin was about to throw his bible again, until he noticed that Crowley was gone. He started looking around for him, and then he realized that everyone was gone.
The spectators, the announcer, the other fighters, they were all nowhere to be seen. The stadium was suddenly completely empty. He couldn't hear anyone either, only the sound of his own breath and voice.
"Hmmmm…. Is this the "magic" we were told about? I imagined it was something to be noted, but I had no idea it could do something like this"
He suddenly heard a massive screech and turned around to see a gigantic dragon-looking monstrosity that had somehow appeared out of nowhere.
As the huge creature lunged at him, he jumped backwards and started to escape. He may be the "mad monk", but he wasn't stupid. He started trying to find a way out, until he saw the exits were no longer there, just a bunch of wall. He was backed into a corner of the arena by the massive creature, nowhere left to run. He felt lost, disoriented and even scared for his life. He had taken down bears and snow leopards, but nothing this big and this fierce. He started to bundle up, trying to protect himself with his arms. Then he heard Crowley's voice:
"hehe. HEHEHE. HEHAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA! HAAAAAHAHAHAHA! HOW DO YOU LIKE IT MR. GRIGORI RASPUTIN! NOT SO TOUGH NOW ARE YOU?! SHIVERING AND RUNNING LIKE A LITTLE KID! WHAT DO YOU THINK NOW SHITHEAD?!"
Rasputin felt like he had no way out of this. He was scared and angry at himself that he had allowed this to happen. Crowley spoke to him once more, god knows from where.
"THAT'S RIGHT, HUMAN! BEND TO THE WILL OF THE HEAD OF THE ILLUSION COVEN!"
…..
…..
…..
…..
Rasputin stopped moving.
He straightened himself.
And walked towards the creature.
He put his hand out to touch it. And felt nothing.
"Hm."
"Hmhm."
"HMHMHMHMHMHMHAAAAAAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA! Well then! Call me an idiot! I seriously fell for that for a second, MHAHAHAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"
Rasputin started clapping and laughing like a maniac.
Crowley was confused, had he somehow seen through his perfect illusion?
Rasputin then put his hand up to his left ear for a moment, then to his right ear.
"Amazing! Even though I know it's not real, I still can't see or hear anything else! My brain is trying so hard to convince me that this is actually happening!"
Crowley was angry, but he was still confident, he still had ways to give this human what he deserved. He didn't think he would need it, but he brought a dagger with him to the tournament just in case, and now was the time to use it.
The human then stopped Crowley dead in his tracks by speaking:
"Mr. Crowley, as impressive of a showing this was, I don't think you understand just how badly you, as the Americans would say it, "royally fucked this up", so allow me to show you."
The human then did something that most people present did not understand.
He took off the robes he was wearing. Revealing the massive muscles underneath, and leaving him in nothing else other than his underwear, socks and pointed leather shoes. Most of the people present were confused and some were impressed at his rock-hard body (and a little bit attracted, not like they would ever admit it).
He then closed his eyes, covered his ears with his hands, and stood still right where he was.
Was he cowering in fear again? Crowley's rage-fueled mind decided to believe he was, so he decided the slowly walk towards him to deal the finishing blow.
He readied his dagger, as the witches around him were protesting at his use of such dirty and low tactics. He didn't care. This bastard had to pay for what he did to him.
He got right next to the human, who was still not moving, and raised his dagger.
"Night, night! Hum-ughuguh!"
Out of nowhere, he found himself being held by the throat and lifted off the ground by the massive human's left hand. Rasputin smiled his signature sadistic smile.
"goooooootcha!"
"H-Hooowww?! How did he know I was there?!"
"Humans have 5 senses: sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch."
Most people are taught this basic fact of life when they are very young.
However, this is actually incorrect. Science has determined that we do not have just 5 senses.
Heat, cold, light pressure and heavy pressure on the skin, pain, the location of one's own body parts, internal disturbances and movements, all of the different kinds of taste possible, blood pressure, carbon dioxide concentrations in the blood, etc. etc. etc. In total, it is said the human body has well over 20 to 30 different senses scattered all across its system.
In order to manage this overload of sensations, the human brain has developed a central processing unit that organizes and manages all of it, so that the brain can be capable of functioning with no unnecessary noise. This unit is the Thalamus, and it prioritizes information according to order of relevance to the current environmental stimulus.
When Grigori Rasputin stripped himself down and covered his ears and closed his eyes, he was exposing the largest sensory organ in his body, his skin, and shutting off his sight and hearing, which were no good to him anymore.
In essence, he told his thalamus to prioritize his skin perceptions over his eyes and ears, so that he had a reliable way to know what was actually happening.
Rasputin knew Crowley was blinded by his rage, and so he knew that no matter what, if he exposed himself to an attack, if he let his guard down, Crowley would not hesitate to attack him. And when he did, it would be the best opportunity possible, and biggest mistake of his life!
And so, when Grigori Rasputin felt the breath of his opponent on the lower end of his back, he instantly knew exactly where he was, and it was game over!
Crowley was powerless in the massive human's grip, he could feel the lack of air taking a toll on him, as his illusion faded away. Desperately, he lunged his dagger at the human and stabbed him in the chest, smiling at the sight of blood coming out of the wound. But his smile quickly faded when he realized the human was unfazed, still smiling his sadistic smile and not even flinching at the dagger that was buried into his chest.
Rasputin made his right hand into a fist and started to pull it back.
"Mr. Crowley, do you know how many people have tried that on me already? How many have tried to kill me? Poison, knifes, bullets, ice-cold water in a river. It only worked once, and it took aaaalll of those combined to take me out. Did you really think a puny dagger would do the trick?"
Crowley was absolutely terrified, he started to see this thing less as a human and more like some sort of monster that could not be stopped.
And before he could beg for mercy, Rasputin started violently slamming his fist into Crowley's face. Over and over again, each hit came with the disgusting sound of blood spurting and bones cracking and breaking.
He also started punching Crowley's chest, breaking his ribs, his legs, arms, stomach, and all of them together, slamming harder and harder each time, cracking and breaking bones each time. Spilling more and more blood as time passed. His sadistic smile never leaving his face.
No one dared to say anything.
After a solid minute of brutal beatings, Rasputin stopped. Crowley wasn't moving anymore. Rasputin let him off his grasp, as he dropped to the ground, little more than a pile of blood, bruises and broken bones. The arena was dead silent.
"Fight over! The winner is Grigori Rasputin for the humans!"